I did a maternity shoot with Sean and Dawn and was honored to shoot some photos of their baby, Thomas.
16 January 2010
14 January 2010
~ Wednesday's 13/365 Olympic Torch ~
Olympic fever hit Vegreville and the torch arrived. The school went for the morning and it was AWESOME! :) I had a lot of fun. It was really good to see the people having a good time and enjoying something that is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Labels:
olympic torch,
project 365,
relay,
vegreville,
winter olympics
12 January 2010
~ Elisha ~
Decided to do an edit quick before work.....shot in 2009 wish Elisha. Hope to shoot with her again in 2010. :)
-Randy
-Randy
Here is my 12/365 Shot:
Labels:
beauty,
edit,
elisha,
model,
photo a day,
project 365
11 January 2010
~ Weights 11/365 ~
Inspired to take a shot of weights today. What can I say, this 365 stuff is tough. Not sure what to do from day to day. Hopefully the I can get some outside shots soon. Never out in the daylight.
Labels:
gym,
photo a day,
project 365,
weightroom,
weights
10 January 2010
~ 10/365 Playoff Sunday ~
Watched 2 NFL games today, Cards and Ravens win!!! Now hope the Saints win next weekend. NFL is fun, love watching it. Wish the Oilers were as much fun to watch lately.
10/365
10/365
Labels:
365 project,
cats,
pet
09 January 2010
~ Go Canada Go 9/365 ~
9/365
Thought I'd post a little inspired Canada pic. I really hope that we win gold, got a jersey and all. Womens Team and Mens Team are gonna OWN this year. I know that USA beat us in the juniors but this will be the BIG BOYS. I think Canada has a STACKED team as always and the USA team is just not gonna get it done. :) GO CANADA GO!!! That Pepsi Chant can go die a painful death, worst idea ever.....ashamed for ever drinking that product.
-Randy
Thought I'd post a little inspired Canada pic. I really hope that we win gold, got a jersey and all. Womens Team and Mens Team are gonna OWN this year. I know that USA beat us in the juniors but this will be the BIG BOYS. I think Canada has a STACKED team as always and the USA team is just not gonna get it done. :) GO CANADA GO!!! That Pepsi Chant can go die a painful death, worst idea ever.....ashamed for ever drinking that product.
-Randy
Labels:
canada,
hockey,
jersey,
pepsi chant,
team canada,
uniforms
07 January 2010
~ Man Down 7/365 ~
I was SO tired today. Felt gross all day, fighting a cold, feeling sick, wanting to sleep....not wanting to be at work but life is so busy I pretty much have to be right now. This shot was taken with my Canon G7, love that little camera.
7/365
-Randy
7/365
-Randy
Labels:
365 project,
c3po,
keychain,
star wars
06 January 2010
~ Day 6/365 Self Portrait on a Cold -36C Morning ~
Woke up on a COLD morning. Snapped this shot quickly with my 50mm, 1.8 on 1000ISO, using light from a small ikea desk lamp and computer monitor. It was so dark and cold out, just feels like a good shot for this 6/365 image. Well, posting it and off to coach basketball.....
-Randy
-Randy
Labels:
365 project,
cold
05 January 2010
~ 5/365 Canada wins Silver ~
Heart breaker as Team Canada loses to the Americans in overtime. However the bright side to it all was the play of future Edmonton Oiler, Jordon Eberle. He was amazing, makes the loss easier to take. That kids has serious hockey skills.
Labels:
project 365,
randy pond photography,
team canada
04 January 2010
~ 4/365 Oiler Cup ~
Today was a horrid day...back to work, had basketball practice tonite and had to stay late. Had the worst sleep, always do. I have never really met a teacher that sleeps like a baby the night before going back to work after a holiday. The brain just never ever shuts down enough to get a good night's sleep. Tonight I should sleep a lot better, doesn't take long to get back in the swing of things.
Busy month ahead but I am up for the challenge. I hope I can keep up my spirits. These last months of winter can be tough. I know once that spring comes it'll be all down hill from there. I look forward to this finish to the year. 2010 is good so far....keep it coming! :)
-Randy
4/365 project photo.....okay, nothing too amazing here, just my Oilers cup! :)
Busy month ahead but I am up for the challenge. I hope I can keep up my spirits. These last months of winter can be tough. I know once that spring comes it'll be all down hill from there. I look forward to this finish to the year. 2010 is good so far....keep it coming! :)
-Randy
4/365 project photo.....okay, nothing too amazing here, just my Oilers cup! :)
Labels:
365 project,
oiler cup
03 January 2010
~ Todd McFarlane is the Man 3/365 ~
To pay respects to my fave artist, creative imagination I took a pic of one of his action figures. This one is a Spawn Universe figure and was one of my first few I collected. It sits by my computer and inspires me when I am photoshopping it up. :)
-Randy
3/365 (photo a day project)
-Randy
3/365 (photo a day project)
Labels:
365 days,
365 project,
action figure,
Todd mcfarlane,
toys
02 January 2010
~ 2/365 Christmas Cactus ~
So this morning it is like -20ish and I did not feel like going outside to do any photos, so took a quick shot of Jenn's Christmas Cactus.
The last holiday weekend for me and I am fighting a cold.......not so cool. Hope I can drink a LOT of water today and stay healthy enough to fight it off.
Hoping everyone else's 2010 starts better then getting sick like moi.
