December

It’s been one long month. So far.

Saturday At The Gas Station

Family Fare BP, Winston-Salem, NC

I’m here several times a week. Neighborhood c-store. One night, the perfect photo op presented itself. Love it when that happens. Leading lines, lighting, lack of interference, and a moment to realize. Art is everywhere; we just have to notice it.

What do you think? Ever noticed beauty in ordinary surroundings? Do you see the world differently because of studying photos or another type of experience? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Social Media, All These Years In

The way I’ve come to use social media personally is four is gathering, entertainment, and making new connections. Where is a few years ago it was more about keeping in touch with friends and basic entertainment, these days, it’s as much a means of cure ration and discovery, particularly now that I’m into visual art more so now than back then.

Have you found that the way you participate in order to use social media has evolved over the past, say, five years? Has it become more integrated into your routine or other activities? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Let Love Lead You

What’s the worst that can happen, really?

Art by Chris Houk

Narure's Great Promise

Narure's Great Promise, a photo by rsmithing on Flickr.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find Read by Flannery O’Connor

Flannery O’Connor reading her short story “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”

My all-time favorite author, Flannery O’Connor, reads here one of my all-time favorite stories, A Good Man Is Hard To Find. It’s so interesting to hear the creator of such a widespread work (the story appears in many college “English 101″ college compilations) reciting her own creation.

A Southern Accent

I know many people who sound exactly like this around where I’m from. To me it sounds comforting. And that’s saying quite a bit, considering how disconcerting the subject matter of the story is.

I wonder what O’Connor would have thought of Breaking Bad. If I ever meet Vince Gilligan or any of the writers, I’ll bring this up.

What do you think? Have you ever heard any of your favorite authors reading one of your favorite works? Do you think hearing the words from the person who wrote them affects the interpretation? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Characters of “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”

Related articles

• Flannery O’Connor’s Private Life Revealed in Letters (npr)


• Flannery O’Connor “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” (katelamianskaya.wordpress.com)


• Flannery O’Connor On Mystery (windupwire.wordpress.com)


• Dramatic Irony on A Good Man is Hard to Find! (kcrosby1932.wordpress.com)


• Flannery O’Connor on Teaching Literature (drquantum.wordpress.com)

Find What You Love

Find What You Love, a photo by rsmithing on Flickr.

“And let it set you free.” This is a play on the phrase by Charles Bukowski, “find what you love and let it kill you.” I like his phrase, but I also like the idea of setting something free or being set free in the name of love. This is a montage I assembled on my iPhone using a shot of a couple of treetops at sunset (with the moon rising), a roadside view of some wildflowers, and a gash of peeling paint in a parking deck. Click to see the originals and full-size version in greater detail at my Flickr photostream.

National Moth Week 2013: July 20-28

National Moth Week is back, and I’m happy to be taking part once again. I think moths are a great example of the everyday beauty that’s around us all the time but often goes unnoticed. Here’s some of my photos and artwork over the past year featuring the creatures, and there will be more to come this week. For more information – and to take part – check out NationalMothWeek.org.

My photomontage, “We Got This.” Click for full size.

What do you think? Ever done any macro photography of moths or other insects? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• National Moth Week 2013 (membracid.wordpress.com)


• 2013 National Moth Week July 20 To 28 (naturalhistorywanderings.com)


• Emerging Moths (wigglypath.wordpress.com)


• National Moth Week festivities under way in NJ (sfgate.com)

Ship My Pants! Is Kmart Being Smart?

A little blue humor and the blue light special

Original photo by DoppioM via Flickr

I remember being in a Kmart a hazy handful of times in the ’70s seeing a blue siren flash after an announcement over Kmart’s intercom. It was exciting, and an obvious gimmick to get some quick attention while having a little fun.

Something similar is happening now with Kmart’s latest ad campaign, dubbed “Ship My Pants.” Highlighting the retailer’s offering of in-store shipping, excited customers riff about shipping their pants, drawers, a bed, and… you get the idea.

