out with the old… in with the new!

Hey there loyal follower and trusted subscriber!  I just wanted to post up a quick note to let you that my new blog is up and running.  Please take a minute to head over and check things out.  Also, you’ll need to resubscribe in order to get the latest updates either by email or by RSS feed.  Thanks again for all your continued support and I look forward to hearing from you on the new blog!

>>  CLICK HERE TO VISIT ELVIS’ NEW BLOG  <<

what’s in your feed?

After doing an overwhelming amount of “collecting” of blogs in my RSS feed… then downsizing quite a bit… then re-“collecting” even more (I may have a problem)… and then ultimately streamlining the feed to include truly what I want to read, I quickly realized that there is so much good content out there that it’s actually quite difficult to narrow down the field.  I’ve been able to come up with a pretty good list of artists, photographers, writers, and general creative inspirations that I honestly enjoy reading and find myself looking forward to.  Here’s a small sample:

Nick Onken – Creative blog of NYC based lifestyle photographer

Vincent Laforet – Amazing up and coming film maker

Amanda Sosa Stone – Photographer’s consultant and author

Chase Jarvis – Incredibly inspirational photographer/film maker/marketing guru

Austin Kleon – Very quirky and creative writer/artist

A Photo Editor – Must read industry blog for all photographers!

500 Photographers – Incredible 100 week project started by Peter Wisse in 2010

TED – “Clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers”

So, my question to you all is this… what’s in your feed?  Who’s work is inspiring you right now?  Who’s art feeds you creatively?  Who’s writings motivate you to keep coming back for more?  Who are you following?

words of wisdom

I’ve always felt that it’s important to seek out the works of others to help keep my own inspirational fire burning.  A couple times a week I’ll make a point to do something as simple as a Google search to help find new artists (new to me anyway), and of course read through the industry blog A Photo Editor (which by the way, if you don’t have this in your RSS feed… you should!)

In a recent post on A Photo Editor, I came across an article about photojournalist Christopher Churchill.  Christopher Churchill is best known for his most recent project “American Faith”.  “American Faith” is a project he started out of a simple curiosity about religion that exploded into a 7-year journey to discover some fundamental commonality and understanding of faith.

The most important piece I took from the article was a comment Christopher made when posed with the question, “Any words of wisdom for the up and coming photographers?” He states, “I would challenge the younger generation to make work with some meaning, work that is hyper authentic, raw and imaginative.  Use the camera as a way to wander through whatever world you feel drawn to and do it with integrity, conviction and total disregard for money.  Make it pure and the other things will happen.”

Some pretty powerful stuff there!  As part of the younger generation of photographers, this statement really hits home for me.  This is something that I’m already making an attempt to do; create images that evoke a raw, authentic feel… images that I myself feel drawn to.

The part where I think most up and coming photographers will take issue with is the “total disregard for money” comment.  I think it’s safe to say that most young photographers would love to be able to quit their day jobs, run off and spend summers in New York and winters in Paris.  However, the reality is, taking that leap of faith (no pun intended) is something most people simply cannot afford to do.  I do however, believe that there is a happy medium here.  I believe that you can create images that maintain the integrity of your vision, while at the same time taking the jobs that pay the bills.  There is a personal understanding that goes along with this.  The understanding that when just starting out, dipping one foot in the waters (keeping your day job) as opposed to jumping in with both feet (quitting your day job) means that things will undoubtedly take quite a bit longer.

The long and short of it?  Understand that the decision to keep or quit your regular paying gig is a decision not to be made lightly.  However, regardless of your decision, create images that you feel drawn to and above all else maintain your personal vision and integrity.  No matter what you decide… good luck!

t | j | a

I just wanted to take a minute to post a quick blurb about an amazing group of creatives I had an opportunity to work with yesterday while assisting for Paul Markow.  Veronique James and her team at The James Agency set up an all day lifestyle shoot in the downtown Mill area of Tempe.  This was without a doubt the smoothest most laid back shoot that I’ve been on with Paul, and I think that truly speaks volumes about the team at The James Agency.  They are a wonderful group of young, hip creatives who, in my opinion, are definitely one of the best advertising agencies in Arizona.  Their motto “…to take you and your company from ‘one of many’ and elevate you to ‘one of a kind'”, and the fact that they are a boutique firm by choice really allows them to take on a much more personable approach with their clients… something not often found with ad agencies today.  The James Agency are a fun, successful, tremendously creative group of individuals, and I can honestly say that I hope to do more work with them in the future.

the city so nice, they named it twice

In my last post I talked about really pushing myself to expand my lifestyle portfolio.  So while in New York over the past couple weeks, I contacted a local professional model, Lenara Salcedo, to set up a test shoot.  A real natural and a true professional, Lenara made the full day of shooting a breeze!  You can check out her facebook page here.

