Is it Art – Instant drawing and the digital darkroom

Is it Art – Instant drawing and the digital darkroom

Henri Cartier-Bresson is reported to have said after he had given up photography.

“All I care about these days is painting—photography has never been more than a way into painting, a sort of instant drawing.”

No one disagrees that painting is art, albeit the quality may vary but it is always considered art. Why isn’t this the case with photography? It is agreed that there is an art to photography but this means it is a craft but photography of the highest order is referred to as “photographic art”. Likewise images created on or enhanced by a computer are labelled as “digital art” or “computer art”. Whereas painting is just art, be it water colour, oil or acrylic.

In part the problem lies with the artist. The discussion about photography is littered knee deep with technique and coloured with technical jargon. Seldom if ever is the art discussed. I have yet to find a discussion about a painter’s work where the types and sizes of the brushes scores a mention. And quite frankly who really cares? If I was to twiddle the knobs like Ansel Adams would I make an Adam’s photograph? The simple answer is no, I’m not Ansel Adams.

The photographer makes the photograph with their attitudes, opinions, experience and aesthetic. The very same attributes that the painter brings to their work, as does the sculptor, the writer or the composer. Technical ability only makes technically correct work. The most interesting work is that which is out there pushing the boundaries, ignoring the rules and making it up as they go along, finding new forms of expression.

The development of the digital darkroom heralds a new age for photography. Gone are the days of mechanical drawing, now full blown paintings are as accessible as the artist’s ability to imagine them. With attitude, opinion, experience and aesthetic being the guiding principles not the recipes of those who have gone before.

It is a play ground, don’t worry about mistakes it is through them that we learn. As one of the greatest artist’s of the 20th Century, Pablo Picasso, said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up”.

Diamond Aircraft

Diamond Aircraft

Some of the most efficient and leading aircrafts flying the skies these days are made by the Diamond Aircraft Industries. Diamond Aircraft Industries aims to provide the general aviation market with the latest aircrafts in aviation technology, excellent aviation experience and aircrafts that are safe, fast and economical.
Diamond Aircraft Industries is an Austrian based company that was founded on 1981. Formerly known as Hoffmann Flugzeubau that manufactures H36 motor gliders. The company was then renamed in 1991 as HOAC AG which was later on purchased by the Dries Family. In 1992, the said maker of general aviation aircraft and motor gliders then opened a production facility in Canada to supply the general aviation market of North America and was then again renamed Dimona Aircraft. And by 1995, the aircraft and motor glider manufacturer was again renamed into Diamond Aircraft Industries.
Since then, the Diamond Aircraft Industries has developed from a H36 motor glider manufacturer into an international general aviation aircraft and motor glider manufacturer. Diamond Aircraft Industries has over five hundred thousand square feet of highly modernized aircraft manufacturing facilities, which employs more than eight hundred individuals. Diamond Aircraft Industries has five separate production lines and also has lots of company owned facilities all over the world.
Diamond Aircraft Industries is the manufacturer of the “Diamond DA20”, which is a two-seater triple cycle gear training aircraft. The Diamond DA20 is very popular among pilot-owners because of its role as a trainer aircraft. The Diamond DA20 is very much similar to the Cessna 150, although, the performance of the Diamond DA20 is better than the Cessna 150. On the other hand, the Diamond DA20 does not have a wire-mesh in its plastic airframe. The wire-mesh enables the aircraft to survive lightning strikes. But the Diamond DA20 is equipped with avionics and instruments suitable for flying under the instrument flight rules. The glide ratio of the Diamond DA20 is 11:1, much better than the Cessna150’s 7:1 glide ration.
The Diamond DA20 has a helicopter-like view because of its bubble canopy but most pilots (especially the ones from warm climates) testify that the cockpit tend to become a greenhouse on hot weather. The Diamond DA20 is the first aircraft available for the North America general aviation market by the Diamond Aircraft Industries.
The Diamond DA20 of the Diamond Aircraft Industries can seat on passenger and a pilot. It has a maximum cruising speed of 140 knots or 161 miles per hour. The maximum service altitude for the Diamond DA20 is 5,364 meters or 17,600 feet. The United States Air Force (USAF) has selected the Diamond DA20-C1 as the aircraft for their new training program last March of 2006. The USAF ROTC has ordered 42 Diamond DA20’s for the said training program.

Understanding Marketing: 5 Common Misconceptions

Understanding Marketing: 5 Common Misconceptions

Everybody seems to know Marketing. The world is full of Marketing gurus. We all talk about with a remarkable ease and confidence, though most of the times we are not Marketing professionals and not even close. What are the most frequent mistakes in understanding Marketing practices and theories?

