This May Be The Best Advice For Organizing Your Portfolio Yet

Photographer, blogger and master self-promoter Chase Jarvis conducted this video interview about a year ago. It was recently reposted at his blog. Allegra Wilde, visual strategist and founder of eyeist.com spends about an hour and a half talking about ways to organize your work that may really help in holding the attention of art buyers while not only showcasing your work but allowing them a glimpse into your personal vision when it comes to making images. 

Over the years, I have spent considerable time talking to clients, designers, consultants and art buyers about how to best represent my own work. This video contains some of the best advice I've heard yet.

Thanks Chase. Thanks Allegra.

Kona Stories

Arrived in the quaint, seaside town of Kailua-Kona late sunday afternoon and headed straight to the waterfront drag in search of photo-ops. 

Checked into our lodgings for the next few days, only to find that miscommunications between mainland corporate offices and local property management meant that two of three scheduled resorts were as yet unfinished. As the multi-day assignment also called for a day of shooting iconic Big Island scenery, we quickly regrouped and spent Day 1 driving around under thick skies laden with volcanic smog emissions in search of sun & scenics. Though the skies were uncooperative for the most part, the effort was not entirely in vain and yielded a handful of good imagery.

Kailua-Kona Waterfront

Our arrival coincided with the arrival of a late season south swell producing waves all up & down the south-west coast. Body surfers, body boarders, surfers & SUP enthusiasts were out en-masse taking full advantage of the sizable surf.

Drop-in @ Magic Sands Beach

After our stop to shoot surf at Magic Sands, we headed further south towards towards to coffee growing district of South Kona & Capt. Cook. The smell of fresh roasting beans filled the air as the volcanic fog thickened the further south we traveled. Stopping for a quick lunch in Capt. Cook, we decided to head towards what appeared to be distant blue skies in the upcountry regions of North Kohala & Waimea. Ascending the mountains, the air grew cooler, the skies clearer and the views spectacular as we made our way roughly two hours northward, all the way to the small community of Hawi. Stopping here for caffeine replenishment, it was back on the road along the Kohala Coastline thru Kawaihai, Hapuna, past the mega-resort destinations of Waikaloa & Hualalai, stopping occasionally to make photos at scenic vantage points.

The Road to Hawi

St. Peters By The Sea

Finally making our way back to the Kailua-Kona District just in time for sunset, it was back down to La'aloa Beach to capture images I wanted to make during my last trip here but was thwarted by rain... the ruins of Haukalua Heiau and ceremonial platform, an 800 year old temple, originally  situated nearby but demolished & rebuilt at it's present site to make way for a parking lot. This time, luck was with us... conditions were excellent for photography!

The following day was spent completing the architectural & interior portions of our asssignment, repacking the gear for travel and then speeding back to the airport to catch an early evening flight back home.

Ceremonial Platform @ Haukalua Heiau

Sunday, we are off again, this time to the island of Oahu to shoot a newly renovated property in Waikiki.

Meet Niki

Organizing the gear curbside in Kona after successfully negotiating check-in at OGG, Niki undertakes her first trial-by-fire as new first assistant on a four day Big Island architectural assignment for Wyndham Resorts. 

Arriving late yesterday afternoon, we immediately headed to the Kona waterfront to shoot scenic stock as the last rays of sun melted into the horizon. Later, we shared a fine meal of spicy Indian offerings, loaded up on provisions for the morning and checked in to our lodgings for the week. Niki checked out the hotel hot tub while I organized the schedule for our time here.

Today will be hectic with two resorts to cover... a third will fill tomorrow's daylight hours while our final day's agenda will be to capture iconic scenics & points of interest here on the Big Island. 

Welcome aboard, Niki!

Inspire

Inspire

Inspiring 

Inspired

The Scout

Annual production budgets have apparently been accumulating for the past 10 months and have suddenly been cut loose & put to use, needing to be spent before we say goodbye to 2012. 

This is all good news, of course. It's been an almost overnight opening of the floodgates on confirmed & potential advertising assignments over the course of the past couple of days. The pressure is on... with four MAJOR projects lasting several days and a few other smaller projects now requiring completion sometime around the end of this month. Travel plans to three islands are being finalized for the next two weeks with two other assignments to be completed closer to home. Next month will also involve more inter-island travel for two final architectural gigs requiring several days each.

Yesterday, met Oahu agency folks at the airport for a long day of scouting the island one end to the other. On the lookout list were rustic, old town store fronts, trees with enormous gnarled roots, friendly domesticated goats, pastoral panoramic island scenics, dusty mountain trails and the obligatory pristine beach or three...

