Thanks for all the funny posts about Tiny. I'm happy to help the animals that come to the Freedom house and according to my neighbor lots will come. She said deer come through her yard and lay in the grass sometimes and so I'm excited to see a deer sometime!
On another note they had a big meeting in Montecito because the town might burn up and so everyone wanted to talk about it.
I didn't go but California is in a state of emergency because of this fire called the Zaca fire and it's crazy because it's super close and if the winds change my house will probably burn up which is kind of a bummer.
...but actually I'll get a totally new one then so I'd be amped and I don't really have much stuff anyway so I don't care if it burns up. I'll find out in the next day or two.
The PPA meeting went great! There are lots of awesome photographers here in SB and I was stoked to meet so many of you! Let's all hang out again soon!
I also have some good video from the presentation that Kristin helped me capture and I'll be putting it up on the Freedom Club! Rock on!
...but the real highlight of today was when I saved Tiny. Watch the video once YouTube releases it. It will be ready soon but I'm going to bed because I'm going to LA tomorrow so I have to sleep.
I'm speaking tonight for Professional Photographers of Santa Barbara County (PPSBC).
I've never given a presentation in Santa Barbara before other than small workshops for Brooks so this is kinda cool. In a town of so many awesome photographers it's always difficult to get noticed and I actually found it was easier to get recognized outside of SB but I guess that makes sense.
It's just a few blocks from my house on APS so come by at 7pm! If people want we can come up and hang out at my place for bit afterwards.
Here is the flyer they just sent out yesterday so I'm sure there will be room. (click to see it bigger)
This weekend was so great! I had so many friends in town and I love Santa Barbara all the time but especially when I have visitors.
Gary was around all week which is always a riot and then Joy and Garrett Nudd came all the way out here from Chattanooga, TN to shoot a wedding and Regis Chen came up from OC so it was awesome!
On Sunday my friend Josh Stichter who handles the insurance on my house so if you hurt yourself jumping off the balcony he pays you and not me invited us to a Polo match. Santa Barbara has one of the best polo facilities in the U.S. and it was such a perfect Sunday afternoon activity.
Regis asked why the referrees in Polo don't ride on Zebras? lol That would be awesome.
One thing I've learned from being an artist is that when rules and expectations are brought into the "picture" the result is often less inspiring than it would've been had they been left out.
Artists kind of work within the craziness of their own minds and I think some of the most brilliant art and ideas come when people have the freedom to explore deep within themselves thoughts that they would never dare verbalize. I think art is something that still may remain better by not being democratized.
So when the architect came over and walked through my house and talked to me I looked at him and the way he dressed and the style in which he carried himself and said, "Just trick this place out" - I immediately knew that he would do a far better job without me telling him what I had envisioned and sure enough his first drawing came back with something I had never even imagined and I am so amped.
This is the current entry way....
....and this is what it'll look like after round 2 of the renovations...and as you're walking down the stairs you'll see straight through the house to the most incredible view of Santa Barbara and the ocean because the back of the house is already open.
The first round starts Monday. They're coming and smoothing out the interior walls and then ripping up all the floor to put in bamboo floor in 4 of the rooms and a bit of carpet in places that we're gonna end up ripping up in phase two like the stairs.
This is a great resource for photographers! It's called ProPhotoResource.com and I found it as I was searching the web for good content to improve my workflow!
Click here and see my video intro and then sign up - IT'S FREE! ...and I'll be doing a free monthly marketing video on there so check it out!
Today was so fun. I pretty much did no work and it was awesome. My friend Deyl came over and woke me up b/c we were supposed to meet for breakfast but I slept in and then we went to Costco and got all sorts of cool stuff to deck out the apartment with because Jessica Claire and Keats Elliott came to stay there tonight and it was really fun getting it ready for them.
I bought new sheets that are 100% Pima cotton and 540 thread count which is really good. I learned that you really don't want to go above 600 b/c then it's not a true thread count. I also left little chocolates on their pillows. :D
Tomorrow is a big day because I hired a consultant to help me get a better direction for all my business ventures. I'm not a big fan of structure and planning and all that but as everything gets bigger I think it's important to focus on the projects that will help me accomplish my goals and stop spending time in areas of my biz life that are only causing me to continue "carrying buckets"
I'm excited because Jessica Claire is coming up tomorrow and she's my first official guest since I've moved in... So I started to think about all the things I forget when I travel and I bought them for the guest apt so when my friends come and stay and they forget stuff I will have it.
Had a gorgeous breakfast with Sarah and Pastor Barlow and Brett this morning at the top of the John Hancock building! Wow! ...and I can't wait to show you the pics from yesterday! Lots of them show the Chicago skyline which I love and the wedding was just beautiful!
At the Freedom house we live in harmony with nature. Checkout this video of me coming to the rescue when a poor hummingbird couldn't find its way outside. Very awesome.
On Tim Ferriss' blog he suggested that people make a video telling their story about how the 4 Hour Work Week has changed their life. So Deyl, Paige, Vanessa, and my new friend Brian came over and filmed a video the other day. So fun!