1. Defining Marketing
There is clearly a general tendency in employing the notion of Marketing within a confusing mix of Public Relations, Advertising, or Media Planning. Regardless of the degree in evolution and growing of Marketing, many of us still cannot understand what Marketing really is and only see the its extreme manifestations. Many believe Marketing is a useless, fancy field, eating up budgets and giving little in return. Others see Marketing as an artistic field, where all you need is creativity to develop a memorable ad.

2. Marketing is still confused with Communication
This common mistake is, again, the result of sufficient understanding of Marketing. Marketing professionals are often thought to be responsible for creating advertisements, logos, slogans. What people usually see is the mere top of the iceberg, forgetting that there is a product, a price and a distribution strategy to be developed before even thinking of advertising.

3. Under- or overestimating the role of the marketer
On one hand, the marketer is often seen as a must-have within a company, but (s)he has an indefinite role and ends up doing a little of everything (Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Customer Care, Account Management etc.) On the other hand we might be faced with the other extreme, where the marketer is an omniscient, all-powerful creature eclipsing everyone else.

4. Segmentation
In spite of the abundance in resources and consulting services aimed at researching the consumers base, segmentation is still done intuitively at least at small-business level. Large companies might have whole departments assigned to work on segmentation research and strategy, and still not be fully failure-proof.

5. Marketing for the sake of it
This is an attitude I have met in too many occasions not to mention it. People (and again, small-business owners are the usual culprits) do marketing because everyone else does it, because they heard they should do it, because it is a fashionable thing to do.

Surely, the list above is not exhaustive, and it only points at several attitudes leading nowhere on the Marketing battlefield.

Marketing is surely not an art, thought it does employ a certain flaire and creativity. Marketing is not a science either, but it operates with precise instruments. Marketing is not for everyone and not to be performed regardless of the conjuncture around the business.

We should keep in mind that Marketing operations have a clear objective: increasing the profitability of a business. To bring money, to be more clear. Marketing is therefore just as important as everything else in the company: if a product has functional faults we would blame the production department, but when a product does not sell for reasons beyond production it is usually the Marketing department to take the blame.

Understanding Marketing

Understanding Marketing

Everybody seems to know Marketing. The world is full of Marketing gurus. We all talk about with a remarkable ease and confidence, though most of the times we are not Marketing professionals and not even close. What are the most frequent mistakes in understanding Marketing practices and theories?
1. Defining Marketing
There is clearly a general tendency in employing the notion of Marketing within a confusing mix of Public Relations, Advertising, or Media Planning. Regardless of the degree in evolution and growing of Marketing, many of us still cannot understand what Marketing really is and only see the its extreme manifestations. Many believe Marketing is a useless, fancy field, eating up budgets and giving little in return. Others see Marketing as an artistic field, where all you need is creativity to develop a memorable ad.
2. Marketing is still confused with Communication
This common mistake is, again, the result of sufficient understanding of Marketing. Marketing professionals are often thought to be responsible for creating advertisements, logos, slogans. What people usually see is the mere top of the iceberg, forgetting that there is a product, a price and a distribution strategy to be developed before even thinking of advertising.
3. Under- or overestimating the role of the marketer
On one hand, the marketer is often seen as a must-have within a company, but (s)he has an indefinite role and ends up doing a little of everything (Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Customer Care, Account Management etc.) On the other hand we might be faced with the other extreme, where the marketer is an omniscient, all-powerful creature eclipsing everyone else.
4. Segmentation
In spite of the abundance in resources and consulting services aimed at researching the consumers base, segmentation is still done intuitively at least at small-business level. Large companies might have whole departments assigned to work on segmentation research and strategy, and still not be fully failure-proof.
5. Marketing for the sake of it
This is an attitude I have met in too many occasions not to mention it. People (and again, small-business owners are the usual culprits) do marketing because everyone else does it, because they heard they should do it, because it is a fashionable thing to do.
Surely, the list above is not exhaustive, and it only points at several attitudes leading nowhere on the Marketing battlefield.
Marketing is surely not an art, thought it does employ a certain flaire and creativity. Marketing is not a science either, but it operates with precise instruments. Marketing is not for everyone and not to be performed regardless of the conjuncture around the business.
We should keep in mind that Marketing operations have a clear objective: increasing the profitability of a business. To bring money, to be more clear. Marketing is therefore just as important as everything else in the company: if a product has functional faults we would blame the production department, but when a product does not sell for reasons beyond production it is usually the Marketing department to take the blame.

