Post #1200: March Photo Contest Reminder
That’s right, I’ve been writing online for over 7.5 years now and have racked up 1,200 posts. Who’d have thought?!
Just wanted to send out a couple of quick reminders as we quickly approach the latter part of the month.
Weekend Photo Shoot
Over the weekend I had the pleasure of setting up in my living room to shoot some photos of my beautiful wife Kim, her friend Tisha and her husband Steve, and even get a new headshot taken – by Kim.
Find out more about the setup I used and check out a selection from the shoot after the jump…
Special Thanks to You All!
For my final post of the year, I’d like to take a moment to express my deepest thanks to some really great people who have made 2009 such an awesome year here at Jason D. Moore Photography.
We’re Having a Boy!
Today, Kim and I found out that we are 20 weeks and 5 days along as we prepare for the arrival of our son Liam in April! The ultrasound showed good development of all of his organs and we heard another strong heartbeat as he squirmed around trying to hide from the tech.
We were both, honestly, not hoping for a boy or a girl specifically, just for a healthy baby. We are so excited for this new little guy to come out and see us, even though he’s already been a member of the family for a few months now. I really can’t wait but I’ll settle for being able to feel him kicking soon.
December 2009 Desktop Wallpaper Calendar
Each month I publish a new photographic desktop wallpaper featuring one of my photos as well as a custom calendar with holidays and other important dates listed. The image for the December 2009 Desktop Calendar was taken looking up from beneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris during the summer of 2008. I have to credit my amazing wife, Kim, for the idea.
Click on one of the links below to download yours today so you’ll be ready for December!
*If your screen resolution is not displayed, please leave a comment and I’ll be sure to include it next time!
Also, if you would like to sponsor the monthly desktop calendars to get your name/brand in front of readers on a daily basis, or if you would like to partner with us on one of our other regular series, projects, or to advertise on this site, please visit our “Become a Sponsor” page today to learn how!
Happy Thanksgiving!
To everyone celebrating the holiday today, on behalf of Kim and myself, I’d like to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!
And, on a personal note, I’d like to extend my deepest thanks to all of you for being such loyal and supportive readers over the years, no matter how long you’ve been coming. I appreciate your input, participation, and willingness to put up with my antics on a regular basis. It humbles me every time I think about it…
Thank You!
Blogging Break of Sorts
As the holiday season is upon us and the dawn of the new year with new opportunities and new beginnings is on the horizon I feel like I need to take a little time to refocus and plan for the future.
Over the next week and a half or so there will be some limited blogging as I devote the time I would normally spend developing content to other things that will help with the long-term goals I have set. (more…)
Anniversary Blogging: 2nd Edition
Dear Kim,
Two years ago today we stood together, held hands, looked into each other’s eyes and promised to love each other forever. And I’ve only grown more in love with you each and every day since!
You are my best friend, my favorite, my everything! I am a better person because of you and my life is more full of life because of the love you’ve shared with me. Thank you!
I think often of our trip down to Falling Water that spring when I first knew that you were the woman I was made for, of the night I got back from Photoshop World in Boston and couldn’t wait any longer to give you my grandmother’s ring, of the elation I felt – and still feel – when we became partners on this amazing journey together.
Every big event, every small moment, everything has been made more wonderful, every challenge, struggle, has been less difficult to bear because of our love. Thank you for your sweetness, your strength, your laughter, your passion, your support, your care, your acceptance, your love – above all!
As we walk down the path of our tomorrows, we will walk side by side, hand in hand, heart to heart!
I Love You So Much, Sweetheart!
October 2009 Desktop Wallpaper Calendar
Each month I will publish a new photographic desktop wallpaper featuring one of my photos as well as a custom calendar with holidays and other important dates listed. The image for the October 2009 Desktop Calendar is a photo I took for Kim as her wedding present. It is her wedding ring set on one of her sketch books. I am using it here in honor of our 2nd Anniversary coming up later this month.
Click on one of the links below to download yours today so you’ll be ready for October!
*If your screen resolution is not displayed, please leave a comment and I’ll be sure to include it next time!
Also, if you would like to sponsor the monthly desktop calendars to get your name/brand in front of readers on a daily basis, or if you would like to partner with us on one of our other regular series, projects, or to advertise on this site, please visit our “Become a Sponsor” page today to learn how!
Software Review: Topaz DeNoise
I sat down last night to see if Topaz DeNoise was all it’s cracked up to be. No matter how hard you try, every so often you will find yourself in a situation where your settings were off or the light changed or you’re shooting at night and your image has a lot of noise. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the most technical photographer out there when it comes to making sure I have everything set properly in-camera. So this happens to me every so often.
