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33 Strategies of War |
| I wanted to throw a shot out to Robert Greene's new book the 33 Strategies of War. If you remember, Greene wrote the 48 Laws of Power, which was excellent. This is essentially a war history book, wrapped up into flexible, applicable principles, that any individual can use in different aspects of life, but particularly well in business.
Green breaks down strategy ideas for approaching problems, and then outlines them in a historical context. I will warn you, it is a very slow and very fascinating read, not something to rush through. Read a chapter, think about it, let is soak in, read the next. While reading, I find myself asking how the principles can be applied to photography and I must say, if you are starting a photography business...this would be a great read! |
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How to Get This Shot #1 |
| I get a lot of requests for information on certain shots. I hesitate to do this for a few reasons:
1. It is extremely time consuming to track information for each shot. 2. I would much rather teach by principles than by recipe. You have more options when you are flexible with your creations vs. just doing something you know. With time, most students will be able to look at a photograph and tell everything about it, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, even what the histogram would look like. The situation on this shot dictated what I my decisions were. I had two cameras with me, one with a 28-70 + 580 Speedlite, the other with a 50mm 1.4. I had gotten a few "safe" shots with the 28-70 and wanted to mix it up. There was very little light in the room, so I decided to try the 50mm at 1.4, however because they were dancing I needed to shoot at a fairly high shutter speed, so I bumped my ISO up to 1600. I think it looks fine in certain situations. I wanted to go for a silhouette shot, using the videographers light but I didnt want Mary and Chris to be too dark, so I shifted my exposure compensation to +1.33 to brighten them up and over expose the light behind them. (these are all things I talk about on my DVDs if this is too confusing). The last part was the composition. I decided to use a Rule of Thirds Shot for the couple with a Dutch Tilt. This was the result. These are the settings on this particular shot: f 1.4, 1/200, ISO 1600, +1.33, AWB Did you guys find this helpful? If so I may do more in the future. |
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Michael Andrew Maui Desktop Wallpaper |
| So I was looking through some of my pictures from Maui this last week and I was thinking, you know a lot of these would make really great desktop wallpaper for my computer. Ive gone through hundreds of images and picked these as my top twenty-five favorites, they are available in the store for direct download here: Michael Andrew Maui Desktop Picture Pack
I will be honest with you though, I was a little torn because I wanted to just give them away for free, but didnt want to swamp the store with hundreds of free downloads, so this is what I am going to do: If you help me with just a little bit of marketing, I will send you a code that will allow you to download the Maui Desktop pictures at no charge . All I ask for is for 7 of my links posted anywhere on the internet others may see them. The links I would like help with are: http://www.michaelthemaven.com http://www.michaelthementor.com http://www.michaelandrewphotography.com http://www.canon40ddvd.com http://www.michaelthementor.com/forum You may post these on your Facebook, Myspace, blog, forum (just not on mine as everyone in there already knows) or whatever, you can even post these 5 links on one page and two more on another, or chose one link (www.michaelthemaven.com) and post that 7 times on 7 different sites. You can even count the links you have already posted, as long as they stay up for at least a year. Do this for me, send me an email giving me your word you have, and I will send you the code for a free download of the Maui picture pack. The images have been optimized for your viewing pleasure. :) This offer expires in one month (May 28th 2008) Sound good? |
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Canon Rebel XSi Review |
| So last night I was strolling through Circuit City and behold there they had the new Canon Rebel XSi on display. This was a little strange because Amazon and BH dont even have them available yet. I talked with the sales dude and they said they had gotten them in that morning and had already sold the 2 they received. To make a long story short, I tracked down the last available Canon XSi in the state (at least for now) in Fultondale and made the quick drive to pick it up. I spent some time looking it over last night, and this is my initial review:
Pros- 1. Its very light, granted its body is made out of plastic, after holding a camera for 10 hours, you want something as light as possible. 2. 12.2 Megapixels 3. Dedicated ISO button. 4. Fewer buttons than the XTi, yes, this is a good thing- too much clutter on some of these cameras. Many of these cool features still exist, just a simpler interface. 5. Secondary selector interface uses primary selector wheel. 6. Simplified Menu System 7. Live View 8. My Menu Cons- 1. Feels a little small, as mentioned- not sure about a plastic body. 2. Lack of 50 or 3200 ISO 3. The lens it came with the 18-55 is a joke. It looks & feels like a toy. If you are considering this camera save your extra $100, get the body kit only and buy a REAL lens. The 28-135 is a MUCH, MUCH better kit lens. Over all, I am impressed with this little guy. I will be doing an extensive analysis this week as I prepare to shoot for my Canon Rebel XSi Crash Course Training DVD. Look for pre-orders of that DVD to be made available shortly. :) |
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New Milk Cartons |
| Have you guys seen these bad boys? I am not sure how I feel about this....everytime i pick it up I think I am on a space ship or something. Looks like they are trying to save space as the base is smaller than the standard size milk container. |
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Thrifty Car Rental on Maui |
| Its been a crazy busy day, but I know I needed to come in here and make a post. This one is about customer service and as many of you know I have a love/hate relationship with rental car companies. I cannot stand all their little games, extra insurance, pre-paid gas, etc, etc. I ran into a new scam with my car rental on Maui and just wanted to throw this out there for anyone planning on using them anytime soon. I dont have a problem paying for anything when it is what they say it is. I do have a problem when someone tries to trick me or someone else, even if its not that much money. I HIGHLY doubt this is company policy and it is an isolated incident, but be aware of these games.
