I have begun to upload some of the images that I took while in Iraq for editorial use and as I go through them, even after being home since November, it seems like only yesterday I faced IED laiden roads and intermittent rocket attacks on our forward operating base. It has been therapeutic for me to go back and look through the images so I can kind of let it go and look forward, realizing that I made it through relatively unscathed. Some of my fellow soldiers were not so fortunate.

This Memorial Day I am making a vow to all my fellow comrades who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan that I will not allow their memory to be forgotten. I will use my photography to keep that memory alive. Even when there is only one OIF veteran alive (just like there ...

The new editorial license was one of the most exciting additions here at DT for me. I have hundreds of images from my tour in Iraq that will offer newsworthy images of Iraq from a soldier's point of view. I have just begun to get themuploaded, but hope that this collection of images offers a unique perspective that will give editors the ability to show what is REALLY going on in Iraq.

With education, security, and the rebuilding of the Iraqi infrastruction being big issues in Iraq, I can spread the word about how coalition forces are going about aiding that country in accomplishing its goals.

I know other Microstock agencies have editorial licenses, but ...

In the last month I have uploaded over 200 new images to Dreamstime. With an acceptance ratio that is near 85%, I thought I was doing rather well. I THOUGHT I was doing well. When I first starting doing stock, I would have been exstatic! My acceptance ratio was horrific!

Problem is that now I measure my success by downloads. There were only 600,000 images on DT when I started. Since then, the numbers have grown exponentially.

So, although getting an image accepted is an accomplishment in and of itself, it is suppose to be one step closer to $$$$! This means that I have to get those images noticed. Keywords are a big deal and I always make sure that they are accurate and properly spelled. Beyond that, it is ...

Well, here it is, January and I have been home from Iraq now for two months now. Even with the holidays, I have managed to add over 100 new images to my portfolio, and many more are on their way.

Being away from my family was absolutely NO FUN, but the extra money I saved being away has given me the opportunity to get new gear. So, for Christmas I got a new set of strobes from RPS studios. Not exactly high end equipment, but reliable and adjustable output, so I am loving it! Not to mention it comes with a wireless trigger system that makes me wonder how I ever did it with that silly PS Synch cord!

Along with that, I am also going to be ordering a brand new Canon EOS 5D body. With all the work I have ...

Well, my time in Iraq is drawing to a close. In less than a month, I will be back in the United States. In some ways I am happy. VERY HAPPY. I mean, I miss my family. I miss my dog.I miss my friends.

The things that I am aprehensive about are the commercialism and the rat race that I don't have to deal with right now. I am not trying to keep up with the Jones'. I am not telling my kids that they can't have that great new toy that is on the commercials during their favorite show on Nick, Jr. I am not wondering how many calories are in that large order of french fries I just ate from McDonald's. I have a simple life. A simple life leads one to think simply. Moving past all of the physical distractions can easily open one up to a spiritual ...

OK, so I used a false pretense to lure you in, but its not the first time this has happened to you, right? I mean, I know of a company who used one of my friend's perfect stock images to illustrate how much better of an image you can get with the latest greatest digital P&S camera. They took his great image and 'dumbed it down' a bit to create the before picture. Wow! talk about false advertising! I mean it really makes you think!

Is this against any rules? Probably not.

Is it questionable marketing technique? Definitely.

Does it happen everyday? You bet!

So, what can be done about it? Well, I have always been a sucker for a fancy marketing scheme. I mean who isn't? The difference is that, it lures me in to the point where I want to ...

If you have been following my blog posts (I don't know why you would, and I am not presumptuous enough to assume that you are, but play along like you know what I am talking about, k?), I have been talking alot about light lately.

Why shouldn't eye..er..I mean I? Without light, all we have is a black screen. No matter how many cool or original items we put in front of our viewfinder, no light-no picture. I don't think I have to tell you that Photography literally means "painting with light", do I? I mean, we all study the background of words that mean so much to us, like what our names mean. The word photography is almost as important as your own name, right? Most of us name our businesses "INSERT YOUR NAME HERE PHOTOGRAPHY", don't we? So, it'...

If you haven't read "Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting" by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, and Paul Fugua, then you are missing out.

This book is quite amazing. OK, there were alot of things I probably already knew. But, there were a few tips and tricks I didn't know!

One example is photographing shiny objects. The book talks about the difference between direct reflection and polarized direct reflection. For the most part, subjects that conduct electricity have a tendency to create direct reflection, when the light is placed within the family of angles (where the camera sees the ...

Thanks to the encouraging words of some friends, the brutal, but always helpful reviews here at DT, and some free time, I have put together a little photography course. Now, I don't expect that anyone here at DT is going to need to take my course, but I only mention it because I have my experience here at DT to thank for it.

Not only did I learn much about what makes a great photograph and what to look for in the technical aspects of an image, but it pushed me to learn more about photography. I have been, borderline, obsessed with photography since joining this site about a year and a half ago. I actually had to go back and disable a few images I uploaded in the beginning that were just, well, downright embarrassing. I don't know how they ever got through the reviewers. Maybe they ...

I just have a second to get some quick thoughts out there, so I don't have time to add the images to support this message (sorry to all of you who only read my blog because you get a little notice telling you that I included your image in my blog). Here is my ONE image:

I was helping a friend learn PS CS2 today and 2 hours of 'instruction', we realize its time for lunch. So, we go and eat lunch and come back and now were getting serious about the thing. We are talking about layers and masks and histograms and tonal adjustments and sheep. OK, not sheep, just making sure you weren't reading too fast.

It was fun to share some of the things I have learned over the last two years working with the program on my own, but there were a few buttons and functions that ...