To show an example of the kind of noise that can arise when your settings are a little off, here’s a closeup detail of shot I took over the summer with Kim and I took off for Niagara Falls for a spontaneous weekend away. It was a little dark and when I increased the exposure in post, the noise really came out.
As you can see, it’s not too bad, but is noticeable and it’s got to go. I usually do some noise reduction in Lightroom or ACR but it’s not quite right. So, I brought the image into Photoshop CS4 as a Smart Object and applied the Topaz DeNoise plugin to it so it would work as a Smart Filter. I used one of the presets and played with the sliders only a little bit here and there and the results were fantastic:
I was expecting to lose detail as though I used a surface blur but Topaz DeNoise targeted only the noise within the image and left the edges and details alone. This wasn’t necessarily a “throw away” shot before, but it’s definitely a keeper now. With just a few clicks I was saved from having to make some tough choices about sacrificing detail to lose the noise.
There’s really not much else to say about it, other than Topaz DeNoise simply does what it’s supposed to. It has all of the pros and cons I mentioned in my post about Topaz Adjust and the price ($79.99) is definitely with reach and I’d say is worth it for the job that it does fixing a tough problem.
I couldn’t just leave the photo at that, I had to keep playing around with Adjust to make the shot even better. Here’s the original:
And here is the final image. All I did was adjust the exposure and white balance in ACR, apply Topaz DeNoise, make a few enhancements based on a preset in Topaz Adjust, and add a touch of lens vignetting:
How Do You Learn?
Before I get into today’s post, Kim and I would like to send out a word of thanks to everyone who has commented either here, on Facebook, or Twitter congratulating us on the news of our pregnancy. It is such an amazing time and your words have really enriched an already exciting time. Thank you!
Now, on with the post…
I’ve always found it fascinating how everyone seems to learn different things in different ways. What can click almost immediately for one person could never get through to another simply because the information wasn’t communicated in a meaningful way. Some people are visual learners. Others are aural. Some have to read or memorize, while others have to be more hands-on before something really sticks.
In college, I would sit in a lecture and just watching the slides and listening would give me so much more than reading the book ever could. Sometimes the physical act of taking notes – whether I reviewed them later or not – would help solidify how it all fit together.
With photography and design, it’s a similar story. Reading about it doesn’t help all that much. Listening to others is good, but it doesn’t quite get me all the way there. I find that I have to engage the subject matter in a visual way before I will truly understand the concepts. Also, it helps to get my hands dirty and do a lot of trial and error to figure it out for myself before it all comes together.
When it comes to learning Photoshop I find that it is, once again, a combination of watching a demonstration while listening to the instructor’s explanation, and then trying it for myself works best. At the same time, turning around and trying to teach it to someone else becomes another layer of hands-on learning as I work it out in my mind how to explain it so someone else can understand.
Particularly with Photoshop in mind, how do you learn best? How do you need information presented in order for it to stick? What resources out there work best for you? Videos? Books? Seminars? What is it about them that does it for you? What doesn’t work?
We’re Expecting!
My friends on Facebook and my followers on Twitter got a jump on the news last night when I shared the amazing announcement that Kim and I are expecting the arrival of our little one somewhere around April 19th.
We had our first appointment yesterday afternoon and the doctor said everything is going very well and we’re right on track. We are simply ecstatic and are anxiously looking forward to welcoming our new addition this spring!
I am so very lucky to share all of this with my best friend! Kim, you’re going to be an amazing mom and I Love You So Much!
“No-Blog” Labor Day
Kim and I are enjoying our last day off together before she heads back to school this week.
For those of you lucky enough to have today off too, enjoy it! And we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
September 2009 Desktop Wallpaper Calendar
Each month I will publish a new photographic desktop wallpaper featuring one of my photos as well as a custom calendar with holidays and other important dates listed. The image for the September 2009 Desktop Calendar was taken in the spring of 2008 when Kim and I travelled to Paris. This is one of the sarcophagi at La Louvre in one of our favorite sections.
Click on one of the links below to download yours today so you’ll be ready for September!
*If your screen resolution is not displayed, please leave a comment and I’ll be sure to include it next time!
Also, if you would like to sponsor the monthly desktop calendars to get your name/brand in front of readers on a daily basis, or if you would like to partner with us on one of our other regular series, projects, or to advertise on this site, please visit our “Become a Sponsor” page today to learn how!
Milo is Here!
Milo, our new Long-haired Miniature Dachshund puppy, has arrived. He’s 7.5 weeks old and has been a joy so far. Here, he’s taking a nap on Kim after a long period stumbling around the house and wagging his tail.
So far, so good!