When we arrived on the 14th, we had originally booked the car for a full week and when I picked it up, I asked the lady at the counter if I could extend it 3 more days as I was staying longer and she said that would be fine and I would be charged the daily rate of $18/day, (for a Dodge Magnum which I must say was cooler than I was anticipating). Long story short, I return the car, full tank of gas 2 hours before it was due, and the receipt said there was a $43 late return fee. This confused me, so I went to the counter to ask them about it. The first words out of their mouths were "There is nothing we can do about late returns we are sorry." Me: "Maybe there is some kind of mistake, I just returned it 2 hours early" The two girls at the counter started to check their computer, one of them says: "you picked it up at 10am" Me: "Uh...no...I picked it up after 7pm, look at the receipt. Our flight didnt get in until 7 anyway." They go back to their computers and then reluctantly spill it..which I thought was VERY SNEAKY: "Your original reservation was for a week, because you decided to extend the rental 3 extra days, this pushed your reservation over the return date by three days, which we charge an additional $12 per day." This was the scam. Thrifty on Maui actually had the nerve to PRE-BILL a late return fee and then say the rental was only $18 per day, when it was really $30. The kicker is they also have a fee for returning the car early, so either way you are screwed. Me: "Is this legal?" Them: "We do it all the time." And she had this very smug look on her face. Me: "Just because you do it all the time, doesnt make it legal." Them: "Everyone here does it." Me: "This is the first time any car rental company has pulled a stunt like this...." (raising my voice) Them: "We will refund it this time only as a courtesy for you." .....uh huh Another part of the scam, most visitors are in too much of a hurry to look at their receipt and see they have been burned. If they do see it, it may not be until after they are back on the mainland. Something similar also happened at the Outback in Kihei, we were over charged about $200 on a meal for the clan, and the computer even added up the items incorrectly. Not to mention it had the wrong sales tax, almost 1% higher. It was bizarre. It is possible that some of these companies are intentionally over billing EVERYONE, most people dont check their receipts and add everything up, and IF they catch the company....what happens? They refund the money, and the other 95% are still burned. Keep an Eye out for it...check your receipts when you travel. |
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Top Secret Video Project |
| I had one of the best days of my life just hanging out with my Dad and talking about all kinds of things. My Dad is a very cool guy. My career as a photographer really began cleaning swimming pools, a trade my father taught me- its a long story, maybe Ill share it sometime soon. My Dad is like the Indiana Jones of pool guys, he just needs a gun and a whip.
In between stops, I took the time to grab a few quick shots. Unfortunately I leave tomorrow and will be on a plane like forever, so it may be an extra half day before I can post. |
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Mikes Pictures From Hana |
| I got these pictures from Mike this morning. I thought he did a nice job with his little point and shoot. |
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Expelled- Movie Review |
| My Dad wanted to catch this movie tonight, so I went not knowing anything about it. It's a controversy- documentary-discussion on the academic battle between the Theory of Evolution and Intelligent Design. Due to my background as a scientist who was immersed in this world for 8 years, I found it interesting- however, most non-scientists / historians are going to be bored with it after 40 minutes. I was familiar with many of the points made, but if you arent it could be an interesting rental, definitely not something to see in the theaters, especially around May 2nd, (IRON MAN).
I spent most of the day getting caught up on business things, and I must say I covered a ton of ground. It was nice to just walk out to the beach every time I needed a break. I have a lot of really neat things in the works, I am so excited to get them polished up and ready for delivery. Summer is going to be very interesting around here. Tomorrow I am going to be shooting some video for a new training DVD with my Dad, should be a fun time. I promised myself I would take at least one picture every day I was here. I am sure you guys are getting sick of all the ocean shots, but dang, when I have access to scenery like Maui, Im going to take full advantage. :) |
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The Aquarium and Big Beach |
| Early this morning we hiked out to a semi-secret snorkeling site called "The Fish Bowl" or "The Aquarium" out in the lava fields past Makena. Ive been here a couple times, but the path entrance has been hidden and it was very difficult to find. In any case, we found it and although it doesnt look like much on the outside, it is PACKED with fish- like you wouldnt believe. By far the best snorkeling spot I have EVER seen. |
| Then we spent the rest of the day at Big Beach just hanging out. It was a great day. Sadly, Mike went home today- I will spend the next three days buckling down on some business. |
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© 2010 Michael Andrew Photography, All rights reserved. Blog by infinet design |
