Just found out about an editorial publish with TIME Magazine from last week. An interesting read in regards to how much tax revenue the cannabis industry has brought to the state. And I even got myself a little caption action.
Article-
http://time.com/4037604/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenue/
Snowboard on the Block Festival - Sat. Sept. 12th
First signs of winter are showing up here in Denver. What could be better than a day of watching snowboard films, concerts, and rail jams? Not much (besides actually snowboarding). Get your tickets to the Block Festival before it's too late.
$25 HERE, or $35 the day of the festival.
Check out last years festivities-
SUP Side Mission
Exploring the canyons of Lake Powell with stand up paddle boards (SUP) is a great way to get into places otherwise inaccessible by boat.
Stars & Stripes
The lighting at Lake Powell always seems to unfold some hidden magic. This was a long exposure of a houseboat slowly illuminating the walls of Iceberg Canyon while it passed by our camp. Wishing you all a safe luminous upcoming holiday weekend!
New Colorado Cannabis Ad Campaign
IT'S PRETTY SURREAL TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK THE EVER-GROWING COMMERCIAL SIDE OF THE COLORADO CANNABIS INDUSTRY. HERE'S A FEW ADS I WAS ABLE TO SHOOT FOR HIGH TIMES MAGAZINE WITH RX GREEN SOLUTIONS, A CANNABIS NUTRIENT R&D FACILITY HERE IN DENVER.
Five Rules for Freelancing
1.) Make sure you’re financially prepared. Have at least three months worth of salary in the bank for when you’re in between projects. Freelancing can feel like a financial hardship if you’re looking at your business in a short term way. You have to have the stomach for periods of uncertainty in your income and understand how to plan ahead so freelancing can become a long-term play. Your cash reserves are there to be piece of mind at the very least and self-preservation when necessary.
2.) Know that there’s a lot more to being a self-employed photographer is more than just photography. You have to have a diverse skill set that includes marketing, business development, project management, accounting, writing and production. Many of these tasks won’t be your expertise but it’s your responsibility to get good at them or at least good enough so that you can land projects, keep them going and bring home the bacon when they’re over.
3.) Treat yourself like a client. It’s worth it, even in the beginning, to put in the effort position and market yourself. This means, at the very least, being clear on what you do, creating a simple website, having business cards and polishing up your LinkedIn. If you want people to take you seriously, you have let them know who you are, what you do and that you’re open for business.
4.) Be prepared for a lot of ambiguity. I’ve had two week projects turn into six month projects, and I’ve had moments where I’ve gotten really comfortable with what I thought was a long-term consulting gig, only to have it disappear. One way to navigate these choppy waters is by being proactive. Initiate regular dialogue with your existing clients on upcoming workload. When you don’t get a job, which happens to everyone, ask for feedback. If communication drops off with a potential client, it’s ok to send them a polite note to move the conversation along. If you don’t hear back, don’t take it personally and move on.
5.)Hustle. Working for yourself is wonderful but the truth is many of us do this from home…alone…often in your jammy's. You’re not going to get new clients by staying home. Go to industry events. I highly recommend this, because you never know who you are going to meet or what opportunities you may hear about by attending. They are also a great way to stay current with what’s going on in the design industry and a fantastic well to draw from in conversation with potential clients. I also love catching up with friends and colleagues for lunch or coffee. Being an extrovert and being social is a big part of staying top of mind for potential clients.
Tech vs Wild
WHILE WE'VE ALREADY SEEN A FEW US NATIONAL PARKS CLAMP DOWN ON DRONES IN THEIR AIRSPACE, IT NOW LOOKS LIKE THAT NO-FLY RULE IS ABOUT TO EXTEND ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TELLS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THAT IT'S ABOUT TO ORDER ALL 401 OF ITS PARKS TO BAN UNFETTERED USE OF DRONES ON THEIR GROUNDS. EACH PARK WILL HAVE EXCEPTIONS FOR HIGH-ALTITUDE FLYERS, HOBBYIST CLUBS, RESEARCHERS AND RESCUERS, BUT YOU WON'T GET TO LUG OUR CAMERA DRONES AROUND FOR SCOUTING, SHOOTING, PURELY FOR THE SAKE OF REMOTE SIGHTSEEING; UNLESS YOUR WILLING TO FORK OVER $1500 FOR A PERMIT. IF ALL GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN, THE SERVICE WILL ALSO HAVE A PRELIMINARY NATIONAL RULE DRAFTED WITHIN 18 MONTHS.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
Snowboard on the Block Film Festival
Flashback with the UNDER DAWGS crew from 2013. Their newest film, Video Mixtape will be premiering tomorrow at the Snowboard on the Block Film Festival. Come and peep the show starting at 11am and don't miss the Rail Jam at 1:30. Who's ready for some winter?!!
