up dating

I am realizing that I enjoy shooting video and photos more than sitting behind a computer. The world and smiling faces are much more inspiring than the wall behind my computer.
Shooting with a Canon 5D has allowed me to capture photos and video in ways I haven’t done before.

Recently I have been helping sellers out by listing their items in various places online. I can take pictures to aid the sale too.

This VW Bug is sooo much fun!

My Nikon is up for sale too. It was my first DSLR and was a great introduction to novice digital photography.

Backed by popular demand I am selling a limited supply of sweatshirts designed by myself. The line is called +1 because the design consists of a basic plain high quality sweatshirt mated with an army surplus patch of your choice.

One evening, while chillin in Ketchum I herd a saxophone. I looked out the window then realized that the kid jammin was an acquaintance from high school. I had to grab a photo.

Now for my terrible job. HA not! Boy o boy am I learning a lot about video producing. Ill spare you the details but will hit on one fact. I created this video using NTSC settings in Final Cut Pro. NTSC is old technology that is commonly used for CRT (cathode ray tube) televisions. Since this video is intended for the internet and LCD monitors the correct setting would have been H.264. After I exported this video I instantly noticed the low quality which was upsetting because this footage was shot in high definition. ye gotta learn somehow.

Elia + James from Hillary Maybery on Vimeo.

I want to clarify some details regarding what I do at the moment. That video ^ was composed/edited by me along with the captured video. Of course Hillary took the incredible stills. This video was different from the other videos that we create because my mom aka our editor assembles my video and Hillary’s stills to create the wedding videos. We are a fun team and we will be progressing with every event. Stay tuned!

NONE of this would be happening without the best – Hillary Maybery

Oh and Elia’s & Jame’s wedding was off the hook! This 12 piece band from Sacramento, CA played errr thang from Al Green to Black Eyed Peas.

Last Saturday we were shootinng a wedding at the Stoecklein ranch in Macky, Idaho. I took some time to myself due to a unfortunate headache and in a way cured it with this amazing sunset. Click the shot for the set.

I do what I want and nothing less.

I left this blog the day before some good friends and I went to a music festival on the Colombia River in Washington. I earned a nice sunburn and was inspired by not only the great music & performances but the entire production. You can read more about my experience at Sasquatch Music Festival at my music blog.

When I arrived home Burnsie needed some visual communication for a weekend sale. I made this.

Then I was invited to a BBQ with my old Video Productions crew from High School. It was really nice.

I downloaded a trial of Lightroom to investigate what all the fuss is about. Click the shot to view the set.

One hot afternoon three friends and I hiked a few thousand feet in search of Pioneer Cabbin. It was swell.

Recently, I started shooting video with my new friend Hillary Mayberry. She shoots high end weddings and baby portraits. My job is to put her subjects in to motion. It is one hell of a challenge but hey, I am having fun and learning so much! It would be stupid to attempt an explanation of the situation through words so Ill frequently post my thoughts and shots to let the story unfold. I suggest you keep tuning in to my flickr and Hillary’s blog to view our work. Oh yea, my mom does most of the editing. Its a family affair! Life is great!

Oh did I mention she spoiles the shit out of me! On fathers day I used her equiptment to document my Dad’s rat rod. oh and…..yea she shoots with Canon, I only own Nikons. On the bright side, I know how to work both brands……

Click for set of photos

Click here for video

All summer long I have been rejecting my parents statements like, “go apply for a job at this bike shop or this restaurant.” because I knew an experience like this would fall in to place. And a month out of school it FINALLY has!!!! So stoked! Ill be stepping up the posing.

Spring in Sun Valley, ID

I am back in Sun Valley enjoying my free time.
Here is what I have been up too.

Visting with best friends.

Hiking five days a week.

Detailing and driving my car. It is for sale by the way.

Creating :
3D paper shapes.

A self portrait.

A commissioned t-shrit design for Ketchum on the Fly

It is that time of year where my long boarding bros and I remodel our setups. Mine is still in progress but Ill give you a sneak peak.

