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Photograpy: The Golden Hour

2012-02-19T07:51:00.000-08:00

The golden hour is something you have to be familiarized with. It's those precious hours where the sun is rising and setting. This is the best time to go out there with your camera and shoot some beautiful photos. Bring a tripod if you have one, it's really essential cause the sun isn't very bright at that time of day. Image stabilization will be able to help you out if you don't have a tripod. I would still recommend buying one even if it's cheap like mine (24$). Sure it's not as sturdy or as handy as those with better build quality but in a lot of cases it will do just fine. It beats having to have to hold your camera and capture that amazing moment... blurry.
When does the golden hour occur where you live? I've used this website Golden-hour.com when I've needed to know exactly when it starts and ends. Below the map you can see the way the sun rises and sets over the day. If you move your mouse cursor over the golden boxes you see a small box that details when the sun rises and when it's measured at sea level and vice versa when sun is setting. It also gives you the angle of the sun and that probably helps if you're smart enough to put those numbers to use... Let's just say that in that case I like the element of surprise. A good extra for this type of photography would be a ND graduated filter. That allows you to let more light in to lit up the landscape without overexposing the sky. Shooting silhouette is something that works really well with this time of day. Sometimes that can be a good alternative option if you're not able to light up the ground perfectly. Try going down by the ocean and do some long exposure shots. Just take note of the clouds, are they moving fast? Blurry clouds can sometimes ruin a good shot. Go for a bigger aperture or increase ISO if possible instead. We love details and forms we recognize, blurry clouds can come of as unpleasant to us. I'm not talking about just a little blur, more like when one cloud is moving faster then the others and has therefor lost all structure and detail and kinda looks like a white smudge on your photo. Remember the rule of thirds... as a guideline not a rule. For instance look at the scenery, which one is more interesting for the shot, the sky or the landscape? If the only action in the sky is the sun setting or rising then just give the sky the one third of the frame. If there are beautiful clouds that amazingly lit up the entire or big part of the sky then the sky should perhaps get the two thirds. Bring a flashlight, maybe you'll be able to leave the shutter open for a couple of seconds (if you need more time you could use a ND filter, like a 10 stop filter). That way you can paint in some details if there are shadows or dark areas in your shot that you want to get rid of. Just remember to flicker the light constantly so that everything will be evenly lit up. Check this video out with Karl Taylor, it's about lighting and he dives a little bit into what I've been talking about in this post. He also explains soft light and hard light and how to use a reflector. And I've talked about this before but if you go to his website (under the links tab here) then you can sign up for a free photography course for beginners over there. He's a great teacher and I encourage you to sign up.

from: http://firststepsphotography.blogspot.com/

What Is Self Improvement? 8 Tips for Self Improvement

2012-02-11T19:47:00.001-08:00

They say that there is no better way to help you than through yourself, and this leads to the question what is self improvement? Also known as self help, self improvement refers to things that you can do to make your life better. It involves knowing your weakness and trying to work on them. This can be your attitude towards life and others, physical outlook or emotional health. By improving yourself you will have an opportunity to enjoy your life to the fullest. Check out some tips which you can use to make yourself better.
Tip #1: Begin the day well
Beginning the day with a positive attitude can help you to stay positive throughout the day. You should therefore make it a rule to start your day in a positive way. Wake up early and do something constructive such as jogging or mediation before leaving for work or school. If you are a student, you can wake up early to study when the mind is still fresh. So you got your first answer to what is self improvement; have a good start!
Tip #2: Have a positive attitude
There is a saying that when you start thinking positively you will start seeing positive outcomes in your life. It is true that what we think is what we are. You should therefore try to find something positive about every situation even when it seems impossible. Instead of cursing and blaming others because we do not have a car, thank God that you have legs to walk to job. Instead of complaining that we do not live in a mansion, how about thanking our families for providing a roof over our head? Appreciating the small things in life is the key to achieving big thins.
Tip #3: Keep positive company
The company we keep plays a key role in our thoughts. If you are always in the company of people who are always complaining and criticizing you are likely to become like them. No wonder the saying 'birds of a feather flock together'. You should therefore watch your company at all times.
Tip #4: Have goals
You must know what you want to achieve in order to help yourself. We should set realistic goals especially when it comes to our financial status. Once you have your goals you will need to work hard and be disciplined in order to achieve them. In addition, you can motivate yourself by rewarding your efforts.
Tip #5: Take a break
Being a workaholic is not a bad thing, but it is good to take a short break once in a while. This will give your body time to relax so when you go back to work you will have a clear mind. You can take breaks in between working sessions and have a chat with your colleagues. Alternatively, you can go for a short holiday on a weekend.
Tip #6: Overcome your fears
The worst thing you can do to yourself is not to do something because you are afraid. It is true that overcoming your fears sets a platform for success. Once you have overcome your fears there will be no stopping you.
Tip #7: Give to others
Those who give to others always receive back. Giving does not always to be in form of money. We can be polite to our colleagues, smile at others and compliment them when they do a good job. You will be surprised at how people can change and be willing to help when you show them love.
Tip #8: Always learn from your past
There is no better answer to what is self improvement and how to achieve it than by learning from our past mistakes. A man who does not let his past experiences discourage him has a better chance of improving than one who gives up after the first trial. This is because when you do something several times you will know what to avoid and what to do next time and this creates room for improvement. We can therefore say that the best way to help ourselves is to never repeat our past mistakes.
You have to make a decision that you want to change and work towards changing your situation in order to become a better person. Now you have your answer to the question "what is self improvement?"

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6869971

Whitney Houston, musical superstar, dies

2012-02-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

With her incredible vocal range and purity, runway good looks and girl-next-door charm, Whitney Houston was an out-of-the-box superstar when she arrived on the music scene in 1985. Her meteoric rise included record-setting hits, groundbreaking videos and a promising film career.

Video:

But by the mid-1990s, rumors of marital woes and drug abuse began to tarnish her image and she took a downward spiral that saw her name emblazoned in sordid tabloid headlines rather than glowing reports of musical success.

Word of the 48-year-old singer's death broke early Saturday evening as the industry gathered in Los Angeles for the official Pre-Grammy Gala hosted by her mentor Clive Davis, chief creative officer of Sony Music Worldwide.

PHOTOS: Whitney Houston's life and career
MORE: Listen to her life's work

Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen told KABC-TV that Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. (local time) in her room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton. Her body remained in the hotel and Beverly Hills detectives were investigating.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the cause of her death was unknown.

In recent years, Houston had struggled to regain her past glory. In 2009, she released I Look to You, her first studio album in seven years and first since going through rehab and divorcing Bobby Brown, her husband of 14 years, in 2006. While the album did debut at No. 1 and sold more than 1 million copies, it failed to produce any massive hit singles, or receive hoped-for Grammy Awards nominations. Her subsequent overseas tour met with mixed reviews, with disappointed fans demanding refunds.

It was a sad end for the once incandescent star who paved the way to pop success for other African-American singers such as Janet Jackson, Anita Baker, Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige, and has been cited by the likes of Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Leona Lewis for inspiring them to become singers. The gospel-trained Houston was the daughter of singer Cissy Houston, goddaughter of Aretha Franklin and cousin of Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick

Houston was already an up-and-coming magazine model (she was one of the first women of color to grace the cover of Seventeen) when record mogul Clive Davis signed her to his Arista Records label in 1983. In an interview accompanying the 2010 reissue of her debut album, Whitney Houston: The Deluxe 25th Anniversary Edition, Davis recalls first seeing her backing up her mother at the New York City club Sweetwater's.

"She did two solo numbers, one of which was the song The Greatest Love Of All. Whitney sang the song with such fervor, with such a natural vocal gift, with such passion, that I was stunned. I knew really right then and there that this was a special talent and I was blown away by her," Davis recalled. "There was no hesitation. I wanted to sign Whitney."

Together, they would make music history. Davis spent more than a year grooming Houston, lining up producers and collecting the right material. Her first hit, Hold Me, a duet with Teddy Pendergrass for his 1984 Love Language album, went to No. 5 on the R&B chart. It was a precursor to Whitney Houston, which arrived in 1985 to rave reviews.

