I have spent the last few months working on a website for a local songwriter named Brenda Belcher. No holds barr on this project… we’ve done outdoor photo shoots, studio photo shoots while she records her 2nd album, and soon I hope to start shooting her at gigs so we can start putting up live shots in the website photo gallery. Looks like I found myself a good little niche to get into… a web designer that enjoys music photography

We’ve done 3 photoshoots so far… the first day we went out in University District and took 700 photos! Good god… that was a lot to post process. Brenda was such a GREAT model for me…. not only was she patient while I tried to figure out the best settings for the camera, but she was creative and had a lot of fun ideas I wince when I look back at the photos and see how long she had to smile for..lol.

The 2nd two shoots were done in the recording studio. Obviously I couldn’t shoot while they were recording (camera shutters are LOUD), so we would “stage” it. Basically I just hung back in the corner with my wine and would pop out whenever they were setting up different instrument and mic formations and have them play a bit for me while I fired off some shots.

Once upon a time I actually wanted to be a sound engineer, so I was in awe watching the whole process. Its INCREDIBLE how LONG it takes to record an album. I think during the 4 hours I was there, they recorded the lead vocals, several tracks of backup vocals, and guitar….for only a chorus! At that rate, it must take them a year to finish 12 songs.

Finally, the 3rd time was so I could get shots of her band mates recording…. they didn’t take nearly as long or had as many overdubs… getting to watch the drummer was badass tho. Kev kept posing for the camera and exaggerating his expressions, yea…looks real natural buddy! I think out of the 30 I took of him, only 2 were anything I could use.

Currently I’m working on the website, and will be posting about that soon.

Let’s see… I started learning Web Design 3+ years ago at a Community College (a good program, not one where they teach you to code with deprecated methods!). I then picked up my current job as a “HTML Producer” 2 years ago with a local Web company. In all this time I’ve been freelancing a little here and there… but now I’m finally starting to get serious about it.

I DON’T plan on quitting my day job… I enjoy having a steady job that has a project manager to handle the clients. I DO however want to start taking on more design projects (we have a designer at the day job), while having more of an opportunity to show off all the skills I have developed over the years.

What better way to kick off a new direction in your career than with a redesign?

My good buddy Brian Jones created the logo and business cards for me. I came up with the website design, based around the logo. I can do logos, but not nearly as good as Brian. When it comes to creating a company identity, leave it to the pros to perfect your vision.

I currently have 2 projects in the works, one for a writer and the other for a local musician. I’m hoping that musician sites become my “niche”. Not only can I design your site, but I can also take all your photos!! Great package deal, huh?

I’ve been contemplating setting up a blog on my portfolio as well… I would very much like to leave this one just for photography, but I have a hard enough time just keeping up with just one! lol… So that idea is on the back burner for now.

In the meantime, check out my portfolio.

Well its about time!!

This “hobby site” was the first site I ever created……   and the looks of it was definitely showing it!  So after much thought and work, I’m finally putting the site back together bit by bit. 
I never meant for the site to become a “brandi fan site”, but thats the only shows I was seeing!  Now days I’m seeing a more variety of artists and would like to be posting up pics of those shows as well (there will still be tons of brandi tho!).

I gotta get back to work…

I’ve been interviewing for 2 1/2 weeks, and I got a job!
I have NEVER gotten a job that easily….    not even at all my lame retail jobs.

So the job is doing HTML Production, for a Web company.  They have contractors that design the sites, and then I code them.   (honestly I have no idea why they split the job like that…)  So I wont get to design anything, but thats FINE with me!   Designing isnt my favorite part of Web Design.

I  start Tuesday.

Summer for me lasted only 6 weeks, and ended a few days ago. My plan was to update this site, do some art projects, and simply RELAX for awhile. (I dont know how to relax, I always get a guilt trip if I’m not being productive). That didn’t end up happening…. my 2 summer courses ended up consuming me, for the better.

The first was a “advanced web design” class. The teacher set us up in groups of 5, gave us a client to develop a site for, and then let us loose. I had 2 developers, and 3 designers in my group…. I had THOUGHT I was the type that preferred to work alone, but instead found that I really ENJOYED having others to bounce ideas off of. Plus its really nice not having to do EVERYTHING, and getting to concentrate on what I do best. (God knows I never enjoyed doing “group work” in any of my other classes).

Our client was the LogHouse Museum in West Seattle. We gave her a pretty great site, featuring a “content management system” so that she could update it herself. The site still wasnt quite done when class ended, so I have taken over the maintenance and finished it. I like the museum director alot, and didnt want to leave her with a unfinished product. (I’m considering it community service) http://www.loghousemuseum.org
Thats another character flaw(?) that I notice at work. I dont like leaving unfinished work, that someone else will have to finish. (It may be a good work ethic, but its so annoying not allowing myself to go home on time).
Anyway, the class was awesome. For once I wasnt doing ’schoolwork’, but ‘real work’ where people were actually depending on me.

My 2nd class was a “web careers” class, where we worked on our resumes, portfolios, and had guest speakers from the industry. It was taught by the 1st (and favorite) web teacher that I had. I’ve come a long way from that first class, and I’m now ready to find a job. http://www.rengland.net

During these 6 weeks off, I’ve become “official”. I’m getting paid for my first design job I’m still pinching myself over that one. Shes a dear friend of mine, and I can only hope I can come up with a site that benefits her. (the process has been a challenge, and deserves a post of its own!)

I’ve been sending out resumes all week, and had my first phone interview today. Happily, I didnt tank it…and actually sounded like I knew what I was talking about Competition in Seattle is tough, so hopefully I find something quickly. In the meantime, theres ALWAYS more to learn, skills to develop, and projects to keep me busy!