On St. Patrick’s Day
I’d first like to wish my grandfather (86) and my cousin Craig (25) a pair of Happy Birthdays today!
For today, I am going to take a look WAY back into the archives to a time when I was still just getting into photography. I thought it fitting, on this St. Patrick’s Day, to share a photo from what I was doing the day after St. Patrick’s Day 2005. I was traveling in Portrush, Northern Ireland that week exploring the region my paternal grandmother’s family lived back in the day.
The shot above was taken as I crossed the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge on one of my last days in Northern Ireland. You can see another shot taken that day as I crossed back to the mainland following some other tourists in Friday’s Points of View Photo Project.
Removing Halftone from Scanned Newspaper Photos
My dad recently sent me a scanned photo from an old newspaper that he is using in a historical video he is working on. One of the main issues you face when working with projects of this nature is quality images. Sometimes, you have actual photos, which usually contain a workable amount of visual data to work with. Sometimes you’re on the other end of the spectrum with photocopies of old newspapers.
For this tutorial we’re looking at a pretty typical source image, a scan of a newspaper photo, and how to remove the halftone dot pattern caused by printing.
SEO for Bloggers: Analytics
Now that we’ve talked about having quality, keyword-rich content, linked both internally and across websites with tags and SEO-friendly URLs, it’s time to talk about something that will pull it all together so you can find out what your next steps will be: Analytics.
Points of View Photo Project #28
Happy Friday everyone! You know what that means, it’s time for the 28th installment of the Points of View Photo Project!
As I mentioned last week, this week’s source image comes all the way from Antarctica courtesy of my brother, Chris.
For those of you who might be new to this photo project of ours, each week I post a source image (either my own or user-submitted) that is straight out of the camera without any post-processing whatsoever. Anyone is free to download it, edit it however they like, and return it to me with an explanation of their processing so I can post it with the other submissions.
But why keeping trying to explain it when you can see how it all works for yourself with this week’s source image. Enjoy!
SEO for Bloggers: Links
Building on the foundations laid by quality content filled with solid keywords and phrases, posted regularly, is the proper use of links both from other sites and within your blog itself.
Guest Post: Get Up Earlier by Jessica Sweeney
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not a morning person. That you have to shout to get me to even open my eyes, and that I move kind of slowly any time before 10 am.
Let’s put it this way: I don’t think I’d be gainfully employed if coffee had never been invented.
But I think we all know that the edges of the day are best for photography, because the light is just pretty blah any time else. This is news you have probably heard before, but if you’re like me, maybe you haven’t been listening really well. For a while, I relied on the fact that there are two edges in every day. So what if I missed dawn? There was always dusk to fall back on. Same pretty light, but none of the soul-shattering pain that comes with waking up before 6 am. It seemed like a pretty easy call.
But I was wrong.
Dawn is better, and I will tell you why. First, I’m not the only person who’s allergic to waking up early. Most other people are too. So that means if you do make the trek out of bed, you’ve got the place to yourself. You don’t have to shoot over anyone’s shoulder. Or plan to Photoshop them out later. This is particularly nice in areas that are usually heavily trafficked, or overrun with tourists.
Second, dawn is calmer. Lakes or ponds will be glassier, with fewer ripples. You’ll get more morning mist. More drops of dew clinging to leaves and petals. And maybe some more wildlife that hasn’t been scared into hiding by the racket we bipedals make.
I woke up for dawn last weekend, and it was amazing. Magical. An hour or two of shooting and I had four or five new favorite images, plus the rest of the day ahead of me. Then I ate some delicious brunch, and pretty much could have died happy right then and there.
I recommend you try it.
Below, some more shots from last weekend:
If you enjoyed my post today, please feel free to mosey on over to my blog, Quotidian Photography. I try to post a photo plus a few thoughts there every day.
SEO for Bloggers: Foundations
When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) the main thing to remember is that it’s all about relevancy and keywords.
Search engines love blogs and, if you do it right, you can make some good progress just by making a few key changes to what you’re doing already.
SEO Basics for Bloggers
In my day job I split my time between the marketing and web departments as I work to help spread the company message and produce online conversions. I am part photographer, part graphic artist, and part web designer.
One of my main tasks on the web side of things, aside from general site maintenance, is to implement various strategies for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes. With that experience, I felt as though you all could benefit from some tips and tricks that will help raise your own rankings and drive some more traffic – and, hopefully, more customers – to your site or blog.
Points of View Photo Project #27
Welcome to the 27th week of the Points of View Photo Project!
This week we are fortunate to have a source image from Friend-of-the-Blog Marc Benton of the Columbus Skyline. Thank you Marc!
We have 6 versions for your enjoyment this week! I am excited for the continued growth of the project and I encourage you all to give it a shot for next week. We have a special image at the end of the post that comes from my brother, Chris, from his recent trip to Antarctica.
So have a look at what we all did to process this initial photo and, who knows, you might learn a little something too!
New Page Added: Kudos
Not trying to blow my own horn, or anything, but I compiled a number of quotes that some of my fellow bloggers and fans have had to say about my work here on the blog and about my photography as well.
You can check out what they have to say over on a new page called “Photo Quotes” in my “About” section. It is, by no means, a complete listing and I’m sure I’ll add to it as we go.
Thank you to everyone who has shared such amazing words of encouragement and support over the years! I truly appreciate it and it keeps me going – especially when I fall into a rut that I don’t think I can get out of.
