Filterstorm, PhotoGene, Camera+, iDarkroom, Instagram.  With a flick of a finger, a simple effect, a toasty filter can bring a dull photo to life. In the age of the iPhone, such easy access to the camera itself, combined with photo-editing software gives us power and confidence we’ve never had.

Professional Cleveland photographer Dan Morgan of Straight Shooter, who has been in the business for over 30 years, has embraced the recent explosive advances in his field. Go Media sat down with Morgan to talk about Instagram and related software programs.

Photo Credit: Dan Morgan

Morgan notes, “That same rapid-fast forward in technology that has made it so everyone can take pictures, has made it so professionals can take better pictures.”

Spending the majority of his time as a commercial photographer, these new advances have broadened the scope of what he offers to his customer.  He tells Go Media, “The type of photography I do today I never attempted to do back in the day because I’m able to experiment more and see how things look.”

Instead of simply offering catalog items, he offers varying options including food and notably, architectural photography.  In the past requiring a big and bulky 4×5 camera with very sensitive and specific adjustments made at time of shooting, Morgan can now take his digital SLR and make all changes with ease in Photoshop and other software programs.  He reports: “Architectural photography is one of my best sources of income now.”

Morgan’s experience capturing images of jewelry has been expanded as well. Recently published as the sole photographer for Brandon Holschuh’s book “The Jeweler’s Studio Handbook“ where he captured stunning images of custom made jewelry, Morgan came across more advances in technology, making his process easier.  One application of note creates a reflection of the jewelry, at the click of a button. This would at one time be a frustrating, multistage process involving multiple artists.

“TAP I” – Shot with a Canon Mark II, Reflection app used. Photo Credit: Dan Morgan, Straight Shooter

“All the fine art experimenting that I did in the last 15 years are now, with the assistance of technology – those effects are being achieved immediately,” Morgan comments, emphasizing that  this technology not only impacts the quality of his technology, but the speed at which he can produce as well.

Morgan stresses that the decisions made within Instagram and other software programs should not be made randomly.  “Those apps, all those tools that everybody can use – it’s all about applying them and having a method to the madness. It’s having that trained eye that’s important.”

He not only enjoys the options available to him in post-production, but also uses them to his advantage before he even presses the shutter. “I’ve been able to take pictures with my Canon Mark II, that yields a really sharp picture, into an Instagram picture.  I photograph these knowing that I would put an Instagram filter onto it.  The effect that I’m creating now by doing that same amount of work is getting me that much farther.”

Morgan shared some additional photos with us, exemplifying the power of this new technology, and how it has advanced his own work.

“Here’s something I concocted based on Instagram.” I knew the effect that Instagram gave, but I also knew that I could apply that effect from a good quality picture to begin.”

“Airstream” taken with a Canon Mark II, Photoshop and Instagram app used. Photo credit: Dan Morgan, Straight Shooter

“Earlybird is my favorite Instagram filter because it doesn’t take it too far away from the original look, but it darkens the photo around the corner.”

“Guardian III” – Shot with a Canon Mark II, Earlybird filter applied in Instagram. Photo Credit: Dan Morgan, Straight Shooter

“I shot this on a cloudy day so it was a really neat picture to begin with, but playing around with filters and it was the ah-ha!  I got the energy coming from the tower.”

“Tower Power” – Shot with an iPhone, FX Photo Studio HD iPad App Used, Explosive Color applied. Photo Credit: Dan Morgan, Straight Shooter

A vintage photograph of Morgan’s father, “the original Mad Man!”

“The Real Mad Man, James O ‘C Morgan” – Original B & W film negative with Mamiya 120mm Camera, copied with iPad, Photoshop and Instagram app used. Photo Credit: Dan Morgan, Straight Shooter

Is there downfall to all this technology?  “Having the tools,” Morgan cautions, “is not enough. It’s good that the tools are out there, because people are given the motivation to see that you can go places with it.” But there will always be a place for professional photographers in this world.  Morgan emphasizes, “you still have to have that eye.”

Find out more about Dan Morgan of Straight Shooter
Find Straight Shooter on Facebook | Instagram

The post The Age of Instagram: An Interview with Dan Morgan appeared first on GoMediaZine.

Skidding across fresh, bright black and white tile, a very exuberant 6-month husky jumped up excitedly to greet me at the door of Yellowcake, a recently renovated and expanded Gordon Square boutique.  Owner and Cleveland designer Valerie Mayen was quick to follow.  “Mango!  Get down!”

“Sorry… She gets very excited!”

Wild Mango

Inside Yellowcake live colorful, custom mod women’s and kid’s coats, dresses and skirts, and the beginnings of a men’s line including crisp ties and cool jackets.  All of her designs crafted right here in Cleveland, Ohio, Mayen has had her roots in the city since November of 2011.

Texas-native Mayen has studied at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, worked as an apprentice at Gemini GEL in Melrose and earned her BFA at the Cleveland Institute of Art in Illustration, where she also participated in a mobility exchange program with the Otis College of Art and Design in LA.  She has also studied at the Virginia Marti College of Art and Design.

A contestant on Project Runway Season 8, she expresses herself through traditional illustration, fashion photography, pop art influenced paintings, digital media and fashion design.

