Rants: Flickr Makes Huge Changes

You're in for a rant if you are visiting this post. I'm sure this rant won't change a thing, but alas I will rant away.

I have been a Flickr user for quite some time. I found it was the best place to host my photos for photography. When my career in sports photography began I created a new Flickr account and paid to make it a Pro Account. I had unlimited upload/space and receive photo statistics. Having photo statistics is huge for a photographer in my field. I can track what is popular, and it gives me an idea of what people are interested in seeing. I've never had a problem with Flickr and have absolutely loved the time I've spent on the site and was more that willing to pay for the service. I mean after all this is my online photography portfolio.

Today without warning Flickr unveiled a new site design. My opinion, it's terrible. It has made navigation harder. Your homepage has become relatively useless. The photostream has become cluttered, busy and unprofessional. The lack of white space drives me insane. They have seemingly pulled design idea's from various social media sites and lumped them all together. That's not what Flickr was suppose to be. It feels like a huge slap in the face to real photographers! I guess Yahoo/Flickr want to capitalize on that "Insta" market. Insta this and insta that isn't always better. And this is certainly not what the Flickr platform was originally founded on.

Edited to Add:
“There’s no such thing as Flickr Pro today because [with so many people taking photographs] there’s really no such thing as professional photographers anymore.”-Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. 
Surprise Ms. Mayer there is still a difference between a PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER and someone who can hold a camera and take a picture! Photography is an art and not everyone possesses the eye, skill, or knowledge to do it. People hold degrees in the field. As a professional photographer I'm absolutely disgusted and offended by your statement.

My bigger issue is that they didn't take into account how their PAYING Pro users would feel. Turns out the changes weren't just on the surface. Flickr quietly took away the option of upgrading to a Pro Account. If you currently have a Pro Account and it is on renewal you will keep all the perks of said Pro Account (Stats, Unlimited upload/space, no ads, no price change.) You will not be classified as a Pro Account any longer however. Free accounts will now have 1 TB of space and some similar Pro Account perks. Now the only upgrade options available to free accounts are paying $50 to be rid of ads, or $499.99 to bump up to 2 TB. You read that right FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE DOLLARS AND NINETY NINE CENTS! That's laughable. A TB external hard drive doesn't even cost anywhere near that much.
(Here is a link that gives you the break down on what's happening: http://mashable.com/2013/05/20/flickr-pro-changes/)

Now that I've given you my reasons for disliking this change as well as facts I'm going to say something crazy. I'm keeping my Pro Account. Why? Because I'm grandfathered in so to speak. I will still have unlimited uploads and space as well as what is very important my photo statistics! I don't care if my upload has to be smaller than those with a free account. Why? One because generally my files do not exceed 50 MB, two the larger the file size the better quality you could potentially be giving someone to steal. So yes, I will keep my Pro Account at this time.

I can only hope that Flickr/Yahoo listen to the wave of negative feedback they are receiving by alienating their original customer base, and make necessary changes for the good of the users. Change is not bad, but the kind of changes they made were poorly executed.

Weekend Wrap Up Vol.1

So this is my first Weekend Wrap Up on the blog. I think I'll do this when I have fun things to share from the weekend. Obviously I won't do it every weekend because sometimes I'm a bum and don't do much! Haha.

My Husband and I went to Trader Joe's on Saturday. They were out of Cookie Butter. It was a travesty! However they did have chocolate mini cupcakes and that made things slightly better. Their mini cupcakes are delicious! We also went to the bookstore. I love perusing every once in a while. We went on a walk in our neighborhood too!

Essie Turquoise and Caicos 

Goodies I picked up that afternoon.

Today we went to my Husband's boss/friend's baby shower. It was baseball themed and super fun! This was our first "event" with a group of friends as Husband and Wife. Pretty exciting! We somehow ended up coming home with all the leftover cupcakes. Haha.

The cute Mommy and Daddy to be!

Fun party favors.

Hubby and I after the baby shower!

Outfit:

Dress and shoes from Target.

Thanks for reading!

OOTD Hot Day Maxi Style

Today my Husband and I went and ran errands and went to dinner. We've been married for 2 weeks! Just thinking about that puts a huge smile on my face. He wanted to surprise me and take me to see The Great Gatsby but the theater we normally go to stopped showing it to show more Star Trek I believe. Either way my hubby is awesome! It was pretty warm out so here's what I put together for the afternoon out.

