CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-23 02:11:38 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Wazzup

Thunder in the Gulf ~ Orange Beach, Alabama
It's coming up again in a few weeks. Can't wait!

#boat #racing #powerboat #gulf  

2013-05-22 18:14:49 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Happy Fan Girl Recommends

Henry Ian Cusick has a new page on G+. You may remember him as Desmond on Lost. He has some new projects coming up and is getting into the social media thing. So please check out his page, circle him up, and show Brotha some love from Google+ :-)

2013-05-21 19:01:01 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

Gazing Down a Lazy River... Truckee River, California

This is a photo from new video "photo tips" tutorial I just posted on my blog: http://goo.gl/TxRhH. My point in doing this one was simply to show some ways to think about capturing photos from vacations or road trips under less-than-idea conditions. When you see the video, you'll get what I mean!

I know I've been places I may never visit again - and it's either grab the shot right then or go look at someone else's online. Not an option for me! I mean, say you're driving between destinations and you're on a schedule. You've got limited time and don't have the luxury of waiting around for the perfect weather and lighting conditions. Suddenly "Oooo!" you see a beautiful spot, slam on the brakes and jump out for a closer look. Dangit... no clouds, light is just "meh".... more »

2013-05-21 15:59:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Wow, he's all grown up

Congratulations to Michael Migas & Carri McClelland.
My son and his fiance's engagement photo. 
Taken by his friend and fellow photographer Ryan ~ Timothy Ogborn. 

2013-05-21 15:11:47 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I'm betting they'll fix this. How many gift certificates did they hand out they day? They'll take a bigger hit by not fixing it than by fixing the number of accounts that got set off from the photowalk. 

2013-05-21 18:50:06 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

And it's Time to Live in the Scattered Sun

At Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art by Frank Gehry in Biloxi, Mississippi.

#gehry #frankgehry #architecture #sun #fisheye  

https://www.georgeohr.org/Content.aspx?id=86&P=8

2013-05-20 23:23:55 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Baby Fox

Fox eating peanut butter sandwich. Taken though window, sorry not steady. The peanut butter was originally put out for a sick momma fox but we haven't seen her for a few days. Now the pups are showing up.

2013-05-20 21:28:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Marissa explains it all...Tumblr, Flickr, New Yorkr

http://live.theverge.com/yahoo-flickr-event-live-blog-nyc-may-2013/

#tumblr   #yahoo   #flickr  

Photo credit theverge.com

2013-05-20 01:05:38 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

My buddy +Matt Kloskowski takes you through the new portfolio feature on 500px.com

You know how we're always talking on "The Grid" about why it's so important, as a photographer, to have a portfolio? That's why this is so timely. I've embedded the video below (it's under 5-minutes long). 

2013-05-19 04:20:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

View from Blue Fairways

Lake Michigan

#lakemichigan   #michigan   #blue  

2013-05-17 06:12:29 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 12 +1s)

Looks cool! Disney's Planes

2013-05-16 02:19:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Sign of the Crab
Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum ~ Biloxi Schooner Charters.

#sign #mississippi
#gulfcoast  

2013-05-15 18:32:44 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

Exciting

2013-05-16 00:19:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

St. Michael Parish Catholic Church

The fisherman's church. Biloxi, Mississippi
Establish in 1907, this cylindrical church was built in 1964. Ravaged by Hurricane Camille in August of 1969 and Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005.

http://www.stmichaelchurchbiloxi.com/
#architecture   #hdr   #photography  

2013-05-14 19:59:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

How do you convert images to black and white?

 I usually use Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. Here's a quick overview of my workflow for an image from Clifton Gorge in Ohio.

2013-05-13 22:39:58 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Are you a Gun Control Scare Survivor

Sticky designed some awesome t-shirts and he's offering them over at the forum.
All the info on how to contact him and get one is in the classifieds at 
http://fishingandhuntingforum.com/showthread.php?1559-quot-I-survived-quot-T-Shirts-AR

2013-05-12 05:33:44 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

Happy Mother's Day

Miss you, Mom. 

#HeresToTheMoms   #HappyMothersDay   #MothersDay   #mom  

2013-05-09 02:20:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Lady Tiffany

Biloxi, Mississippi

2013-05-09 00:51:29 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is what it's all about 

I love seeing things like this happen. It's exciting to watch friends succeed. :-)
Carter Gibson is one of the first & favorite people I met on Google+ 
Check out him and Little Big Fund.

2013-05-05 17:56:59 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

Happy Cinco de Mayo

2013-05-04 23:33:18 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

*Pretty colors everywhere *

2013-05-05 01:17:54 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

Gehry at Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art

They call this building the pods. It's suppose to be finished in 2014.   There are several more buildings that are open to tour. This one will house the permanent George Ohr “Mad Potter of Biloxi” exhibition.

https://www.georgeohr.org/ 

#iphone   #gehry  

2013-05-03 19:20:39 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Guitar lust ~

2013-04-30 00:22:03 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

I'm goin' back to the Gator Country

2013-04-29 18:47:42 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

Beach Express Bridge

#bw #blackandwhite  

2013-04-28 00:39:39 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

Red GMC 100

Bama Coast Cruise at the Wharf, Orange Beach, Alabama.

2013-04-27 20:47:01 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

Bama Coast Cruise

It's a busy weekend down here on the gulf coast. Boat show and car show at the Wharf in Orange Beach, AL. The famous Mullet Toss is at the Flora-Bama on the state line (sitting that one out).
Summer's here. :)

2013-04-22 19:30:07 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

She Said She was Going Green

I'm trying, but it's hard. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was a wake up call.
We snubbed BP stations, protested, bought a Prius, and tried to watch our use of petroleum products.  Yet at breakfast today we grabbed plastic cups and have since traded the hybrid for a fast car. We've got to get back to going green.

