Jon Brown's Magical Forest

New Blog, Different Place

2011-12-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

Hello! After many years of service this version of the Magical Forrest will be no more. Instead, visit jondalebrown.com to see a the new growth of Jon Brown's Magical Forrest. Thanks for visiting!

Thanks to Kristin Cofer for taking my new profile pic.

The Jane Austen Handbook: A Review

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is a romantic journey back to simpler times. Actors include Richard, Angela, Sarah and Jenn, all ModCloth writers.

Visiting Muods, Otherwise Known as Muir Woods

2011-11-06T21:13:00.000-08:00

I like combining words in my head, it makes me laugh. Take just a short drive from San Francisco and one might find Muir Woods. It is an awesome feeling being surrounded by the huge and ancient trees, I would suggest taking one of the trails that leads up and away from the crowds. This was my first time amongst those Red Woods, the smell, the feel and those trees are hard to describe, so I would suggest going for yourself.

Going Downtown with ModCloth

2011-11-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another behind the scenes video shot for our "Going Places" campaign. We shot around civic center in San Francisco, there were a lot of hecklers which is unavoidable when shooting in public places. Some things are meant to be left unsaid.

ModCloth and Public Bikes

2011-11-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

This video was created for our Bicycle Belles campaign. The neighborhood we were walking around is pretty much where I live in San Francisco. The bikes were the super cool Public Bikes a company that is dedicated to helping everyone get on a bike and is also located in San Francisco. We decided to not have the girls actually ride the bikes because it would mean people would be mad about them not wearing helmets and in turn some people were mad about them not actually riding the bikes. Ya can't please everyone.

Show and Tell: Lisa Congdon's 365 Collections

2011-11-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

Show and Tell with Lisa is one of my favorite interviews we have done. Lisa is the author and illustrator of A Collection a Day and is a fantastically inspirational person to boot. The interview took place in her studio space located in the Mission (San Francisco). She has an incredible story and is an inspiration to anyone still looking for a fulfilling career, Lisa was a school teacher for many years before she started perusing art full time.

The Bees' Knees: No-Bake Peanut Butter Honeybees!

2011-11-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is a really fun recipe video, born from the mind of Julie, a writer at ModCloth. We took almost an entire day to shoot the stop-motion but I think it turned out fun. I dare you to try and make them.

ModCloth How-to: Terrariums Tutorial

2011-11-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

Another choose your own adventure DIY, this one is about terrariums hosted by Julie and Angela, both writers at ModCloth. Our summer video intern edited this one and I shot it. I always like stuff the Angela and Julie are involved in. Enjoy.

Best Job Ever: Janie Bryant, Mad Men Costume Designer

2011-11-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

I was very excited and honored to shoot an interview with Janie Bryant but the lengths we had to go through to get this interview might be the most interesting part. This project was cursed from the beginning, flights delayed, flights cancelled and more flights delayed. We finally got to her house in L.A. 3+ hours late and began to set up in one of the hottest rooms I've been in. Needless to say, I was very sweaty. Sweat pouring down my face we had maybe 40 total minutes to get our interview and get out of there back to the airport for our return flight. We hit some L.A. traffic on the way to catch our return flight, we thought for sure we would be missing our flight. With a rare stroke of luck, our return flight got delayed and we made it back to San Francisco with our brains fried.

Overall I am not happy with the video itself, the audio is terrible and I wish we had more time to talk with her but after all our adversity, I am very happy to have a video at all. As a side note, Janie Bryant is a wonderfully nice person and as you may already know, extremely talented.

Another Video From the Summer

2011-11-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

This video was shot at the amazing Flora Grubb and for our "Escape Into the Everyday Exotic" campaign.

A Choose Your Own Adventure DIY

2011-11-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted and a lot has happened since summer but I wanted to start where I left off. Here is a DIY with a Choose Your Own Adventure twist, done with YouTube's annotations. Enjoy.

Another Post about LA, more gifs

2011-07-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

I'm in L.A. this week for ModCloth and very happy to have the opportunity to see this city more often. We got to the hotel yesterday and found it beautifully creepy. Here are a couple gifs from my room, more to come soon.

LA LA Street Food Festival, Gif Style.

2011-07-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend I spent my time in Los Angeles, I was filming part of a documentary for a San Francisco Non-profit (La Cocina) and going to events like the L.A. street food festival. The L.A. Street Food Festival was great from a consumer standpoint, endless tastings of street food, endless drinks and very small lines. I'll have more words about L.A. and street food festivals later, but for now, here are a couple images from the festival.

An Image from Vacation

2011-05-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

On vacation visiting family, this is the first image with my new (to me) lensbaby 3G.

*full viewing experience not available on mobile devices.

Backyard Hot Action

2011-04-29T17:02:00.001-07:00

I just can't get enough...

2011-04-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Back to the Burgh!

2011-04-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

BTS at the latest ModCloth Photo-Shoot

2011-04-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

This was my first time playing around with film burn effects, sometimes it's hard to know where the line is between overdone and not enough or if these types of effects are appropriate. That's why it's good to have friends you can ask (thanks Eric).

