Fluidoptics.com

As some of you may be aware, I've started a new project. Think of it as a real-time sketchbook. It's my photo-a-day blog where I will post a new image from my daily travels, no matter the circumstances. I'm sticking to it. And it won't always be good, but I promise it will at the very least be interesting. Please go to www.fluidoptics.com and subscribe to the RSS feed here. And as always, thank you all so much for supporting my craziness. It means the world to me.

-C

New Hope, old friends...

Spent the day in New Hope, PA today with the lady and good lord, what beautiful weather we had. It was 85 and sunny. Tomorrow (today?) it's going to reach 90. It's like summer came out of nowhere... and I love it. We met up with some old friends of ours for dinner while we were there and enjoyed sangria and fondue in a cute little open-air patio restaurant we like to go to. Overall, it was a perfect day. We got there just after 1pm and stayed 'till 11. It just so happens it was the shad festival this weekend, too, so it was full of excitement and business. That also meant there were lots of little street vendors and interesting people everywhere you turned. So much fun... can't wait to go back when it's a little less crowded and go for a walk along the river and maybe take a train ride.

In other news... I'm just a short while away from being first-time Godfather. I'm waiting on news, but some very close friends of mine are due to have their first any time now. So here's wishing them all the best as they welcome their colossal bundle of joy into the world :) Send 'em some good vibes. My prayers and best wishes are with you three!! Godspeed and I can't wait to meet the little fella!

That's all for now. Gotta get up early and shoot photos in the park while the weather is so nice...

be excellent~

-c

Portraiture..

Just a quick post before falling asleep. Got an email from Jonathan Barkat (my mentor, www.jonathanbarkat.com) a few minutes ago with a couple portraits he took of me this past week. Gotta hand it to him... he knows how to shoot a photo.

There were suggestions that I was doing a vincent gallo impersonation...

It's in the mail...

The next round of mailers are all ready. All that's left is to stamp 'em and drop them in the mailbox. This time, I think I'm going to be more forward and make more follow-up calls about a week or so after they're out the door. I'm targeting a more local area this time around, as well. My goal is to sit down with some art directors and get some time face-to-face to introduce myself and my work. Let's hope this works! Pray for Mojo.

I'm also re-doing the album artwork for The Gentlemen's Club's debut album, Black Light Sex Rock (http://www.myspace.com/thegentlemensclubmusic). They're releasing a special-edition version of the album with all new tracks and I was asked to re-boot the artwork to go along with it. It's turning out well. Here's a preview of the cover:

I wanted to go with a lighter, kinda retro pin-up feel for this version. It's fun and playful this way, I think. And as always, the lovely lady Sara looks stunning.

This weekend looks like it's going to be beautiful. They're forecasting mid 80's and sunny. So I think the lady and I are going to go out to New Hope / Lambertville and spend the day amongst the new-age hippies down there. I love that place. I'm sure it will be crowded, but it'll be well worth it. Plus we can bend some elbows at Triumph Brewing Co. and enjoy some tasty food while we're there too. Yum.

Well, that's all for now. Time to go to work. Go get some fresh air.
Be excellent.

-C

It's in the details.

Working with my new camera has been great. I've already taken a ton of pictures... I'm definitely going to need a new hard drive soon. I took this photo last night when I was about to go to sleep. The cat joined me while I was looking at some shots I had taken earlier in the evening. Then she did this whole thing here. Neat, huh? The noise reduction on this thing is amazing.

ISO - 1600; F/3.5; 1/21 sec.; 18-55 kit lens at 18mm

I might start a new project... I'm still debating whether or not I'd keep up with it, but I've always wanted to do a photo-a-day project. I've got a new camera. I've got a camera phone if I don't have the slr with me. So in theory, I could easily upload a photo a day somehow. Might be interesting. Would that be something worth viewing? Please discuss.

-c

Armed and dangerous...

I am no longer a photo-less photo-illustrator. I made the big leap and dished out the funding for some new gear and good lord, I'm happy about it. First and foremost, I must thank Stacey who sold me an incredible camera at a very fair price. I can't thank you enough for your honesty and for helping a fellow artist out of a rough situation. It's greatly appreciated. The camera has found a great new home.

That being said, I'm naming the new camera Stacey, out of gratitude.

Now on to business... I have had plenty of time to think about future projects in the past 3 months while my poor old camera lay dying. I'm still debating getting the old fella repaired to be used as a backup body. I'm going to have to check out service prices, though. I just made one invenstment and I have a few others ahead of me so it's one step at a time. But in the meanwhile, mailers are being finalized and I'm going to be making some calls in the very near future to sit down with some art directors. Let's hope for positive news :)

Also, I'm currently looking at getting involved in craft shows and doing another gallery show in the near future. More news on that as it develops. But after having so much fun at the last show, I can't say no to doing it again. This one will be better-promoted and (hopefully) in a larger venue. The goal will be to pack the house. I wanna party.

Well, I'm off to go hunt down a movie. Then it's back to the city to get down to work. I'll be visiting pierre's costume shop in the morning. Promises to be fun!...

-Craig

Longwood gardens...

This place is kinda awesome. beautiful weather 2day. enjoying some much-needed relaxation with sara. good times =)

Concentric lines.

I made this today. What did you make?

I have been experiencing a case of ups and downs lately that has left my head a bit dizzy. Most everything is going well, as usual, but every so often you find yourself quite disappointed with the trivial misdeeds of other people. Why some people choose to do certain things will never make sense to me. Thankfully, in the long run, none of the negative stuff matters and I'm left with the good. I had a great talk with a good friend of mine today and he gave me some perspective on things that I really needed. Don't sweat the small stuff. Karma will work its ways.

Speaking of good, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming weekend with Sara. Every year we have a great easter. We still paint eggs the night before and her folks still have fun with us and hide them around the lawn in the morning. It's childish, but we're still big kids on the inside. That's part of being a happy adult, I think. Never losing your ability to have fun and actually play. I'm not going to pretend to be holier-than-thou or anything.. I enjoy being an adult. I look forward to beer night every week. I like knowing my car insurance is lower. Whatever. There's something to be said for just getting out and having fun for the hell of it. No rhyme or reason.

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So I haven't bought my camera yet. Which sucks. I'm making due with a point-and-shoot at the moment. Why haven't I bought the camera yet, you ask? Because Canon just announced their new Rebel T1i is coming out in early may. Which also means, buying a rebel now would be foolish 'cuz the price is going to drop significanly in a short while. So I have to hold out a little longer. It's torture. It really is. But I'm saving money, which is a good thing.

I'm also looking into new computers. This one has served me well for the past several years, but it's getting to a point where i need to retire the old champ and use it as a backup machine. I'm shopping for new systems. I think the smart way to go in my case would be an affordable desktop unit with (perhaps) a little netbook for on-the-road work (the netbook being a later investment). Desktops these days are really cheap. See: www.slickdeals.net or woot.com. Good deals to be had there.

Well, it's about time to work on my new mailers. I'm making mini-portfolios :) Got myself a bunch of nice paper and ink for the printer and I'm ready to rock. More on that later...

The cat is watching you.