These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Do you have favorite sounds? Does that sound like a strange question? Maybe...But just as much as photographs bring back memories and inspire you, I think sounds can too. These are a few of my favorites.

There was somebody outside my apartment on a snowmobile tonight.
It definitely made it feel like winter.

Can't wait to hear this sound again. 

Click. Click. Click.

source

The wonderful sound of summer.

What I'm Listening To: Ingrid Michaelson

Do your musical tastebuds flip-flop around as much as mine do? On a daily basis I'll go from Doomtree and Atmosphere over to Jack Johnson and Ingrid Michaelson and do a 180 onto Metric and Minus the Bear. Maybe a tune of the country variety will sneak in here or there. I can cover the whole musical spectrum in an eight hour work day no problem.

If you happen to walk by my office, you'll probably notice me bouncing along to the beat. But since my back is to the door and you can't tell my headphones are in, I probably just look like I'm crazy...

Cannot Wait...

Cannot wait to spend summer weekends with the best thing ever -- baseball. While in downtown MPLS this past weekend, I walked by Target Field and it made me really excited for the season to start.

Behind the Lens: MPLS Love

 

The more time I spend in this city, the more I fall in love with it. I had pigeons notice I was photographing them and flew up to the fence in front of me. They sat there and watched me. Then to my delight, I randomly came across two local design firms, CSA and Carmichael Lynch.  

There isn't a better way to spend an afternoon than walking around with a camera. 

"When people look at my photos, I want them to wonder,
'How did she think to capture that?'"

Roald Dahl Stamps

How wonderful are these? Royal Mail released these great illustrations by Quentin Blake as stamps.

Did you read Roald Dahl's books as a kid? The Witches was probably one of my favorites. I would love to have the large versions to put up on my wall.

Discovered at DesignWorkLife, originally posted at Design Taxi

Creative Jammin'

 

Back in college, Marlon and I used to get together and do what we called Creative Jams. A Creative Jam usually involved coffee at Dunn Brothers or burritos at Qdoba and some form of traditional art. It's nice to give the brain a break from the computer once and awhile and focus on other forms of creativeness. 

So on Sunday I spent 4 hours at Dunn Brothers working on an outline for a class I'm teaching next week and brushing up on my drawing skills. I should make this a habit...

Behind the Lens: Hike Hutchinson

Saturday I went on a nice 6 mile hike around Hutchinson with my camera. The weather this weekend was gorgeous. I saw a few people out in shorts and t-shirts. Only in Minnesota...

The Skate or Die photos from Crave Photography inspired me to do some black and white photography. Its nice to take away the distraction of colors once in awhile and focus purely on the composition and content.

Skate or Die by Crave Photography

 

How absolutely fantastic are these photos by Crave Photography?! I discovered them on Pinterest. A great way to end Skate Week on the blog.

The minute I saw them I thought of Marlon and Nick if they were friends at 10 years old.

Dying to do a fun, slightly edgy black and white portrait session now.

Love What You Do: Mike Blabac

I think it's Skate Week here at Inspire Me. I revisited some of the "Shoot All Skaters" video series on The Berrics tonight and definitely got inspired by Mike Blabac and Chase Gabor's interviews.


Blabac talks about how he would sit and study his photos after he got them developed to figure out how to achieve the look he wanted. And then once digital photography came around how he felt it was cheating because those techniques became a lot easier. The challenge was taken away. But he chose to use it as a strength instead and push a bit further.

Something in his interview that particularly struck me was when Blabac reflected on some of the great photos he's taken. He said,

"It's just those rad moments that you don't always get to capture that if not significant now, 10 years from now when you get to look back on them, or 20, that you're just like, 'Oh my god, that's such a sick image.'"

You can watch his interview here. And while you're at it, check out Chase Gabor's interview too. 

Photographs by Mike Blabac. I wish mine where that good. One day.

Magic Flashlights & Gnarcade

Hanging out with Marlon and Nick got me all too excited for the opportunities ahead to do some skateboard photography again. Whenever the two of them get together the conversation is filled with snowboard and skateboarding craziness. In college, they introduced me to various skate and snowboard videos. So on Sunday when I got back had some of the KnifeShow videos playing as I did some much needed cleaning.

KnifeShow was a little getaway when we needed a break in class. They always have some great visual effects in their videos too. It makes me wish I had the time to learn AfterEffects.

Some of my favorite photography is shooting sports like skateboarding and snowboarding. You have to be pretty quick to capture just the right moment, the right part of the trick. I think that's why I like it so much. It's a good challenge, but when you get the shot, it's awesome.

P.S. I may be looking to upgrade my camera in the near-ish future. If you are interested in potentially purchasing, please keep an eye out. It's a good starter camera for anybody thinking about doing photography.

Sometimes the Brain Needs a Break...

Yesterday I got together with a group of college friends. A couple of them I hadn't seen in probably a year. It was great to hang out with them again. It was just the spontaneous weekend my brain needed to re-energize, refresh, and re-focus.

 

My friend Nick took me to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis yesterday. Even though I'm from MN, I hadn't ever been there before. It was great to get outside (even though it was quite chilly), take a look at some local art, and snap a couple of photos. I can't wait to go back in the spring/summer when I won't freeze.

This morning before I headed back to Hutch, Marlon and I were talking about design, life, and our enthusiasm for our careers and the future. He made a comment about how we both have made it a habit to surround ourselves with extremely passionate people. And it's true, all of our good friends are people who are enthusiastic about something and aren't content with just settling. They are people who keep challenging us to be better and help remind us of our passions when we are having a rough time.

I reflected a bit on that during my drive back to Hutch and realized how true that was. Most importantly, I realize how important these people are to my life.

This weekend really reminded myself that I need to get out and give my creative batteries a good recharging on a regular basis. It's easy to turn on autopilot and just cruise along.