Mission: Friendship & Exploration

I was driving on Route 18 yesterday and decided to check out Wilson Tuscarora State Park. Instead of heading to the water (Lake Ontario) I grabbed my camera and followed a trail into the woods. The colors were all warm ones: browns, tans, yellows, oranges, reds. I got some photos, but my posts are rarely about the photos themselves. So, this post is really about Marty. He was walking his puppy, who seemed to have more hair than body. Marty noticed my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 II IS USM Telephoto Zoom lens and commented something like, "Whoa, look at that thing." I don't know what the hell he said, really, but he broke the ice, and I'm glad he did.


Marty designs and builds violins...just because he enjoys it. He doesn't depend on it for money; he's a retired engineer. I mentioned that I used Rhino3d in my previous job as a concept artist/designer, and Marty knew of the software, but he designs by hand, with a pencil and paper. His violins aren't the traditional look/shape. He said musicians are very open to his innovative instruments, but where he meets resistance is from music stores. The owners/managers are worried whether the violins will sell or not.


Does this sound familiar to you? Do you have clients/coworkers/bosses who quickly shoot down ideas they are unfamiliar with? It's even more frustrating when they actually like the idea, but make the assumption that it wouldn't fare well if released to the intended audience. All creative people deal with tyranny, fear, or ignorance to varying degrees. I'm not saying that the music store owners are bad people, or that they're wrong. However, when customers like the product, but stores aren't willing to sell the product, it's time to at least attempt circumventing the stores. Don't wait on the approval and permission of others when you're sitting on something good.


This might be the nudge some of you need and are looking for: Keep your day job (and don't blow all your money), but try doing something on the side, and do it exactly the way you want to. Time is precious, yes, but you don't know the amazing places you can go unless you leave the herd sometimes and explore.


To wrap it up, Marty has a son who is the graphic artist for a magazine. I gave Marty a card and hope they check out my websites and maybe contact me sometime. I'd really like to see your violins, Marty, and I hope they get played worldwide. Give the puppy a pat for me.

Mission: Stocking the Shelves

Well, the site is live and I'm in the process of uploading thousands of images. Only once the site is full will I start advertising and spreading the word. Can't wait for ya'll to start using the photos. If you make something cool using a TexturePunk photo, I'll post the image here on the blog along with a mini-interview and mini-bio. I really want to promote you guys (y las ninas). I'll also include a link to your company's site, or your online portfolio, or whatever.

Until we meet, I wish you, the spouse, and the kids good health and happiness. And the dog, too. And the people you keep in the freezer (I'm talking about Ginger Bread Men, you freaky blasturds).

Mission: Sodus Point, NY

Note: this post is really about a photo trip I took Saturday July 9^th, but I gotta say something first. Yesterday (7/12/11), I had some Homeland Security Dude find me (he literally drove until he found me down another street) to see what I was up to. Get this: What “they” didn’t like was when I was on a public bike path looking at a train trellis for less than TEN FURTICKIN' SECONDS, and never even took a photo. I never even raised the camera to my face.  I decided it looked stupid and didn’t want a pic of it. Wasn’t interested. Got in the truck. Drove away. The trellis and bike path were near the fence of a power plant, so I suggest closing the fluggin' bike path. Instead of letting people get close, and then pestering them, how about not letting people get close???!!! And then leave them the flork alone. Guy never identified himself, never showed a badge, or anything. He took my business card back to the office and checked the website to see if I was really a wedding photographer. If you’re gonna do your job, at least do it right. I demand a full cavity search and a free cigarette afterwards. GLUCK YOU!

NRG Huntley Generation Station
3500 River Road, Tonawanda, NY
(716) 879-3800 ‎ · nrgenergy.com

Real post: Well, we went to Sodus Point Bluffs on Saturday to snag some photos. The girls slept in the car while I drove two hours, drinking coffee and Gatorade and flipping off every third car. T-girl wanted our destination to be a surprise, so I just blindly followed the GPS directions like a robot. Don’t like the dude’s voice on the GPS. Sounds like those phone recordings: “Hello. Thank you for calling Dell Support Services. Please stay on the line and the next available low-paid technician who lives in India will be with you shortly to help ignite your frustration into pure rage.”

So, we get there, and all of us are already tired, even though I drank coffee and they slept in the car, and its 3pm. It’s hot and muggy in the sun, and in the trees are armies of Sauron’s Mosquitos, each wearing their own Ring of Power. By the way, I wish Joss Whedon had written and directed the Lord of the Rings movies. The Weta stuff is awesome, but it’s like the script was created by drunken stuffed animals in the back of a moving pickup using an old typewriter. K. Rant over.

Photos? Yeah, we got em. T-girl took pics of the bluffs. I got some shots in the woods, as well as losing my glasses, which I later found with the help of some bikini-wearing college students. Wow. Those boys were hot (yet so polite). I will add some photos to this post soon, but going on another photo mission today. Right after I get a coffee at Tim Horton’s.

Hello

Hey, how ya doing? Right now I'm having a website made for me named TexturePunk.com. It's for 3d modelers, 3d & 2d texture artists, graphic designers, traditional & digital artists, concept artists & illustrators, Photoshop & PaintShop enthusiasts, photographers, well...anyone who wants royalty-free hi-res texture and reference photos for cheap and doesn't want to sign up for a membership that automatically bills their credit card every month.

I own a photography studio in good ol' New Yawk State and I've got great cameras and lenses. I have employment experience being both a photographer and an artist (5 pencil-pushing years), so I view things from both perspectives. I have a degree from UAT. I designed the interface for TexturePunk.com, and New Skin Media is coding it to work with the SmugMug online ordering system. I'll be sharing my experiences, thoughts, and rants on this blog, as well as looking for the same from ya'll.