Go Media had a few moments to sit down with Mayen to talk Barbie, Cleveland love, and making it work.

Go Media: I understand you have a multitude of artistic interests…which came first?

Valerie: I would say the drawing, the painting came first. When I was really little, around five years old, I used to draw my Barbies – they were my models. We had a lot of Disney movies and I would always draw the covers and try to copy them. There was also a drawing show that I always used to watch on Saturday mornings called Secret City. I used to get up every 9 am on Saturdays to draw.

How does your training in illustration and graphic design help you on a daily basis as a fashion designer?

The illustration really helps me whenever I am working with new clients, whenever I am creating new collections, making new pieces for the store, and trying to flush out new ideas.  It helps me to visualize and realize if something is going to transpire or not.

It helps me to sell the vision, too. If I’m meeting with a client and they have an idea of what they want, but they’re not sure how to describe it, I can flush it out for them.  It gives me a little bit more of an advantage to communicate to them: “This is what we’re going for, this is what we’re doing.”  They have to trust based on what they’ve seen in my portfolio that I’m going to do good work. So the more accurate the drawing, the more piece of mind they have in hiring me.

The graphic design definitely helped, in the beginning, when I was starting Yellowcake.  I did all of my (initial) branding and print material. It’s helped given me some sensibilities that other designers might not have.

Graphic design is kind of like the icing on the cake.  No one ever gets a cake without icing. And if the icing is a hack job, then the cake isn’t as appetizing.  It’s like a cover of a book. People put a lot of thought and effort into the cover of a book, or a CD or a poster or anything that will be the one shot to grab someone’s attention. So, we put a lot of thought into our branding. Luckily I’ve been able to develop those sensibilities: what I like, what looks good. What kerning and leading is. Different types and fonts, things I know work best with our brand.

What’s the hardest or most challenging thing you have faced developing your brand?

The hardest thing was figuring out how to illustrate that we are clothing company – because you know, it’s a big no-no to use a needle and thread, scissors, or other tools of the trade as your logo because it implies that you do alterations or other things in design.  The dress form was a tricky one because it’s a tool of our trade. But because it’s a tool of our trade and also a woman’s form it, it was more of a metaphor, so it worked for us.

We’ll always go back and forth about Yellowcake. The longer we keep the company name, the longer I think, people should just deal with it. As we develop and we credibility and notoriety, it doesn’t matter anymore that people think we’re a bakery.  We even thought of having a tagline that says:

“Yellowcake, we’re not a bakery dammit!”

Why did you decide to establish your Yellowcake roots in Cleveland?  

It was a long line of a lot of things. At first it was friends, and then it was a lease, and then it was a grant, and then it was the guy. One year turned into four turned into six turned into twelve.  And after awhile too, I decided to set some roots down and really make the most of my time here. A friend told me that if you want to be successful do the same thing in the same city for twenty years – and that if you work hard and are kind, good things will happen.

What changed you the most about being on Project Runway?

It made me really efficient and taught me how to edit a little bit more. It also gave me a newfound respect for other designers who don’t have the same aesthetic as I do.  It taught me about respecting a designer for who they are, what they do and what their vision is regardless of whether or not it is in line with mine or not. Even now I have to check myself. Just because someone doesn’t design the way I do doesn’t mean they’re not worth their weight as a designer or artist regardless of what their level is or what their experience is.

What’s on the horizon for you?

Re-strengthening our inventory and finances after the buildout. Creating new products, trying new things. We’re revamping our website to capitalize on online sales. Also doing different shows and different events. We’re hoping to do Hullaballo again, which was our big fashion event last October.  It was a huge success and and we are expecting double the attendance this year.  We’re doing double the amount of garments in the collection and hoping for double the revenue.  Things like that will help us keep the lights on and will help us continue to grow.

Want to know more about Valerie?  Catch her at this year’s Weapons of Mass Creation Fest 2013 where she’ll be one of our honorary guest speakers!

Want to see her again on Project Runway? Vote for Valerie here!

Yellowcake is at 6500 Detroit Ave., Cleveland. Call 216-236-4073; www.yellowcakeshop.com. Hours: 1- 8 p.m. Wednesday – Friday; noon – 9 p.m. Saturday; 1- 6 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday.

Connect with Yellowcake!  Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Buzz and Growl | Yellowcake Blog

Since inception, Yellowcake has contributed 5% of their profits to a charitable organization that supports the relief of hunger, homelessness and poverty. They believe in creating boldly fashioned clothing that sustains and supports a healthy humanity. Employing local, supporting our neighbors and aiming to do well by doing good.

The post Dishing on Design with Valerie Mayen of Yellowcake appeared first on GoMediaZine.

Carlos of Parafina Co. is a longtime fan of Jeff Finley‘s book, Thread’s Not Dead. Recently he reached out to us here at Go Media, and we were so impressed by what he’s doing we decided to feature an interview with him, right here on the GoMediaZine!

Since he was a kid, Carlos of Parafina Co. has dreamt of that one project that would allow him to do what he loves, blurring the line between leisure and work. He’d like to find that balance. Parafina is the materialization of that feeling of cohesion.

Parafina has two distribution centers. The first one is located in Southern California (USA) and the second one in Southern Europe (Spain). He believes that creating eco-friendly products is the way to go. This is what he always wanted to do. To create quality, cool, and fun products with a strong meaning and a correct philosophy. He stands behind his products with pride.