Versailles Planet
I was searching for some photographic inspiration because I’ve been feeling a little designer’s block or photographer’s block, or whatever you call it. Then I remembered a post I wrote awhile back about creating photographic planets based on a panoramic shot I made in Rochester, NY in November 2007. So, I thought I’d give it another go.
Full instructions can be found in the panoramic planets post but I basically found a landscape shot from Kim’s and my trip to Versailles last year and followed the steps outlined there. I had to do some cloning to take care of the seam and, after masking out the sky I added an inner shadow to the planet to give it some more dimensionality – and to clean up some of the fringe left over when masking the sky.
In the end, I think it turned out pretty cool. I want to try it a few more times with buildings and things sticking out into the sky – I have an Eiffel Tower shot I think would work well – for some added interest.
Give it a try and, if you come up with something good, leave a link in the comments or email it to me at reviews@jasondmoore.com and I’ll post a collection of them here.
Our Canadian Escape
Last Friday Kim and I decided that we wanted to do something other than house stuff or just relaxing in the pool or watching some movies. And, since today is our 21 month anniversary (Happy Anniversary, Kim! I Love You!). So, around 8 o’clock we decided to drive the 4 hours northwest to Niagara Falls.
These are the first three shots I processed, taken with a Lens Baby – I’ll talk more about that later on – and processed entirely in LR. I think they turned out pretty well.
Life Happens
I had every intention of writing up a year in review post for today with my favorite posts from the members of the blogroll. But, as it tends to do, life happened and my mother-in-law is in the hospital. So Kim and I drove down to be with the family. She’s been having tests and will be in for a procedure sometime this morning. We hope to have her home by New Years Day.
UPDATE: Everything went well this morning and the plan is to send her home tomorrow. For now, it’s just laying flat for a few more hours and resting. Thank you to everyone who has sent messages for good health.
Atlantic Ocean: Day 8, Salvador Tomorrow!
Hello once again from little ol’ me traveling around this great big world of ours! A lot has been going on in the week since Cape Town. This past Saturday, the 16th, we had our Ambassador’s Ball – the equivalent of a prom. We all got dressed up and showed off our fancy purchases and tailor-made outfits from Vietnam and other countries. As promised since after Hong King, I’ve included a couple of pictures of me from the Ball wearing my blue and silver silk shirt that I bought for around US$16 in Hong Kong. There are pictures of me and the captain, me and our executive dean Lloyd, my friends Samantha, Valerie, and Kim, and my friend Lindsey (the one with short hair and the bright red dress), and my Vicarious Voyage partner Kate. I had a really great time. I love getting dressed up and spending time with such good friends.
Classes are starting to wind down. My first final is on the Tuesday after Brazil and my last will be a week later on the 3rd of December. Wow, finals already! I know many of you must be quite jealous since you still have another month or so before you get to be home with your families for the holidays. Thanksgiving is coming up next week! It’s hard to imagine that it’s already that close! Being out here on the ocean and running around in various ports, gaining an hour here and there, and not really having any time off so to speak it’s really hard to keep track of what day of the week it is any more, let alone what holidays are coming up. The only holidays I know of at this point that are coming up is that tomorrow is something like “Black Awareness Day” in Brazil. But I’m sure there will be a big “to do” onboard for Thanksgiving. From what I understand, we will not go without the traditional turkey with all the fixings. Granted, it will be served buffet style with around 750-800 other people but it will be nice in its own way.
I’m getting ready to be done. Senioritis is certainly kicking in for me. Traveling the world has taken a lot out of me mentally, emotionally, and physically and I’m just ready to be finished with classes and be home where I can just crash for awhile before heading back into the thick of things for my final semester at BU. This has been an amazing trip and I want to see more of the world. My only comment would be that I’m ready to be home. It’s been hard to be so detached from family and friends and because of all of the demands that come with traveling the way that I am with the constant routine of class and port I am ready for some time off. Brazil and Cuba – aside from the possibility of meeting with Castro, still uncertain – were not high on my list of countries I was looking forward to visiting. I pretty much have no expectations for either of them at this point and so, it’s somewhat bad to say but, I’m not that excited about them. Or perhaps it would be better to say that I am looking more forward to being home, meeting Garrett and being back with the familiar again for awhile. Bebo Norman – one of my favorite musicians whom I highly reccomend – wrote a song on his newest CD – that I picked up in Cape Town of all places! – that really spoke to me as to this feeling of wanting to be home. It says: “Yesterday it seems/ I traveled in a younger man’s clothes/ living out this dream/ and wandering through fields of touch and go/ moving on forever/ watching the distance fade away/ but now I just want to land…where the trees stand still.” But Brazil is tomorrow! I have pretty much no expectations of what it will bring. I know it will amaze me just as all the other ports have, each in their own way. I need to let go of the desire to be around the familiar, “where the faces look the same most every day,” and be open to what these next five days have to teach me about Brazil, its people, its culture, its history, and about myself. I will be amazed again!