This was me trying to be I model. I just don't know. Haha.

Top: Cold Shoulder Burnout Top (here)

Maxi: Lily Rose Striped Maxi (here)

Belt: Old
Sandals: Target

I opted for a maxi because I was feeling a bit bloated haha. I love this top! Its super comfortable and very versatile. I also have it in black and a print. I have a feeling they will be my go to tops this Summer.

Thanks for reading!

Neon, Neon

I wrote that title and then that song by John Mayer titled Neon on his Room for Squares album popped into my head. I remember singing that song in my car when I was in high school. Oh my I'm old. Haha.

Anyway, I've tried out 2 jelly neon polishes from China Glaze's Sunsational Collection. Shell-o and Heat Index. Shell-o is super bright coral jelly, and Heat Index is a hot pink jelly. I absolutely love jelly polishes. I will say these were rather sheer but I built up adequate opacity in 3 coats. I think I may have to buy back up bottles of these! (Neon's tend to freak out cameras so they are brighter in person.)

My pups got in on the act. Heat Index.

Shell-o

Thanks for reading!

Our Wedding Story...

As I sit and type this I have been married to the love of my life for a little over a week. I can't even begin to explain the happiness, love, and joy I'm feeling. It's amazing. I love being able to say "That's my husband!" How cool is that!?

My Grandma left me her Wedding Set from the 50's. It was gorgeous. However it was too big for little 'ole me. My Grandma's diamond was reset into my dream Engagement Ring. It is so precious and special that I get to have that part of her and my Grandpa with me in my marriage.

Chris and I got married on May 3, 2013. Our dating anniversary is on March 3rd. (We've been together for 8 years.) So in my mind I always wanted to get married in the spring on the 3rd of the month. Things played out a little differently than how I dreamed our wedding day would be, but it was a beautiful moment that I wouldn't change for the world.

Our color theme was turquoise and coral. I wore a vintage inspired short wedding dress with turquoise heels. It was perfect. I even made my own bouquet. Chris wore a turquoise button up and black slacks. We kept our Wedding a secret except for our immediate family. My parents and brother attended. Unfortunately Chris's parents were going to be in Boston and couldn't be there. We had a an outdoor ceremony in front of a huge rock fountain surrounded by Palmetto Trees. Being the photographer that I am I did what I could myself and then turned the camera over to my Daddy for the Ceremony. My brother was the man of many hats, ring holder, and bouquet holder. The Ceremony was beautiful and sweet. I had to hold in tears the entire time so I made lots of weird faces. The Reverend who married us was amazing. When she pronounced us Husband and Wife in that moment our lives changed and it felt incredible!

The forecast on our Wedding Day was quite different than we thought it would be as clouds and coolness rolled in. The wind was pretty crazy too. In the midst of our post Ceremony photos the rains came. We all ran. I couldn't help but laugh. We head back to our home. My Mom helped me pull together a shabby chic set up for our backyard too. She was such a huge help! I DIYed like a crazy person leading up to the big day. It turned out great. Our Wedding Cake and meal was from the The Farmers Shed. I'm not a cake person and let me tell you BEST CAKE I'VE EVER HAD! The day was quite relaxed and we just enjoyed it.

I really can't begin to tell you how happy that day was for me. It was simple but magical. I'm so proud to be Chris's Wife! I know we surprised quite a few people with our marriage. That was so entertaining. My favorite reaction had to be "Well, it's about time!" Haha. The plan is to have a reception in the fall for the rest of our family and friends.

Now after all that I'm sure you want to see some photos.

(All photos Copyright Katie B. and my not be used without credit.)

Thank you for reading!

Iron Man 3

My husband and I finally went to see Iron Man 3. It came out on our Wedding Day so obviously we couldn't make it to a showing then haha. It was fantastic! Little know fact: I'm a superhero movie nerd. Love them!

Thanks for reading!

Blog Face Lift

Hello to those who still read this little blog of mine!
I know, I know. The same old song and dance. I post for a while and then go dormant. I really hate that I do that. The beginning of the year threw me a curve ball as far as work was concerned, and that really messed with my mojo. 
I decided I really need to get on my blogging game and make something of this little space on the internet. So  this little blog has received a minor face lift. You'll find and updated header, new buttons, and tabs. I feel like I'm keeping up with the Joneses with this update.
I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to bring more fun content to my blog.

P.S. Be on the lookout for a Wedding post, because this 'ole gal got married!

Thanks for reading!