I love some wacky wordplay, so I’m naturally a fan of the ad. I don’t know that I’ll be shopping at Kmart any more because of it, but I’ll definitely be smirking the next time it happens, or maybe even the next time I drive by a store.

It reminds me of the “Make 7up Yours” campaign from the ’90s…

I noted the similarity to Kmart through Twitter, and they acknowledge the connection.

@rsmithing Same idea! Thanks for the compliment #ShipMyPants

— Kmart (@Kmart) April 20, 2013

My take away is that, although this might be a bawdy approach, it gets us talking (blogging) about the brand when there was absolutely no chatter before. In the case of Old Spice, this did get me interested in the product, and it will be interesting to follow Kmart’s business as consumers start to, um.. ship their pants.

What do you think? Can you recall a similar campaign? Would this make you more or less likely to shop at a Kmart or similar advertiser? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Kmart’s ‘ship my pants’ ad causes shockwaves and smiles (usatoday.com)


• Kmart’s Hilarious New Ad Will Make You Ship Your Pants (dailyfinance.com)


• Lessons for Communicators From Kmart’s Wildly Successful “Ship My Pants” Viral Video (prnewsonline.com)


• How Kmart Used Social Listening (And Some Nerve) To Create A Ship-My-Pants Funny Viral Hit (fastcocreate.com)

Focus

Distractions are a distracting factor;

Procrastination delays the matter…

Does it matter? Get there faster?

More to-do we’re chasing after.

(laughter)

A quick photomontage of a candle I shot along with a macro view of my eye. For a full-size look at this and others like it, check out the Photomontage set at my Flickr gallery.

Musical accompaniment for this post: Incubus – Made for TV Movie

Related articles

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• Why and How To Overcome Procrastination (healthylifestyleplus.com)


• 10 Shortcuts To Defeating Writing Procrastination In Record Time (kristinnador.wordpress.com)


• Procrastinators of the world unite….. Tomorrow? (pantsontheoutside.wordpress.com)


• Determine to do as much good as you can, for as many as you can, as often as you can, for as long as you can (knuthblog.wordpress.com)


• The Complete Guide To Procrastinating At Work (lifehacker.com.au)

Evernote, Three Months In

At the beginning of this year I made it a point to get in the habit of using Evernote. I’ve kept reading its praises and since I’m in the world of collecting ideas for future blog posts, it made enough sense to give it a try.

I should say that I’ve previously relied on emailing myself ideas, links, images and other content, filing them away under “read later” or “ideas” in Gmail. This has kinda worked, but I don’t really find myself going through that content often. The idea of a standalone app dedicated to capturing ideas and organizing them at least makes sense to me for that reason. I get the concept, but it’s still taking work to make myself use the program.

Part of the adoption curve for me is having content actually in Evernote. Without many notes to search, there’s not much to draw from, so I can see how some users may get turned off if, say, within a week or two they aren’t reaping tremendous benefit.

But so far for me, it’s been at least good for peace of mind, knowing that all the stuff I’d otherwise be emailing myself is now tagged and easily referenced. In fact, it was the process of going through my notes in Evernote that led to this blog post, so hey… there’s something! I’m interested enough to keep using it, and I’m surely only scratching the surface, given the capabilities some of its power users explore. There will be more to come on this for sure.

What do you think? Do you use Evernote or a similar service? What’s your process for capturing ideas, to-dos or things go investigate later? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• The Ultimate Evernote Guide, Part 1: Getting Started with Evernote (teleread.com)


• Evernote-branded device coming. Wait, what? (bizjournals.com)


• Evernote Promises Its Own ‘New, Magical’ Hardware Gadgets Are Coming (embargozone.com)


• Evernote is my Everything (raventools.com)


• Three Third Party Evernote Apps for iOS (centralisious.com)


• Why You Should Be Using Evernote As Your Go-To Place For Remembering Everything (TimeManagementMagazine.com)

Deftones 2013 – Single Image Sundays

Deftones 2013, a photo by rsmithing on Flickr.

Saw these guys last weekend. Got this photo. What a gig. One of my favorite bands ever.

