Tropical Imaging

Then don't call yet, you're hurt right now, which is what they want...you need to get a little angry really. Take a deep breath. Find something you love to do, and walk away from this for a little while. I find working out hard helps to get those knots out of my stomach when I am stressed. Once you have taken a little time for yourself, decide: what is the worst case scenario that you will allow to happen (the actual worst case scenario is that things stay as they are, which you cannot allow) so the worst thing that you will allow to happen is that all contact will be severed and they don't ever come around. So digest that in your brain and realize that anything else will be better. Practice in the mirror , with a friend, or your FI the conversation you will have with your parents, even better, have FI be you and you be your M&D saying the things you fear they might say and see how he handles it, come at him with all of the things you think they might say and watch how he deals with it, it could give you some great ideas. Practice, practice practice and then when you can be calm, call. It may be a while, but they will realize as well that you are serious. Stress like this can break down your immune system and really do damage. Staying in the same situation is not an option. You need to take care of yourself, just as you would advise a friend to do in the same situation. Don't call until you have practiced and have control. Give yourself a big hug!!!! And don't feel guilty stepping away from all of this by yourself or with FI and doing something you enjoy. Krys

I heard a quote a while ago I think is appropriate to remember.... The definition of insanity is treating someone the same way and expecting different results. You have tried being nice, kind and caring and your parents haven't changed, obviously continuing to act that way is not going to change the situation. If you want a different result, you have to do what you have done, act differently. You may not get the result you want (which is a good relationship with your family) but you will know where you stand. And you will stay healthy. If you do talk to them, sometimes it helps to reflect their actions back to them....Instead of "I don't like how you treat me and my FI, you're not nice". Try, "It's obvious my relationship upsets you and I don't want to hurt you, therefore it would be better for me to not hurt you anymore by staying away, and then you can be happy"....It's harder to argue with that (you are the one making the sacrifice for their happiness!!!)....find a few phrases like that and write them down and repeat them over and over again in the conversation. Don't let them get you to react, that is what they want: a reaction, the less you react the less they get what they want which is control. If they can't talk rationally, let them know you certainly don't want to upset them anymore and will hang up and if they want to work on this to please call. Again, Do not react, that is what they want...stay calm and remember if you get angry, cry etc, they have control... Good Luck, I have some family right now dealing with this kind of issue...when they finally put their foot down, it was really hard, but even though they may never have contact with the others again, a huge weight is gone and they are smiling again. Krys

Angel thanks and you're right, 10 weeks is plenty of time. Our front garden was stripped of leaves on Sunday and today there is 3-4 days of budding on all of the plants/trees/bushes. I am actually a vendor (photography in the Turks and Caicos) and have been married now for 12 great years and 2 kids to a super guy. We work with brides all of the time and my husband always laughs because even with all of the weddings we shoot, I still get choked up at the ceremony. I know you will have a super day. Krys

Okay Angel, this is good and I am going to tell you why! Pools get all sort of muck in them during hurricanes, and it overwhelms the chlorine...(think of 40 dirty construction workers all using the same bathtub of water.) They need to do some good vacuuming and skimming and shocking it and I would say in a week or so at most it will be beautiful blue. The Trees are standing!!!! and have a lot of foilage on them...Which means a few days of clean up and trim work it will be beautiful. The Thatching on the cabana area to the left lost some but not everything...Thatching is a fairly quick repair and not reliant on getting supplies from elsewhere. The pool cabana (with the pool roof) is standing, if it had been a really bad hit, the way hurricanes come through the roof would be gone. (our sun porch is actually designed to tear away and save our regular roof because it would be much more vulnerable to lift off). Finally, No concrete or structure damage, that I could see, and based on the video if there had been structural damage, I think it would have been on video. My guess it was done the morning after...I would expect the resort is quite on it's way to being back to it's beautiful self soon! I've seen a lot of "after a hurricane looks" up close and personal, and while this might be "shocking", I think you will be good to go especially as morgan said there was a press release saying things were good. Videos always show the "worst" and this is all minor and quick fixes. Krys

And Angel, I completely understand the anxiety involved with this...especially because it is something you can't control (I was in bits when we came to the US leaving hubby on island). Our internet came up yesterday and we have been dealing with so many emails from our brides who have been sick with worry. I hope you get some good news sooner rather than later. Good Luck, Krys

