A cool cemetery in CT. I wish we could have gone inside, but there was a fence (yea, I know…I should have jumped it).

I’m sharing these simply because I need to post more I don’t think the photos are that great…but the scene is still cool.

I was loving the arrangement of the graves, and all the white snow and blue shadows.
If I could have a “do-over”, I would get better shots of the grave dates since a lot of them were from the early 1800s.

Landon Pigg

The plan for today was to work on editing concert photos (Landon Pigg, Mindy Smith), and to edit some photos of a friend in the recording studio this week. Instead i spent the day restore my recently wiped out computer. Replacing all my browsers, software, and music wasn’t my idea of fun.

Needless to say, I didn’t anything done and I’m flying out to CT in a few hours… argh… Despite my efforts to get my laptop color calibrated, I just don’t trust it. I doubt i’ll be able to catch up on any photos there either.

At least CT should be fun! Not only will I get to visit some great friends, but we’re seeing Brandi at the Ridgefield Playhouse and checking out a roller derby game (my first!).

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 after being locked out of my blog for nearly a month, I’m finally able to post again… wow, that was hell. Save your passwords in multiple places folks!

Anyway, I wanted to make sure I mentioned one of the favorite albums of 2009… Zee Avi’s self titled album. I can’t tell you how many late nights I spent listening to this album on repeat. Her sound is “jazzy folk”, simple songs with some great melodies. Zee is from Malaysian and got her “break” on youtube. Since then shes been playing at festivals and just passed through Seattle last month a small tour.

The show was at the Crocodile Cafe, and this was my first time going there since they remodeled it. OMG…what a makeover! Gone is the large flat music room, with the annoying bar in the middle. Now its “smaller” type feel, with a larger stage and a balcony. I think this is my favorite Seattle club…. especially since they didn’t seem to care about cameras (figures…. since I went through the effort of getting a photo pass).

You know how when there’s an artist you really like, and they end up being horrible live? Yea I was a little nervous…. I’m happy to state that that was NOT the case here. Zee is not nearly as mellow and quiet as I thought she was. Not only did her voice sound exactly like the album, but she had a band as well. And shes funny! Shes generally a lot more charming on stage than I thought she would be.

Photography notes: When it comes to photography, I’m going to take back what I said earlier about this being my new favorite club. The lighting was horrible! The didn’t use a spotlight at all, and just illuminated Zee in colored lights. Even my 1.4 aperture lens was having difficulty getting enough light to get a fast shutter speed. My photographer friend has a full frame camera, and literally smoked my Canon 40d. Sigh…. Just when you think you’ve finally made all your photography purchases, and have all the lenses you need….. there will yet be something else. While I don’t see myself saving up for a full-frame camera (its a lot of money for a amateur), I do see myself upgrading to a 7D….eventually.

Here’s is the song that originally hooked me in:

I first saw A Fine Frenzy a little over a year ago when they opened for Brandi Carlile. Although they weren’t the most exciting live act (Allison stayed mostly at the piano), the music hooked on me immediately.

Fast forward now to the 2nd album, Allison apparently got the memo that its time to rev it up a little and have some fun. The large piano has been replaced by keyboards at the front of the stage. And no longer does she have a shy persona, but instead dances around and strikes theatrical poses. I was with the pack of photographers in the front, so its hard to see what the crowd was thinking. But I know I was enjoying it! I love to see people enjoying themselves, even at the risk of looking stupid.

My favorite moments were “What I Wouldn’t Do”, the cover of Blondies “Heart of Glass” (that was AWESOME), “Almost Lover”, and the extended “Blow Away”. I have heard Almost Lover live before, but the vocals last night were so much RICHER than I remembered them. The crowd sweetly sang the last chorus, and quite a few of us got teared up (myself included).

Opening acts were “Among the Oak and Ash” (Josh Joplin and Garrison Starr folk/rock) and Landon Pigg.

This was my first time shooting at Neumos, and have never realized how much the lighting SUCKS there! All the red backlights make Allison’s hair look like its on fire..lol. And the club doesn’t make very good use of spotlights. Next time I shoot there, I won’t be trying to shoot from the front.

Anyway, great band, great show…  I should be in Portland tonight seeing them again.