Friday, May 20, 2011

LG Optimus S

In January I got a new phone. It was free with a contract renewal and so far it has done a wonderful job in almost every respect.


My only major gripe is that occasionally, the stupid phone simply refuses to charge. Sometimes I plug it in and it charges to 100% in just a few hours. Sometimes I plug it in, it charges for 5 minutes, then simply stops. Unplugging and replugging it in will get it charging again, but I never know how long it will go for.


I bought a spare battery because I figured the original was freaking out. That isn't the problem. Neither battery charges with any regularity.
I've experienced this with several USB cables and with three different USB -> Outlet converter things.

Next up on my list: a non-USB-cable charger.
If that doesn't work, then I will officially have exhausted my ideas.

It's been raining fairly regularly in Flagstaff this week. Both photos above are from the cell phone in question.

Today I'm at Fossil Creek with a bunch of awesome photogs and fun people.
Tomorrow I'm driving 800 miles back to my parent's place in Boulder so I can be around for my little brother's high school graduation.

Expect a post in the near-ish future about what's going in my backpack as I travel for a month.

TGIF!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Shooting Sierra

The other day, I did a photoshoot with the lovely Sierra. This was our first time working together, but I'm sure it won't be our last.


^concept ^





Oddly enough, the image that I envisioned for the shoot ended up being my least favorite of what I got. It was fairly quick, for me; less than 200 frames total. Sierra did a lovely job taking direction and (even better) self-directing 

The backdrop is a storage container that's taking up valuable parking space near my house. I've hated it since it showed up and I look at it every day. It took me nearly a year to realize its potential as a photo location. 

Technically, there isn't much special going on. As usual, the Einstein and Vagabond Mini are providing light, somewhere around 1/2 power at camera left. I used the 35mm f/1.8, which is slowly becoming my favorite lens, replacing the 50mm that has long been my workhorse for personal work.

I've got a helluva month coming up. I'll be leaving Arizona, driving to my hometown in Boulder, driving to vacation in Indiana, flying to a gig in Utah, flying back to Boulder and driving to Flagstaff. During this time, I will live almost exclusively out of my LowePro backpack. It will hold all my important camera gear, as well as the clothes and stuff I'll need. For a month. 

I'll do at least two posts over the coming month describing how that is working out for me, along with the many fun photos I encounter along the way.

Have a great Monday!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Its my life...

I've finally come to a pivotal moment in my life. The fork in the road, if you will.
This summer, I'm jumping off the deep end. Instead of playing it safe and getting a job at Best Buy or Radio Shack, I am going to make photography and thevisualCollective my full time gig.

It's a daunting task. Sure, I'm a college student, but I have expenses like everyone else. Bills gotta get paid somehow. Only problem is, I'm not really sure how that's going to happen. I find that supremely exciting. I feel like everything I've done in the last few years has lead me to this moment. I knew it would come eventually, but I didn't know when, or how crazy it would be.

Established photographers everywhere are sending out the same message: Take risks. Just do it. Jump off the deep end and see if you've got what it takes. All you've got to lose is money and some time...


My chosen path for this leap of faith is through the project I started a few months ago called thevisualCollective. We have made some really big changes in the last two weeks and I'm optimistic that this project can go from being a single road trip to being a business I can run for the rest of my life.

What have we done so far?
Done two awesome trips to Death Valley and Zion
Formed a Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Launched a $10/month membership program with awesome benefits
Started a fundraising campaign through IndieGoGo to fund a few specific purchases

What's up next?
Forming relationships with local businesses and organizations
Workshops and educational trips
Building our membership base
Creating a line of awesome merchandise and prizes
Launching the "Member Missions" program - essentially a series of contests.

Long term
Multiple trips each month
High-end location workshops
Storefront/Gallery/Studio


How you can help:
Long story short, in order to make this work, I need your help.
The business has some pretty daunting expenses up front. Our goal is to get the big ones out of the way with membership fees and donations.
Anyone, anywhere can be a member of thevisualCollective. By becoming a member, you get access to a bunch of fun content that nobody else does. Most importantly - the Member Missions. We're going to have a wide variety of contests (called Missions) and prizes. Anyone who is a member can enter. We plan on having multiple Missions open at any given time.

IndieGoGo is much like KickStarter. It is a crowdsourcing website, allowing organizations and individuals to ask for money and receive it from people all over the world. Most organizations (thevisualCollective included) have a series of "perks" as incentive to donate.
Our goal is to raise $5,000 to fund the purchase of a van/trailer and staff uniforms. 20% of anything we raise above $5,000 will go to non-profit organizations promoting arts education and visual collaboration.
Donations over $200 also provide a way to give back to your favorite non-profit or charity. When you donate $200 or more, thevisualCollective will use all of its social media power to promote a non-profit or charity of your choice! Facebook, Twitter, and Blog posts. Video interviews and Vlog posts. Perhaps a section on our website dedicated to that group/organization.


By giving to thevisualCollective, you're supporting a group of people whose goal is to give back in a big way.

Regular readers here may remember that I am fairly heavily involved in the Help-Portrait event each year. If we can get the funding we require, I plan on using thevisualCollective as a platform to promote and sponsor all future Help-Portrait events in Flagstaff and (eventually) events around the nation.

Links you might like to use:
Donate - through IndieGoGo
Become a member - email us: info@thevisualCollective.com
Like us - on Facebook
Follow us - on Twitter
Subscribe - on YouTube

Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Let me know, in the comment box below!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

May Desktop Backgrounds

Hello world!

This month's backgrounds are from my day-trip to Sedona. Enjoy!



The one I'm using this month ^