Holga cameras -- they're kind of dinky and plastic, so it makes sense -- are known for their imperfections. When I snap my first pictures on a roll of 120 film, who knows if there will be wild lighting flares, heaving vignetting or soft blurs on the printed photographs.

With my digital camera, it's become habit for me to shoot the same picture 20 times in a row and then pick out the best one, deleting the other 19. I can see the Holga challenging me to slow down, evaluate my shot and be much more deliberate with my photography.

So, last week I picked up my first Farm-to-Work basket of locally grown fruits and veggies. I wanted so desperately to beam my grandmother to town to whip up some of her amazing fried okra, but instead, I decided to use some of my goodies for a healthier recipe. It's my own, personally take on stewed okra and tomatoes -- I've never cooked okra in my whole life -- and I'm pretty darn pleased with how it turned out.

First, in a large saucepan, I sauteed yellow onion and two garlic gloves in a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Then I added 8 ounces of canned tomato sauce and half a cup of water along with the chopped okra, green bell pepper, tomatoes and jalapeno. I brought the liquids to a boil, and then simmered on low for about an hour. The only ingredients not grown locally were the oil and the canned sauce. Oh, and the salt and pepper.

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out!

Many members of Team Hammock are eating locally this summer, and several are even growing their own gardens. What about you?

Some of the folks there were very new to photography, so those of us a little more comfortable around a camera were sure to offer a few tips and tricks to anyone who needed assistance. One gentleman got help with setting the white balance on his new camera, one new member of the group ate his first-ever breakfast taco, and I shared a few tips for shooting food. These are the things I try to keep in mind:

1. Watch your background. Sometimes the background can be just as important and tell just as much of the story as the item that you're shooting, but don't let your background be too cluttered.
2. Natural lighting is best. Of course it is. But if you can't take a full meal into the backyard to take photos, at least open the blinds by the dining table or move what you want to photograph to a better natural lighting source.
3. Utilize props. Do be afraid to style your shots. Add a colorful napkin or a bottle of wine or an edible flower to your food subjects. Doing so can add interest, color and excitement to your photos.
4. Get close, but not too close. Focusing in on a single, beautiful bite of the dripping icing on cinnamon roll or the melty cheese on a burger is perfect, but make sure you stay far enough away that you can actually tell what you took the picture of.
5. Rule of thirds. The four points created by the tic-tac-toe pattern in the rule of thirds are great targets for food pictures. Make one of the four points your main focal point to add interest and draw the eye into your subject.

But don't believe for a second that being out of sight means that I'm out of mind. Nor does it mean that the rest of the Hammock team isn't on my radar.

Hammock is a big believer in embracing the technology and tools that bring people together, so on a daily basis we use an arsenal of those tools to stay connected across the miles. Some employers might wince at the idea of opening networks -- and thus the lines of communication -- to such ideas. But I for one can tell you that doing so is a must if you want to cultivate the relationships you have with remote employees.

Here are just a few of the things that make me feel like I'm right there in the office with the rest of the team every day:

• The phone. (Of course.) Every Monday morning the Hammock staff gets together in the conference room to go over production deadlines for the week, project updates, who'll be out of the office, and what movie recommendations we have from the weekend. My phone rings around 9:30 so that I can join in on the conversation. I'm also able to follow along on the agenda and see any Web page that they may open by tapping into screen-sharing between here and there.
• Instant messaging. Everyone at Hammock is on iChat. If I have a grammar quandary to debate with Emily or a headline-writing question for Bill, IMing them to chat for a moment is a perfect option. It's faster than email, it's a real-time conversation, and it keeps me connected to all of them as individuals.
• Yammer. We use Yammer internally like a private Twitter or a group iChat. Again, it's real-time, can be used between any number of employees at one company, and we can create and join different groups for specific projects so that chatter about one project doesn't become noise to someone not involved in it.
• Flickr. Although we have a group presence on Flickr, many of us also have personal photostreams. While that may not sound like it keeps us connected and productive for work, it does help me to feel personally tied to my coworkers. I learn things through Flickr that I simply don't learn during our Monday-morning phone calls: the crazy antics of Megan's cats, how many tomatoes have been harvested in Rex's backyard and what Ben wore to a recent concert.
• Google Docs. In a word: fabulous. Google Docs allows us to all work from one document -- and we can all view it at the same time -- without emailing it back and forth and wondering who has the latest and greatest version. From text documents to spreadsheets to website wireframes, Google Docs allows us to all stay on the same page.
• Twitter. Ahh, Twitter. It's entertaining. It's silly. It's helpful. And it's a great tool for helping me feel connected across the miles. From finding sources for stories to taking quick polls to sharing ideas, we use Twitter for a variety of reasons. But for me personally, it's just one more way that I can stay connected to coworkers in Nashville.

A couple of pictures should probably go right into the garbage can, they just didn't turn out at all and I had to squint to even remember what I had taken a picture of.

But a couple of them were decent, imperfect, and gave me a great lesson is using the camera. For instance: This camera needs LOTS of light; anything that happens to be in the corner will be blurry and soft; and I need to back away from my subject just a little.

I've just put another roll of fresh film in. I can't wait to see what comes out next!

The shot you see here is of the backyard tree that I photographed for a whole year. I thought shooting it on film would give me a good point of comparison.

So let me tell you what a "word nerd" I felt like this morning when I squealed with excitement at seeing Liz Strauss' 25-word writing project on Twitter. Her blog post inviting everyone to participate says it all: It's about inspiration.

But for me, it turned into a little writing game. I just let the words flow into a complete sentence, just as she suggested.

31 words.

I edited one verb that I wasn't very thrilled with.

33 words.

I removed a couple of instances of a word that I had used three times.

30 words.

Then, a couple of sips of coffee and it came to me. My 25 words on social media were complete!

When miles don't matter, ideas are shared, problems solved; when people you might never meet cross your path, that's when it is worth every second.