Health, Longevity, and How Not to Think When You're Young

Headlines are always the hardest part of this, LOL.  Anyway, this morning while in the shower (good thinking always happens there or in the bath, it seems - must be because that's when we totally relax), I remembered how I thought about health many years ago.

I used to have a really really bad diet - known in come circles as the typical college diet.  It included things like hot dogs, hamburgers, packaged meats like bologna, salami, pastrami, etc., 4-6 bottles of Coke or Pepsi on hot Summer days, candy bars, donuts, lots of things loaded with sugar, chemicals, preservatives, and on and on.  My thinking was that I would enjoy myself more now, even if it meant I might not live as quite as long as I might otherwise live without that kind of diet.  You know, like two years less later for so much more enjoyment until then.  I was in my late teens to mid 20s when I felt that way, and time was on my side.  I had always gotten colds and flu about 4 times a year, so never thought that those might be affected by my diet.

What I failed to consider was what that food might do to my health.  And instead of enjoying life more, poor health would do the exact opposite.  This may sound funny, but I was lucky to get an ulcer at 25 or 26, because that forced me to give up the Coke and Pepsi and packaged meats.  Four years later, I thought it came back, but instead was "nervous stomach."  That was when I gave up all the other junk food and chemicals in the food.  Not only did the "nervous stomach" go away, but so did several other problems, as well as less severe and less often colds and flu - down to 1 or 2 a year.  Since then I've added vitamins, herbs, and other supplements, and adjust these to fine tune them as well as fine tuning my diet.  I now get sick only once every few years, and it has been over 3 years since I last was.

One last word - a supervisor of mine where I used to work never got sick and ate a terrible junk food diet.  I used to wonder how he did it and suggested he change to a healthier diet.  He didn't - and one day he had a massive heart attack.  He was only in his early 60s.  That's why I was lucky to get my ulcer when I did, which caused me to make the appropriate changes.

Your health is a result of what you eat (there are other factors such as your environment, your stress, etc., but diet you have total control over).

An Unplanned Photo Shoot at the Beach

I was down at the paddle tennis courts at Venice Beach yesterday, watching instead of playing due to a pulled muscle.  I always bring what I call my beach camera with me - after all, it's Venice Beach, so you never know what you might see.  I was watching a friend of mine play, and win, several hard fought sets.  After she finished, I asked her if perhaps we could shoot some photos, and she agreed.  It was a Sunday, so a lot of people going by - hard to isolate her.  And no reflectors, other than the sand and the pavement, but that worked pretty well.  My beach camera is a Panasonic FZ30 which has an electronic viewfinder - I really do not care for electronic viewfinders - it makes it difficult to really catch the great expressions, at least for me.  My non-beach cameras have optical viewfinders.  As far as quality goes, the Panasonic is excellent as long as there is sufficient light.  I have enlarged one photo to 24x30 with excellent results.  I got off on a bit of a tangent - some of the results are below.  Always keep in mind that the photos I post online are reduced in size and quality from the originals for faster uploading times and for on screen viewing.

That's it for today - hope you enjoy.

Healthy Snack Recipe - Something a Bit Different

Still trying to figure out what people who visit here might like.  Or enjoy reading or doing.  The two things I enjoy the most - health and photography - I'll be posting about the most.  Plus occasionally other things I've learned over the years - perhaps how to save money, computer problems and solutions, how to search for something, etc.  But for today, something pretty healthy and easy to make that I found on my FB timeline.

I haven't had these yet, but when I do it will be with at least some organic ingredients (apple sauce, raisins, oats).

Below are a couple of photos I shot yesterday at the paddle tennis courts at Venice Beach.  I have been taking photos at Venice Beach for the past 30 years or so.  You never know who, or what, you may see out there.

Hope you've enjoyed today's post!

Beware of Price Comparisons - in Photography, Vitamins, Supplements, Etc.

Why beware?  It can cost you a lot of your hard earned money.  The cost comparisons are most likely being compared to the highest price that can be found.  For example, I came across this list of prices for ingredients of a product (a one month supply) - it shows the cost of each if bought separately:



However, the benfotiamine (B1) I found at $4.76/month, the R-Alpha Lipoic Acid at about $10/month, the B12 in the methyl form $3.50/month, Vitamin D3 - for 1000 iu (500 iu in their formula) - about 60 cents a month!  And for the rest of the ingredients, around $6 or less per month.  Don't know where they checked their prices.

Bottom Line:  The total cost to buy these ingredients separately would be around $25/month at most.  What are they charging for a one month supply?  $63 (Plus S&H), but if you buy 3 bottles, it goes to around $43.33/bottle, plus shipping and Handling (doesn't say how much S & H is).

