My Aha Moment

It turns out that more than just friends and family read my blog.

Last month I was asked to participate in filming a video for Mutual of Omaha's "Aha Moment" ad campaign. The producer emailed me saying that she was reading my blog and said that she thought that I might have an "Aha Moment" to share and asked if I would be interested. A few weeks later I met with the producer and film crew and sat down for 20 minute chat about my aha moment. The rest is history.

It was a lot of fun and I got to keep a souvenir from the whole the event. After watching the video, you can read the entire story on my About page and see the image that I called "Enlightenment".

Many people ask me about where my creative drive comes from. This story is the source of that drive.

Many people also ask me why they should have a blog. Well, you never know what opportunities might open for you.

Use your photos to make a video

Making a video from your photos is easy and fun to do. It is also a great way to present your work in a fresh and exciting way. Here is the disclaimer; I don't know Mac, so you Mac folks should look for a tutorial on how to do this with iMovie or whatever app you may use in the Mac world.

In the world of PC we have Windows Live Movie Maker which is part of the Windows 7, free. Movie Maker is easy to use with a drag and drop interface and single click application of transition animations and custom timing for image transitions. When used in combination with Windows Live DVD Maker you can create wonderful imagery to display on your television as well.

There are several things to consider when making your movies;

Select music that helps communicate the message of your imagery. Marilyn Manson might not be the best choice for tribute to grandma on her 99th birthday and the Hee Haw theme song wouldn't likely be the best choice for nine year old's birthday.

Time the transitions from one image to another image to the rhythm of the music. Listen to the music as a series of phrases. When a new phrase begins, an image transition would fit there.

Use music appropriate to the target destination. If you are simply going to play the video in your home, you can use any song you like. But if you upload a video to youtube with copyrighted music, youtube will remove it and replace it with its own music. All music is copyrighted by the way. Many sites sell songs for use like this.

I will be putting together a low cost workshop soon for how to get the most out of this display option soon. Possibly in October.

5 Minute Portrait Retouch in Lightroom

Download Eyes Presets
Download Skin Softening Preset
Download Dodge and Burn Presets

To install the preset, copy the file in the zip (xxx.lrtemplate) to your Local Adjustment Presets folder on your computer. If you don't know where to find this folder, open Lightroom. Click on Edit menu and select Preferences. Click on the Presets tab and click the Show Lightroom Presets Folder... button.

Java 4-Ever

Enjoy this... one scene might no be safe for work.

A video discussion about creativity and education

My friend John shared with me this video about creativity and education after reading my blog and I had to share with all you.



This kind of supports what I was trying to say about the school system, but this really nailed it for me. Thanks for sharing with me John.