The Setup (desk)

Setup desk

Hardware

My main workhorse computer for design, photography and other production tasks is a 27” i7 quad core iMac with 8GB RAM and a 1TB hard drive. I upgraded from a 15″ MacBook Pro with an 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with upraded 4GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive. That was my first Mac as before that I always built my own Windows PCs. I have a 24″ Cinema Display connected to it where I keep all my inessential applications in view.

I have never enjoyed using any of Apple’s mice so when I ordered my iMac I immediately ordered my second Logitech G9 (my other one is a little worn out from over use). While I like to be as minimal as possible, I just can’t get myself to use a wireless mouse. Plus the laserness of it and adjustable weight are great. I use the Apple wired keyboard because of the number pad. I have a wireless one and it just seems “not enough”. I used to have a Wacom tablet because I thought any self-respecting designer or photographer needed one, but I never used it so I gave it to my little brother.

Most of my information consumption is done on my 16GB 3G iPad. This is my default device for browsing, tweeting, and controlling my iTunes Music or Apple TV at home. I take it with me sometimes and I always take it with me when I travel.

When I’m not browsing the internet or watching something I can sometimes be found reading my Kindle 3 Wi-Fi. This thing is amazing. The size is perfect and the non-backlit screen is perfect for keeping my concentration on the long form reading. The only downside is that Amazon makes buying books for it so easy that my “to-read” list keeps growing at a far greater rate than my “read” list.

Backup

I’ve previously covered my backup process here, but I have updated the whole process and will go into more detail in a later post. One main addition is a APC XS 1300 UPC batter back-up. With as many power outages Juneau gets, this is a must have.

Software

On my iMac, Photoshop is constantly open for me. InDesign is open more often than not as well. I use Illustrator frequently for various design elements and logos and stuff. I mainly use Adobe CS4, I have CS5 but most of my clients have CS4 and its easier just to use CS4 for InDesign rather than doing the whole down-convert thing. I don’t really like the look of CS5 all that much either. I’m always slow to start using the latest Creative Suite because it takes me out of my comfort zone. When it comes to programs I am using 80%+ of the time I want to be in my comfort zone.

I code in BBEdit and use Transmit as my go-to FTPer. I’m seriously looking into trying out Coda though.

For Video I use Final Cut Pro 7.

My web browsing is all done in Chrome. The bookmark synching is great. I might switch to Safari though when lion comes out.

For email I use Sparrow for its amazing Gmail integration. I switched to a native client to keep my email separate from the rest of my browsing. However, I tend to respond to most of my email from my phone. I have various other emails that get collected to my main email so when I have to respond to email from those I open the browser and get into Gmail. Google Hosted is amazing.

My RSS consumption both on my Mac and iPad is done via Reeder. Its an amazing looking and functioning app that I highly recommend. It also has great Instapaper integration which is a must have app for anyone with an iOS device. Being able to save articles to read later is a great way to not miss out on any links worth reading.

Twitter for Mac and Twitter for iPad are what I use to stay in touch on Twitter. I prefer native clients for twitter over the website just so I can always have it open and to the side (one of the inessential apps I keep on the cinema display).

I use OnePassword to store all my passwords and vital information. An install first on any computer.

I use Dropbox to store all my documents and invoices. Will become even more valuable to me when I get a laptop in the near future.

MarsEdit is a great native app for updating the various blogs I contribute to. Mainly this one and Bag Exposure.

NV Alt is a simple but powerful place for notes.

Omnifocus is my ultimate to-do list. I’m able to keep track of all my tasks for specific clients as well as personal tasks all neatly organized. The Mac app syncs with the app on my iPad so I always know what I need to do next.

LittleSnapper is a great screenshot and website capture app. I use it to capture, store and organize all the various design inspiration I come across on my daily web surfing.

I use Billings to invoice clients. Wonderful native app to keep tracking of time, sent invoices, retainers, and payments.

I always have a Terminal window open. I’m more often than not connected to my Linode VPS to do some command line stuff.

Future

I am looking to add a laptop to the mix in the near future. Waiting to see if Apple refreshes the Macbook Airs in the next couple of days. My girlfriend just got an 11″ Macbook Air and it is amazing. I would love to have such a portable computer to produce stuff when I am not around the iMac.

I’ll probably upgrade the iMac in a year or so after Thunderbolt is more widely used by the external hard drive manufacturers. When I upgrade that I’ll upgrade the 24″ Cinema Display to a 27″ so they screens will play even nicer together.

 

For Creatives: A Pixar Animator’s Letter

Pixar animator Austin Madison’s hand written letter to aspiring artists: Letters of Note: PERSIST

“I, like many of you artists out there, constantly shift between two states. The first (and far more preferable of the two) is white-hot, “in the zone” seat-of-the-pants, firing on all cylinders creative mode. This is when you lay your pen down and the ideas pour out like wine from a royal chalice! This happens about 3% of the time.”

I am sure there are many of us who can relate.

(Via firstshowing.net.)