The Interview

Go Media recently had the opportunity to converse with Carlos about his company and we would like to share it with all of you, our readers.

GoMediaZine:

Who are you and what is your company name?  Tell us a bit about yourself and your brand.

Carlos of Parafina Co.:

My name is Carlos Sáez but all my friends call me “Carletes”. I’m working in a little startup called “Parafina“. I didn’t have any business experience with t-shirts. I spent nearly two and a half years doing a lot of research around T-shirt forums, bought a couple of books (yours was one of them), started a visual blog, made mood-boards, and nearly broke my head trying to create my own voice, style and story.  I was looking for something that resonated well with all the things I love and that people will connect with. I started selling at selected stores in California, just contacting them through email, being nice and polite and showing them some off the stuff I have put together. I try to tell a story of my love for the ocean and the outdoors, in a fun way and focus in hand drawn art, eco inks and organic garments. It has been a super fun and rewarding experience so far… Loving the community response, I am so thankful for that.

GoMediaZine:

What made you want to start a clothing company?

Carlos of Parafina Co.:

After I finished university, I got to travel the world with my back pack for almost 8 years (I was a judge in the kiteboarding world cup). It was a dream job especially the first 7-8 years… Then I fell in love and had to be away from her. I always had the idea of starting my own little surf/mountain/outdoors/travel inspired brand, and it was the right moment to follow that dream.  I am a hard worker, always put a lot of passion in everything I do, so once I decided to do it, I pushed as hard as I could to learn and bring the project to life.

GoMediaZine:

In the world where everyone starts a clothing company, how is yours different?

Carlos of Parafina Co.:

I guess the coolest thing of Parafina is that each t-shirt has a story behind it. Each design fits into a bigger picture, a story of love for the ocean and the outdoors. I think consumers are demanding richer, more authentic connections to the products they use. That is what I expect from the products I buy, and this is what I try to deliver. I think the handmade and eco-friendly approach is really cool too. We are puting love into everything we are doing with the brand. I am really into less computer and more into artist hands on the designs. I think combining both with the right balance is the way to go.

GoMediaZine:

You said you read the Thread’s Not Dead, how did that help or change your plans?

Carlos of Parafina Co.:

When you are starting you don’t know where to look for answers. I noticed it was pretty difficult to get others to share answers and advice. I understand it now, it is a trial and error thing, you have to spend a lot of money learning the right steps. I was on IATT (IAmTheTrend) and I think I saw a link or something so I bought your book and it helped a lot, especially on the very first steps. Then you have to stop reading and start acting and that is where the real learning happens, because you have to go real deep into every step.

 GoMediaZine:

Launching a clothing brand is the easy part, how do you plan on growing your brand?

Carlos of Parafina Co.:

Once I decided to start the project, I started writing on famous surf websites and blogs for free, just to be able to get to know people, I have built a network of sites that are now helping to spread the word. Being in some of the best surf shops also helps, Thalía Surf Shop in Laguna Beach, for example. I don’t make a buck out of that, but I see it as free advertising and brand recognition in some of the best alternative indy surf stores. I started not only with t-shirts and also got to make some other products that go hand-in-hand with the same philosophy the brand wants to share. Since our launch a couple of weeks ago, our facebook has gone from 150 (basically friends) to 800 people, and we have received a lot of emails saying hi, and telling us how they liked our vibe. Such a great feeling after all the hard work. At the end customers are our reason to be and who will make this succeed.

GoMediaZine:

What was the hardest or most challenging thing you’ve overcome thus far with your brand?

Carlos of Parafina Co.:

Every step has been hard, picking the name took me almost 2 years, I wrote down hundreds of names. And all the good ones were taken, when the name was available, the website wasn’t. I picked “Parafina” because it is one word, because is easy to write and spell, because I like its sound and because of its meaning (surf wax in Spanish.) Also parafina oil is what you use as fuel for the mountain men lamps, so it has that connection to sea and land. Besides that, I think the financial part is the most difficult, at least for me. I like the soul and creative side and not so much the accounting side, but hey, this is business and you have to be good at everything so I had to work extra hard to get all the puzzle pieces together.

GoMediaZine:

What is your favorite part about your brand?

Carlos of Parafina Co.:

Creating concepts and ideas, doing the little details, hanging out with my customers to listen and learn from every single one of them. Above everything my favorite part is making people get stoked and happy.

GoMediaZine:

If there was one thing you wish was answered in Thread’s Not Dead, what is that?

Carlos of Parafina Co.:

Overall, I think the book was really aimed at designers trying to start their own thing. Everything is told from a designer’s point of view (I can understand it because you [Jeff Finley] are one of them). Maybe, it would have been good to outline how to deal with designers and how the process actually worked for entrepreneurs. But I found the 2nd part had a lot of the info that I was actually looking for as a entrepreneur. It’s a good book and I recommend everyone who wants to start a clothing line to get it and study it.

GoMediaZine:

What kind of advice would you give our readers?

Carlos of Parafina Co.:

Research, all the time, everywhere. Make mood boards on Pinterest. Connect with people, get in the forums. Do your own thing, look for a style that is not overdone (this is actually very difficult and will take a lot of time) and the most important, read this post!

