I had the fortunate pleasure of photographing Megan, Didi and Rachel a short time ago for Green Is Sexy.

During the shoot I made the mistake of concentrating too much on individual portraits, instead of really nailing the group shots which, in retrospect, should have been the no brainer to start with, since promotionally, it should have been obvious to me that they’d want to use shots of them all together. By the time I realized I was missing essential group shots, we lost a lot of the best light. Not my finest hour in group portraiture

If you are ever doing a group portrait session, and have a limited amount of time, don’t neglect the group shots like I did. Otherwise you’ll be kicking yourself like I still am!

The shoot resulted in about 350 photos in the final handover package to them that I cut to DVD. They are using some of the photographs on their About Us section, and I think the ones they’ve chosen work really well with their current fall theme.

As much as I love taking The Connector shuttle bus to work, the suspension system on these vehicles is insanely bad.  You feel every single bump on the road.  It’s so bad that I can’t even work on my laptop since I’ll not only get motion sickness but I’m also fearful for the safety of my hard drive.

This morning, I’m happily riding The Connector to work and I fall asleep.  I lean my head against the window to my right and I’m in dream land counting Canadian geese in my head.  All of a sudden the bus hits a huge bump and my head smacks against the window so hard that I thought I was going to throw up.  I got dizzy all of a sudden and the guy behind me leans over the seat and says “Oh my god man, are you okay?  You better get your head checked out to see if you got a concussion or something”.  Great way to start the day.

After spending most of the day in pain I think I’m okay.  But crickey, who knew going green could almost kill me?

Latest Green is Sexy tip is so appropriately timed to my bus riding adventures.

you are getting veeeery sleeeepy…

Look deeeeeeeeep into our crystal (CFL illuminated) ball and we will tell you your future…

We see you finally getting to try out sudoku puzzles - and finishing them. We see you getting into a conversation about the hidden restaurant gems of your town with a person who asked you the time. We see you starting that book you’ve been dying to read / listening to that podcast you love / developing crushes you can throw a not-so-accidental glance at daily. We see you taking well-deserved cat naps on the way to and from work. We see you drooling on people. We see you never having to deal with road rage again. We see you getting home sooner because you can take advantage of the carpool lane. We see you buying a funky umbrella to show off on walks home. We see you making a huge step towards reducing your carbon emission impact by not driving your car.

Yes, we see you riding the bus.

Yes, I’ve actually drooled on someone on the way to work after I fell asleep on his shoulder. What a good sport he put up with me the entire way back to Queen Anne. Thanks Ted! I’m even reading more than I normally do! First up is Stumbling on Happiness by Dan Gilbert.

The Microsoft commuter bus is taking a bit longer than I expected to get to work — 45-50 mins instead of the 34-40 they advertised. But I’m not complaining since I’m able to read, drool and even catchup on email if I want to. It’s forcing me to keep stricter hours at work which is a great thing since I have a tendency to let work consume my life. I’ve always told my team about the importance about work-life balance so it’s about time I set an example, right?

So as week 1 ends with me taking the commuter bus 4 times, I’m extremely happy. Not only is my stress level much lower by avoiding the commute, but I also feel great about reducing my carbon footprint by removing another car off the road in the daily commute.

Wish me luck on week #2!

At our company meeting earlier this month, Microsoft announced a network of dedicated buses for employees.  This bus system provides a direct route (no transfer) from several popular Seattle neighborhoods to the Microsoft Redmond campus.  Luckily, my neighborhood made the cut and the bus will pick up 1 block from my house.

The new Microsoft bus service is equipped with Wifi giving me internet access throughout my entire commute.  This is great because I’ll be able to catch up on work during my commute instead of trying to finish it off before I leave for the day, or back at home in the evening when my commute is over.  I’m hoping it’s also going to force me to keep stricter hours at the office since I’m now scheduled to leave on the 5:45pm bus every night.

Call it inspiration from my involvement with Green is Sexy (GIS), but I’ve been constantly trying to find ways to live a greener lifestyle.  My efforts started off relatively easy by trying to follow the GIS tips of the day. If I can succesfully take the commuter bus at least 3 days a week, I’ll be making a huge impact on my carbon footprint from my car.  As much as I love my car, I can’t help but continually think about the impact it’s having on the environment especially in stop-and-go traffic 5 days a week.

Due to personal commitments I have on the eastside, I don’t think I’ll be able to take the bus every day to work, but with the right planning I should be able to do at least the 3 days.

Wish me luck!

Latest tip from Green is Sexy:

In the last 200 years people have cut down approximately 30% of the world’s woodlands, according to the World Resources Institute. Since trees are a key defense in combating CO2, this affects all of us as the planet continues to heat up. Deforestation is also bad news for animals that rely on trees for food and shelter. In 1994 the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) developed an honest and credible system for identifying well-managed forests as acceptable sources of forest products. FSC certification criteria include the preservation of habitat and watersheds through less intensive harvesting, reduction of streamside erosion and avoidance of synthetic pesticides. If you’re launching a new wood project, look for wood bearing the FSC label. Not sure where you can buy FSC wood? Check out their webpage for a list of resources.

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