At any rate, you can still have fun and spend quality time with your family with a rental projector from Projector123.com. Click here to reserve yours now.

Family Fitness

Before bellying up to another holiday buffet, why not coordinate a weekend workout for the entire family? Simply grab your favorite gaming system and enjoy some active time inside. Why stress about getting to the gym when your living room provides a convenient and adaptable location for a family workout.

Whether it’s a rigorous game with your favorite gaming system, or time-tested exercise DVDs, a rental projector is the perfect added touch to encourage everyone to get moving. Playing games or sports together allows you to exercise without feeling as though you’re dragging yourself to the gym – this way, you can enjoy fun times with family and friends while burning up those added holiday calories. Just think, playing a game is far more entertaining than running on the treadmill — you can tone your body while having a blast.

Celebrate Together

Once the workout is complete, why not reward yourself for a job well done? Rent a movie or find a new game for the family to enjoy together. You’re staying fit and making memories at the same time. Maximize your projector rental period with a variety of fun family activities, such as family movie night, gaming tournament, workout competitions, and watching old home movies.

Easy Setup and Takedown

You don’t need a projection screen when you rent a projector for family fitness or fun. Simply find a blank, solid-colored wall in your living room or den, or hang a light-colored sheet – this can be done easily with thumbtacks. Setup is as easy as 1-2-3 with a plug-and-play LCD rental projector. Rental projectors connect easily to your Wii or Xbox Kinect, as well as to your DVD player or laptop (depending on what type of entertainment you’re using your projector rental for). Takedown is a breeze, and the rental unit is shipped in a carrying case that keeps all your cables in one place, and doubles as a shipping carton.

A rental projector may be your easiest, most affordable, hassle-free way to ensure you get an extra workout in during the holiday season, and there are an unlimited number of ways that you and your family can maximize the use of your rental unit together.

With projector rentals starting at just $95, Projector123.com is your ideal choice for home projector rentals.  Click here now to order yours today.

Before you say good-bye to summer, why not go out with a bang? Rent a projector from Projector123.com and keep the summer fun going just a bit longer.

The Road Less Traveled

If you’re traveling for pleasure, consider visiting destinations outside of the most popular choices. For example, the Florida coast is packed with beaches just waiting for your discovery – you don’t necessarily need to hit Ft. Lauderdale to have a good time. You might find you can have just as much fun straying from the beaten path – even road tripping to a nearby city or state, within less than a day’s drive.

For business travel, consider adding a layover (if you can). You’ll get to visit a new city, and will likely save a significant amount on airfare on the trip.

/>Last-Minute Deals (Whenever Possible)

Even if you can’t take advantage of last-minute travel packages for your business travel, you can still use bidding sites like Priceline.com to locate affordable lodging and auto rental services. Vacationers can save a bundle with last-minute specials from airlines and online travel services, as industry giants seek to fill plane seats, hotel rooms and resorts.

Keep Your Cool

If something goes awry during your travels, it pays to keep your head. Stay calm, remain easy to work with and firmly request an upgrade or other compensation. Hotel desk personnel and airline reps are much more likely to grant concessions to friendly travelers rather than those who raise a stink.

Additionally, you can keep cool by drinking plenty of fresh water during your travel, and snacking on healthy fruits and vegetables rather than fried foods or baked goods. Always use sunscreen, even if the sky appears overcast.

Try an Agent

If you haven’t used a travel agent in awhile (many people erroneously think it costs a lot more to use travel agents), consider enlisting help in booking your trip. The more complex your itinerary (such as Disney World, for example, or a cruise that requires airfare and airport transfers to the dock), the more you’ll benefit from the expertise of a seasoned travel agent. In many cases, the travel agent can share helpful insider tips, save you money, and help you get the most bang for your buck, with the least amount of hassle.

When you return, why not plan a gathering to share your photos with a vibrant slide show on a slide show rental projector? It’s easy and fun – just click here to visit Projector123.com today.

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Even if you’re not a food critic or professional chef, there are countless reasons why you may need to be able to photograph food in a skillful and appetizing manner. For example, perhaps you are an excellent home cook and you want to remember some of your most delectable creations, for the sake of posterity. Maybe you have a product or service to showcase at an upcoming trade show or convention, and you want to avoid the expense of hiring a professional food photographer (and also avoid the embarrassment of displaying amateurish photographs in front of tons of potential customers). Perhaps you’d like to launch a food blog, which means you’ll need to be able to capture stunning photos of plated food, perhaps armed with nothing more than your smartphone.

Whatever the reason, here are some simple tips for photographing food.