Parafina Co. Links

• Parafina Co. Website
• Parafina Co. Blog
• Parafina Co. Facebook
• Parafina Co. Twitter
• Parafina Co. Pinterest

The post Parafina Co. Interview appeared first on GoMediaZine.

Aaron Crawford and his successful apparel/print company Cavity Colors have 25,000+ followers on Instagram, over 6,000 likes on Facebook and nearly 40,000 followers on Twitter… impressive numbers that even President Obama would be proud of.

I had the privilege of catching up with Mr. Aaron Crawford over the phone a few weeks ago to discuss his art, his process, and his goals.  Take a listen to our conversation:

Created by Simeon Hendrix who is a professional graphic artist, documentarian, journalist, and father living in Wichita Falls, Texas.  Simeon also toured the US for 10 years (from 2002 – 2012) as the frontman for the experimental rock band DOWN-STARES for videos click here.  For more information please visit:  http://simeonhendrix.com

The post Artist Spotlight: Aaron Crawford | Atlanta, GA appeared first on GoMediaZine.

Last week we posted about the incredible design conference happening in Las Vegas called Future Insights. And they have graciously offered all you lovely readers a 10% off discount code for their annual conference.

Just click here to register and enter in the code: GoMedia10 

The Deets

THE VENUE:

MGM GRAND, LAS VEGAS

3799 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109, United States
(702) 891-1111
mgmgrand.com

DATES:

April 29th – May 2nd

The Interview

Go Media recently had the opportunity to converse with Davin Wilfrid the Product Director & Community Manager of Future Insights Live and we would like to share it with all of you, our readers.

GoMediaZine: 

What is Future Insights?

Davin of Future Insights: 

Future Insights is a team of web lovers who produce great conferences for web designers and developers. We used to be called Carsonified events.

GoMediaZine: 

Why Las Vegas for the conference city? Any fun you have planned outside of the conference?

Davin of Future Insights: 

Las Vegas is a great place to have Future Insights Live. Not only is it a fun destination with plenty of activities, but there is a blossoming tech community there that is doing amazing things. The Downtown Project, spearheaded by Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, is a great example of civic innovation, and we’re happy to support the local community in any way we can.

GoMediaZine: 

How many people do you expect to attend?

Davin of Future Insights: 

Last year we had about 800 people, and I’d expect about the same this year. We usually draw a healthy mix of designers, developers, and entrepreneurs.

GoMediaZine: 

What sort of speaker topics can our readers expect to see at the conference?

Davin of Future Insights:

We recruit speakers who are at the cutting edge of their fields, whether that’s HTML5, CSS3, animation, tooling and frameworks, or anything else. No matter how many years you have in the industry, we aim to leave you inspired to make your next project better than ever.

GoMediaZine: 

What speakers are you most excited to see and why?

Davin of Future Insights:

I’m really excited to meet Brad Frost, who has been one of the strongest (and funniest) advocates for responsive web design lately. I’m sure he’ll blow some minds. We’re really lucky to have trailblazers like Jeff Atwood (founder of StackOverflow) and Cameron Moll (founder of Authentic Jobs) on hand, and I’m really excited to hear Ashley Carroll’s talk on A/B testing, which is criminally neglected in many projects.

GoMediaZine: 

What topics do you think will be most valuable for 2013?

Davin of Future Insights:

HTML5, CSS3, and responsive web design. Browser support for cutting-edge techniques is exploding right now, and to stay current designers should get ahead of the game and really understand how to future-proof their sites and apps. We’re also reaching a tipping point where having a non-responsive, fixed-width site is no longer acceptable. Designers who really understand RWD will have an awful lot of opportunities in the next few years.

GoMediaZine: 

For our print designers, are there speakers or topics that would be of specific interest to them?

Davin of Future Insights:

Absolutely. A lot of our top design speakers started as print designers, and understand that the differences between print and web design techniques and aesthetics are melting fast. All designers will soon live in a world where “design” could mean designing a print ad that is also the front of an interactive page of an e-reader, a web-enabled poster at a bus stop, or a platform for augmented reality viewing (think of Google Glass). Erik Loehfelm, Joe Stewart, Meagan Fisher, and Jon Setzen are all good examples of designers who live at the intersection of all of these things.

GoMediaZine:

For those who are unable to attend the conference, can they see the talks online or hear any of the information remotely?

Davin of Future Insights:

We won’t be live-streaming the event, but we are recording the sessions, and will make the entire conference available as a video package a few weeks after the conference ends. It’s also a good idea to follow #FILive on Twitter to soak up the goodness via social media.

GoMediaZine:

Any last minute words?

Davin of Future Insights:

GERONIMO!

The post Interview with Davin Wilfrid of Future Insights Live appeared first on GoMediaZine.

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing is a longtime fan of Jeff Finley‘s book, Thread’s Not Dead. Recently he reached out to us here at Go Media, and we were so impressed by what he’s doing we decided to feature an interview with him, right here on the GoMediaZine!

