Create Our World

Check out this article, I just saw in this month’s issue of Time Magazine, “When Gen X Runs the show” 

(http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1898024_1898023_1898086,00.html)

Over 30 years ago, my Dad was going to college in southern Michigan when he dropped out to work at the local factory to make probably more than he would have, had he had his degree.

Today, he is looking at potentially losing his job a few years before he can retire. And he is one of the lucky ones, many factory worker’s have lost their jobs already.

I have been reading a lot of books, websites, blogs, and such to try to learn as much as possible about where everything is headed for the future, because it seems like our society as we know it will be changing very soon (less than 10 years). 

What is ahead for us?

I sure don’t know. But I am very interested and want to help.

Heck, I read an interesting quote last night on Buzzmachine.com, from the CEO of Google Eric Schmidt, (by the way if anyone understands our current society it’s this guy, his company controls about 70-80% of the internet traffic worldwide),

“Don’t bother to have a plan at all. All that stuff about having a plan, throw that out. It seems to be it’s all about opportunity and make your own luck…. You cannot plan innovation. You cannot plan invention. All you can do is try very hard to be at the right place and be ready….”

This is what he told the graduating class at Carnegie Mellon.

Change your world,
ben.

“the times, they are a changing.”
-Bob Dylan

Position the main points of interest in the 4 red areas.

World Changers,

I started taking photographs right out of college after taking a trip to the Netherlands. I took my Dad’s 35mm camera and tried to take amazing photographs to WOW! my family and friends. Well, needless to say, the cook at the restaurant I worked at thought they were boring! So, I have been taking photos for the past 6 years and after learning these easy 3 steps my photos drastically improved. 

While taking the photo:

1. Get close to the subjects! 

While taking a photos of family and friends, a lot of people will stand far away. I recommend you get as close as you can without losing subject matter: meaning not cutting off half of someone’s face or granny in back. But don’t leave a bunch of sky, if you don’t need to.

2. The Rule of Third’s

Basically, think of dividing the photograph into 9 equal parts in your mind (some viewfinders or LCD screens do this for you). It should look a little like a Tic-Tac-Toe board.

 Now, if you are still with me, the 4 points where the lines meet around the middle box are where you should put the main subjects of the photo. (definitely check the photos or http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds)

***Okay, so you just took a bunch of photos using the rule of thirds and you got close to Granny in all her glory. Now, make sure you have a basic photo editing software. I use iPhoto that came with my Mac but if you don’t have that, I have used Google’s Picasa (a free download at http://picasa.google.com/) as well which works well. For 98% of my photos I will use basic photo-editing software.

3. Crank up the Contrast!!!

Make the dark colors darker and the light colors lighter. This will make the photo look more dramatic. With Picasa, you have 2 ways of doing this. 

A. Let Picasa do it by choosing “AUTO CONTRAST” (I never do this). 

B. Select the “TUNING” tab, and you will see 4 bars. FILL LIGHT, HIGHLIGHTS, and SHADOWS. Don’t worry about COLOR TEMPERATURE. By moving the indicator on each bar to the right, it makes the highlights lighter or the shadow’s darker or let’s in more fill light (lighten’s the whole photograph). I usually make the shadow’s as dark as possible and the highlights as light as possible, without the photograph becoming “fake” looking.

Tell me how it goes and good luck shooting in all your world changing adventures!

Change your world,
ben.

“The photograph itself doesn’t interest me. I want only to capture a minute part of reality.”
-Henri Cartier-Bresson

Create your world.

Do you want to live the life you have always wanted?

Just be remarkable!!!

With YouTube, Facebook, and other internet applications, great things are spread!

Check this guy out, he was sponsored to travel the world. 

www.wherethehellismatt.com

Tommorrow after my yard sale, I am going to be writing up articles about Bear Creek Academy (waiting on some photos) and Ronna Strilaeff Maldonado whom is the co-director of Farmville’s Birth Matter’s.

Change your world,
ben.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who are we to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous.

Actually, who are we not to be.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel small around you. We were born to manifest the glory that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And when we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

-Marianne Williamson