4 Years Old Today!!

Four years old already, my my my they grow so fast!  Of course, blogs are not children, but in many ways they have the same needs.  They make you do things you don’t want to, they wake you up in the middle of the night, and they need for so much, but usually return so little.  However, that little that they return is worth every ounce of time you put into them.  That ‘little’ puts the smile on your face, the warmth in your heart, and the motivation into everything you do.

Alright, am I talking about my wonderful kids or my blog here!  But really though, a blog can be a daunting-mundane task that does not return much in the beginning and it is the beginning that can often be the end of a blog.  I posted so many articles in the early years that just seemed to disappear, no one saw them, no one commented.  However, I kept going, because I enjoyed the process of finding a HDR topic and writing about it.

It wasn’t for anyone else at the time, it was for me and that is what kept it alive.  Often times when a new blog is started there is this, “If you build it they will come mentality” that is so not true!  You have to give them a reason to come and more reason to come back!

I have learned so much about blogging, photography and the internet in the last 4 years that I would not take it back in a heartbeat!  In the past, on the birthday of EverydayHDR I celebrate by reflecting on the past year annotating all of the milestones that happened.

So here it goes, everything that happened in the last year of EverydayHDR:

1. In November, HDR Insider was created to show “Premium” HDR tutorials.  It has been such a great experience since and the community that has developed is absolutely amazing!
2. Our second son was born at the end of January, William Charles.  He is such a blessing in our life and while having a young one in the house can be a struggle, their smiles make it all that much better!  Really, sometimes I will look at him and say, “You are lucky you have a great smile or I would have sold you by now!”  I am totally kidding, I would never sell my children, I guess I just take after my old man with my sense of humor!
3. In February the Digital Zone System was released to showcase my favorite step in my HDR Workflow.
4. Shortly after the DZS was released I quit my full-time job to pursue my passion of Online Photography Instruction!  It was a huge leap of faith, but my wife is the greatest human being on earth for placing every ounce of her confidence in me.  It is true what they say, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman!”  I am such a lucky guy!
5. In July I released the Color Zone System as a stand alone, or very good sister system, to the Digital Zone System.  I love this workflow!  This is so much fun, for me.  It reinvigorates my post-processing efforts!
6. There were more Topaz Webinars this last year than the history of EverydayHDR!  While I love these webinars, they require a ton of prep work, sometimes 20+hours for one 45 minute session.  That could be because I prep and over prep and have a mild case of OCD 🙂
7. I took out an ad in the Photoshop User Magazine that goes out to KelbyOne members.  It is really odd seeing your own ad in print in a magazine, but something I just could not pass up!
8. With the advertisement, I signed up to be an Exhibitor at Photoshop World.  It is awesome seeing this come full circle.  Four years ago I was inspired to create a blog at my first Photoshop World event and now I am here (I am in Vegas now for the conference typing this post) representing everything I have created at the most inspirational Photoshop Event in the world (hence the name Photoshop World…).
9. I also had the absolute pleasure to write about my 4 year history with EverydayHDR on Scott Kelby’s blog.  This was such a huge accomplishment for me.

While I thought a lot happened last year and I was hopeful for a great year this year, I had no idea it would be this great!  I am looking forward to next year and I thank you so much for your continual support.

Without you, none of this would have been possible and I am very thankful.  I will continue to provide the best photography education I can to you, but most importantly, I am looking forward to growing our photography skills together!

Cheers to another great year 🙂

A little bit of instruction at Photoshop World!

Blake Rudis

f.64 Academy and f.64 Elite are the brainchildren of Blake Rudis. While he is a landscape photographer, he is most passionate about post-processing images in Photoshop and mentoring others.

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!