Angel, I completely understand, and it's going to be a super day I know. What I was trying to get across, not too well obviously, is that no pictures at this point are a good thing. We've found that the tourists on the island when our storms hit (although most were evacuated), were posting damaged areas all over the web, but there were still no photos of the resorts...because there wasn't any damage to show...so no one took photos of a regular resort with no damage...how exciting is that? Still 5 days later, the only photos of resorts on island are the ones my hubby went around and took with the specific purpose to show the resorts in good condition (and some people don't believe it). I guarantee you if there had been major damage and a tourist had seen it, the photos would be all over right now...it's the way the world is. Photos of no damage will take a while because people aren't thinking about that in the resorts. The fact there has been a positive press release is a great sign, they don't do that if things aren't good. Long post short...No photos is good news....I can't guarantee anything, but the only resort that had damage where we were, announced it within 24 hours of the storm leaving, The rest of the resorts that were fine took 5-6 days and some are just issuing all is fine reports now... I need to go into Hurricane Public Relations for these resorts....they don't realize the stress on the guests not knowing anything! Keep your hopes high. Krys

The reason you are not seeing photographs is because 1. People are busy dealing with their homes and families. When a hurricane comes towards up, we have to box up everything in our office and move it to our home. Help the kids school get boarded up and take everything down, bag it, box it and get it up on tables etc in case of flooding. Then our home has to be secured in the same way. The first 3-4 days after a hurricane are unboarding, unboxing and moving things back to their places and helping others do the same. 2. All of these things are done without power as power lines are the first to go down, and cell phone service while operational isn't great as cell towers go down in winds as well. Hotels usually only have a bare boned staff on site as they allow their workers to get their homes and families sorted and cleaned up. 3. Internet is also down with power and that can be awhile. You can't send or post photos (or even get them onto a computer) when you don't have power. Ike hit us on Sat/Sun, our office still doesn't have internet as a fiber optic cable had a huge break. Our home just got power yesterday with many on island still without for another week or so... 4. I relayed reports of the damage to my hubby from the US (where I was with the kids) as they couldn't get info via regular sources and with trees down and power lines down, you don't go cruising for photos. The people who are taking photos though are taking them to show the damage....if you haven't seen your report, damage isn't as severe as what you are seeing on the reports. I guarantee you if the hotel was severely damaged....you would be seeing lots of photos. Give the people a chance to take a breath and get sorted. Clean up after a hurricane is exhausting even when your home and family are safe. I speak from being there many times. Think happy thoughts....I think you'll be surprised. Krys

I also want to say the difference between our island and the islands of Grand Turk and South Caicos are less than 50 miles south...we sustained Cat 1-2 winds, those islands got the full force of a Cat 4. We feel very lucky as it could have been horrific. Hopefully we will get our sister islands back and better than ever soon.

I would also wait and keep in touch with your travel agent. News agencies across the board reported that 85% of the Turks and Caicos Islands were destroyed. Actually 2 of our islands ARE devastated but our main island was spared and the resort district didn't even loose power during the storm. The rumors are still running rampant as the photos you are going to see are of destruction...News organizations aren't going to show pretty resorts with minor cosmetic damage. Continue checking with your travel agent...if the hotel is saying minor damage, it usually is the case. As for trees/vegetation...with the amount of rain we have received, Plants get back to normal very quickly. It was the Trip Advisor forums that many were stating the resorts were gone as well. I had my husband take photos of many of the resorts and the beach less than 24 hours after the storm before the beach clean up...people still are questioning that they are real based on everything else the news is reporting...I know they are real...but now we are having to fight a greater economic disaster because the news organizations want drama. Have faith and fingers crossed all is okay. Krys This is what our resort area looked like less than 24hours after ike had passed http://blog.tropicalimaging.com/2008...rovidenciales/ The news organizations report otherwise!

If you want to check on Jamaica in general from those on the island, go to Caribbean Hurricane Network - stormCARIB.com - Local Reports on Tropical Systems threatening the Caribbean Islands and on the right hand side click on the Jamaica reports. People on island email in reports from there on damage and what is going on in the various areas and post photos. That might help give you a bit of peace of mind before Gustav comes your way. Stay safe and dry. Krys

I worked for 5 years when I got out of university as an investment manager/fund trader. Made great money, loved the fast paced environment and did really well with clients and money management. However, I put everything into work and never had time for anything else. So at the age of 26, I quit my job, sold my house and car (and pretty much everything else) and moved to the Caribbean to be a master dive instructor. Big switch in lifestyle and pay. Loved every minute of it. Met my husband and ended up buying an underwater photography/video business and filming and shooting dolphins/sharks/ whales etc and teaching underwater photography occasionally as well. After a few years we kept getting requests from businesses on island to do commercial work and then family and portrait work (sharks are a breeze compared to small children...LOL) and weddings. Now thirteen years later, we only do about 10% of underwater photography. Love every minute of it. I highly recommend following your passion, I find that if you love what you do, everything falls into place! Krys

If you want to check on whats going on weather wise, with Gustav or any hurricanes, Keep watch on Caribbean Hurricane Network - stormCARIB.com - Local Reports on Tropical Systems threatening the Caribbean Islands If you look to the right of the home page, you'll see countries listed. These are reports from people on island, they log in and give assessments of the weather and updates, before and after hurricanes and during if possible. Based on reports from there. They are still feeling effects on parts of the island. Flooding and power outages are being reported in different regions with bridges being out. Cayman was just starting to see the outer bands coming through this morning. It's one of the best places we in the caribbean keep apprised of the storms as the US based weather sites and channels focus on when it's going to hit the US. Also the best tracking in the past we've seen is on Welcome to Weather Underground : Weather Underground Stay safe all! Krys

I am so glad to help. If you have a material store in your area, keep an eye out (especially this time of year) for sales on chiffons and even silks in bright and tropical colors. I love blues and coral colors. Pick up about 4 yards of your favorite to take to do some flowing fabric shots...really fun. Also, Closer to the wedding, appoint someone to help you to remember to be drinking water on a very regular basis (every couple of hours). It is so easy to get dehydrated in the tropics and at your wedding as you are so busy and the pregnancy will add a new layer to that. Water will help your energy levels and keep swelling down (if applicable, I had swelling with my first not with my second). Additionally if you do have swelling on holiday, my Dr said the best thing to do was to get in the sea or the pool up to my neck and float for awhile....(you know how you always have to go to the bathroom after swimming...well there is some medical basis to the body getting rid of extra fluids when immersed in water) , It really helps. Have a great time....HYDRATE HYDRATE and get excited about all of these amazing events coming up! Krys

Keep your photographer, but instead of having a TTD session, bring some flowing types of fabric and do a cool maternity shoot. 7 months is the perfect time. We've had a few maternity shoots over the years on island and they are so fun. Most of them are not on our blog as our moms have been very daring and choose not to have them online, but here's an idea. http://blog.tropicalimaging.com/2008...nths/#more-529 http://blog.tropicalimaging.com/2007...-and/#more-381 and a couple of samples are in this post http://blog.tropicalimaging.com/2008/05/27/fathers-day/ We have a few more in our portrait gallery on our website as well. Get excited about what amazing maternity shots you'll have and maybe you can make plans to have a family portrait shoot a year later. (We have a few families that started as brides/engagements and come back every year to have us document their lives from maternity onward.) Here is a recent family that has come every year since their engagement/wedding/maternity... http://blog.tropicalimaging.com/2008...rains-part-ii/ I hope some of these can help you get excited about some amazing photographs you can get!!! Congratulations. Krys

Quote: Originally Posted by Melissa G We are thinking about leaving tomorrow morning so that we can get there and then hope we don't get hit. I get so worried that we will not get there on Thursday and if we get there on Friday I don't know if we would still be able to get married on Saturday due to the 48 hours thing. If you can get on a flight tomorrow, I would do that. Based on the tracking (and on my past experience), I would be surprised if any flights go on Thursday, and Friday will be packed with passengers whose flights were cancelled trying to go on Friday. Gustav is tracking more over Haiti than expected which will pull it slightly further north of Jamaica hopefully. Good luck. Take flashlights for Thursday! Krys

The best Caribbean site for keeping track of storms is Caribbean Hurricane Network - stormCARIB.com - Local Reports on Tropical Systems threatening the Caribbean Islands and Welcome to Weather Underground : Weather Underground They give a very balanced view of storms during hurricane season vs some of the hype from US stations and sites. They additionally have locals reporting in from the islands as well if you want to see what's going on. Welcome to Weather Underground : Weather Underground is very good tracking storms/depressions/waves etc. Go to the tropical/hurricane section for tracking estimates/strength and timings etc. For guests leaving tomorrow or Thursday, they may want to call the airline today and get advice and see if the airline recommends changing to Friday arrival. The airline wants to avoid all of the standby flying that comes with canceled and postponed flights, you may find they can give your family members some direction. By the looks on Wunderground you should be fine for Friday and Saturday, but the airports may be closed on Thurs if the storm strengthens to a cat 1. Check with the hotel and airline today so you can beat all of those waiting until the last minute. Good luck! Krys

