About Me

Hi, I’m Scott.  You’re checking out this page because you want to learn more about me, yes?  I’m actually pretty boring, but if you insist, I’ll share a bit of information about myself.

On some occasions, this is my office.

I’ve been involved with webpage design, website hosting, and internet marketing since 1996. Since 2000, I’ve been working out of my “home office”, which varies between a bonus room above my garage, a recliner in my living room, and often times, my bed.  Quite frequently, my home office follows me as I travel throughout the year, and becomes my hotel room, a back porch at a friend’s house, or a couch at relative’s home.

Now I know this might sound like I’m living a lavish lifestyle, but there’s a dark side to all of this. As is common with most internet entrepreneurs, I was obsessed with working online and spent many hours each day being cooped up inside.  Whenever I would travel with my family, I always wanted to work and could care less about seeing the local sites and attractions.  That was, until I developed a passion for photography.  More specifically, HDR Photography.

Rather than bore you with the long version of how I became interested in HDR Photography, I’ll instead provide you with a condensed version that I put together which is especially easy to follow along with if you have ADD.  (If you care to hear the long version, introduce yourself to me sometime and ask about it.)

• A friend sent out a tweet showing off an image that a friend of his had posted.  For whatever reason, I viewed the photo and was amazed. (It was an HDR image.)
• Since I was in the middle of something very important, I decided to stop what I was doing and investigate more about what HDR was and try to figure out why the heck I was so impressed with the photo I had just viewed.
• Several hours later, I learned the gist of it and made a mental note to pick up a book the next time I was in a book store.
• Two days later, I purchased a book on HDR Photography, which really inspired me because it was filled with a variety of beautiful images. (I have no idea what the name of this book was, and can’t find it anywhere in my home.)
• Within this book were several references to other well-known HDR Photographers, along with links to their websites. One that I particularly liked was the website of StuckinCustoms.com, by Trey Ratcliff.
• Trey’s site features a daily blog post, which each include an HDR photograph that he has processed.  I was so amazed at his work, that I continued to follow his blog each day.
• Trey’s site also has a free hdr tutorial and I intensely studied it.  The two main software programs that Trey uses are Photomatix Pro and Photoshop CS5.  I already had Photoshop CS5, so I purchased Photomatix Pro.

• To show my appreciation to Trey for his hdr tutorial, I got in touch with him and offered him an hour of my time at no charge to consult him on some SEO strategies for his website.  He accepted, put some of my strategies in place, and was pleased with the results. (This is by no means an advertisement for my consulting services, as I don’t have a consulting service.  I usually only do consulting for friends.)
• Trey was interested in some more of my consulting and I was interested in some of his consulting, so we traded our services evenly hour-for-hour.
• Fast-forward to today and I’ve continued working on my hdr photography skills.  I’ve since learned a lot about composition, which fascinates me because it has a lot to do with psychology and I think that’s really cool.
• As I continue to show my pictures to friends, family and other people I’m in contact with, I can see their eyes light up when they see my photos for the first time.  This always reminds me of my first reaction, and I enjoy being the one who introduces them to hdr photography.

This blog was put in place so I could reach a much larger audience to share my experiences with.  For visitors of my site who decide they’d like to learn more about HDR Photography, I hope the tutorials and other tidbits of information I publish will help and inspire them so that they too can share in my thrill of this hobby.

Trey and I met in person for the first time in August, 2009. This picture was taken in Atlanta at Olympic Park.