The bulk of the snow that New York sustained over the winter months had melted, but it was still pretty cold.  Lenara, being the trooper that she is, braved the elements for this lifestyle test shoot.  No matter what time of year it is, in my opinion, Manhattan is one big playground.  And that was essentially the concept of the shoot.

steppin’ up my game

Over the past few months I’ve really been making a conscious effort to step up my photography game!  In particular I’ve been working with some local commercial photographers to try and soak up what knowledge I can from them.  Some of you may remember that I work as an assistant to Paul Markow off and on, and I have to say that I’ve learned a ton from him.  Over this past weekend I had an opportunity to get my learn on with another local lifestyle photographer… Matthew Dutile.  Matt’s been shooting commercial lifestyle work in the Phoenix area for about two years and his career has really taken off.  So much so, that he’s made plans to leave the sunny state of Arizona and head to New York City.

I’m not only inspired by his photography, but also his work ethic and business practices.  Matt also has a talent for really getting involved with the subjects he’s shooting.  This allows him to truly capture the genuine moment.  His simple use of natural lighting and playful story telling really conveys an “I can see myself in that photo” relate-ability feel for the viewer.  After taking a workshop with him this past weekend, I can certainly see the direction I’m trying to take my work toward in his style of photography.  Definitely a very inspiring weekend for me!

Here are a couple of my shots of the wonderful, talented and downright goofy (and I mean that in the best way possible) Ford/RBA model, Vanessa Phillip.

while you were waiting…

Ok, so I know I said that the new website would be up by now, but what can I say… I’m a perfectionist.  Doug over at Flaunt Books has been putting up with me and working tirelessly to get the site up and running.  And let me tell you, from what I’ve seen so far, I absolutely love the direction we’re going with it! The guy’s an absolute master at web design!  I’ve got a big trip planned for March, so the plan is to really kick things off when I return.  Thanks for putting up with me while the construction goes on (and on…)

By the way, if you have a need for a website design, blog design, etc. I highly recommend giving Flaunt Books a call.

welcome to elvis… please stand by…

I’m currently working with the staff over at Flaunt Books to create a completely redesigned website and blog.  My plan is to create an online environment that will be a much more seamless and user friendly experience for my clients.  When it comes to customer service and the product they deliver, the staff at Flaunt Books are at the top of their game!

I appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during this brief period of construction!

In the meantime please enjoy a little “elevator music” while you wait…

cell phone friday [take 14]

Found these little guys at a local Mexican food restaurant.  Funny thing is there’s kind of a whole subculture centered around them.  WTWF = World Thumb Wrestling Federation?

the faces of tucson

In the wake of the horrible events on Saturday morning, where six people’s lives were tragically brought to an end in a senseless act of violence, President Obama was scheduled to speak at a memorial for the victims at the University of Arizona.  These are the faces of those who attended this important and sorrowful event.

getting to carnegie hall [a new year’s “resolution”]

Resolution: an expression of intention or determining upon a course of action.

Goal: the result or achievement toward which effort is directed.

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions…  I’m more of a goal kinda guy.  It just seems to me that resolutions tend to set most of us up for failure.  Just look at the definitions and you can see a huge difference between the two.  The word goal even has the word achievement right in the definition.  Whereas, resolution only hints of the intent to do something.  Now this may be simple semantics, but I think my theory holds true.  Goals set a clearly defined path for us to follow, resolutions merely intend to follow that path.

So you may be asking yourself, “self… what’s the point of all of this?”  Well, to put it frankly, I’ve set some New Year’s “goals” for myself for 2011.  My goals can be summed up in one simple word… practice.

Practice seeing more.  Practice photographing more.  Practice understanding more.  Practice giving more.  Practice feeling more.  Practice laughing more.  Practice listening more.  Practice learning more.  Practice loving more.  Practice living more!

