I’m sure you don’t really want to see me looking like this, but I was having a lot of fun trying to make the fastest face I could. This photobooth is extremely fast!
Let's Improve our Posture – Boise, Idaho Photographer
I’ve been doing a monthly massage for relaxation only to discover that my back is in need of some work that a massage therapist cannot right away. The culprit: my posture.
Most of us who sit at a desk for long periods of time and we end up looking like this: 
I never realized the health risks this poses after sitting like this for a long period of time. Now that I know, it freaks me out.
I found a great article from Women’s Health. Instead of breaking it down, I’ve decided to copy and paste so you can see the full article. I really liked this article because they are workouts you can easily do in your office or at home and not have to worry about owning expensive equipment or a gym membership.
IMPROVE YOUR POSTURE
Spring Your Traps
Four moves that target your traps to help improve your posture
Think of your trapezius–the slab of fibers that starts at the base of your skull and extends across your shoulder blades–as the anti-hunchback muscle. When it’s strong, it keeps your shoulder blades down, so you look longer and leaner. This routine, from Riley McAlpine, a pro cyclist and personal trainer in Santa Monica, California, will get you there. Add the moves to your strength workout once a week. And don’t miss WH‘s total-body workouts.
THE MOVES
Shrug
Grab a 5- to 15-pound dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet about hip-width apart. With your arms at your sides, lift your shoulders toward your ears. Hold for 5 seconds, then lower. Repeat for 1 minute.
Trap Walk
Get on a treadmill with a 5- to 10-pound dumbbell in each hand. Bend your elbows 90 degrees and raise them to shoulder height with palms facing forward. Walk at an easy pace and bring your forearms toward each other and back out with the rhythm of your footsteps. Continue for 1 minute. Next, start in the same arm position, but raise them straight up then pull them down in time with your steps, also for 1 minute. Last, combine the moves for a minute: in, out, up, down. That’s 1 set. Do 4 sets, resting for 30 to 60 seconds between each.
Overhead Press
Grab a 3- to 8-pound dumbbell with both hands and stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Lift your right toe behind you so it’s a foot off the floor. Raise the dumbbell overhead. Bend your elbows to lower the weight behind you. Press it back up. Repeat for 30 seconds. Switch legs and repeat. That’s 1 set. Do 3 to 5 sets, with 30 seconds of rest in between each.
High-Low
Standing with your feet about hip-width apart, hold the end of a 3- to 8-pound dumbbell straight above your head. Bend at your hips and lower the dumbbell toward the floor, keeping your elbows straight. Touch the floor, then reverse the arc until the dumbbell is overhead. That’s 1 rep. Do 3 to 5 sets of 12 to 15 reps, resting for 30 to 60 seconds between sets.
Holy Trap
When properly trained, your trapezius muscles pull your shoulder blades together and down, to give you a more Klum-esque back.
WH 30-Second Fix: Tight Upper Back From Typing All Day?
Sit in a chair with your spine straight and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart and parallel to each other. Grab the right edge of the seat with your right hand and lean to the left as far as you can, keeping both glutes on the chair and pressing down with your right shoulder. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat to the other side.
————————————————————————————————-
Sneak Peak! – Boise, Idaho Photographer
This sweet little girl is also my best friend’s daughter. I always have fun photographing her because she is just beautiful. Her smile can turn a bad day into a good day. Here is a sneak peak of a few of my favorite shots from the day.
Though this one turned out blurry, I love the effect it gives off.
Monthly Special: March Madness! – Boise, Idaho Photographer
As I said before, I was going to do monthly discounts through 2009. Here is the discount for 2009.
Family Portrait Sessions up to 4 People for $150.00:
1-2 Hour Photoshoot, High Resolution CD with all images in both color and black and white, online photo gallery.
Most sessions will take place at an outdoor location in the area or at your home. This enables children to feel comfortable with the photo session because they are in their natural environment. My goal is to capture your family at it’s finest, and what a better way to do that but in the outdoors or your own home. Maternity and newborn sessions can take place in my studio upon request.
