Perez Studios

I came across an article today when I was getting caught up on some RSS feeds and one that got my attention was from the Digital Photography School.  It mentions the fact that today, photographers cant just be photographers.  They have to master so many different areas in order to stay in the game and keep up with the rest of the competition.  I, myself try to keep up with things and it seems to overwhelm me with my full-time job and my part-time life. 

I thought this article was a great read and I recommend you all read it as well.

Here is the link to the article.

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

I finally got my new camera.  I thought it was time to purchase a new camera and after shopping around and looking for the best performance for the best price, I went with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.  The camera shoots great.  At 21.1 Megapixels the quality is amazing.  After charging up the battery for it yesterday when I got home from work, I hooked up the 28-135mm lens and the 580EX Flash to it and fired up a couple of shots to experiment with the Live View function.  I still have a lot to learn on it.  I was originally using the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, which was only 8.2 Megapixels.  This is a big jump for me, not only in quality but in price.  I originally paid $499 for my Rebel XT back when I bought it in 2005 or so.  I bought it off of this one website that is no longer up and running.  Back then that was a steal for the Rebel.  I had to get the 5D off of eBay for about $2000.  I bought it new, because I just don’t think I would ever buy anything used again over my years of experience on eBay and in real life. 

I plan on taking it with me to the Fresno State graduation this Saturday to see my wife’s cousin graduate.  I hope the test shots are great.

Thanks for reading!

Manuel Perez

I heard that the Central Valley Farmers are supposed to get more water this year.  That is great because the Valley really hasn’t been the same since the cut backs on the water.  Because of the water loss many farmers have closed their ranches and left.  This leaves a lot of farm workers without jobs and ways to support their families which in then crashes the economy because the workers leave the area lowering the population and causing cutbacks in school attendance which in then crashes everything else. 

I hope that people will realize that the world doesn’t revolve around one fish to save over million of people.  Don’t they realize if there is no water for these crops then there is no food for the millions of people that get their produce from our fields? 

I know that it should hopefully increase the chances of taking more agriculture photos.  I love to capture the moments of the harvests.  I have been waiting for the chance to catch the photos of the cotton harvest.  I have been wanting to do that ever since my grandfather was an irrigator and used to drive the cotton picker during the season.  Even when I worked for the local John Deere company in town did I get a chance to snap a photo of the huge combines that pick the cotton.  Hopefully this year!

Thanks for reading!

Manuel Perez

Hello Everyone,

I am writing this post today to see if I could get some feedback from you all. 

I was surfing around on Blog Catalog and came across an interesting Discussion.  “Why don’t people leave a comment on my blog?”, was the title of the discussion.  I thought it was interesting because I hardly ever get comments posted on the site except for an occasional one here and there and not to mention the weekly bot trying to post some garbage on the site. 

So, I wanted to get some feedback from you and see how many of you are actually reading these posts and would like to share or contribute to this site?  I would love to have other writers/photographers on this site as well to share their ideas and thoughts with the rest of us.  If you feel the content on this site is not interesting enough then please share your thoughts and feelings with me.  I can take criticism, because I was in the Marine Corps. 

If you or someone you know could contribute or share their thoughts and ideas with me and the other readers on this site, I would appreciate your feedback and love to have you come on board as a contributor.  Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Thanks for reading!

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to share with you the new look of Perez Studios.  I was getting tired of the old look of the old site so I decided it was time for a new theme.  The good thing about a new theme is its super easy with the Word Press Engine running your site. 

I have been using Word Press for a couple of years now to manage my blog site and I must say that it makes things easy.  It allows me to choose from a bunch of layouts and themes and with the click of a button, I have a new theme and look without having to know too much coding. 

Above you see a screenshot of the old look which was Layers 1.1.1.  I liked it but the black on the screen and the words weren’t pleasing to the eye on the black background. 

Above you see a screenshot of the new look which is iNove 2.3.  I like it that it has a white background but still has the look of the black on top.  I had to do some research to figure out how to manipulate the width of the css because it was too narrow and when you viewed the upcoming events it would shrink the calendar and not display it all. 

