One year!

One year ago I started this blog. As a way of celebrating I thought I would share a collection of all the headers from the last year. As with many things on this little blog I try pay attention to little details, visually at least. Most of the time the header banner reflects the subject of a current post, or maybe something going on in my life. Additional interesting note: the L85 is my hand writing, I chose two out of about 20 or so different tries and alternate depending on the picture content. Here you go:

Insta-tastic!

It's been a bit quiet on the blog front the last two months as I have taken some time to actually try and work on some art, but fear not creativity is still afoot! One creative outlet I have started having fun with is Instagram. For those of you who don't know, Instagram is an app for the iPhone (which I finally recently acquired)which allows you to take and share photos. Part of what makes it unique is that it has a battery of filters, which allow you to filter your pictures to resemble the output of various cameras, or era's of photography. I have to admit, at first I was a detractor of this "vintage" phone based filtering, as I was a supporter of doing it the "hard way" quite literally with hardware like my Holga or my Harinezumi The Harinezumi site nails it (Japanese translation):
"We did not want the Digital Harinezumi to take sharp, crisp images - we prefer its slightly blurred focus and inaccurate colours, thrilling our lives with a dream-like view, interpreting and re-inventing what is around us."
Yes! Thrilling our lives! The point being, I thought all this phone filtering was cheating. Then I picked up a iPhone 4s, and was thrilled with the camera. I had been seeing a lot of awesome output from Instagram on sites like Iso50 and decided to give it a go. First thing I found is that, most of the filters, are actually quiet good. They don't allow for some of the same mistakes as the Holga, but they looked really nice in use. I am not really a fan of the fake borders, which mimics the print of old film (I think this is best left for the real deal), but these are only options and most people choose not to use them. For me, the real magic of Instagram is the sharing. The application is setup much like a familiar social network, you can follow people, they can follow you, but there are no updates, no links, no games, no drama! You can 'like' and comment on photos but that's it. You just see the things that the people you follow find visually interesting, how great is that? I constantly see things I find visually peculiar or awesome, but I'm not apt to share them on the "book", constantly filling peoples feed with stuff they don't care about or want to see. With Instagram you just see photos by people you want to see photos from. It's a great outlet for me to share things that don't quiet warrant a blog post, or something I might not post on other social networks. I've even started sharing pictures I've taken with my Holga through Instagram. The Harinezumi will not be far behind. All this being said you should give Instagram a try, or if you already have Instagram, follow me @axisnms
Below are a few of my favorite from my Instagram, all of them taken with my iPhone:

The messy detail No.1

It's a trip

Another vacation, another "beat vignette". This one is me walking into Placa Catalunya in Barcelona. I love videos of walking through crowds. I have a few similar shots that are especially cool from NYC. This was shot with my favorite little camera, the Harinezumi, which is excellent for shooting inconspicuously due to it's small size. I loved some of the still frames of people looking at me, as well as some people just framed well in passing, so I decided to accentuate that, it almost makes for a 'where's Waldo' effect. The music it self is a modified version an older track of mine called "Streets Empty". Interesting technical note is the live drum samples come from when I was interning at Arlyn studios, and are some great room mic recordings done with a U87 in the main room which is nice and "woody".

Below are the stills that are at the beginning of the video. I think each has a rather cool composition about it. I love the girl looking right at the camera and the confused looking couple that seem to be melting into the glare. Also, I really dig the man making the classic 'searching' gesture, which I am sure is just meant to block the sun, but I like to think of him as a wayward traveler, and he kind of reminds me of Rick Steves. The last shot I just like the guys candid face and the frame composition of the background.

In Progess

Over the last few years I've been working on developing a new art style. As with anything new to me, I don't just let it out in to the wild after inception. It must be researched, and refined, so as I can start to realize its potential. For the coming year I plan on making art a big part of my creative efforts. Best case scenario end game would be a show at a little gallery somewhere. I am considering creating a tumblr or a separate blog for this new art, but am still undecided on that at this time. For now I am working on coming up with a concise definition of what the style is. A definition that I am sure to, redefine. More on this later.

Sentimental View

Just a short little clip I did while working on making a live incarnation of our Bluffs project. I've been slowly building a library of video clips for eventual use as source material for live projected visuals. The below is one of those clips.

The Subterranean Way

Another "beat vignette" from my November 2011 New York City trip. I forgot exactly what subway stop this was at (anyone care to fill me in?). Analog bleeps and loops courtesy of Korg, and Moog. The synth at the end is a Little Phatty controlling a MG1 via control voltage, playing a single detuned sliding note in unison. The beats are comprised of various processed bits and fragments from my own library.