What ways are you trying to go green?

Happy Earth Day!

#EarthDay #OilSpill #BP  

2013-04-21 01:59:01 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

And You Will See it Shining from Above

2013-04-19 05:54:45 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

Chicago Window

2013-04-19 05:21:58 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Nothing Remains Quite the Same

2013-04-18 22:15:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Playing with the long neglected blog today. 

2013-04-15 22:03:11 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Who let him in

I had to wrestle this monster out of the house this morning. He lost a bit of his tail in the process.

2013-04-14 01:56:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I Got a Spicy Monkey Ridin' on my Back

Worker from today's Gumbo Festival at the Wharf.

2013-04-14 00:09:17 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

My husband just brought this home. 1965. He's very happy.

2013-04-08 19:04:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Honored that Prime was featured on +PetaPixel today!

2013-04-03 23:37:40 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

GUMBO! The anticipation is building for the L.A. Gumbo Festival, April 11 - 13 at The Wharf in Orange Beach. Come join us. http://www.gumboforlife.com/

2013-04-03 21:43:58 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Wheel at the Wharf

The Ferris Wheel at the Wharf in Orange Beach, AL. This was shot with a little Nikon Coolpix that I started keeping in my purse. One of these nights I want to catch the wheel lit up and photograph it with the big camera.
The Wharf has a lot of great things to photograph and some fun events. I think there is a Gumbo festival, a boat show, some fishing tournaments, and  a few concerts coming up soon. 

2013-04-01 19:43:07 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Migration is for the birds

Moving files from a PC to a Mac sounded so easy on the Apple site. The migration thing keep stalling. I finally just gave up and moved them using an ethernet cable over the network one folder at a time. But it's done. Plus the business taxes are done. So I'm a happy girl today!

2013-04-01 19:35:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

If you're a photographer and want to sell stock images, consider applying at:  http://www.stocksy.com/calltoartists/

If your an image buyer, consider checking out http://www.stocksy.com the next time you need to license an image.  You'll be directly supporting artists and photographers instead of the big stock houses and you'll find some of the freshest, most authentic images on the market today.  My Stocksy page is here:  http://www.stocksy.com/thomashawk/

+Stocksy United 

2013-03-31 20:02:35 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Happy Easter Everyone!

2013-03-25 15:28:36 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Nik Collection by Google: photography first, for professionals and more

Here on the Google+ Photos team, we're busy building tools for all kinds of photographers. Today, and for all the professionals out there, we're bundling the complete set of Nik plug-ins as the Nik Collection by Google. We're especially excited about three things:

1) It's more affordable. The entire set of plug-ins for Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture only costs $149 (versus the previous $499).

2) It's really powerful. The Nik Collection by Google gives you tools for everything from noise reduction and HDR imaging to creative effects and image sharpening (and lots more).

3) It's free to try. You can visit niksoftware.com for a 15-day free trial of the Collection.

If you've already purchased one or more Nik plug-ins in the past, then don't... more »

2013-03-25 02:23:51 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 14 +1s)

Spring Breaker Green

Spring breakers are here...hide, lol. Just kidding, traffic isn't too bad yet. 

2013-03-10 19:35:13 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

The Mighty Spartan

The SS Spartan, a car ferry now retired in Ludington, Michigan. Her sister the SS Badger still crosses Lake Michigan.

If you've ridden on either one, please tell me about it. I'm hoping to one day ride on the Badger before they retire her. 
More about this lady at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Spartan
More about her sister at http://www.ssbadger.com/

Have you ever been on a car ferry?

3 shot HDR with Photomatix, LR 4 and PS.

2013-03-08 21:46:37 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

How to Cut Your Cover Image Down to SIze
For those who aren't enamoured with the screen stealing size of the new profile cover, I prepared a short demo of how to resize it.

I'm sure those of you who are PhotoShoppers have this already down to a tea, but it was a bit of a trial and error thing for me.
HT to  +Dain Binder for his original blog post that set me off on my journey

I like the size for my Profile page. The lower third only shows until you scroll to the top.
But for my NewRayCom page (this one) I prefer to have less image and more posts show up as I'm a consultant and not a photographer or real estate agent who I imagine welcome the enlargement.

I love the other changes, the card format in the about tab, for example.

What do you think of the change - leave it big or crop it down?
#coverphoto   #googleplustips ... more »

2013-03-07 00:23:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Our March Drawing

For March we are giving away a Free Rhino Lid Cam - Action Video Camera.
We will include a F&H Forum hat along with it. The drawing is free. Come on over for the details and to check out our Fishing and Hunting Forum at 
http://fishingandhuntingforum.com 

2013-03-06 06:45:37 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

On a Beach South of Ludington

Ludington, Michigan

2013-03-01 00:45:30 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Escape Plan

Oil rig, Gulf of Mexico.

2013-02-24 21:06:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Really, I do and arrows, too

I mentioned on another thread that I sold crossbows and arrows. 
There's even an automatic cocking crossbow from Parker Bows. 
The Concorde redefines the modern hunting crossbow with push-button ease of operation and 300+ feet per second performance.
Plus Victory Arrows, Rage Broadheads, compound bows and we just picked up Strother Archery http://www.fishingandhuntingusa.com/ 

2013-02-24 06:55:32 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Russia has the coolest old secret stuff

While editing an oil rig photo from here on the US gulf coast I was reminded of a James Bond movie. So I started Googling James Bond and oil rigs.  I ran into the photo and story below. It's this old oil field in Russia, an island, and a whole secret city.
Wouldn't it be the ultimate decay to shoot? Think they'll let us in? lol
There are more photos in the article to check out.