Rockhart Clothing’s mission is to create designer apparel for gamers that rocks. Their gear is for real gamers who want to be taken seriously. They’re adding rock and roll style to the video game apparel market, and finally giving adults a way to show off their favorite games. You won’t find any cutesy, cheesy, or lame designs on their site. Only awesome concepts professionally printed on the highest quality garments available. Their motto is, “gamers have grown up and it’s time their clothing did too.”

The Interview

Go Media recently had the opportunity to converse with Andrew about his company and we would like to share it with all of you, our readers.

GoMediaZine:

Who are you and what is Rockhart?

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing:

My name is Andrew, and I’m a graphic designer/illustrator/gamer living in Portland, OR. I’m the one-man show behind Rockhart — a retro video game themed clothing line that is styled after rock n’ roll clothing and culture.

GoMediaZine:

What made you want to start a clothing company?

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing:

It started when a few of my designs were printed on some tee-of-the-day sites like TeeFury. There was just something so awesome about people wearing a graphic you designed. I saw starting a clothing line as not only a creative outlet, but a way to build something from the ground up that was all my own (instead of relying on other sites to sell my shirts for me). I had always wanted to start my own company, and a video game clothing line seemed to be the perfect fit.

GoMediaZine:

In a world where everyone starts a clothing company, how is yours different?

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing:

My mission is to provide designer apparel for gamers that rocks. I think Rockhart stands out from the crowd by the quality of the designs and the materials used to make the shirts. I try to design something that not only looks cool, but really brings up a feeling of nostalgia about a specific game or system. I only print on fashion fit tees (right now I use American Apparel and Next Level) using discharge inks; which is more than I can say for the horde of uninspired parody shirts which mashup pop culture references and print them on cheap tees using heavy plastic inks which are flooding the market in an effort to make a cheap buck.

GoMediaZine:

You said you read Thread’s Not Dead, how did that help or change your plans?

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing:

This book, along with the crowd at Mintees, helped me with choosing a printer, packaging, and setting up the website. I’m positive your guy’s advice and expertise saved me hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars in costly mistakes that would have probably killed my brand before it even got started.

GoMediaZine:

Launching a clothing brand is the easy part, how do you plan on growing your brand?

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing:

I want to release new designs more often, as well as non-T-shirt merchandise like custom jackets, art toys, and maybe even home-brew NES carts. But that’s just me thinking long term. I have a sketchbook full of ideas and I can’t wait to turn them into something cool for my customers. I also have something new coming out very soon… So keep your eyes out for that!

GoMediaZine:

What was the hardest or most challenging thing you’ve overcome thus far with your brand?

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing:

Promoting my brand has always been the biggest challenge. I’ve gotten a lot better at it, but you can always be on more blogs, talk to more people, and do more social media to get your brand out there. Speaking of which, you guys should really check out Rockhart’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

GoMediaZine:

What is your favorite part about your brand?

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing:

Well if I really wanted to, I wouldn’t have to do laundry for a year; so, that’s pretty cool… but I’d have to say the best part is the people I’ve met through the brand. Customers, fellow retro gamers, or even competitors. It’s just fun to talk to like-minded people who are as excited about the same things you are!

GoMediaZine:

If there was one thing you wish was answered in Thread’s Not Dead, what is that?

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing:

That’s a tough one. The book was very thorough, but I think some more info on selling at conventions, festivals, and even trade shows would be nice. I did a lot of research before my first convention and I still made a lot of mistakes that I made sure not to repeat the next time.

GoMediaZine:

What kind of advice would you give our readers?

Andrew of Rockhart Clothing:

The more work you put in, the more you get out. No one’s going to go out of their way to promote your stuff except for you. Sales come from hard work and connecting with people who can help your business grow.

Rockhart Clothing Links

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

The post Rockhart Clothing Interview appeared first on GoMediaZine.

A few months ago, Simon Birky-Hartmann, former GoMediaZine author and manager, pointed me to the 1st in “The State of America” print series by Julian Montague and I knew we had to feature Julian and his project on the GoMediaZine.

Julian’s project has been featured all around the best graphic design blogs and it is likely that many of you have already seen some of the prints in his series. But if you have been out of the design loop for a minute, you are missing out on the beautiful minimalist design and colorful images. And who doesn’t want to see how their state will be represented.

The Interview

Go Media recently had the opportunity to chat with Julian Montague about his “The State of America” series.

GoMediaZine:

Tell us a little about the project and what motivated you to create the series.

Julian Montague:

The State of America series is a set of 50 prints that depict one of the official state insignia for each of the 50 states. All states have some selection of “official” things, state birds, minerals, amphibians, trees, etc. These are voted on by state legislatures and are often the result of campaigns by school children. It is a very mixed bag of things, seven states have the Northern Cardinal as there state bird, only three states have an official crustacean, and so on. What interested me about them as a collection of subjects to draw from was that they allowed me to alternate between the familiar and the obscure.

GoMediaZine:

Tell us about yourself.

Julian Montague:

My activities are split between my art practice and my graphic design practice, however, there is a lot of crossover between the two. For my graphic design work I operate under the name Frazer/Montague Design. This is a partnership I formed with fellow Buffalo, New York designer Betsy Frazer in 2010. For my art related activities I use the name Julian Montague Projects. Where it gets complicated is that I use a lot of graphic design in my artwork, for example I made a series of faux book covers that are part of a multifaceted project about the intersection of animals and architecture. That work has received some attention from the design community as well as the art community. I also have an ongoing blog project where I try to post a modernist book cover everyday (I have posted 1400 covers since 2009). The fact that I design fake book covers, blog real book covers and design real book covers leads to some confusion at times. I consider the State prints to be on the graphic design side of what I do.

