New Feature, Contest Reminder

Hello everyone, just a short post today as I've been spending the evenings the last couple of nights putting together some site updates, including a new feature that will premiere this Thursday.

Starting this Thursday, 10/2 - the first and third Thursday's of the month will feature a guest blogger. (Yes, I'm borrowing the idea from Scott Kelby - but I figured that you guys might enjoy hearing from someone other than me every once in a while)

This week, we'll be featuring Chris Breedlove, a photographer I met at the Worldwide Photo Walk I hosted in Charlottesville, VA. Chris and I have since worked together a little bit, which I have personally enjoyed a great deal... so I've asked him to kick off the new feature. Make sure to check back on Thursday!

Contest Reminder

Don't forget our monthly contest (this month's theme "Creative Lighting") ends tonight at Midnight! You can get the details, here.

That's all for now everybody. Hope you're having a great Tuesday. - Rob

A Couple Shots from Maine

Hello All, and thanks for coming by.

I'm going to be real honest with everyone when I say, I'm fresh out of good ideas for my Monday Morning at Ten feature. I've decided that the MM10 is going to take a short hiatus until I (or we) come up with some interesting content. With that in mind, anyone that has ideas for the MM10 could greatly assist our little corner of the web by sharing them with me. Feel free to shoot me an email by clicking the "Email Me" link toward the bottom of the column on the right.

I don't want to leave everyone hanging, so here's a couple photos from a trip I took to Maine for work back in January of 2006. I was able to sneak away one afternoon and drive out to the coast to snap a few pics. Cold. Cold is a word a guy from Virginia only begins to understand standing on the battered, rocky coast of Maine on a windy January day. The air temperature was in the single digits, and the wind was blowing enough to cut right through the relatively thin leather jacket I was wearing. If I close my eyes, I can still hear my teeth chattering.

This one is actually my favorite picture from the entire trip. When you drive out to "the point" you cross over a number of little causeways and islands until the road just stops. I noticed the emerald blue-green water of this little inlet and had to stop to capture the scene.

Thats all for now ladies and gentlemen. There's a new feature to the blog in the works for this week, and with your help, the Monday Morning Ten should be revived soon. Hope everyone has a great week!!

Fridays at Five - Photoshop CS4

Well, it's been a big week with the announcement of Adobe's new edition of their award winning Creative Suite 4 lineup. This weekend, make sure you see the sites (pun intended) and explore all that's new from Adobe.

If you're not already a member, join NAPP, so that you can visit their new Adobe Photoshop CS4 Learning Center - it's definitely worth the visit!

Layer's magazine has a few videos of their own, here.

From Adobe's page, check out the details on the CS4 lineup.

If you missed the announcement live from Adobe on Tuesday morning - you can watch a replay of the web broadcast. There's also a bunch of great videos about the product lineup on that page as well.

So... will you be upgrading? We'll see if the wife allows me to get my hands on a copy. My birthday and Christmas are both coming up - so at there's a decent chance.

One thing that might help you toward your purchase of CS4 would be a $50 gift card to B&H Photo. How can you get one? Great question. You can enter our Photo Contest, which ends Tuesday (9/30) at Midnight.

Alright gang, have a fantastic weekend, stay safe and keep shooting. All the best, Rob

NILMDTS - Annual Fund Drive

A few months ago, I came across an amazing organization that I knew I wanted to support with our photography business. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep provides rememberance photography for families going through the loss of a child as a way of supporting them during such a difficult time. Right now, I'm still participating in an extensive training program to become qualified to participate as a photographer. The time and effort put in by the staff and volunteers is incredible, but the organization still needs community support. I encourage you to learn about the organization, and support it either with your financial gifts or your talents. Thank you in advance! - Rob

With the Month of October being recognized as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, The Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation holds its Annual Fund Drive for six weeks starting in mid-September and ending in October. 

President Ronald Reagan enacted Proclamation 5890 in October of 1988 to recognize that each year, approximately a million pregnancies in the United States alone end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of a newborn child.  Reagan stated, "A national observance offers us the opportunity to increase our understanding of the great tragedy involved in the deaths of unborn or newborn babies.  It also enables us to consider how, as individuals and communities, we can meet the needs of bereaved parents and family members... "  To read the full Proclamation signed by Reagan, CLICK HERE.

If you are in a place to make even a small contribution to NILMDTS, please know that doing so will continue to allow the organization to provide improved resources, training, communication, and other tools necessary in support of our amazing contingent of professional photographers who provide the gift of free remembrance portraiture to families in need.

Our next project we are working on is an online, interactive webinar version of our Formal NILMDTS Training taught by Co-Founder Sandy Puc' allowing anyone in any country with access to a computer to complete the course online.  Donations help make programs like this a reality!

Your Donations Support the Organization in Many Ways -

* By supporting the continued education of our volunteer photographers
* By allowing us to further our outreach to hospitals and hospices across the world
* By offsetting the costs associated with outreach efforts including Formal NILMDTS Traingin Seminars
* By supporting the Family Forum which creates a productive and supportive haven for healing
* By supporting the Photographers' Forum which provides a helpful environment for our member photographers to express their feelings and receive advice on the various issues that they face in this noble work
* By supporting the day to day operations of our Headquarters Offices 

Laura and Ricky - Bridal

This past Saturday we had the privilege of shooting a wedding in our hometown of Richmond, VA. Laura and Ricky were a lot of fun to work with and the wedding was simply elegant. It is always a joy to get to share in the celebration of such a wonderful event, and we certainly hope that God continues to bless these sweet folks. More photos will be coming soon, but I thought I'd tease you with a shot of the beautiful bride, Laura.

That's all for now gang. Hope everyone is having a great week. - Rob