There's a Nap for that

This post has absolutely nothing to do with Unique Business Cards. It's just the best quilt I've ever seen. A cool quilt? I know right?!

Link

Business Cards of Change

Layoffs stink. No doubt about it. And then having stare at a mound of now useless business cards which silently mock you just adds insult to injury.

The website www.cardsofchange.com collects business cards and stories showing the positive change from people who have recently been laid off and connect them with new opportunities from potential employers, business partners and people who make the effort to look on the bright side of life. Sure, a little negativity sneaks into a few of the cards on the site but cut them some slack - they got laid off.

Regards,
Chief Show Officer
www.showoffcards.com
Unique Business Cards

A unique gift? Unique Business Cards

Business etiquette consultant Arden Clise thinks a business cardholder would be the perfect gift: "So many people hand out business cards that have been bent in their wallet or stained in the bottom of their purse. A nice business card holder helps your cards and you to look classy."

Good advise Arden. Nothing worse than receiving a business card that looks used. That's just gross. Well, there is one thing worse...receiving a business card that is boring.

As the card owner. Are you boring? Are you just like everyone else? If so, why should I work with / buy from you?

Instead of, or in addition to a business card holder why not give the gift of Unique Business Cards? Nothing says I think you're super than the gift of superhero themed business cards?

A perfect gift for the man or woman who has everything.

I lost my page one rank for "Unique Business Cards"

I lost my page one rank for "Unique Business Cards" - and I don't like it one bit.

When I started ShowOffCards.com in 2005 I knew I would never get a page one ranking for the very broad "business card" keyword. Too much competition. Plus, since ShowOffCards are WAY MORE Expensive (and WAY MORE effective) than regular business cards I decided to focus on the keyword "Unique Business Cards" since anyone searching on that phrase would - I assumed - be more likely to pay more for something unique.

Long story short, I focused on that and used all the legal tactics I knew to get ShowOffCards.com associated with Unique Business Cards. It worked. I climbed to page one and consistently was floating around spot one through three. Sweet. And the customers were rolling in.

Fast forward a couple of years, throw in a recession, a loss of personal motivation (I kind of got burned out on card design) and a site move and now ShowOffCards.com is now on page three, 7th listing down. And let's face it - page one is where I need to be.

So today, I embark on a personal challenge to move back up in the rankings. Stay tuned for updates.

P.S. $100 off on a set of Show Off Business cards to the first customer to sign up and reference this post prior to payment.

P.S.S. Yes, this post with embedded links is step one in the quest to take back page one.

Business Card Throwing Champ

Times Square at night in HDR

After my first attempt at HDR, which I think turned out pretty well, I decided I'd follow the lead of all those already into HDR and get the appropriate software. Nearly everything I have read on HDR recommends to edit using Photomatix so I plopped down $39 bucks for the Light 1.0 version. This is not a review but my first impression is - it's worth it.

I am in NY for a few days and made a few quick shots in the Times Square. I went a bit more grungy and surreal but I like them.

Next thing I want to try are some portraits. Luckily I have 4 lovely models at home...

(Click images for larger versions. Contact me to purchase high rez)

(Not Times Square)

My First HDR-esque Photo Attempt

Like many people I have been intrigued with HDR photography. I just think some of the HDR shots take a good photo and just make it pop. The effects run from subtle to dramatic so I thought I'd try my hand at it.

What is HDR photography. The best way to explain it is to show examples but basically you take multiple shots of the subject. One at "normal" exposure, one under-exposed and one over-exposed. You then take parts of each exposure to create a best-of-the-best image. Here is how I created my first attempt.

My camera has a bracketed shooting option which takes three quick shots in succession at three aperture settings. I shot Paw-Paws old ford truck as a test. Here are the three images.
PhotoShop has an HDR option that combines the images but I decided to simply make the three images into layers in PhotoShop file; Darkest to lightest, bottom to top. I then used a layer mask to erase parts of each layer to reveal a "better" portion from another layer.
As you can see, the grass at the bottom, the parts behind the letter "F" and the field behind the truck are all properly exposed. None of the three source photos had all those pieces correct. The final composite is not dramatically different than the medium exposure source image - it's just a little better all over.

Once you have a good composite you can take the image and do all sorts of things in PhotoShop. For the image above I think I turned up the contast, turned down the brightness and then I added some "noise" to make it a bit grainy. Lots of options once you get a good composite image.

Poster edges

60% Grayscale

100% Grayscale high contrast

Not bad for a first attempt. I think I'll try some more of these.