I've Been Shooting More Recently

Hello. Hope all of you are doing well. I've had a little more time to shoot and be more deliberate about what I shoot. Here's something I shot several hours ago, actually. I wanted to create more images that could not only be used as prints, but also as jigsaw puzzles.

So do you like dogs? Like jigsaw puzzles? Grab one of these jigsaw puzzles I’ve created. Recently, I've had some landscape photography ideas I wanted to capture, but the weather and lighting hasn't cooperated with me here. I'll get more images published soon.

I’m also going to spend more time focusing on my stock photography and stock video content via Adobe Stock*. I don’t make a ton of money off of it, but I used to make enough to buy “steak” each month from stock content sales as long as I was putting up enough content based on trends I saw. Anyway, check out my dog Biscuit in the photo below. If you click on it, it will take you to the order page to get it as a puzzle or a print. THANKS for the support. Have a great, peaceful holiday season.

PS: Did y’all listen to my old (personal) podcast? Check it out here.

Image: Ant Pruitt - all rights reserved

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

No Time Like the Present

So I’ve been doing my best to lay low over the last week or so. I can’t say I’ve been successful at that. I found myself thinking about work and what’s next more than I expected. Wasn’t stressing, but wasn’t relaxing either.

image created with AI using Adobe Firefly *

Last night I was sitting with my thoughts in the middle of the night. Unable to sleep because I’d been sick the last two days. I’m better-ish now, but anyway, I had some more thoughts on what’s next. So, here goes:

• continue my job search in the creative space, but I’ve also considered local junior colleges to see if I could possibly teach

• Queen Pruitt was talking about a script idea that popped into her head a lil’ while back. I loved it. I didn’t think much more about it until last night. I’m going to make time to turn that script idea into a book. I want to author a book. I’m not saying it will be a good book, but I want to get that challenge conquered. Self publishing it and so forth. I’ll start dedicating time to that process the week of Christmas if not sooner.

• Considering re-opening my podcast feed. This has been closed since 2019 as I personally couldn’t dedicate proper time to because I was already working hard on my other podcast duties at TWiT. I’m CONSIDERING re-opening the feed. No promises. Podcasting is hard work and I’m not keen on putting so much work into something that doesn’t even pay my water bill each month. If I do re-open it, it will be a leisure project. It will still be themed around “everyday people,” but I will change the format to be more of leisure project for me. Granted, if I get legit interest in it, I’ll ramp up my efforts and monetize. But from my experience, “legit interest” isn’t just people on social media saying “you should podcast more, Ant.” Legit interest is when there are TONS of downloads or when people put their money into the cause as a supporter or sponsor of the project. It’s so easy to do a podcast. That’s why there are so many of them out there. And because there’s so many of them out there, some good ones get overlooked and/or cancelled. Yes, speaking from experience. I know I had two great photography-related shows, yet they didn’t get the listenership some bullshit gossip podcast by a celebrity would get. Same goes for newsletters. But then again, I’m not sure, if I have anything to offer via a newsletter.

Anyway, that’s where I am at the moment. Thank you all for the continued support, encouragement, beer purchases and print purchases. Now time to go chill out a little more as I get pass this stupid C-word virus. Fortunately, I feel fine enough to be able to open up this browser and type into it. Be well and stay tuned.

PS: If you’re still doing your holiday shopping, please feel free to use my Amazon* storefront for your holiday shopping. Just click here* and shop like you normally would. It won’t cost you anymore than what you already pay, but it does give me a few cents commission on your purchases. I appreciate the support.

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

Onward

Jumping right into it. Some people know what happened this week at TWiT. I’m not sure what I want to do, but I do have some ideas. Couple of ideas in my head:

• Call in some favors with people in know in the creative space

• Go to pilot school

• Go back to being independent and/or revive my YouTube channel (probably won’t)

• Go back to podcasting on my own (probably won’t, but it’s out there)

• Go wash dishes again, like I did when I first moved here.

image generated with Adobe Firefly AI

My priority remains getting my last child graduated from high school and into college in addition to making sure the rest of my family is squared away and taken care of. Thanks for all the messages and kind words. I can’t reply to all of the messages, but I do see them. Thank you. In the meantime, go do something good for yourself and something good for someone else.