GoMediaZine:

How did you connect with PrintCollection.com and how did you decide how to approach each print?

Julian Montague:

Print Collection is based in Buffalo where I live. I’ve known Doug Levere (the founder of Print Collection) socially for a few years. He was familiar with my work and he approached me about doing something for the site. We talked about it and came up with the state insignia as the subject matter. He gave me a great deal of freedom in regard to the choices and the illustrations, there were a couple notes here and there but for the most part we were on the same page.

GoMediaZine:

How has the response been since you showcased the first prints on November 5th?

Julian Montague:

I’ve been really happy with the response, the first set of 21 were part of a FAB.com sale which was a great start, but things really got going after we released the second set of 29 on December 13^th. I think all 50 make a better story. It’s been really gratifying to have design sites that I love post about the series. I was particularly happy to see It’s Nice That, Dwell magazine, Flavorwire and Aisle One post about them. In making these images I was hoping to make them cool enough that someone would want to buy one just because they liked the design and not because they are connected to a particular state, but, from a lot of the comments I’ve read, it seems that people feel strange buying a print of a state that they don’t have a personal association with.

GoMediaZine:

From reading your bio on your website, you seem to have participated in many gallery showings and given talks/lectures. Could you give some advice to aspiring designers? As well as advice to seasoned veterans on how to get their work out there more?

Julian Montague:

Most of my exhibits have been from the art side of my career, the art world works a bit differently from the design world. But the best general advice I can give is to stay active online. We are lucky to live in a time where there are platforms to show one’s personal work, you have to take advantage of it. I’m pretty active on Flickr and Pinterest and by having a blog with daily design related content I’ve been able to make a lot of people aware of my other activities. Also, you can reach out to people that you think might be interested in what you do. It usually doesn’t hurt to try. But never, ever walk into an art gallery (at least in New York) and ask if they want to see your work, they hate that.

GoMediaZine:

Are there any other projects you are currently working on that you would like to talk about?

Julian Montague:

Right now I am working on new faux books and posters for a show this summer in France. I would like to do more open edition print series like State of America, so hopefully I will be starting the next one soon.

GoMediaZine:

I noticed from your bio that you exhibited at SPACES Gallery, could you tell us any interesting stories about your time in Cleveland and how the exhibits went while you were here?

Julian Montague:

I did a residency at Spaces Gallery for six weeks in 2005 as part of the SPACES World Artists Program (Most of the artists in the program are from more exotic locations). At the time I was working on a long-term project about stray shopping carts. In that project I developed a system of identification for stray shopping carts based on the situations in which you find them. It involves a lot of photography and text. So my mission in Cleveland was to document stray carts and then have an exhibit at Spaces. This involved me exploring every nook and cranny of Cleveland and its suburbs by bicycle. As it happened, this was in January and February of a particularly harsh winter so most of the time I was up to my knees in snow. Poking around vacant lots on Lorain Ave. in the dead of winter is not everyone’s idea of a good time, but at least I can say I saw way more than just the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. I did enjoy my time there and met a lot of interesting artists and great people. Obviously coming from Buffalo to Cleveland was not exactly culture shock, same lake, same weather, same ethnic make-up, etc. A lot of the work I made there is included in my book The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification, which was published by Abrams in 2006.

Gallery

Links

• Julian Montague Website
• Julian Montague Blog
• Julian Montague Flickr Gallery
• Julian Montague Pinterest
• Frazer/Montague Design

The post The State of America Print Series by Julian Montague appeared first on GoMediaZine.

Last week, one of our fans pointed us to the article on Fast Co. Create about photographer Ian Ruhter. The article featured a video showcasing Ian’s process and his incredible hand-built camera. Through some online digging I found numerous videos and articles, chronicling the photography process of Ian Ruhter. He actually built his own camera in a truck that looks similar to the ones you ran after as a kid, hoping to spend your saved lunch money on a Screwball or Choco Taco.

His handmade camera has been dubbed the largest in the world and it involves a photography process called collodion, which is a wet plate process that creates a unique look to the photographs (as you will see below) as well as the ability to develop these large scale photographic plates from any locale. This has led Ian to traverse the good ol’ US of A capturing America through his own visual lens.

American Dream from Ian Ruhter : Alchemist on Vimeo.

The Interview

The GoMediaZine was lucky enough to get to speak with Ian Ruhter about his process and what his hopes are for the future.

GoMediaZine:

How did you come up with the idea for doing wet-plate photos in a truck?

Ian Ruhter:

As my career progressed, “technological advances” in the digital image-making process replaced the “old” way of making images and I ended up spending all of my time in front of a computer editing code rather than capturing life.  I began to lose all connection to the search for the most important component of the photographic art. This all changed when I began working with the wet plate collodion process.  The silver used in this 19th Century process reflects light in a way that no other film can.

GoMediaZine:

How did you learn about the collodion process and what drew you to this method of photography?