-Randy
Labels:
2010,
365 days,
365 project,
flower
01 January 2010
~ Happy New Year 1/365 ~
Hi everyone and welcome to 2010. I am not sure what my resolutions are but I figure to keep them basic. Eat healthier, exercise more and try to be a more healthier dude.....pretty much the same every year...:)
I have always wanted to try and do a 365 project, my friend/photographer Owen, challenged me so I figure 2010 is the year to give it a shot. Perfect day to start on, Jan.1st 2010. So here is 1/365 of my project to take a picture every day. We have 3 cats so I am sure there will be plenty of cat images. I will try not to bore people with just cat images, but I might not be too creative....so you'll have to see a few cat pics now and again. :)
I hope that 2010 brings good things, it sure seems like the world is more and more tense times. The worries over the economy, the small wars going on around the world, terrorism, flu worries, global warming worries and just overall tension it seems...maybe it's just me but the world is not doing so hot. I hope 2010 is a better year. I hope in some small way I can do some positive things through my actions. I know it's hard for one person to create global changes, but I try my best. Hopefully as a teacher I can try and have a positive influence in the students I teach. After all, to be really cliche, they are our future. I hope the future is bright and that 2010 is a great year for everyone on this planet.
My prayers are with my friends and family and I really hope that I can develop some new friendships in 2010. I really do want to network more and have more opportunity to talk and work with fellow photographers. :)
Well, here it is the #1 shot of January 2010!!! :)
I have always wanted to try and do a 365 project, my friend/photographer Owen, challenged me so I figure 2010 is the year to give it a shot. Perfect day to start on, Jan.1st 2010. So here is 1/365 of my project to take a picture every day. We have 3 cats so I am sure there will be plenty of cat images. I will try not to bore people with just cat images, but I might not be too creative....so you'll have to see a few cat pics now and again. :)
I hope that 2010 brings good things, it sure seems like the world is more and more tense times. The worries over the economy, the small wars going on around the world, terrorism, flu worries, global warming worries and just overall tension it seems...maybe it's just me but the world is not doing so hot. I hope 2010 is a better year. I hope in some small way I can do some positive things through my actions. I know it's hard for one person to create global changes, but I try my best. Hopefully as a teacher I can try and have a positive influence in the students I teach. After all, to be really cliche, they are our future. I hope the future is bright and that 2010 is a great year for everyone on this planet.
My prayers are with my friends and family and I really hope that I can develop some new friendships in 2010. I really do want to network more and have more opportunity to talk and work with fellow photographers. :)
Well, here it is the #1 shot of January 2010!!! :)
Labels:
365 days,
new years day,
photography,
project 365
30 December 2009
25 December 2009
~ Christmas Morning ~
Well, just like a little kid I have awoke before my beautiful wife. She asked me for a 1/2 hour and she is still deep in sleep. :)
So I figured I will do some writing on the good old BLOG. 2010 is coming and I look back at 2009 as great year for change. I took a jump from being an elementary teacher to a high school teacher. 3 years of working with sweet little elementary students and thrown in to the fire of junior high. Where the student has sure changed. Gone are the polite kids in elementary that were so happy to be in Mr.Pond's class. Now I am faced with the loud, hormone raging junior high students that are concerned with cell phones and ipods. I do love teaching but it sure is a different ball game in the high school world. There is a lot to enjoy about this change, I now live and work in the same town, a HUGE first for me.
So Christmas is here and I realized I hadn't really sat down and thought about what I would want for Christmas. The presents are all wrapped and under the tree, but I figure I'll make a list (gonna be a bit silly, serious and fantasy based) to pass the time until I wake the wifey up.
Randy's Official Christmas WISH List 2009
- World Peace - I am serious, I wish for Peace....I feel for the people that live in fear, hunger and live in places that make Canada look like Heaven. Everyday at work when we play the National Anthem I am thankful for what I have and also sad that other people are living without.
- That the media moves on from Tiger Woods and allows his family to try and pick up the pieces and move on.
- a Canon 5DMII under my tree!!!
- A sweet variety of L Glass, one of each, ho ho ho!!!
- That all Red Necked AB drivers in rig pig trucks learn how to drive safely.......and respect other drivers on the road.....
- The Oilers get some talent, I love them!!! But seriously.....they are REALLY bad!!! At least a healthy Hemsky!!
- For the Lakers to repeat as Champs!! Go KOBE!!!-A-SHA!!!!
- For the Flames to miss the playoffs for the next 10 years.....cuz CALGARY SUCKS!!!
- ok, enough of the list already, I need to wake up the wife and enjoy Christmas morning with the 3 cats and the wife! :)
- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Labels:
Christmas Day,
Christmas morning
23 December 2009
~ Merry Christmas ~
Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday Season. I am honored to have had such a wonderful year capturing photos for people and creating some lasting memories for them. I value images and hope that everyone I have crossed paths with has a wonderful holiday time. I hope 2010 is a great year for you all. Thanks again to my friends, family and clients that are a part of my life as a photographer. Without you all I would be a very bored and unhappy soul. Thanks for letting my camera and I capture you all the time. It's a passion and one I look forward to pursuing harder in 2010!!!! :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
-Randy and Jenn and CATS!!!
Labels:
art of randy pond,
christmas,
holidays
22 December 2009
19 December 2009
~ Yay Christmas HOLIDAYS Here I come ~
On holidays, loving it!!! :) This is an older edit from a shoot with Candace, a beautiful and talented First Nation model from Nelson House, Manitoba.
Labels:
candace,
christmas,
first nation model,
holidays
17 December 2009
~ The BIBLE for Dudes ~
This is an AWESOME article I found on MSN homepage.....it should be read by every male on the planet...hehehhehe.......
By Daniel Amen, M.D., Men's Health
What Sex Does to a Man's Brain
The male brain on sex reacts similar to the way a cocaine addict's does. We investigate the science behind your most powerful natural drugs — sex and attraction.
You're sitting behind the wheel of your van at an everlasting traffic light. The only thing slower than the traffic is your perception of time's passage.
Then you notice her.
She appears at the curb, waiting to cross. No, she's not the love of your life. She's more like the heat of the moment. It's fortunate that your wife isn't there, otherwise you'd be in deep trouble as you take in the stranger's hips and breasts, and the way her waist scoops in to accentuate both. Time is enhanced; there's a pleasing buzz connecting your temples.
Your reaction is automatic, reflexive, and quite possibly the most powerful one you'll have this day. It temporarily blots out your long-range commitments — that 10-year marriage, that kid in second grade, that responsibility to keep eyes forward at traffic lights. You've surrendered control; you're captivated by the pleasure in the vision.
"You dog!" you may whisper under your breath, embarrassed by what you're envisioning as you sit there in your family van. But it might be more correct to say, "You dopamine fiend!" As a neuroscientist of 25 years, I know that your brain is command central for everything sexual.
When you spot the object of your desire, the neurotransmitter dopamine lights up areas deep within the brain, triggering feelings of pleasure, motivation, and reward. (Cocaine acts the same way.) You feel a rush, and your heartbeat quickens. Attraction, too, is a powerful drug. The brain stem also gets into the act, releasing phenylethylamine (PEA), which speeds up the flow of information between nerve cells. It's no wonder your neck and eyeballs track her every movement.
But she's not gawking back at you, and it's not just because you're driving a family bus with a paint scrape on the fender. Her brain acts very differently from yours. You're keyed in to beauty, shape, fantasy, and obsession; on some biological level that she may be unaware of, she's trolling for a mate who will sire healthy children and protect and provide for her and them. And yes, maybe even buy them a family van.
Learn the 50 things women wish men knew .
Her goals are programmed for the long range; yours are often shockingly short term, right up to and including thoughts of pedestrianophilia. And she knows it, which is why she presses those short-term buttons shotgun-style: She never knows when a suitable mate might be looking.
The whole encounter can leave you quivering with pleasure, hoping for more.
It can also hijack and ruin your life.
And between the "walk" and "don't walk" signals of delight and disaster, your brain is sorting information, making choices, spurring actions. But you don't want to passively accept all that, especially because your whole life is riding on the choices you make.
That's where I come in. I know the brain processes behind the temptations, and I can help you steer clear of trouble. After all, that woman in the crosswalk could help you realize your destiny, or derail it entirely. All the more reason to get to know that big sex organ between your ears so you can control the smaller, less important one between your legs.
Why You've Always Been Horny
You've been lit up on testosterone right from the start, even when you were just a multicelled notion in your mother's womb. The inherited Y chromosome that makes you male (thanks, Dad) triggers two bursts of testosterone that change your brain and body.
The first produces a male brain: one that's more interested in objects, actions, and competition. The left (parietal) lobe flourishes in the testosterone bath and helps you visualize objects in three dimensions (good for catching a football or watching a woman cross the street), and it boosts your aptitude in mathematics (that's how you estimate that she's about a 34DD). In addition, testosterone beefs up your hypothalamus, the area of the brain that's interested in sex. The hypothalamus is twice as large in men as it is in women.
Why You Become Hornier as a Teen
That's when the second big burst of testosterone hits, causing your hair to sprout everywhere, your voice to flip from Norah Jones to James Earl Jones, and your interest in third base to go from literal to metaphorical. (Touch 'em all!) Your body now harbors 20 times the level of testosterone found in girls your age, which accounts for your sexual obsessions.
Unfortunately, your brain is maladapted for sociability, so she can overwhelm you with words, and all you have to counter them is silent (thank goodness) adolescent lust. It's an advantage she has that you'll never make up. On your side of the ledger: Your left brain — the planning center — is massive, which helps in planning the Panama Canal, a rocket launch, or a lifetime of wedded bliss.
Why She Looks at Your Ring Finger
Because it knows and tells all. University of Liverpool researcher John Manning has determined that the size of a man's ring finger is related to how much testosterone he received in the womb. That's true of your penis, as well. The more T, the longer they grow. It's interesting to note that your digital symbol of virility is also the finger on which she slips the golden shackle during the wedding ceremony.
Why You Must Watch Your T-Levels
Women are more predisposed (in brain structure and hormone secretions) to settle down and start a family than you are. But committing to family life is easier for men who have lower testosterone levels. A study of more than 4,000 men found that men with high testosterone levels were 43 percent more likely to get divorced and 38 percent more likely to have extramarital affairs than men with less of the hormone.
Guys with high levels were also 50 percent less likely to marry in the first place. Men with the least testosterone were more likely to get and stay married, maybe because lower testosterone levels make men more cooperative. If you're too cooperative for your own good, build some muscle: It will increase testosterone levels over time. You can even coordinate dating with workouts. A study at Baylor University determined that testosterone levels were highest 48 hours after weight lifting.
Why You Should Marry After 25
Quite simply, a man's brain is incomplete before then. Sure, his sexual organs are all present and accounted for, but his prefrontal cortex (PFC) is still developing. Which is too bad, because that's the part of his brain that's involved in judgment, impulse control, organization, planning, forethought, and learning from mistakes. And it won't be fully developed until he's 25.
Why Beauties Make You Stupid
You act like a goof with the Hooters waitress, leaving a tip that doubles the bar bill. But why? Beautiful women cause a man's limbic system (the amygdala and other brain-stem structures, which are in charge of emotion) to fire up at the same time that his PFC checks out, leaving the judgment area vacant. Las Vegas casinos hire beautiful cocktail waitresses, dress them in low-cut tops and miniskirts, and have them pass out free alcohol — all of which encourages men's self-control to take the day trip to Hoover Dam. No wonder the house has the edge.
How You Can Get the Edge Back
When faced with the dilemma of a bad bet on a beautiful woman, remember that her beauty is fleeting, but a bad decision can last a lifetime. It's a very PFC sentiment, in fact.
Why You Love Porn
Guys aren't shallow; it's just that the visual parts of their brains are strong and tend to twang their emotions. Using sophisticated imaging equipment, researchers at Emory University in Atlanta found that the amygdala, which controls emotions and motivation, is much more activated in men than in women when they view sexual material for 30 minutes, even though both sexes report similar levels of interest.