1. Be mindful with color and contrast.

Choose a simple background to highlight the plate itself; select dishes and accompaniments (flatware, napkins, tablecloths, etc.) that either harmonize or contrast sharply with the food itself. In the realm of food photography, monochromatic themes are not appealing.

2. Set the lights

Whenever possible, use natural light. This may involve moving the plate closer to a window or photographing outside. If dining at a restaurant at night, experiment with candlelight ambiance.

3. Make a Statue

If photographing at home or under controlled conditions, use a tripod whenever possible. If shooting at a restaurant or on the fly, remain as still as humanly possible.

4. Zoom in on Details

The closer you can get, the better, in order to highlight details such as intricate plating, texture, garnish, etc. It’s ok to have the foreground focused with a blurred background, as long as whatever’s in focus is the most interesting detail of the item.

5. Focus Focus Focus

Never display or post a picture where the entire frame is blurred (even slightly) or out of focus. It displays a lack of skill in photographing food, and will be further magnified when projected or printed for viewing. Ensure at least focal point of the image is crisply focused.

For your next trade show, dinner party, or the kickoff of your new food blog, be sure to rent a projector from Projector123.com. After all the hard work you’ve put into making sure your craft is perfected, it pays to showcase your artwork in bright, vivid color. Click here now to rent a projector today.

/>It is estimated that approximately one-third of today’s movies are adaptations from previously published books or short stories. Therefore, there’s a very good chance that the books you’re choosing for your book club will also have films associated with them.

While learning and broadening one’s horizons are certainly good reasons for participating in a book club, we cannot discount the social benefits. That’s why it makes sense to transition from book to book with some kind of social gathering, and a movie night certainly fits the bill.

With rental projectors as low as $129 per weekend including round-trip shipping, it becomes an easy and affordable way to celebrate the completion of each book. Members may wish to chip in to defray costs (consider that in an ideally-sized book club of 10 or so people, a weekend rental would cost just $13 per person).

Setup and takedown are easy, and a DVD can be projected onto any blank wall or solid-color sheet hung from the ceiling.

Likewise, you may wish to invite friends and family to this event, as an expanded form of socializing. This also gives family members a chance to hear other perspectives on the movie, as gleaned from members’ study of the book.

What can you do if the book is so new that it has no Hollywood counterpart? Choose a film from a similar genre, the same category or style, or the same author. As long as you keep the film “in the spirit” of the intention of the book club, you will be good to go.

We hope you have enjoyed our three-part series on planning fun and entertaining book clubs. Projector123.com is your one-stop shop for rental projectors for book clubs and other social gatherings. We rent only high-grade LCD rental projectors that are versatile, reliable, and easy to operate. Click here to discover why Projector123.com is as easy as 1-2-3.

Extending Invitations

When extending invitations to friends and acquaintances to join your book club, be clear and up front about your intentions for the club. That way, the people who say “yes” are the folks who are genuinely interested in the purpose of your club. Don’t pressure anyone into joining, and don’t be offended if someone says “no” because it’s usually not personal.  People are busy and need to prioritize their extracurricular time. If you pressure someone into joining, they will likely not read the books assigned, or will find excuses not to attend club meetings. Go for willing participants only.

Group Size

The ideal size for a book club is around eight to eleven people. This makes it relatively easy to find a common date/time that works for everyone, as well as facilitating easy hosting in someone’s living room or den. Initially, it’s best to invite no more than 12 people, as you can always extend more invitations if you find you’re getting a lot of “no”s.

Structure of Meetings

Depending on the nature of the group and the common intention, you can have as much or as little structure to your meetings as you like. Here is an example of a highly structured meeting schedule, which you can adjust for less structure.

Book Club Meeting Agenda

7-7:20 PM             Meet & Greet (social time, snacks)

7:20-7:30PM             Call to order, roll call, review current assignment

7:30-8:30PM             Individual sharing on pre-prepared questions, average of 7-8 minutes per person

8:30-8:45PM             Q&A

8:45-9:00PM             Set next meeting date, time and location; determine next assignment

9:00PM            Meeting adjourned

Consider that the greater the focus on “learning,” the greater the need for structure; whereas, the heavier the focus on socializing, the less apparent need for structure. A social book club meeting might last for the same two hours, but in a much more casual setting, where individuals share their experiences with their reading, while enjoying snacks and beverages. Conversation can easily lead to off-topic discussions.

In addition to meeting structure, there are also social logistics. For example, where will meetings be held? Will one person always host, or will members take turns? Are refreshments provided potluck style, or does the host supply snacks and drinks? Is alcohol allowed or encouraged or reserved for after-meeting socializing? The group should come to agreement on these issues and other logistics. In fact, your first meeting will likely be a planning meeting, designed to address these and other such club formation issues.

