This is the first entry in my audio diary of Hurricane Gustav.

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August 30, 2008. Three years and one day after Hurricane Katrina turned my life upside down, and here I am, packing my bags again. Hurricane fever has gripped the entire New Orleans area, but especially St. Bernard Parish, where I live. As each hour ticks away, Hurricane Gustav draws nearer, and this place sinks deeper into madness.

The old timers say it’s nothing to worry about. They rode out Hurricanes Betsy and Camille and have been braving these storms since they were named things like Betsy and Camille. They say Katrina has just got everyone so worked up that we’re now panicking over a hurricane we wouldn’t otherwise have given much attention.

They’re partly right. But Katrina now has me jaded. Gone is the time hurricane parties, of sitting near the window sipping a cocktail and marveling at the wind and lightning. In its place, we now have panic and the sobering reality everything you’ve broken your back to build and rebuild can, in an instant, be washed away.

I spent the anniversary of Katrina in an inexplicable haze of red and orange satellite weather maps and the grinding and clinking of heavy machinery making last-minute fortifications to roads and levees. And despite ongoing bustle of the remembrance ceremonies and the chatter of local talk radio hosts jabbering about lessons learned from three years ago, I’ve been zombified in a stupor of disbelief.

This isn’t happening again. This can’t be happening again. If I close my eyes, it’ll all go away.

Just a few minutes ago, as I was driving home from my mother’s house, I heard perhaps the most fitting song for the occasion: Santa Monica by Everclear. It’s a song about escaping one life to try to build another. In the chorus, Art (alex AH kiss) Alexakis sings about living on the beach and swimming out to watch the world die from afar. That’s exactly how it feels every time a hurricane slithers into the Gulf of Mexico and city officials begin to issue evacuation orders. We get scattered across the country and then glue ourselves to the nearest TV to watch clips of the wind battering our houses, skyscrapers and everything else in sight.

It seems that mother nature is not through menacing the Gulf South. After Gustav, we might have to contend with Hannah. After Hannah, who knows?

I’ll be evacuating to Houston. I know it’s not quite out of Gustav’s path, but I don’t have a choice. I have family there willing to take me in. My mother’s company has already set up shop in Houston, so that’s where she’ll be going as well.

Maybe I’ll New Orleans permanently. Maybe I’ll meander my way to Chicago or Denver or some place like that. Someplace where I won’t have to uproot my existence once a year. Some place where I can buy a little house with a white picket fence for my wife and 2.5 children. Some place where I’ll finally have the chance to try my hand at the American dream.

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Those of you who already know your way around Photoshop should probably not waste your time watching this video. It’s meant for beginners.

There are two issues with this video everyone should be aware of in this video:

First, my screencasting software glitched and recorded my cursor as Vista’s busy cursor, so you won’t be able to see some of the actual cursors I’m using.

Second, I reference a book that I never actually mentioned in the video, so you’ll probably wonder what I’m talking about. More info on the book here:

http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321124014

Concepts covered: color corrections, dodge tool, burn tool, sponge tool

This video is my copyrighted property, but you’re free to share it. Just be a decent human being and credit me if you spread it around.

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My fourth Photoshop CS3 tutorial. In this video, I do some experimenting with blending modes to create an aged look to a new photo.

Concepts covered: blending modes

Again, you’ll need at least a little knowledge of Photoshop to be able to follow along.

This tutorial is my copyrighted property, but you’re free to share it. Just be a decent human being and credit me if you spread it around.

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I need everyone to vote for this. I’ve submitted one of my photos to JPG magazine at jpgmag.com, and I’d appreciate your votes, so I can try to get published. I do give you free Photoshop CS3 lessons, after all! =)

Click this link and vote “Yeah!” Thank, people.

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Here’s my latest set. He’s an 18-year-old model from New Orleans. Although he’s just starting out (I was his second ever shoot), he’s extraordinarily professional and really eager to learn. He was a pleasure to shoot and gave me some pretty good photos.

Check them out here. Raj.

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My third Photoshop CS3 tutorial. In this video, I do some very basic and simple color corrections using hue/saturation adjustment layers. Again, you’ll need at least a little knowledge of Photoshop to be able to follow along.

Concepts covered: adjustment layers, masks, color correction

This tutorial is my copyrighted property, but you’re free to share it. Just be a decent human being and credit me if you spread it around.

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I also tried to slow down a little bit so you can understand what I’m saying, but if I’m still talking too fast, let me know.

This tutorial is my copyrighted property, but you’re free to share it. Just be a decent human being and credit me if you spread it around.

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Hey, everyone. I’ve decided to start recording video tutorials and posting them here in my blog. I figure that it’s only fair to spread the love, because I learned Photoshop from free resources on the net. You know, a little give what you get….or is it get what you give? Well, you get the idea.

If you’ve stumbled across this post because of the tutorial, then welcome aboard. I’ll be posting some more tutorials and resources soon enough, including free web layouts, brushes, photo borders and a few walk-throughs. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions. Also, go ahead and take a look at my photography, which was the main reason I actually started this site.

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