This may be one of the reasons men are much more captivated by pornography than women: For men, it's not just porn, it's personal. Back in the real world, women hijack men's brains by appealing to their strong visual sense. But women can take in a guy's visuals and think, 'Yeah, but how much does he have in his 401(k)?' To avoid the tyranny of the visual, you need to kick-start your responsible prefrontal cortex by asking yourself, What's my goal in a relationship? That can divert you from those short-term, erotic visions.
How Your Nose Triggers an Erection
There's a direct connection between the olfactory bulb, at the top of your nose, and the septal area, the arousal center of your brain. When cells in your nose are stimulated, they send signals to your libido (and hers) to stand up and pay attention. You know what smells turn you on — the evidence is obvious.
As for her, a study at the University of California at Berkeley found that women become aroused when exposed to a chemical called 4.16-androstadien-3-one (AND). The good news? AND occurs naturally in men's sweat, hair, and skin. Take her someplace cold on your date — the favorite jacket or sweater you'll conveniently have on hand to lend her should be loaded with the stuff.
Discover the surprising link between lust and hunger .
Why You Lose Your Erection in Bed
Maybe little Willie is nervous during his big moment onstage. Performance anxiety is about the fear of being judged or not living up to expectations. The body is programmed to see anxiety as a threat, and the nervous system sets up the fight-or-flight response, sending out chemicals to protect us: Our heart races, muscles tense, and blood is shunted from our hands, feet, and penis to the large muscles of the shoulders and hips so we can fight or run away. That's not such a good strategy in bed, however.
Why You Can Be Addicted to Love
As with obsessive-compulsive disorder, love decreases brain levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for mood and flexibility. Low serotonin means you can get stuck on ideas — you become obsessed. Which is just fine, unless she suddenly dumps you. That's when the short supply of serotonin makes you vulnerable to depression. In extreme cases, the serotonin shortage can trigger obsessive behaviors, such as exhibiting extreme jealousy or even stalking.
To get those serotonin levels back up before the police come, try exercising more, eating more carbs, and generally distracting your lonesome thoughts. (Road trip!) All of them will boost your serotonin levels.
Why Touch Strengthens the Bond
Oxytocin is your brain's love juice: the bonding and attachment hormone. When you feel connected, empathic, in love, the oxytocin jets are spurting. Women have naturally higher levels of this chemical: It boosts nonsexual bonding between a mother and newborn, and it's responsible for putting babies to sleep after they nurse.
Though both men and women secrete an extra jolt of oxytocin during orgasm, we men go through a 500 percent surge — which explains our special talent for falling asleep immediately after sex. If she complains that she doesn't feel close enough, ask for her help readjusting your oxytocin levels.
Why Women are the Dumpers
Women have greater access to the more negative right side of the brain, one of the reasons they suffer from depression twice as much as men. The right hemisphere also allows women to see the gestalt, or big picture, of relationships, so they tend to know before men when a relationship is not working out.
Where the Thrill Goes
Dopamine and PEA — your powerful attraction chemicals — are strong stuff. But, as with any high, it can't last. Intense feelings of euphoria and obsession start to wane. You again wonder what's been going on in the NFL or whether you should see your buddies. As you come down off the hard stuff, you may actually go through withdrawal, missing the high of the attraction stage.
How to Get the Love Buzz Back
You have a choice to make. Either you go right out and chase that high (and some comely tail) again, or you settle into the longer-term buzz of a committed relationship. Oxytocin and serotonin are your two best chemical friends for the drive toward your 25th wedding anniversary. They're not as exciting to the brain as the attraction chemicals, but they have longer-lasting effects. So you can trade the dizzying high for a sustainable one.
Of course, if you're really smart, you can inject the hot stuff back into any love relationship. Take her away on a trip, spoil her rotten with La Perla lingerie, send her flowers with a dirty note attached, and the little dopamine chemicals come back out and play. Just like the night you met her.
What Makes Your Eye Wander
Blame vasopressin. This hormone is involved in regulating sexual persistence, assertiveness, dominance, and territorial marking. And men have lots of it, naturally. In male voles (night-loving rodents, which probably describes you perfectly), the levels of vasopressin seem to make the difference between stay-at-home dads and one-night-stand artists. Your hormone levels are probably set at the genetics factory, but the more you give in to vasopressin, the more of it you produce. It's your choice.
Before you act on that attraction, here are 14 things your should think about before you cheat .
Should You Stay or Should You Go?
Only your prefrontal cortex knows for sure. Men who have healthy activity in their PFCs have greater empathy, can focus for longer periods of time, and tend to make better husbands. Men who have overactive PFCs tend to be obsessive, oppositional, and argumentative. This can turn them into major chick repellents.
Likewise, men who have low activity in the PFC tend to be impulsive (more vulnerable to affairs), easily distracted (lousier at listening), easily bored (more "business" trips to Vegas), and constantly scamming for that attraction high (more given to looking for love in all the wrong places). To keep your PFC firing on all cylinders, protect it from injury, which can come from using too much alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine. Better still, exercise your PFC by setting goals and following through on them.
Why the Guys in Bands Get Lucky
In a study in Finland, eight male volunteers underwent brain scans while they were having orgasms. (Must have been a fun study.) Overall bloodflow in the brain decreased during orgasm, but it skyrocketed in the right prefrontal cortex — as it does in creative people (like musicians) when they do their creative thing. Now, exactly why did you give up those guitar lessons?
Why She Moans During an Orgasm
It almost certainly doesn't have anything to do with you. In addition to its duties as an orgasm assistant, the right hemisphere has also been called the "God" area of the brain. When scientists stimulate the right hemisphere, their subjects have more religious or spiritual experiences. So it's not too much of a leap to guess that when she moans "Oh, God" in the throes of sexual ecstasy, she may be connecting pleasure to a deeper spiritual place in her brain. Music and dancing can jumpstart the right hemisphere, which means the nuns at your high school were right to discourage it.