Dynamic Light App Review

Dynamic Light App

The iPhone app Dynamic Light byMediachance has become one of my favorite photo manipulation tools. I create many black & white montages, and Dynamic Light’s unique filters (especially “solarize,” “edgy,” and “re-exposure”) almost always yield interesting results — either for montage fodder or even standalone images. It saves at full resolution, is very fast, and improves with each update. It adds an element of randomness to the photo editing process that I enjoy, yet its effects are actually very sophisticated, particularly for producing distressed or distorted-yet-recognizable treatments. I recommend it for anyone looking for a simple, yet very unique bag of tricks to add to their photo manipulating repertoire, for less than the price of a soda ($.99). Here are some before and after examples of my favorite filters:

Edgy

Re-Exposure

Solarize

Video: Dynamic Light in Action

What do you think? Ever used Dynamic Light? What are some of your go-to photo manipulation or photo editing apps? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Surreal Photo Manipulations by Ceslovas Cesnakevicius (emorfes.com)
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• Crazy Photo Manipulations That Aren’t Made With Photoshop(designresourcebox.com)

Forward, Behind, Today

Forward, Behind, Today, a photo by rsmithing on Flickr.

Either way; whatever it takes. My great grandfather's pocket watch, sky from a vacation and my own hand, with textures and noise.

Call Me A Hole: Nine Inch Nails + Call Me Maybe = Awesome

I was seriously not expecting to like this as much as I do, but holy cow; this really is great. Nine Inch Nails is some of my favorite music ever, and I also enjoy a good pop hook. This combines them both in a crazy, mind-expanding… and extremely catchy way. I’d love to know what Trent Reznor or Carly Rae Jespsen think of this.

Here’s my favorite interpretation so far, via k2b at Gawker:

“First thought – this is a charming combo because it mixes up presumed oil and water in a fun and silly way that makes it hard to take it too seriously. I like fun and silly, and avoid taking things like pop songs too seriously. Second thought – it kind of suits, because I liked NIN as much as anybody in my teens and twenties and still enjoy it from time to time, but not as much, because I am older and do not relate to it so much. And I realized that the mashup doesn’t offend me, because the level of emotional maturity involved in both songs is so similar that the juxtaposition really strikes me as one of style – they are two sides of the same coin. In short: it’s all angsty teenager/YA stuff, even if one is more poetical.”

Image by rsmithing w/pics by Lunchbox LP & ClintJCL via Flickr. Free for use via Creative Commons.

The Connection? The Producer!

Dave ‘Rave’ Ogilvie at The Warehouse in Vancouver, where ‘Call Me Maybe’ was mixed.
Photo: Adam PW Smith viasoundonsound.com

The music to Call Me Maybe was produced by Dave “Rave” Ogilvie — industrial music legend, and collaborator of… wait for it… NINE INCH NAILS! Yes, the one-timeSkinny Puppy member now uses his musical powers to assail radio with four-on-the-floor kick drums. My jaw literally dropped when I learned this at boingboing.net via user OtherMichael. Absolutely astounding.

Read the mind-boggling, intricate craftsmanship Ogilvie applied to this track.

What do you think? Are you a fan of mashups, Nine Inch Nails or Call Me Maybe? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Call Me Maybe, Trent Reznor? (animalnewyork.com)
• Trent Reznor Announces the Return of Nine Inch Nails: Extensive Touring for 2013 and 2014 (pitchfork.com)
• Trent Reznor Reboots Nine Inch Nails With Members of Jane’s Addiction, King Crimson + More (loudwire.com)
• Today in Internet victory: This Carly Rae Jepsen/Nine Inch Nails mash-up(music-mix.ew.com)
• Nine Inch Nails “Closer” – Classic Tracks (soundonsound.com)

Making Things Happen: Now Featured by WeAreJUXT

Making Things Happen, a photo by rsmithing on Flickr.

Two things I’ve been doing lately: travelling and listening to Beats Antique (often simultaneously). The music is, for me, a perfect mood-setter: stimulating, forward moving, and compelling without lyrics. I saw the band twice in 2012, and captured this image of Zoe Jakes at a gig in Asheville, NC. This snapshot makes the perfect foreground for this vista from above the clouds off Florida’s Gulf Coast, brought together via iPhone with the masks & textures of Photoforge2.