I may be able to offer an explanation based on living in the caribbean for 13 years now. When you send items to a foreign country, you need to check if there are customs duties on the items being sent. In most Caribbean countries, there is an import duty on most items that come in irregardless of who is sending them and what they are sending them for. If a receipt for the value of the items is not included in the package (or if the items are handmade) my experience has been that customs can and will create a price for it. What your mom paid was customs duties or tax, which in most caribbean countries is over 25%, I would expect they included a clearing charge as well as fed ex handled all of the government paperwork which is standard. For example, In the Turks and Caicos there is a 33% for all items except printed materials or computers. (Importing Cars is 45% on the price of the vehicle). If I have items for my house shipped to me, clothes sent, items for my business brought in (yes that means cameras etc) I pay 33% tax to the government. Now we don't pay income or personal property tax or sales tax etc but we do pay customs duty on EVERYTHING. This is how many of these countries governments make money as all items food and otherwise is taxable. This also is why in many countries food/beer/t shirts etc, cost a lot more than at home. They have a 30-40% tax plus shipping costs added on. (For example I pay over $6.00 for a gallon of milk.) When I moved here 14 years ago, I had a relative who decided to send a christmas package to me (despite repeated requests to send nothing). It was a decorative set of 4 desert spoons that were probably worth $15. Because there were no receipts to the value enclosed, they valued them at around $75 and also charged me for clearing (which is standard as fed ex does the clearing paperwork for you). I ended up paying about $100 for $15 spoons (and I pull them out every christmas and make my family use them). Customs and duty is not charged by Fed Ex for the shipping, the price you pay is shipping only (same applies for DHL, UPS, etc). Customs fees and clearing fees are assessed on island. I don't see much recourse really. Sorry. You can try, but I highly doubt there will be a refund of any kind. For anyone shipping anything ahead of your wedding. First check what the countries duties are for imported items, your wedding coordinator or hotel contact should know. If you are shipping, enclose copies of receipts and take copies with you to show the shipper as they make request them. Do not wait for Fed ex to contact you. Contact them, they will advise on duties and clearing fees owed. Sorry your weren't given the heads up beforehand, I hope this story can save someone else the headache. I am so glad that you had a great day despite this. Krys The best best is to ask for relatives etc to pack your things amongst themselves and help you bring it on island. Less hassle, and cheaper! And no worries on tax.

oops double posted....see my response below

It just developed into a tstorm today, The DR may have gotten a bit of rain a few days ago and some wind but it wasn't organized at all when it went south of the DR. She's enjoying the sun I am sure; I am in the states on holiday with my girls right now, but hubby and the rest of our staff have been in the T&C shooting weddings all week last week and weather has been great (the Turks and Caicos is 70 miles north of the DR). Krys

For any bride who is watching the weather in the Caribbean...many of us who live in the region follow Caribbean Hurricane Network - stormCARIB.com - Local Reports on Tropical Systems threatening the Caribbean Islands It's a great little website which in addition to following potential storms and named storms has sections for locals to post what is going on weather wise and sets up special sections if storms do hit for locals to get information on regions and even specific resorts. Many times the US weather sites and news channels ignore the islands or completely blow things out of proportion and you can get a really good view on storm carib before and after storms go through (I have no affiliation with this site, we just watch it daily during hurricane season). Another good place to also check is Welcome to Weather Underground : Weather Underground on the tropical reports when a storm is named. They do great tracking and thorough models as well. Krys

You both sound like you have the right attitude about the diving and the love of it. I would go for it. The advanced course this summer is a great way to get a taste for it. I think you'll be fine. We're in the midst of super busy season right now, but when I get a chance I'll ask a couple of our photographers who went there last year. Krys

Andy and I had met each other and dated 5 months before he proposed. We got married 6 weeks later. We celebrate our 12th anniversary this year. Krys

So sorry to hear this. I would suggest you call your photographer and explain ASAP. He/She wants you to be happy, relaxed and excited about the shoot. I would ask if you could change the date. Most photographers would want to work with their clients to make sure they are thrilled with the photos! Give them a call tomorrow! Krys

Quote: Originally Posted by Abbie hi krys! where do you work?? We're a photography company in the Turks and Caicos...we work with all of the resorts here. (It's a small island LOL) I think there are a lot of brides that probably pack the knife set to keep it safe and forget the TSA rules. I could easily see myself doing it! I would hate for something that someone spent time and money picking out going into the bin. Krys

Just a reminder for Brides traveling, we just had a Bride and Groom that put their Cake cutting knife and server in their hand luggage. The knife got tossed obviously.... Put that in your checked luggage. Krys