A mid-day refueling of ramen noodles & spicy kim-chee, dramatic big surf and humorous shop-talk made the hours pass quickly & pleasurable as we checked off each item, one-by-one, on our must-find list. 

Arriving back at the airport with my passenger cargo just as darkness began to fall, there was just enough time for agency CD to make her flight back to H'lulu, she having the foresight to pre-print the requisite boarding pass. Sadly, the AE for this gig didn't... missing her flight and being forced to wait an hour for the next Oahu plane.

Now it's onto the scheduling, logistical and casting tasks at hand.

Phase III of land-fort construction project began bright & early this morning. Framers moved in at 7:30am to dig out massive Bird of Paradise plants now in the way and in need of relocation. A short time later, three pallets of lumber were delivered. A couple of hours later, the crew had the foundation piers dug in and set. An hour after that, floor beams had been set. With any luck at all, we will be all framed in by the weekend. I am seeing the light at the end of the construction tunnel coming and look forward to the end of the cash hemorrhage of the past 7 months.

After several days of breathless, windless, hot & humid days, the weather has taken a sudden turn. By late morning, prevailing tradewinds have slowly returned and a light mist has begun to fall. Temperatures have returned to cool & comfortable. 

Now... it's back to work for me. Here's a couple of glimpses of yesterday's journey:

The Waiting

Wednesday... mid-day to be precise. A morning filled with early (6am) conference calls with clients in Florida as we prepare to embark on another series of architectural assignments around the state on their behalf. Plans are now underway for four days each on the Big Island & Kauai at the end of this month to capture that leg of the assignment. Maui & Kauai properties are being tentatively scheduled for early November. Dates for Oahu & Big Island now waiting confirmation so that flights, car and accommodations can be booked. With any luck, confirmation should come early tomorrow and the making of travel arrangements should occupy a substantial portion of the day.

In the meantime, besides the arranging of travel plans, there is a new potential first-assistant to bring up to speed, get familiar with the gear and workflow & get to know a little better before we fly off together. This will be her first time out with me and my hope is that she will learn quickly and bring a new enthusiasm to all present & future assignments. New blood is a good thing. As she came with outstanding references during our first meeting a couple of weeks ago, I am optimistic that all will work out for both of us and she will become a permanent fixture to the team for the next two or three years.

Now waiting for a second conference call with Oahu clients scheduled for 2pm to go over creative briefs for another series of advertising campaigns that will see national, perhaps even international exposure. Plans are underway to squeeze this one in sometime towards the end of this month. 

W called a short time ago with constructive criticism which is always welcome. W also sent one of her photographs for reciprocal comments, along with inquiries regarding another potential assignment which will have us traveling again back to the Big Island & Kauai. W's feedback is always most useful and thanks go out in the biggest of ways for her efforts in keeping me on track. Thank you... I know you're reading!

Work now completed on Phase II of construction with the delightful new "conference room/screen porch" trimmed, painted and partially furnished. I continue to scour CL daily for odds & ends to compliment the minimal decor presently filling the space.  Re-landscaping is well underway with the massive paving stones moved into place (not without considerable effort and some heavy machinery) and some plantings now established. Recent steady rains will assist in giving new roots a healthy head start.

For the past two days, the Portagee Wrecking Crew has turned up to completely dismantle and haul away an old, exterior outbuilding here at the farm. This clears the way to begin Phase III, the final bit of construction... a new & detached office space for B. She will be ecstatic if it is completed before Thanksgiving and there is every reason to believe that it could be done even before then. Materials should be ordered sometime tomorrow and delivered next week so that framing can begin almost immediately. Once B's space is completed, all that will be left is the scraping together of funds for a new fence to keep Chester the Wonder Dog from being squashed by speeding traffic as was his predecessor. 

Chester gets a grooming

Last Saturday, I took in the annual Maui County Fair, dishing up delicious BBQ pulled pork to the hungry throngs. Each year, Manao Radio, the local, non-commercial radio station that allows me time at the microphone each Tuesday morning, raises the bulk of it's annual operating funds by serving up heaping plates & buns of this southern delicacy. Business was brisk as soon as the gates opened that morning. The day was brilliant, weather-wise... perfect for riding the rides, wandering the midway, taking in the agricultural & 4H exhibits and downing a pork sandwich or three, all set against a magnificent back-drop of brilliant blue skies and emerald mountain peaks.

And now, the appointed hour has almost arrived. Time to sign off and prepare for the next conference call. The waiting is almost over...

No Swimming

More than a few childhood summer days spent breaking the law here.