Doing business AND doing good...

It's one thing to wear something pink in an effort to raise awareness of breast cancer (much like the NFL players did this past weekend wearing pink cleats, gloves, and wrist bands), but it's a "whole 'nother thing" to reach into your pocket and pull out hard earned cash in support of a cure.

CoffeCup software is doing that and more, they are raising awareness of the fight against breast cancer, they are donating money to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, AND they are putting a little bit of money in your pocket too!

CoffeeCup Software creates software that anyone who has an online presence can use to make their website better.

Here's the deal, buy any (or all) of the 30 pieces of software on this page and CoffeCup will give you 10% off the purchase price AND donate 20% of the sale to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

It's nice to see a company that does business with people at the bottom line, not profits.

Finding & photographing fall foliage...

If you are interested in photographing (or just taking a nice ride to view) fall foliage, we have put together a bunch of links that will help you in that endeavor.

First, the links on shooting fall foliage:

1. Here are tips and answers to questions about shooring foliage from About.com

2. Quick Tips on photographing fall foliage from Canon

3. The state of Vermont has put together a page on fall foliage shooting tips

4. You can learn what Filters will enhance your Nature Photography here

Now, onto where (and when) to find the optimal time to shoot in your area:

1. The weather channel has put together a national and regional maps tracking peak foliage

2. VividLight.com has put together a great number of links tracking (and shooting) the changing of fall colors

3. Yankee Magazine has anything and everything to do with fall foliage on their site, daily reports, scenic drives, tours, and even a kids section

4. VisitingNewEngland.com also has a great deal of useful information on fall foliage

Below are state by state fall foliage links, tips, and videos, all specific to your state

AL - AR - CA - CO - CT - DE - GA - ID - IL - IN - IA - ME - MD - MA - MI - MN - MO - NH - NJ - NY - NC -OH - OK - OR - PA - RI - SC - TN - VT - VA - WA - WV - WI

And we'll end this post with a video tutorial, lesson 1 of shooting fall foliage (here is lesson 2, lesson 3, and lesson 4):

A SIGN OF FALL

I just couldn't resist this picture by Stacey Wight from Photography by Stacey of a bride's Louboutins with a fallen leaf stuck to their sole. A sure sign that Fall is officially here!

OUT WITH THE SUMMER, IN WITH THE FALL

While it’s always sad to see the Summer come to an end, who doesn’t love the Fall? Can you think of a better way to spend a sunny Saturday morning in October than putting on a warm cozy sweater and a pair of Wellies, stopping by Starbucks to grab a Pumpkin Spice Latte, then taking a walk through the park among the colourful leaves? Unless this sunny Saturday morning in October happens to be your wedding day of course. If that's the case, you’d probably prefer to spend it walking down the aisle in a beautiful gown, saying I Do, then celebrating your marriage with family and friends.

More and more couples are choosing to get married in the Fall, taking advantage of the beautiful outdoor scenery this time of year has to offer. Browns, oranges, golds, yellows, reds - all popular colours for a Fall wedding. Here’s a little inspiration to put you in the mood.

Photo Credits: In Style Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot

Google releases Picasa 3.5...

Picasa 3.5 is not your parents photo album, it now has name tags (which performs more like facial recognition), you can perform geo-tagging with Google Maps, they have an improved import room, and much, much more.

As if facial detection/recognition wasn't enough, after you've tagged an image with a name it will search your Google contacts and match the two together.

You can download Picasa 3.5 here, find out what's new in Picasa 3.5 here and get help with Picasa and Picasa Web Albums Help here.

Here is a two minute video showing you what's new in Picasa 3.5.

Ten Photography Tips from Rick Sammon...

Here is a quick 5 minute video from Rick Sammon giving us 10 general "rules" to think about when we head out to shoot on location.

You can see other videos from Rick here.

And you can get more of Rick at his website and at his blog.

Shaking a soldiers hand...

When a soldier returns home from Iraq or Afghanistan they pass through an airport in the small town of Bangor Maine.

It will be the first American soil their feet will have touched after having been away for too long.

And the chances are really good that the first faces they see... the first hands they will shake will be those of the Maine Troop Greeters.

The Maine Troop Greeters are men and women committed to welcoming every soldier returning home from war and to give a proper send off to every single man and woman heading overseas.

They offer a warm handshake, provide a free cell phone so they can call loved ones, a snack to keep them going, and hug to let them know we care.

Since they started greeting flights in May of 2003, the Maine Troop Greeters have welcomed over 3900 flights, more than 800,000 service men and women, and 172 military dogs.

This heart warming story has been turned into an award winning documentary film called "The Way We Get By" written and produced by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly.

Check the schedule to see if there is a screening in your area, if there is, please don't miss it.

Stories like this move me, deeply.

But I am embarrassed to admit that there is this small place within me that's just a little bit envious.

During the "Vietnam Era" we were warned not to travel in uniform, especially when passing through airports, because it was not uncommon to be heckled, or worse, spat on. Seriously.

Some forty plus years later there are those still waiting for their welcome home.

If you’re a subscriber and the video did not get “pushed” to your email, be sure to come back to the blog to see the trailer for "The Way We Get By".