This week has been a little more domestic in comparison to the craziness of the previous few weeks. I did have one shoot, but aside from that it’s been computer, computer, computer.
I’ve been continuing to work on the post-production of the contributions to the Highrise project from around the world, which has been taking up the biggest chunk of my time. I’m just about done with the first batch of collage pieces though so it’s coming along. Here are a few more randoms from my last visit:
© Jaime Hogge
© Jaime Hogge
© Jaime Hogge
As mentioned I did have one shoot this week. A couple weeks ago I was playing fashion photographer; this time around I was a food photographer. I worked with JP Gravina at Extreme Group on a pro bono/spec/whatever gig for a local Italian restaurant. It was a really neat concept and I think the shoot went quite well, especially since I don’t exactly shoot a lot of food related imagery. Of course our food stylist who came through at the 11th hour helped us out immensely. Without her we would’ve been banging our heads against the wall (literally judging by all the crazy food tricks she had up her sleeve) so, thanks Heather!
I did also manage to get a minor update to my site taken care of in time for my first email promo via Adbase to go out. I didn’t get things sorted out with the designer I’m working with in time for this emailer, but I really wanted to get something out this week as I’m planning to do a larger web update and another send out in a month or so. I just didn’t want to be sending out e-promos on a weekly basis. The whole process of preparing things was a little more involved than I thought it would be, though I guess that could be because I’m no designer and it takes me twice as long to put things together, and four times as long to decide if it’s good or not. In the end I think the hardest part was figuring out what to put in the subject line. I actually ended up calling my support guy at Adbase to discuss it with him as I figured he sees more subject lines than anybody. He gave me a few pointers and off it went (well, as of this writing it’s technically still sending to a few stragglers). I’ve got no clue if it went over well or not as I don’t know what the average numbers are for most people (but I would love to!). So far I’ve had quite a few opens, a few click-throughs, 100+ ‘out of office’ replies (snow day apparently?) and… one email back. I’m looking forward to sending out round two with a designer’s touch and a more focused list of recipients.
That’s really all the action this week, back to Photoshop for me.
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It looks like some Olympic action is coming my way. Thanks to a referral from Jennilee Marigomen I’m heading to an Olympic non-sporting event. I haven’t heard what the event is yet but hopefully it will involve some unique access. Jennilee is a Vancouver photographer and couldn’t take the job herself due to time constraints. How great is it to get a referral from another photographer? The client is a trade magazine out of New York called BizBash. Hopefully I’ll get a few days work from them over the next couple of weeks. Thanks Jennilee.
My little Walrus party went well last night. Things ran smoothly thanks to a few crucial people. Planning a party takes a lot of work and time. It’s all worth it though. With the amount of cheese I bought you’d have thought I was expecting 500+ guests. I should really leave those sorts of things to catering. I’m looking to fatten up a little anyways…cheese with every meal for the next two weeks! I was happy with the turnout. It was a good mix of industry folk, friends, family and neighbors. A few people that I wasn’t expecting showed up and a few that I was expecting didn’t. I suppose that’s the way it works. The best thing about the event was the feeling of support I received. Thank you, thank you!
My POOR BUT SEXY series is out the door (well, virtually). The high res scans look great and I can’t wait to see Volume 2 in print. I believe it’s coming out sometime in the spring. Ingrid, from Seed9, lent a needed hand with my edit. Fresh eyes are a must.
Here are a couple of images that I’m looking to match up with a portrait or two. They’re from a little boxing gym near my house that is located in the basement of a ‘slightly less than upscale’ hotel and bar. The place has character, that’s for damn sure (and a unique smell combination of beer and sweat).
© Grant Harder
© Grant Harder
Lets talk in a week.
The Year in the Life Project follows two junior shooters (Jaime’s in Toronto, Grant’s in Vancouver) through their weekly adventures, trying to make a go of it, in the world of commercial photography.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Grant! I can’t wait to see your PBS series!
Grant, Jennilee is one of the best people Ive never met. Tell her Clay says Hi…
How are you guys using your new Adbase account. Are you just pulling names from a database or using it to find contact info for people you’ve already targeted?
To test the waters I was just using some lists generated by me picking from a few different options. I definitely plan to do a more focused send out based on the stats and responses given from this big one.
Likewise Dan!
Clay- I’ve somehow managed to have never met Jennilee in person. We know each other via the information super highway.
Shane- a little of both actually…the data base allows you to search specific categories and then view names, publications and agencies that you may never of heard or thought of. You can then do a little research to see if they are a good fit.