For Art's Sake
Here's an infrared exposure I made last summer at Carlsbad Beach. There are so many reasons to love and hate this technique. The longer you leave the shutter open, the more dramatic the results and risk of overexposure. The shutter was open nearly 2 hours here. I made 3 attempts and on the 4th, I got lucky.
You can view the rest of the Mono Chronos series in better resolution here
Or check out the exhibition! Anytime Tues- Sat from 10am-6pm at Creative Living in Denver's Sante Fe Art's District
Rain and Shine
I feel new types of subjects always help to keep the vision fresh as an artist. That being said, recently I had an opportunity to work with the lovely and talented local performing artist, Ashlee Wagoner and her mesmerizing collection of LED hula-hoops.
After almost calling off the shoot due to a sub-torrential downpour, we went ahead and decided to battle the rain, fading light, and a surprise cameo from The Denver Cruisers, a local bicyclist club. Tons of fun getting our socks soggy on this shoot.
Click on the images for Hi Res preview
Side Mission : Durango
I take a few trips to the San Juan Mountain Range each year to Durango from Denver. Undoubtably one of my favorite scenic routes through Colorado. We had some dramatic weather on our last voyage down south. Strange how bad weather always makes good pictures. Here's a few drive-by landscapes and an abandoned Drive-In movie theatre we stumbled across by chance of a missed exit.
Bella's Trader Joe's Greeting Cards!
Some exciting news from the fine folks at Trader Joe's! Keep your eye's peeled for the "Eat Play Love" greeting cards which will be available nationwide exclusively at TJ's.
A huge thanks to JP and Ian at Tandem Stills + Motion, Inc. for making it happen... always fun to see my favorite model in print!
Fun Fun with Rey Rey
Here's a few images from a recent shoot with one of my favorite Denver models.
Keep an eye out around town for Reyna and her new nonprofit eco-concious campaign, "Recycling is Sexy". The goal is to educate consumers on the benefits and options of recycling plastic and other environmentally harmful products.
Click on the image to cycle thru the gallery-
DIY Polaroid Grid Display
Here's a simple, easy, and inexpensive way to display your Polaroids or small prints into a viewer friendly grid. I also use this array as a method to prioritize, organize, pair images into portfolios, and mainly to just get more neurons firing with an overall view of my work. Also makes for a great conversation piece... or beef jerky maker.
For a closer view, here's my recent instant film portfolio-
jonpaciaroni.com/polaroids/
The materials needed: a hand full of thumb tacks, 100 or so 5/32'' binder clips, and 40 ft. of fine gauge aluminum wire. Total cost- less than $5!
Here's a quick rapid fire time-lapse video of the set up.
Sochi Bound!
A huge congrats to two of my favorite female riders from the coolest little island in the Southern Hemisphere, aka New Zealand. Rebecca "Possum" Torr and Stefi Luxston both train here in Breckenridge and have paid their dues competing the past few years. It'll be a pleasure seeing them do their thing on the first ever Olympic snowboard slopestyle course in Sochi, Russia. Be sure to check out the Winter Olympic Slopestyle qualifier February 6th at 3 a.m. MST. And don't be shy about rooting on these two lovely Kiwi's! Ooi!
Snowboard Colorado Tear Sheets
The November issue of Snowboard Colorado just dropped! I'm loving this spread from a shoot last winter with the#underdawgs crew. Grab a copy or peep it online at snowboard-colorado.com.
Exposures from Powell
Back in June I made this image with long time friends the Tuffeild family at Lake Powell in Utah. I wouldn't consider myself a family portrait photographer, and you can't really go wrong with any shot taken from this place. Truth is; I feel it's important to break the mold every so often and work with new subjects... within any creative field for that matter. In some cases, curiosity keeps you healthy. Thanks again Tom, Mel, Gwenny, and Bubbs for playing along!
One more image from the trip...Star trail images have always fascinated me and Lake Powell is such a surreal location for long exposure techniques. I had the shutter open for 2 hours here.
Mono Chronos Exhibition
I'm very excited to announce the exhibition of my newest series, Mono Chronos. This collection of long exposures has been over two years in the making and will be showing at Creative Living at 1101 Sante Fe Dr.
Please join us for the opening reception September 5th from 6-9pm.