In the first close up with the black arrow you can see the the shot is a very low resolution.  Removing a lot of the digitization in the photo will help to smooth it out and make it a clearer crisper photo.  Can this be done?  YES!   The next arrow photo after the first shows how a lot of the digitization was removed and the digitized skin tones have been smoothed out as well.  I am not going to go into how I actually did this because that is not the point.  We are talking about turning good photos into great photos remember?  The third photo with the black arrow shows the bridesmaids being removed.  Off with her head!

We are now left with the photo with the bridesmaids removed. There was some additional altering done here because we needed to adjust the coloration of the veil to remove the blue dress from behind it as well as replace walls under the Bridesmaids legs in the background and a little teeth whitening.   Then the final touch; a color correction to remove the grey overcast from the photo bringing back the original sunny day and the whiteness of the brides dress. 

Now we don't have just a good photo anymore but a great photo of just the bride and groom and suitable to frame now don't you think?  Below we have the before and after final photos for closer inspection.  You can see how there is now more detail in the photo on the right.  The definition in the pocking of the rocks down to the individual blades of grass can be seen better.  The expressions in the wedding couples faces are more enhanced and that is the most important part.

This editing can be done to almost any photo including vintage photos. The best part is that though they are fun to do, its' even more fun making someone happy.  Have any photos you would like to get retouched?  Or a family ex that needs to be removed from a photo?  Though it may be sad it happens and why not try to save a "good" photo and make it GREAT.   All of this is possible.  If you would like to have this done just contact me through the contact page.  We are happy to help. 

Ok now to cover trying to take GREAT photos so you don't have to go through the above. While traditional wedding photos are special and important, fun & candid shots can make anyone’s photos stand out from the crowd and make it look like it was done by a professional.  So, put a little creativity in your wedding photos and make that special day even more memorable. How do you do that? Well read on!

In honor of the wedding season here are 24 ideas you shouldn't pass up.

Rule of thumb?  If you think you are going too far there is no such thing.  Its' your wedding.  You can always blame your behavior on the open bar and the photographer.  Don't let priority get in the way of art and a great wedding photo.

So you lost, left, don't have a job. You are considering going freelance. First let me say if you are trying to be my competition choose another venue...HA! Kidding but freelance definitely has its ups and downs. Including the fact there is so much competition out there. I love the competition. It gives me an opportunity to fine tune my skills learning from those who may be better and assisting those who want to learn. There is always a lot of work out there to be had and done. Just do your best and remember customer experience is ALWAYS the most important.

Today I am assisting you in your endeavors to strike out on your own with a free E-book that is available for just seven days. Be sure to go get your copy ASAP. This E-book is the first in a series that is geared towards becoming a successful freelancer.  Click on the book cover on the right to get your free copy.

Here is what you will find in this book:

1. Thinking about Going Freelance? Here’s a Few Tips

2. How to Become a More Productive Freelancer

3. The Daily Schedule for Freelancing Success

4. The Successful Freelance Web Worker: Increase Productivity and Reduce Stress

5. How to Make Your Freelance Business Stand Out

If you wish to discuss this book with me check the bottom left to see if I am on for live chat. I would be more than happy to assist you.

Best of luck and tune in often for tips!

Sometimes choosing a paint or image to work with for the day is as simple as playing rock, paper, scissors or RPS to the devout.  Or eenie meenie miney moe works well too. In a pinch its the easy way sometimes to decide or to settle an argument. But did you know that RPS was documented as far back as the Han Dynasty in China?

There is actually a documented case of a company in Japan called Maspro Denkoh who used RPS to decide if they would let Sotheby's or Christie's handle a $20 million dollar collection of rare art containing pieces from artists such as Van Gogh and Picasso. The final RPS choice was made by an 11 year old child. Now I don't know about you but I hope my art will be famous enough someday to have an 11 year old playing rock-paper-scissors over it to decide its outcome. WOOT! What?

So as we know the art of playing rock-paper-scissors is watching the body language, expressions and the eyes of your opponent. If you know your opponent well enough you probably more then likely tie. A lot. You are looking for a more manly and beastly fair way of playing not to mention something that is a little more skillful and puts a artful swagger in your game. I have just the answer for you and if you haven't heard of it already its called BNC or Bear-Ninja-Cowboy.

Okay here is the skinnay. Each of these tough guys have a pose of their own. The bear stands with his claws in the air, the Ninja stands sideways in a Ninja-utsu stance, and the cowboy has his two guns drawn at the hips with a bit of a spread-ed bowlegged stance and a sneer on his face. Alright I added that last part wanna BNC over it tough guy?

Ninja beats Cowboy. Ninja's can bend the body like the Matrix and out maneuver the bullet and the Cowboy. Sorry Pardner.

Cowboy beats bear. Yeah they been hunting them since the dawn of time everyone knows a Cowboy has a bear rug on his floor.

So there you go. Since you face away from each other you have no way of figuring out what your opponent is going to do unless again you know them really well. You could say today we now painted a new way of playing rock-paper-scissors. Actually BNC has been around for a while since 2001 or maybe longer. Wanna do some art?  Oh one last thing. The cute rock paper scissors picture above is available as a T-shirt and was created by TeeTurtle clothing. You can visit them by clicking on the image. Okay Tonks time people! (Tonks? see art and coffee ;)

Well one thing this artist does not do it sleep well.  Lack of sleep has all kinds of negative effects on the body and over all health. Which is one of the reasons you will see me make that up with a sense of humor. You can't cry if you are laughing. Good attitude maybe but it doesn't make up for the lack of sleep and exhaustion. Most important of all I need sleep to create. Its so hard to focus when your brain just wants to sleep on its own. What are your reasons for not sleeping?

