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Michael [mahy-kuhl] – noun
1. A male given name. 2. A witty, charming professional wedding photographer who enjoys movies, exercise, romantic walks on the beach and large pepperoni pizzas.
Maven [may-ven] – noun
1. A connoisseur or trusted expert in a particular field who seeks to pass his knowledge onto others. 2. An intense gatherer of useful information. 3. An individual who demonstrates passion for learning and teaching a specific topic, particularly through a well connected social network.
Thank you for coming to my blog! I update it regularly, so if you ever want to know what I am up to, please come by and take a peek. Feel free to leave your comments below.
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Adobe Announces Photoshop Elements 7.0 |
Adobe has just announced the release of Photoshop Elements 7.0. It has a few new cool features such as Photomerge (allows you to combine elements from different images together) and teeth brightener. The biggest additions seem to be linked with how the program works with Photoshop.com to backup or share your photographs. This release wont effect the information on the Photoshop DVD, because that DVD is focused on teaching the core basics of photoshop, which probably wont change anytime soon.
For more information check out Adobes Link:
PS Elements 7.0 |
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Traitor |
| This movie was boring. Yawn. |
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Are you ready for some football?! |
FINALLY!! College football season is here! It seems like it has been 3-5 years since the end of the bowl games. I dont watch a lot of football, but if BYU is playing and its on TV, I will be watching. For those of you who dont know, BYU is expected to be a BCS bowl buster this year, HOWEVER, as much as I really, REALLY love BYU, they always seem to find a way to lose 1-2 of the first few games of the year, and then go undefeated, I should know, I was on the team that went 14-1 in 1996, so yes I can say that.
I have a few other favorite teams too, I like Alabama (obviously), teams that I have friends coaching for, USC, UCLA, Louisville. I love underdog teams that surprise bullies, Boise State, South Florida, Stanford. I guess this is all very hypocritical because many of these teams play each other, (BYU vs UCLA, USC vs UCLA, etc). Just in my world, BYU is numero uno.
So, if you like Michael Andrew (which I hope you do) I am officially inviting you to jump on the BYU bandwagon as they attempt to go undefeated in with a relatively weak schedule. Just be warned, if they lose early on (which will crush me as it always does) I will be posting a big picture of BLACK in mourning, just so you know whats up.
Here is BYUs logo just in case you didnt know: |
Tomorrow BYU is playing Northern Iowa, a I-AA team, however, they are VERY VERY good (12-1 last year) and I am fearful this could be a messy game (think Michigan vs Appalachian State) if BYU isnt careful.
Other reasons to love college football:
- Major weekly upsets! (which results in the crushing of arrogance and egos!! YAY!)
- More diverse offensive schemes, including trick plays!!
- More heart and love for the game, not contracts or $$!!
- Smack talk!
Why else do we love college football more than the NFL? |
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Mail Chimp |
First of all. let me say that I absolutely loathe spam emails, as well as telemarketers. They drive me nuts, and I believe they are somewhat illegal. Thats just my personal opinion.
On the other hand, I have over 500 people who have signed up for my Newsletter, of which I have sent out exactly 1, simply because I do not like blowing up reader's in boxes. That said, there are clearly a significant amount of interest in my work, inside news and new product release dates. (Like a Photoshop Crash Course DVD for example which is nearing completion).
It just so happened that I stumbled upon this website recently, and again this today, and so far it looks pretty cool. Apparently it manages your newsletter lists and does all kinds of cool things automatically, like updating your list when emails are changed or opting readers out. Mail chimp also helps with dynamic html, which allows you to drop photos into your emails.
If you ever have a need to send out a LEGIT mass email, you might want to look into Mail Chimp.
Mail Chimp |
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Get Pictures on MMs! |
MMs now allows you to make your own MMs, not just with messages, but with pictures too! I love, love, love customization goodies, if you know of any neat customization products, websites or the like...PLEASE let me know in the comments box below!
Custom Photo MMs |
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Canon 50D Unleashed! |
This is legit-
Canon has announced the 50D, which will replace the 40D as its mid-level Prosumer grade camera. Many very nice improvements:
- 15.1 Mega Pixels
- New Processor for richer colors
- New Live view with Face Detection
- Much higher resolution 3" Monitor (nearl 1,000,000 pixels)
- ISO up to 12800
- HDMI outputs for high def viewing.
