Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Quick Hit Wednesday: Back To Law and Order, Podcasts Returning, Donnie's Dead?, And A Cool Tutorial

Good Morning Everybody,
Well the election is behind us - a pretty exciting time for our country these last several months. I have to admit, I was one of the news junkies trying to watch all the political programing till the wee hours of the morning. I guess now it's back to Law and Order which I haven't seen for several weeks. The season premier is scheduled for tonight, so all the episodes will be all new to me again. AHHHH, the return of things back to normal;~)

Podcasts Return Next Week
So what's happening today on Quick Hit Wednesday? Well, first off, let me say I'm in the process of getting a few podcasts back up. Having started to write my book on wedding photography has definitely been consuming some time. I asked Matt Kloskowski, one of the Photoshop wonder guys, how long he spends when writing a book. He casually answered, "Oh, 4-5 hours a day for a few months." Whew! Where's my stenographer? Where's my Dragon Dictate program? OK, just joking, but things are coming together, slow but sure. You know, these DPT Podcasts have become quite popular with over 375,000 plays so far. That said, look for another podcast next week.

Donnie's Dead?
On a much sadder note, I got an email a few days ago from the crazy people that bring you, "You Suck At Photoshop." It mentioned that the final episode of the series was on the air. Since I interviewed Trey Bledsoe a few months back - Trey is the voice of Donnie - I've been following the episodes quite regularly. So after getting the email, I headed over to MyDamnChannel.com to watch it - here is the link. As I watched, my heart raced, perspiration ran down my brow, my teeth were clenched, and then the final act in the final scene - no easy denouement - just the harsh ending fade to black.

I sat stunned for a few minutes, slowing got up and moved away from my computer, and wandered the studio aimlessly for the next several minutes. Donnie's gone, a piece of me was gone now too. But then a tune popped into my head - it was from Annie. My foot started tapping out the beat, I started humming along. Then I broke into song, I sang loudly, energetically, optimistically, "The sun will come out tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow...." Everything was going to be OK, the world was still safe, life was OK again;~)

A Cool Short And Sweet Tutorial
Our good buddy, Jeff Revel, over at PhotoWalkPro.com has posted a cool easy 7 minute tutorial on using the LucisArts Photoshop plug-in. What I like about Jeff's tutorials is that he cuts them as pretty hi-res screen captures which you can make full screen by hitting the little full-screen icon which I've indicated in the accompanying image. Anyway, give it a peek right here. Jeff always does a great job.

I Think My Photography Needs A Ring Job
Boy was I surprised by all the very kind comments for the image I posted on Monday. Yes, I did lighten the top left edge of the bible with the adjustment brush in Lightroom. And, yes, I thought Corinthians would have been a better choice for the verse, but this was the verse chosen for the wedding which is why I stuck with the couple's choice of readings. Anyway, I still think it is a very cool use of shadows. So how about a few more variations on the ring theme. I figured Flickr would have a pretty good selection so I headed over, searched wedding rings, and got a great series of "ring shots" - like about 78,000 of them! I just hit the first few pages and picked up some more creative ideas - here's what I found right here. It's so cool to go to school at Flickr.

Hey gang, that's it for me today. I've clients hitting in minutes and we've got another double-header weekend to prepare and get ready for. I'll see everybody tomorrow for Business Day Thursday: Think Of Paradise. See ya' then, -David

2 comments:

  1. My version of the bible and ring http://www.flickr.com/photos/buds_photos/

    The next version will have their great grandchildren wedding picture on the left side

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  2. I wrote a book once for the late Paul Castle of Studio Press and pretty much did the same thing of writing an hour or two or three a day. Just letting it flow extemporaneously first as a draft and then going back and editing it at a later date. At the time, I recall reading that Ernest Hemingway would write for a few hours every morning, so that became the model for me as well. I'd say also don't stop when you're in the zone! Work with an outline of the book as it's framework and keep a means of recording ideas and notes to yourself the rest of the time. Then, hire a ghost writer. Just kidding! Best wishes with your book project.

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