Phlearn

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Colin

So theres this amazing photographer and Graphic designer named Aaron Nace who I have been following his work for a few years now. I first saw his work on Flickr while he was doing his 365 project, a years worth of self portraits, and new there was something amazing about him. Well fast forward a few years later and he now owns and operates one of the most amazing photo/photoshop sites on the web, its called Phlearn. Monday through Friday he posts a new video relating to photography, design and life in general. The community that has been built, the Phamily, is phenomenal. They all help eachother and provide motivation and feedback to anyone who asks. I had never really taken an in depth look until a few weeks ago, and I really wish I had joined the Phamily a lot longer ago. But we cant live in the past and theres no better time than the present to act.

Yesterday I entered my first contest, the winners get a free tutorial, or 2 in this case, for the members who best implement the topic of the day, usually Mondays post. This week Aaron was teaching us how to make more realistic shadows while compositing images. I thought i knew how to do this, then I got Phlearned. Did you know that all light, shadows and highlights lend their coloring to each other? Shadows are never black, they reflect the color of whatever is casting the shadow on them, even if its very subtle. It’s amazing the difference between the two when you see them side by side. So in this weeks episode/contest we were asked to all composite the same 2 images and cast the shadows. It was fun. I learned a lot and can not wait to Phlearn more. Heres the video if your interested. The Secret to Creating Shadows. Check it out! Join the Phamily and become a better Photographer, designer, artist and most importantly HUman Being.

Heres my results.

Before

After

Snow days

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Colin

I FInally got back into some digital illustrrations and retouching work again. I missed it. You see, before I left New Mexico the pen for my Wacom tablet broke. I soon realized how dependant I am on my tablet, and let me tell you, it sucks using a mouse to edit! Well I bought a new one about a week ago and I just had to find some work. I found a lovely lady named Laurelle who needed a photo manipulation for a magazine entry. It was an open contest looking for a retoucher that could match the style she was looking for. I was happy to learn she picked me and my photo has been submitted to a fashion magazine for the contest they were holding. Hopefully this is the first of many to come. Enjoy!

After (click image for larger size)

Before

A New Year, A New City and A New Look

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Colin

I recently moved to Denver, Colorado and could not be more excited. I have wanted to move here since I was a freshman in high school after my parents took me to Red Rocks Amphitheater for a Fourth of July concert. Unfortunately, the lead singer had a heart attack and the show was cancelled about an hour before it supposed to start so we decided to go up to Boulder for the holiday. I fell in love with all of the mixture of old brick architecture and green everywhere, not to mention the beautiful mountains in the background. I knew right then and there I would move to Colorado one day. Well it took 14 years but I’m finally here.

A big reason I needed to move here was for the work opportunities. I recently was hired to do the creative work for a TwinHops Brewing, a startup brewery in Aurora headed by twin brothers Brad and Scott Burton and there older brother Rick. I served in the Navy with Brad and was very happy that our paths crossed again allowing us to be able to work together again. I was more than happy to accept his offer to create the visual identity for his company and become the new creative director. This is an amazing oppertunity for me to expand my creativity and I hope to find myself as an artist and break out of my comfort zone.

The whole point of this blog, originally, was, to keep up with my design skills and have a creative outlet to have some fun with and, if things went well, find work. Well both have happened over the last year and I couldn’t be more ecstatic. I still plan on posting new work, both personal and paid, and cant wait to see what 2012 has to bring. After all, 2011 was pretty damn good to me, so this year has a lot to live up to. And I know with out a shadow of doubt it wont disappoint.

Oregon

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Colin

Went to visit Heather in Oregon last week and got some amazing pics!

Got to love those Pinups

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Colin

Did another pinup for a client. I love doing these, they’re so fun and happy. Hope you like!

original

Pinup v 2.0

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Colin

A while back I tried my first pinup, and now as I look back, I can see I had no clue what I was doing. But thats the great thing about doing what I’m doing. I can see myself growing and learning pretty quickly. This was what I had in mind when I was trying out the first one.

after
before

Next Level

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Colin

Well I really think Ive stepped my game up in the retouching/editing department lately. Really understanding the intricacys of the retouching world, as well as, learning a lot from master retouchers. Thank God for mentors. Well today was a great photo given to me by Laurelle. She wants to model for Victoria secret one day. She asked for an edit like you would find in a VS catalogue. This was my take

After

original

detail

Editing again

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Colin

Finally got to do some more editing. These were from the lovely Crystal Leland over on Model Mayhem. She wanted her arm to look smaller and just do some basic retouching.

Art Is Everywhere

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Colin

After meeting artists participating on the international Folk Art Market in Santa Fe I was inspired to be creative. I decided to do a street style portrait sessions collaborating with the patrons who purchased art from my gallery. The result was a lot of fun interaction with travelers from all over the world. All the photos were taken win my iPhone camera using the instagram app These were the best image.

Pretty neat

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Colin

I was looking through some new contests over at Worth 1000 and happen to see this on their front page. I didnt win the contest, but they still chose my entry to be on the cover of the contest. I just thought that was pretty neat. Heres the entry.