Design
A few weeks before Covid-19 closed down the world in the spring of 2020 I got together with singer/songwriter Liz Simmons to make photographs for her first solo album in 15 years: POETS
An in-depth blog post covering the process from shooting to album design after the cut.
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I recently nabbed my Force FX Lightsabers out of storage and brought them to the studio to house them on the wall. I've always wanted to find a simplistic mounting option that didn't look big or bulky, and after doing a little internet searching, I found out that Force FX Lightsaber handles fit perfectly in these mounting brackets made for Maglite flashlights.
They just screw right into the wall and after popping the handles in them, you can hardly see them, and it looks like the lightsabers are floating off the wall a few inches. The above image was taken a few moments after getting all three installed. How awesome is that!!
If you are a nutjob like me and have to have lightsabers, these are the classiest, simplistic way of displaying them. So excellent. Click the small image above to order them through Amazon.
an homage of Donald Byrd’s “A New Perspective” cover
I love record and album design. Part of what I hope to do as a photographer is make images and help musicians design album covers for their releases. I love the square format of album covers. And nobody has made better album covers than the jazz music label Blue Note Records. There was a period in the 1950's and 1960's where Blue Note was producing what I consider the greatest album design in history. I wanted to share a little bit about it and why I love it so much.
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I’ve recently dug out my old record collection, moved it to the studio, and have been doing something I haven’t done in decades: spin records. Music moves me in a way I can’t explain. I have it playing all the time. I spent my 20’s working in record stores. I love photographing musicians that need images for things like album/cd covers and packaging. After the cut, I’m going to do a bunch of talking about my history with them, their importance to me, and why I won’t ignore my records again
Read MoreI figured that before 2017 comes to an end, I should show some examples from the work I created for this years Hippo's Best Of 2017.
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I am obsessed with things that have my name on them. Especially square things. Since making this logo I've used it as a watermark, I've used it as a leather stamp, and I use it for my business cards and as little square stickers. I plop this little square logo everywhere I can think of. For some reason it makes me smile.
A new round of business cards and stickers arrived today. I wanted to share :)
I love album art. I love the square format and I love making album covers. It started when I was a kid in high school. I had a big audio cassette collection, and I'd make mix-tapes for my friends. Not one to be satisfied with simply making a mix tape, I'd make jacket artwork for the tapes as well. I'd clip things from magazines and comic books and I'd run down to the public library and I'd shell out a few dozen dimes on their photocopier and I'd layer and copy and layer and copy things, until I'd have a multi-fold tape jacket with song tiles and odd credits and I absolutely loved every moment of it.
When I started getting more active with Photoshop and computers, I started making fake cd/record covers.
When I work with bands and musicians, I'll spend a little extra time with some of the proof images and I'll make very small cd-cover examples; things I can show the client to give them an idea of what they can actually do with the images we've created together.
I've had the pleasure of working on album covers with some local musicians and it makes my heart happy when I get the chance to do so.
For me, when I get stressed out and need to relax, I'll sit down and open up some photographs and I'll mock-up some fake album covers. It brings me great pleasure to do this.
There is an example of a recent little "Moment of Zen" when I needed to tune out the world and just relax. I grabbed a video-still from when I worked with Michael Bellar a few years ago, and I made this. I love it.
Make sure you give yourself brief little "Moments of Zen", where you can just spend a little time doing something you absolutely love for no other reason than to make yourself happy.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Tim Paul Weiner.
Tim is a bass player, employee of Berklee College of Music, and member of HOT MESS. Remember them? We also have a mutual friend, Elise MacDonald, former owner of Studio 99, who introduced us. Tim liked working with me when we created some images for Hot Mess, so he booked a solo session with me. He needed images for a revamped website. I love working with musicians, and with Tim, it was so easy since we had already worked on the Hot Mess session together.
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Sara and I were in an antique store, an I came across this little 3 1/2 x 6 inch flyer for old Kodak film. It was only $1, so I jumped all over it and I brought it home with me and scanned the front into the computer. At some point, I'll make a large print of it and hang it on my wall.
Film is not dead. Believe in film.
#BeliveInFilm
A big thanks to A Photo Editor for showing my promo kit to all his followers.
This is the kit I sent to interested companies. Cards, button, fold out poster - lots of little things that showcase my work, all wrapped up in a nice metal customized tin. Always give them something to keep. Even if it's just a card. Give them a leave-behind.
If you aren't following A Photo Editor, it is an invaluable resource for photographers. Bookmark the site. Visit often.