I was couped up doing the Freedom Club videos so I didn't even know they were saying things about me but it's funny to watch now.
I wanted to give all of you the first chance to checkout the Freedom Club and get the discounts before I send out a newsletter to over 11,000 people.
This month the first 300 people get almost 50% off of the Brilliant settings so hurry and check it out before I send out the newsletter.
Here's a little intro video! ...and there are 12 other workflow videos that I just posted today that will show you how to get through your post wedding workflow in just a couple of hours!
I'm leaving in a few hours to do a two day turnaround trip to Chicago for a wedding there this weekend so I'll be kinda outta commission till Monday. :)
If you're looking for ways to dial in your post wedding workflow this month's Freedom Club is for you. I've been putting both Lightroom and Aperture to the test and there is a clear winner so DON'T make the mistake that so many people are making by wasting money on the wrong program.
Also, I've really dialed in my workflow from download to upload and by watching these videos you too can get your post wedding workflow down to under 3 hours! The videos are uploading now and I'll post them tomorrow! :)
The movers are moving everything today but Brett and I moved a bunch of stuff into the media room early so we could work. We've been jamming on stuff and it's fun to all work here.
Yesterday Deyl came up and was working up in the Library and his friend Brian was working out by the pool, Brett brought over a beanbag chair and put it in the living room next to the hammock and I was chillin down here in the media room. So fun!
Sorry about the audio...it's scratchy like my face.
Most of you know me as a sweet, nice, "lovecat" type of person BUT all of that crap ends when I step on the field. If any of you could've seen me play soccer in college you wouldn't have recognized me. lol .... After all the anger management therapy I've mellowed a bit :) but I still play to win...and checkout the flexibility in this shot!
I hadn't played soccer in two years because I've been playing to win in business and with that I sacrificed many things that I love. One of which was soccer but yesterday I got to strap on the boots and score some goals.
We played the alumni vs. the current players and we played the best of 5 games which was about 4 games more than my body could handle...but I managed to pull a few goals out, mostly because I had some superstars feeding me brilliantly...but also b/c I'm just fast. ;)
As with all success it came at a price. My heart was far bigger than head and my body broke down a bit and I can hardly walk today but if my feet feel ok I'm going to try and play again this afternoon. As you can see my shoes tore up my heels which was a bummer but I kept scoring goals and had two goals in the final game including the game winner.
At the end you can hear me celebrating two goals. :)
...and after the game I gave my shoes to Johnny because I'm certainly never going to wear them again with what they did to my feet. Yikes.
One of the reasons I follow the music industry so much is because bands have to promote themselves in a similiar way we do in our industry and so seeing what they're doing can help us wedding photographers market ourselves.
Recently most bands are suffering because the labels are afraid to market the bands using the new methods but there is one band that is soaring and doing so many things right and that is Britt Nicole! You may remember I posted about her back in the day.
First off she (or someone) actually uses her email list to keep in touch with her fans. I've signed up for other bands mailing lists and received nothing in years.
Secondly, she uploads new content often. This takes effort and some of the photos and videos are from her very own cell phone. Very cool. Third, she has a place where fans can upload their own photos - brilliant!
Fourth, she gives her fans free stuff! Yea. Free is good! ...and when I get free stuff I almost always BUY stuff! She's smart...and makes us aware of deals going on with her music.
CLICK HERE and go check her out and get free music.
p.s. this is my first post from the house. The poor cable guy was here for 3 hours setting everything up. lol
....to make everyone aware that I ran two miles yesterday...I could've run faster but it was my first time running in a month so I wanted to ease into it.
I also have a confession and that is that I haven't eaten any of the food I bought below. I realized after I bought it that I don't have a microwave at the new place yet so I couldn't make some of it and then I also don't have any bowls so I couldn't eat the cereal either. So I've still been eating out every meal.
Today the house closed! I'm so amped! I'll write more about it later but I invited over a few close friends to celebrate - and don't worry we'll be having an official house warming party in a few months!
Well as you know I just got home two days ago and spent yesterday signing about 10 million pieces of paper and I don't know what any of them said but then I got to go up to the house and have a full look around! I'm so stoked!
Can you hear the birds chirping in the video - it's so peaceful up there.
In a few minutes I have to go get a Cashiers check and sink my life savings into this pad (Gary is shaking his head right now) ...these are the good days Gary! :) and here's a video I shot yesterday showing a bit more of the outside and I have a few little videos of inside coming soon to.
Are you as passionate today as you were the day you started your business? If you are great! If you're like many of us the passion can come and go at times and here I talk about how to stay excited and passionate about what we do.
I kinda like shopping. I dunno. It's kind of a girly thing to like but I like shopping for clothes and furniture.
So today I walked around and found a cool Massimo Dutti suit for Gary and Missy's wedding. We're supposed to wear brown and I have the job of finding pink ties for me and Denis to wear and we'll be standing up with Amy and Janey and I don't think they're gonna wear ties. I didn't find ties but I found a cool suit.
In Paris I bought a pair of pants, two sweaters and some shoes all from Lacoste.
