This is Happy birthday memories by ninigoesdigi

Have you created something using one of my designs?  Be sure and share a link in the comments!

xoxo-Kat

Here’s the part I added… I think it turned out kinda cute!  It’s inspired by unlikely friendships and those best bud kind of friendships that last.  We all know that sometimes you meet someone who turns out to be the best friend you have even as you get older.

Here is just a sampling of the other great stuff you can find!

If you make a layout with anything from ZZL, please be sure and link it up for me to take a peek!  I love looking at your pages!  Have a great day!

xoxo-Kat

Sunday night, July 29th, we went to our first “big city” concert in Dallas at the Gexa Energy Pavilion.  There were a few snags.  The venue was outdoors and it was 105 degrees.  Ouch!  So we decided to go late, which was a bit disappointing.  We missed the first 3 bands.  There was only really one I was disappointed about.  Halestorm.  I found some great songs by them.  So when we arrived, the band Hellyeah was on the last part of their set.

Next up was Chevelle… I didn’t know them well, but I knew enough that I liked their music.  They played a great set, great music and good entertainment.

Then, next up, the feature band, and reason I went… Evanescence.  Like I mentioned, I have been a fan for a while and have been to one other of their concerts.  I think it’s safe to say I was expecting an experience like before.  It was not.

About 3 songs in, I am having a blast, really enjoying the show, and I stood up on the chair to get a few pictures and video.  There was my mistake.  Of course I got asked to step down (despite that there were several others around me up on the chair)… I’m short, so I just wanted to see.  But no biggie, I got down.  Things went awry from there.

A supervisor approached us (keep in mind that it’s loud and I am paying no attention to anything other than the stage)… he motioned me to follow him so I handed my camera to my husband and followed him thinking “really?, I got down… okay, what’s the big deal… and still seeing others on chairs around me.

He wanted my camera.  He said “where’s your camera?”… I said my husband has it, he said “Go get it and give it to me”… (Ummmm….??)  I said “Why?”.  He said “You can’t have that in here”… I said “Yes, I can, I called, and there are tons of people in here with cameras”… He was being very rude about it… but he got downright nasty with me…  To sum up… “Get your camera and give it to me now… go get it…(pushy, demanding, rude)… I went back down the isle and told my husband what he said… My husband said “no”.  Well, that’s the polite way to say what he said.

I went back and told the guy and so he went and got my husband and made him come out too.  While he stepped away, I tried talking to someone else to get the manager.  One song had passed.  The guy made us exit the venue to talk outside… but if you think he stopped yelling once outside the loud music… he didn’t.  We were not “giving him my camera”… he said he will check it at the office… I still said no… if they lose it, I’m out A LOT of money.  I offered many times to put it in my purse and still had no explanation why I was singled out.

This went on for half the concert.  And you know what it boiled down to?  My camera “looked too professional”.  That was their basis for the whole thing, the yelling, the verbal abuse, everything.  The manager was NO different.  It did not matter that I called ahead and checked at the gate if my camera was okay.  It didn’t matter that people inside had cameras and camera phones, it didn’t even matter to them that people were smoking marijuana two rows behind me and fighting several rows ahead.  It mattered that I had a camera that looked professional.

My husband finally relented and put it in the car.  I was fighting off a massive emotional breakdown, trying so hard not to cry, I was so upset at the way this had gone down, how I’d been yelled at, how I’d done everything right to be sure I followed the rules and that I had the camera out the entire previous set.  My husband tracked the original supervisor down, asked him about his experience as a police officer, military member, etc… (which was none) and told him that there was a better way to handle the situation and his wife shouldn’t have been treated like that.  The man put his hands on my husband’s shoulders and shoved him, then darted behind a secure gate.  I couldn’t believe it.  They were not security, they were bullies… just a bunch of jerks enforcing “rules” they don’t even understand.

Now… is my camera professional grade?  Yes and No.  I have a DSLR Canon 60D.  It’s an amazing camera with 18 mega pixels.  However, as instructed when I called, we were not allowed to bring interchangable lenses or even one lens with a “long zoom”… so I had a default basic lens attached.  It has HD video.  I like to shoot in RAW and get a small jpeg thumbnail so I can adjust out shadows and work out kinks in white balance.  I am still learning all about photography and once in a while, I get lucky.  My goal is to work towards a professional business in photography and I CAN do that with this camera.

So why all the fuss?  Why didn’t I just hand it over?  Well, obviously.  But it’s a principal, and I am stubborn.  First, I followed everything I was told.  Second, there were TONS of cameras inside, TONS and everyone was taking pictures and videos.  The difference was the appearance of my camera.  They thought I was “reproducing the event”… I wasn’t.  Not even close.  I even said… “I’m just a scrapbooker”.  Anything I photographed or took video was for me, not to reproduce, sell, or anything.

