Wonderful Video

Originally uploaded by jane.bird

I saw this video this morning and just had to share it. Not only is jane.bird a great photographer but is now inspiring with video. Take a look at other works of hers as well.

Light

Thought I would post another from this weekend. Took the family for a walk around Lyons and then to get some ice cream... Funny thing is that the stand was an old fashion place that served up 2 flavors. The kids could not believe there was no double espresso, almond, pistachio, flavor buster, bubblegum blast... You get it. I love the place!!!

Carnival

It has been a few days since the last post but for good reason. Miriella turned 1 on the 27th as well as all the girls having check-ups in Boulder (not as close anymore), working on a new website and had to learn new software, and just all around laziness (probably the leading cause). But here it is a new shot from a local carnival. I wish I had noticed the big thing at the right bottom but alas I am not a pro and still have tons of learning to do. Loved the intense looks on the faces as these ladies played.

The Lake

Yeah I know I am being way too creative with the titles these days. This is "the lake" in Frederick. I am already missing some of the small town feeling of that town. But am more than happy in the new place.

Little Feet

Morgan loves chalk and a sidewalk. Her and Matlin have not done any drawing at the new place but I hope it starts soon!

Guitar

Just took my very first guitar lesson and man is my wrist tired. Some of the notes are a hand twister. My firt lesson was 2 hour or tuning the guitar and leaning 2 notes. Never thought I would ever do it but then a Pastor from our church decided to give free lessons. Well he said the magic word... FREE! So I borrowed my father inlaws guitar and started down the journey to learning the guitar. Alright, just thought I would share but I really must go rest the wrist, it is totally tired. Keep you posted with the progress.

P.S. I forgot to day I found it massively fun!

Love this shot of Morgan. You can just see her personality in her face. She dressed herself and did her own hair. Me loves my "Mor-Dan"

Turning over a new leaf...

I have been neglecting this blog since day one and now I think I will just use it for the thing I love...

Visceral - Denver Rescue Mission

Mike and I had a wonderful meeting with May LaClair, Manager of Special Events, at the Denver Rescue Mission, yesterday afternoon. As you know, Visceral is all about community and because of that we wanted to make sure we were giving back to it. The Denver Rescue Mission was an obvious choice for us since they are a thriving local non-profit. May was excited to hear about what we were doing and was equally excited to help us promote the event. You will find us on their site in days to come, but until then please take the time to visit them at www.denverrescuemission.org.

Thank you May for the work your organization does and for allowing us this opportunity to give back to our community.



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Visceral Update

Visceral
We would like to welcome Bill McDonnell to the Visceral team. Bill is joining the group to help guide and direct the Visceral marketing campaign. Highly professional and talented, Bill was a star. He came to the meeting having already formulated a few great ideas and even show a few photos of his own. You can check out Bill's work at Rivet 2&3d. Again, Welcome Bill!

Of course, we could not talk about the meeting and not say something about Corrie Vela from Helpers. She always has a new idea and is not shy to bounce them around. It's incredible the kind of ideas that form from this kind of brainstorming session. Thanks Corrie for all your help.

As always, there is more to come so stay tuned. We are going to have a great time and an awesome show. Keep clicking!



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Excited? Who's excited?

So yesterday I was supposed to be headed to Denver for my photography class. Well needless to say I think I am done with the boring class. But that is not the story...

I decided to stop by the local ARC Shop and browse around. Of course, being the camera crazed person I am, I headed to the camera area. They now have all the cameras in a bin at the front of the store. Which while sad means that they just don't care since they do not sell. So I look in the bin and there are a few broken 35mm point and shoots, a couple of plastic cameras made in Taiwan and a few circa 1980 video cameras missing parts. Well I kept digging. Near the bottom of the pile being squashed by all this electronic garbage was my newest baby. There she sat calling out to me a Black Leather Sonar SX-70 Land camera. What no price? Ah man the sign says they will not sell without a price... NO! I must have... Thoughts of doing the wrong thing cross the mind... Shame on me! Well then I see it, they have the flash! Guess what, It has a price tag. Could it be that this is part of the package? The tag says $9.99. okay I must ask. I am now shaking with excitement as I hold a fantastic camera and the flash I have been searching for. I almost bought the same flash a few weeks back for $40. Well I finally take it up to the register and she puts the flash and the camera together and scans the tag. Okay, now maybe I could have said I think they are separate but what am I a dummy?

