More HDR fun at a historic site

These images are of the Seminole Civic Club's building, except for the last one which is another building next door. It's a historic building that won't be here much longer. The building is so badly damaged by termites and age that it can't be saved, so I thought I'd get out and shoot some photos of it before it's too late.
This was a perfect chance to use HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography because the building is under a huge oak tree and shaded all the time. I shot a lot of this place, and these are a few of my faves from my little field trip.
These images are made of three shots each; one exposed normal, one two stops underexposed and one two stops overexposed. The images were processed using Photomatix and final adjustments were made in Photoshop CS3. This method gives a much larger tonal range than could be captured in one exposure. Questions or comments? Put 'em in the comments below...

Polaroid film is gone but not forgotten

I've always loved Polaroids because there are so many things you can do with them. It was a sad day when Polaroid announced that they would stop producing Polaroid film. Of course where there's a will there's a way, so I scanned an actual Polaroid transfer and made a Photoshop mask so it can easily be applied to any image.

You can download the file by clicking here. The instructions are on the file.

Try it and show me how it turned out!

Three Sure Fire Ways to Kick Start your Creativity

Being creative on demand is probably the scariest part of being a creative professional, but it's more of a method than a mystery. Here are my three proven ways to kick start your creativity:

1: Take a different Route. You probably have grooves in the road from your driveway to your place of business. Take a different route as often as you can.

2: Buy three magazine that you're not especially interested in and look at the pictures. You need to see new stuff.

3: Talk to someone new. You need to hear new things.

Creativity is mostly based on relational thinking. Everything you've ever seen, heard or felt is stored in a massive database in your brain and all of it has potential for creative solutions. So, get more stuff in your brain and you'll be more creative.

How do you get creative? Write your thoughts in the comments.

24 hours without a computer

Could you do it? I know for sure I can. I think.

This is a very interesting experiment that raises some deep questions about our reliance (and maybe even addiction) on computers. Here's what their press release had to say:

Shutdown Day is back with a bang! More than 1.6 million people worldwide participated in Shutdown Day last year... and this year there's a crazy global Flash Mob too! A massive global experiment to spread awareness about the pitfalls of excessive use and abuse of computers and Internet.

It is obvious that without computers we would find our life extremely difficult, maybe even impossible. If they disappeared for just one day, would we be able to cope?

Be part of one of the biggest global experiments ever to take place on the Internet. The idea behind Shutdown Day is to find out how many people can go without a computer for one whole day, and what will happen if we all participate!

Shutdown your computer on 03 May 2008 and find out!

http://www.shutdownday.org/

So, what do you think? Please add your comments.

One more from Silver River

Here's one more HDR image from Silver River State Park this weekend.

HDR Cracker Shack

Shot this nice HDR (high dynamic range) image at Silver River State Park yesterday. I've been doing a lot of work with HDR lately and plan to have a class in it sometime this summer.

The concept is simple, shoot 3-5 images at different exposures and combine them into one shot. That way, there are no blown out highlights, and no clogged up shadows. This shot would have been impossible any other way.

Tracking monkeys on the river

I'm writing this from Silver River State Park, home of the only tribe of free roaming monkeys in the US. These monkeys number in the hundreds, but are somewhat of a mystery. You'll find no mention of them anywhere in printed tourist info, and the park rangers are forbidden from talking about them by the state. Of course, that makes me want to find out more...

We did some preliminary exploration yesterday and gathered some bits and pieces of information. Today, we're heading out for a more comprehensive search. Then it will be nap time. I'll let you know what we find :)

I passed my exam!

Big news... I took my Comp TIA CTT+ (certified technical trainer) written exam today and passed by a big margin! The next step is to make a 20 minute video for review by a panel of experts. Then I'm in.

Yay!

Maybe we won't all starve after all

There's supposedly a recession or worse coming and I am not going to participate in it. Nope, averages don't apply to me and I firmly believe that we all have the creativity we need to prosper no matter what our circumstances are.

Here's today's silver lining:

Today the Associated Press reported that online spending is expected to increase 17% in the next year. That's the same year where hard times are predicted in almost every other sector. I know, I'm biased because I do web sites, but this is from credible research and not just someone's opinion. E commerce is the one bright spot in a sea of gloom.

So how does this effect you? Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it should.

What are you going to do? This is no time to cut back, it's time to ramp it up! You don't want to be like everyone else, do you? I didn't think so. If you don't have a plan, make one.

Don't listen to all the bad news. It doesn't apply to you.

There's an article in Smart Money about me. No, really.

I'm one step closer to fame... A few weeks ago a writer from Smart Money called me for an interview. I thought it was a practical joke at first, but nope, it was for real. I wrote about my tax audit experience on freelanceswitch.com and the writer saw it and called. You can read the article by clicking here.

New way to do black and white conversions

If you have an older copy of my video tutorial CD, Black and White Done Right, here's an update for CS3 using the new Black and White Adjustment Layer.

Everything I need to know about business I learned riding a dirt bike

Last week I ran into the guy who got me interested in riding and racing dirt bikes. His name is Larry and I learned a lot from him. I hadn't seen him in years, and it got me thinking that everything I know that's important in business (and life in general) I learned on a dirt bike. I know, crazy. Stick with me though... Here are my top ten universal lessons learned on a dirt bike:

1. No matter how slowly you're going, if you're moving forward you'll eventually get there.
2. You have to slow down to go faster.
3. When you get in trouble, give it more gas.
4. If you don't fall down occasionally you're not trying hard enough.
5. Going uphill takes a lot of effort, going downhill takes none.
6. Let the course beat people.
7. Don't look at anything you don't want to hit. Look as far ahead as you can see.
8. Keep your front wheel pointed the way you want to go.
9. Just showing up is better than most people do.
10. No matter how hard it gets, it's still more fun than most people will ever see.

I know what you're wondering, and yes, I did break a couple bones. Bones grow back. Now here's my bonus lesson:

11. No trophy is worth getting injured for.

Thanks, Larry!

More students done good...

It always thrills me to hear about people who I've helped excelling in their career, and this week I have two:

The first one is Tammy Austin. She just had one of her photographs not only accepted to a show, but also chosen as the image for the show posters! I'll let her tell it...

Hi Chuck:

Well, I went to Colorado and saw my image of the Gerbera Daisy in an exhibit at The Center for Fine Art Photography. It was so exciting and I am still in disbelief. The website is www.c4fap.org On the left is the online exhibit- you have to scroll down to see mine. They ended up using my image in their advertisement for the center's gallery opening. So, I have a copy of the poster- now I need a class in making a portfolio...Wish I still lived there so I could take your classes...

Way to go Tammy!

My second one this week is Elise Schriner. Elise has works hard to excel in her photography and now she's getting professional projects commeasurate to her talent. Take a look at some of her work at her web site.

I'm very happy to have a small part in people's success and I'm glad to see these two being recognized.