Decorate For Less With Art Posters

Decorate For Less With Art Posters

If you are looking for great ways to decorate your home or office, then you know as well as I do that you have nearly countless options. There are so many ways to decorate that it can easily be very overwhelming to find the right things that are in the right budget. As an interior designer, I am often meeting with clients who are overwhelmed with their options and who are having trouble staying within a budget. I often suggest art posters to these kinds of clients.

Art posters is a surprising answer for many of my clients that come with questions. They are surprised because they have never thought about the great option that art posters can be. So I suggest art posters and then I show them the samples of art posters that I have all over my own home and office. There are a few main reasons why I suggest decorating with art posters.

First, I love seeing people decorate with art posters because they are inexpensive. Not that you should always choose what is inexpensive for your home or office, but if you are anything like me, then your tastes and personal style are constantly changing. If this is the case, decorating with art posters is a great way to decorate for a time when you know that your tastes will change soon enough. So often people buy expensive pieces of beautiful art and then change their minds within a couple of years. Buying art posters is a great way to stay in a reasonable price range and to give yourself the freedom to explore new options for art later.

Another great thing about art posters is that they come in such a large variety. You can be looking for almost anything and find what you’re looking for in the form of an art poster. I love that. I love that a client can be looking for a beach scene or for art that looks like it came from Paris and they can usually find art posters representing what they like.

If you are trying to decorate and you think that art posters might be an option for you, then head to an art posters store and check out your options. It is a good idea to have some thoughts about what you’re looking for first. Try to know what style and colors you are looking for. The decision making process will be much easier if you know what kind of art posters to seek.

Several Things You Should Know When Choosing Auto Insurance 2

Several Things You Should Know When Choosing Auto Insurance

Insurance coverage for your auto is a great way to cover the liabilities that you may incur in the event of a motor vehicle accident, whether you are at fault or not. It can help you to keep you from being personally sued and losing assets. This article can help you understand different coverages and decide which one can best serve you.

As an automobile insurance customer, you should always be on the lookout for scams out there. With new insurance companies popping up every day, some of them make bold statements and promise to offer lower monthly premiums, but the coverage is cut-rate at best and is likely to drastically increase after you file a claim.

Make sure you have appropriate uninsured and underinsured auto coverage. The amount of motorists without insurance and underinsured motorist coverage is rising due to the economy. If you do not have adequate coverage, you may have to pay your repair bill or even your medical expenses after an accident when another motorist doesn’t have adequate insurance. Even a minor accident could cost you thousands.

If your car is more than 10 years old, you might want to consider dropping the comprehensive portion of your auto insurance. You may be paying more for that portion then your older car is worth. Instead, save the extra money and use it when the time comes to buy a new automobile.

To save money on car insurance, consider setting a higher deductible of what you would pay out of pocket, in the event of an accident. The insurance company prices policies based on what they expect to pay out if you make a claim and reducing that amount, translates to lower premiums for you.

Pay your premiums in full! This is one of the best ways to instantly get a discount from most insurance companies. Instead of paying your premiums over 6 months or even a year, if you have the money to pay everything immediately, you will most likely get a noticeable discount.

When deciding to buy car insurance, you should see what the policy says it will use as parts to repair your car in the event of an accident. You’ll know if you’re getting new parts from the factory or not. The kind of part used in repairs can affect the value of car if you decide to sell it later.

Doing something simple like putting a car alarm on your automobile can ultimately save you hundreds of dollars over the life of your insurance policy. Statistics show that vehicles with alarm systems are less likely to be stolen, and any vehicle less likely to be stolen poses less of a risk with an auto insurance company.

As explained earlier in the article, automobile insurance is a great way to cover you and your assets in the event of an auto accident. Different coverage options are available to the buyer and can be vital to drivers. As already expressed in this article, auto insurance is a vital protection.

Text Search Engines – How Does It Work

Text Search Engines – How Does It Work

Search engines are a common thing that is used whenever the internet is accessed. The most common search engines are free ones like: Google Search and Yahoo! Search. These engines are called internet search engines. They work on the principle of looking for keywords in different articles or files all over the World Wide Web. There are also search engines in your own personal computers. Most of the time they are general search engines and they are capable of looking for all sorts of files, from documents to music and pictures. These search engines can easily be converted into text search engines by specifying the category that you want to search in.

This type of search engine is most of the time helpful, but it does have its failings. For example, search engine operating on Microsoft Outlook are unable to look up files that are attached documents to emails. For these kinds of searches, you need the help of some Text Search Engine Software that can do them faster and much more meticulously than the regular search engine that your computer is equipped with.