(Music)
"You've Got Your Fight"
by: LOHIO

DIY Pudding: Some ModCloth April Fools Fun

2011-04-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Tour Bus, Wine and a Valley

2011-03-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

Annaliese is in town for her spring break! This past Saturday we ventured to Napa Valley to taste some wine. I learned how to slosh some around in my glass and that you shouldn't hold the bowl of the wine glass because it might warm up the wine but don't think I got too classy, we still took a tour bus (haha).

First in the ModCloth Best Job Ever video series

2011-03-02T23:15:00.000-08:00

Latest video for ModCloth and the first installment in the Best Job Ever video series. If you ever find yourself in Oakland, CA make sure to check out her shop, it makes for some sweet vintage shopping.

Briefly Boston

2011-02-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I posted some pictures on this blog so I thought it was about time to bring it back with this post. This past weekend I traveled to Boston to visit Annaliese. It was great to see her, Boston and some snow, just some of the things I have missed while living in San Francisco.

Book Commercial

2011-02-04T04:27:00.000-08:00

Latest video for ModCloth comes in the form of a book commercial. The video promotes a new project put together by ModCloth that blends fashion and creative writing called The Written Wardrobe. We knew we wanted to promote The Written Wardrobe with a video and at first were thinking construction paper stop motion or another similar stop-motion form, however, that idea was based off of a technique rather than the message. Some how we needed to visualize the blending of fashion and writing and get all of the necessary information into a compact piece. So, in a little brainstorm we came up with this concept, different from stop-motion but I feel that it does the job of visually blending fashion and writing.

Angela, a writer for ModCloth and the Actress, and I were the only two at the shoot, which was excellently relaxed. I shot it on the 5d Mark II with a couple of Canon Variable L lenses (24-105 & 24-70), also used a Glidetrack (which I am beginning to bring with me everywhere) and a couple of Coollight Daylight Balanced LED fixtures (great lights for the money!). Edited in Premier Pro/After Effects and did some foley recording with the zoom H4n.

Find the Written Wardrobe

Song:"Good"
By: Good Old War

Artsy/Fashiony/Videoy

2011-02-02T00:16:00.000-08:00

A while ago I joined some friends and co-workers on one of their personal photo-shoots. Kristin (photographer) and Dee (designer) had a vision for the shoot, I came along to shoot some video to (hopefully) complement the stills.

All in all it was a great experience and a new one for me, before this I had not looked into the world of fashion video. It is always great to see how others work, there is something to be learned on every shoot.

Soundtrack was made from audio captured at the location of the shoot.
Designer: Dee Larsen
Photographer: Kristin Cofer
Model: Nida Thaingtham
Hair and Makeup: David Tolls
harnesses: Zana Bayne

After posting the video I received some great feedback from a production friend which brought up the following points. Overall I don't think the video connects very strongly with the audience nor does it appropriately address the cultural/lifestyle inspiration behind the shoot. Paying more attention to the artistry of the clothes is needed too, Dee did an amazing job hand making and designing the pieces, people need to see it. While I'm generally happy with the video, as it was a fun time with friends, it reminds me how important it is to immerse myself in the content/context of every video.

And tech stuff:
Camera: 5d markii
lenses: Nikon manual: 50mm f1.2 & 85mm f1.8 Canon: 24-105 f4
Mostly hand-held
Audio: Zoom h4n Handy recorder
Edit: Premier Pro/After Effects/Magic Bullet Looks

Time-Lapse Fun

2011-02-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

There is a special place in my heart for time-lapse videos, maybe it's the irregular motion or it could be the way you can present events with a different perspective. Whether it's an epic sunset or a piece that blurs the line between time-lapse and stop-motion, time-lapsing is a very interesting way to tell a story and you can use many relativly inexpensive still cameras to create one!

Behind the scenes on a ModCloth photo-shoot presented as a time-lapse video made out of stills.
Shot with the 5d mark II, image sequencing in Quicktime 7 and put all together in Premier/After Effects CS5.

While we're at it, here are a few time-lapsey videos that I love. Not your typical sunset...

What are your favorites?

A ModCloth Holiday

2011-01-23T15:22:00.000-08:00

This past holiday season at ModCloth we produced over 22 videos, explored the ways in which we can implement video most effectively and worked hard on creating engaging content for our viewers.

I'd like to offer up a holiday video sampler platter for your viewing pleasure.

First up is one in a holiday drink series for the ModCloth Blog section Now You're Cookin'. Try it out!

Next up is a preview, trailer like, video for the upcoming holiday visuals.

Another video coming from our time at the Madonna Inn.

Here is the main behind the scenes video from our time at the Madonna Inn.

Last but not least a little video featured on the homepage for New Years. You will have to check it out here.

We have done lots more videos than you can see here so if you would like to see more travel on to ModCloth's vimeo page. More importantly we are currently producing and planning for some very exciting projects, expect the content and quality to only get better from here. Get excited!

thanks!