If you want to help me out, do your holiday shopping via my Amazon link here*. Or, check out the holiday shoe sale from Atoms here *. I’m an affiliate Amazon, Atoms and other people, but that’s another story. Far as Atoms, they hold a special place in my heart since they actually paid my son and not just give him free shoes.

Far as TWiT. I’m rooting for ‘em and forever grateful. I learned a lot from them and I know they learned a lot from me and my family. I love them. In the meantime, be an Oak tree.

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

My Thoughts On Child Internet Access

Image generated with AI in Adobe Firefly*

I recently had the opportunity to host Security Now with Steve Gibson. He received a listener email which was about managing internet access for children as a parent. Mr. Gibson had his thoughts, I had my thoughts. Check it out below.

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

OPINION: The Black Friday and Cyber Monday Fallacy

I shared my opinions on the recent “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” madness on the show this week. I’m just not buying it. Even though Adobe Analytics has data showing that consumers are clearly onboard and buying more and more this year. Granted, it’s not a “door-buster” deal, I did find this camera deal* to be notable. I really enjoy being a part of our show and chatting each with with Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis and Paris Martineau.

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

Thumbnail image created with generative AI via Adobe Firefly*

Bittersweet and Grateful

It’s official. Now both of my boys’ high school football careers are over. It’s weird saying that. Weird because that means a lot of years have passed. My youngest #hardhead, #JacobPruitt, finished in the second round of the playoffs with a loss to good team here in the area. The 14-7 loss was a heart-breaker, but still a proud moment for all of use as fans of the team, coaches and sons.

Images: Ant Pruitt all rights reserved

Great game, terrible weather

It was a ridiculous night of rainy weather. As a player, rain is fine. As a fan, parent or weird father that sits on the sidelines with camera gear, it can be a little rough. I wish I was able to shoot video of the game, but I couldn’t risk my camera getting wet as it’s not weather sealed like my stills camera. Anyway, I’m very proud of my boys and grateful the both of them were able to finish their high school careers on the Rancho Cotate football team. Lots of life lessons learned being on that squad. I have always felt strongly about the game of football. Yes, it’s a controversial game, but most of the things in life are controversial apparently. Anyway, the game (and coaches) helped me as a kid and teenager. I had hoped my children would be interested in it. Fortunately, they were.

Next, my son is to continue the preparation for college and the final season of high school track and field. Another great sport with life lessons built into it.

One more thing. . . .

Before I end this, a quick shout-out to Peak Design*. I have been using their gear to transport and support my camera gear for years. The travel backpack is unbelievable* and kept s all of my gear dry time during the torrential rains at the football game. I highly recommend it for portability and for protecting your gear from the elements.

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

Ya EARNED It

I wanna take a moment to say congratulations and thank you to my Momz. She has completed an over 30-year career working for a local television station (WAXA, WMYA, WLOS) in the upstate and foothills of the Carolinas. She started out in an entry-level role and straight up earned her way to bigger and better roles, then retiring at the top of the game. My family, my sister and I are extremely proud of her and are grateful for her inspiration. You have no idea what she did/does for us a mother. Nor do you have any idea what she did/does for my other relatives as a reluctant leader. Congratulations, Ma. Ya EARNED it. We love you.

Holiday Deals From Peak Design

A handful of years ago, I was connected to the squad at Peak Design* and they’ve been quite supportive of lil’ ol’ me ever since. I’ve had the opportunity to try out their backpacks, straps and tripods over the years. I flat out love their Everyday backpack. Especially since it saved my gear SEVERAL TIMES from rain and ocean water.

New Affiliation

I’ve mentioned, tweeted and shared my thoughts on Peak Design over the years because I believed in the gear. I didn’t get any commissions. I just dig the gear. Well now, I’ve been added to the Peak Design affiliate program, so yeah, I’ll be able to earn a small commission on my sharing love of Peak Design*. So if you order through my link, I’ll earn a few dollars in commission.