First single You Give Good Love was a top 5 pop hit, and its follow-up, Saving All My Love for You, was even bigger. It went to No. 1, as did How Will I Know, the video for which became one of the first by an African-American female to get heavy rotation on MTV. The Greatest Love of All also spent three weeks at the top of the charts and Whitney Houston wound up selling 13 million copies domestically.

She earned three nominations at the 1986 Grammy Awards, including one for album of the year. Saving All My Love for You won for female pop vocal, and her performance of the song on the show would win her an Emmy Award later that year. The Greatest Love of All would also be nominated for record of the year at the following year's Grammys.

Houston's superstardom was solidified in 1987 with the release of Whitney, which sold 9 million copies in the USA and spawned four No. 1 singles: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),Didn't We Almost Have It All, So Emotional and Where Do Broken Hearts Go. That gave her a record seven chart-toppers in a row. A fifth single, Love Will Save the Day, was a Top 10 hit. Thanks to her record sales and concert grosses for 1986 and 1987, Forbes ranked her as the eighth-highest-earning entertainer at the time.

Her crossover success was unprecedented for an African-American woman, but she soon found herself defending it against critics, who claimed her hits lacked soul. Her third album, 1990's I'm Your Baby Tonight, took her in a more urban direction thanks to production from the likes of L.A. Reid and Babyface, Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross, but it's acceptance was less spectacular. The album peaked at No. 3 while selling 4 million copies, though singles I'm Your Baby Tonight and All The Man That I Need topped both the pop and R&B charts.

Still, big things and big changes were on the horizon for Houston, whose 1991 Super Bowl performance of The Star Spangled Banner remains the yardstick by which other singers are judged. Two things happened in 1992 that would have profound affects on her career. She made a move into acting and making soundtracks with The Bodyguard, and after a three-year courtship, she married R&B singer and former New Edition member Bobby Brown.

In The Bodyguard, she starred as a singer who was being protected by Kevin Costner's title character from a stalker fan. The film grossed more than $121 million at the box office, and the soundtrack had an even bigger impact for Houston. Her cover of Dolly Parton's 1974 hit, I Will Always Love You, distinguished by Houston's a cappella intro, stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record 14 consecutive weeks and had significant stints atop the R&B and adult contemporary charts as well. The album also spawned Top 5 hits I'm Every Woman (a Chaka Khan hit on which Houston had sung background when she was 15) and I Have Nothing. The album sold 17 million copies in the U.S., won three Grammys including album and record of the year, plus a slew of other awards.

Two years later, Houston performed at a state dinner at the White House honoring newly elected South African President Nelson Mandela, and would later be the first major artist to perform in that country, playing three shows to 200,000 people.

Her next film, 1995's Waiting to Exhale starring Angela Bassett, was also a hit with a huge soundtrack. This time, she teamed with Babyface to co-produced the star-studded album and contributed to its success with Exhale (Shoop Shoop), Why Does It Hurt So Bad and Count On Me, a duet with CeCe Winans. She earned $10 million for her next role, 1996's The Preacher's Wife, which starred Denzel Washington and Courtney B. Vance. While it didn't do as well at the box office as the previous two films, Houston got her best review yet as an actress. The soundtrack saw Houston cutting loose in a gospel setting. It featured six songs with the Georgia Mass Choir including He's All Over Me with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. I Believe in You and Me and Step By Step were both radio hits.

Houston branched off into TV in 1997, producing a remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella starring Brandy with Houston as Fairy Godmother. The highly rated ABC special earned seven Emmy nominations. That set the stage for Houston's first studio album in eight years, My Love Is Your Love. The album sold 4 million copies in the U.S., and spawned a successful world tour, but peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, making it her first album not to at least reach No. 3. Still, with production from the likes of Wyclef Jean, Missy Elliott and Rodney Jerkins, it had the hits When You Believe with Mariah Carey, Heartbreak Hotel, It's Not Right But It's Okay, My Love Is Your Love and I Learned From the Best.

As the '90s closed, Houston's popularity was beginning to wane just as rumors about drug use with Brown swirled and reports began surfacing about erratic behavior and weight loss, along with missed interviews and canceled concerts. On Jan. 11, 2000, marijuana was discovered in Houston and Brown's luggage as they passed through security at a Hawaii airport, though they boarded the plane and left before police arrived.

Two months later, she was conspicuously missing when Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was also to have performed on the Academy Awards, but was fired by musical director Burt Bacharach.

She signed a $100 million, six-album deal with Arista/BMG in 2001, but after appearing on the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special, her extremely thin frame fueled more rumors of drug abuse. Those rumors were confirmed a year later when she did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her upcoming album Just Whitney. She admitted using drugs in the highly watched TV interview, which included her infamous declaration, "Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. OK? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack."

Just Whitney was her poorest-selling album to date and none of its singles made the Hot 100's top 40. She got positive reviews for 2003's One Wish: The Holiday Album, but only modest sales.

Houston's image took further pummeling on the sordid 2005 Bravo reality series Being Bobby Brown, which gave an inside look into their family life. Critics savaged the show, but morbidly fascinated viewers tuned in to see just how low they could sink. The show was canceled after Houston decided to no longer participate. She separated from Brown in September 2006 and the divorce was finalized in 2007, with Houston gaining custody of the couple's daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey to promote her just out album, I Look To You, Houston blamed an emotionally abusive and jealous Brown for many of her problems, confessed that she laced her marijuana with rock cocaine, and revealed the she had spent time in rehab and had undergone an intervention by her mother.

The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with a career-best opening week of 305,000 copies sold. It was her first chart-topping album since 1992's The Bodyguard and would go on to sell 1 million copies. But the title track and the Alicia Keys-penned Million Dollar Bill had only modest success, and she received none of the expected Grammy nominations.

Her post-release TV appearances were also spotty. Though the fans responded warmly, she had to apologize for her voice cracking at a three-song Good Morning America concert in New York's Central Park . It came not long after the Oprah interview, which she says wore out her vocal cords. She gave a much-better-received performance of I Didn't Know My Own Strength on the American Music Awards two months later.

She received similarly mixed reviews on her current tour. But the re-release in January of Whitney Houston was a stark reminder of the gorgeous voice she once had, and how much had been lost to years of drug abuse and personal turmoil.

Rio's police go on strike a week ahead of Carnival

2012-02-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

Sao Paulo, Brazil (CNN) -- Rio de Janeiro's police and firefighters declared a strike Friday, just a week before Carnival kicks off, raising fears of violence and crime as tourists arrive for the famed parades and street parties.
Firefighters and the civil and military police announced the strike in a joint protest in downtown Rio, saying they would keep a third of their forces on the job, according to the state-run Agencia Brasil.
But hours later, the commanding officers of the military police published a short statement saying all of their units were functioning normally.
"There isn't any stoppage of any service for citizens," the statement said. It wasn't clear whether that meant members of military police rank and file were striking.
Nearly 300 police officers and firefighters were disciplined by state officials for participating in the strike, Agencia Brasil reported, including 11 people accused of urging or inciting the action.
The police union announced it would hold a demonstration to show support for those arrested or disciplined, according to a statement on the union's website.
Salvador -- Brazil's third largest city and a popular destination for Carnival -- was hit by a wave of killings and looting when its police launched a strike last week.
The military helped quell the violence there, and more than 14,000 troops were on standby to move into Rio if necessary, according to Agencia Brasil.
Police and firefighters are demanding wage increases.
Rio attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists to its lavish pre-Lenten Carnival celebration every year, and this year has an even higher profile because the country is gearing up for the soccer World Cup in 2014.
The police strikes have heightened concerns over the country's ability to provide adequate security. Both Rio and Salvador are going to host games, and Rio is going to host the Olympic Games two years later.

Hackers target CIA, Mexican, Alabama websites

2012-02-10T22:18:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Websites affiliated with the CIA, Mexico's mining ministry and the state of Alabama were down Friday, allegedly done in by hackers, government officials and a well-known hacking group reported.

A message Friday on a Twitter page and Tumblr feed affiliated with the hacking group known as Anonymous celebrated that the Central Intelligence Agency's website had been taken down.
The posting read: "CIA TANGO DOWN: https://www.cia.gov/ #Anonymous." A later one pointed to a news story indicating "#Anonymous hackers hit CIA, U.N., Mexico websites."
Numerous outside reports indicated the CIA's website was down, and CNN's attempts from late Friday afternoon into the evening to get onto the site failed.
Asked about the outage, CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood said Friday night, "We are aware of the problems accessing our website, and are working to resolve them."
Who is Anonymous? Everyone and no one
Additionally, information was "compromised" in a hacking of Alabama state websites, the Alabama Department of Homeland Security said in a news release.
"We are aware of the current situation regarding individual(s) claiming responsibility for hacking into a state of Alabama ... public website," Alabama Department of Homeland Security Director Spencer Collier said in the release.
Jack Doane, director of Alabama's Information Services Division, told CNN later by e-mail that state technology experts "are conducting a forensic analysis to determine what if any information has been compromised."
It was not immediately clear what websites were hacked or who was responsible. A web page that included Anonymous' signature tag line stated the hacking was in response to Alabama's "recent racist legislation in an attempt to punish immigrants as criminals" -- referring to legislation, signed last June, aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration in the state.
The Anonymous-related Twitter page also provided links to documents, messages and other files that it said it had taken off a website tied to Mexico's mining ministry.
"Hello Mexican Chamber of Mines," a related Twitter post read. "Want to see your emails exposed?"
That said, another later item on the same feed added, "We'd remind media that if we report a hack or ddos (distributed denial of service) attack, it doesn't necessarily mean we did it...FYI."
The Mexican mining ministry's website -- which is distinct from the Chamber of Mines, or Caminex, a trade association -- appeared to be down early Friday evening.

Japan's older generation turns gamers

2012-02-10T22:09:00.000-08:00

Yokohama, Japan (CNN) -- Close your eyes, and you know where you are: The unmistakable sound of anime voices and the jingle of a completed lap around the electronic track ring through the hall. This is a classic video game arcade in Japan, filled with the sounds long associated with this gaming nation. But open your eyes, and the players are not exactly the teenagers you'd expect to find.
In the center of the Sega Corporation game arcade in a Yokohama mall, about a dozen graying heads bobbed in front of video consoles, dropping tokens into the machines. The median age was no where near pre-teen, but much closer to post-retirement.
The arcade industry, while still dominated by younger players, is shifting to an unexpected population reality in the rapidly aging nation of Japan. Japan's government projects the population will shrink by a staggering 30% by 2060. By that year, the government says people age 65 and older will account for 39.9 percent of the total population. Crunch the numbers further, and seniors will outnumber children by 4 to 1.
Sega Corporation spokeswoman Kyoko Matsuda said the company has already spotted the trend in its arcades and is actively courting its older clients. Matsuda said the arcade has begun offering senior days and even gone low-tech in its frequent player cards, using paper cards to collect stamps instead of using electronic data points via mobile phones. "We're using paper because it's senior friendly," said Matsuda.
The Kataokas, both 70, certainly feel the arcade is friendly for their age group. They come every other day. Teruo Kataoka plays about six hours. "It's fun here," he said, rarely taking his eyes off the video game. "It keeps my brain vibrant."
His wife, Tsuneko, splits her time shopping in the mall and playing video games. "We're bored. We have nothing to do. I don't have anything to say to my husband anymore. It's much better to come here than just sit in the house watching TV all day. We need some excitement, too," she said. The Kataokas, like many of the gamer-retirees, prefer the more analog games at the arcade, which mirror more of the video slot machines in Las Vegas.
Drop the coin into the machine, and the machine slides a stack of coins toward the edge, and you can watch the coins fall, explained Teruo Kataoka. The more coins fall, the more games the seniors are willing to play, he said.

The arcade has so many grey headed gamers that it's morphed into an unofficial senior center.

It keeps my brain vibrant
Teruo Kataoka, 70

We met here, said one senior, pointing to the Kataokas.
Teenage players, who started filtering in after the school day ended, said they have no problem seeing so many older people in a traditionally youth-oriented spot. What would be weird, said one 16-year-old player, is if he saw a grandparent playing a shooting-or-combat game.
But there's no telling what the future will look like in this arcade and other Japanese venues as this graying nation holds.

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2012-02-05T03:18:00.000-08:00

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