Ian Ruhter:

I was searching for the old film that I had once loved. I realized that it was no longer available. When I found the collodion process I realized I would be able to make my own film and no one would be able to take that away from me again.

GoMediaZine:

I know you said in the video “silver & light” that what draws you to the collodion process is that you get to use your hands, are/were there other artistic mediums that you also practice?

Ian Ruhter:

When I started in photography I was shooting with black-and-white film. I learned to develop the film and make prints using my hands.

SILVER & LIGHT from Ian Ruhter : Alchemist on Vimeo.

GoMediaZine:

What draws you to photography as a medium?

Ian Ruhter:

As a child, I had a hard time communicating my thoughts and feelings to the world.  My dyslexia left me feeling like I didn’t have a voice.  I was treated differently than other kids.  The moment I found photography I found the missing piece I was looking for my whole life.  This was the moment I began sharing my feelings with the world.

GoMediaZine:

In your portraiture, what do you hope to capture within the person being photographed?

Ian Ruhter:

In my portraiture I tried to tell a story about the subject I’m Photographing. Sometimes I do this through a series of photos. One example of this is the homeless man I photographed in Los Angeles.  The series starts out with the photograph of the LA River. The LA River shows the geographic location of where this man is from. The bridges are used to link his story to another person’s. In this photograph there is a shopping cart in the right hand corner. Then in next photo a man is shown with a shopping cart. The last photo is an up close portrait of him. This photo allows the viewer to become more intimately connected to the subject. The idea behind the series is you look at something from a distance and you slowly become drawn in closer and closer until you meet the person face-to-face.

GoMediaZine:

I know you are travelling around taking photos throughout the US, what are some of your favorite stops so far and why?

Ian Ruhter:

Los Angeles is my favorite so far because it took me 2 years to build the camera truck. I was living in LA at the time walking around picking out locations to photograph. I didn’t even know if the camera truck would work.

GoMediaZine:

What stops are you hoping to make in the future?

Ian Ruhter:

As of now I’m focusing on the south. I would like to go to New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana. I have a few leads for good stories out that way. With the winter months coming we want to go where it is warmer.

GoMediaZine:

What do you see for the future of your photography adventures?

Ian Ruhter:

I would like to keep pushing myself to create better works of art.

GoMediaZine:

Do you ever step in front of the camera?

Ian Ruhter:

The silver in my project gained so much attention that magazine and TV networks wanted to come out and take my photo and tell my story. This has been quite an interesting experience.

GoMediaZine:

Who are some of your favorite artists?

Ian Ruhter:

Leonardo da Vinci, Chuck Close, Richard Avedon, Carlton Watkins, Robert Frank to name a few. These are the books I have laying out on my coffee table today.

GoMediaZine:

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Ian Ruhter:

I draw my inspiration from my dreams and the dreams of others.

GoMediaZine:

What are some of your favorite images that you’ve captured?

Ian Ruhter:

I’m really attached to the LA skyline photo. To tell you the truth I like them all, each image is a part of me.

Links

• Website
• Blog
• Facebook
• Vimeo

The post Silver & Light: The Photography of Ian Ruhter appeared first on GoMediaZine.

For 3D artist Mike Winkelmann (aka Beeple) every visual has a corresponding beat

By day Mike Winkelmann is a graphic designer who works mostly on projects for the Web. Outside of his day job, though, he is better known as Beeple, the ingenious filmmaker and self-taught 3D artist who offers all of his source files for free through Creative Commons to anyone who would like to use them. You might know him from the Kill your co-workers video:

After earning a degree in computer programming from Purdue University and then realizing that’s not at all what he wanted to do, Winkelmann became Beeple in 2003. He got the name from a stuffed bear-like toy that was sold briefly in the 80s. The creature was cute, but what Winklemann liked was how it made a noise in reaction to light. “I thought it was great that whoever made the toy related sound and light in terms of visuals,” he explains.

Winkelmann’s interest in pairing images with sound is evident in his work, particularly the instrumental video series, which he’s been working on for the past nine years. His latest music video IV:10 (Instrumental Video Ten), was animated using Maxon’s Cinema 4D and, as always, he composed the electronica score himself.

The result is a brightly colored, upbeat world teaming with turquoise blobs and other oddball shapes against a backdrop of blue sky and rainbows. Everything is timed to the beat of the music, including the moment when a brief storm rolls in turning everything dark and bleak. Still, the beat goes on and all ends well. Watch IV:10 down below:

When he adds up all the off-work hours he spent working on IV:10, Winkelmann figures it took about a year to complete the instrumental video. He spent close to the same amount of time on IV:9, a short film in which a robotic drummer seemingly churns out a perfectly timed percussive set of sounds on some snare drums as miniature helicopters sputter by. Check out IV:9 down here:

instrumental video nine from beeple on Vimeo.

Videos 9 and 10 were the first in the series for which Winkelmann used Cinema 4D. When he started the series in 2003 he used Sony Vegas before moving on to After Effects. Making the leap to C4D gave Winkelmann the opportunity to create 3D visuals to sync with the instrumental sounds that he composes.

There’s just one simple rule: Whenever something happens in the audio, something has to happen in the video. “Everything is animated,” he says. “Every kick drum, every hi-hat, every snare is animated, which is why it takes so long to create these videos.”