I leave at 11am tomorrow and get home at 3pm! How awesome is that! I fly straight from London to LA and then up to SB. I'm so excited!
I was doing so well.... I made it from my hotel in Paris to the Metro and then on to the train station which brought me under the water to London and then I found my way on the "Underground" to the exact corner I wanted to be on! Picadilly! ....but then I had 6 different directions to choose from and I choose wrong! ahhh...I walked with my camera bag and my roller backpack for miles trying to find a hotel and I must've made every possible wrong turn because by the time I was too tired to go on it cost me 15 pounds to get back to the exact corner I started on and then it was about 20 steps to my hotel. lol.... no joke!
It's the same hotel I stayed at with Vanessa back in January and when we were here before the rooms they had us in where tiny so I think we got shafted because the room I have now is huge! ... with two full baths! The reason I came back even after the small rooms the last time was the breakfast! Wow - so good and I can hardly wait to wake up and eat it! ...and it really is just a few steps from Picadilly circus which really is a circus. Watch the video.
I'm watching the running of the bulls on TV and it's crazy - people are just getting dominated.
It's so cool because I got to see Fireworks in Tennessee last week celebrating Americas independence and today I'm watching fireworks over Paris celebrating Independance day here!
Tomorrow I'll leave sometime in the morning and make my way to the train station. l'll be finding the eurostar to London which leaves every hour so I'm not too worried about getting a ticket and then once I get to London I'll find a hotel. I haven't booked one yet so we might be in for some more fun like Switzerland but I think I'll be ok. :)
I'll just be there for a day and a half and then I fly back to Santa Barbara! Yea!!!
Check this out! The Ted Talks are these super cool presentations from people who've had a sweet idea in technology and Dane Sanders told me about them a couple of years ago and I've been loving them but this one is insane and so I thought I could try and contribute somehow.
Click here and watch the end to see how this picture that my friend Emmanuel took might be used in the future.
For all of you who thought I couldn't go without email or my phone this is proof that I can! I just went 48 hours without any access to the web/email/or my phone! Ha! Someone cut the wrong wire and a big chunk of Paris is without internet - even the Apple headquarters!
I've been having a blast at the workshop and the first day was long (16 hours) and I was tired after only getting two hours of sleep but we got through a lot of important info and then today was super fun! Bob Davis (insanely amazing) went through a everything you cold imagine about remote lighting and it was incredible!
Then we went out and did a night shoot in the city and WOW was that fun! The couple was gorgeous and Bob did his remote lighting and I did all natural light to show everyone how cool of shots you can get both ways!
This shot was taken in near darkness at f/2.8 - ISO 1600 and hand held at 1/10 sec and both of these are straight out of the camera - I love it!
...and this one was taken at a bus stop at f/2.8 - ISO 2500 and hand held at 1/20 sec - She is WOW! :) Ok...gotta go get a few hours of sleep before the final day tomorrow. I bought a Paris outfit today so I will post a picture of my new outfit soon.
My friend David Hessemer has a really cool idea about a way to help Africa and bring their reality closer to home. I'm excited to go on one these trips at somepoint because I think it'd be fascinating to see what these people could capture if given the chance.
Click here and contact Dave if you'd like to get involved.
I just got checked into my room and a crazy storm rolled in! Gnarly...it was fun to watch it take over the city.
Had the chance to shoot a wonderful wedding yesterday here in Nashville with Sarah Barlow and Krystal Mann! (I botched our self portrait - lol)
I'll get a slideshow up as soon as I can but I gotta hop on a plane right now to head back to Paris and I'll be in London Friday through Sunday so if any UKers are around and wanna connect up there I'd love to meet some of you.
We're at Sarah Barlow's aunt Janet's house and it's amazing! Here's a shot of Nathan Holritz and his son Austen rockin on the jet ski! Sarah and I got the jet ski up to 47mph but nathan and amber beat us at 52mph! Sent from my iPhone
Here's a sweet shot I got with my iphone of Nathan and Amber making out.
I've been cranking into high gear and sorry for those of you who know by my actions that I'm a bit anxious and rushed right now. Life is good...too good it seams and I'm trying to remain focused on the right things and properly prioritze everything.
One thing I rarely have in my life is hard deadlines. Most of the the projects and businesses I run are pretty flexible and I can mold them around my life. I love that freedom and so recently this house stuff has stretched me a bit because everything seems high stress. This has to be signed today - this much money has to be in this account by this date..etc etc... not really my style but it's almost done. July 19th is the closing date and it couldn't come soon enough!
I'm glad I'll be busy until then. I leave tomorrow for Tennessee and then I go straight to Paris for the Planche Contact workshop with Bob Davis and then I'll be meeting up with some people in London which I'm really excited about because I missed them last time I was there. I plan to head to London on the 13th or 14th and then I head home to SB on the 16th. Phewww.... then the house closes and I have to head straight back out for a wedding in Chicago...lol...
I'll fill you in after dinner. I'll have my phone tomorrow but I think Apple built more hype than AT&T could handle and there are a lot of unhappy people as a result.
On another note they had a big meeting in Montecito because the town might burn up and so everyone wanted to talk about it.
