“So… did your mailers work?”

I’ve noticed a trend among the tip-top commercial photographers… minus a handful (Joey L, Nick Saglimbeni, Chase Jarvis, Zack Arias), most have a polished straight-laced persona that is unwavering no matter how big a gig they get, or what awards/feature they’re offered. Will I get jaded after I land my 50th job with Reebok or Atlantic Records? Hopefully I can tell you one day, but the answer to that will most certainly be HELL NO! Back to the question in the title, maybe this will answer the quizzing inquisitors; I’m featured in this months PDN magazine!!! (can you sense the excitement?!?) No, this doesn’t mean I instantly got 20 jobs the next day from the mailers, but YES I got a lot of replies from them, and that builds a solid bridge to future jobs.

Mini feature: Advanced Photoshop Magazine

After my first feature in Advanced Photoshop Magazine I was on cloud 9… is it possible to go any higher? Clint, welcome to cloud 9 and a half. I was asked by editor Adam Smith to submit a picture and a few words on how I use Photoshop to create effects and final edits at the end of my projects. Of course I responded right away. The top 40 tips are actually very useful to read, I highly recommend any Photoshop nerd to pick up this issue.

Blood. Sometimes it sets my teeth on edge, other times it helps me control the chaos

I’m HOOKED on watching Dexter; America’s favorite serial killer. I’ve heard from a few people I resemble him so what better costume than this!? The shirt is authentic, but the gloves, “knife”, and khakis are the best I could do on a local 1hr shopping spree. I only have Netflix, soooo don’t tell me what happens on season 5 when dressed like this. OK? Happy Halloween!

From SoCal to SoCar

After nearly 5 years living and working in Los Angeles, California, I found out my heart belongs in South Carolina. Funny how the place that you swear upon yourself that you will move away from as a child turns out to be the place that you eventually want to dig your roots deep. It was an insanely tough decision, which ultimately involved me jam packing up my little Scion xB with nearly everything I could fit in there, and drive 2,486 miles to my new destination.

Road trip mixed with Base Jumping

Last weekend I spontaneously drove across the Mojave desert with Bogart the foster dog to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Phoenix. Nothing too extraordinary. Growing up in the South where trees and grass dominate the landscape like love letters to Justin Bieber’s mailbox, it still fascinates me to drive through the desert. I usually drive at night to avoid the notorious LA traffic. But this time I drove there and back during daylight, with my camera and a 50mm lens.

Mooooooooooo cards

Introducing the cards that need little introduction. During their relatively short presence in the design industry, Moo Cards have gained massive popularity through the creative field. The idea is that instead of having 1 business card duplicated 500-1000 times like usual, Moo Cards can be up to 50 different designs within 1 order. 50!! The coating is a professional matte finish, and the card stock is thicker than the walls of the Russian US Embassy. Not to mention the price is right. Now the hard part is picking my favorite card… hmmmmmmm

Featured: Advanced Photoshop magazine

I had to pinch myself till I bled. Is Adam Smith, Senior Staff Writer for Advanced Photoshop magazine emailing me for a feature in their magazine?!? I instantly google’d his name and email address to verify if this was real, and sure enough it was! Let me try to put this in perspective… This is THE magazine I genuinely gladly pay $15 to take home and read. Oversized pages, spot-uv covers, high quality paper stock.. so nice I’ve never thrown away a single issue. Dare I say the only magazine I buy? (American publishers can learn a thing or two from Imagine Publishing.)

Aiming at the Sun: Venice Beach, CA

For Luke Munnell’s birthday we randomly took a trip to Venice Beach, CA to see all the crazies. Even though the winds were gusting up to what felt like a Cat 4 hurricane sandblasting a layer of skin off our top layer, there were TONS of people walking the strip. Drum circles, men walking in nothing but silver briefs, crack heads, men dressed up as women, women dressed up as men, and marijuana doctors filled the strip… so naturally I tended to aim more UP at the sun, birds and unpopulated beach. If you enjoy people watching, this is ground zero for you!