Note:
My name is Smokey the Bear and I’ve been a regular on this blog for nearly two years. I’ve now taken over the blog and am writing all posts, because Trent stopped posting here. I’m only allowing Trent the occasional rebuttal because, let’s face it, it’s funny to hear him try to cover up his missteps.
Hey, Smokey the Bear here. Trent is in such a negative mood today. Drama and accusations, dark clouds swirling over his head and all. It would be wise for him to keep quiet in a mood like this, especially here on a public blog. Who knows what he might say to get in trouble over? But that would be no fun. Let’s see if he’ll talk, and let’s see if he’ll say something stupid…
Smokey: Hell of a day today, wasn’t it?
Trent: It started yesterday, actually, when someone started claiming I was behind a Tumblr blog that stole a bunch of my photos (http://mormonhair.tumblr.com/). I’m used to people accusing me of doing things like pranks or blogs. But whether I’m guilty or not, most of those accusations are made in a positive way, like they want to give me credit for doing something clever. This time someone accused me of running a blog to get me in trouble. Lame.
Smokey: From a former colleague, no less.
Trent: Yeah, I can’t get too much into it. I’d love to, but, you know…it’s not worth it.
Smokey: Well, go on the record. Are you behind the blog you got accused of?
Trent: No.
Smokey: How many Tumblr blogs do you operate?
Trent: I have three Tumblr blogs. I have
trenthead.tumblr.com (formerly onestarloser.com). I have
The Clunk (but haven’t posted there forever. And I have
Dusty Jackets (which I just started last weekend).
Smokey: Yeah, you started Dusty Jackets the same day I ripped you for being so distracted with everything other than photography. Do you need yet another distraction?
Trent: That was great timing, wasn’t it? It’s obvious I have too many sites, but Dusty Jackets is a very small commitment. I spent an hour on it on Sunday and got a month’s worth of posts done. I won’t need to touch it again for weeks.
Smokey: So what’s up with the dark cloud over your head?
Trent: I think I’m fine. Today was weird due to the Tumblr drama and I was exhausted. My wife’s dog went crazy in the middle of the night and I had to deal with that, so I started the day feeling a little off.
Smokey: You did make some good photos today, even though you’ve always hated photos of ducks. Don’t we all? Ducks are lame. However, I must say this shot works for me:
Trent: Thanks. I used to think photos of ducks were such an easy out. But when I’m given less than an hour to come up with something, I’ll take a duck in the mist like this gladly.
Smokey: What about the mood in the office? You seem to tense up whenever you go in there.
Trent: I’m trying to get a handle on that. I’m trying to figure out if it’s just me or the office is haunted. I love the people I work with. Maybe I’m expecting something that just isn’t going to come, or maybe the dark cloud isn’t over me, but over the office. I need to figure it out and get positive.
Smokey: It could be something everyone’s feeling. You did get that hilarious text from a coworker today that said:
What’s up with you getting so bugged by the staff-wide e-mails?
Trent: You mean the ones where a bunch of people are sending out e-mails listing how much work they’re doing? I don’t know why they bug me so much. I like the people who are sending those out, I just don’t want to be distracted by that. I almost responded to them all tonight with a great line, but you know how poisonous it would have sounded.
Smokey: Yeah, you would have sounded like a jerk, even if you typed it with a smile and wink.
Trent: I know. Luckily I didn’t send it. And it couldn’t have been that great of a line because I can’t remember what it was. But there are really positive people in the office. The Business editor has always got something positive to say and he’s beyond nice. I rode the elevator with him today. He held the door for me and walked out of the building speaking Spanish to the cleaning staff. He’s always positive. I need to turn my attitude around and be more like that guy. It’s not like he’s got it any easier than the rest of us, but he still keeps it positive.
Smokey: PMA, like the Unity song. Well, at least it seems like the Tumblr drama is over.
Trent: I think they’ve backed down. And they will lose if they try to find me guilty of anything. I noticed all my photos on that site back in March. They even wrote a post about me when they noticed I started following their blog. So it’s weird that now someone is trying to get me in trouble over it, something I didn’t do. And it’s weird that… No, I’m done on this topic. It’s not worth it.
Smokey: No, keep going. People want to know.
Trent: What is this, a podcast or something? We’re just sitting here talking about crap no one cares about. What about photography, Smokey?
Smokey: You need to edit those shots you took on the Jordan River Trail today as the sun was going down. There were some breathtaking scenes. You took way too many photos though so it’s going to be hard to edit it all down. Stop wasting so many pixels. Also, on your first assignment you were a little off. You should have worked it more.
Trent: That was tough. The story is about how hard the guy’s life is and he wouldn’t stop smiling for the camera. I tried to tire him out with conversation and get one where he was more natural. Really nice guy, his mood just wasn’t matching what I thought the story was.
Smokey: Yeah, you got something natural which was the best shot. Sometimes photojournalism is not easy. Do you think great shots should just be presented to you? You should have worked it more.
Trent: I know. You’re right. When I was editing my take in the office I was worried someone would look at my laptop, like I’d have been ashamed if anyone saw all those photos of the guy smiling cheese.
Smokey: Exactly. You knew when you left the guy’s house. Kick it up a notch. You can do better.
