Day 349 - Project365

"What if money really did grow on trees? I heard my neighbor had a money tree… it was a little bare but we decided to grab a little cash for the holidays. A covert mission yielded a small reward… we almost got caught but our black clothes blended into the night."

Despite what may appear to be two me's, I assure you it is really Shawn in the background and myself in the foreground. Ok, now that we've got that out of the way, we can get down to brass tacks or gold or silver or those nifty multi colored ones I use for my "where i've been" map.

Ever wish money grew on trees? Well, if you consider the fruit industries views, money does grow on trees, in the form of their product of course. However, I'm talking about for real. You go out back, and pick a few fresh 20's from the branches. Thats what I wished for today as I had to take a look at my budget in order to be certain that I could afford to drop a whopping $400 on a new Hard Drive. I know its a small drop in the bucket for peace of mind. I have thousands in gear but how much is my stock worth? It's from all over the country, I have shots that I can't get again. That in my opinion is priceless. If I lose those do to being cheap and not getting a backup drive, well… I'll be the only one to blame. So, even though It killed me to do it… I ordered the drive. Unfortunately, I need it ASAP and had it overnighted. I swear, when my chain of drive in turkish mail order bride stores are up and operational I will most definitely be overnighting any and all of my purchases including the lovely ladies for your enjoyment, (additional charges will apply for expedited services).

The money tree idea reminds me of another type of fictional tree I've encountered in my past. When we were younger, say, 18 years ago, one summer night, my Uncle Rob came over all excited. Of course, being a 26 year old man, my uncle was… unaware of his how his actions would affect young children. He told my youngest brother Cory that if he planted this stick he had in his hands that it would grow into a fish tree. Yes, we were all gullible as kids. So, Cory and My uncle run in the back yard with a flash light and planted this stick into the ground. During the wee hours of the morning, my uncle, being the slick con artist he was, snuck over and hung a few fishes from the "tree". Cory woke up and of course, HAD to check his tree. Low and behold… there were fish on it. Cory was the happiest kid in the world. "look mom, it really did grow fish!" No one had the heart to tell him it wasn't real, So… we watered it and let it continue to grow. The rotting fish smell was pretty strong but Cory didn't seem to mind. The next morning, Cory runs out to check if more fish had grown. His little feet couldn't get him their fast enough. His chubby little legs working overtime, all in an effort to see what magic the fish tree had for him. He made it out to the back only to find the Fish tree was destroyed, un earthed and broken. He was in instant tears! The punk kids next door has seen the tree and decided to be… well… punk kids! Looking back now, I would have shown those to dick heads what it meant to lose something as magical as a fish tree! It gets me mad thinking about it.

So… for all of you out there wanting the secret to the money tree. Unfortunately, I faked it. I know I know… A Michael Herb Photo not being 100% true to life. I'm sorry that I deceived you all! I never meant to upset anyone. The trick was simple, we taped thread to the bills and tied them to the branches.

I wanted to get more shots of the money so I could have duplicated the bills, thus filling out the tree but… As I was loading the foreground shots to assure focus and exposure, it started to rain! My gear was outside and I had to rush to get it in. Funny that when we were shooting the skies were clear as far as the eye could see - Weird!

So… Money… it comes and it goes. The more you have the more you spend and you don't really ever truly appreciate its power until you don't have any. One day my intake will out weight my output… I just can't wait until that happens.

Lighting:

AB800 Med Gridded Sofbox 2:00 full power
AB800 Med Gridded Softbox 4:00 1/2 power