I read a Graphic Design Manual by Armin Hoffman.

which inspired this exploration of lines in motion.

a black flag logo made out of electrical tape on a friends refrigerator.

observing natural color combinations.

Mowing lawns

One night I made my first attempt at a panorama with my iphone while on top of Carbonate over Hailey, looking over the Wood River Valley, I mean home.

Mark and I have known each other since we were two. We grew up shredding bikes, annoying teachers, laughing way to hard at stupid shit, going on adventures and skiing. Its nice to be reunited with a bestbro.

My grades arrived.

During high school my GPA was around a 2.8. Now in college, I have a 3.8.

Ok, time to go to Sasquatch Music Festival.

Where do I begin?

The past three weeks at school have been jam packed with creativity and exciting events. After dodging deer on the drive home last night, I am back in Sun Valley and have some free time to present my work on the web. We are going back three weeks to the time of Cornish’s 1-2-3 student design show where my book cover was selected.

I was honored and thankful that to have a piece selected for the show since most people didn’t. However I was a little upset that my book cover was selected out of the three other 3D pieces I submitted. I was told that my 3D pieces were high on the food chain but my finishing craftsmanship was the only thing holding them back. It is good to know what I need to work on regarding future projects.

For my InDesign class I presented my CD packaging on Tuesday May, 4th. Click the photo for detailed info and photos. It was the most fun project of the semester and it helped remind me why I am a Designer.

I also submitted my music video for color theory. Flickr cuts if off half way through but you get the idea.

I am waiting for my instructors to grade my drawing portfolio and cocoon project. Those will then be shipped to me and I will present them here. In the mean time it is time to reflect on what I have learned over the past seven months, take lots of photos, relax with family, and live the good life with my best friends in my home town.

Cant stop wont Stop

I have slept a good 8 out of the past 50 hours. There have been way too many fun projects to complete and creative events to attend. I finalized a very time consuming 3D project, viewed a presentation by a leading poster artist, and grooved to my favorite band 300 miles away. All of which have been done in the past three days. Genuinely living life to its fullest!
Lets start with the 3D Project for Design Fundamentals.
Mass & Void;
Using a 5″ x 5″ x 5″ volume, design and form one casting for each of the following amounts of void space: 25%, 50%, & 75%. Create, convey and discuss a conceptual link between all three of the castings.
The class was introduced to the project three weeks ago to this date. I started by drawing out some ideas on my favored graph paper. That week I developed the drawings more. That weekend, during my journeys around the city, I started noticing Mass & Void everywhere especially in architecture. I had volunteered to be the first one to pour plaster in to a mold on Tuesday.

The mold went well and over that week I went through 4 other molds and variations.
Here are the only two old molds worth posting.

On Sunday evening, while browsing through an incredible, strictly design, book store, I came across a picture of wood cube letters. These cubes sparked a whole new idea. Because I needed to make three cubes I decided to take advantage of my three letter name. On Sunday, at four in the evening with a deadline of Tuesday morning approaching, designing, constructing, and pouring three fresh molds was an intimidating challenge. The easy route would have been to create a letter form and apply a drop shadow. But if I were to preform new molds, there would be no point unless they completely showed up the original three which had already been finished. I pushed myself to dig deeper in the three dimensional world and applied each letter forms to four sides instead of two. I started constructing around five. This photo was taken at midnight.

Even though life is moving at a million miles an hour, I will take a few minutes to enjoy moments like this.

I went to sleep at 2 then woke up at 7 and headed to school with nothing else on my mind but completing the project by five o’clock. Even though I didn’t submit the prior molds for as a final piece, they play a role in a since that they were exercises in the plaster medium. At ten I poured the new molds. While waiting for them to set up I watched a presentation by Yossi Lemel thanks to Cornish and AIGA. Yossi proves that graphic design can be created with out Adobe tricks yet visually communicate ideas. After the presentation I ripped apart my molds revealing the forms. I was satisfied regarding the results but spent an hour finishing with sand paper and saws. I needed to leave Seattle for Portland at five o’clock. So I stopped sanding and directed my attention towards the hand drawn presentation board. Yes I am enjoying grid paper.
Click the photo to view more.

