I just find it hilarious when I glance at this. So had to post it. Me and my mustache, a little self portrait with the remainding shot of expired Kodak Portra 400 on my Mamiya Universal right before I sold the massive camera. The mustache is also gone.

Polaroid Time-Zero Expired 2003 through Polaroid SX-70

Initial concept photography for the Denver band Ambient You. Did some general photography for these guys a while back so they could start out with some small promotional items and post up some images on Myspace. You can check out a few images here.

I’m really diggin this whole deal… First of four composites. The other 3 band members will be in other scenes…. possibly — a junk yard, the ocean, empty room …. not sure yet, still playing with it. I’ll be having these printed off with high quality archival stock and inks. For the most part this is a little teaser post just to see what you all think about the direction. What do you get from this image? Feel anything? like the vibe?

Not gonna lie about my inspirations… just watched my childhood favorites  A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and of course Return of the Jedi.

Polaroid Time-Zero expired 2003 through a Polaroid SX-70

It’s definitely official. I loved shooting this wedding.  I must thank Erik and Brianne for being freakin amazing! From the minute the day started to the last few people left dancing and drinking at the reception (at the killer Rembrandt Yard). And a HUGE thanks to Shannon for assisting, couldn’t have done it without you! We also set up the FOTOLOUNGE… find some of those shots HERE.

So here are some legit photos I want you to check out. Let me know what you think! Its a big post with like a million photos. not really that big though.

THE BOYS

THE GIRLS

THE BIG THING

TO THE PARTY

Olive – 3 years old

Boston – 2 years old

Sailor – about to be born. I’m talking like any day now!

When me and Tess got married we decided that once we got pregnant the first time… we would do our best to go for a couple more. Thats exactly what happend! We’re super excited to say the least. Of course we get the big nervous grins from friends and family… the look that says “Whoa, you guys are CRAZY!”

We’re blessed. Kids are amazing. They see the world so different then we adults do. I’ve been learning from that.  My kids have re-ignited my imagination. Somewhere along the way my childhood imagination turned into fear based worry about the future. Does that make sense? You too? Adults can so easily worry about the future (our imagination) Now I’m back to creating worlds and living in wonder. Its awesome, probably my favorite thing so far about having kiddos. Well, and the moments when a fragile little soul looks into my eyes and in a quite moment tells me they love me. Dude. Words can’t descibe it.

Here are some shots from last weekend. Taken with my Polaroid 250 and some expired Polaroid 669 film.

The Fresh Start Haircut. Do you ever pull stuff like that? Its always been my go to dealio when I’m just floating aimlessly and get somewhat depressed. Being an artist I feel like my emotions are all over the place. It could take just a second to have my confidence and drive just smashed on the sidewalk but then again a second later I’m soaring. Usually when I’m down I feel like if I change something about myself that I can see then somehow I end up feeling refreshed and ready to go. weird.

This is my latest. Just took it all off. First time since high school… Im talking like 12 years. It shocked a lot of people cause I’ve always seemed to been know for my hair style and now its all gone. Not sure what I’m gonna do the next time I need some change. I can’t change my hair. hmm.

Do you have some similar patterns? Or am I on my own boat with this one?

What!? I’m so stoked right now to actually be posting. It has been a while. I’ve had a few things keeping me from this outlet and responsibility. I’ve been slowly (as fast as I can) going through wedding photos in all my spare time along with getting our lives ready for a little baby (anytime now). Another thing I’ve been up to since Im at it with an update is revamping this blog to be more photographically friendly. In the next month I’ll be launching the new style. Should be super.

No. But this MacBook case is seriously freakin amazing. Hand made from scrap leather. Nicely treated for durability and put together with some style for sure. Obviously one of a kind. The insides are of nice wool to protect your MacBooks finish and keep it comfy. You can get some added pockets on the outside, which is what I did. I’ve got a sleeve that holds my Wacom Tablet along with a pocket for pens, a small notebook, etc.

Scott over at FULLGIVE will hook you up with the sickest case you can get for your Macbook. Check him out if you get a chance. The price on these things are worth it. Your housing some expensive equipment. He’s also got cases for iPhones, iPads, leather belts…

Pictured above is the Polaroid Automatic 100. I bought this camera about 6 years ago at a thrift shop because I thought it looked awesome… it then sat on my desk for about 4 years until I happend upon the notion to find film for it. And I did. Ever since then my refridgerator has been full of Polaroid Film.