Image: Peak Design

Holiday Sale

From December 8th through 11th, the team is offering 10% all items via my affiliate link. Personally, I’d suggest the Cuff* to attach to your on-the-go street photography camera. And I’d also recommend the Travel Backpack* with Camera Cubes*. I recently used the Travel Backpack and Camera Cube for a weekend trip to Oregon. Packed my stills camera, my cinema camera, some batteries and a weekend’s worth of clothes in it with EASE.

Image: Ant Pruitt all rights reserved

So head over to the site using my link* and start shopping around, all while helping to support me and my creative works. Get yourself a camera strap, a capture clip or one of the badass backpacks. I appreciate ya checking it out and also spreading the word to help support me. And thank you Peak Design for your support over the years.

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

Adobe Announce New Partnerships and Key Collaboration Tools at Adobe Max 2022

Adobe Max 2022 kicks off in Los Angeles with many expectations in this world of content creations with AI becoming more of a norm in the creative space. Adobe is set to announce improvements to its Adobe Sensei AI with several new tools built into it’s Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro tools and more. AI has been controversial in the creative space recently, but as I’ve said many times before, AI can be GREAT for content creators in an effort to speed up repetitive tasks. Here are some of the tools of note coming from Adobe.

Image: Adobe

Even Better Masking and Selections in Photoshop and Lightroom

Better AI for creating masks and selections in the photography tools will be a big hit. Selections and masks allow creators to work even better with compositing images or get into fine details of the retouching processing. Object selection in the 2021 release of Photoshop was pretty dadgum good. It’s now been optimized even further for better performance. This selection performance will also be available in Lightroom. In addition to the selection updates, Lightroom will also see a performance boost in healing brush and content-aware fill. More information on the Lightroom updates are available here on the Adobe blog, and here for the Photoshop updates.

Image: Adobe

Adobe Video Updates

On the video side of things, Premiere Pro and After Effects will see a performance boost in renders as well as faster performance on motion graphics templates (.mogrt files). I dig Premiere Pro, but found the .mogrt files included with the subscription to be PAINFULLY slow at times. So slow that whenever I found a graphic, I’d just try to build it myself from scratch because it rendered on the timeline faster. Native H.264 encoding will now be available in After Effects directly from the render queue instead of having to jump into the Adobe Media Encoder (AME) app. After Effects will also have some public beta announcements regarding track mattes, and animation presets as mentioned in the video below as well as on the Adobe blog here.

Cloud Collaboration Rules

Adobe previously announced it’s Frame.IO integration and it’s a big hit for video creators collaborating with other creators, as well as speeding up the review process with clients. Now, Adobe is partnering up with RED and Fujifilm for even more Camera-to-Cloud integration. It’s no secret that RED cameras are found on many sets of some of the biggest television series and movies on the market. Adobe has now certified Red and Fujifilm as partners in Camera-to-Cloud (C2C). What does this mean? Proxy and RAW assets captured on the likes of a Red V-Raptor can be uploaded to the FrameIO service allowing collaborators access to assets needed for the post-production process. A great demo is in the video below.

Adobe Max is available for free as a virtual event if you’re interested in checking it out. I wasn’t able to go this year, but I’m registered and look forward to checking out more from the team including some of their sneak peak projects.

Hanging Out With an Aspiring Content Creator in Petaluma: Barry Almeria

I was recently a guest on the Infinite Table Podcast hosted by Barry Almeria. Almeria is an aspiring video creator here in the Sonoma County area, but also wanted to spend time creating a podcast for content creators. He reached out to ask if I’d chat with him on his “Creator Sessions.” Click the image below to watch the video.

Note: We had some tech difficulties, so I ended up recording the video on his behalf. So if the screen looks like my show, that’s why. Thanks for understanding and thanks for supporting an aspiring creator.

Image: Infinite Table Podcast