My Current State of Mind

So amidst all this noise online I have found myself being more silent lately. Turning more inward and focusing on my photography. Trying to figure out my place in this world. Wondering what really makes me successful and what hard work is really all about. I have this constant feeling that I’m right on the brink of something huge.

SXSW

I’m looking forward to SXSW next week. Getting to see friends old and new. I’m preparing myself for the overwhelming sensation of that many nerds all in one place. But I’m expecting some seriously great times to be had. I won’t be anywhere without my camera. Also, my good bud Chris Wallace will be launching his new themes company called UpThemes while we’re there. So if you’re going to be in Austin next Friday please come out and help us celebrate.

One last note

I’m really thankful for the friends I have made online. I only hope to strengthen those relationships by meeting you in person and sharing some coffee/beer and some good conversation.

The project continues to be a challenge for me. Some have said congrats on making it this far, and thank you, but I still can’t imagine what it will feel like on something like day 229.

I was thinking about this the other night. With my dedication to this project, as well as my 52 Profiles project, plus working full-time and taking 7 hours of school, not to mention having a life outside of all this to spend time with my wife and friends, am I crazy? How can I possibly feel like I’m not accomplishing anything? Where is this leading me? What do I hope to gain from this?

In pursuing my passions I hope to find the answers.

Here are my three favorite shots from this past week.

Day 050 – Right Now

Day 051

Day 052 – Nothing out of the ordinary

Until next week

Thank you so much to everyone who is commenting and sending your encouragements.

I was bored with color this past week. When I first started taking photographs all I shot was black and white film. I think it’s a good way to learn about light and composition, but I think it can also become a crutch. There is always a challenge with color.

So I was happy to take a break from color this week and just focus on the composition and lighting. I also did a little more post processing this week. After I saw a friend of mines work where he really pushed the greyscale in his photos I wanted to try the same effect. I’m not sure how to technically describe it, but to me it make the photo feel flat or like it has a matte finish.

Week 06 Favorites

Enjoy the black and white goodness.

Day 39 – Mono Chrome

Day 40 – The Stress of My Modern Office

Day 41 – The Window to My Soul

Your feedback is appreciated

As always I’d love to hear what you think. A friend of mine told me this weekend that the only way to go is up. That’s definitely an encouragement. It’s hard to keep putting myself in front of the camera day after day. But I know when this year is over I will be proud to look back on this project and have the sense of accomplishing something great.

I’m working my way backwards this morning. Starting at the end and going back to the beginning. Sometimes that’s the way I feel I’m living my life.

We’re already in to the middle of February and it feels like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be but something big is about to happen. I’ve seen so many changes, good changes, happening all around me that I can’t help but remain hopeful for something amazing about to unfold.

And some things have already begun to unfold themselves. Only time will tell.

Weekly Roundup

Here are my 3 favorite photos from this past week.

Day 034 – Untitled

Day 035 – Good Nutrition

Day 037 – Connection

What Do You Think

Here’s your chance to tell me what you think. Whether you hate it or love it, I’d like to hear from you. All feedback, when constructive, can only help me. Thanks to everyone who continues to support me and show me some love.

I wonder if we really understand the true meaning of social networking or if we are getting lost in the numbers.

Inspired by this Friday Vidcast from Aaron Irizarry. Special thanks to Andy Rutledge for his brutally honest opinions.

Wow! It’s already been a month. I’m not going to act surprised or anything, this has been on my calendar for a while now. Doing these daily photos has really helped me appreciate each day, and each new challenge I am faced with. Usually the weeks just pass me by without warning, but having something I have to do each day really helps me stay focused.

The biggest change this week, which I think we can all agree on, was the loss of my beard. (So long old friend.) But like I said before, a happy wife is a happy life. (Well I didn’t say it, but I heard it somewhere.)

Week 04 Roundup

So without further ado, here are my three favorite photos from this past week.

Day 25

Day 28

Day 31

What do you think?

As always I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, critiques and/or questions. I’m open to all. And again, thank you to everyone who continues to show their support by retweeting and commenting. I love you guys. See you next week.

What is Dribbble?

Dribbble allows you to share your work in 120,000 pixels or less with other creative people. It poses the question, “What Are You Working On?” without sounding like a douche bag. The fine folks over at SimpleBits handcrafted this little beauty.

