motivation

This is my to do list for the day. I find that 1) making it in multiple sharpie colors brings me great joy 2) it's helpful to organize my list by category (listing within a list... do you think there's a diagnosis for that in the DSM-IV?) 3) writing it out so that I can tangibly cross things off is very satisfying 4) and motivating which is why I'm going to leave you now to do numbers 1 and 2 under "house."

*dump (verb): to empty something of its contents, specifically the dishwasher in this case. (I'm not sure it's an actual word but I use it)

Edited to add: You can participate in #2 (under WORK) as well! Just go to National Geographic and submit a photo! But if you win, you must take me to the Galapagos Islands with you!

photography: Nick Cobbing

Since I don't have anything new of my own to post (I'm working on it, I promise) I thought I'd share with you this snazzy photographer I happened upon today: Nick Cobbing. He has some amazing pictures of glaciers (beautiful!) and of some other projects he's worked on like Kenya schools and an art installation of blue crystals (weird but cool). Check him out!

C & K

Let me preface this post by saying I was incredibly nervous before this photo shoot. (Shhh... don't tell them!) I actually did their engagement photos in college, but some how in my head this was different. As the clock ticked down to their arrival, I had thoughts of "what if the pictures turn out horrible? what if I'm no good at this? what if they don't like any of them?" A little prayer and 3 tums later, we were off gallivanting around OP in search of spots I'd written down ahead of time (you have to do your research for these things!). I'm pretty sure I talked non stop for the first half of the shoot as a way of calming my nerves, but they were gracious and let me, so on I rattled.

C married one of my favorite people, K. Every time I'm with them, I realize I couldn't have picked anyone better for her. They're coming up on their 5th anniversary this fall and it was such a treat to be able to do this for them while also getting some practice! Thanks you two for being such great sports and wonderful friends.

The instant I asked K to hold her purse a certain way she commented,
"That's such a j.crew shot." And yes, yes it is and I'm okay with that.

This was a really cool London-esque phone booth, but unfortunately it was locked,
so we had to settle for an outside shot.

This was the last place we shot (my back steps) and I'm pretty sure I'd worn K out at this point.

I think I've found my signature shot with which to end!

a sneak peek : numero duo

Give me just one more day and I promise you'll see actual people pictured here. But for now, I have to share with you my "j.crew" shots from Sunday. I documented the shoe switch mid shoot and I am so glad I did, because they are some of my favorite shots.

It's this last one... I think it's pretty hot. (I'm pretty sure I just made K blush)

a sneak peek

So here's a sneak peek from my photo shoot earlier today. I was four shots away from 500 pictures, so I have a lot of editing and weeding out to do. These are a few of my favorites so far. Remember how I said I have a thing for shoes? Well, I do.

More to come, check back later!

scarpe basse

Seriously. I love these shoes. So much so, I'm going to have a whole post just for them.

And no, I did not alter the color... that blue is straight out of the camera. I did do some lens vignetting, though.

cave canem

In preparation for a photo shoot I'm doing this Sunday I asked a friend of mine if she'd be willing to let her dog be my test subject. (Note to self: schedule dogs in the evening, preferably after a long walk, so that they're too tired to get excited.) B was a great assistant, equipped with treats to encourage sitting and even whistling to get Leah's ears in just the right position. Leah is still a puppy and very much enjoys directing her attention at whatever might be moving around her. Most of the time her head was any direction OTHER THAN the camera.

The numbers: 45 mins of shooting, 142 pictures total, 8 deleted, 111 worth a second look, 34 worth editing, 6 picked for the blog.

"Over here, Leah! Look over here!"

"Almost... but not quite."

"There you go! Now, stay right there."

Probably wanting treats for sitting so long.

She saw something across the street.

Leah likes to sit on your feet, which was perfect because if you haven't noticed, I had a slight love affair with B's shoes.

day three.

When you can't read things online, you start looking at pictures. Hello Flickr. Let me first warn you that hours, and I mean HOURS, can be lost on Flickr. Because of its addictive nature, I really must get off and back to work, but I wanted to share a photographer I found with you. I love what he's done with his son's play toys. It's just brilliant. Maybe one day I'll collaborate with a friend and do something similar. Might need a new lens for that occasion. Hmmm. Christmas list starting in June? I think so.