My issues are complicated.  I have a lot going on. I have Asthma, Apnea, Allergies, Fibromyalgia, Insomnia, ADD, Hot Flashes, IIH, Complicated Migraines, Vertigo. Though this is only a partial list of what all I have going on, it is the particular list that keeps me from getting a good nights sleep.

You see because of all the issues listed earlier above I have a rather large tendency to do aerobics while I DO sleep. I spin clock wise constantly and bunch about 6 pillows into every shape I can to find a cool spot and a comfortable position. Based on this thought I knew a Chillow didn't stand a chance on top of a pillow. It would get buried or flipped upside down under the pillow. I decided the best bet would be to give it its own pillow case and use it separately. To do this a Chillow fits in half of a pillow case if you turn it vertical. I then just folded the rest of the sheet over it. 

I could now form it to any shape I needed it to squash under my hot neck to support it. This worked great. Sort of. There is a valve for the water and you can see that in the photo above. Its' a little red valve.  When I would roll the Chillow up to support my neck I had to make sure the valve didn't poke me in the head or face. I also had read some people had issues with theirs leaking.  Mine didn't leak but then I didn't own it long enough to find out.

What happened? Well it did do what it said as far as keeping cool because even though the water would eventually reach your body temperature, it would be hours before that happened. Then all you would have to do is just move your head to a new area of the pillow and walla cool again. Great right? Well not really because you fight with how heavy it is, the pool toy smell and the valve. The next problem I noticed was the vinyl started to get crinkly and sort of crispy and not so soft anymore which I akin to me rolling it up to sleep on all the time. The mat inside the Chillow was getting bunched up and its uber hard to un-bunch it once it does that.  This was about a week in to having it. Now the most non-predictable or should I actually say most predictable thing happened next. You guessed it and I am sure it had nothing to do with the adorable fluffy kitten photo on the right. Right? Well the kittens liked how cool it was too and decided to walk on it and poked holes in it with their claws. I briefly thought about patching it with duct tape but then envisioned it getting stuck to the pillow case or worse, my hair. I temporarily set it aside...for a month and it grew mold inside. and it was bunched up and it had holes. Thankfully it was only $12 or I would feel even worse about it.

All in all what I did find out about this experience was that it helped a lot! I got some heat relief from some of my symptoms and got a little more sleep. So what to do now? If I were to build a Chillow how would I go about it. I would definitely make it out of gel so that I didn't have to fill it with water. The Chillow was like a mini water bed with the core inside that bunches up.  Same concept. I would want it to be lighter. I would want to be able to roll it up so I can tuck it under my chin or my neck but also be large enough to keep areas of it cool.  And what do you know after a little research I found it. Exactly what I was looking for.  The Polar Gel Pillow.

Gel filled. Can fold or roll. Can refrigerate. Sweet! It had a 4 1/2 star review on Amazon no one stars and nothing less then a 3 plus it comes with a free e-book for tips on better sleep. See that up above on the right (get yours while they last).  I got Polar pillow yesterday. Leaking out the side seam. Great. Did someone clue them in that I am the lemon tester?  Sending it back for a replacement today. The quest for better sleep continues. Imagine what I could do if I had great sleep!

One of my regrets is to flood the internet with yet another reminder of this passing genius. But I must because the loss of a great artist in any form is not only heartbreaking but thought provoking.

I remember all to well Robins' first break into Comedy television through Happy Days as the beloved Mork from Ork. Then to break into his own show Mork & Mindy. I remember eating a chocolate chip cookie while I was explaining to my mother how funny Mork was and demonstrated sitting on my head like he did in the show. This is when the chocolate chip cookie I was eating went up my nose. I will never forget the laughter we all had and the pain in my nose from the cookie now stuck in my nasal passages lol. 

It breaks my heart that his family suffers such a great loss. It breaks my heart that he wasn't able to find the help he needed and decided that the only help was at his own hand.  It serves as a reminder for those like myself who suffer bouts of depression to seek help because this was not the answer. We have lost a genius in his own rights.

This provokes me to reach out to those of you who suffer depression to please seek the help you need and keep those close around you closer. It seems that sometimes those who are as clever and talented as Robin may suffer in general because they are such genius the ADD in their mind probably drives them to distraction. I myself have this issue. Not that I am saying I am a genius, but I have so many ideas spinning all the time that even in my sleep I invent and create. A sign of a genius? Maybe. A sign that the brain is overactive? Definitely. The question is do you try to tame the monster or do you set the monster free.

I think Robin knew how to set the monster free by trying to make others happy. By making them laugh. By making them think. But I truly feel that he did these things because deep down he didn't feel accepted or hid his true feelings to others by covering it funny faces and laughter. The character Hawk Eye Pierce from M*A*S*H was a lot like that and was accused of such in one episode. The reason I remember it is because I saw that reflected in myself as well and I have never forgot it.

Being self aware is a great place to be but everyday is a struggle to remain positive. I challenge you as I ask you to always challenge me. If we challenge each other  to find what is beautiful in the world today and everyday we will live life to its fullest.

Godbless Robin Williams and I bid you adieu. I salute you as an artist, teacher, a father, a husband, a friend and inspiration to many. May you find the peace you were desperately seeking. May your family find warmth in your memory and the strength to understand that as in life you taught us all and in death you will continue to do so.  GOOD morning VIETNAM!