PRESS RELEASE

Today two Press Releases arrived in my email.  One for this photo:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3/28/2010 Photographer Michael Lynch of Kin, Okinawa, has won Second Place for February in the prestigious photography contest sponsored by BetterPhoto.com, the site's founder, Jim Miotke, announced Sunday.

More than 17100 entries were submitted to the online photography contest, which attracted contestants from around the world and featured 10 separate categories.

Lynch's stunning image, "A Sign of Spring", garnered top honors after being submitted in the Animals category.

And another for this one:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3/28/2010 Photographer Michael Lynch of Kin, Okinawa, has won Second Place for February in the prestigious photography contest sponsored by BetterPhoto.com, the site's founder, Jim Miotke, announced Sunday.

More than 17100 entries were submitted to the online photography contest, which attracted contestants from around the world and featured 10 separate categories.

Lynch's stunning image, "Parting Shot", garnered top honors after being submitted in the Travel & Place category.

TAKIN' THE REST OF THE DAY OFF !

Cheers.
Mike

Shot Myself Today !

This isn't what I usually do but it was freezing cold outside and

 I was trapped indoors.  I felt like a wild animal must feel stuck in a cage.  So, I took my cameras to my office and practiced shooting myself.

Really, I'm not into doing studio shots or any kind of indoor photography but, unfortunately, I have to.  It's part of this school I'm involved in and if I don't finish all my homework and graduate this year there's no telling what they might do to me.

Can they still drag you up in front of the whole class and whack your fanny with the BOARD OF EDUCATION?

That probably got outlawed in the last century, but, I'm not sure because I haven't been back to the USA in awhile.  I hear they have lots of lawyers making people behave and if anyone hurts you they promise to get you millions of dollars as long as you'll split it with them 50/50.

Somebody told me a fat lady spilled her coffee in her lap at a Drive-thru joint and got Six Million Dollars.  Is that true?

Well, anyway, I'm a Grandpa and I don't think I should have to do homework unless it's something that interests me.  Portraits, advertising, and fashion; they're all things I have to shoot to graduate from the professional camera school.  I'll do what I have to do and get it done.  And when I do, I'll go get my....

Millions the hard way, I'll work for them!

Still Shoot Wildlife, Whenever I See Some

So, maybe it's been awhile!

I know everyone has to have been wondering what's up with all the sightseeing, travel and other things I've been posting here and what happened to the wildlife photography. I've been posting pet photos and even a weather report.

What ever happened to the critters like wild boars, butterflies and birds?
They're still here. I just haven't had the time or right weather conditions to go out chasing them.

This writing business keeps me real busy; even when someone else does the writing. Seems like everytime I can find somebody to write for me the subject isn't wildlife so, they need pictures of shopping, castles, festivals, castles or something tourists might want to see on Okinawa. So, that's what I have to shoot.

But anybody who knows me, knows that if a bird comes flying by, I could be on a mission to take pictures of Queen Mary and start shooting birds or snakes instead. I'd forget all about what I was supposed to be doing and take pictures of what I think is important.

So, I was on the way to shoot some wall in a graveyard. I saw this turtle and figured he wasn't in any hurry and neither was I. So, I shot a picture of him on my way to work.

As soon as I find the time, I'll get a name for him. Common name, scientific name, all that stuff. Right now, I'm too busy. More later.....

Cheers,
Mike

We had this earthquake around 5:30 this morning, right here in my hometown. Well, it actually shook everybody's hometown on the whole 65-mile island.

CNN and Fox and maybe even that Hiraldo Guy like to be the first, along with NBC, ABC, that Fat Guy who wants to run the Republican Party, and Bill O'Reilly, Conan, David Letterman, Dr. Phil, Capt. Kangaroo, Al Gore, The Flying Nun and everybody else who wants to be the first to report the news all gets family and friends of mine upset because just like breaking wind, BREAKING HEADLINE NEWS is usually BULL!
Gee, I hope I didn't leave anybody important out. If I did, sorry, it was intentional.

Here's what really happened in the Not-So-Breaking-News, from a survivor of the tragic aftermath. The ground shook. The house did, too. Not even 30 seconds, I think.

Everybody survived. If anyone was injured, it must have been an accident. There was one dead bird in my kitchen. He was still warm when I took him away from the dog eating him. Guess I should start closing the doors during earthquakes. Keep the damn birds from using my house like an earthquake shelter and stealing my Rye Bread. Bet that's why the dog killed him.

That's all the breaking news from my part of the world. Everyone's fine and I even answered half of the 157 emails I got today asking about the earthquake before I got this great idea: Do a Blog. Thanks for caring, everyone!

Live on the scene, in the aftermath of the OKINAWA EARTHQUAKE. It's over.

Rufus Went To Town

Well, now look at what you've done, Rufus. Got an Editor's Pick over on my favorite Camera Channel. Sonaova(gun)? Gotta be professional, here, Sonavabee, might not be PC !

Anyway, first thing I want to do is thank Nancy Harder over at Matador Life for putting my buddy in the spotlight. I really owe alot of people over there on my favorite Travel Channel, the Matador Network for the things I've learned and friends I've made but, this isn't exactly the Acadamy Awards so, I won't rattle off all their names.

What's really important to mention, though is all the neat tricks you can learn by thumbing through the magazine pages and picking-up little handy gadgets to make more people see a photo of yours. Whatever they use for tools to advertise articles, you can use for photos, too. I got everything they got, and more. Installed so many tools on my dashboard the monitor got top-heavy and fell off the bar one day. I caught it just before it hit the floor.

I really have no idea what all this SEO stuff means (Secret Envelope Opener,or something)and don't want to waste my time trying to figure it out. Analytics, bah, that's for analytical people. I just take a photo like Rufus after he hits the wire somewhere and post it everywhere, paste in some links and start whackinum with all these tools. Magic happens, quicker than overnight. Go home for lunch, take a nap and when I get back, over 100 views showed up on a photo. Could be robots or the CIA lookin' at my pictures for all I know.

The day my dog hit Life at Matador, here's where I put him, besides on this blog:

JPG Photo Magazine 250 VIEWS

Flickr 80 VIEWS

BetterPhoto Published at Matador LIfe in the caption.

Now, the Editors over at Better Photo, who judge these contests aren't your typical magazine editor. They're all professional photographers, the kind of folks whose pictures are in Outdoor Photographer and most of my other favorite print magazines.

That photo of Rufus has been entered at least 2 or 3 times in the contests there, before. But, he never got an Editor's Pick. So, here's my way of analyzing things; ask the readers. You're the ones who keep me writing. Was the photo selected because:

A. Technical excellence

B. Title

C. It's been published

D. SEO From Tweets/Stumbles/Digg/FaceBook/Ping/Reddit

E. All of the above

This isn't a quiz, just an unscientific survey. I value your opinions, everyone.

Cheers,
Mike