A non-refundable deposit is required at the time of booking. This can be paid via check, phone, or using my online feature to pay from your own computer.
This is a great deal. Contact me: photographer@tamarakenyonphotos.com to book! Spaces in March are filling up fast!
And because we can’t have a post without a photo…
The History of the High Heel – Boise, Idaho Photographer
Today at work, I noticed that a co-worker of mine was wearing fancy schmancy boots. Apparently he’s had these boots for a while and they’re not considered fancy schmancy, but working boots.
This got me wondering why a guy would be wearing a “high heel” boot. His response was that they were working boots and it allows you to walk on un-even surfaces without slipping – makes sense.
Then I started thinking some more (after he had mentioned that cowboys wear heels as well).
Though it may seem obvious to most, I never really realized that the reason cowboys wore boots was to keep their feet in the stirrups. So I started wondering how this evolved to women.
After forgetting about it the rest of the day, I just now decided to look it up (the history of the necktie has always intrigued me… stay tuned for that one).
I turned to my handy dandy Wikipedia. Yes I know, not the most reliable source, but it works for small questions like these.
Here is what I found:
History
Raised heels are stated to have been a response to the problem of the rider’s foot slipping forward in stirrups while riding. The “rider’s heel,” approximately 1-1/2 inch (4 cm) high, appeared around 1500. The leading edge was canted forward to help grip the stirrup, and the trailing edge was canted forward to prevent the elongated heel from catching on underbrush or rock while backing up, such as in on-foot combat. These features are evident today in riding boots, notably cowboy boots.
The simple riding heel gave way to a more stylized heel over its first three decades. Beginning with the French, heel heights among men crept up, often becoming higher and thinner, until they were no longer useful while riding, but were relegated to “court-pony” wear. By the late 1600s men’s heels were commonly between three and four inches in height.
In 1533, the diminutive wife of the Duke of Orleans, Catherine de’ Medici, commissioned a cobbler to fashion her a pair of heels, both for fashion, and to increase her stature. They were an adaptation of chopines (elevated wooden soles with both heel and toe raised not unlike modern platform shoes), but unlike chopines the heel was higher than the toe and the “platform” was made to bend in the middle with the foot.
High-heeled shoes quickly caught on with the fashion-conscious men and women of the French court, and spread to pockets of nobility in other countries. The term “well-heeled” became synonymous with opulent wealth. Both men and women continued wearing heels as a matter of noble fashion throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. When the French Revolution drew near, in the late 1700s, the practice of wearing heels fell into decline in France due to its associations with wealth and aristocracy. Throughout most of the 1800s, flat shoes and sandals were usual for both sexes, but the heel resurfaced in fashion during the late 1800s, almost exclusively among women.
-
So there you are. These are the random things that always cross my mind. I thought I’d share this random post with you. Not relevant to photography, but it was interesting.
Bling It! – Boise, Idaho Photographer
Today I was on Ritzy Bee’s Blog and found an awesome article.
I remember watching a movie a while back (of course I cannot remember the name of it), but there was a girl who rented expensive purses for special events because she couldn’t afford to buy it. Was it Sex in the City? Anyone? Anyway, I thought that was a neat idea.
In the laziness of looking for a wedding dress, I thought that Boise needed a “Wedding Dress Rental Shop”, and did some research and found that these existed in big cities (and if you were wondering, I ended up buying one instead of renting).
There is a site out there, AdornBrides.com, where you can rent jewelry. Now this isn’t just any jewelery, it is BLING jewelery. We’re talking $5k, $10K and so on.
You can rent something from this…
And even rent something up to this…
I’ve always thought that this kind of service is great for brides that might not be able to afford expensive dresses and jewelery. This way women can still feel like a princesses but not enter their marriage in massive debt!
Ritzy Bee has a contest where you can win a $150 gift certificate to rent some jewelry.
More Newborns! Boise, Idaho Photographer
Here is the second winner of my newborn giveaway. Sweet little Kyson. Here are some fun shots from today.
Monthly Specials – Boise, Idaho Photographer
Each month I will have a different special available… Check in every once in a while for details!