At five o’clock I headed to see Yeasayer in Portland. Pre show, they were one of my top ten favorite bands. Now that I have seen them, there are top three. Live show featured every song I wanted to hear yet each one was tweaked a little different from the album. I cant sum the show up, go out and see them, or view this video.

Special Shout to Nina for being a lovely companion.

Remember that Merit Scholarship portfolio I submitted a few weeks ago? Well I forgot about it until there I found a $2,000 award letter in my box!

Two weeks left of school. Four LARGE assignments due. Two of which are music videos. So very excited. I wonder If Ill ever sleep? Stay tuned!

Hard Drive Dived

My hard drive died last wednesday resulting in my Cornish files, personal documents, font library, and programs at a loss. I know, stupid me for not backing up but, I am happy this lesson is being learned right now. Thankfully, work at school is slower than pre-spring break or what I imagine Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year to be. I am also thankful for this website, where I document all major projects. Here are the two last things I made with my mac book pro.

contemporary hipster cat collage

Police CD cover.

Since my digital work is on the back burner I picked up a pad of grid paper and cant stop.

where as the previous pages are doodles, these squares will be taking a plaster form.

like this test.

Much more to come. Everything I am creating is in progress.

P.S. did you hear Apple is rumored to release a new Mac Book Pro Model on Tuesday? My Mac B Pro is back in commission now but, you bet Ill be upgrading.

Design Direction s

Recently the question, “what area of design are you interested in?” has been directed towards me.

Well I enjoy working in 3D and 2D and am passionate about bridging the automotive industry and arts in combination.

watch this video

Registration for fall semester has begun. As a Design student at Cornish College of Art, I am allowed to chose a focus in Interior Design, Motion Design, or Visual Communications. I chose Visual Communications because of its broad range of applications. I am very interested in product design at the moment and plan on exploring the area more. Maybe an independent study my junior year?
I was looking at a brand that produces some of my most respected designs. Nixon
While browsing the site I came across the “work here” page. They are searching for a product designer. Hopefully something this exciting will be offered when I graduate in three years.

Here are some sites that I check for inspiration.

gestalten

notcot

blue vertical studio

underconsideration

core 77

the fwa

kinetic typography

Automotive

Stance Works

hella flush

bring a trailer

Audizine’s fresh pic thread, where I post awesome cars, as UnkleGatsby, ever day.

i might make a page dedicated to links of my interest.

enjoy the day!

feeling creative

Today was marvelous and problem free. I learned quite a bit about InDesign and Photoshop this afternoon. Progress was made reguarding my CD packaging.
Last weeks version
meh…

One version of todays creations. There are 5 other color variations. Its still a work in progress and I obviously switched music artists.
gettin better.

If tomorrows clouds are as fluffy as todays, Ill document them better than I did below. Though I did happen to capture the sunset.
Click the photo for the set

I also shot a roll of film today. I plan on taking advantage of the dark room to develop and manipulate soon.

post spring break

I havent posted in two in a half weeks and Ill start where I left off.
St. Pattys day was too much fun, and I hope you can say the same.
I spent the day skiing, and drinking…soda…with old smiling, familiar, faces. Gosh it was a good time. Work Hard Play Hard! That day was the hight of my sun-burnt goggle tan which is slowly and sadly disappearing. During the 10 days I was in Sun Valley, I skied ever single one. Thanks to a 6 day pass (that mom gifted me on Thanksgiving break) which never seemed to stop scanning. Thanks Maa, and Sun Valley! So I skied 29 days this season compared to the 86 last year. Ide say thats pretty dang good considering the fact that I live 700 miles away. The conditions were great. Every day I would sit down and attempt to do homework at my Moms office and ask myself, “how can I do any type of work in this town with Mt. Baldy starring at me?” However, I did manage to take some photos, digital and film!
Mark and I had to pick up his pass at River Run before heading to the locals side (Warm Springs) for yall tourists, and the digi Nikon happened to be in my hand. A few days later herd this terribly awesome song and had to exploit it. Thanks Gus and Luke.