I went to this site to view tips on how to manipulate the css. 

Let me know what you think of the new look and if you have any ideas.

If you are interested in setting up a Word Press site then visit their website for more tips.  If you would like me to build one for you then I can do that as well.  I created a couple for some organizations and it is quick and easy.  The Word Press engine runs on a SQL database which is very quick to setup and keeps your entire website organized and running smooth. 

Call me for a free quote on setting up a website utilizing Word Press for you or your organization.

Here are some websites I did that run Word Press.

Mendota Pentecostal Church of God

Mary Allen’s Country Colors

I recently stumbled upon a website that allows people to work from home doing the jobs they do best.  Elance.com has a lot of different job types available for users to work at.  From Digital Webpages to Hardware setups.  It is free for the basic user which allows you to connect with employers.  The site also has some other plans which allows you more opportunities a month to connect with employers and more skills added to your profile.  The basic plan gives you five skills that employers can view on your profile and see if you are capable of handling the job.  The site also allows you to post job openings to hire your own person for the desired job. 

I had been working on another site for side jobs and this one was mainly for computer hardware repairs which I have been doing a lot lately.  I have been turning down more jobs in the Modesto area though because the location is too far for me to drive for too little pay.  The site is Service Live and they work really great although the locations they support are farther than I would like.

I have been wondering where do you professional photographers store your photos after so many years?  I have a 1.5TB drive as my Main drive and another 1.5TB drive as my backup which I use Storage Craft’s Shadow Protect to backup but what do the pros use?  I use Adobe Lightroom 2.0 to keep track of all my photos but as I begin to run at about 300GB left on the 1.5TB Main Drive I am wondering should I archive them onto DVD and keep them in a safe or what? 

Anyone with any ideas I would appreciate the help!

Have you ever had been at work and forgot to do something on your computer?  I have been listening to all the commercials about the ability to log into your computer from anywhere and remote to your computer.  The only problem with that is that they charge you a monthly service fee.  When I first started working at my current employer we came across a program called LogMeIn which is just as powerful as those other guys but its free.  They have some additional features for an additional price but the base package is free and comes with more than enough ability to take care of just about anything at home.  They even have plug-ins that allow you to work on a Blackberry or iPhone and remote into your guest computer.

I currently set this up for my clients so that when they have an issue I am able to check their computers remotely.  They even give you the ability to send email links for your clients so they can install it on their computer and then you have the ability to login from your home or office. 

If you haven’t seen this program go and check it out.  http://www.logmein.com.  If you have any questions or concerns about the software just let me know.  If you have had experiences with this or similar software I would love to hear about it.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving of this year I was on my way to work and a semi (Yes a big rig) jumped out in front of me.  The CHP officer said I was lucky to walk away from that.  I was using my in-laws vehicle to go to work because mine was getting repaired and it was the first day of the valley fog.  The truck was carrying some hay and it jumped out in front of me.  I didn’t have enough time to stop but man did I try.  There was a bridge that I was on so I couldn’t try to swerve out of the way to avoid it either.  I literally stood up in the Geo trying to stop the car.  I ran right into the last tire on the trailer rig.  The tire of the trailer hit the front of the car and the rail along the trailer hit the windshield.  If I would have gone any farther I would have been decapitated by the trailer rail.  Just thought I would let you all know!  I am okay though.  The car didn’t have any airbags or antilock brakes.  This is a photo of the car on a trailer so we could take it back to my in-laws house.

I am grateful for being alive this year in 2009.  Thank you all for viewing.  Have a safe and Happy New Year! 

Today marks the 234th Birthday of the Marine Corps.  I must say I miss every minute of being with my fellow Marines.  I want to take time now to thank every single Marine from the ones that have gone before us to the ones just about to earn the title.  I appreciate everything you do or have done for our country and Corps.  I know it may seem hard but just remember that we are the Few, The Proud, The MARINES!

If anyone would like to leave a comment for their Marine please feel free to do so. 

God Bless you all that are in harms way for our country.  May God bring you home safely and soon!

Semper Fi!