First Day After India
As we were told, and as I realized, India is a land of contrasts. Alongside some amazing sights of art and architecture and the skillfully crafted silks I witnessed the extreme poverty and chaos as well. I saw the masses of people, I saw the serenity of rural villages, I saw a lot of dirt, I saw the beauty of it all.
On Day One I went to a Dalit (untouchable) village in Chennai to do a work project. Getting off of the bus we were surrounded by women with flower necklaces for us and a band was playing happily. As we made our way down the main street to our work site we noticed that we were the main attraction in a parade through the village. The band and police escort was leading us on through the crowds of smiling children and curious adults. Let me tell you, I have never seen children smile so wide in my life. We were led to a tent where there was a welcome reception for us where a number of local politicians gave speeches for the press about our upcoming work. Our main tasks included painting a classroom, hallway, and outside wall of the local school as well as transport a few piles of dirt and gravel that the school will use for a water collection system and other purposes that weren’t made too clear. We found out that our visit was somewhat of a publicity stunt but the general consensus of our group was that we didn’t care as long as the work was being done for these people. We didn’t have nearly enough time to do as much as we would’ve hoped but we were grateful for the chance to do what we could. It was a wonderful introduction to India and we saw how such beauty can be found in the lowest of the low and the poorest of the poor.
Day Two was spent at Kancheepuram and Mamallapuram’s temples. On one level, at this point of the voyage, a temple is a temple. I’ve just seen so many. But, these were distinct and special experiences as well. The style of architecture and the intricacies of the stone carvings were unlike much of what I’ve seen before over the past month and a half. These were also “living temples” where munks, nuns and devotees would be seen wandering the grounds and down the corridors in more numbers than the tourists that came through. We, once again, were spotted as being “rich” Americans and were targetted by the locals trying to sell us things and beggers asking for money who wouldn’t step aside even after we said “NO.” The poverty really gets to you sometimes and it’s hard to know what to do.
Day Three was a day of rest, or so I thought. I had no trips planned for the day and thought I’d explore Chennai. The moment I stepped out onto the main street the group I was with and I were mobbed by auto-rikshaw drivers trying to convince us to ride with them. They would follow you down the street and never take no for an answer. When you finally picked one to take you where you wanted to go they would try to take you to places you didn’t want to go that were on the way that they would get commissions from for taking you there. When you finally reached your destination, they would wait for you to take you somewhere else – and try to charge you for them waiting. I think we did pretty well in dealing with them and only paying what we agreed before hand, which was always the higher price for foreigners but fair. It is certainly an adventure and it is very easy to lose your cool at times, like when we got a flat tire. It just takes some patience, practice, and a firm stance on what you want them to do. It’s all part of the experience.
Day Four I went to a rural farm. The man who runs it is slowly starting to turn it into a resort farm so we got to just relax for awhile on hammocks or comfortable chairs on the shady lawn. We then took a bull-drawn cart ride through the village and played with some school children. Upon our return to the farm, an employee of our host shimmied up a coconut tree so we could have a refreshing treat. His parents then prepared a ton of Indian snacks for us, and they were wonderful. It was an amazingly relaxing time that balanced out the stressful day before.
Day Five was like my other free day. Some friends and I went into town to do some last bits of shopping for friends and family, and, of course, for ourselves. I picked up a couple of nice things for relatively cheap prices and my friend Kim bought a really nice sari – a traditional Indian outfit. We were only out for a few hours but we had a good time. After dinner, my friend Samantha and I won our 6th consecutive Skip-Bo game making us undefeated. It’s become a new favorite thing for my friends and I to do while we’re too tired to do much else – like study.
Well, that’s about it from India. I’ve got 2 midterms tomorrow, 1 the next day, a journal entry, paper and an oral midterm on Saturday and only one day in the middle of the week to rest for a little bit. Neptune Day – the day we cross the equator – is on Tuesday and I decided that I will not be shaving my head in celebration. Though, I have heard many of our floating community will be. And those who will are not only of the men in our group. Though it is a celbration day, I will be in the library doing research for my art history paper. But, as of Kenya at the end of this coming week, I’ll be able to take a deep breath and relax for awhile until finals come a-knockin’. Good luck all of you who are in the midterm mode and I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful colors of autumn that I am greatly missing right now.
Until after Kenya…