I put my inherited 35mm Nikon FG to use for the first time near the end of break. Lots of fun, hard, challenging, and oh…..um expensive. I found myself looking for the back LCD replay screen….haha
anyways click the photo for more

On Sunday night (my flight to seattle was at noon on Monday) I decided to get working on my Merit Scholarship application for Cornish. My mom criticized me for not working earlier in the week, but I learned that I create well under pressure. I laid these out in InDesign which took me about 2 hours Sunday night. Monday morning, my mom and I spent 3 hours printing and applying the layouts to black foam core. We added a feminine / manly black ribbon as a binder. I am satisfied with the portfolio considering it is the FIRST tangible one I have presented. All of my past ones have been online.

When I stepped off the airplane at SEA-TAC airport, on sunny Monday, I felt at home. Which is strange because, nothing has felt that way other than Sun Valley. Now both of them feel like home. I realized my deep love and respect for the North West. This area will always be HOME.
The first week after spring break was pretty easy and lazy. The Design department kindly respected the fact that us students are getting back in our routine. I spent some time catching up with music and researching CD packaging for a current project. I recently updated The Divvy, a shared music blog that I post to. I re-designed the header as a birthday present for my co poster and future wife Bethany. haha
do visit the site by clicking HERE

Besidse keeping up with school work, I am trying to figure out my summer plans. Two months from now I will be at Sasquatch Music Festival but other than that I have no plans. I am striving to have some sort of professional experience weathar it be an internship or job. I am speaking with my very helpful teachers about possible options, and will keep yall informed. I also need some sort of transportation. Do want an E30.
If I live in Seattle this summer I must have something fresh to roll around to car events. As always I want to be more involved in the auto scene. Well see if my Audi sells….. For now, I am walking, or taking the bus?

SpringBreak.5

Despite skiing every day all day,

and driving up and down the valley visiting friends,

I have still managed to make some internship progress. This summer I would much rather be an intern at a cool company like Smith Optics, or Scott USA than work at a car dealership like I have for the past three years. I had no knowledge of how to approach a business reguarding an internship position so I asked my awesome teacher Rob who went in to detail about a cover letter and resume. Thanks! Last week I completed my cover page and resume then paid $18 to have it shipped via Fed Ex to Smith. Yes thats right, Smith, not Scott. At that time I had no references with Scott however I did with Smith. Moving on to Saturday, I was talking with my good buddy Nick about my aspirations. He told me his family is friends with a powerful man at Scott. Nick kindly helped me out and sent him an email letting him know that Max Monahan will be contacting you. On Monday I called Smith asking for the the CEO ( I had written my $18 letter to him) only to learn that he was on vacation. I left him a message…. Plan B. I emailed the Scott contact Nick had given me. In my message I mentioned that I will be stopping by Scott with my cover letter and resume no later than noon. Because the info had not been printed, I took the digital files to Business As Usual where my cousin Keeley works. She suggested I print using some quality paper and I think that was a great suggestion. Thanks Keeley! I then drove to Scott and realized that their building is located right across the street from Smith. HA! I walked in the front door and asked for my contact. I met with the CEO of Scott USA about interning there this summer. I told Dave that I enjoy school and don’t want the learning to end this summer. He said that Scott has never done an Internship but he might be able to find me a position with compensation. I told him that I have no problem with compensation and that a professional job experience with Scott means more. He told me to give him two to three weeks for an answer. As I left my cover letter and resume behind he told me to go skiing! Wait a minute, he is a boss? I hope you are reading this Dave and understand how much I want to continue learning, especially in a professional setting where innovative hip products are being designed. Looking back it is interesting how things work out. What you least expect might happen and how you deal with it will make or break the situation. Just because one situation is looking positive, what I least expect, might happen tomorrow. So I will pursue an internship at Smith. And then I am off to Twin Falls to race go karts with some old friends.
Have a safe St. Pattys Day!