This month all of the profits from EverydayHDR will go to Moore, Oklahoma, the city that was recently struck by that horrible tornado on May 20th. Every eBook purchase, Actions sale, affiliate sale, everything is going to Moore Oklahoma via The City of Moore Recovers.
If you have been planning on purchasing the eBooks or Actions here, I would advise you to do so this month as your purchase will go to someone in need of your help. Below are links to some of the items that I am talking about.
- If you know of someone who just bought a DSLR or needs some digital photography help, why not refer them to The DSLR Survival Guide.
- If you or someone you know wants to start this HDR photography thing, why not pick up Exploring HDR.
- If you are new to Photoshop (CS 5 and above) post processing, the Actions in the Tidbits of Awesomeness package are right up your alley.
- Topaz products are another great way to spruce up your post processing workflow, why not grab one or two today.
- Or you can donate directly to The City of Moore Recovers.
If you are curious why I want to donate my profits this month, read the experience my wife and I shared below while driving through Moore.
Our Experience
A week or so ago my family and I took a trip to Austin to see some good friends. We knew that driving from Kansas City to Austin, TX would take us through Moore, Oklahoma via I-35. We discussed taking an alternate route due to the possibility of traffic, but instead we decided to just go ahead and take the route of the trusty GPS. We had heard the highway was open and it appeared to be pretty clear so we continued down the path that was laid ahead of us.
We were just outside of South Oklahoma City and started to hit bumper to bumper traffic. My initial reaction, like anyone, was to get agitated. We were making such good time to Austin. I looked at the GPS and saw the little font read MOORE below Oklahoma City. Sarah and I looked at each other with a sigh of regret thinking we should have taken another path. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw Michael, our 2 year old, was sound asleep.
We continued to fight the bumper to bumper traffic with frustration and anxiety until it hit us. Like a ton of bricks… We didn’t get into an accident, but we may as well have. Our hearts sunk into our stomachs as we looked on both sides of I-35 at the destruction that the tornado left. It was a wake of trees, cars, bricks, and debris that I could not quite place my finger on given its demolished state. At one point these were people’s homes, livelihoods, and places of business. Now it is just rubble.
I had seen the tornado damage on TV and read about it in the papers, but it didn’t quite hit me until I saw it first hand. As we drove through bobbing our heads in either direction I could feel the lump in my throat swelling to an intolerable ache. I was attempting to hold back the tears, I didn’t want to cry, after-all I didn’t think this was worthy of man tears. Until I looked in the rear view and saw Michael, our 2 year old, sound asleep.
The flood gates opened. I couldn’t hold the tears back anymore. It felt great to relieve that horrible lump in my throat, but knowing that there were families that no matter how much they cried that lump would remain, tore me up even more. I thought about their daily routine, the thoughts they may have had on their way to work that day, and what they may have eaten that night had their dinner table not been thrown across the street amongst a pile of warped steel and their neighbors wears. That wasn’t the thing that got me most, some of them may not have the opportunity to see their Michael in the rear view mirror sleeping soundly…
As the traffic broke, Sarah and I looked at each other in tears and just held each others hand realizing just how good we had it. Our hearts go out to those in need, our thoughts and prayers are centered around those in Oklahoma who need them most. With strength in numbers there is Hope for Moore.
For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