So, this is just a short little somewhat informative post. I’d say you should pick up one of these cameras and some film and try it out. Its fun, no joke. The Auto 100 is a good camera, super easy to use, just set the film speed, focus and press the red button. If you want something with manual control then go with an Polaroid 195. Sick camera! Its on my list for sure.

The greatest part is that with some expired film… you’re gonna get some automatic nostalgia. Thats worth it alone. You don’t have to be some pro photographer, you probably take pics with a nice compact little digital camera or with your phone, eh? Why not just snag a camera thats 50 years old along with some film thats 10 years old and make some magic.

Here are some shots for your eyes.

Polaroid Auto 100 with Fuji FP-100c film. This film will give you some vivid color and sharp image as long as your lens is sharp.

Polaroid Auto 250 with Polaroid 690 film

Polaroid Auto 250 with Polaroid ID-UV film

Here is a little design work I did for Vinelife Church in Boulder, Colorado. This is a 6×9 flyer which will be sent out by mail and handed out at other events around the country for the next few months. The art and design for the whole conference is a collaborative effort including Luke Humbrecht and Chase Beck. Between the 3 of us we’ll be putting together some killer stuff throughout the summer and fall for this thing.

The conference itself is going to be an amazing time. It’ll be a full weekend of teaching, equipping and mad creativity oozing everywhere. It’s gonna be all about the arts…..arts…..arts.

Guys and girls. I periodically, uh, too often find myself on Etsy finding cool things to wear. Rarely buy the cool things, but non the less find the cool things. So, here are a few cool things I think are pretty great right now. Fashion is fun and quite vibe-y.

Ray Ban Clubmaster’s @ DecadesBaltimore’s shop.

So classic. So classy.

Adventures of Wolverine Macalistaire @ CairoVintage’s store

(such a weird shirt but I had to keep going back over and over. it was calling to me.)

Vintage Short Pants @ RiffRaffReview’s Shop

Short pants on the shorter side. That’s what this summer likes.

Ah. These shoes. @ Bigbrothervintage’s shop

Wouldn’t be my first choice for summer shoe. Ah. But, look at these shoes.

What do you guys think about these picks? Girls, how about you? Like this stuff?

Finding unique items whether it be searching the square footage of local thrift shops or scouring the internet is for me… fun.

If you like these kinds of posts and want to share it. There’s some buttons below that will help you do that:)

A little time-lapse action of a mixed media/image transfer painting for you to enjoy. Super easy to do and at least for me, its a very free form of visual art. Me. I am not even slightly patient, its definitely something that I constantly work on but it has kept me far from using paint in general as a medium. I don’t ever want to wait for the layers to dry and I’ve always been a perfectionist and have had a hard time learning the art of acrylic or oil, because of the waiting process, ha! soooo…. with this type of stuff I feel like its okay to just let the magic happen. I don’t get too worried about being sloppy, its actually almost part of it. With this video I ended up running out of tape before I finished the painting. What you don’t see is the last layers of paint and stenciling of the letters. Anyways…. Here is my general process:

1. Pick out some images

2. Hit up KULER and find the color palette that catches your eye.

3. Put a composition together in Photoshop using images, colors, whatever else you want in there. This gives you a good idea on how to go about layering and general direction.

4. Throw down some background paint or design and realize that this will all show through and be the background of the images transfered.

5. Print out whatever images you want to be a transfer. I just print off using a color lazer printer on standard paper. Apply acrylic medium to the face of the image (which is mirrored!) Place and let dry a good 24 hours. Then when its dry I use a sponge to get the paper all soaked up and slowly rub away the paper and you’ll see the image has transferred. Be careful not to wipe away the image though, take your time with this.

6. Finish off with more paint to blend everything. Easy.

Really these are loose steps. Do whatever you want, everytime I put one together I tend to go about it differently when it comes to the details. Just let it flow and realize you can paint over things you don’t like.

I’ll put in anywhere from 10-30 minutes at a time then let dry overnight and come back to it the next day. Nice and quick and gives you some time to develop other ideas to impliment. Boom.

Post some links to your art! I’d love to check it out and so would everyone else who jumps on this site!

(Music by Shipwrek Check out his music! )

Mixed Media / Image Transfer from Jarrod Renaud on Vimeo.

I read this book a little while back and am going through it a second time. This time around I’m going to be posting some excerpts and thoughts as I go. 1. Ignore everybody.

The more original your idea is, the less good advice other people will be able to give you. When I first started with the cartoon-on-back-of-bizcard format, people thought I was nuts. Why wasn’t I trying to do something more easy for markets to digest i.e. cutey-pie greeting cards or whatever?

