» Minor Changes

A while back I had promised myself in not making any radical aesthetic changes to this site. The purpose was to give myself the opportunity to allow readers to establishing a mental image of what this online space looks like even if they skim through it via any RSS feeder.

Judging by the recent changes to the site, it’s suffice to say that my promise didn’t last too long as I felt that I wanted to experiment with a different layout that allowed me to call attention to my photography while still being able to write freely as I equally enjoy.

Inspired by Michael’s Big Picture-esque approach in how he now accentuates his photographs, I also yearned to treat my photos in that high regard within the confines of my own space. For that reason I put together this new photography section that implements similar characteristics.

I’ve struggled in the past on two separate occasions to maintain a photoblog which didn’t really go anywhere but the beauty of being able to manage both the writing and photography straight from MarsEdit is convenient, fun and motivating to want to publish consistently. As for the platform I’m using to operate both. Tumblr.

Two separate feeds are now available, one catering to all the writing and the other for strictly the photography publishing. Two choices. Same good ending.

Update: After much consideration and sage advice, I decided to merge both photography and writing feeds instead so please feel free to update your subscription to this humble space.

May 18, 2009 |   Tags: blogging personal

If you’re trying to sell your photography, consider running your operation the way Apple does. Sell only the best stuff. Sell only the stuff that people really want. Sell it for a fair but high-margin price so you can make a living and attract the right clients.

» Blog For Myself

When I first began blogging, I had no plan or purpose for what eventually would become a habitual practice. Initial entires would by occupied with mundane accounts of my life that provided little or any value to me or people in my immediate circle. The approach was equivalent to tossing a dart and not knowing where the board was let alone the bulls-eye. There were no grounds to build from. I had gathered all the tools I needed to operate a blog but not a justification to update it.

In a recent Tweet, Michael said “The best videos/photos/books/blogs are created before they are made.” In agreement, I responded, “the purpose for each should be established way before in order to validate their existence” and it’s always been that nugget of valued direction I’ve felt my space has been missing at times.

Going on 3 years of sharing my opinions online, I’ve come to learn one principle that remains permanent. You can’t always please everyone with what you have to say. If that’s the case, then why should one continue to devote time to posting anything you ask? For me, it’s been because of Jonathan’s philosophical line of thought in his colophon as to why he does what he does that rekindle my enjoyment of blogging and re-infused purpose to what I love doing:

I write this blog for myself primarily, but also for others in the hope that just one thing I say might change the way people think about the world that we are privileged enough to live in.

★ Permalink  Tags: blogging article

Who hasn’t entertained the thought of being their own boss one day? Whether it’s a one-man team or crew of creative geniuses, Andy Rutledge provides an exceptional caveat for those yearning to develop a healthy design agency:

No matter how much you enjoy design, no matter how good a designer/developer you are, no matter how much you want to own your own agency, do not attempt it unless you are wildly enthusiastic about business. If running a business is not your first or second love, do not waste your time; you will fail. Love the business or don’t go into business for yourself.

Once that’s been established, the attention goes to constructing an awesome passionate team. This is not to be confused with a clump of people who just happen to be linked because they work in the same studio each with their own agendas. It really lies on hiring the right people.

May 11, 2009 |   Tags: design links

Tilt-shift photography is a creative style of photography in which a image of a life-size location or object is maneuvered by the camera to give the optical illusion of a miniature scale model. The key to achieving this effect is to shoot from high viewpoints with a specialty tilt-shift lens or editing a suitable image in software such as Photoshop.

A more pragmatic approach would be in using Takayuki Fukatsu’s latest lab creation, Tilt-Shift generator, which adds the same desired effect to your pictures on the fly and funtions via an Adobe AIR. In addition to tilt-shift, the app also supports vignetting, color balance controll, drag & drop, and read & write file. It’s a simple groovy app that does what its name implies.

Here’s my attempt at it.

May 10, 2009 |   Tags: photography links

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