Why a Jersey?

Why not a jersey? It seemed appropriate in light of the whole basketball theme. Sure I could’ve made little basketball icons, but where’s the fun in that. I love to compete, and what better to wear when you compete than a team jersey? You may have seen my post on twitter or even on dribbble already showing off my new “Gold Team” jersey. And that’s where this whole idea started. I’m not saying let’s all divide up in teams to compete to see who’s better, no, I just want to have a bit of fun with my fellow designers. Similar to the design-off Chris Wallace and I had.

What Team Color are You?

Pick any color you want. Just know that I’m captain of the Yellow/Gold team. That’s right, I appointed myself. And I’m happy to announce that Rogie King and Brad Colbow have suited up to join me.

Download The Goods

The jersey collection comes in the 3 different sizes: 48×48, 32×32 and 16×16. I hope if you’re on dribbble already you’ll use them, and if you aren’t well I hope you will still have fun with them. One last thanks to Dan at SimpleBits for crafting such a wonderful space for us to hang out.

Download the dribbble jersey collection

It’s that time again. Yawn… Stretch… Zzz…

Is anyone else feeling the end of January being a bit sluggish? This past week felt more like a walk to school in the snow (uphill, both ways). And with the daunting feeling that what I’m doing doesn’t really matter to anyone else but me, I’ve had a hard time staying focused. That statement is completely self-involved, I know, so I want to give a huge thanks to all of you who’ve been following me and leaving your comments, but I’m just being honest.

Flickr’s quite a conundrum to me. I can’t quite figure it out. There are so many different levels of users on flickr and on each level exists an immense amount of diversity. From top-notch professionals to modern hipsters to complete noobs, it’s really quite an interesting mix of people. But the thing that I can’t seem to put my finger on is how some people draw in hundreds, even thousands, of view and comments on their photos that to me seem mediocre. My problem is I want to be seen and be heard and be recognized, but that type of success doesn’t come overnight.

The misleading part about the internet is that you can stumble on someone’s music/photos/blog/whatever and instantly feel like you’re a complete failure. The internet lacks all the blood, tears and sweat that goes in to making a name for yourself. So that’s why I’m here, putting in day after day to track my life as I make a name for myself. Maybe I’ll be something, maybe I’ll be nothing. But whatever the outcome I hope it inspires someone.

Week 03 Roundup

So in keeping tradition, here are 3 of my favorite pics from the past week.

Day 19

Day 22

Day 24

What Do You Think?

I’m always eager to hear your thoughts on my photos. Please leave your comments here or over on flickr. Thanks again to everyone who keeps retweeting and commenting, much love.

I’m afraid that the creativity will run out. Just dry up. Like one days it’s here and the next it’s gone. Of course this is a silly thought. But don’t most of us who make a living designing things depend on our creativity? Well, some would disagree. But you see my point? If our creativity were to just dry up where would that leave us?

Then it’s a good thing we’re not responsible for our creativity. We do not have control over our own creative ingenuity. It comes to us as a gift in many different forms and fashions. And thinking of it in this way helps free us from any guilt or judgements we want to put on ourselves. Like I’ve said before, let’s allow ourselves to have all the stupid ideas we can muster, so when the good ones come along we can make room.

It seems that every day is another challenge to out perform myself. Meaning that each day I get worried that I won’t have any good ideas left by the end of the year. But I’m finding out that once I actually commit to doing a picture the creative process takes over my mind and I no longer worry. Instead I get wrapped up in the moment and let my mind lead me from one shot to the next.

But I can’t expect to produce top notch work each and every day (1) because I’m still a photo noob and (2) I won’t always have the time. And that’s a problem for me, being ok with the mediocre. However, I won’t let it distract me from the true purpose of this project which is to learn and grow from my mistakes as well as my successes.

One thing I discovered this week that I see a bunch of other flickr peeps using is the “View on Black” option with their photos. It’s nothing really profound, just a link to another website that displays your photo on a black background. It’s great for some photos, but not all. So make sure and check out my photostream to see which of my photos you can view on black.

Week 2 Roundup

Here are my favorites from the last 7 days of Project 365.

Day 13

Day 15

Day 16

What do you think?

So what do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts, critiques, suggestions. Leave me a comment here or preferably on flickr. Thanks.