Update 3/3: Now Featured by WeAreJUXT

Big thanks to the folks at WeAreJUXT for including this image in their weeklyshowcase! This is the second image of mine featured there (here’s the first) and I’m totally flattered, since they constantly and consistently highlight such great creations with insights from their creators (and I’m not just saying that because I’m there). You should definitely check out the whole JUXT site. Here’s what I say about this image over there:

My favorite art is the kind that gets the viewer to consider things in new ways. I believe that’s the most exciting thing about sharing creativity: the opportunity for a mind-expanding experience. That can happen for me through words, music, or with visual art as in the works of my favorite artists, Salvador Dalí and Jerry Uelsmann. The story behind this image is that I was on a business trip last month and happened to be in the air at just the right time to capture a glorious sunrise from above the clouds. I knew I wanted to remember the moment, but didn’t know what form that would take. This week, the vision hit me: a dancer amid the clouds with selective lighting and textures was what I wanted to make happen. I instantly thought of this silhouette image I shot last year at a show by one of my favorite bands, Beats Antique, which happen to be on heavy rotation during my recent travels. The mysterious form in the foreground is the troupe’s Zoe Jakes as shown backlit from behind a screen with exotic costume accents. The spell-casting pose along with textures, layer modes and and masking in Photoforge2 makes the mind-expansion thing happen.

Related articles

• ArtStack: Curation and Social Image Sharing Refined. Interview with Co-Founder, Ezra Konvitz (rsmithing.com)
• Your Own Personal Grammys (rsmithing.com)
• Laughing Seed Café in Asheville, NC, is Looking for Local Artists to Hang Their Work (carolinaartsnews.wordpress.com)
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• Beats Antique: Spring 2013 Tour (jambase.com)

ArtStack: Curation and Social Image Sharing Refined. Interview with Co-Founder, Ezra Konvitz.

“It’s as much a research and educational tool as a source of inspiration & a way to keep track of art.”
– Ezra Konvitz, co-founder of ArtStack.

Lately I’ve come to enjoy an image-sharing site geared specifically toward art: ArtStack. To say ArtStack is like “Pinterest for artists and art fans” is at once accurate and also a gigantic undersell.

What you might see in your ArtStack feed once you follow some cool artists.

Yet, I wouldn’t have found ArtStack if not for seeking out artsy images on Pinterest, many of which happen link back to their sources at ArtStack. It’s true that Pinterest,Instagram, Flickr and so many other sites have genuine art mixed in, but that’s not their specific focus. ArtStack fills that niche, mixing an appreciation for the arts with social functionality and discovery.

And here’s another cool thing about getting in on an up-and-coming site like ArtStack: I had a technical question and emailed for help. Who writes me back but one of the site’s co-founders? Ezra Konvitz personally answered my query with a detailed and thoughtful reply (Jack Dorsey of Twitter does not often do this, I would guess). So I took the opportunity to find out more about the site directly from the definitive source. I hope you enjoy our conversation, and definitely encourage you to check out ArtStackfor yourself.

Interview with Ezra Konvitz, ArtStack Co-Founder

rsmithing: ArtStack seems similar to, though not the same as, other image-based curation sites like Pinterest or Instagram. What are the key distinguishing philosophies setting ArtStack apart?

Ezra Konvitz, Co-Founder of ArtStack

Ezra Konvitz: ArtStack is a community dedicated to art – so the content, design and features are all focused on making it the best place to discover, share and remember art. The platform is used by artists and art professionals, so you can follow leading museum directors, artists, curators, gallerists, collectors and other art lovers to see the art they like and find more works by your favorite artists.

A key element of the platform is that each work is categorized by artist – that means you can see all the works by the artist on the platform and stay updated when new works by that artist come onto the site.