10 things you should know about the female orgasm .
Why Her Orgasms are Like Paxil
Sexual climax has an antidepressant effect. Orgasms cause intense activity in the deep emotional parts of the brain, which then settle down when the sex is over. Antidepressants calm the same part of the brain. This calming effect may be why people who regularly have sex experience less depression.
Why It's Better if She Swallows
Prostaglandins, fatty acids found in semen, are absorbed by the vagina and may have a role in modulating female hormones and moods. I also feel duty-bound to report that women who perform oral sex on their mates are less likely to suffer from preeclampsia, a condition that causes a dangerous spike in women's blood pressure during pregnancy. Plus, sperm carries TGFbeta, a molecule that can boost the activities of her natural killer cells, which attack the rogue cells that give rise to tumors. Don't make her beg. Offer.
Why a Foot Massage is Foreplay
When you rub the arch of her right foot, you affect her about 30 inches higher, and a little to the left. The foot-sensation area of the brain is next door to the clitoral (and penile) region, which may be a big reason that women are so focused on shoes — yours and hers.
Carrie Bradshaw was on again, off again with any number of men, but her Manolos endured. And perhaps now we know why Imelda sought solace in 1,060 pairs of shoes. But even if you're not a Filipino dictator, you can make this work for you.
"There are 36,000 nerve endings in the foot," says Kathleen Miller-Read, a massage therapist and spokeswoman for the American Massage Therapy Association. "By exploring these, you can find sore spots all over the body."
If your girlfriend has her feet crammed in high heels all day, she's bound to have aching toes and a sore back. Use your thumb and forefinger to gently pull, twist, and rub below her toes. For her back, focus on the heel of her foot, moving your knuckles in a circular motion all over the heel. She'll let you know when it's working.
Where Your Kinkiness Come From
Weird sexual fetishes or fantasies are brain symptoms. They fall into the category of impulsive-compulsive disorders: impulsive when you can't control the behavior and compulsive when, even though you may want to, you can't stop.
A person who's prone to voyeurism, exhibitionism, bestiality, transvestism, S&M, or infantilism (deriving sexual pleasure from being treated like a baby) often has too much activity in the emotional parts of the brain, as we see in people who have obsessive-compulsive disorders, and too little activity in the PFC, or judgment center. A study of 26 men with unusual sexual fantasies found that using medications to balance these two areas of the brain gave the men significant relief. But then, so did wearing an adult diaper and being handed a rattle. You can't tell with some people. Some of those fantasies you can fulfill.
How to Control Your Brain
Even though men are programmed to look at beautiful women and populate the earth, the human brain, especially the prefrontal cortex, has evolved to the point where, with proper training, we can be thoughtful, goal-oriented, and focused on our families. You are not a rodent, doomed to follow the pattern of hormone receptors in your brain. Ask yourself: What are my goals for my relationships? Stay focused on loving and protecting the people in your life, and it's mind over what really matters.
By Daniel Amen, M.D., Men's Health
What Sex Does to a Man's Brain
The male brain on sex reacts similar to the way a cocaine addict's does. We investigate the science behind your most powerful natural drugs — sex and attraction.
You're sitting behind the wheel of your van at an everlasting traffic light. The only thing slower than the traffic is your perception of time's passage.
Then you notice her.
She appears at the curb, waiting to cross. No, she's not the love of your life. She's more like the heat of the moment. It's fortunate that your wife isn't there, otherwise you'd be in deep trouble as you take in the stranger's hips and breasts, and the way her waist scoops in to accentuate both. Time is enhanced; there's a pleasing buzz connecting your temples.
Your reaction is automatic, reflexive, and quite possibly the most powerful one you'll have this day. It temporarily blots out your long-range commitments — that 10-year marriage, that kid in second grade, that responsibility to keep eyes forward at traffic lights. You've surrendered control; you're captivated by the pleasure in the vision.
"You dog!" you may whisper under your breath, embarrassed by what you're envisioning as you sit there in your family van. But it might be more correct to say, "You dopamine fiend!" As a neuroscientist of 25 years, I know that your brain is command central for everything sexual.
When you spot the object of your desire, the neurotransmitter dopamine lights up areas deep within the brain, triggering feelings of pleasure, motivation, and reward. (Cocaine acts the same way.) You feel a rush, and your heartbeat quickens. Attraction, too, is a powerful drug. The brain stem also gets into the act, releasing phenylethylamine (PEA), which speeds up the flow of information between nerve cells. It's no wonder your neck and eyeballs track her every movement.
But she's not gawking back at you, and it's not just because you're driving a family bus with a paint scrape on the fender. Her brain acts very differently from yours. You're keyed in to beauty, shape, fantasy, and obsession; on some biological level that she may be unaware of, she's trolling for a mate who will sire healthy children and protect and provide for her and them. And yes, maybe even buy them a family van.
Learn the 50 things women wish men knew .
Her goals are programmed for the long range; yours are often shockingly short term, right up to and including thoughts of pedestrianophilia. And she knows it, which is why she presses those short-term buttons shotgun-style: She never knows when a suitable mate might be looking.
The whole encounter can leave you quivering with pleasure, hoping for more.
It can also hijack and ruin your life.
And between the "walk" and "don't walk" signals of delight and disaster, your brain is sorting information, making choices, spurring actions. But you don't want to passively accept all that, especially because your whole life is riding on the choices you make.
That's where I come in. I know the brain processes behind the temptations, and I can help you steer clear of trouble. After all, that woman in the crosswalk could help you realize your destiny, or derail it entirely. All the more reason to get to know that big sex organ between your ears so you can control the smaller, less important one between your legs.