One more comparison (because I take this one) - there is a health formula that contains 8 superfoods.  If you or I were to buy an 8 month supply from the company, it would cost $33.73/month (not sure what shipping is).  I bought each identical ingredient separately, and the cost was around $12/month (which includes shipping)

What about with photography?  It's a bit different for products compared to services.  Each photographer will be different in what they offer, the quality of their work, their personalities, etc.  The first thing I would look for is a total and complete 100% money back guarantee so if you don't get the images you want, you don't pay.  You take no risk of losing your money for a bad result.  I'm sure that if a photographer offers this it's because his work is excellent, and he/she stands behind it.  BTW - I offer it.  The last thing I would want to hear is this, "he did a terrible job, and I had to pay him," when they would be referring to my photography.  I would much rather hear, "I didn't get the photos I wanted, but the photographer was great, and gave me every penny back - and was totally nice about it.  He even offered me a completely free re-shoot."

It is very easy with the internet and Google or other search engines to make your own comparisons.  And thus save a lot of money.  Or find someone who will give you great results.  As always, I hope this post helps at least one person.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day!

TGIF...Selfies, and "Professional" Cameras

Happy Friday everyone.  Yesterday I talked a little about "Selfies."  The photo of myself that I've been using for FB, here, and on my site was a selfie.  It was shot using a tripod, window light, in Camera RAW, and edited with Lightroom and Portrait Professional software.

It was taken with a Canon EOS 40D.  This is no longer considered a professional camera.  I'm starting to think the "Professional Camera" designation is a marketing ploy to get professional photographers to think anything less than the latest and greatest is not professional.  I may not be able to blow the photo up to the same size as I would be able to from a 24 megapixel camera (although I could get a very good 24x30 or even 30x40 image from it).  For example, the photo below was shot with a Canon EOS 10D (only 6 mp) and was made into a 24x30 with excellent results.

This photo was cropped and reduced in size and quality for this blog.  You can always click on any photo to see a larger size.  In the original viewed at full size, I can see the reflection of my silhouette in the pupils of her eyes.

Have a great weekend everyone.  Stay healthy and happy (see my prior post about the healthy part).

Photography and "Selfies" (and a Health Link)

I have lately been seeing more and more "selfies" (photos shot of you, by you) on the internet.  Unfortunately, too many are exposed wrong, out of focus, or have other problems.  What's surprising is that some people are using them for resume photos and for dating sites.  For FB and Twitter, they may be fine and fun, but if you want to use a photo for a specific result (finding a job or a date), it would be better to use a professional photographer.  This guy did - I saw him while in Solvang, CA.

OK - I'm joking.  But you can see exactly what he looks like.  You may not want to hire him or date him, although if you did, he would be well behaved and not disagree with you (at least let's hope not).

If you do shoot a selfy - make sure you are well lit, in focus, and if you are doing it by shooting into a mirror, make sure the mirror is clean and you don't use a flash.  Better yet, if your camera has a timer, use that with the camera on a tripod.  Because the exposures are basically free, you can experiment with it until you get some really good photos.

Now for the health link to Food Babe - if you want to eat healthy food, check out the site.
http://foodbabe.com/ - enjoy and here's to your health!

Prescription Drugs and Photography Contracts - What Do They Have in Common?

Simple - you need to pay very close attention to the details about them.  Either one can harm you, or your pocket book, but at least a contract won't kill you....well, not the business kind of contract anyway.

This brings me back to the drug ads on TV - the ones that ask you to ask your doctor if _____________ is right for you (fill in the blank).  This, after they list the possible side effects, up to and including your demise, and then show the happy smiling family.  They leave out the ones who suffered the side effects.  And the 100,000+ who die each year from properly prescribed prescription drugs.  All I'm saying here is to make sure you understand what a drug is capable of doing, weigh the pros and cons, talk with your doctor, research it online, and see if there are alternatives (such as diet, exercise, supplements, lifestyle changes, etc.).

Same with a contract - make sure you read it, understand it, and ask the person you are contracting with any questions you may have.  Never sign a contract until you have done these things.

Have a great day.  I'l be talking more about portraits next time.  And soon re-directing my website link to my new temporary site, with a sample of my contract and much more information that you should find useful.  Still deciding on a more permanent web host for a more permanent site.

