Search Results for: blog award winning shots

Award-Winning Shots

I’ve entered a few photo contests in my time. I’ve lost more times than I’ve won, but a majority of my failures have been less about my photo skills and more about my inability to thoroughly read the contests’ rules. If you are planning to enter your favorite images into one or more of the hundreds of photo contests available, learn from my mistakes: For starters, each photo contest features a unique set of rules that must be followed to avoid disqualification. Read ALL of the rules. Don’t assume all photo contests are created equally. Contest guidelines are not arbitrary; … Continue reading →

Doing the Right Thing

Imagine how you would feel if your child scored a $54,000 scholarship to UCLA. For many parents, it would be akin to winning the lottery. After all, college ain’t cheap… well, unless you are a multimillionaire. What? You don’t think the wealthiest of the wealthy have to watch their Benjamin? It’s hard being rich and famous. Just ask Sean “Diddy” Combs. The rap mogul is considered one of the richest men on the planet with an estimated fortune of more than $550 million. With all that cash flying around, you’d think Combs could easily fork over the money needed to … Continue reading →

Selling Your Work at Art Fairs and Craft Shows

If you are an artist or a crafter, you just might have the main ingredient for a successful home-based business. The things that you create are unique and beautiful, and there are many people out there that would love to purchase them so that they can enjoy them. Art and craft fairs and shows are a great way for home-based artists and crafters to show their works to a large audience, an audience that comes to the fairs and shows in search of that something special. One great thing about being an artist of crafter and selling your work at … Continue reading →

To Sell or Not to Sell—Movie Star Weighs in on Baby Pic Saga

Angelina Jolie and the two newest members of the diverse Jolie-Pitt crew are finally home. Well, one of them anyway. Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline sped off with their mother from their temporary digs at the French Riviera hospital where they were born a week ago today. According to news reports, the actress and her infants slipped out of the hospital’s back entrance around 4 a.m. and sped off in a white van with tinted windows. No photos were snapped of the newborns, but you won’t have to wait too long to see Brangelina’s babes. Reports say an unnamed American … Continue reading →

Travel Update: Trouble for Villa Trapp

So much for the happy Hollywood movie ending… The hills are no longer alive with the sweet sound of music–plans for an Austrian vacation villa created from the same home that once housed the famous von Trapp family immortalized in the blockbuster hit movie “The Sound of Music” has hit a roadblock. Actually, it’s more like a neighborhood block. Residents whose homes border the famous property are irate that the landmark is being turned into a tourist attraction and fear visitors will create traffic jams and become nuisances in their quiet neighborhood. “We will fight this with all means at … Continue reading →

Meet the Josephs

Tucker Joseph with his Aunt Court and Uncle Wayne Labor Day Weekend 2006 I’d like to introduce you to some very dear friends of mine, the Josephs: Michael, Karen and Tucker, the 80 pound wonder dog. (a.k.a. Murphy’s best friend.) When we lived in Jacksonville, the Josephs lived at the top of our block. They moved into their house right around the same time we moved into ours. I remember thinking as I’d see Karen walk Tucker up and down our street, “My golly, that’s a big dog for that lady. I hope she can handle him.” Well, of course … Continue reading →

Photographing Children Part One

I’ve been taking a lot of pictures lately, so I’m starting a new three part series on Photographing Children. Kids grow up so fast. You blink and it seems the time is lost. While we are often filled with wonderful memories of their years growing up, most parents only have the yearly school portraits, some blurry holiday snapshots, terribly forced smile pictures, and photos with eyes closed, strange faces and no smile. Is that the way you want to remember your children? It isn’t the way to account for the years that have passed. Our memories are too precious not … Continue reading →