Why You've Always Been Horny
You've been lit up on testosterone right from the start, even when you were just a multicelled notion in your mother's womb. The inherited Y chromosome that makes you male (thanks, Dad) triggers two bursts of testosterone that change your brain and body.
The first produces a male brain: one that's more interested in objects, actions, and competition. The left (parietal) lobe flourishes in the testosterone bath and helps you visualize objects in three dimensions (good for catching a football or watching a woman cross the street), and it boosts your aptitude in mathematics (that's how you estimate that she's about a 34DD). In addition, testosterone beefs up your hypothalamus, the area of the brain that's interested in sex. The hypothalamus is twice as large in men as it is in women.
Why You Become Hornier as a Teen
That's when the second big burst of testosterone hits, causing your hair to sprout everywhere, your voice to flip from Norah Jones to James Earl Jones, and your interest in third base to go from literal to metaphorical. (Touch 'em all!) Your body now harbors 20 times the level of testosterone found in girls your age, which accounts for your sexual obsessions.
Unfortunately, your brain is maladapted for sociability, so she can overwhelm you with words, and all you have to counter them is silent (thank goodness) adolescent lust. It's an advantage she has that you'll never make up. On your side of the ledger: Your left brain — the planning center — is massive, which helps in planning the Panama Canal, a rocket launch, or a lifetime of wedded bliss.
Why She Looks at Your Ring Finger
Because it knows and tells all. University of Liverpool researcher John Manning has determined that the size of a man's ring finger is related to how much testosterone he received in the womb. That's true of your penis, as well. The more T, the longer they grow. It's interesting to note that your digital symbol of virility is also the finger on which she slips the golden shackle during the wedding ceremony.
Why You Must Watch Your T-Levels
Women are more predisposed (in brain structure and hormone secretions) to settle down and start a family than you are. But committing to family life is easier for men who have lower testosterone levels. A study of more than 4,000 men found that men with high testosterone levels were 43 percent more likely to get divorced and 38 percent more likely to have extramarital affairs than men with less of the hormone.
Guys with high levels were also 50 percent less likely to marry in the first place. Men with the least testosterone were more likely to get and stay married, maybe because lower testosterone levels make men more cooperative. If you're too cooperative for your own good, build some muscle: It will increase testosterone levels over time. You can even coordinate dating with workouts. A study at Baylor University determined that testosterone levels were highest 48 hours after weight lifting.
Why You Should Marry After 25
Quite simply, a man's brain is incomplete before then. Sure, his sexual organs are all present and accounted for, but his prefrontal cortex (PFC) is still developing. Which is too bad, because that's the part of his brain that's involved in judgment, impulse control, organization, planning, forethought, and learning from mistakes. And it won't be fully developed until he's 25.
Why Beauties Make You Stupid
You act like a goof with the Hooters waitress, leaving a tip that doubles the bar bill. But why? Beautiful women cause a man's limbic system (the amygdala and other brain-stem structures, which are in charge of emotion) to fire up at the same time that his PFC checks out, leaving the judgment area vacant. Las Vegas casinos hire beautiful cocktail waitresses, dress them in low-cut tops and miniskirts, and have them pass out free alcohol — all of which encourages men's self-control to take the day trip to Hoover Dam. No wonder the house has the edge.
How You Can Get the Edge Back
When faced with the dilemma of a bad bet on a beautiful woman, remember that her beauty is fleeting, but a bad decision can last a lifetime. It's a very PFC sentiment, in fact.
Why You Love Porn
Guys aren't shallow; it's just that the visual parts of their brains are strong and tend to twang their emotions. Using sophisticated imaging equipment, researchers at Emory University in Atlanta found that the amygdala, which controls emotions and motivation, is much more activated in men than in women when they view sexual material for 30 minutes, even though both sexes report similar levels of interest.
This may be one of the reasons men are much more captivated by pornography than women: For men, it's not just porn, it's personal. Back in the real world, women hijack men's brains by appealing to their strong visual sense. But women can take in a guy's visuals and think, 'Yeah, but how much does he have in his 401(k)?' To avoid the tyranny of the visual, you need to kick-start your responsible prefrontal cortex by asking yourself, What's my goal in a relationship? That can divert you from those short-term, erotic visions.
How Your Nose Triggers an Erection
There's a direct connection between the olfactory bulb, at the top of your nose, and the septal area, the arousal center of your brain. When cells in your nose are stimulated, they send signals to your libido (and hers) to stand up and pay attention. You know what smells turn you on — the evidence is obvious.
As for her, a study at the University of California at Berkeley found that women become aroused when exposed to a chemical called 4.16-androstadien-3-one (AND). The good news? AND occurs naturally in men's sweat, hair, and skin. Take her someplace cold on your date — the favorite jacket or sweater you'll conveniently have on hand to lend her should be loaded with the stuff.
Discover the surprising link between lust and hunger .
Why You Lose Your Erection in Bed
Maybe little Willie is nervous during his big moment onstage. Performance anxiety is about the fear of being judged or not living up to expectations. The body is programmed to see anxiety as a threat, and the nervous system sets up the fight-or-flight response, sending out chemicals to protect us: Our heart races, muscles tense, and blood is shunted from our hands, feet, and penis to the large muscles of the shoulders and hips so we can fight or run away. That's not such a good strategy in bed, however.
Why You Can Be Addicted to Love
As with obsessive-compulsive disorder, love decreases brain levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for mood and flexibility. Low serotonin means you can get stuck on ideas — you become obsessed. Which is just fine, unless she suddenly dumps you. That's when the short supply of serotonin makes you vulnerable to depression. In extreme cases, the serotonin shortage can trigger obsessive behaviors, such as exhibiting extreme jealousy or even stalking.
To get those serotonin levels back up before the police come, try exercising more, eating more carbs, and generally distracting your lonesome thoughts. (Road trip!) All of them will boost your serotonin levels.
