Incredible love of country and family...

The Ken Burns series "Civil War" is back again on PBS, I had forgotten just how good it is.

There was one segment that moved me the first time around and was so touching it never left me, it's the "Sullivan Ballou Letter"

Any man alive wishes he was capable of writing something so profound about ones love of country and family.

Below is a transcript of that letter, and below it is the video segment taken from the series.

If you get this post via email you may want to return to the blog to watch the video, it's one thing to read it, it's something else to hear it read.


"July 14, 1861
Camp Clark, Washington

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more . . .

I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt . . .

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistibly on with all these chains to the battle field.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them for so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood, around us.

I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness . . .

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights... always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again . . ."

Sullivan Ballou was killed a week later at the first Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861.

A shooting assignment...

One of my twins (Katie) is taking photography in high school and had an assignment to shoot at a very old local cemetery (Laurel Hill Cemetery), so I figured that I would shoot as well. This was our first time shooting together and it was fun.

Here are a few of the images from that day.

The one (image) I found most amusing (if you can use that word when talking about cemetery images) was the one of the gate posts on a small family plot, my thought (well, more of a question really) was, at this point in the afterlife does one really need directions?

(click on any image to view larger and in a new window)

Free image editing software...

Not everyone is able to make the financial investment for Photoshop and there are others who do not need (or require) all the things that programs like Photoshop can do.

So here are some alternatives that will cost you nothing, nada, zip, zero, zilch, goose egg:

1. Gimp. "GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring." Here is an introduction page, and here is a tutorial page so you can take a look at what it can do.

2. Fotografix. "While graphic design professionals probably wouldn't be able to substitute Fotografix for Photoshop, it's certainly a capable free alternative for the average Joe."

3. Paint.NET. "Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows." You will find the features list here, and tutorials here.

4. Photoscape. "Photoscape is the fun and easy photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance photos." You can take a look at some screenshots here.

5. Adobe Photoshop Online. The title pretty much says it all, and you can take a test drive here.

(The screen shots below are from my computer not promotional broo ha ha so you have a real world idea of what they truly look like and what some of the options and features are and you can click on either image to view larger and in a new window.)

6. FastStone Image Viewer. From their website: "a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor. It has a nice array of features that include image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping and color adjustments. Its innovative but intuitive full-screen mode provides quick access to EXIF information, thumbnail browser and major functionalities via hidden toolbars that pop up when your mouse touches the four edges of the screen. Other features include a high quality magnifier and a musical slideshow with 150+ transitional effects, as well as lossless JPEG transitions, drop shadow effects, image annotation, scanner support, histogram and much more."


7. IrfanView. "IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative graphic viewer for Windows. It is simple for beginners and powerful for professionals. It has created new and/or interesting features in its own way and is the first Windows graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple (animated) GIF support."

It really does have a bunch of features, too numerous to list here.


If you know of any no cost Photoshop alternatives that I have not listed here, please let me know and I will be sure to post them.

A new tool for shooting tethered...

If you shoot tethered to your iPad I have a very handy tool that will make your life a bit easier, it's the iKlip from IK Multimedia.

Whenever possible I strongly recommend shooting tethered as it gives you a much better view of your subject. I'm sure I am not the only (or first) photographer who has "chimped" at an image and was sure I had it only to learn after downloading it (and viewing it on a larger screen) that I in fact did not have it.

But setting up a laptop to shoot tethered is not always a viable option, but shooting tethered to an iPad left you with the problem of how (and where) to secure your iPad?

The iKlip is the perfect solution, it will allow you to shoot tethered to your iPad secure in the fact it is not going anywhere.

I treat all of my gear like it's important, because it is and I will not use something unless I have complete confidence in its ability to meet my expectation of keeping my gear safe and the iKlip meets (and exceeds) my high standards.

It gets two thumbs way up. Watch the video below for my "hands on" demonstration.

Now if you have an iPad but don't yet use it to shoot tether, stay tuned as we will soon have a tutorial on that very subject.

If this post was delivered to your inbox then it came without the video portion attached, so you should return to the blog or head directly over to our YouTube channel to watch it.

SAVE THE DATE - MAY 13 2011

Obviously we wouldn't do what we do at Viva if we didn't love all things wedding so we're more than happy to take a short break from planning when a wedding related movie comes out and head over to the local theatre to see what it's all about. This spring, producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad) and director Paul Feig (creator of Freaks and Geeks) invite you to experience Bridesmaids.

Kristin Wiig leads the cast as Annie, a maid of honor whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lilian (Maya Rudolph), and a group of colorful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony. Annie's life is a mess. But when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lilian's maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she'll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you'll go for someone you love.

TO WEB OR NOT TO WEB

The countdown's on! With Will and Kate's wedding only 26 days away, the anticipation is growing and we at Viva know we're not the only ones who can't wait for the big day to arrive.

Knowing that many, like us, would not only be dying to see all the details come together on the 29th but would also be dying to hear about them leading up to the day, St. James Palace launched the Royal Wedding website. The website is the official source of information for anyone interested in the upcoming Royal Wedding and is updated regularly with exclusive content including photo galleries and video.

Wedding websites also know as "wedsites" are nothing new and while not all brides and grooms-to-be choose to create one, they're a great way to keep your guests up to date with the details of your own wedding day. Some like mywedding.com are free while others like wedsite.com offer couples a free 7 day trial with the option to purchase an extension for a small fee if you decide you want to keep your wedsite active.

Viva loves wedding wedsites!! Do you?

My "Tangled" love for Disney..

"Hi, I'm Scott and I'm a Disney addict..."

Yes, I have confessed love for Disney before (like here, here, here, here, and oh ya, here). I bet you're picking up that I've posted about Disney in the past.

I like their parks. I like there movies.

Some of the movies are entertaining and fun but every once and awhile there is one that I absolutely LOVE.

For some reason we did not make it to see Tangled when it was in theaters so we got it this week to watch on our "pizza and a movie" Friday night.

It is one of the best Disney movies I have EVER seen, it harkens back to movies like "Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and The Beast" then mix in a little stunning Pixar animation and you have Tangled.

If you haven't seen it, please do, and you may want to buy it (instead of renting) because I promise you will watch this move again and again.

Below is a Tangled trailer, enjoy!