Some great things to check out today....

I am trying to get myself in the habit of posting and writing new things every day. Supposedly it takes 21 days to create a new habit. So I am working on writing or posting some kind of new content everyday for the next twenty days so that this becomes the norm for me.

Today is one of those days that I will just share some great things I came across today.

First up is this great link that I came across thanks to Jay B at Public School. It features some great work by Ted Sabarese.

Next is this gem featuring the work of Elias Wessel. This guy's portfolio is stunning. I am not sure if I should be inspired or shaking in my boots.

I stumbled across this great mix of music via Luke Copping's blog. The mix is put together by 99% and is available as a stream or a download via iTunes. If you keep late hours while working on projects, this is the perfect mix of music for you.

And one more link to end today's post. This one is from the guys over at Permission to Suck. I will warn you that it may seem a little depressing at first, but I choose to see it as a way to explore how I can start focusing on the multiple ways I can add extra value to my clients needs and wants. If you have a couple minutes (read this as 20 minutes of spare time), you should definitely read this post and watch the accompanying video.

New Work....Finally!

The holidays have been keeping me incredibly busy....go figure. But I did manage to shoot something new. The image to the left is a preview of what I have been playing with the past two days. You can view the final image after the jump below.

I have been working more on the re-launch of the site a lot and have been trying to shoot some new content for it.


More after the jump

This is a great read from Joe McNally.....even for you non-photographers out there....thanks to my buddy, Stephen Hooker for pointing out this gem that I managed to overlook on part of daily reading.

What to do when it snows in Austin, TX?

So, I am going to start this off with a bit of history. Sunday afternoon was in the low 80s. By Monday morning, the weather had dipped back down to about 50 or so. This morning I awoke to it snowing. Yes. Snowing. In Austin, TX. So what did I decide to do with the opportunity? I went and took pictures.

Last Thursday, I got my hands on a Cambo large format view camera. I didn't get much opportunity to play with it and shoot until Sunday afternoon. And even then, I only shot 2 sheets of film. I forgot how much I loved working with the view camera. There is something magical in the tilts, shifts and swings of the standards. It is a very organic and slow process. You bring out the legs and then set up either the short or long rail, then the standards and bellows. And then you start framing your image. By the time you have framed and composed your shot, you can easily have spent 30 minutes before you are even ready to contemplate loading the film and setting the aperture and shutter speed. That process alone is an art form; ie. bellows extension factor.

Make Your Personal Projects Write Checks for You

I am a huge advocate for personal projects. I have been working on one for the past 5 years now that I am still unsure as to when it will be "complete"...if ever. I have a very long list of ideas for more personal projects i want to....and must explore. But I don't want to take on too many at one time and end up watering down the images. I am a firm believer that one should not overwhelm themselves with too many projects at one time.

And at the sake of sounding a bit silly, why don't you make that personal project you are working on into a paying job? It isn't as far fetched as it may sound. Many of the guys (and ladies) we look up to and respect got their start in a very similar way. They dove into their personal work and honed their skills and the craft. They produced consistent and solid images....just like you are doing. So, why not turn that project into something more....something that you will be able to market and pitch to a variety of potential clients?

A former instructor of mine, Sean Perry, was the one who put this concept and idea in my head. (Before I go to far along, don't forget to vote for Sean while you have time.....he is one of the finalist this year for the Hasselblad Masters.) Sean and I were going over some of the images on one of my drives and he kept asking me about what this image was for, who i shot it for, etc. When I told him they were mostly from personal projects and one off ideas, he just smiled at me. And then over the next 12 weeks he pumped my brain full of ideas and concepts that had never crossed my mind before.

What follows after the jump, is a mixture of his pure advice and some of my own advice and experience.

How to Make 2010 Work for You

Now that the holidays are finally over and the new year is upon us, its time to get back to business as usual. Wait. Maybe it should be business as "un-usual". 2009 was by far a less than typical year. The economy struggled, many business closed doors…..but at the same time, many businesses thrived and even new ones took firm root in the unstable soil of our economy. Makes you wonder what it was that these people did that made things work so well for them, doesn’t it? It got me thinking about what can I do to re-define my work and my business.

More after the jump

A New Year...What is in store for us now?

I had a couple other blogs I had been working on to publish right before the new year and after. The holidays kept me quite busy with family and the kids, so many of my unfinished thoughts are swimming around in half full bottles on the windowsill.

Its 2010. Its amazing how much has happned in the past year. Let alone the past 9 years of this decade and the millenium. I wont bore you with a top 10 list of things that happened last year. There are plenty of those floating around the internet as it is. And I'm not going to make a list of predictions of what I think is to come (even though i will go on a tangent or two before I am done).

We are entering the last year of the first decade of the millenium. So much has happened and changed the world we live in. Technology and the internet has put the world at our finger tips and its hard to stay afloat of all the information we have available at times. Cameras have changed. Computers are faster. The internet has become this huge and vast library of so much information and misinformation. But is all this technology and the advancements a good or bad thing?

more after the jump

contradiction in terms pt 1.5

So after a longer weekend than planned that included a small family trip to Port Lavaca this past saturday and then family portraits for my family on sunday back in Austin, I am finally finishing the post about this image:



more after the jump

inspiration and creativity - part 1

I have neglected this blog so much lately. I have been making up excuses to myself and others about why I dont use this as much as I should. So I am making an early New Years resolution to at least do one blog a week...even if it is just some random ranting to stop the ideas and thoughts from rattling around in my head so loudly.

So.....where do I start first?

more after the jump