Why Touch Strengthens the Bond
Oxytocin is your brain's love juice: the bonding and attachment hormone. When you feel connected, empathic, in love, the oxytocin jets are spurting. Women have naturally higher levels of this chemical: It boosts nonsexual bonding between a mother and newborn, and it's responsible for putting babies to sleep after they nurse.
Though both men and women secrete an extra jolt of oxytocin during orgasm, we men go through a 500 percent surge — which explains our special talent for falling asleep immediately after sex. If she complains that she doesn't feel close enough, ask for her help readjusting your oxytocin levels.
Why Women are the Dumpers
Women have greater access to the more negative right side of the brain, one of the reasons they suffer from depression twice as much as men. The right hemisphere also allows women to see the gestalt, or big picture, of relationships, so they tend to know before men when a relationship is not working out.
Where the Thrill Goes
Dopamine and PEA — your powerful attraction chemicals — are strong stuff. But, as with any high, it can't last. Intense feelings of euphoria and obsession start to wane. You again wonder what's been going on in the NFL or whether you should see your buddies. As you come down off the hard stuff, you may actually go through withdrawal, missing the high of the attraction stage.
How to Get the Love Buzz Back
You have a choice to make. Either you go right out and chase that high (and some comely tail) again, or you settle into the longer-term buzz of a committed relationship. Oxytocin and serotonin are your two best chemical friends for the drive toward your 25th wedding anniversary. They're not as exciting to the brain as the attraction chemicals, but they have longer-lasting effects. So you can trade the dizzying high for a sustainable one.
Of course, if you're really smart, you can inject the hot stuff back into any love relationship. Take her away on a trip, spoil her rotten with La Perla lingerie, send her flowers with a dirty note attached, and the little dopamine chemicals come back out and play. Just like the night you met her.
What Makes Your Eye Wander
Blame vasopressin. This hormone is involved in regulating sexual persistence, assertiveness, dominance, and territorial marking. And men have lots of it, naturally. In male voles (night-loving rodents, which probably describes you perfectly), the levels of vasopressin seem to make the difference between stay-at-home dads and one-night-stand artists. Your hormone levels are probably set at the genetics factory, but the more you give in to vasopressin, the more of it you produce. It's your choice.
Before you act on that attraction, here are 14 things your should think about before you cheat .
Should You Stay or Should You Go?
Only your prefrontal cortex knows for sure. Men who have healthy activity in their PFCs have greater empathy, can focus for longer periods of time, and tend to make better husbands. Men who have overactive PFCs tend to be obsessive, oppositional, and argumentative. This can turn them into major chick repellents.
Likewise, men who have low activity in the PFC tend to be impulsive (more vulnerable to affairs), easily distracted (lousier at listening), easily bored (more "business" trips to Vegas), and constantly scamming for that attraction high (more given to looking for love in all the wrong places). To keep your PFC firing on all cylinders, protect it from injury, which can come from using too much alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine. Better still, exercise your PFC by setting goals and following through on them.
Why the Guys in Bands Get Lucky
In a study in Finland, eight male volunteers underwent brain scans while they were having orgasms. (Must have been a fun study.) Overall bloodflow in the brain decreased during orgasm, but it skyrocketed in the right prefrontal cortex — as it does in creative people (like musicians) when they do their creative thing. Now, exactly why did you give up those guitar lessons?
Why She Moans During an Orgasm
It almost certainly doesn't have anything to do with you. In addition to its duties as an orgasm assistant, the right hemisphere has also been called the "God" area of the brain. When scientists stimulate the right hemisphere, their subjects have more religious or spiritual experiences. So it's not too much of a leap to guess that when she moans "Oh, God" in the throes of sexual ecstasy, she may be connecting pleasure to a deeper spiritual place in her brain. Music and dancing can jumpstart the right hemisphere, which means the nuns at your high school were right to discourage it.
10 things you should know about the female orgasm .
Why Her Orgasms are Like Paxil
Sexual climax has an antidepressant effect. Orgasms cause intense activity in the deep emotional parts of the brain, which then settle down when the sex is over. Antidepressants calm the same part of the brain. This calming effect may be why people who regularly have sex experience less depression.
Why It's Better if She Swallows
Prostaglandins, fatty acids found in semen, are absorbed by the vagina and may have a role in modulating female hormones and moods. I also feel duty-bound to report that women who perform oral sex on their mates are less likely to suffer from preeclampsia, a condition that causes a dangerous spike in women's blood pressure during pregnancy. Plus, sperm carries TGFbeta, a molecule that can boost the activities of her natural killer cells, which attack the rogue cells that give rise to tumors. Don't make her beg. Offer.
Why a Foot Massage is Foreplay
When you rub the arch of her right foot, you affect her about 30 inches higher, and a little to the left. The foot-sensation area of the brain is next door to the clitoral (and penile) region, which may be a big reason that women are so focused on shoes — yours and hers.
Carrie Bradshaw was on again, off again with any number of men, but her Manolos endured. And perhaps now we know why Imelda sought solace in 1,060 pairs of shoes. But even if you're not a Filipino dictator, you can make this work for you.
"There are 36,000 nerve endings in the foot," says Kathleen Miller-Read, a massage therapist and spokeswoman for the American Massage Therapy Association. "By exploring these, you can find sore spots all over the body."
If your girlfriend has her feet crammed in high heels all day, she's bound to have aching toes and a sore back. Use your thumb and forefinger to gently pull, twist, and rub below her toes. For her back, focus on the heel of her foot, moving your knuckles in a circular motion all over the heel. She'll let you know when it's working.
Where Your Kinkiness Come From
Weird sexual fetishes or fantasies are brain symptoms. They fall into the category of impulsive-compulsive disorders: impulsive when you can't control the behavior and compulsive when, even though you may want to, you can't stop.