Out in the parking lot I sit in the car and call my sister to share the news... I knew my wife would not be impressed. No answer. Okay call Mom... No answer! ARGH! Who to tell? Michael would get it but he is on a concall. Write an sms to him. No immediate answer. Alright what is the deal? I am actually shaking with excitement and can't share it. matt is in Florida, Vince in Mexico... Ah man come on.

So I just sit and play with the new baby for a few minutes. Take a few pics like a proud papa and then drive off. All the way home the voices in my head say "stop and get some film!" but I fight the urge and take her for a coffee instead.

Now who said that skipping school was bad?! I learned more in the 20 minutes at the ARC than in 20hours in class.

moaan

Just felt that I had to write something about one of my favorite photogs on flickr. I do not know his name but his user name is moaan.

His shots are simply amazing! The colors he gets and the processing he does makes even the most ordinary object seem like a work of art. His latest image is the most gorgeous image I have ever seen. A true inspiration every time I view his photostream.

Kid Friendly

Seems that I am on a never ending hunt for movies and things that are kid friendly... I figure it makes total sense, since I have 3 little girls. Well last night we watched a movie that was not only kid friendly but also was a blast to watch.

Candleshoe is a great movie that starts out with a girl (Jodie Foster) getting into much trouble. From there she teams up with a pair of characters that has included her in their plans to find hidden treasure in the house of an elderly English woman. Without giving away too much... They find it but the ride is a great one. At the end when they found the treasure my girls were clapping and cheering.

I love when a movie can be that much fun. Get a snack, rent the movie and enjoy!

Polaroid

Seems these days that polaroids have taken over my life. I can't seem to get enough. But as of late I have run into a bit of bad luck. A friend of mine and I purchased 2 SX-70 cameras on eBay and both came to us broken. Not only that but one of them seemed to have a mind of its own and ran through a full pack of 600 in a matter of seconds. I am not sure the last time I spent $15 that quick. Well that being said I decided that my SX-70 was sufficient. But having just spent $15 in less than a minute I decided to give my had at some expired Platinum 600 Film. The price was right at $5 so I purchased it. Well, last night I put it in my camera and not only was it dry but the thing jammed up my SX-70 something fierce.

Moral of this little story? Be happy with what you have and being cheap is not always the cheapest way.

When will I learn?

Digital Photography 101

Being a graduate of the Colorado Institute of Art I was sent an email a few weeks ago about auditing classes. the price was super-terrific so I decided to give it a go.

The Photography 101 class seemed like the right place to start and last night was the first class. Being a 101 class the subject matter last night was a bit rudimentary, but none-the-less was informative and fun. The instructor is a working professional and seems to have great technical knowledge of photography. The class was made up of 9 students ranging in age from 20-50 with a wide range of cameras.

My goal with taking this class is to further solidify my basic knowledge of photography and learn a few new things as well. Plus, we get homework which should motivate me to get out and shoot!

Color Harmony

I was browsing through the library last night and ran across a misplaced book. It was a book on color harmonies and layout called Color Harmony Layout by Rockport. Wow, what a simple and great little book. I love what they have done here. Now mind you I am sure that great designers around the world are thinking that this book is way too simple and does nothing but put design in a box. Well I guess that is why I am not considered a great designer, because I love it.

Sometimes I get so caught up in the layout and graphics that I forget the power of color. Yes, of course I think about color, but most of the time it is more what looks good and not what I am trying to achieve through it. Anywho, it is a great little book. So if you get a chance... take a look.

Visit your local library! It is a great place to get lost!

Polaroid Love

So I finally got around to getting all the things I needed to start shooting with my new Polaroid SX-70. I purchased film at a local Walmart and got the filters from a guy in my area as well. Although film is not cheap I figured that I could splurge and buy $50 worth (30 shots). being way too excited to try out my new polaroid, I got home and put the filter on the 600 film and loaded it into my cammie. SWEET! Now what to shoot? Well there was the carnage from all the packaging and such that came from loading the camera... Frame Shot... Focus... Click! AWESOME! Well almost. The film did what it was supposed to but there is a shutter adjustment on this camera as well. Okay, so the image is pure white. No prob do it again. Frame Shot... Focus... Set Shutter... Click! Woo hoo! Wait, this time it is just darkness. Well better luck tomorrow. So I packed up the 'roid and figured I would take some in the daylight hours.

The next shot was awesome. But you have to take my word for it cause I have not scanned it in yet. (I posted it this evening) Next shot equally as good... Okay it was of the same sign with a slight aperture change. I am in love. Now back to work!

