Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thankful


Today I am thankful to be alive.

I am thankful to have a kind and loving family who supports me in all my endeavors.

I am thankful to have shared the past 9 years with my soulmate, Larissa. She is my wife, business partner and most importantly, my best friend.

I am thankful for my most loyal adventurer, Sadie. She pushes me in ways that only a four-legged creature can and she never holds a grudge when I have to cut our run short.

I am thankful for the abundance in my life. I am never without love, friendship, food or a home.

I am thankful for my eyes and I am thankful for my career as a photographer. The people I have met and the places I have been are held close to my heart. I am thankful for the invention of photography. I am thankful for the continued creativity and passion for which people pursue this medium.

I am thankful for the challenges in my life. They remind me of what is truly important. These challenges force me to adapt and learn in unexpected ways.

I am thankful for my health.

I am thankful for this planet and all of its intricacies and I am thankful for all of the wonderful mysteries contained in this universe.

What are you thankful for today?

Monday, November 23, 2009

Austin City Limits turns 35

(posted by Ryan)

I believe this is relevant not only because I am fascinated with time lapse photography but also because I love Austin City Limits and have a soft spot in my heart for Pearl Jam. I was only 11-years-old when Ten was released and although I've lost touch with the band over the years, it was this album that began to shape my early teenage years. In 7th grade I wrote all of the words to "Jeremy" in calligraphy for an art project. My mom didn't completely approve of my choice in songs, but we compromised by removing the f-bomb from the lyrics.

From what I understand, this video was created by using over 10,000 still photos. Yep . . . 10,000. Photographer Jonathan Jackson shot a photograph every 6 seconds from 9:09AM – 11:29PM to make this video.

Enjoy!

Pearl Jam / Austin City Limits TV Taping / Time Lapse from Jonathan Jackson on Vimeo.

Friday, November 13, 2009

A Day in D.C.: The Best of Both Worlds

Posted by Larissa

This Wednesday, Larissa and Ryan traveled from the country to the city for some face time with ad agency creatives and DC Fotoweek exhibitions. We had traveled to Baltimore for similar purposes last week, so we made sure to grab our little sack of quarters for parking and made our way to our nation's capitol.

Once again we were reminded of how expensive D.C. is in comparison to Baltimore. Both cities are equidistant from our town, but Baltimore seems to be where we have spent the majority of our "city" time of late. Ryan and I laugh now at our innocent little sack of parking meter quarters we never used after spending $30 on parking throughout a day of zipping around Georgetown and other parts of the city. Lesson learned...again.

We had several portfolio showings with some great firms, met friendly, creative people, and even managed to grab an IPA and antipasto at a brasserie in Georgetown. We saw some amazing international photographers at the D.C. Fotoweek exhibits such as Ernesto Bazan, Ziyah Gafic, and João Pina. At the Embassy of Sweden we saw an exhibition called "What Lies Beneath: Nature & Urban Landscape in EU Photography." It is always nice to spend some time immersed in other photographers' work, not just your own.

We made our way from appointment to appointment, to exhibit, to a seminar, to our friends' apartment for a late dinner, all through a consistent drizzle with no umbrella, Ryan tucking his portfolio under his jacket for protection. These adventurous days, outside the norm of our daily farmhouse office lives, remind us of our old city life and all the precariousness that came along with it. They remind us that this urban existence is just down the road, as are our clients, but we can always return happily to our simple country life at the end of the day. Can we have the best of both worlds? I like to think so.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Inspiration and the Shape of Things to Come in Wedding Coverage

Posted by Larissa

© Stillmotion Photo + Cinema

Sometimes something comes along that causes one to stir in one's desk chair with an energy outside the daily trudge through the to-do list. You suddenly see that there is something to all of this endless searching, social networking, brainstorming, organizing, perfectionistic tendencies, and questioning that you do in the business of creativity. You see an artist's work that inspires you beyond voyeurism and envy - that inspires you to keep molding and refining your art and how you represent your art in doing business.

A friend passed along a link to Stillmotion Photo + Cinema, a wedding photography and videography team based in Canada whose work has inspired me today. While we are not solely a wedding photography enterprise, we do enjoy shooting weddings from time to time. Watching the videos on the Stillmotion site reminded me of why so many professionals are drawn to the wedding industry. I got so much joy from looking at the photos and videos on their site, not just because of the intrinsic bliss of a couple's wedding day, but because of the sheer level of craftsmanship that goes into each of Stillmotion's pieces of work.

I only hope that people can glean the same level of inspiration from our work, wedding or not. And stay tuned! The integration of video and still photography is certainly the shape of things to come here at Chace + Smith Photography and Ryan Smith Photography.
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