In a recent TED lecture, David Griffen, the director of photography at National Geographic Magazine, talks about how photographs can help connect us to the rest of the world. Using a few examples from the magazine, he discusses how meaningful stories can be created through the use of photography. The example images he shows are simply stunning and I think he hits on some concepts that make his magazine stand out from all of the rest.

I always find it exciting to stumble upon signs of the past when driving through some of the small midwestern towns. Some might see them as an eyesore, but I think it’s a nice reminder of a time when businesses had a real feel of individuality. Plus, the type is always so cool! And, believe me, I’m not the only one who feels this way . . .

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I just got back from a relaxing weekend out in western Kansas which was a nice escape from the hustle of everyday life here in Lawrence. The weather was perfect and I spent one morning canoeing out on Wilson Lake which was a lot of fun. I also (over)ate a ton of home-cooked food. However, one of the most unique things I came across was a beautiful sunflower field, so out came the camera!
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Well, it’s finally full-blown summer here in Kansas! It’s hot and humid and there’s very little escaping it. It’s been hard to keep my basil growing in my backyard, but it seems to be making it so far. This is good because I used it tonight in my all time favorite recipe! Sooooo good! That one’s for you, Jenny!

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Things have been busy around the ol’ studio lately. I’ll have some neat design work to post soon, but it’s not quite ready yet . . .

So, in the mean time, I was cleaning up my office a bit and I came across a camera that I’ve been using off and on for a while. There was half a roll of film in it (your guess is as good as mine as to what’s on the first half!) so I took it out to do some shooting this weekend. I’ll try and have some photos developed to post soon.

The camera is a Yashica Electro 35 rangefinder which is from the early 1970’s and is considered by some to be a “poor man’s Leica“. It has a beautiful lens which stops down to 1.7 so it’s a great camera for low light and for street photography. Since it’s a rangefinder, there is no mirror that flops up when you press the button, so there’s a barely audible click when the shutter opens which makes it nice for candid photos.
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My apologies for the lack of posting lately! It’s been busy, busy around the studio and I’ve been working on lots of interesting projects. I should have some more things to post soon!

I did take a little time out to spend some time with my new camera and I’ve been loving it! It’s been good for me to get back to shooting on film and I find that I make much different choices on how and what I shoot when it’s a dollar per click! It’s great to have such rich depth of field and, although the Polaroid film almost has a mind of it’s own, the photos have a great quality to them. The colors are really dependent on temperature, light, etc. and so I can try my best to get it “right”, but it’s still a mystery to me what I’m going to end up with. Below are a few of the early test shots I took and I hope to have some more up soon!

I also wanted to point out a couple of wonderful articles, one is called Gone in Sixty Seconds and gives a very interesting history of Polaroid. The other is called The Branding of Polaroid, 1957 - 1977 and it’s great reading as well.

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Last weekend, I was asked to help shoot photos of some family members. It was a lot of fun and I was excited to be able to shoot in all natural light with just one lens. Those facial expressions are priceless!

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Last week, I was working out in Oakland, CA and, outside of a couple of trips to Seattle when I was younger, it was my first time to the west coast. The majority of my time was spent on an island city called Alameda which is right next to Oakland and across the bay from San Francisco. The weather was absolutely perfect while I was there and I met some amazing people during my trip.

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