TMG Philosophy: Kindness

Sometimes it feels like kindness, especially that between strangers, is becoming rare, harder to find.  Sadly, it seem random kindness is the unexpected, the surprise in your day.   Yet, how many of us need that boost, that pleasant shock to lift our spirits?   Once in a while, that moment of kindness comes and encourages us or changes our perspective …or, if we are fortunate, both.

It was on a recent field adventure with my family that I experienced both.   We headed up the Northern California coast to Fort Ross on a beautiful, blue-sky, summer day.   I didn’t see the beauty though.  I was too busy focusing on the list of negatives I had chosen to worry about that day.  With a pounding headache, an upsetting conversation from the day before still processing in my head, an overwhelming list of things to accomplish in the next few days, and a doctor appointment I was anxious about I was anything but focused on the beauty outside.   Every turn on the twisty highway annoyed me, threatening to make me sick.   Every noise from the babies in the back seat sounded more like whining and grated in my ears.   Every tense minute that went by found me more and more uptight.  

It was a day where people’s smiles seemed like smirks and their “hellos” seemed to have attitude.   Or maybe that was just when I looked in the mirror…It was a day where the gorgeous sun was too bright and bothersome.   I knew that being around me on this day was anything but pleasant, but apologies weren’t coming all too soon.  I was digging my grumpy heels in.   We were about 45 minutes into the hike and the walk inside Fort Ross when we came to one of the last buildings.   I was relieved that we would finally be out of this place and on our way home.  

As we entered the building that obviously was a workshop, gunsmith and artillery supply, I started taking photos as quickly as possible to move along.   The baby I was wearing was getting heavy and my patience was almost gone.   The stupid bars around everything made it hard to get a decent photo.  Stupid bars.  One of the volunteers, Harold, tried to engage me by asking about the pictures I was taking.  He only made me grit my teeth more.  I’m ashamed to say I was probably quite rude to Harold.   That didn’t phase him though! He continued to share about the Fort, the history and the artillery.  Any other day I would have been intrigued, would have engaged, for there was no doubt his passion and knowledge was infectious.  I just happened to be immune today.  Or stubborn. 

I was getting ready for one last attempt, digging deep in my arsenal to brush off Harold when he pulled out his own weapon: kindness.   He looked around and then told us to come closer.  After suspiciously agreeing, I realized he was allowing us to come on the other side of the stupid bars, behind the sign that said, “NO ENTRY”.   He was bending the rules so I could take better pictures.  An act of kindness I surely didn’t deserve.   In that moment, I felt my harsh walls shatter under his kindness. 

Behind the Bars

Behind the Bars

A Shot of Kindness

A Shot of Kindness

The rest of the afternoon, I noticed that bluer than blue sky and how it complimented the warm grasses dancing in the wind.  I noticed the amazing craftsmanship in each building, could almost hear the soldiers and traders that walked at the Fort in times past.   I smelled the salt air, the eucalyptus trees and hugged my babies.  I appreciated my husband for taking time for this field photo adventure and for putting up with me the first half of the day.   Most of all, I thought of Harold and smiled.  He had encouraged me, had reached me like nothing had been able to that day.   And he had done it with such a simple, easy gesture of kindness.  

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SIGGRAPH 2013!!!

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There are a ton of special interest conference’s that happen each year. Most of them are a tight spectrum of what they cover. There is the GDC (Game Developers Conference) that centers around, well… games. There is the VFX Festival in the UK that broadens the scope to include films. But… If you want a convention that has been around since the computer was invented, you need to check out SIGGRAPH! It is a week long event that has something for everyone in the field of computer graphics. They offer courses in the newest techniques and technologies, aceres of booths from your favorite software / hardware vendors, and most important the Reception to stuff your belly and meet your colleagues!

SIGGRAPH 2013 descends on Anaheim California the week of July 21-25. SIGGRAPH is a Special Interest Group for computer Graphics, get it? :)  We are really excited to have this conference in our backyard and meet a few of the artists that use our images on a daily basis. See you on the floor of the Anaheim Convention Center!

RSWL: Roadtrip- West Sonoma County, California

One of the hardest parts of my job at The Transmogrifier is the numerous field adventures I absolutely MUST take in order to take photos for our texture and imagery websites.  It’s just torture having to explore cities, sites, and towns near and far.  I dread waking up and searching for all that beauty.  Okay, so it is actually amazing, something I am grateful for each day.  Something that has changed the way I look at life and what happens around me. 

One of these recent adventures took me and my little family on the back roads of Sonoma County.  From our house, we drove out Westside Road past budding vineyards with happy spring wildflowers waving as we passed.   Landmark barns and beautiful winery structures begged to be photographed. Eventually, hundreds of shots later (again, we mean camera shots, not liquor shots), we connected with River Road, where we followed the Russian River all the way to Highway 1.  Before joining the coast highway, we passed the infamous winery, Korbel, and the Armstrong Redwoods grove.   As we traveled south along the rugged coastline, we passed beach shacks, crashing waves, and seaside ice plants.   More pictures were taken.   By this time, our 1 ½ year old, Nate, looked completely dismayed and determined to get his hands on our cameras so that he might dismantle them.  He told us this in many words, half of which are clear, the other half guttural. 

Sonoma County Barn

Sonoma County Barn

Sonoma County Barn

Sonoma County Barn

Sonoma County Barn

Sonoma County Barn

Off of Highway 1, we circled back inland through the town of Bodega with its charming cemetery and famous schoolhouse building from Alfred Hitchcock’s film, The Birds.   This Highway 12 carried us past sprawling ranches and farms with proud farm equipment, timeless barns, cattle and sheep dotting the open land.   Large rocks and majestic oak trees covered the rolling Sonoma County hills as we approached home.

Despite Nate’s protests, we arrived home content from our Sonoma County road trip and well satisfied with the number of photographs.   These roads and their scenery make them just one of those random things we like.   If you are ever in Sonoma County, these idyllic backroads are a MUST for your camera and your soul.  

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