The Portland Beavers graciously open up PGE Park to our furry friends during two games a year. No, not hippies… dogs. Ashley, Elli and I met up with Hank, Darcy and Amoni a couple weeks ago to watch the Beavers play a double header against Fresno. I always wondered if the park is cleaner or dirtier after these particular games. I can tell you that I never saw a stray nacho or a homeless hotdog lying on the ground that day. I did however see lots of spilt beer. Taunt leashes and beer to the rim don’t seem to go well together. I love the nervous look on Amoni’s face just prior to visiting the Beaver. If I had to give the states I would say:
 
90% nervous
5% anxious
4% happy because she’s out of the house
1% concentrating on holding in a giant dump

Here are some entries from Ryan. The link to his web site is located at the bottom of my blog.

In the continuing saga of my logo…

 
konan knows what he’s talking about. I’ve worked on a lot of great branding + identity projects in a photog role with a number of design studios and agencies. even in my few short years doing this, I’ve seen some awesome identity developments to know the difference between effective quality aesthetic and mediocre work. designers and art directors have many different skillsets for different application. a good graphic designer can do good layout work but produce horrible identity work.

photographers rarely have extensive identity systems, with rare exception to an extent of how far they want to market themselves. commercial + entertainment photographers are usually the ones with rich content-driven websites and matching print books, because that’s the nature of their industry. portrait/wedding photographers can get away with a standard text-based logo, because the work is obviously supposed to sell itself, and because rich design doesn’t mesh with family portriaits or engagement photos.

that being sad, your first orange logo was perfect if you want to market yourself as a girls’ senior photo photographer or a photojournalist that documents cheer squads, because that logo might as well have been pink with hearts inside the letter I’s in ‘photography.’
Cheer Squads and Girls Senior Photos? I’m fine with that…

Things are getting heated on the logo front. My brother is standing up for his original comments and my Mom has weighed in too. Here is what my brother said:
I really like the way you framed your godfather’s quote with those giant quotation marks in the background.  It says “my brother is an idiot” without being too pretentious.

Also, it distracts the reader from the real point of the discussion; which is does my company convey what I do without using words.

I’ll give the quote thing a try.  Here’s a quote from David Ogilvy, the godfather of advertising and marketing.

Product Conveyance
It is recommended that logo includes product meaning. For example, if you are an estate agent, incorporating an illustration of a house with your logo would help convey your business to customers. A potential customer searching for a property who happens to be browsing the web or a catalog will make an instant association with your logo. From a commercial and marketing perspective we can’t recommend using this technique enough

 
Here is what my mom said:
Don’t change a thing!  I like it!

 
I don’t know what to think. My brother has brought in the so-called “God Father” of marketing, but he would also flip me crap at any chance he got. My mother on the other hand loves the logo… but then again she held me back to repeat 1st grade, so she could still feel bad for me and believe she has an obligation to support my “special” talent.

 
I have my second review in. This one comes directly from the God Father himself.  No, Marlon Brando didn’t email me regarding my logo; which would be weird because I’m fairly certain he died a few years ago. This quote is from my actual God Father, Randy in Kansas City:
 

 I think it’s a very classic, professional logo. Orange is not my favorite color, but it’s better than pink. With that being said, I like it in the logo. It adds an artistic touch, and keeps it from being too conservative. I love the font; it’s also conveys an artistic element without being too playful.

 
Some of you may be questioning his credentials, so let me put your worries to rest.  He is in the business of interior architectural design. The guy practically has a PHD in Feng Shui so lets trust his artistic eye.

I went with Hank to the Mt. Tabor Soap Box Derby race last weekend.
In my opinion this event is better than the Flutag.
1.       You had the opportunity to be closer to the action
2.       There was a VERY good chance that someone could get hurt
3.       Beer along the sidelines was encouraged.
Mt. Tabor is basically an ancient volcano in SE Portland.  364 days of the year it is recreational, quiet and offers photographers an elevated photo of downtown. On this day however it is transferred into a mile of downhill shenanigans as groups of soap box derby contestants compete for either time or laughter.  All of these photos represent the lighter side of the derby, but some of the entries screamed down the track at around 40mph. Hank and I hiked from his house to Mt. Tabor to witness this for ourselves. By far the Guns N Roses entry was the best. You would think that they got serious as the speeds picked up and they negotiated the multiple curves that outline the course, but they stayed in character the whole time.

Within 20 minutes of my post today my brother was in contact to inform me that:
 
A.      Logo is too “gay”
B.       He doesn’t like script font
C.       Add a shutter instead of an “O” so people know what I do.
 
I’ll ignore the fact that he clearly didn’t read my post since I said that I don’t like elaborate images or designs in logos. What I do want to address I that he felt I should better convey what it is I “do” in my logo. I guess the word “PHOTOGRAPY” doesn’t suitably suggest my trade. I mean, how embarrassed I would be when a gentleman shows up wanting me to relive the pressure in his V5 Vertebrae; only to discover that I take photos. Oh if only I would have had a camera shutter for an “O” this whole misunderstanding could have been avoided. I have already suggested that I may change the color. I may also change the font; albeit I don’t want a serious font because I am not a serious person. Maybe there’s a fun font for me that doesn’t have a script feeling. As for comment (A)… Well, I know your in advertising/marketing and subsequently understand how to trigger a buyer’s response, but if you feel the need to criticize my logo can you not gay bash it? Maybe you can help me think of a new one in your Pilates class tomorrow morning.

Hello all, sorry the post have been few and far between lately. I am between computers right now, but the new one is on the way. My memory cards are beginning to fill up!  I have more photos from the Flutog and several from the recent trip back to Kansas that I need to process. I’m sure I will have a few from this weekend’s Adult Soapbox Derby race that I plan to attend too. In the meanwhile I got my logo created. I don’t like elaborate images and designs; especially for photography logos. Why create something that competes with your actual work? That being said, I asked for my wife’s help in designing my logo.
 

 
Overall I am pleased. I don’t know if I’m in love with the orange, but that’s an easy fix. Let me know what you think.  

I went to the Red Bull Flutag this past weekend at the water front park. Flutag is a German word that mean flight day. If Germans associate this event with flight… well, no wonder they lost the war. (Both of them) I can’t image the amount of time some of these team put into building their planes. Again, I hate to use the word “plane” since it connotates flight. Many of the teams did a dance routine prior to launch; then pushed their craft down the runway in which most then did a “Peter Pan” right off the edge. The drop was 25ft which was more than sufficient to rip the different vessels to pieces. These were taken from the Hawthorn Bridge. I showed up over an hour before the event started and this was all I could find for viewing. In all I think the paper announced 80,000 spectators.