A text search engine is a sub type of the general search engines. Instead of searching for everything that comes up as relevant to the keywords entered, text search engine – as the name imply, focuses on the searching computers and other file storage systems for text that correspond to the data entered by the user. A text search engine works by not only looking up the titles of the files that you search through, but it looks at the document’s whole body of text. This way, if you do not have the exact title of the document you are looking for, you can just look up some keywords that are present in the searched article.

A more in depth look on the workings of a Text Search Engine reveals Preprocessing, indexing, stemming and more. These procedures help make built in search engines as well as downloaded ones work. Most of these programs need to take root before they can function efficiently. Taking root involves the program breaking down into desired units that are easily retrievable. It then proceeds to Isolate and tag document pieces. It moves on to the process of indexing documents by identifying those that can be considered to fall into the same category.

It then deletes any STOP WORDS, stop words are terms that are deemed to be of little value to the search. If not removed, these stop words can considerably slow down the search process. After these procedures, the program proceeds to index the terms and makes itself ready for use.

Some downloadable Text search engines include: DtSearch Desktop Spider, Lucine, HotBot Desktop, Blinkx, NEO Pro, and others. These text search engines work well and quickly because they have been programmed for such jobs. When you are attempting to look up files in a Microsoft Outlook, any of these search engines would do great. There are also text search engines that are available for download, two of these programs are Lookout Desktop as well as Google Desktop. These programs will search your computer efficiently and quickly.

Law of Attraction – How to be a Money Sucking Magnet

Law of Attraction – How to be a Money Sucking Magnet

You are about to discover one of the important steps to allowing the law of attraction to bring you riches beyond your wildest desires.

One of the biggest flaws that most people make in their desire to attract more money into their lives is their inability to be flexible about the way in which money enters their lives.

Perhaps you are one of the people who have discovered the law of attraction and you may be wondering how you can increase your finances. Maybe you are duped into believing that you can wish away and make millions on the lottery.

It isn’t that you couldn’t win the lottery it is just that you are missing one most vital tool to doing so and that is the power behind the intention. This of course is a secret few people realize and so people flounder with their manifesting techniques.

It is surprising just how many educated and seemingly intelligent people spend most of their time dreaming up a win in the lottery. There is nothing wrong in dreaming of winning the lottery. However what is limiting about that focus of ones energy is how limited it can make a person.

People who are discovering the law of attraction do not open themselves to the many possible ways in which money can enter their lives.

People have forgotten that life is a school for greater learning of the soul and if you allowed yourself to become inactive and lazy you would surely miss the many wonderful schools of teachings.

There are many lessons which the universe has to teach you about your very own self and that can only be done though your interaction with others. The dynamic flow between others is far more rewarding and it is also the true secret essence to amassing money and great wealth.

Did you get that secret? Did you hear it or did you fly pass it?

True money attraction requires that you be open to the magic right around the corner and it starts with the exchange of your talents and abilities to give and nurture the lives of others. You can start where you are at your job. You can begin to interact with the boss in a certain way and that way will bring you money beyond what you have previously experienced.

You do have the power to manipulate money as long as you understand the energy that goes with money.

Discover the advanced techniques to spinning money out of thin air using the law of attraction. Discover just how you can attract wealth exactly where you are.

Key Things To Know In Mobile Marketing

Key Things To Know In Mobile Marketing

Taking a step into the wondrous and complex land of mobile marketing for the very first time might feel a tad bit intimidating, but by keeping the helpful tips listed below in mind, you will soon find yourself marketing on par with some of the best marketers in the field.

Make people who signed up to your mobile campaign special. Send them discounts and offers that will be available to this group only. This will encourage them to keep opening your messages, and perhaps attract new people towards your mobile marketing campaign. Make sure these special offers are relevant to the interests of the group you are targeting.

Make sure that your company and brand are instantly identifiable from the beginning of a mobile marketing message. If your consumers have to read though the entire text to find out what company it is from, they will be annoyed and possibly see it as a sneaky marketing ploy.

Do not make mobile marketing a goal. You will not be successful if you rely only on this kind of marketing. You should approach mobile marketing as a way of communicating with your audience, among other techniques of marketing. This method might be more appropriate for a certain group of customers.

If you publish podcasts, make sure that they are available to mobile device listeners. There are a couple of different sites that can enable your podcasts for mobile listening. This can increase your listening audience and further market your valuable products or services. There are free options available for this.

Where your customers are located makes a big difference to how you’re marketing to them, so remember to use the proper context for your mobile marketing. If your customers are out and about on a Saturday afternoon, do you really think you’re going to be able to sway them with any offer? Realize where they are and what they’re doing at least to the best of your ability.