Canon likes to wait at least 18 months before unveiling its new models, the 40D came out around August of last year. This is clearly aimed at going head to head with the Nikon D300. I can only wonder whats taking so long on the 5D replacement? (Its been almost 3 years now)
Check out the specs on Canon's Page-
Canon EOS 50D
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Michael The Mentor School RELOADED |
BIGGER, FASTER, BETTER!!!
After a HUGE amount of work, the Michael The Mentor online photography school has been officially updated and reloaded. There are probably a few more needed tweaks here and there, but this system is SOOOOO much better than the older one. Updates include:
- Bigger videos in a custom MA Flash Player.
- HTML based, not flash- This means improved search engine rankings.
- Direct Linking Capability (hyperlink to each lesson directly), before we could only link to each lesson group.
- 2 new Composition Lessons (Contrast and Dutch Tilt)
- Ability to add more lessons quickly and easily.
- Direct links of each lesson to thread on the forums!
- Download each lesson to your Ipod/iPhone (this part is not quite finished but should be in a few weeks).
- Banner ads
The best part about this set up is that I can easily add lessons. The last system we were using was all done in flash and it was EXTREMELY tricky to add lessons (if not impossible) and I was limited to 10 lessons in each group. This set up is paving the way for me to add as many new lessons as I would like, and trust me, there are MANY to come as soon as the Photoshop DVD is completed.
A very big thank you to the fabulous Programmer Brock Martin for making this possible. Great job Brock!
Enjoy!
NOTE: In order to see the new changes immediately, you will have to empty your internet cache files, otherwise it will take a few days. If you would rather wait, you can check it out by clicking here:
Michael The Mentor Reloaded
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What motivates you? |
Ive thought about this for years and wanted to open it up for you guys to get your input.
I believe there are two major motivations for taking action,
1. Any type of Stress , it could be a some sort of hunger, pain, fear, anxiety, worry, etc. It can be good stress or bad stress.
2. The Pursuit of prospect , and I dont mean this to be greed, or pride only, it can be any goal not motivated by stress, and yes the pursuit of prospect can be motivated by stress, so in that sense it would be stress motivated, and not count. In this sense, it has to be PURE meaning stress is not involved in any way. Maybe you want to do something nice for someone, try to grow and become a better person, reach a goal etc.
When we are motivated by stress, motivation ends when stress ends, and it puts us into a vicious cycle of acting only when we are stressed, and the absence of stress becomes our primary focus. Stress is typically the indication of a problem, so we become perpetual problem solvers or fire putter outters. I really dont like this mode of thinking.
When we are motivated by the pursuit of prospect in the absence of stress, it can be never ending. I know this will sound crazy, but I often feel deep sense of inadequacy in achieving the goals I have for myself. Its not stress in the sense that its something I HAVE to do, but more discomfort because I havent achieved it yet.
In any event, I have a hard time feeling satisfied with myself. In a way, I like it and I dont think I would want to change it...but I mean....I have a really hard time appreciating the goals I do accomplish because as soon as they are done, I am moving on to the next project. How can I feel satisfied without becoming complacent?
In your opinion, what motivates you in a positive way? |
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Pocket Wizards |
If we are going to be talking about gear, these deserve a mention. If you have any type of artificial lighting, be it an external flash or a studio flash system, you will absolutely need a pair of Pocket Wizards. These connect to your camera hot shoe, as well as your flash and allow for off camera lighting.
If you are shooting with a Canon, you will need either the 580 vII or a hot shoe PC adapter for the 580 v1. These Transceivers (both transmitter and receiver) will help you get your flash off your camera and allow you to get super creative with your lighting. They are ABSOLUTELY worth the investment and are so much fun to play around with. You can also purchase a few accessory type cables that will allow you to trigger many different devices, including your camera. (Meaning you can hide your camera somewhere during a ceremony and trigger it by remote).
Pocket Wizard Transceiver
Is there any other gear you guys would like to know about?
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My Current Favorite Ball Head | Bogen 486 |
Ive tried several different ball heads and of them, this little guy has been my favorite. Its light, has a simple construction and most of all is reliable. The bogen 3265 grip ball head, while it "looks" cool- will stop working after a year, and the 486 has twice the load capacity at 13lbs. For $70, its a a great investment! Check out the reviews at BH Photo.
Bogen 486 Ball Head with Quick Release Plate |
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