Seriously, check this guy out, Ed McGowan. That's one of his pictures above. He's the director of design at PlainJoe Studios in CA. Picked up a DSLR a little over a year ago. How crazy is that? Check out the PlainJoe website as well. They've got some great designs and branding. And whaddya know? They seem to have some faith based clients. Always nice to see the Christian realm opting for GOOD design (let's be honest, they're not always on the cutting edge, folks).

This excited me today, not entirely sure why, but it did.

Wonder if they'd hire freelance from Chicago?

day two of reading deprivation

It's only day two and I already mistakenly failed this morning. Every morning I get an email from Google with any articles that have come out in the last 24 hours with the mention of Cystic Fibrosis in them. As usual I peruse the snippets to see if there are any links I want to explore further. All of a sudden I realized I'd just read a whole article about a father & son duo who are inventing a game for CF patients to help with compliance when it comes to their daily treatments. Whoops. No article reading for me this week. There's a lot less to do online in the morning when you can't read anything! Guess I'll go back to sketching out logo designs and prepping for my shoot this coming Sunday. Huh, maybe it really does make me more productive.

my weekly assignment

I'm trying to get back in the swing of doing my weekly reading of "The Artist's Way" that I told you about a while back. Well this week's assignment is "reading deprivation." Which means I'm not suppose to read anything. Now, that doesn't mean I need to take it so literally that I cover up all words that might cross the path of my eyes, but it does mean that I should probably not pick up a book (thank goodness I already finished my required reading for my bookclub) and I most definitely should not read blogs. This one is going to hurt. I just came off of a week of finding all these great design blogs and photography blogs, with great tips and encouraging articles. And now this. Phooey. It's supposed to help me "un-crowd" my mind so that my creative juices can flow unimpeded by other ideas. I understand the theory behind the assignment, so I'm going to do my best to try and follow it. But that means a whole week of no google reader whenever I need a break from work and no evenings on the couch reading magazines and no browsing MSNBC to see what the current news is for the moment. We'll see how well I'm able to keep myself from reading. I think this is going to be harder than giving up Facebook for Lent!

Edited to add: I'm only half way through day one of this and it's already proving a test of my will. Didn't realize just HOW MUCH I really do read on a daily basis.

a trend?

I found this oddly amusing so I just had to share. There are a big handful of design blogs I follow (thank you kjk for showing me the genius of google reader, how did I ever live without it?) and one of them happens to be Design*Sponge. A fun blog with lots of posts. Well wouldn't you know but this morning she posted about Dieline! I thought it ironic that I had just shared it with you yesterday. I guess great minds think alike, right?!

austin gardens

I'm trying something new. Be patient with me while I try to find my stride. I feel like I'm onto something, but I haven't quite mastered the execution yet. I'll let you know when I think I'm there. For now, here are some of my test shots.

packaging

It's all about the presentation, at least that's what my mom used to say. I'm pretty sure she can gift wrap like no one else. If there was a gift wrapping competition she could do it with about three pieces of tape and perfectly folded corners. She could make a little 5 dollar gift look like it was meant for a queen. Seriously. It wasn't til I got to college that I realized that this phrase really rings true in design work. You could have a marvelous project, but if it's not displayed well, it detracts from the work. On the other hand, a good photograph can become great when it's framed in such a way to compliment it.(Don't get me started on the process of choosing matting and frames... I feel like I'm making a commitment akin to marriage every time I try to pick)

So without further ado, I present to you TheDieline.com. I found it last week as I was scouring for design blogs and sites to peruse on a daily basis. Boy am I happy I did. I have been known (on more than one occasion) to buy something merely because I am drawn to the packaging, doesn't even matter what's inside. I see the box, the jar, the lid, the bag, whatever it is, and I must get it. M, being the wonderful man that he is, has picked up on this and at times has even been able to say, "You just like what it comes in, don't you?" To which I gaze up at him with that grin that says, "I really MUST have this." The Dieline site is pages and pages of things like that. Let me show you a few:

Yael Miller of Miller Creative

Designed by Asprey Creative

Hattomonkey, a Russian design firm

enormouschampion Kingdom Animalia