Tag Archives: loanscapes

design, photography, WORK

getting aquainted

first project with the new camera

Didn’t get home from LoanScapes till about 8PM last night…. Pride is just around the corner here in St. Louis – which – for Homo-businesses, is the equivalent to Christmas, (marketing wise). So… (thankfully), their CEO, (my second favorite lesbian), booked me for the day to come in and create some spots for the upcoming festival and work on some other stuff.

Probably foolish to jump right into a “real” assignment before cracking the owners manual on the new camera.

So far I’m pretty happy with it… Some settings that used to be within thumb’s reach on the old camera are now clear on the other side of the body. I actually think the new configuration is more intuitive but I’m so used to the old one which became second nature that I have to just give myself some time to readapt before passing judgment.

My biggest bitch with Sony on Human / Machine interface design is that their designers don’t get the whole “tactile scale” thing. (Make buttons larger and smaller based on what they do)… Example – the PlayStation’s ANNOYING square, x, triangle and circle button… They’re all the same friggin’ size as opposed to the Game Cube’s use of different size / shaped buttons.

Things I’ve noticed so far.. This new rig is “faster”. (focusing, lens to screen refresh, etc.)… They’ve also added some “disco” to the information presented on the screen. Functions and settings are “animated” now with little 3Dish swoopy animations. Touches which would probably make chrisglass roll his eyes – but they tickle me.

I didn’t notice the “auto-ASA” until AFTER I snapped the group shots. From what I can tell so far is that the camera chose too fast of an ASA and too slow of a shutter speed.. (shame on me for not taking the extra five minutes to derive a more suitable manual exposure). The result was less than razor sharp images – but they’ll work fine for the intended size… And these spots are running in web-press produced publications that use a paper-stock resembling toilet paper.

I need to play more.

Today is Kevin and Chad’s wednesday – so I need to get the hell outa here.

No time for boring technical journalling about my new toy.

blah-blog-blah-blog-blah-blog

design, photography, WORK

grip and grin 2

I said something obnoxious

Spent most of yesterday working on-site for LoanScapes.

The company is mostly staffed by gays and lesbians and therefore likes to canvas community specific publications, especially the Pride Festival.

I’ve really grown to like this account and have gotten over my nerve-racked, intimidated opinion of the president when I first picked them up as a client.

The camaraderie and silliness makes it a fun place to camp out and work some days. There’s other things, like any corporate environment, that reaffirm my decision years ago to never be a payroll jockey and be trapped in a cube 40 hours a week.

The loan officers are pretty much “free-guns” and are encouraged to work their own angle at getting new business. Here now after nearly a year of servicing the account, “uber-frau” (the big boss) is starting to trust me and let me have some fun.

loanscapes adYesterday’s assignment was sitting with the two papa-bears who work there to develop some “them-specific” campaign materials for them to run in bear run books and stick up at fur-friendly bars, etc.

In a nutshell we sat and talked about where they wanted to run their spots… I hauled them up to the front of the office where there was good supplemental light and proceeded to make a complete ass out of myself to get them to loosen up and laugh. Of course I monopolized on the very well known fact that I have a big ole schmoopy-spot for men my father’s age. (*Paging Dr. Freud – Paging Dr. Sigmund Freud – Please report to the cerebral cortex*)

If I was blogging – I’d probably try to shamelessly plug them and try to send them business. I rec’d them tobleepkeeper for his refinancing but haven’t checked in to see how it’s going and if he’s been happy with them.

photography, WORK

grip and grin

Diesel

Ah yes, the first day after a long weekend. Phone hasn’t rang once.

I got my first excuse to use the new camera for something “income generating” last week: Corporate-Style photos of one of my client’s employees.

Yes, I know I’m taking food off the table of the hard working men and women’s table who are part of the Sears Portrait Hack Legion – but I can justify my trespasses by remembering that photography was indeed my major in college.

Really what it boils down to was the company’s CEO, (a ruthlessly penny-pinching, bullying, corporate, power lesbian), figured she could save a few hundred dollars if they called in the designer with his fancy new digital camera.

I’ve been dubbed the company’s “pet art-fag” and have developed a wonderful, casual rapport with the employees. (Relax any of you thinking that they’re horrible for nick-naming me this – the company is gay owned and 80% of their employees are gay and lesbian).

I spent a couple of hours doing the necessary “grip-and-grin” shots for use on their website, but not without toying with each person and snapping off a few extra shots for myself. “Diesel” shown above is one of my favorite employees there.

I remembered how much I enjoy being behind the camera before I essentially abandoned the craft to pursue my career as a designer.

I promised myself that sad day when we hawked my Nikon F4 that I would revisit the craft when I felt that digital technology came of age. Thanks to chrisglass for introducing me to the Sony CyberShotâ„¢ line, as well as so many other things, which have not only enhanced my work, but my life too. (schmoopy gooopy sounds).

As it turns out – I’ve got the client interested in using these “outtakes” for some progressive ad spots in GLBT-specific, (and other bleeding edge), publications. …. Humph.. Who-da-thunk?

Calling it an early day to drop prints and proofs off and go check in on the depressed mojobear who’s at home babysitting the contractor who’s working on our den-to-be. Besides, on such a slow day, if I say at the office, I may be tempted to blog.