one of the absolute grandest aspects, bar none, of working in independent visual media is the chance you may get a phone call at any time that could realistically change for the better your day, month or year. you just never know who’s out there watching your work, waiting for the right time to reach out. it’s truly inspiring to wake up every morning knowing that this could be it. + if it’s not that chosen day then you know you have to do everything in your power to keep ‘training’ + pushing for it to come.

+ if that’s not enough, the gold medal stories with shaun white, shani davis + lindsey vonn yesterday should really give you a bolt. luv seeing athletes going for broke + making it happen.

tying that in with imagery, platon has a great shot of shaun if i recall correctly + moreso, especially inspiring this week is his latest in the new yorker piece covering civil rights in the promise. tore a few out for the wall myself. brilliant processing on silver gelatin look he’s featuring in this piece. the skin tones make your wonder if he’s part of the film renaissance we’re seeing.

still up for more? kevin michael connolly is a photographer with a story to tell. just on the today show a few short months ago he’s got a traveling show about time on his skateboard called the rolling exhibition, a book called double take + a refreshing take on life with a camera.

(song 10) thanks todd snider. remind you of anyone? seeing this all too often in the school of visual media these days (makes for a great tune though).

A man once said that the pinnacle of success
Is when you’ve finally lost interest
In money, compliments, and publicity
Many years later, another man would say all that again
But not for the sake of inspiring men
But rather ’cause he got nine songs
And knows he needs at least ten
Before he can go back to town and turn ‘em all in
To get money–you guessed it–compliments, publicity

Money, compliments, and publicity
Lord, I’m gonna take it to the bank
I said money, I love the compliments and the publicity
I got so many people to thank
I wanna thank Clive Davis
I wanna thank the Good Lord up in heaven above
And all my fans for my money, my compliments, and my publicity
Money, compliments, and publicity
Lord, I would bathe in
Money, compliments, and publicity
Money, compliments, and publicity

you gotta call ‘em like you see ‘em. lifted from david thorne.

sorry to see national geo adventure go – good folks sabine + caroline.

enjoy friday. next week = projection + presentation based on show last night.

why did i wake up in my old house + look out my bedroom window only to look into my neighbors bedroom? why, when i take a drink of water in the men’s locker room at the gym am i at eye level with the swimsuit dryer + a naked bloke’s junk literally 3 ft away? why do i still have to physically push buttons to make things happen on my computer?

In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.
Steve Jobs

ideo’s tim brown humbly touches on design – ‘building in order to think’ – as a lifestyle in the following ted video. isn’t this the way that most people think? how can you not be aware of your surroundings be it in business, in life or while being creative? design isn’t simply something that happens but rather an effort of awareness put in the appropriate place at the right time or even all the time.

i’m a huge believer in keeping things as real as possible regardless how crazy this ride called life throws one’s way. it’s amazing the egos + totally wacked elements that make their way into photography, visual media + our lives in general but it’s simplest terms it’s mostly bullshit. i’ve always tried to maintain ties to roots + though always throwing new things never letting go of that core ‘me’.

this might be something i learned early in life from my parents who were always there for me, solid as rocks regardless if i wore different colored shoe laces or dyed my hair. it might be from some generous elder who offered me the insight that if i made up my mind ahead of time, even for things i’m only vaguely expecting, it will make my actions that much firmer. it might be from little league baseball where i learned to think before each play, “what will i do if the ball comes to me”. it might be something i learned from a japanese professor in college who told me prior to my first trip abroad that i wouldn’t come back the same person.

in essence i think it’s a bit of all of this. it’s about finding that core of who you are, what you believe in + making a decision that those ‘roots’ won’t ever change. you’re ideals, positions, etc will vary constantly but those roots that are you are there to stay. this works for me in all my wanderings + adventures – both the fun kind + the life kind.

with that in mind it’s been fun for me to see to be reminded about lately. like with the latest issue of Kootenay Mountain Culture magazine with my name in the contributing photographer’s credits. and seeing snowboard photography icon trevor graves bringing out his old school snowboard images on facebook. and in the vein of this obvious root connection to the snow, the story on jarem frye in this month’s outside. i shot with jarem + a crew of amputee boarders a few years ago on mt hood + learned + was inspired. so here’s to staying true + staying yourself.