As the saying goes… “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?  Practice, practice, practice!”

cell phone friday [take 13]

I’m not superstitious! As a matter of fact, I think it’s bad luck to be superstitious. So when it came time to post “take 13” of Cell Phone Friday, did I take the sky scraper approach to it and skip right over to “take 14″… no, no, no! I grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns and jumped in with both feet.  So without further adieu, I present to you a very lucky Cell Phone Friday.

new year’s cell phone friday [take 12]

You may remember that last week’s Cell Phone Friday fell on Christmas eve so in keeping with the holiday spirit this holiday season, I give you the very first New Year’s Cell Phone Friday!

Raise your glasses for a safe, fruitful and prosperous new year.  Happy New Year’s everyone!

americana [revisited]

In a post I did back in October I talked about those certain images we all remember as a child.  The images we saw through the window of our family car as we traveled on our summer vacations.  The images we captured in our minds as we stopped at the roadside diner.  The images ingrained in our minds that literally formed our childhood memories.

Let’s continue on our journey with an ongoing project I call “Americana”.

a very merry cell phone friday [take 11]

Here’s wishing you and your family a wonderful and safe holiday season!

heart your life

It’s not everyday that I get the chance to meet strong, motivated, passionate, and inspirational individuals… especially someone who doesn’t even consider themselves strong, motivated, passionate, or inspirational.  Earlier this month I had the opportunity to sit down with Jennifer Purdie while doing some portrait work for her.

Jennifer’s a journalist, educator, world traveler, public speaker, editor, and athlete… but most of all, Jennifer is humble!  She’s a marathon runner, triathlete and Ironman competitor, and is featured on the cover of the November issue of Scottsdale Health Magazine.  She’s run in races across the globe that have taken her places most of us have only seen pictures of.  South Africa, Antarctica, and even The Great Wall of China just to name a few.  She’s run in over 80 races including an Ironman competition, and is one of only 400 people to have completed marathons on all seven continents.  Her most recent accomplishment, which took her to the far reaches of Scottsdale, Arizona marked her 26th marathon completion.  Quite an achievement for anyone, let alone for someone who wouldn’t consider herself any one of the adjectives I used to describe her earlier.

Be sure to take a few minutes to head over to her website “Heart Your Life” and learn a little bit more about Jennifer Purdie… a truly strong, motivated, passionate, and inspirational individual.

Special thanks to Babydoll Hair for providing hair and make-up on this photo shoot!

cell phone friday [take 10]

Sometimes the simplest objects around us can represent art.  It all depends on how we choose to look at them.  In this case I was standing outside an office complex, looked up and saw this fence.  A simple object that I chose to see a little different than I normally would…

run

You may remember  in last week’s blog post that I mentioned I was working on a project in my Commercial Photography class that entailed creating a series of 5 images based on a singular theme.  After taking in some much needed inspiration from a group of film makers from NYC, I was inspired to create the following body of work.

I recently began work on a large series of images for a project that I’ve tentatively named “go!”  This series of five images called “run” is a small part of that much larger project.  On their own, each of the images in this series tells it’s own story.  However, as they come together, the images create a play-on-words that allows a much larger story to take shape.

cell phone friday [take 9]

It’s a real treat to have the old parade fire truck at our house, and unfortunately I think a lot of us tend to take that for granted.  So, I figured, why not share her with all of you!

Last week we saw the rear end, so it’s only fitting that for this week’s Cell Phone Friday we focus (pun intended) on the front.

everynone

So, this is the first time that I’m blogging about something that hasn’t occurred yet… let me explain.  A few weeks ago in class we were given the assignment of creating a series of images based around a singular subject.  Essentially, we were charged with designing a concept that would allow us to create 5 images that centered around one subject matter.  As an example, I might take photos of the homeless in downtown Phoenix, or perhaps a series of images about dangerous places to visit after dark.  However, after quite a bit of self searching, I’ve decided to do a sort of homage to a group of three young film makers from Brooklyn, NY.  These guys have produced some very captivating work and if you get a chance, be sure to head over to their website.  I’ll be posting the completed series of images next week, but for now please take a couple minutes to watch the inspiration for the work that I’m doing for this assignment.

Make sure you check out their other amazing videos at www.everynone.com.  And if you enjoy them be sure to pass on the goodness to others.  Remember… sharing makes the world a better place!