What if …
While I’m not really a big one for New Year’s resolutions, sometimes it’s fun to imagine what it would be like to follow through on just one of them. In this case, a serious commitment to ab workouts?
Blog
Tell Us How You Really Feel About 2010
Somebody Had a Bad Year
Somebody put their feelings up in lights along I-295 in Smithfield, RI.
From high up on the rocks, this light display greets southbound drivers on I-295 in Smihtfield, RI, near the RT. 44 exit.
Sorry about all the tree branches in the way. And no, the lights do not spell out P U 2010.
While there are a few things I wish had gone differently in the past 364 days, too many really good things happened in 2010 to just flip off the whole year. Here’s wishing this guy — and everyone — a better 2011.
How was your year?
How will next year be for you and yours? What do you wish for? What will you do differently?
Feel free to comment.
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Ginger the (Giant) Chicken
Ginger, a mixed New Hampshire and Rhode Island Red hen, is not really a giant chicken, but the low angle and wide-angle lens fools the eye. The foot of snow dumped in our backyard by the Holiday Blizzard is for real, however. Being snowed in for the days after Christmas gave daughter, Shannon, and I a chance to make some fun photos of her pet chickens.
Shannon's New Hampshire / Rhode Island Red mix chicken, Ginger, in the snow after the Holiday Blizzard of 2010
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Annual Christmas Portrait: A Dreaded and Cherished Tradition
The annual Kingsley kids portrait is always an event to dread and cherish all at the same time. With everyone finally home from college, this year we were out in the driveway with an Alien Bee, a Zumbrella and an on-camera 580EX dialed way down. If you want to know how I made the lights happen — it’s pretty easy — just comment and ask. The five images used are below.
If you look at the home page: ascottkingsley.com, don’t hover over the image, as it pauses the effect.
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WordPress Blog on a Separate Page
Thanks, Tim
Due to the genius of Tim Benson, ascottkingsley.com now has a blog displayed on its own page. Thanks Tim!
Maybe I’ll write it up tomorrow after getting the Christmas tree. It was simple once Tim showed me how (did it).
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Almost Free Underground Event Photography Advertising
Worth Every Penny?
There are plenty of good reasons to be a fan of WeatherUnderground.com — nothing fancy, just a whole lotta data. And damn-near free advertising is another good reason.
Weather Underground is where I go when I need to know the forecast. Yesterday, I noticed a little self-service ad promotion … $50 credit, highest bidders get the spots … no credit card, very simple. And today, I am the smug, self-satisfied owner of a little self-service ad visible to Providence viewers of WeatherUnderground. It only took a few minutes to compose the ad in the tiny space allotted, however, it did take 24 hours to get the ad approved. This morning, there it was, right there next to the Miracle Fat-Burning Secret ad:
Weatherproof photographer eager to cover your event in Newport or Providence, Rhode Island. Worry about the weather, not the photographs.
Clever, right? Taking the hyphen out of “Water-proof” has sent the ad back to “Creative Approval Pending” status (perhaps for another 24 hours), but for pennies a day, I can be very patient.
This might be the bargain of the year. All those miracle fat-burning companies, teeth whiteners and Obama keyworders can’t be all wrong. I will let you know how it works out.
Wunderground.com — search weather conditions for Providence
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Are You For or Against Profitable Photography?
Profit Is Good
My family and I are in favor of profitable photography. Are you and yours? Of course you are.
To that end, Shakado.com — “A one stop resource for profitable photography” has launched an interesting social site dedicated to an open dialogue about the business of photography. I picked up on Shakodo while clicking through the ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) group email update sent to me from from LinkedIn — pretty much just avoiding the work I was supposed to be doing — after FB’ing for a while. (All of this detail will help make a point later, I promise.)
Shakodo.com, a new social site dedicated to the business of photography.
The registration process was easy and free — though I still owe them an avatar and my personal profile. Upon completion of that obligation, I will win an Award.
Fearing Farmville, I continued
Shakodo uses a (meaningless) Award system to reward contributions from its members. Now, I’m fifty-ones and can do without non-monetary awards, but I really (really!) can use some straight-up photography business advice. So, encouraged by the cool design and nudged along by instructive text, I proposed my first question to the Assignment forum: How much should I charge for post-processing after a wedding? I think I was the sixth question in the Assignments forum. As of right now (seven hours later) my question has been commented on by a Shakodo Team member, been viewed 32 times and been answered by three other photographers, one of them thoughtfully . AND, I have earned 10 Reputation points — apparently just for asking a good question! As much as I do not need Awards, in this business, Reputation is everything. Right now, there are 44 questions in the forum. The other areas of the community that listed metrics in the single digits seven hours ago, are now in the double and triple digits. This site is growing fast.
Here comes the point I promised to make
As much as I need good information and the support of a like-minded community, I am afraid just will not be able to keep track of it all. Good God, they are telling me to check back often to check the status of my questions and to answer the questions of others — to be a mentor to young and eager photographers! They want me to CONTRIBUTE! Don’t they know I have work to do?
Shakodo.com, open to the public for less than one week, thinks it can reshape — even save — a photography industry that is in disarray for all kinds of digital reasons. I — and my family — need this industry to survive recent upheavals and I am willing to help, learn what I can and maybe even enhance my Reputation.
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One Man’s Honeysuckle is Another Man’s Dusty Rose
Color of the Year!!!
Thanks to a heads-up tweet by Rhode Island design/webdev/ad agency, Glad Works, this little website is cloaked in the recently-announced PANTONE® Color of the Year for 2011: 18-2120 Honeysuckle — with accents in last year’s has-been hue, Turquoise, in the nav.
Now, you may think that Honeysuckle is just a whole lot of Dusty Rose, but here is what Pantone has to say about it:
While the 2010 color of the year, PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise, served as an escape for many, Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. A dynamic reddish pink, Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting. It elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life.
“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother color red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.”
ascottkingsley.com: 2011 Pantone Color of the Year: Honeysuckle
It’s uncertain how long I’ll go with a Honeysuckle website, but as we head toward the shortest days of the year, I’m feeling better already — feelin’ the verve and vigor. You?
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SEO plugins, help?
Does anyone have an opinion about All-In-One SEO Pack vs. WordPress SEO by Yoast?
I’m a photographer, not a programmer. But as programmers might enjoy photography, I enjoy loosing sleep trying to figure this stuff out. It doesn’t come naturally. Recently, frustrated with All-In-One SEO PACK, I’m giving Mr. Yoast a twirl around the dance floor, if you know what I mean.
This post is a bit of a test just to fill out the SEO form below. Comments appreciated, but with about 10 views a day, I’m not expecting to lose any sleep sifting through comments.
Update:
Still trying to figure this out. For instance, why don’t breadcrumbs appear on posts. They do appear on pages. And what is the value of breadcrumbs if items are only one level deep. Handy for going to home …
Update:
This link seems helpful:
http://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-install-and-setup-wordpress-seo-plugin-by-yoast/
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Love a Farmer: Eat Local
Farm Fresh Rhode Island:
A sample of photographs made in the late summer and fall for a yet-to-be-announced start-up project by a young-entrepreneur-friend. Whole lotta dashes there, I know. Stay tuned.