Choosing the Books

/>This is by far the most collaborative part of creating a book club. There are many different ways to choose reading selections, including but not limited to:

-       Everyone takes a turn choosing the book

-       NY Times bestseller list

-       Amazon bestsellers within a particular genre, author or category

-       Spontaneous selection (“this sounds like a good read”)

-       Suggestions from Oprah or other societal icon

-       Club members submit their top 3 picks and selections are drawn at random

Whether you choose a highly structured book club format, or a more casual group discussion, remember that a rental projector from Projector123.com is an affordable and exciting way to treat the group to a social-only break when transitioning between books. Click here to rent a projector now. Remember to come back and see us for part three – the conclusion of our three part series on book clubs.

1 – As Americans become increasingly busy and overscheduled, it helps to have built-in reminders and accountability to help us remember to take time out for reading and recreation.

2 – With the rise in social media and social networking, more and more people are making conscious choices to connect in person with other individuals and groups.

3 – In 1996, Oprah Winfrey announced the launch of “Oprah’s Book Club,” a designation that would take certain authors from the realm of the unknown to instant bestseller status virtually overnight. Oprah’s intention was to “help get America reading again,” and the ultimate result was the formation of countless local book clubs amongst avid fans.

4 – Most Americans admit to suffering from a condition known as “information overload,” which in part includes being inundated with countless book recommendations, which most people do not have the time to commit to reading. Joining a book club allows an individual to focus on just one hot-topic book at a time, and to explore its meaning in-depth with other readers, further expanding the whole experience.

Starting a book club is easier than you may think, but it all begins with a clear intention. Setting a proper focus for your book club can help alleviate frustration and disappointment down the road (for yourself and other book club members of your group).

Here are some possible intentions you might consider:

1. To become more educated or well-read.
2. To have fun and socialize.
3. To hone your conversational skills.
4. To meet new people.
5. To read books you otherwise would not have chosen.
6. To use group discussion to learn more about a particular book, author, or genre.

These are just a few of the reasons for starting a book club, but it’s important to set your intention so that you can invite others who share the same focus for the club. For example, if your primary reason for starting a book club is to explore literary works and classics that you never got around to reading in college, so that you may have a better understanding of allegory, a particular genre, or literary genius, you will likely become annoyed with a group member who joined simply to have fun and meet new people.

Once you’ve created your intention for the book club, the next step is to gather members. We’ll cover that in our next installment in this three-part series. In the meantime, why not check out rental projectors at Projector123.com? Since many popular books ultimately are made into movies, it is highly likely that you will want to connect the written word to the on-screen enactment of your club choices, and with a rental projector from Projector123.com, you will be able to bring the big-screen experience into your own living room. Click here now to learn more.

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Luckily, rental projectors (unlike cars) don’t require any maintenance at all on your part! Just click, rent, enjoy, and return – nothing could be easier. Click here now to rent a projector from Projector123.com today.

Step 1 – Consider the audience

Who will be viewing your work? Are these for your own personal keepsakes, to remember the beauty of your garden when it’s long faded into winter? Or are you entering a gardening contest, and need to showcase the true gorgeousness of your work?

Step 2 – Consider the subject

The flower (or scene) itself will certainly lend itself to being photographed in certain ways. Can you find a unique way in which to photograph a familiar flower? Or can you truly display the uniqueness of an extraordinary flower or group of flowers? This is where you can play around with depth of focus, blurred backgrounds, and more.

Step 3 – Consider the lighting

A rose photographed at 10:00 AM in the morning will look very different from the same rose photographed with the same equipment at 4:00 PM in the afternoon. Additionally, if part of your garden falls in shade, you may need to use a fill flash or other supplemental lighting in order to gain true color saturation. When photographing outdoors, beware harsh shadows created by bright sunlight (especially when the sun is located directly overhead).

Step 4 – Consider the landscape

You will use a different angle, lens and depth of focus, depending on whether you are shooting pictures of your entire garden versus a single gardenia. Don’t be afraid to experiment! some of the most memorable photos were “accidents.”

Step 5 – Consider the overall effect

Overall composition is another factor to consider. Watch out for unsightly items in your frame (the neighbor’s car, a trash can, etc.) but of course in many cases, these blights can be cropped out of your final picture.

When you’ve taken into consideration all these five points, it’s time to begin experimenting. Don’t be afraid to try new angles or test your images in black and white. The possibilities are endless.

Whenever you feel ready to show off your pictures in larger than life format (or when your garden has begun resting for winter, and you want to brighten up the bleak surroundings), why not rent a projector to showcase your handiwork? Invite your friends and family over for a heartwarming display of the fruits of your labor. It’s easy — just click here to rent a projector from Projector123.com.