My pet peeve about direct sales consultants is that they can come off a little pushy or they don’t understand when you say you simply don’t need their product.

Not so with Kim Fish of Cookie Lee Jewelry.

I’ve attended numerous shows and held my own private party with Kim and she is not only laid back about her sales but her personality brings every event to a whole new level. I’ve never felt like I “had” to buy a piece from her show and she’s constantly rewarding loyal customers with discounts.

Kim also knows how to let her products sell themselves. She has a great fashion sense and wears the jewelry in different ways so others can see how to dress up their own outfits.

I think people are drawn to Kim because she’s easy to get along with, fun and stylish. Plus, she manages a home, husband and three great kids in addition to running this business full-time for four years. I admire her for being able to juggle it all and still look great doing it!

We’ve worked together in BLAB and for Bras & Boas events. I feel confident partnering with her because I know she’ll represent herself well and I have nothing to worry about.

To check out Kim’s jewelry please visit http://www.cookielee.biz/esuite/home/kimberlyfish.

*Photo by JLP*

I had no idea what poor shape my back was in until I made an appointment with Dr. Carrie Oleston and Dr. Cindy Perkins at Back in Health Wellness in Lutz, Florida.

As photographers, we accept that with the job comes lower back pain, neck pain and general muscle soreness due to all the weird positions we get in to shoot photos and all the heavy gear we lift.

However, I didn’t know there was a way to manage the pain and feel good until I met ‘Dr. Carrie’ and ‘Dr. Cindy’ in a networking group called Business Ladies Advancing Business (BLAB). These ladies do so much more than chiropractic care. I’ve received adjustments from them as well as acupuncture and massage therapy. All of which have helped me do my job better and I have a shorter recovery period (if any) after a very long photo session.

They also helped me after I was involved in a minor car accident. I didn’t have any major physical damage but my neck and back did not fare well after the crash. So, they made a plan for me to heal and a few months later, I was back to normal.

At Back in Health, the staff is friendly and helpful, which makes going to the doctor that much easier. I have benefited from pharmaceutical-grade multivitamins, Biofreeze and back and head pillows purchased at the office. All of the services and products they provide truly do inspire a ‘complete health treatment’ for your body.

To learn more about these lovely ladies, please visit their site: www.backinhealthwellness.com.

*Photos by JLP*

Toyota executives apologized today for the problems concerning sudden acceleration in some of their vehicles while continuing to deny that the problems are related to electromagnetic interference (EMI). However, others like United Kingdom-based EMI expert Keith Armstrong believe that the acceleration problem is linked to EMI and that the tests performed were not comprehensive enough to decide the root of the problem.

I photographed Armstrong for a USA Today story and while only one of his portraits was published inside the Money Section today, I thought I’d share a few of them that I liked.

Armstrong was photographed at a hotel in Brooksville, Florida while he was visiting the U.S. on business.

Fitness trainer helped Tampa photographer Jessica Leigh get fit and healthy in boot camp.

When it comes to exercise, I quit everything. I’ll try a kickboxing class, buy a Tae Bo DVD or join a gym and within a few months, I have wasted my time and money.

That all changed when I met Carrie Kukuda in 2009. We met as members of a networking group called BLAB, Business Ladies Advancing Business. She pitched herself as a life coach, a nutrition expert and a fitness trainer. Kukuda backed up all of her credentials with results.

I have been in her boot camp for approximately five months, attending a session at least twice a week. For exercise enthusiasts, that may not sound like dedication. But I can now admit I am completely addicted to Carrie’s boot camp and have no intention of quitting.

I schedule clients and personal appointments around boot camp. If I have to miss one, I work hard to fit in a “make up camp” as soon as possible. When I go on vacation, I do similar work outs so I don’t get off track when I return. I make better food choices and look forward to the “high” I get after I’m done with a session.

Since I lift heavy gear and end up in strange positions for my job as a photographer, I always have back pain and muscle soreness after shoots. Being active in boot camp has helped me gain muscle strength and stamina while I’m on my feet for hours.

Kukuda’s classes are different because I never know what to expect each day I come to camp. And I not only have accountability with Carrie but also with the other people I’ve bonded with in camp. If someone misses a day, we all ask where they are and what their excuse is for missing.

I asked Carrie to explain why she does what she does. She said, “I do what I do because I am passionate about helping people. I have a gift I can offer them to help them change their lives. It is not a job to me, it is who I am. It is what gets me up in the morning at 4am and it's what makes me happy when I go to bed at night. People should live their best life and I am happy to share the tools for them to make it happen.”

To find out more about Carrie, visit www.thesomedaycoach.com.

A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Maya Tucker shot this photo of a neighbor holding her baby out of her window as her apartment filled with smoke from a fire that started in a closet. What’s even more interesting is that Maya Tucker is not a professional photographer. When I first saw this photo, I thought it was a great moment caught by a New York Daily News photojournalist and “right place, right time.” Not so.

Great moments can be caught by anyone but it’s rare to have a news-worthy moment documented by an amateur photographer. I applaud Maya for having the guts to photograph this—most bystanders do not think to pick up a camera during a crisis situation.

As newspaper photojournalists, we are trained from day one to do our job, do it well and shoot first, and then ask for forgiveness. If there was a photographer on scene, I’m guessing neighbors might have been watching him or her, wondering how he or she could take photos at a time like this. In the news business, we are forced to separate ourselves from the subjects, even if those subjects are victims.

During my five years as a newspaper photographer, I witnessed countless situations that broke my heart. The last and final adventure I had was covering Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I realized after that week that I was not born to be a newspaper photographer. Some are born to cover natural disasters, wars and devastation. I am not one of them.

I'm very excited to be photographing James Bain this week. I'd like to hear what his life has been like behind bars for 35 years, as an innocent man. Polaris Images has asked me to photograph him at his Tampa home for a French Sunday newspaper called Le Journal du Dimache.

Bain was released from prison in December after serving a prison term for raping a 9-year-old boy in Lake Wales in 1974. He has repeatedly asked for DNA testing over the years to prove his innocence. In July, a judge granted his request and he was exonerated of all charges.

When Bain was released, his first requests were to have a glazed doughnut, a Mello Yello and spearmint gum. It makes me a little more thankful for all the simple pleasures I take for granted on a daily basis.

ABC News recently obtained new photos from the 9/11 attacks after filing a Freedom of Information Act request in 2009 with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The photos show a different view of what happened that day and how far and wide the damage spread. Will these images help people to rebuild and "never forget" or will they just bring back bad memories? View a gallery of the images and make your own judgements.

*Photo by Det. Greg Semendinger/NYC Police Aviation Unit*