Monday, June 02, 2008

Did it myself, and cheap

I just read a marketing e-newsletter this morning that proclaims that cheap is the new chic. Do It Yourself is already sweeping the country. My daughter, who will be getting married next summer, is planning her wedding from a book entitled The DIY Bride. Everything in her wedding will be DIY and/or cheap. And it will still be cool. Because everything about it will reflect her own personality, tastes and passions. And as the guy expected to foot the bill for the shindig, I couldn’t be happier (for her of course).

The high cost of nearly everything is only adding fuel to the trend. The rising cost of gasoline has already put a crimp in the travel budget for yours truly. By this time last year, I had already taken several far-flung photo excursions. I haven’t been much farther than my own backyard or the nearby river so far this year. Vacation? Who knows.

This year’s photos are already reflecting the times. Cheap camera. Cheap software and nearby locales. The challenge for me is to keep pushing the limits of the equipment and continue to explore for photo-worthy views of very familiar territory - without making it look cheap.

Photo: Gerbera daisy: $6.99. Fijifilm Finepix S700: $199. Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 to create Orton effect: $79.00. Making something all by myself on the cheap: Priceless. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2008 James Jordan.

1 comment:

Wanda said...

I know her wedding will be wonderful and it won't look cheap. Our youngest daughter planned her wedding, and was married at the pond where we do our Family reunion. She was in an car accident when she was 18 and has a permanent limp ~~ She didn't want to limp down an aisle, so she was rowed across the pond by her brother in a canoe, and stepped out on the shore where she was married. I love personal planned weddings...it was great!