So I did a bit of comparison… I feel very strongly that my photos would have been good even on a typical point and shoot camera.  It’s not as much about the camera as it is the person behind it.  These days, point and shoot cameras come with high megapixels, long optical/digital zoom options, and HD video.  It’s time that concert venues get on board with this.  What is your actual concern?  Well, the artist doesn’t want the show reproduced.  The artist doesn’t want a full video made of the concert.  The artist doesn’t want “insert random needs here”…  I TOTALLY get it.  But there is a better way to do it.

So… we left.  I lost something special that day, I lost my ability to listen to my favorite band without a negative memory of verbal abuse, sweat, tears and my husband getting shoved by nothing more than a bully who doesn’t know how to do his job appropriately.  I was the LEAST of his worries in a venue at a rock concert.

On the other hand… thank you.  Thank you for looking at me and thinking my camera looks professional and that I look like someone with a professional camera taking professional images.  Here’s my favorite shots… and I am PROUD to have them.  The last one is my absolute favorite.

Here’s a video clip I took.  It’s hard to take a good video clip when you are rockin’ out… lol!  There are lots of other videos of the same event on You Tube… in fact, in one, I saw another, much more professional grade camera in the video with at least a 70-200 mm lens.

Thanks for letting me share.

xoxo-Love, Kat

If this is your first time visiting me, be sure and take a look at my design shop at Zig Zag Scraps or like my facebook page.

First up, I scrapped a trip to the dog park.  Our dogs have mostly always had a yard to play in but right now, we are staying in a small apartment until we buy a house.  So we took a trip to the dog park.  It was pretty hot, so we didn’t stay a long time but we did have fun.  I love being able to get these types of shots of my furkids.  I used a collab by The Lilypad Designers called Summer Lovin’.  I mixed in a few other elements, like the wire flowers from Britt-ish Designs.

Next up, I scrapped my concert experience.  Well, I scrapped a few photos of my concert experience.  I have a blog post coming up with the “entire story” which is a bit interesting all in its own way.  I used a kit by Britt-ish Designs called “Rock Out”… it was absolutely perfect as you can see.

I love scrapping the “grid” templates.  They work well for the look I like.  You can even use a section to journal in if you have a story you want to tell.

Want to check out some more inspiration – here is the full list of the blog hop.

Julie Aldridge

Sue Althouse

Lisa Corbin-Polak

Ronnie Crowley

Jess Forster

Michele Holcomb

Margrethe Aas Johnsen

Aimee Maddern

Valerie Mangan

Jean Manis

Amy Kingsford

Pam Lozano

Kat Tankersley

The Premium Membership at Simple Scrapper provides skills and shortcuts to help you simplify and find more meaning in your memory keeping.

Okay, talk to you again soon!  xoxo-Kat

I hope you have a wonderful Friday!  If you are wondering how my concert experience went, stay tuned!  I’ll be posting about it soon!

xoxo-Kat

I’ve been searching YouTube videos and here’s a preview of what I can probably expect tonight.  The new album is SUPER cool even tho almost all the original band members are now gone.  Amy Lee really is the “voice” of the band… and it’s an amazing voice, even live in concert!!

So I am going to get my Spotify going so I can hear the music of some of the other bands coming tonight, like Chevelle, Hellyeah, Halestorm, Candlebox and Aranda!

Here’s to hoping I survive the 105 degree heat!!  xoxo-Kat

xoxo-Kat

So head over to the ZZS forum and visit THIS thread to join in the PITWI challenge!  Check out the other challenges happening for the big 4th birthday bash.

xoxo-Kat

Does anyone else feel like singing nirvana?

“Come
As you are
As you were
As I want you to be
As a friend
As a friend
As an old enemy
Take your time
Hurry up
The choice is your
Don’t be late
Take a rest
As a friend
As an old memoria
Memoria
Memoria
Memoria”

Please excuse the random ADD moment (as my mom would say)!!

Here’s the full ad for the birthday celebration… Isn’t it cute?  I just love the style of ZZS… it’s right up my alley and I’m so happy to be a part of it!

I have put a couple of new items in the shop and they are SUPER inexpensive… so please take a moment and check it out.  Click on either image to go straight to the product!  I uploaded my word tags LATE last night, so forgive me!  I just got my laptop fully functioning on Sunday night so I am playing SERIOUS catch up!  But I think you’ll like what I have.

Don’t forget, this stuff is ON sale… so please take a minute and stop by!  I’ll be giving away the element pack to some special winners on FRIDAY… so check back!!

Now, I have to do my work… lol…

xoxo-Kat

Here’s an inspiring quote I just came across… it’s so true, isn’t it?

Another favorite of mine…

My scrapbooking boards… where I pin my favorite kits, layouts for inspiration and TUTORIALS like this…

I also love to pin photography tutorials, ideas for building a house (because we hope to build SOON)… recipes, lots of recipes that I could probably never make no matter how hard I tried, and of course… cute boys.  LOL.

So check it out and if you aren’t on pinterest… it’s time to get on that surf board and ride the wave… you’ll love it!

xoxo-Kat