Contracts, Guarantees, and Photography

I've been listening to a webinar given by a husband and wife photography team about how they run their business.  They have a photography business and said it will be run like a business.  Therefore, When you sign their contract you must know exactly what is in it as they will enforce it.  Some things included is that you're obligated to accept the results of the photo shoot  and pay for the minimum order that is in the contract, regardless of whether you can't show up on time (got caught in traffic, a flat tire, etc. - too bad, you pay), and regardless of whether or not you like the results.  If you do not fulfill the contract, you will still have to pay or they will report you to the three credit agencies.  What does all this mean?  It means that you are taking a risk - good results or not, you're obligated to pay.  Their photography is generally excellent; however, what if it wasn't what you wanted or you're one of the few who didn't get the results you wanted?  Too bad.  Is that how you would like a business to be run?  You decide.

To me, a reputable business will offer at least some form of a satisfaction guarantee.  That, to me, is the way to do business.

When I actively start my photography business, my clients will get a total 100% guarantee, which means not only would I re-shoot the images if you weren't thrilled with them, but even after a re-shoot, if you're still not happy, you will get every penny back that you paid me.  It will still be run like a professional business, meaning once you sign the contract, you would be responsible to show up or at least cancel prior to the session (probably 24 hours before).

I will also require that we meet on some day prior the the session to see if we are comfortable with each other.  After that initial meeting, we would either schedule a session or decide to not work with each other...because to get the best results, we need to feel good about each  other and know that we will get along well.  Once we decide to go ahead, we will go over the contract, and you must read it before signing, as you should with any contract.  The bottom line is there will be no risk for you.  And if you happen to get sick or injured, I wouldn't want to shoot you on that day - I want you to feel and look great, your absolute best!

The business I talked about - I would definitely use their services IF they offered a guarantee.  But not every photographer will give you the images you want every time.  Perhaps the photographer has the flu, a migraine, or whatever, and they can't get the perfect image for you.  You wouldn't want to be obligated to pay for the images, would you?

Hopefully I made the point that you must read contracts and you should get guarantees.  I have run my past businesses the way I would want a business to be run if I was the client or customer.

Hope everyone has a great Presidents Day (Washington Birthday) tomorrow.

Odds and Ends and New Website

I've been working on a new website - it may be temporary until I decide on a permanent web host.  Verizon is discontinuing their hosting, which is where my main site was.  Below is part of my opening page.

As always, clicking on the photo will show a larger size.

If you would like to see the website, it is here:  http://tonybelmontphotography.jimdo.com/

If I decide to continue with that site, the address will just be tonybelmontphotography.com - in fact, whatever site I end up using, that will always be the address in the future.  Right now, it takes you to my old site.

Too Many Choices, Trial and Error

Have you ever shopped for something, or searched for something on Google, and came up with way too many choices?  Even after narrowing down your search?  Recently I've been reading that offering too many choices results is lower sales, this according to studies, and I'm sure through experience, too.  I guess that's where K.I.S.S. came from.  Keep it simple.  Not so easy when doing a Google search!

What made me think of the above is that one of my websites is going the way of the Dodo bird - the host of the site is being discontinued.  So, I need to find a new host and build a new site, which I've been wanting to do, anyway.  And when I started searching for a new host, guess what?  Too many choices!

Through further searches and reviews that I Googled, I had narrowed it down.  The first two I tried, which had gotten good reviews, ended up being too difficult to use to set things up as I wanted.  Whichever I end up with will be though trial and error.  When I do finally get it set up, you will still be able to check it out at tonybelmontphotography.com - so no need to worry about not finding it.

Trial and error has also applied to the supplements I take (notice how I segued into this).  Each person is different and has different needs.  However, most people are deficient in magnesium and vitamin D (always use D3).  If you take a calcium supplement, make sure to take it with magnesium, vitamin D and Vitamin K.  I take vitamin K1& K2-MK7 complex (Vitacost), and magnesium potassium complex by Country Life.  And about 2000mg vitamin C daily, along with other specific supplements for joints, immune system, etc.  I have found pretty much what works for me and occasionally will try something new.

A few years ago, I had been getting some severe calf cramps at night, added the calcium, magnesium, potassium and no longer get any cramps.  This is what I meant by saying each person is different.  You may not have problems with cramping, but get headaches.  Whatever problems you do have, perhaps some combination of supplements will help the underlying cause.  Of course, if you are on any medications, you must check with your health practitioner and perhaps the pharmacist, too, to make sure a particular supplement won't interfere with it, or intensify its effect.  For example, I met a lady who told me she had been on blood thinning drugs, then took gingko and ended up having a stroke.  So please be careful if you are on prescription drugs.

As always, have a great day and week, and year.