All mobile marketers would do well to remember that mobile marketing is not a typical marketing strategy. In fact, it isn’t really a strategy at all. It’s simply a means of communication. Trying to approach mobile marketing like basic internet marketing just will not work out well for you in the end.

Integrate your mobile marketing campaign with other media outlets. Mobile marketing works best when paired together with outer sources. Make sure you have specific mobile landing pages for each mobile banner. You would also need to integrate a Quick Response code to drive traffic to that site. Integrating your resources make your opportunities endless.

When designing your next mobile marketing campaign, it is important that you remain aware of the visual limitations of most mobile and smartphones. The screens are often very small, and highly pixelated images are unlikely to do your product or brand any special favors. Opt for clean graphics that will be visible on even the smallest display.

So, after reading and applying the helpful tips listed above, you should feel a bit more at ease in the land of mobile marketing. You have the tools; it’s time to use them. You should feel empowered and ready to begin your mobile marketing journey to help better promote your business.

The Simplest Way to Get Online Passive Income

The Simplest Way to Get Online Passive Income

Based on my research, this seems to be the basic principle that website owners have been following to get passive income online:

* Get many people to come to your website
* Get them to click on your Adsense links

Sounds simple enough. Get people into your website from Google search, then link out to an Adsense Ad. Search In – Adsense Out.

Practically applying it to get sufficient commendable income, however, can be quite a challenge.

The first problem is how to get many visitors to your website.

That’s where Search Engine Optimization comes in. However, this is really easier said that done. It’s a bit of an artwork. You basically have to read the mind of an Internet user. What keywords would he use? Why would he visit your website? Do you have the content go get people interested enough to get to your website?

Basically, your goal is visibility. You have to be seen. You can do this using SEO or using traditional brand-building methods. Tell your friends, family and colleagues. If they have websites, politely ask if you could link with each other.

For those lucky few that are already on top of the search engines, this is not a problem. Others (including myself) would have to work hard at it. Look at FilipinoLinks.com. It’s been around for a very long time and has made quite a foundation. It would not be too difficult for its owners to tweak the website for SEO.

Experts have varied opinions on what to put in a website. Some say, put relevant important content – with around 500-1000 words on each of your website. Some say provide simple 300 word news posts.

Another option to get clicks would be to advertise online for keywords. Adwords is an example of a tool that can allow you to do this. There will be marketing expenses in this scenario. The goal here is to get more Adsense income than Adwords Expenses – which is really basic business sense. This is easier said than done, I tried it and got dismal results.

The next problem would be how to get visitors to click on Adsense links.

Well, the first thing that needs to be done is to get an Adsense account. It’s pretty easy to setup. After that, you need to put the Adsense links on your website. There are people who say make it blend it when the rest of your pages. Here, on my website, you can see my Adsense Ads that seem to be part of the overall theme.

Other experts say the more noticeable the advertisements, the more they will be clicked. In this case, the Ads stand out prominently – with a different, and sometimes contrasting color scheme. One tip given was actually position the Google Ad right next to an image/picture. Viewers tend to click on picture links, so more income potential income there.
What does this all mean for a Filipino Entrepreneur?

In my point of view, it means opportunities. Although I have just started experimenting on all of this myself, there seems to be a real possibility of gaining a little revenue. For example, I started this website (last January) and have,in my first month I gained US$7 from Adsense. It’s not much but consider this:

* My expenses so far have been the webhosting (US$4 monthly), and domain name (US$3 for one year – got it at a discount).
* If I continue getting US$7 a month, that would be, US$84 a year.
* My year’s hosting would be US$48
* My theoretical income for one year would be US$33.

There are other costs, of course, from writing the content for this website – electricity, less time to do other things, etc… I didn’t include it yet. If you had pre-existing content, this wouldn’t matter to you. Just upload it and you should be ready.

For example, if you had a song lyrics database, you could find a pretty reliable web developer, have him upload your database, and include AdSense. Optimize it for search and you should soon get some revenue. It will probably not be big, but enough to get you interested.

I remember on my last test with the wordtracker application, “Pinoy Ako Lyrics” were some of the top keywords I found. People were actually looking for lyrics of Filipino songs. Since new songs come out every month, whoever gets the lyrics out soonest would be found earlier.

If you had a database of all Philippine Lotto Results ever since it began, you could probably have a statistics analyzer custom-made from your website. It could give suggested lotto numbers based on historical info. That would be something a lot of people would go to.

There are probably other more interesting opportunities for the web-savvy Pinoy entrepreneur. As long as you get people to your website, and get them to click on an advertisement, there will be revenue.