Teton Gravity Research filming in Juneau

I recently got word that the ski/snowboard film company Teton Gravity Research would be basing out of Juneau for one of their Southeast AK heli-skiing segments for their upcoming film. After hearing that info I decided to get a hold of a couple of the pro skiers (Sage Cattabriga Alosa and Seth Morrison) that were along for the trip to see if they would be down to do an interview for the local newspaper’s outdoor section. After connecting them with the outdoors reporter we scheduled a meet-up at Eaglecrest to snap some photos for the article. It was great meeting some of the best skiers in the world and it was cool to see that they were just stoked to ski no matter where it was.

Today is supposed to be a good day weather wise. Hopefully they get some shots.

downdays with teton gravity research

(Sage Cattabriga Alosa and Seth Morrison)

Sub Zero Wedding Photography

Laying on the snow to take a photo in -5° is as cold as it sounds. This last weekend I flew up to Anchorage, AK and then drove up to Nenana, AK with my parents to photograph my cousin’s wedding. It was cold.

When it is that cold outside you have to “pre-light” pretty quick. You also have to roll with the punches when one of your flashes stops working right as your subjects get there and you don’t have time to figure it out. My cousin was a trooper though and with the help of my little brother a.k.a. my photo assistant, we got the shots we needed outdoors and proceeded to get the rest of the shots we needed in the warm and cozy church.

A test shot to check the lighting. This is before
my flash/pocketwizard stopped working.

The final take away shot. Lighting wasn’t
exactly what I wanted because of the failed
flash/pocketwizard but I think it is still a shot to be proud of.

A few new web projects

I recently launched three new web projects that are curated “web magazines” focusing on their respective niches. They are bagexposure.com, designrgoods.com and gadgetbagr.com. I’m pretty stoked on the sites, they take up a little bit of my mornings but it is worth it. I am definitely not a writer, that’s why I take photos and design things but I power through it. BagExposure.com has already been featured on some pretty big national sites that include: notcot.org, popphoto.com and unplggd.com.

bag exposure

designr goods

gadget bagr

Armada JJ’s

It is nice to be able to purchase a product for not only its functionality but also its aesthetic. This year’s Armada JJ powder ski definitely falls into that mold.

A little bit about the functionality of the JJ:

With the reintroduction of pro riders JP Auclair’s and Julien Regnier’s pro model ski in 2009, the “JJ” (previously known as the JP vs. Julian), the duo redesigned the ski to take advantage of newer ski technologies such as the growing trend in powder-specific skis toward rockered shapes. They however wanted their ski to remain all-mountain friendly and accomplished this by moving the “fat” part of the skis from near the tips back towards the center of the ski, causing the flotation of the ski to be closer to the skier’s input, while still maintain a traditional side-cut and camber underfoot. The traditional side-cut and camber underfoot allows for the ski to perform well on firm/compacted snow. They basically engineered a ski that will float on the powder when it needs to but still carve on the groomers.

A little bit about the aesthetic of the JJ:

With this years JJ (2011), Armada collaborated with Quebec artist Sebastian Larose. Sebastian is a long time friend of JP Auclair and has been designing the JP vs. Julien pro model since the model’s inception. This years model features a techno-punk styling of an Alice in Wonderland theme complete with a disappearing Cheshire Cat. The top-sheet graphic is amazingly detailed and beautifully laid out.

The base of the ski is consistent with past Armada bases of just having their logo on the tips and tails and “Armada” in a chosen typeset. The twist with this years model is that they chose to go with an “old fashioned” style font rather than the modern/futuristic style that they commonly go with. The font seems to be a customized variation of “Rosewood.” Another small deviation from the norm is the inverted color scheme from the left ski to the right ski, a subtle difference but still nice.







Burton [ak]

I am a huge believer in both functionality and style. When it comes to outerwear, its hard to get more functional or stylish than Burton’s [ak] series. That functionality and style comes from Burton’s long-term partnership with the little-known design house FYI Design Department. FYI specializes in product development of technical outerwear that includes apparel, gloves, bags and backpacks. After a 5 year stint at Arctyeryx (including developing their revolutionary zipper technology), FYI founder, Tom Routh decided to set up his own design shop to capitalize on his knowledge and experience and apply it to projects he was passionate about. One thing that comes across about Tom in interviews is that he knows his stuff. He lives technical outerwear and pushes both fabrics and manufacturing processes to the next level.

I just picked up my second pair of Burton [ak] pants for the upcoming winter and I am positive it wont be the last time I buy an FYI designed product.

Sometimes I paint things that aren’t walls.

Every year or two I usually change up the interior design of my room to freshen things up. This usually involves, amongst others things, changing the color scheme. During these times I am often inspired to change out the paintings on my walls to coordinate with the new colors. I just switched from an orange/brown color scheme to a grey/yellow scheme so I decided to paint some things to match. I don’t consider myself a painter by any means, its more of way for me to cheaply decorate my walls.

Some of the things I’ve painted: