Winter Texture Blowout

To celebrate the fact that winter approaches (at least it's supposed to be approaching, but those of us in St. Louis might not know it), I'm giving away some of my favorite textures. These are super easy to make yourself, just a fast shutter and a flash in a snowstorm and you're in business... but what's interesting to me is to experiment with the colors and textures going on around the snow. Enjoy these in high resolution... and try to keep warm... unless you're in St. Louis, in which case you might want to keep your shorts out of storage a little bit longer.

Artfix Is Coming...

Thursday night is Artfix 2010, and since I'm excited about it, I decided to show off the piece I created for the event. It's a digital collage called Orangefield Road. The final product is a 24" x 36" canvas, so it's a pretty bold piece to say the least. People will no longer wonder where you stand on the color magenta after you hang this sucker on your wall. 

If there's a good response, I may start offering prints like this one for sale... so drop me a line and let me know how you feel about that idea if you've got nothing better to do. See you at Artfix on Thursday!

Also, don't forget about my show on Friday at the Gramophone.

Artfix 2010

Let me tell you about a great event that I'm participating in: Artfix. It's a great cause... but I'll let them explain:

WHAT: 4th Annual ArtFix Art Auction & Party 50+ gifts, 23 artists, 11 restaurants, live music and one great benefit party! Music by the Matt Rowland Band

WHEN: Thursday Night, November 04, 2010 | Cocktail Hour 6pm – 7pm | Food Begins 7pm – 10pm | RSVP at Facebook

WHERE: Dave Mungenast Lexus, 13700 Manchester Road, Ballwin, MO. Map it/Get Directions.‎

HOW: Tickets for this event are now available online! Click HERE to get yours now! At the door, a $40 donation allows you to enjoy this fantastic evening with art, music, good food and friends!

WHY: To raise money for Rebuilding Together – St. Louis. All proceeds from the event and auction are put directly to use helping to bring volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and lives of low-income homeowners in Saint Louis. More About the Event.

I donated a brand new print of mine called "Orangefield Road", a digital photo collage on canvas. I will toss a sneak peak at it up here sometime before the event.

Also participating are some good friends and fellow artists of note: Katie Roberds, Michael Forbis, and Sara Keller. That's not to say that everyone involved isn't great, because they're all of an incredibly high caliber, so not only is it a good cause, but it's a great showcase of some of the stellar talents that St. Louis has to offer.

Hi-Res Book Texture Stuff

I love textures... I can admit that. These, however, are a little off the beaten path. They're pages from some old books, and I think they're super cool. Not everyone will have a ton of uses for these, but I'm always finding excuses to toss them into a project somewhere. If nothing else, they're fun to look at... but if you are interested in using them, have at it.

Random Photos

I had two photos come up in conversations today, so I decided to post them.

First is a shot from the Las Vegas airport. I had flown in for a shoot and was waiting to meet up with some people flying in from LA, and surprise, their flights were late.

I had all this fun equipment with me though, so I pulled out my camera and started shooting. Part of me was a little worried that security was going to jump me at some point since I had these flight cases full of camera equipment that I was pulling stuff out of... but nothing happened. Would have made this a better story if it had though. Regardless, it was a cool experience, and a good reminder that it's always a great time to take pictures. Shots like this just reinforce the need I feel to take my camera with me EVERYWHERE. It's an obsession.

The upside is that I got this photo, which I really dig. I have no idea who that guy is, but he was about the only other person in the terminal at this hour. It was kinda early. In retrospect, I should have taken a nap or something, but that thought didn't really enter my mind until 6am the next morning when I was still awake, shooting the Las Vegas sunrise and only just starting to think about passing out.

The other picture from my library is a really simple shot of someone's garbage. I was home visiting the parents and taking a great small-town walk with my camera when I stumbled upon this pile of junk next to the street. There were rusty old metal toys, a lawn mower and several bikes mixed in there... and although I snapped numerous shots, this one has always done something for me. I can't pinpoint what it is, but I love it.

Maybe this just sums up the great vibe of going on a "photo walk"... something I recommend anyone with a camera try sometime. Myself and a friend grabbed our cameras and wandered without true purpose for around 3 hours, and aside from being a great way to unwind, we got some really cool photos for our personal libraries.

Since I'm a designer, I'm always thinking about stock photography when I'm snapping shots... not really selling it on iStockphoto or anything like that, but just building my own unique library. It allows me to offer clients artistic, original photos that they wouldn't get anywhere else... not to mention that I just find it to be a great hobby.