That night I met up with family and brought the new polaroid. Visions of family pics on polaroid film flowed through my mind. Click... Click, Click! Ah man those are terrible. Oh well, now I know I need a flash.

Well, $20 for the SX-70, $50 for the film, and I have 2 good shots and 5 coasters that I might burn but the fumes would kill me. All in all, I love my polaroid!

Now someone please teach me how to use this thing!

Torture

This post is not so much about torture as it is about impatience.

I recently purchased a Polaroid SX-70 that I have been wanting for quite sometime. She is beautiful. A silver body and leather accents. I now have the camera in my grubby little hands but cannot use it until a few more items are purchased. So it has become a waiting game. I have purchased some filters, from a fellow photog here in Colorado, to make it possible to use Polaroid 600 film but they are in the mail. After that I must find some 600 film. I told myself I would try to find it around town first then order online if I could not. Well that being said, once I buy the film and receive the filters I then have to find inspiration... This is where it gets tough.

I have a few side projects to do not to mention a wonderful wife and 3 beautiful girls I want to spent time with. Inspiration? We shall see. But one step at a time right? First things, first... Well, I am still waiting even if it is not so patiently.

If anyone has any inspiring links please feel free to share.

Double Life

So I think I have now taken my love of Little House a bit far. I now believe I am Charles Ingalls. I have started to insist that the girls; now named Mary, Laura and Carrie, call me Pa. I traded the Mazda for a buckboard that I am picking up tonight... Does anyone know what a buckboard is? Oh well I am sure it is a good deal. The guy did say it had low miles and was good on gas. I also bought a pink shirt that I am going to wear every episode... scratch that, day. I am also trying to reconcile how writing this blog fits in with the Ingalls lifestyle. Well sorry this one is so short, I got to get to Sleepy Eye before dark to pick up Ma's new copper pot.

TV sure is evil! Good thing my life as Charles does not have one... Now if I could only stay as Charles I would have no problem with having a double personality!

- My intellect amazes me at times!

A Boy and His D200

View large on flickr

Is it bad to be in love with an inanimate object...? Well ever since last year when I purchased my first DSLR, a Nikon D50, I had hopes of owning the Nikon D200. It was a long road but since then I sold the Nikon D50, bought a D100, sold the D100, bought a D50, sold the D50, bought a D80, sold the D80 and then bought my D200. Every sale brought more than the purchase price so thus every step of this process got me closer to my goal. Now that I have this hot little number in my hands I take it everywhere with me. I was asked by a manager at the office if I took it into the bathroom with me... "Well no!" I answered but that was not entirely true. She has seen her fair share of b-rooms. Well all that to bring you a pic for the day. I have been liking the moodiness of some of my favorite flickr photogs so I thought I would give it a go. These gals were more than happy to allow me to take their pic.

Mugen Pop-Pop Will Be My Death

So I was browsing through one of my favorite sites CScout Japan when I ran across this fun looking must have of a gadget. It was called the Mugen Pop-pop and it mimicked the act of popping bubble wrap. It was one of those dumb items that just grabs your (wait my) attention. So I searched the internet for it and found it at numerous sites for $6 plus shipping. Well the thought to buy it was there but the penny pincher in me won out. That night I had to stop buy Target to pick something up for the wife and guess what was there waiting... Yes, none other than the Mugen Pop-pop and they had it in the nifty "ice" color I liked. Well needless to say I bought it.

I brought it to work the next day and cracked open the wonderfully foreign packaging it came in. When I pushed one of the buttons for the first time I heard a little click. I pushed again two more times... Click... Click... Oh no, I had been robbed of my $6.50. I was hurt and disappointed (I am emo at heart I think).

I shared the new toy with my girls that night and they thought it was great. it makes a funny noise every so often and that made them laugh. Again excited that the Mugen was not a total waste, I took it to work the next day. While I sat there playing with the gadget, one of the guys in the office said "Wouldn't it be funny if it made that sound after the same amount of clicks every time..." Oh the horror! I could not believe it, I hadn't thought of that. So I started clicking and counting... 98... 99... bark! Funny! hehehehe. Again, 98... 99... quack! Oh no! It had disappointed me yet again. How could a 6 dollar and 50 cent toy be so cruel? Not wanting to give up I tried again... Yep same result. Now the Mugen Pop-pop sits at my desk and I curse the day I set eyes on this evil little monster.

Well at least I bought the Domo plush that day to soothe my wounded soul...