Winkelmann’s process for creating instrumental videos is not as simple as composing a piece of music and then creating animations to correspond to particular beats. Asked to explain, he points to a part in IV:10 where a “cute little cube guy” comes down into the scene. After first spending a couple of months modeling the cube guy and all of the other instruments in the scene, as well as a stray octopus arm with a hammer, Winkelmann took all of those pieces and made unique sound effects for each of them. Next, he used those sound effects to create a whole song.

The camera never moves in IV:10. Instead, it is the world that rotates. Winkelmann brought each instrument into Cinema 4D so he could line up key frames with the wave form in order to sync the music and animation. The trick was making sure that as the world moved the key frames were right in front of the camera. “So, technically, I guess you could say that I started out in Cinema and then made pieces of music and then went back into Cinema to make all those tiny things sync up with the music,” he says.

Winkelmann has no formal training in music. He creates the compositions for his videos out of necessity because everything is so intertwined it wouldn’t work to have someone else create the audio. He does, however, encourage others to build on his work. All of his 3D animation source files are available for use by filmmakers, electronica artists, VJs and anyone else who would like them. Component files can be downloaded at his website. Beeple VJ clips are also available for free here.

IV:10  looks like one long cut, and it is. But Winkelmann had to break it into two Cinema 4D files because the video was huge and there was so much geometry in the scene. “Even with this much geometry Cinema never crashed and I was pushing it to its absolute limits in terms of how much information was in the scene file,” he recalls.

Winkelmann is often asked about why he gives his files away for free. The answer is simple, he says. “I’ve learned a lot from tutorials people post so I feel like this is a way to give back and, anyway, I’m not going to use the files once I’ve rendered them out so it’s cool to see somebody else do something with them.”

Winkelmann’s generosity has definitely paid off in terms of good karma and increased public exposure. “I would say only good things have happened from sharing my files,” he says. “Tons and tons of people email me on a regular basis from all around the world thanking me for the files and I get job offers too.” For now, though, the Wisconsin artist plans to stay put in Wisconsin with family and friends.

The post The Beat Goes On appeared first on GoMediaZine.

Jeff spoke to one of our clients, Lauren at Disciple Clothing, and asked some questions about her experience running an apparel company. Here are her responses, enjoy!

Can you tell our readers about Disciple, how it started?

Disciple started with a vision to bring faith based designs into mainstream fashion.

What are you working on currently?

I just finished up an entire children’s line ranging from sizes 6m-youth sizes. I have been branching out into retail establishments and selling wholesale to expand marketing the line. I revamped my website to include some lifestyle shots, so that people could envision themselves wearing the clothing. I recently participated in a fashion show here in NJ and have another one coming up June 1st that is set to travel around the country to other major cities!

As an entrepreneur/business owner, what do you think about the role that design plays in your business?  When did you start paying attention to design and when did you feel like you needed to hire a designer?

Design has been at the forefront of Disciple. What sets a brand above another is the artwork, quality of the product, and branding behind it. Today the market is flooded with so many clothing brands that you need something to set yourself apart from everyone else, which is the design and finishes that are used to make them.

You started a clothing line in the era when everyone seems to have a clothing line, has this been a burden or has it helped?

It can be challenging at times, but I am confident that I bring the highest quality to my customers and bring the most up to date fashion trends to the marketplace. I really can’t pay attention to what everyone else is doing otherwise I find it gets distracting. The one good thing about it is that blanks are becoming more readily available and in a wide variety of colors and fabrics which is nice!

Any advice for folks either wanting to start a clothing line or those that already have one and how they can make it better?

I think people have to be realistic when starting a clothing company. It takes money to do it. I have had people who want to start a line, but don’t want to put out money to do it. With the competition out there it will be difficult to start a company and be profitable considering the costs are SO high for printing small quantities of shirts. For existing business, I always find it helpful to really talk to my customers and get their feedback and make adjustments based off of that. Otherwise, I would say to stay true to your brand and not try to chase after every new thing out there.

What has your experience been working with other designers?

I have been very blessed to work with a lot of great designers. I always look at portfolios of different designers. For my line, I like different looks, so I use different designers based on their style of work.

What do you like/dislike about working with other designers?  What are things that you think could improve the process?

I think the most important thing is for designers to understand the brand they are designing for. This helps with a lot of design issues. For the most part I love giving a designer a concept and then see what their interpretation of it is! Sometimes it can be frustrating when you are communicating a design and it’s not exactly what you expected, but for the most part I’ve been very happy with all the design work I have contracted out. One final thought is taking a design to actual print can sometimes be a challenge! It can look great on a mock up, but when the printer looks at the design sometimes it cannot be printed like you are thinking due to size, print location, etc…so I feel it is important for the designers to have an understanding of what type of media the design will be going on and design accordingly.

What are your plans for the future of Disciple?

In the future, I plan to branch out more into the wholesale markets to get Disciple’s brand awareness out in the retail markets. I also plan to do more social media advertising and continue to do grass roots marketing as I have done already. I am working on some new accessories and a denim line to complete what Disciple has to offer to it’s customers. Above all else, I strive to provide the latest fashion trends along with the highest quality!

The post Disciple Clothing interview appeared first on GoMediaZine.