A person who's prone to voyeurism, exhibitionism, bestiality, transvestism, S&M, or infantilism (deriving sexual pleasure from being treated like a baby) often has too much activity in the emotional parts of the brain, as we see in people who have obsessive-compulsive disorders, and too little activity in the PFC, or judgment center. A study of 26 men with unusual sexual fantasies found that using medications to balance these two areas of the brain gave the men significant relief. But then, so did wearing an adult diaper and being handed a rattle. You can't tell with some people. Some of those fantasies you can fulfill.
How to Control Your Brain
Even though men are programmed to look at beautiful women and populate the earth, the human brain, especially the prefrontal cortex, has evolved to the point where, with proper training, we can be thoughtful, goal-oriented, and focused on our families. You are not a rodent, doomed to follow the pattern of hormone receptors in your brain. Ask yourself: What are my goals for my relationships? Stay focused on loving and protecting the people in your life, and it's mind over what really matters.
16 December 2009
14 December 2009
~ Samantha Valentine ~
Well this is the LAST working Monday for me of 2009. I won't miss it at all. Started with a cold winter morning that with the windchill felt like -41......yeah good old Canadian winters. I am however so happy to be close to my Christmas Holidays. I am off after work on Dec.18th and then back at the job on Jan.4th. Looking forward to time with friends and family, the cats and just being able to relax and re-charge the battery for another semester.
I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying life. I have not been too busy with photography but will start posting more of my edits, NEW and some OLD on my blog as much as I can. I do love writing on my blog and sharing work. Not sure who out there reads it as I never get too many comments.....don't be scared to comment. I appreciate comments. :)
-Randy
Labels:
Samantha Valentine
09 December 2009
~ Sketch Below ~
The image below is done by a student, she is an awesome artist and loves anime. She gave me this sketch to colour, I love to colour in photoshop so it was a lot of fun to make. :)
Labels:
anime,
colouring,
digital art
05 December 2009
~ SNOW ~
So Alberta is in the midst of some sweet snow. Looks more and MORE like Christmas. Loving it. Jenn and I are so close to a clean basement, we made GREAT progress yesterday!!!
I am very happy to have made it home safely from Edmonton yesterday on those slippery roads. Just need to go slow and sure and no need to drive a GAS hog SUV.
Here is an edit of Ryan and Erin....from a much warmer time with less snow!! :)
I am very happy to have made it home safely from Edmonton yesterday on those slippery roads. Just need to go slow and sure and no need to drive a GAS hog SUV.
Here is an edit of Ryan and Erin....from a much warmer time with less snow!! :)
Labels:
christmas,
couples,
erin and ryan,
love,
snow
02 December 2009
01 December 2009
~ Photos for Friends ~
Christmas photo for Tia, her Grandson and Dogs! :)
And my photography buddy Tara!! :)
Taken Canada Day 2009!!! :)
Labels:
canada day,
friends,
portraits
30 November 2009
~ For Tia ~
I worked with an AWESOME E.A. named Tia and this is her Grandson and dog. :) She brought them to my studio for some photos. It was a LOT of fun! :)
She has recently sold her farm and is moving to BC to be with her daughter and Grandson. Congrats Tia!!!
27 November 2009
~ Weekend ~
I am excited the weekend is here. So close now to December!!! Looking forward to the weekend a lot. This picture was taken on a photowalk with my school's photography club. I grabbed the G7 and had a LOT of fun shooting with it. Love that little camera.
Labels:
canon g7,
g7,
photography club
21 November 2009
20 November 2009
~ WEEKEND ALERT ~
I am a HUGE fan of the weekend. Got my report cards done and looking forward to some rest. Next week is just as busy, parent teacher interview action. FUN FUN!!! Gonna rock a little Call of Duty Modern Warefare 2 this weekend. :)
Here is a Madison edit, done with the homemade ring light.
19 November 2009
~ Madison ~
Yay, the Edmonton Oilers won....I was surprised to be honest. I was watching the game and Colorado was in control. School work called so I had to let it go. Then I came back after work and my friend Sonny told me the Oil came back. Sorry Oil for doubting, but only 2 wins out of the last 12 games does not make for hope.
Work this year has been quite busy and stressful. I am trying to stay afloat. It feels like every day is a rollercoaster ride. I am just hoping to make it to Christmas and hopefully re-charge the batteries before I hit the second semester and off I go again.
Work this year has been quite busy and stressful. I am trying to stay afloat. It feels like every day is a rollercoaster ride. I am just hoping to make it to Christmas and hopefully re-charge the batteries before I hit the second semester and off I go again.
Good news about my Dad!!! He is basically done his cancer treatments and will be heading home soon. I hope the doctors will give him great news once all is said and done with the treatments. I have not really been writing much in my blog, mostly because I have been crazy busy. I will try and post more here. I have some work I have been doing but have not been able to post it to the blog. Hopefully I'll be able to get some of it up soon. I have been just posting shots from a shoot I did with Madison recently. It was her birthday yesterday, happy be-lated BDAY Madison.
Labels:
alienbee,
madison north,
model,
studio photography
17 November 2009
15 November 2009
09 November 2009
07 November 2009
04 November 2009
~ Forza 3 ~
An Animoto Video to show off my Forza SKILLZ of painting cars and making custom designs! For those that do not know Forza, it's a racing game that allows people to own dream cars and customize them. If you are patient you can use the custom graphics editor to create decals and apply them to your car. It's got insane customization options. Love this game. :)
-Randy
-Randy
Labels:
cars,
forza 3,
paint designs,
racing games,
xbox 360
~ Animoto Coolness ~
I created an new animoto show starring Madison North from our shoot. Enjoy.
Labels:
animoto,
beauty,
madison north,
randy pond photography,
slide show,
video
03 November 2009
01 November 2009
~ Madison ~
Madison pulling off a quick look behind pose. She spun really quick a few times and this was a capture from that series of poses.
Labels:
madison north,
model,
studio
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