Similarly, works are labelled by the community with other relevant art information, like the year, museum, gallery, etc. – giving you infinite possibilities for exploration. It’s as much a research and educational tool as a source of inspiration and a way to keep track of art.

rs: You’re a relatively young destination on the Internet. How have things been going as a new venture?

EK: It’s hugely exciting to see people engaging with art online and often having offline art experiences as a result.

rs: Has public reaction to the site been as you expected?

EK: We’re thrilled that the community is now in 170 countries – art is a fundamental across the world and people love to share and discover new works, wherever they are. We’ve now launched the platform in English, Spanish and Chinese!

rs: Has the backlash to sites like Instagram (Terms of Service issues) or Pinterest (copyright issues) brought traffic to ArtStack?

EK: Yes. More and more people are making ArtStack their daily go-to window for art and inspiration, and we’ve heard from some artists and curators that they now refuse to use any other social platform. That said, Instagram and Pinterest are great generalist sites – we’re simply dedicated to making it easy for more people to see more art and we’re happy to be helping people who are passionate about art. We’ll always do that in the best way possible for artists and the ArtStack community.

rs: What’s been the biggest surprise for you so far with the site?

EK: The popular appetite for discovering art! We set up ArtStack because we wanted to find more art and thought the best way would be through the people we know. We started out by just inviting our friends and it’s really blossomed!

rs: Without giving away too much, what can we look for in the future? Any new features or promotion plans?

EK: We’re working on more languages and seeing huge appetite for our mobile app. You can download it free here:

ArtStack: There’s an app for that.

Thanks, Ezra for an inside look at ArtStack!

What do you think? Ever heard of ArtStack? Have you been turned off/on by image-based networks like Pinterest or Instagram? What are other sites you frequent for visual inspiration & sharing? Let us hear from you in the conmments.

Related articles

• A Thank You From ArtStack (artistmarketingresources.com)
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• Bring Art into Your Everyday Life: 7 Tips to Art it Up (psychcentral.com)
• ArtStack: making collectors of us all by Matthew Caines (guardian.co.uk)

Crestfallen. Twice.

I like making connections. So I’m often on the lookout for them. It’s fun for me to align concepts for an expanded meaning beyond what they may singularly impart. The same is true with writing: symbolism, parallelism, etc. And as a corporate communications professional, connection-making often comes in handy, whether with words, concepts or people.

So it was interesting for me to see an uncommon term, “crestfallen” twice in a single issue of Wired this month. The word appeared in David MacNeal’s story onmobile boombox dance parties, as well asCarl Zimmer’s story on sleuthing out deadlymutant bacteria. Both are positive stories overall, but each includes a mention of someone being crestfallen. I think that’s interesting, and am happy to report not being crestfallen at this discovery.

What do you think? Ever notice an uncommon phrase in rapid succession from multiple sources? Do you believe in synchronicity? What are your thoughts on making connections? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Too Many Notes (lcef.org)
• The Dismal December.. (hiranazir66.wordpress.com)
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• Wine Tales (curmudgeon-at-large.com)

Russian Meteorite Aftermath Video

I don’t see what all the hubbub over the latest meteor in Russia is all about. I mean, based on this documentary of what happened with the Tunguska meteor event in the early 1900s, clearly the proper authorities are on top of things. This film happens to be set to the music of Metallica, but there are subtitles, so feel free to watch with the sound lowered if this type of music isn’t your fare.

And here’s another Russian meteor video featuring the music ofLeona Lewis. No word from scientists yet as to whether the music triggered this most recent event as some type of wrath from the heavens.

What do you think? Ever seen a meteor streak across the sky? Anything to be concerned about here? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• ‘Panic’ as streaking meteor injures hundreds in Russia (cosmiclog.nbcnews.com)
• Meteorite fragments rain down on Russia: 900 injuries reported; force of an atomic bomb (The Extinction Protocol)
• Meteorite Crashes in Russia (sarahonthego.com)
• Russia Meteor Blast — Injures Hundreds , causes damage across wide area(sincedutch.wordpress.com)
• Meteorite Explodes Over Russia, Panic Spreads (Updating Live) (gizmodo.co.uk)