So true but often very overwhelming and very counter to how we’ve been conditioned. As artists we get ideas all the time and I’m not sure about you but I think most of us let the majority of those ideas slip by. We can easily convince ourselves that the idea isn’t really as grand as we first thought (when the rush of emotion is tied to it). Our brains start to resist by throwing in a dash of doubt and the reality that solid ideas require lots of work and follow through. Somebody else can do it better or already has, right? I’ve seen this pattern play out in my life over and over. I believe the first step in over coming this is to acknowledge this resistence.

Nobody knows for sure whether an original idea is going to be good, or even great. But the fact that it came to you one night at 3am or during a quick daydream during an important office meeting means something and I think you should go with that gut instinct.

This chapter  touches on the fact that original ideas that start to take root and grow will also begin to change you. This makes sense for sure. You have a great idea that you believe in and you start putting things together with the crayons, glue, and paper and get all excited about it. You’re glowing from the inside out and some people might not like that, they might be put off because of the natural cynicism this world imbeds in us. They’ll compare themselves to you and may start to feel inadequate because more of your attention is on this ‘idea’ and why don’t they have an ‘idea.’ etc. They’ll shoot those little doubting phrases at you about how its not practical or even just give you the little “Hmm, yeah, I like it,” and then change the subject while you over analize the glint in his eye and tone of his inauthentic, artist destroying voice. You can see how some little feelings and observations can snowball into massive self doubt which can snuff out the flame.

Bottom line is. When you have an idea that is your own. Don’t compare it to anything else out there. Don’t you dare care about how it measures up to someone elses idea. Put in the work and chase the light, make it happen and realize you will face resistance along the way. The journey is never easy. Even just flying from Denver to San Diego for a beach vacation isn’t easy, you’ll be so excited about the destination that you’ll speed past the sneaky police officer who is about to write you a ticket that cost half as much as the vacation. Don’t let that stuff ruin everything. Put a smile on your face and keep driving. Right?

Let me know if these kind of posts are worth your time? If you really digg it then theres a twitter, digg, and facebook button below. peace.

Shannon! She helped me out with the wedding and I definately would have been pulling my hair out if she wasn’t there. She’s an awesome photographer who has been growing tremendously as an artist. Definatley an inspiration and got me to shy away from my analog film attitude and give digital a try. Art is art no matter the medium. Anyways… she is awesome and I hope to shoot more with her!

Here’s some fashion shots…

Right? And I don’t think its just true for artists. I think any time that anyone is walking on the path which brings them the most joy and satisfaction, the thing that burns in their heart, the thing they are truely passionate about there comes a wave of resistance and then another and then another. There is always something that just needs to come up and get in your face to distract and stress you out thus keeping you from the ‘thing.’

I find this to be true in my life. Its very dangerous, especially in this day and age when our culture has been forming our young minds into thinking that things should come easily. But its not easy, the thing that we’re, (let me say) “were made to do,”  that thing is not going to be easy and if we give up everytime we hit an obstacle then we will be tormented on the inside. This brings up another point;  our focus and measurment of ‘success,’ I believe, is skewed.  Its not the final grade that counts, its not the final product, its not the size of the bank account. Success measured in all this gold and glitter is a false end and will lead you to want more. It seems that when success is measured in a tangible outcome there will always be dissapointment.

The success is in the process.

The process is the point.

There are obstacles in the process, victories and defeat. But to learn and to grow and to push through and realize that all of this is where the magic lies. This is where we live and love… in the process.

Is this relevant? Ring true with you? Lets talk about this. I’d like to hear your thoughts –

Wow. Can’t believe the amount of work that goes into the photographing of a wedding! Seriously a lot of time and energy but thats pretty much okay because it’s been fun. Here is something I put together for Erik and Brianne before the wedding pulling inspiration from the engagement shoot we did. Its a 12×12″ mixed media painting using acrylic paint, some patterned paper, pieces of a 1979 calander and some transfered images. The image transfer is the key, its something I was introduced to in art school a million years ago but was reignited after seeing Promise Tangemen bust it out (she’s a killer artist). So here is the finished product and I’ll soon post a little stop motion of the process.

So let me know what you think! I’m learning the whole wedding scene and have some ideas floating around on how to let my creativeness drive the final product for these couples. I really want to bring something special to the couple other than some rad photos, you know?  If you’re in the same boat post up some links to your stuff in the comment section! Peace. By the way, thanks for checking out the blog!