Archive for the ‘Site News’ Category
Lots of changes and updates
December 28th, 2007 | 
Author: We’ve been making a lot of changes behind the scenes and updating many parts of the site to get ready for the new year. We’ve removed some old links and added new ones. The discussion forum has been removed while the new Photo Store is up and running! We are currently deciding on the best photos to offer but you can see the new Photo Store at www.8×10gallery.com/photostore. New photos will be added on a regular basis and you should see dozens more before the New Year actually gets here. Plus, you can also read the latest photography news through the Photo Store as well. There are lots of articles and camera news which are definitely worth looking into.
We are also working on the blog, fine tuning it and making adjustments. The theme may continue to change as we decide on our final look and feel. Wordpress has progressed by leaps and bounds through this year and there are all sort of new features to take advantage of and plug-ins which are no longer needed. Hopefully we won’t break anything as we update and trim.
We’re just a couple of days away from the end of the year and there are sales galore! We’ve listed several money saving coupons for products we use on a daily basis. You can find big discounts on graphics software, password managers, image converters, system tool, spyware removal tools, video software and other software we think is worthwhile. We like saving money so when a good deal comes along we like to pass it on to you.
The finals days of the year are upon us and we’re getting ready for a whole new year of photography and travel. We’re hoping to bring you dozens of new galleries, lots of track racing and nature photos as well as news and information. So stick around, we still have some work to finish but it should all definitely be worthwhile!
Posted in 
Getting ready for 2008
The end of the year is nearly here and as I look back there have been a lot of accomplishments for me personally. First of all the site actually got off the ground. It was a sketch start with some server issues and getting all the components together, but now it’s running smoothly.
I’ve posted a lot of galleries over the months and had a great time taking shots in the botanical gardens and trackside with the Porsche club. When I first started putting the pieces together I wouldn’t have guessed I would be taking 20,000+ shots in a single year and making a whole slew of new galleries. And out of those 20,000 shots many are keepers but only a small percentage are excellent. But each one taught me something and helped me improve and that’s the point.
From the photography standpoint things have been great. I’ve worked with a lot of new subjects and all sorts of environments, from high speeds cars, colorful full bloom flowers, flaming pumpkins and even shots of the city skyline from the rooftop. All in all, a lot of fun and some real keepers came out of it.
So where to from here? Well, there is a lot planned for 2008. The big news is the 8×10gallery is expanding and bringing on new photographers. Randy Zellner, a long time friend of mine and an excellent photographer from Arizona, is bringing his knowledge and his photos to the site. We are teaming up to bring you a wide variety of images, which will now be on sale in our brand new Photo Store! The store is nearly complete (we are selecting photos right now) and once we complete that all new links will show up on the site to get you there. We are featuring flowers, landscapes, cars, animals, architecture, abstracts, sports and all sorts of subjects. These aren’t just stock images of fruit and vegetables from a grocery, but great landscapes and scenic views which you can use on your website, print for your walls or download for your computer wallpaper.
We are very excited about making our photos available and look forward to offering you high quality yet affordable images for your projects.
We also have site updates planned for the new year such as updating the blog with a new look as well as changing the gallery format, adding new images from both Randy and myself, plenty of behind the scenes changes, a whole schedule of track racing shots, more architecture shots, landscapes and lots of other little updates we have planned.
I’m looking forward to a pretty adventurous and productive 2008. 2007 had a lot of new opportunities and I think 2008 is just going to expand on that.
Don’t be surprised if you start seeing the site change right before your eyes. And if you want to learn more about Randy and his photography, check out his personal website at http://www.terminalfrost.net.
Up on a rooftop … click, click, click.
Ok, too early for Santa I know. But I was on a rooftop and I was taking pictures. I actually had quite the experience last night as I took pictures of downtown Charlotte from the roof of the Westin hotel.
I am currently working on a project with the Carolinas Porsche Club to get some pictures for their web site and print materials for the upcoming 2008 Porsche Parade which will be held in Charlotte. This is a huge event and enthusiast from all over the country come to take part in events, car shows, swap meets and all sorts of Porsche related matters.
As I said, I am getting some pictures together for the website to promote the event. We thought it would be pretty cool to take pictures of the host city at night. Participants will be staying at the Westin and they graciously agreed to allow us roof access to take pictures of the city.
Simply put, it was amazing! The Westin is 25 floors so it has a great view of the city. It was a clear and cool night so the conditions really worked well for us. I took dozens of shots trying all sorts of different combinations to see what I liked best. I even took my laptop with me and checked out the pictures to make sure I got something useful. Who knows if they will let me back up there again and I wanted to make sure I walked away with something great!
The other part of the project is come up with a magazine cover for the Porsche Club magazine which will feature the parade.
I changed the intro pictures for the site to two images I took from last night. I think several of them turned out extremely well and we should have plenty to work with to show off Charlotte and the event. I will probably put a small little gallery together since I’m pretty happy with the results.
I’m also thinking of having one or two of them blow up and printed to hang in my house. I think they will make some pretty good art to hang on the wall.