website update

I've just completed an update to my website with a new area for layout designs. Check it out!

And the hits just keep on comin'

This link tells a sad story, my friends. Rollie cameras is going out of business. I've never owned one - mostly because I couldn't afford it - but still, I hate to see this. On a side note, Online Photographer also reports on a new lens by Pentax. I love Pentax. In fact, I often wish I had bought one instead of a Nikon. What?! Isn't that blasphemy? Some people would say so. I'll tell you, if I were in the market for a new DSLR, I'd go with the Pentax K20D. You get a lot of camera for the money and their lenses are world-class. Nikon and Canon make good stuff, don't get me wrong, but unless you're a globe-trotting pro who has to have access to the widest range of lenses and accessories available, you really don't need to pay the extra money for the name.

Another sign of the times

The nations largest camera dealer is filing for bankruptcy. It's not lookin' pretty, folks.

A sign of the times

Annie Leibovitz has pawned all of her work to free up cash. Read about it here. This is a little disturbing.

Command me

The weather has been less than ideal lately and I've been overwhelmed with homework so I haven't had the chance to get out with my camera. Besides, all my classes this session have been concerned with things other than straight photography. But, I do have a completed project to post just for fun. Below is a fictitious book jacket I recently completed for digital letterform class. The assignment was to use everyday items or materials to create a message, photograph it, and then incorporate the photo in a design for a CD case, magazine cover, poster, etc. So this idea came from an effort to use the letters from an old computer keyboard I had lying around. COMMAND ME or CONTROL ME seemed to be the shortest, complete sentences I could make without having to repeat any letters.


It's almost impossible to see in this image, but "imprinted" behind the text on the back, above the bar code, is a logo I designed for this project. It looks fairly good printed. The book jacket itself is not quite solid black and is printed in matte, the logo is pure black gloss so it has a "black on black" look that really works.



I'm finding that I prefer doing more "traditional print" design work as opposed to web design and I've decided to pursue that area after graduation since I doubt there are many jobs available for landscape photographers. Print media design (magazines, brochures, posters, etc) will be around for a long time to come. I'm working on an internship for this summer with the Oregon State Lottery in Salem.