As I stated in my previous journal entry it is a new year and with that a new start for us all. I have several things on my list of resolutions that have come to fruition.

First and foremost I am happy to report that I have Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended as my new editing software. Undoubtedly it's more than I can currently use, but as with my camera my hope is that I can grow into it. I have also refined my cataloging system but there are a few kinks left to work out before it is fully implemented. To complement this I have also invested in a Cokin filter system. At the moment I only have a single filter but hopefully that will change.

While at this point I'm sure that we all have some resolutions that may have faded, we still have time to revive them and live by them.

In the meantime thanks for stopping by, reading my journal, and viewing some of my work. If you have any thoughts or critiques I'm more than happy to listen.

Well, a belated Happy New Year to all. Now that both the Gregorian and Lunar New Year have come and gone we can truly focus on the road ahead. A new year is a new start for everyone, all we need do is seize the opportunity.

Even though I have resolved to make this year better for myself and those around me, my photography can not yet be a part of that. My computer problems came to a head over the Winter Holidays. I have a new computer but no editing software to accompany it. Rest assured, once I can afford the software I will have a flood of work to share. I have a backlog in the thousands that needs to be sorted. Hopefully within a month or two I will be able to do this.

Thanks for stopping by, reading my journal, and viewing some of my work. If you have any thoughts or critiques I'm more than happy to listen. And I hope everyone is having a good year thus far.

It's been a rather long time since my last journal entry and I apologize for that. There's really no excuse for my lack of communication. I'll try to do this more often.

I had the pleasure of attending a photography seminar earlier this year. It was of great help in many different areas. However, it did have one adverse effect. I have never been very confident in my photography and this solidified the fact that I have much to learn. As a result, I've taken a lot of time to learn as much as I can. I hope that this effort shows in my work as I am consciously making the effort to improve.

One other note of interest can be seen in my gallery. I've gone through all of deviations and removed the exif data from each piece. I feel that the data isn't important to the viewer and that it may even take away from the mystery of the shot. I've also taken the time to add a watermark to each piece. I know that there's a general consensus that watermarks are ugly and can be distracting. However, I feel that it has become a necessary evil. While my work may not be top caliber, it is mine. As such I prefer having credit for the effort that I put forth. And lastly, I have resized all of the pieces. I view each of these actions as a theft deterrent of sorts. I realize that regardless of what I do people will continue to take credit for other people's work, however, I hope that this may slow or deter them from doing such with my work. Thank you for understanding.

It's been some time since my last journal entry though I have been more active in the community since then. I've been doing my best to browse through others' works, give my thoughts, learn, and get technically sound. Though I feel I've been improving I've run into a snag of sorts.

When I submit work I don't normally divulge the information of the shot, I try to give a background but that's about it. I feel that displaying the technical notes of the work takes away from mystery of the piece. However, in today's society theft and lying are common themes. So to somewhat give evidence that my work is indeed my work I have gone back through all my deviations and added some of the data from the original shot. I always save the original, work on a copy, export the final, and save all three.

My question to you is what do you think? Do you think that it makes the shot more credible, or does it take too much away from the mystery? Is my word good enough, or do I need proof? What do you do? Thanks for taking the time to read this and give your opinion.

It's been four months since my last journal, and nearly two months since I've had a chance to really sit down and enjoy any new art. I decided to give myself a hiadus from a lot of things in my life, DeviantArt being one. I feel that I've learned a lot in my time away. I've learned a lot of new photography techniques, honed those that I already knew. I hope this comes through in my future work.

In my time away, many things have changed, many things have remained constant. I hope that I can sort through the 740 deviations, learn from them, and maybe offer some constructive criticism. I look forward to getting back into the swing of things, learning more from everyone, possibly helping others, and most importantly seeing everyone's progress. Keep those shutters going.


"Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures, it is our gift to each other." ~ Elie Wiesel