Winter in America...

We got 8 inches of snow yesterday and here is our forecast for today... another 12-18 inches... maybe more, they're "not sure".


Of course I am not telling many of you anything new as the storms we have been experiencing have already kicked the stuffing out of many of your communities on their way here.

Here are some image I received yesterday.

Feel free to post some of your winter images on the Weekly Photo Tips Flickr group, I would love to see them.

WEDDING DRESS WEDNESDAY

I know how absurd it sounds for a wedding planner to say this but... Viva never understood a bride's attachment to her wedding gown. Don't get me wrong, it was always exciting to hear one of Viva's brides-to-be describe her dream dress, see her fill with emotion when finding "the one" and jaw droping to see her glowing in it on her wedding day, but why all this fuss over a dress? Then... Viva got married. And yes (two and a half years later) my beautiful Mikaela gown is still hanging in my closet, my attachment to it making it impossible for me to let it go. Since getting married, not only did I gain a new appreciation for the relationship between a bride and her wedding gown, but I just can't get enough of them! And that's why Wedding Dress Wednesday posts now appear each month on the blog.

This month we're featuring not one, but two dresses from White on White Bridal. We tried to choose just one but we love this line so much, we failed miserably. The first is Kelly WWG302 made of silk/organza, the second also made of silk/organza is Carolyn WWG316. The White on White line can be found in Ottawa exclusively at With Love Bridal Boutique and starting today, February 1st until February 5th, you can view the entire 2011 Spring Collection in store. Here's Dana of With Love to tell you more...

"We are excited to be Ottawa's exclusive retailer of White on White Bridal. These super feminine and modern gowns are the perfect addition to our boutique. Not only are these dresses absolutely gorgeous, but they carry an easy to swallow price tag. These dresses range from $1200 to $2300 and many styles give Brides the option to choose a tafetta or silk fabric to suit their budget. The entire collection will be in our store as we offer the White on White Trunk Show from February 1st to 5th. Our samples will be arriving mid month, but the Trunk Show offers Brides-to-Be an opportunity to view the entire collection."

Only five days ladies so contact With Love and book your appointment to see these beauties before it's too late!

Looking Through an Object

photographer: Siddharth Menon

Phenomenal learning opportunity... FREE!

Learning Photoshop can be a daunting (and sometimes expensive) task. In the past I have shared some free resources but I think I may have stumbled across one of the most thorough Photoshop CS5 courses out there.

It is "Photoshop CS5" taught by Jason Welsh of the Michigan MI Learning Center and is available through iTunes U.

There is a total of 15 lessons, 15 assignments, and it comes with all of the practice images used throughout the entire course.

The 15 lessons are broken down into 132 different video presentations, the shortest is just one minute in length and the longest being 12. Small, manageable, and easy to digest bites of Photoshop information. This works out nicely in that you are not bound to the computer to watch long and sometimes overwhelming lessons.

Though the video segments are short, combined they total over 9 hours of viewing/learning.

Follow this link for all of the details.

Be sure to check out Jason's website and his YouTube channel, where you'll find over 1,700 videos covering Photoshop, 3D modeling, and much, much more.

Below is the course intro video, enjoy.

Another pic of Jama Masjid

 

Photographer:Anirudh Khusape

You can blame Matt Damon for this post...

I saw the commercial below tonight and really felt the need to share it... it tackles a very serious topic with just a little levity.

And it made me think of my own experiences. We know there is hunger out there but until we see the actual faces of the people standing in line at the food pantry, it's really rather abstract, a bit impersonal.

A couple years ago years ago I started using part of my Sundays to pick up food donations from some very generous stores and restaurants. There are days that my minivan is filled from the back of the drivers seat to the rear hatch and from floor to ceiling.

Then on Monday morning I deliver to local food pantries.

It seems the most important thing I deliver is bread, sliced bread.

One Monday I was running a little late and when I arrived there was a good amount of people who had gone through the line (as they had their bags) but were still hanging around, come to find out they were waiting for me. They were waiting for "the bread man".

It truly dawned on me that day the importance of what I was involved in. If not for those Monday morning deliveries these people would be going home without something most of us take for granted. A few slices of bread.

Then there are the days I see people I know... you never know who is at risk, who doesn't have enough food.

I don't usually talk about this, I don't do it for the recognition, I don't want a pat on the back. I do it because I can, and because the thought of children going to bed hungry haunts me.

But I am beginning to ramble, the point of this post was to share this commercial with you. In 30 seconds it drives home a very serious point AND makes you smile, that doesn't happen very often.

For you people new to the blog and are wondering what this has to do with photography, it has nothing to do with taking pictures. Chances a extremely good that on the weekends (if I post) I will wander of topic, sometimes WAY off topic, writing about whatever moves me.

So, now you've been warned, be prepared for anything on weekends. Tomorrow is Monday and I promise to be on topic then.

;)

For subscribers, as usual you will need to return to Weekly Photo Tips to see the video as they still don't get pushed through with your subscription.

the BEATLES...

For those with children, you will (hopefully) appreciate this post, for those without children, probably not so much.

Don't you just love it when your children come to you with something not so new (or not so unknown) that they think 1.) they were the ones who finally discovered it and 2.) we are too stupid to have ever known about it on our own.

That's how my girls are about the Beatles, every time they find a new Beatles song the feel the need to come tell their silly old dad who is obviously too unaware to have known about it before.

But being the good dad I nod my head in agreement "wow, that is good", while inside I am thinking "yup, that was good 40 years ago too".

Thank goodness for the enlightenment that our children bring to us.

;)