D. Patrick’s Scottsdale Real Estate Blog

I just wanted to take the time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Festivus, please remember what this holiday time is all about, family, giving, caring and sharing. Not just this time of year but all year round. If you are reading this, chances are you are better off than most people out there so please give and give often to your favorite charity, church or organization.

Here is a video of one of my favorite songs this time of year. Enjoy!

Tagged as: Christmas, Holidays

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This past week the City of Scottsdale dedicated one of its newest additions to the parks system, Camelback Park.  This beautiful 37 acre park is located between Camelback and Chaparral Roads and east of Hayden Road in Scottsdale.  Some residents remember that location was home to the Villa Monterey Golf Course that went out of business about 4 years ago.  So after months of construction the park is finally open to the public.

Camelback Park is a wonderful addition to the City of Scottsdale and includes multi use paths, expansive open green space and lots of trees.  The City even added low impact jogging paths next to the main path.

Also, this park is directly north of the Giants training facility and will make for a beautiful gateway into Old Town Scottsdale.

Lastly, I just wanted to make sure that everyone understands that these pictures were taken in December and I had to shovel no snow to take them.

You can find a few more pictures of Camelback Park on my Flickr page here.

Tagged as: Camelback Park, Scottsdale Arizona, Scottsdale Parks

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I just wanted to share a quick story with you. Two weeks ago my wife and I went to the Desert Botanical Gardens Chihuly Glass Exhibit, which was blogged about on this site last week, and I took some pretty good pictures.  Shortly after I got the pictures uploaded to my Flickr page I received a challenge from Sarah Cooper, @sarahwv to you twitter folk, to create a slide show that was as good as her Chihuly slide show she created, which you can see here.  So, I accepted her challenge and created a slideshow and posted it to my Flickr page.  Well, as a result the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau liked it so much they have put it up on their site to promote the area, you can view it here.

It is just another example of how Social Media can create opportunities for you and your business.

Tagged as: D Patrick Lewis, Desert Botanical Gardens, Scottsdale Arizona

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The Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix are a spectacular site almost year round and most often seen in the daytime.  Now the Gardens are open in the evening on certain dates until December 23, 2008 and the Chihuly glass exhibit is lit beautifully and provides a wonderful accent to the Gardens.  In addition to the Luminaries lining the paths and the Chihuly glass there is music and drinks throughout the Gardens.  I strongly recommend that everyone goes and experiences this wonderful holiday treat before it is gone.

Get a sneek peek at some of what you will see at the DBG on my flickr page here.

Find out more information about the Las Noches de las Luminarias such as available dates and ticket prices here.

Tagged as: Around Scottsdale, Desert Botanical Gardens, Scottsdale Arizona

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As a Professional REALTOR® I spend a lot of time editing and retouching photos. Therefore, one would naturally assume that I use Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements but one would be incorrect in assuming that.  Don’t get me wrong both products are outstanding at what they do, but they are very robust and very expensive and much more horsepower than the average real estate professional need.

So, I have assembled a list of six FREE alternatives that may not be as robust but will provide a more than satisfactory amount of features for the average user and a significantly less painful hit to the wallet.  Please feel free to comment with what your experience has been with any of these products.

1. Snipshot is a web based somewhat bare bones site and offers the usual assortment of editing and enhancement capabilities.
2. Picnik is another web based photo editing site that allows you to pull photos from multiple social networking sites and has a much cleaner and friendlier interface than most.  But, sadly, Picnik still only offers the standard editing capabilities, unless you upgrade of course.
3. Paint.NET is a software program that only works on Windows machines but provides a much more robust photo enhancement experience. It is pretty easy to use and has a lot of tools such as a gradient tool, layers, special effects and a text editor.
4. Splashup is another web based photo editor that provides more functionality than most, you can do multiple image editing, adjust pixels and add depth with layers.  This site also allows you to pull photos from some social networking sites.
5. The Gimp is an outstanding software program with an tool set that rivals Photoshop Elements. It has plugins so you can add functionality to it and a huge forum that you will need to use often because it is not the easiest program to use. Granted, they changed some of the feel and names of commands to match Photoshop but there is still a learning curve with it.
6. Fotoflexer is another web based photo editor that is, in my opinion, the best web based photo editor out there, for free.  Not only can you pull photos from many photo and social networking sites but you can edit a photo from your computer without uploading it to the site. It has impressive functionality with a clean and easy to use interface.

I know I have omitted many other sites out there but these are the ones I have experience with. I look forward to your comments.  Happy editing.

Tagged as: D Patrick Lewis, Photoshop, Technology

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