The Results Are In! February 2010 Photo Contest!
It’s that time again to announce the winner of our Monthly Photo Contest here at Jason D. Moore Photography! There were a lot of excellent photos entered this month and I have definitely seen some growth in the work coming from many of the regular submitters this time around. Nice work!
I have enlisted the help of the January winner, Chris Stern to help in the judging this month – as we will do from here on out with the winner serving as guest judge for the following month. Thank you Chris!
Don’t forget to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the post to see what’s in store for the March Photo Contest!
And so, the winner of the Canvas Gallery Wrap from IGT America is…
I’ve Been Invited!
In case you missed it, last week over on Friend-of-the-Blog Scott Kelby’s site he announced that Adobe has graciously allowed NAPP to invite a select number of their members to be private Beta testers of the next version of Photoshop.
Points of View Photo Project #26
Welcome to the 26th edition of the Points of View Photo Project here at Jason D. Moore Photography!
This week’s source image came from regular contributor, Henrik Demey from Belgium. About the photo, he writes:
“This picture was taken during a city trip to Prague, Czechia. It shows the central interior of the Saint Nicholas Church, on the Old Town Square. This baroque church dates from 1735.”
Thanks for sharing your shot with us, Hendrik! If any of you would like to share one of your shots with us to use as our source image in an upcoming week, please send it to me at pov@jasondmoore.com and you may see it in the next few weeks.
And now, onto this week’s contributions!
Photo Inspiration Thursday: The Lonely Pixel
Last week I shared with you a process for Using Textures with Photos on a shot of the Eiffel Tower I took a couple of years ago. It’s a style that I haven’t used that often but has really drawn me in and provided a great deal of creative energy for me.
When I was going through my comments recently, weeding out the spam, I found a comment that seemed legit but was picked up by the filters. I visited the site that was included and was really taken by the imagery that I was presented with by an art photographer that uses this technique perfectly in her work.
Points of View Photo Project #25
Hey Everyone! Welcome to the 25th installment of the Points of View Photo Project!
Today’s source image was taken on my honeymoon back in the fall of 2007. We went back to the park where the ceremony was held and we noticed all along the riverbed, someone had gone and stacked rocks into hundreds and hundreds of these things. Very strange, but very cool!
Click “more” to see how Hendrick Demey and I processed this photo. Then, scroll to the bottom of this post to grab the source image for next week (generously provided by Hendrik).
New Points of View Photo Project Image
Ok, since I haven’t gotten any submissions for this week’s Points of View Photo Project as of yet, and I’ve heard that it wasn’t the best source image to use, I’ve decided to offer up an alternate.
Using Textures with Photos
Awhile back I used a photo texture to add a little extra dimension of interest to a series of photos I had been working on and one of my readers asked for a little insight into how to use textures. So, here we go!
From the Archives
To close out the week, I thought I would take a look back at some posts from the past and see what I’ve done, and where I’ve gone since the early days of this blog.
Cool Text Effect
I just learned how to do this really cool effect while reading one of the Down and Dirty Tricks tutorials in latest issue of Photoshop User Magazine. Click “more” to learn how to do it!
Lorne Resnick Photo Workshops
TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER LORNE RESNICK ANNOUNCES 2010 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
Join Lorne as he guides you in creating compelling and unique travel and fine art images. This limited selection of intimate workshops will provide you with an exceptional learning experience in some of the most beautiful places on earth, including exotic locations such as Kenya, Tanzania, Antarctica and Cuba and also iconic US National Parks such as Yosemite, Arches and Death Valley.
Points of View Photo Project #24
Welcome to the 24th edition of the Points of View Photo Project here at Jason D. Moore Photography!
UPDATE: New deadline for submitting your version of the image for week #25!
Each week readers from all over the world tackle a common source image and display it to show the many interpretations, perspectives, and approaches that can be taken from the same starting point. I always fins it interesting how a single image can be manipulated and processed to express such different feelings and emotions.
If you are new to the project, or if you’ve been following along regularly and would like to participate, be sure to scroll to click on “More…” and scroll down to the bottom to download the source image for next week and learn how to submit.
But now, on with this week’s images!
The Results Are In! January 2010 Photo Contest
Welcome back to another edition of our Monthly Photo Contest!
What a tremendous selection of photos for last month’s contest! I couldn’t believe how many excellent shots I had to choose from. You guys are making me really work for it! Thank you!
I have selected a winner, but I don’t think I’ve ever had so many honorable mentions (11) in one month. There are just so many terrific shots, you are all great!
Also, remember to scroll down to the bottom of the post to find out more about the next contest!
And now, without further ado, the winner of the January Photo Contest and a copy of Scott Kelby and Terry White’s The iPhone Book is…
Points of View Photo Project: #23
Welcome to our 23rd edition of the Points of View Photo Project here at Jason D. Moore Photography!
We saw a really good showing this week with 5 participants in the project! Thank you all so much! I think we have a great mixture of interpretations this time around that I’m sure you will enjoy. I particularly appreciate it when someone really makes it their own and does something special with it – be it a nice processing treatment or an outside-the-box edit job.
Before we get too much farther I’d like to, once again, extend an invitation to you to share your out-of-the-camera original images to serve as our starting point in an upcoming week. Read on down to the bottom of the post for more info and where to send it.
And now, on to the images!
