The mountain bike trails, built by Trail of Legends, are very well marked, maintained, and not too beat down. I have attached a great map of the trails below.

I would say the trails are not to terribly challenging compared to some of the huge climbs in Birmingham. Not too many rocky climbs, but some fun zipping downhills. There are lots of level paths for the beginner just starting out. The shortest track is one mile, and the longest at 11.2 miles rides along the Coosa River.

My favorite part about the trails is the man-made obstacles. The ramps, bridges and log-runs are are great way to separate the men from the boys and add a few cool trail tattoos to your body.

Check out some of my randomly placed photo squares below! In the second photo is where I broke my frame trying to exit the log on the right side.

After a short plane ride from Manilla to Cebu(island in central Philippines) I took a 1.5 hour bus ride across the island. I have never seen such poverty before. Actually it wasn’t poverty so much, but just people who lived a simpler farming life. Most everyone seemed very happy and was very friendly.

At my second stop in Maolboal, Grace and I had the greatest time snorkeling. You didn’t have to wade far into the water before you find yourself carefully stepping over a great variety of coral reefs and spotting hundreds of gorgeous fish. A Frenchman in the water said most all of the tropical fish there would sell for at least 50 euros. Some locals also took us on a couple boat rides out to different snorkeling spots.

At a second nearby Island, Bohol, we saw the very unusual Chocolate Hills, a butterfly sanctuary, and the super cute Tarshier.

So much more to tell, I’ll just let the photos take it from here. Roll ‘em!

















]]> http://aaronheine.com/welcome-to-the-philippines/feed/ 0 http://aaronheine.com/facebook-fans/ http://aaronheine.com/facebook-fans/#comments Thu, 12 May 2011 14:10:25 +0000 admin http://aaronheine.com/?p=492 Continue reading →]]> Goodwyn Building Facebook page. I began running a few ads on Facebook saying that we would donate $1 for every new Fan/Like. Within a few days we had over a 1,000 fans! George made his $1,000 donation to Catholic Social Services in Tuscaloosa. The Facebook ad that we ran appeared only in the Montgomery area where we are building new homes, so I am looking forward to marketing opportunities to this new group of potential home buyers. I also love having the “1K Likes” badge at the top of our website. That’s credibility.



]]> http://aaronheine.com/facebook-fans/feed/ 0 http://aaronheine.com/videography-tips/ http://aaronheine.com/videography-tips/#comments Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:54:08 +0000 admin http://aaronheine.com/?p=427 Continue reading →]]> As an amateur videographer with some professional experience I have logged quite a few hours with a videocamera. Most of what I do is unscripted, handheld, “reality tv” if you will, which is what most people are doing with a camera. Here are a couple of my tips for making the most out of amateur videography.

Don’t wait for action, make it happen

Real life is not always exciting as you know. Sometimes you have to give things a little shove in order to get good shots. If you have a video camera you  now have an ability others don’t, the power to get people to do things they normally wouldn’t. People think they have a chance at stardom(and they do, thanks to YouTube) when they are being recorded. One way to get good footage is simply to ask people unusual questions. You would be amazed at what people will say or do when a camera is on them.

Keep the Handicam handy

Most people like to keep their video camera safely tucked away in its nice leather case upstairs in the top of the closet, only to see the light of day on Christmas and birthdays. You have to have it accessible if you are going to catch the best moments. The more accessible, the more you will capture, it’s that easy. Leave it laying around the kitchen or let it hang out with the coffee table books.

Shoot to edit

If you don’t edit your footage you should. Even if you are just cutting out the boring stuff, it makes it much more watchable. So when you shoot keep in mind that you can edit what you are shooting, and think of all the editing tricks that could allow you to make a scene appear as great as it is.  The simplest way to explain this is to think of how an event would be shot with multiple cameras, some close-up, some far, some moving. Try to get a variety of shots and then piece them together. Keep in mind which clips and which audio can be moved around to different places on the time line.

Put the camera in the danger zone

Try and avoid using the zoom all the time. When filming something move the camera as close to it as you can. Fill up your viewfinder. Your video of the baby crawling on the floor should not look like an arial photograph. Don’t zoom in on your brother eating Rice Krispies, move the camera close so you can hear the snap, crackle, pop!

Candid Camera

People in front of the camera are never acting 100% genuine. Especially if they are not used to being recorded. So if you want to capture life as it really is without some funny guy sticking his middle finger in your lens you have to be a bit more discrete. A great way to do this is to be seated with your camera in your lap and your viewfinder pointed up so you can see it. People will think that you’re messing with your camera, not recording. This leads us into the next tip…

Be ready for your close-up

So having your camera in your lap has another big advantage, you can get incredibly still shots. Still shots mean you can get good zooms. Everyone’s favorite thing to zoom in on is faces. And with those huge high-def TVs close-ups can look amazing. This leads us into the last tip…

Become the tripod

You don’t need to carry around that big tripod. You can get very smooth shots yourself by filming from your lap, leaning a against something, and pivoting your body not just moving your arms around. I personally find tripods very restrictive and they detract from the very important mobility and convenience that is so important when using a camera.

The reason I went was to attend the talks on marketing and websites. Lots of good advise on how to organize a home builders website, SEO and all kinds of tools and tricks to as they call it…”convert” a visitor. Most of the tech stuff I was already familiar with, but not all of it. I was surprised how in-depth they got with some of the tech-talk. I think sometimes I was the only person who knew what they were talking about.

Not all of are strategies are internet based. I will be creating print ads as well that I think will have a greater more immediate effect than all the social media and SEO. Another goal of mine is to get the Goodwyn website on the first page of Google. I will be tracking all progress as it coincides to my SEO efforts. Anyway… I can’t wait to put some of these tricks to use and see if I can sell some houses!

]]> http://aaronheine.com/international-home-builders-show-2011/feed/ 0 http://aaronheine.com/halloween-party/ http://aaronheine.com/halloween-party/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:14:17 +0000 Aaron Heine http://aaronheine.com/?p=374 Continue reading →]]> My first party at my house was a great success! Lots of people came, built a fire, burnt a huge hole in the backyard, cops came, fun and games for all! I was an Indian and my brother just happened to be a cowboy. Here is the invitation I made.



]]> http://aaronheine.com/halloween-party/feed/ 0 http://aaronheine.com/the-logoloft-is-bankrupt/ http://aaronheine.com/the-logoloft-is-bankrupt/#comments Sun, 17 Oct 2010 16:27:14 +0000 Aaron Heine http://aaronheine.com/?p=355 Continue reading →]]> One year ago I began working as a web designer at the Logo Loft here in Montgomery AL. The company is kind of a mess and a bit disorganized but it has been great for me. I feel like I have been thrown head first into the world of web design and I have learned a lot.

At 5:00 today our boss called the entire staff of 25 into a meeting. He said he is filing for bankruptcy and this will be everyone’s last day.

I will not go into the details of why he’s closing but it’s not pretty. He is trying to re-open under another name. He has already called a few employees back, but we are all refusing.

Luckily I sent out a bunch of emails to web clients I was working with and told them if their websites don’t get finished they can contact me personally. Sure enough they have all contacted me. So I am giving them a good price on completing their websites. That should keep me busy for a while. I’m not too worried… I have big ideas cooking!

Update: 11/12/2010
Lots of abandon Logo Loft clients have been contacting me as a result of this post. If you are looking for the owner of this company, all I can tell you is that he still lives in Montgomery Alabama and his name is Aaron Carr. They have changed all their phone numbers.

If you need your files from them I can’t help you, but I can help with any design needs you may have.

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