My DH is a Freelance Flash Developer. Well, aspiring. He’s been working towards getting things going. In the process, he has built himself a splash page as a kind of digital business card. He built it using ADOBE KULER. I’m not really that familiar with Kuler, but what I do know is that it’s a way to mix and match colours that go well together based on mathematics…or something like that.

His site has multiple colour palettes, so that every time you visit the site, you can see a new one. Or if you want, you can just refresh your browser to see new ones. He also made the audio you hear in the background and the sound that comes with the roll-over.
Please come check it out, and if you like, leave me some feedback to pass on to him.

Sejflash

I was reading some blogs today that led me to MOO.

What is Moo? It’s a company that sells business cards, postcards, stickers, and greeting cards. But what is unique about this company? Well, they offer something called ‘Printfinity’ -meaning that your business cards can have a different image/design on each card. They also offer double sided COLOUR printing at no extra cost! The other thing I love about this company (from what I see so far) is that their cards come printed in your choice of premium stock-both being environmentally friendly. One is the ‘MOO Classic: 16pt, sustainably sourced, matte laminated.’ and the other is the ‘MOO Green: a sturdy 13pt, crisp white, 100% recycled and recyclable.’
MOO Business Cards – Go Green! Create customized Business Cards made with 100% recycled, recyclable and biodegradable paper.

One last thing I really love about this company, that I’m excited to try out for myself, is their ‘Mini-Cards’. They are half the size of business cards and also have the option to print multiple images in one pack. They are great for making gift tags and all kinds of neat crafts…you should check out their website for more ideas. Mini Cards are also great for personal information, like for example-your blog details.

They have 2 international online stores

MOO-USA & MOO-Europe

But they ship ANYWHERE in the world!

The first thing I have to mention is that CS4 is a collection of software that includes many programs including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Bridge. (to name a few) There are also larger collections you can purchase that includes Premier and After Effects as well as Dreamweaver, Flash etc. I don’t know all off hand but the Adobe website is very comprehensive and easy to navigate.

I’d also like to remind everyone that software piracy is ILLEGAL! I do not condone it whatsoever. That being said, I would like to talk about Bridge and how awesome it is. It has MANY advantages and uses, but I’m going to talk about using it for organization of media and batch functionality it possesses. I will be including helpful pictures.

So let’s set up the scene. You have a whole pile of images you have just been uploading to your computer but have neglected to organize. It’s a daunting task, so just keep just piling up and up. OR You’ve photographed your first Wedding and you have something close to 600 images to sort through before delivery. (post wedding workflow) The second example is very important for saving time, I have used Bridge numerous times to cut down on the time I’m physically working on post production because you can set a batch action to all your photos and walk away while it does it’s thing.

I’m going to start with opening up the program as if it was my first time. I reset the default workspace for this task, and re-organized to show you how to personalize your own workspace.

So this is what Bridge initially looks like when you open it. On the left, you have your folders, favorites, filters and collections. The centre is your content; this changes when you double click on icons or folders. On the right, there is your preview, metadata and keywords. For me, this workspace doesn’t work, so I change and resize the sections to suit my needs.

From either the favorites, or folders sidebar you can select the location of your files or folders that will be displayed in the content window. Within the content section you can double click folders to open subfolders and eventually you’ll see your images in this section.

Here you can see how I’ve dragged the sections around to make the content section smaller and the preview section the largest. The reason I do this is to see the pictures more clearly. This is important to me for weeding out the groups shot in weddings that have blinkers or people not looking etc. If you didn’t need to do this, then you might want the content section larger so that you could have an ‘at a glance’ look at all your files. I also minimize the metadata section as much as possible because the information is not that important for my needs, but it can be for others.

There is a slider in the bottom right that you can use for the thumbnails in the content section. Depending on how many you want view at a time combined with how wide you’ve adjusted the section to be, will determine what size you want to show. I usually like to have them in 2 columns of 2 rows with the size about what’s shown above, meaning I have to have my preview section a little narrower.

You can also view as a filmstrip with the thumbnails at the bottom. You can toggle between ‘filmstrip’ and ‘essentials’ (the previous view), you can also select custom workspaces under the ‘me’ pulldown menu. I prefer the ‘essential’ layout but it’s really up to personal preference.

Then under tools is Batch Rename, where you will have the option to rename in the same folder, move to another or new folder, or copy to another or new folder. To do the latter 2 options, you first have to select the destination folder, and if applicable-create a new folder. After selecting your destination folder, you have to choose what you want included in the filename. I always include a text field first, which can be a combination of letters and numbers and underscores, then I always include a sequenced number field which I make 3-digits long and start at ‘001′. If you are moving images from a number of folders into one new one, you would want to make note of the last number you sequenced. Bridge usually retains this info if you haven’t done any other renaming in between. You can keep adding fields to include in your filename, but don’t over complicate it. Don’t forget to make your images cross-platform compatible, meaning if you’re on Mac, select the ‘windows’ check box, or vice versa. This way if you’re sharing your images with family or a client, they can access them on their computer without any compatibility issues.

Filters are established a number of ways. If you apply ratings, labels or keywords, you can use this sidebar to only view your selections. For example, if I want to see only pictures that have a landscape orientation, I can select it in filters and then the only images I see in the content panel are the landscape ones. The portraits are not lost, only hidden. I find this helpful for batch actions which I will cover shortly. There are a variety of reasons for using filters and you’ll soon come to realize these for yourself, the more you experiment in Bridge.

Ratings and Labels are great for weeding out the good from the mediocre from the bad. I usually have the images sorted by date created and go through one by one and rate each photo. Blurry shots are automatically given 1 star and the great ones are given 5 stars and then the ones in between are 3 stars and the ones I can’t decide on are 4 stars. There are key board shortcuts for the stars, which I highly recommend using as ‘right-clicking’ can be super time consuming. Shortcuts are cmd(or ctrl) -1,2,3,4,5 (obviously for how many stars you want). So what I do is, using my ‘->’ arrow key, I go from the top to the bottom assigning ratings. Once I have rated all the images in a folder, I delete everything under a 2 star and then revisit the 4’s and 3’s. Anything 3 or under is deleted and only the 4’s and 5’s are given to the Bride & Groom for Print Selection. If you are opposed to deleting, you can always just move the unwanted images to a new folder entitled ‘NG’ or something to that effect. Labels are similar only they add a colour band under the photo that have meanings. These are handy when more than one person has to attend to the images.

When you right-click on an image, you have a number o options presented to you. To edit the image, you can select from a few different programs, but if you double click, the default is Photoshop. There are also many options you may have seen in word processing programs, or just through file management on your computer like ‘cut’, ‘copy’ and ‘paste’. Further tot hat, you can move/copy to a desired folder/destination. Batch rename is also available by right clicking, as well as label options, sorting and creating new folders. Also from here is where you can edit ‘RAW’ files in the Camera Raw program that comes with Photoshop. If you have shot your images in Raw format, here is where you can adjust exposure and white balance and other fine-tweaking. If you double click RAW file, you will automatically be taken to the Camera Raw software first.

In Camera Raw, you can adjust your White Balance to achieve the right temperature. If your image looks too blue, for example, this is a white balance issue. You can also fix the exposure by selecting ‘auto’ above the exposure slider. Sometimes this doesn’t give you the best exposure, in which case you can play around with the sliders, but don’t worry if you mess up, because you can select ‘default’ to go back to the original image. This also isn’t even permanent once you select ‘done’ because you can revisit the Raw file anytime from Bridge. If you want to make further adjustments, there are tools above the image for ‘red-eye removal’ and cropping etc. It’s a basic edit palette similar to Photoshop, but you can also ‘Open Image’ to go directly to Photoshop to make you adjustments there, but from Photoshop you will have to save new files. Also note, that you can select multiple RAW images and open them in C.R and ’select all’ so that you can make batch adjustments to white balance and exposure. I would recommend only doing this for images that have the same exposure etc. If your RAW files are good and don’t need any adjustments, then the only reason to open them in Camera Raw would be to further open them in Photoshop by selecting ‘open image’. Again, if you double-click a RAW file, you will automatically be taken to Camera Raw before going to Photoshop. If your RAW files don’t need adjusting, then you can do a batch ‘Image Processor’ to save them all as jpegs or other compressed files. If you don’t compress your files, you won’t be able to open them anywhere besides Bridge. (or other software designed for viewing RAW files)

Image Processor (tools->photoshop->image processor)is great for selecting all your RAW files and saving them as jpegs. ‘Open first image…’ is just so that if you have RAW files, it opens one image in Camera Raw first so that you can select the ‘Open Image’ button and the the rest of the files follow the same action. If you want to save them somewhere else than you’ll have to select the folder, but don’t worry…you can select ’save in same location’ and it will create a ‘jpeg’ folder within your original folder, so you don’t end up with multiple file types with the same filename. You then select the type -usually jpeg, and if applicable, you can resize to fit-you would use this if you need the images to fit on a website or something where the pixel size was important. If you don’t need to resize, then un-check this option. You can also include copyright info that will be included in the metadata of you file, for example, you wedding photo company’s name. You can run an action from here as well, but there is another section for doing Batch Actions so I will cover it there. I always include the ‘ICC profile’, I’m not sure why, but I’m guessing it’s also part of the metadata. Once you hit ‘run’, if you’ve got a few (like hundreds) files to process, this would be a good time to find something else to do, as this can take quite some time.

For doing batch actions, you will have to got to Tools->Photoshop->Batch. The most popular actions are ‘Black & White’, ‘Sepia Toning’ and ‘Vignetting’. Choose the action, then the source, whether it’s Bridge, a folder or an import. Since you’re selecting this from Bridge (if you have selected your images) you don’t have to change this, but if you have an entire folder to change to Black & White, for example, then choose the folder option and select the folder. You also have to select a destination folder, I usually just make a subfolder in the folder I’m pulling from named with the Action I’m performing, like ‘Black & White’. Ignore the ‘Override Save As…’ if there are not ’save’ or ’save as’ functions in your action. If you are choosing from the default actions, no need to select this. Then you can add to the filename…usually by adding sequence letters or numbers, if you’re saving to a sub-folder, this isn’t really necessary. Make sure the compatibility is selected and then hit ‘OK’. Then just like image processing, you can go find something else to do as this can take a long time depending on how many images, and the speed of your computer.

Here is an example of Vignetting. It is also a Black & White example minus the flowers-this effect was done in Photoshop. To learn how to do this contact me and I’ll make a post about it.

Keywords are helpful if you’re a stock photographer, but there are probably other uses, but I can’t think of any more. Metadata is what is embedded in your image file information. Just from this one image, I can see that it was shot using an aperture of 22 (f-stop) with a shutter speed of 1/200 of a second, and the ISO (film speed) was 800. I can also see the file size, dimensions and colour profile. I don’t really have a use for this info except for the camera settings, that’s why I minimize this panel to only show the top section.

There are many more features available on Bridge. Web Galleries and PDF creation are some examples, but the full scope of Bridge is something I have yet to discover, so as I learn more, I will update you. Learning is never-ending, and in my opinion it never should. Have Fun.

Using Adobe Bride to Organize your photos
Using Photoshop CS4 for beginners who want to tweak family photos
Using “Henry’s Moments Online” for Printing in Canada
Artisteer automated website design-good for blog templates
….and more.

And if there’s anything you want me to write about, send me a msg and I’ll try to make it happen!

I just to have to write this quick post because I’m so excited about the new logo our friend Marc designed for us. Out of the goodness of his heart. We didn’t even get around to submitting the font details or anything and he took upon himself to finish the project. What he came up with was nothing short of awesome! He is a rock star in my eyes! He does run his own multimedia company, so it’s only natural that he would be awesome, but I still want to share our new image with you.

So here it is with a dark backround and white lettering (I just love the layout):

And here is a horizontal version with black letter for light backgrounds:

To visit our new website or to get some pricing on photography (if you’re in the market) Wander over to juiceebee.com I’ve also update our pricing cards with the new logo and some new titles for our packages. (flowers and cool insects)

Here is the rest of my post that I thought was lost….

My first app post seems to generate some traffic, so I’m going to update and list some new apps I’ve acquired. Some of them are free, some I paid for and some were once free and are possibly now paid. So here it is.

2. Fish Food Frenzy Free by Sputnik Games -this version is free but has ads at the top, if you want rid of the ads you can upgrade. The game is set around a little fish who must eat smaller fish and avoid getting eaten. There is a similar game on Xbox 360 and I love both.

6. Sun Scroll Book -This app offers many different novels for reading. Currently I’m reading Fanny Hill, but the features apply to most books. There is a night reading feature as well as a Lock Rotation, which is handy in bed so the screen doesn’t constantly move around on you. I also like the Table of Contents is designed like the rays of a sun and spin to show more chapters. There is also a bookmark feature, where you can have multiple bookmarks. I go this book and some other for free from AppTrakr, but they are not currently free…but other titles are always showing up.

7. Shrek Kart by Gameloft -I believe I had this in my free app article, but I’ve since downloaded the paid version. The reason being that you can play multiple characters and unlock more tracks. My son and DH have linked up and raced against each other, which is fun.

8. CTV Olympics by Indusblue Inc. -a handy app that you can have either free or paid. You can see medals at a glance and the upcoming schedules for the remaining events. This company also has apps for Much Music and Pet Adoptions.

10. Culinary Collections by Sun Scroll – another free book collection I found on AppTrakr from Sun Scroll. It has thousands of recipes for all kinds of occassions. It’s very comprehensive.

That’s all the apps for now…but again I’m going to say how much I love AppTrakr…check it out.

Here is a quick list for now, because after typing a whole article and trying to find links, Firefox decided to crash on me and silly me didn’t save and Wordpress didn’t autosave at any point. I’m now too frustrated to write the whole thing again.

1. Jungle Crash Land by Donut Games -fun game with missiles and crashing, what more do you need.

2. Photo Caddy by Aspyre Solutions -paid app that is full of photography tips for pros and ams alike. Every photo situation imaginable is covered with tips and suggestions as well as a spot to make notes and global user section.

3. Kijiji Classifieds – app that accesses the main website. You can post and view, as well as watch ads all from you iPhone. It is free.

4. Buggle by Top Meadow -fun matching game where you have to save bugs from the spider’s web.

5. World Series of Poker by glu Games -free Texas Hold Em app. Good for anyone who loves poker. You can build a career and profile and there is a bluetooth feature.

This is a short list, but really my favorite place to go to find FREE app is AppTrakr. They post apps that normally have a fee, but are at the moment-free. You need to check back frequently because the lists are always changing.

One of the companies I like to use for creating photo books, is Photobook Canada. This an international franchise with locations all over the world. (Photobook Worldwide)

This company requires the download of their software- “My Photo books Editor” to edit your layouts in. Many other companies like Pikto in Toronto use very similar versions of the same software. The difference really comes down the sizes offered by that company, and a direct link for uploading your content to their servers for production.

Why Photo Book Canada vs. Walmart or Costco?

Well, I guess if you’re trying to save money, the obvious choice would be the latter two choices. But if you want quality and a great degree of control, Photobook Canada is the way to go. (They also deliver) Photobook Canada offers quality paper and secure binding, but besides that, the software offers automated options for those of you who are either in a hurry to design a layout, or not comfortable with design. I would suggest sorting your photos for publishing into a separate folder-that way you know that you have the nice poses etc. and that way you can just ’select all’ when opening photos in the software.

Using the Software:

Once you have installed the Photo Book Editor, you will choose between either, ‘Create New Book’, ‘Fast Track’, and ‘Open Saved Book’. So for those first timers, just ignore the third option for now, but once you have started a book and want to go back to it, this is what you’ll select.

So once you have selected Fast Track for making an automated book, you’ll have to choose what orientation you want your book to be; Landscape, Portrait, or Square, this will really depend on your photos and the purpose of the book. Think about what size your are going to have and how many photos you want on each page.

I’m going to choose ‘Kids’ to showcase both of my boys because one is turning 3 and one is 7 months old, I really don’t want to use Baby Boy for my older child. I really just want to show the variety of backgrounds available within the software. When you’re doing it for yourself, you can toggle between the themes to see the different styles. After selecting the theme, you’ll be prompted to select your photos. You can choose between 41 and 1497 images! The book I selected will contain 40 pages (20 sheets double sided) and in most cases you can add more pages for an additional fee.

So I’ve decided to use pictures from Christmas, only because they were nicely sorted in a separate folder already. After you select them, you’ll have a chance to preview them, rotate and re-order them if needed.

I didn’t have to rotate anything in this example, so I just clicked okay. Now I have the option of putting a caption on either the front cover, or under the first picture of the book. I’m choosing front cover for this book.

And now here’s the summary of my book before the software creates the book for me:

It takes only a few moments as it creates your book, and once it loads, you can get busy previewing and making adjustments that you see fit. Here is a quick glance of the workspace with some points of interest. (right click-view image if you can’t read my notes-sorry)

Each photo on the page is within a ‘frame’ – you can move each frame around, and within each frame you can zoom your picture and move it around to have ideal cropping. You can add more frames to pages, and then you can drag photos to be set in the frame-or as a single or double page background. You can add text on any page and there are text editing tools -just like any word processor. When you are moving frames around, make note of the edges where the paper will be cropped during production, you’ll also notice grid lines to help you align frames. It is also possible to rotate frames to be set on a diagonal, if you want to add some creativity to the layout.

There are also some image enhancement tools, with B&W and Sepia Filters. You can also select a photo as a background and there is a handy ‘image fade’ tool that makes the image as a background less distracting -if you’re adding more frames on top. Plus there are enhancements to brighten or sharpen photos. While these tools are great to have in this software, if you have access to a photo editing program like Photoshop or iPhoto, you should make these adjustments ahead of time there, as these actions slow down the program and don’t have same customization that Photoshop has.

This is where I’m going to stop my exercise of making a photobook, because once you select ‘Send to photobook’ the wheels start turning as your book is being processed. What happens is each page will create a pdf for you to PROOF before sending to the printers. This can take some time depending on your computer, so this would be a good time to go make a tea, or throw in a load of laundry, or eat…whatever you like.

Very Important:

I strongly recommend taking the time to view EACH page zoomed in to check for any mistakes…especially for spelling, because one you have approved the Proof and uploaded you cannot ammend anything, and any mistakes on the layout or design will not be covered under any guarantees by the company. Photobook Canada has 2 options for sending to the printers, you can upload to their servers (provided you have a fast connection) or save to a disc and mail it to them. The second option obviously adds to the time in receiving your actual book, so uploading is faster in the long run.

You will most like be asked to create a profile, and will have to provide your payment info, but all is secure, so not to worry. You can also order multiple copies of the same book, which is handy because otherwise you have to go through the proofing and uploading process all over again, which so time-consuming.

I have created 2 books with this company and I have been happy with the process. The first one I made took an unusual amount of time, so when I contacted them, they informed me that when the book went to Quality Control, they noticed the binding was no good, so they remade the book. For my inconvenience, they gave me a gift certificate for a free book of the same size and type. I thought that was great customer service. The second book was a large (and I mean huge) landscape book and the quality was great and the book arrived in only 9 business days-just like promised. For more info on this process click here.

Here is a glimpse of the Worldwide site. Note the countries offering the service.

Keep on the lookout for deals, Photobook Canada constantly has promos, for example, my second book was 40% off if it was ordered before a certain date…which was awesome for me because I had to add 4 more pages which added to the cost. Some international franchises also offer additional products like boxes or cases for your book. Canada doesn’t offer any of those at this time, but I’m sure they will one day.

You can also become a fan on Facebook and get informed first of promos they have.

Don’t be afraid to play around with all the setting, you’ll find tonnes of inspiration when you know the full scope of the software’s capabilities. Let me tell you how amazing it felt to get my first book in the mail, and see how great it looked. I was quite proud.

I just want to make an additional note for more advanced users. If you are very Photoshop-Capable, I would suggest getting the specs for the book and creating a layout in photoshop so that you can take advantage of all the tools and layering abilities in Photoshop. Just save each page layout as a jpeg and when you create the photobook, just add the jpegs as single or double page backgrounds. I find this save a lot of time, as my first book was using solely the software, whereas my second book was made using Photoshop alone. I still spent a lot of time in Photoshop, but the program offers so many more options not available in the Photobook Editor.

Have fun making your memories stand out using a product that is made through a digital process. I like to think of this as digital scrapbooking.

So in my search of affiliates, I have opened myself to some U.S companies, and have found Secondlife.com. I think I remember first hearing about it on CSI:NY when to catch the bad guy Mac Taylor (aka Gary Sinise, who I Love!) had to go into the virtual world. I first thought it was fictional upon watching the show, but yesterday I realized through my affiliate site, that it is, in fact a real thing. Hunh!

So I signed up. First to become an affiliate, and second to have a ’second life’. LOL

It downloads software onto your computer so that you can peruse around and live your life faster…I guess. Well I got started changing my appearance, which has endless possibilities-and all kinds of other new people came flying to the help island-yes flying, you can fly in this universe. The one catch is that you start your life with no money if you start up for free. There are premium memberships available, but I’m yet to figure it all out, and when I do, I’ll let you all know.

Well in my quest for virtual beauty I crashed my computer! lol Mainly because I operate on an old PowerPC G4…even photoshop gives me headaches, but it’s very hard to part with my faithful companion.

So today, I found out I’ve been accepted to their affiliate program, cool. I’m gonna spend some more time on this virtual world and get back to you, because I find it very fascinating, and never thought myself one to get invovled in a virtual reality, so this will be fun.

Stay tuned.

My son LOVES  ‘CARS’! He has almost every character from the movie, as well as pyjamas, the DVD and now the games. Mater-Nationals.

First we had the Mater-Nationals DS version, and our main objective (me and my DH) was to unlock all the characters for him. It quickly turned into an obsession, and we have unlocked all but Filmore! Ahh! We’ve played all the tracks and almost all the challenges, and he is the only one left to unlock. This game is without a doubt one of the most fun games I have ever played, and I’m not a fan of Racing games, but this lands a super close 2nd to Mario Kart (DS). (hint: for Mario Kart Wii, I find the nunchuck will beat out someone using a wheel anytime…shhh)

So last week I stopped off at EB Games to buy my son a new case for the DS as we needed some support because he fell with it open and broke one of the hinges. I managed to ‘MacGuyver’ it back together with electrical tape but, I was still weary of it’s strength. I managed to find an awesome Nerf case that has foam padding (like the toys) and a snap in receptacle with it’s own hinges. (It’s the best money I ever spent.)

Anyways I bought the case and found a previously played copy of the Cars: Mater-National for Wii, and since we don’t have very many games for Wii yet, I bought it! This game goes much further than the DS version. It is really great, and has a story mode complete with Monster Truck capability. (a la Monsters Inc. reference from the movie) You can drive all over Radiator Springs, and find mini games to complete to unlock things. You can also get custom paint jobs for most of the characters.

Anyone who has a child who LOVES Cars, this is a great addition to your collection of toys.

I just wanted to write a quick note about my Photography company Juicee Bee Productions. We have just completed our new website featuring a Grand Flash Gallery and Availability Calendar that are both Word Press plugins. We also found a great WP theme to use.

In fact our entire website was created on WordPress(dot org)! Amazing right! If you venture to our site, you’ll notice how ‘un-bloggy’ it looks. We even have a featured article homepage but it only shows custom fields with Photographs. The best thing about having this site, as opposed to a flash or html site, is that both my partner and I can update and maintain it, and we live on opposite sides of a Lake. Using Cyberduck for ftp uploads, I can add to each gallery from my collection and vice versa. This is also where you can view the contents of your ‘wp-content’ folders and make changes to code outside of the WordPress editor.

We also have the Contact Form 7 plugin so potential clients can ask questions without having to open their email programs. Another plugin we use is the Meta SEO pack -we found that other ones didn’t work with the hosting company we are using, so keep that in mind if you’re having problems with that.

Something else I really like using is Google Analytics. You have to have an account, but once you add sites and are given the code, you can download the WP plugin and enter the code to start tracking your traffic.

There are many other plugins I like for my personal blog, but for a business website, those are the only ones we need as we are not planning on writing articles. If we do, we will have a sub-domain created and download WP and have it as a separate page link.

I think customers coming to the site just want the information pertaining to them, and they want to find it fast and easy. And if those coming are blog readers, then they can go to the link as they so choose.

I thought I learned a lot about Word Press(dot com) from my own blog, but my company site has opened my eyes to even more possibilities. It really is a great platform, and has so much customization available. I will admit, that not everyone will understand it at first, and some may never understand, but Word Press is my new favorite Digital ‘thing’ these days. I know I’m probably really late in jumping on that bandwagon, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon.

UPDATE: As of March 14th, and this was originally published Feb. 3rd, this position still hasn’t been filled and they’ve upped the salary by $2000/a! So I guess I was right, and the guy was just being a complete ASS.

I am on maternity leave for another 5 months, but because my DH was laid off, I’m starting to panic about the finances. So I got this bright idea to start job hunting, for him, for me, mostly out of curiosity. I stumbled upon an ad for a ‘Graphic Artist’ at an embroidery company, in the next town. The pay was pretty decent considering the short commute.

Since I’m a photographer/digital artist, I looked into it further. Here is part of the job ad:

Skill Requirements:
Education: Completion of high school, Some college/CEGEP/vocational or technical training, Some university (I have college training in the ‘general’ area)
Credentials (certificates, licences, memberships, courses, etc.): Not applicable
Experience: Experience an asset
Languages: Speak English, Read English, Write English
Area of Design Specialization: General graphic design, Visual art, Corporate identity, Multimedia, Forms
Business Equipment and Computer Applications: IBM, MacIntosh, QuarkXpress, Illustrator, Photoshop, PageMaker, Corel Draw (I have used Illustrator-a little, I’m advanced on Photoshop, and I used Pagemaker in high school. But I have not used Quark Xpress or Corel Draw-all of which I made perfectly clear in the email that contained my resume)
Work Setting: Corporation
Specific Skills: Consult with clients to establish nature and context of designs and illustrations for reproduction, Produce final designs or illustrations (I am totally capable of handling these responsibilities, with maybe a small learning curve, but my advanced computer skills means that I can learn others quite quickly)
Essential Skills: Reading text, Document use, Numeracy, Writing, Oral communication, Working with others, Job task planning and organizing, Significant use of memory, Finding information, Computer use, Continuous learning (all of these skills I am good at)
Other Information: Redrawing and resizing company logo’s to be printed on promotional products. Obtain and supply quotes. Order taking and order processing various customer service functions. Web Design. (I have actually re-drawn and re-sized logo’s for broadcast…print isn’t a far cry. Then it seems, not only do they want a graphic artist, they want a CSR as well…hmmm)

So I send off my resume, on a whim really, and in it, says that I have certain computer programs as skills, but I didn’t specify on my resume to what degree my expertise lay with each program. So I made sure I was honest in my email, about how much knowledge I have in the programs specified.

I get a response back the next day with an attached job description telling me to look it over and let them know if I was still interested. Here’s what the description said:

“Position:  Graphic Artist, Customer Service & General Office

Tasks include:

• Web Design and maintenance
• Producing Paper Proofs for client approval
• Ordering promotional products and checking for accuracy
• Design and send E-mail Blasts
• Order processing and follow-up
• Assisting corporate clients in our showroom
• Writing and completing sales transactions

Business Hours:

Monday – Friday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Thursday’s:  Must be available to work 8:00 am – 8:00 pm bi-weekly.

Extended holiday hours include working Saturday’s during the months of November and December.

The successful candidate must have excellent written, communication and math skills and be knowledgeable in Microsoft Office.”

So I think this sounds okay, and I could handle this job, seeing as I’m a great multi-tasker and I’m really quick to learn new things. I’ve also been hired for jobs I was less qualified for because someone recognized my keenness for learning. I send a reply saying it sounds good and I would like an interview. A couple hours later, I get a phone call asking me when I can schedule an interview, and we decide on Wednesday afternoon. He said I would fill out an application and then we would have the interview. (period…no mention of any test)

I’m now scrambling to figure out what I’m going to do with my kids if I get hired, and how much child care will be, and how I’ll really be able to leave my 6 month old already. I also have to figure out who’s gonna watch my kids during the interview. I start preparing a list of questions I have for them etc. I then spend the entire day getting my clothes ready, feeling excited about the chance to get into the ‘real world’ again.

So DH says he’ll watch the kids, my friend says she’ll watch them for only $50/day, and we figure out how it all works with the salary in terms of being worth it.

I get there, and it’s a showroom for corporate uniforms/products and gift baskets. The guy takes me over to a table in the showroom to fill out my application, after seeming surprised to see me-I was only 10 minutes early. He says to bring it back to the office when I’m done…so I do, and he makes me wait again, while he goes over my stuff-I’m assuming. Then he fetches me to do a test! A test! He asks me if I know Illustrator, I tell him only a little but that I’m way better at Photoshop, and I use it more. So he brings me to a computer and sits me down with a picture of a man in a uniform with a white background and asks me to remove a piece of background…so I do, then he says, remove the rest. So I do, with great ease. Then he wants to test me in Illustrator by having me turn the text in a logo to black. I manage to fuddle my way through this task, and then he asks me to take the globe graphic being used a ‘letter O’ and remove the lens flare and get rid of the grid lines on the continents. This is where I get stumped. I tried a couple things that didn’t work completely and I turn around and tell him I’m stumped. Now don’t forget I did say in my email, AND tell him walking into this test, that Illustrator was not my forte. Yet, he still seemed annoyed with me and tried to point out in my resume that I listed Illustrator as one of my skills. So I pointed out to him that it was version CS and we’re now on CS4, and he still acted as if I blatantly lied on my resume. (I mean wouldn’t you realize that if the version was 4 revisions old that would indicate the last time I used it?? Hmm? Wouldn’t you?) So I then reminded him that I mentioned in my resume that I only had a ‘little’ experience and that some programs I didn’t even know.

He tells me he’s going to have to cut the interview short! What? I asked him if there was no room for a learning curve and he said no. That 90% of their work needs Illustrator skills at a higher level than what I had…WTF? Am *I* delusional, or was that NOT specified on the job ad or description. He didn’t even give me the courtesy of a full interview just to humour me. Like really? If I had had the right skills you would’ve taken the time to get to know me, but because I didn’t, you can’t be bothered to give me the illusion of having a chance. I mean talk about wasting MY time.

Here’s what I have to say. Good luck to them. For the amount of work they want done, and the level of expertise they want, they aren’t offering enough money to be picky about people. Especially in a sub-urban area. I could very easily caught up to their standards and given them great customer service, but now they’ll never know. I mean, it’s an embroidery shop…what expert Illustrator is gonna work for that low of salary and ALSO do the customer service and office duties they require? Maybe someone desperate. So again, Good Luck.

I’m not upset that I wasn’t qualified, I’m upset that he didn’t show me the courtesy of a full interview for my time. I mean, I did show up on time, dressed appropriately, AND did know SOME stuff…why couldn’t he finish the interview for ‘future reference’? I wonder if after going through all the applicants and realizing he won’t find his ‘perfect fit’ will he call me back? NOTHING like this has ever happened to me before. It’s just so weird.

Needless to say I was pissed. I also had to drive home in a blizzard btw!

I have the iPod Touch 8GB. It has wi-fi and bluetooth, so a lot of my apps only work when I’m at home or in range of a signal. So I can’t have real-time maps, but I can pre-load them ahead of time. I can also sync my calendar, address book, and email from my mac to my iPod. Pretty handy when you’re out and about, and need to check you schedule…no more PDA’s. I chose NOT to get an iPhone because since I’m home so much, the monthly data plan isn’t worth it. Besides, I like holding a real phone in my hand, it would be too weird for me to cross that threshold. -for the time being at least. Apps are available straight from you device, or by using the iTunes store and later syncing the apps to your device later.

• 10. Convert Units for Free 1.1 by Free the Apps!  -just what the name implies, unit conversion for free. Pretty much all types of unit measurement is in there. I find it useful, because even though we’re metric in Canada, some people use both, so it makes for a quick reference. Whether its weight, or length, or even in cooking, when some recipes may be from American books. No internet access needed.
• 9. Flickr 1.1.0 by Yahoo!  -as a photographer, Flickr is a great way of sharing photos. It’s useful to me as I have a partner who sometimes needs to have access to photos that I have, and Flickr allows high quality up/downloads that may be large in file size. But for iPod, it’s great to be able see what your contacts are up to, or for sharing with friends when you’re out and about.
• 8.  Flixter 3.2 by Flixter  -GREAT app for movie goers. Not only does it list what’s playing and what’s coming up, it lists nearby theatres that are showing films. The upcoming section has a list that goes a year in advance. It also provides movie info and links to trailers.
• 7.  Dictionary 976 by dictionary.com  -a huge app in terms of file size. But very concise. The reason I like to have a dictionary on hand is to be able to look up words that I don’t understand. This way I won’t forget to look it up. I like learning new things. It also has the words on file, no need for internet connection to look things up.
• 6.  Lists 1.0 By Mobility Ware  -very handy for putting together to do lists without wasting paper. You also have the ability to check off things as you complete them. It is capable of having sub-lists within sub-lists and so on. Also no internet connection needed.
• 5.  itunes remote 1.3.3 by Apple  -PRETTY AWESOME! You can use your iPod as a remote control for you iTunes on you computer. This can eliminate the need for a docking station with good speakers, if you happen to have really good computer speakers with a sub-woofer.
• 4.  WordPress2 2.1 by Automattic  -Bloggers will like this app if they’re using WordPress installed. You can approve comments & write posts all from you iPod.
• 3.  Free Apps 1.2 by PBJ Studios  -this app is cool for finding Apps that used to or are going to cost money. For example, some developers sell for free initially to get people in the door, while others have inventory clearance on things that are seasonal.
• 2.  Grocery Gadget 2.1.3 Lite By Flixoft  -REALLY great app for shopping with. I prepare my list at home and when I’m at the store I can update the prices. As I check off the items, it shows me how much money is in my cart. It also remembers prices of things you bought previously. You can also email the list to someone else. I’m not sure but the full paid version, may have transferability between iPod.
• 1.  Facebook 3.12 by Facebook  -oh how did we survive and connect without Facebook. This app is amazing. You can read News Feed, messages, comments, look at photos and more, without having to get on your computer. If you have wi-fi in your house, then you can use it for quick peeks. I love it because I can keep it with me while I watch TV and it even alerts you of new comments/messages if you are still logged in.

And some other one I like:

• -eBuddy 3.3.0 by eBuddy -can connect to a variety of different messaging programs like MSN, Yahoo etc.
• -Skype 1.3.0 by Skype Software S.a.r.l  -connect with you contacts via your iPod
• Sol Free Solitare 2.1 by Smallware  -play solitare all day long
• Mixology 2.0 by Digital Outcrop  -become and amateur bartender. Search for recipes by alcoholic product and more.
• Creepy Dolls 1.2 by Woelfel Constulting Inc.  -just for fun. Random images of creepy dolls come up on the screen. (I’m weird)

A great resource for all things App, is appcraver.

Of course there are thousands more free apps, as well as just as many paid apps, so the possibilities are endless. You’d be hard pressed to come up with an original idea. Most apps are only .99c, but be careful, downloading apps can be addictive, my DH has over a hundred on his iPhone-half of those just for my 2.5 year old son. That is a whole other article altogether.

I’ve also discovered a problem. You can only download apps with a credit card on your account. Gift Cards do not work. A real annoyance, and one that I hope Apple takes care of real soon.

We have Rogers Cable, here in Ontario. The rest of Canada has a variety of cable and satellite providers, but here in Ontario, the choice is between Rogers Cable, Bell ExpressVU, and StarChoice. (as far as I know) But the rest don’t really matter. All I’m interested in, is the Cable. Why? Because it’s dependable in snow storm, and I can have my phone and internet all rolled into one service with my cable.

Aside from all of the above, Rogers has a service called On-Demand. You can have TMN-On Demand, also MPIX, Treehouse, HGTV, and the list goes on. But on Channel 100, you have the option to watch movies (for a cost) TV shows (if you happened to miss something) and a range of other topics. But new, or maybe not new, but we just received an update email about their new On-Demand feature. On Demand Fitness! What?

They say it starts from just 1.99/mth to have this service…sure beats a $40/mth gym membership that you have to drive to use, and usually end up wasting by not going. I’d say this is a pretty neat concept, and if you’re looking for ways to trim your budget, but still have access to workouts, this is a great alternative. Mind you, I have not personally tried it out, but if you were looking for a reason to leave your satellite provider and switch to digital cable, this might do it for you.

If you want to check it out, go here and click ’see what’s on’, then ’sports’ – ‘fitness’  and you’ll see Body and Soul Yoga.

I am a Television Broadcasting graduate. What does that mean? It means I’m trained to be able to work at TV stations, do minimal graphics design, operate a video camera, edit video/audio, and some other related things. Hmm.

My first photo resto, and Old Italian portrait. (click to see larger)

Well, after graduation I worked at a duplication house, it was not very glamorous especially for someone who had dreams of becoming a director/producer. But I did learn a lot there, and was grateful for the experience, but I sent out many resumes to further my career-with no takers, and it seemed as though I was pigeon-holed. I made the decision pretty soon after my father passed away, that I didn’t like the commute and I wanted to take a break.

So my hubby, (new Bf at the time) let me quit my job to work at a daycare, which I had experience from working at summer camp and a local youth centre. While I worked at this daycare, we had purchased some equipment with the plan of starting our own business. It never took form the way we wanted it to, but I did get some little jobs doing photo restoration on Photoshop. So we decided to get me a domain and web hosting to advertise my services as a digital artist and videographer. And that’s where ‘kerridigital’ comes from.

My friends granfather...she circled his head when she was a kid (click to see larger)

I did actually get some freelance videography work for a company who recorded seminars and sold the discs for educational purposes as well as online web-casting, and this led to a full time job. Mind you I only stayed for 3 months after being hired, but I left on good terms. I ended up at a small time TV station that specialized in cultural programming. And when I say small time, I mean we bought equipment from consumer stores, and took feeds from other stations and just inserted our own commercials in place of theirs. There was minimal original content, basically only enough to meet the Canadian Content requirement, and it was thrown together with absolutely no standards. So you can understand why I didn’t want to go back there, on top of the poor treatment I received, but that’s another story. I left there for Maternity Leave and never returned.

So why do I still have my kerridigital domain? Well mostly because I use it for my main email. It cost practically nothing to renew every year, and saves me having to revise my email everywhere. One day I decided, ‘why not start a blog?!-whatever that is?’ lol Our web hosting company has one-click installation with Word Press, so here we are. It’s even a learning curve for my super tech savvy hubby who is a flash developer. I think he might even consider using one of his 20-something domain names to start one!

Cory posing as a photographer lol

I am a digital photographer who is very well versed in Photoshop CS4-in terms of uses for photography. But I started a Photography business on the side with my best friend Cory and we obviously weren’t going to capitalize on my name…I mean I’m a nobody, so we thought of a fun name that would appeal to kids, as well as make people think twice when they hear it. And so, ‘Juicee Bee Productions‘ was born.

So am I kerri:digital? yes. I live a life surrounded by technology, and digital products. I might not be up to snuff on my web development, but I believe that my extensive ‘digital’ background will lead me there very quickly.