Wedding Seasoning, a recap

2011-01-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

I want to start by saying that I am not an expert in wedding videography but I have some thoughts. "Wedding videographer", even "videographer", is somewhat of a disrespected title in the film industry these days. I have dabbled in this field a few times over the past year and to make an excellent wedding film that your client will love forever is no small task. First you have to be on top of your game all day, having the patience to wait for the right moments while respectfully dealing with the families on one of the more stressful days in their lives. Wedding videographers need to be respected not only because it is hard, lots of things are hard, but a well done wedding film will remain with your client forever and they will have an exceptionally strong emotional connection to it. If you are interested at all in wedding videography, or frankly videography as a craft I strongly recommend checking out Stillmotion (click on it!), they are a very inspiring group and a great resource for any filmmaker/videographer.

Well here are some wedding videos I have done over the past year (or so). Each video was done for very close friends and given as a gift. They are ordered from oldest to most recent.

12/19/09 was my first venture into wedding videography. Shot in Chicago, there was no shortage of beautiful scenes. In terms of equipment and editing I had recently got the canon 5d markii and had only the 50mm 1.8 lens to put on it (I was very excited about the DOF, obviously). I also had been learning about After Effects and was excited about the written on type/motion tracking for the titles, however, no color correction was done. I also used the Zoom H4n handy recorder for some audio recording.

In Celebration is a video I shot for some friends in Pittsburgh. They wanted a film that could be shown at their wedding, giving the audience a sense of their lives in Pittsburgh. It was a very fun thing to film and a cool concept (their idea). Annaliese DeNooyer, my girlfriend, also shot some footy with her Nikon D90. As I remember, I had recently purchased Magic Bullet Looks (A styling/color correction software) and was very excited to use it on this video, however, I could of pushed the styling further. This was also shot with the Canon 5d Markii and the 50mm 1.8.

And this was the corresponding wedding video, shot again with the 5d markii and the 50mm 1.8 lens.

Time's A Wastin' is a video shot for two very great friends Brad and Jamie. The song used for the video was played on various instruments (banjos/upright bass) by their family at the end of their ceremony. I had recently purchased the GoPro HD camera which I was and still am very excited about, I had a car mount and a couple other simple mounts and was shooting in 60p/720.

Last but not least, a wedding video I shot for a couple of great friends last year. It is the most recent because it took me forever to edit it. I decided to edit it in reverse because I found the song "Around Us" by Jonsi and thought the most intense part of the song was at the beginning, so I started with the dancing and went backwards. Shot with the Canon 5d Markii and the 50mm 1.8 lens, used some magic bullet looks but not very stylized.

As a wedding videographer you have to be with the client on one of their most personal and special days and quite often you are practically strangers. I find it is very easy doing films with friends, mainly because you already have comfortability established. Another thing that will drastically help the comfortability issue is shooting with people that truly share your style, I know it's hard to be choosy when you are first starting out but your films will be much better if you can shoot for people that fit you own personality. Last bit of advice, move around. I have gone to to many weddings where I see the videographer set up on a tripod and let it roll in one spot, needless to say it doesn't lead to very exciting videos.

I have to give a huge thank you to the great friends who let me experiment on their most important and very personal days. They all have an immense amount of patience to let me run around their lives with a camera.

Thanks!

First day in Cali

2010-11-11T12:14:00.001-08:00

My First Day in CA from Jon Brown on Vimeo.
Recently I took a Job in San Francisco so about a week ago I left Pittsburgh and traveled to CA. Once I landed in San Francisco I was supposed to get to San Louis Obispo for a photo shoot. Instead of taking the normal highway, Danielle, ModCloth's lead product photographer, was kind enough to let me join her in an adventure down highway 1. I then strapped the GoPro to the car and this is what it saw.

Probably best to let it load.

I couldn't resist using this song, I've been listening to it a ton lately:
"Symphonies" (Featuring Kid Cudi)
by Dan Black

Some Saturday Expirementing

2010-10-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

This Weekend's Experiment from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

Went down in the Strip District on Saturday in hopes of practicing a couple techniques that I saw the week before. It was a gorgeous day and it was great explore new ways to utilize the great equipment that I have. I will soon be leaving Pittsburgh, there are many things I will miss about this place, its beauty being one of them.

The first technique I tried was freelensing, I found an example of this from Eric Buist: http://vimeo.com/15785588

the second technique I tried was tripod dolly/jib moves that I saw on Vincent Laforet's blog here: http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2010/10/13/somtimes-low-tech-is-good-enough/

In terms of equipment, I used the markii with the 24-105 f4 and a tripod with fluid head. Also a Zoom h4n to record some audio in my car on the way home. The edit was done in Premier Pro.

thanks for watching!

ModCloth @ NYFW

2010-10-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

ModCloth @ NYFW from Jon Brown on Vimeo.
So a few weeks ago the Folks at ModCloth went to New York fashion week, we sent a camera with them to see what stuff they would come back with.

ModWriter Julie did a great job shooting the video then she brought back the footage for me to edit.

It is an interesting experience editing a videography piece without having been to the event or place, it is hard to grasp the feeling of the event without having felt it.

thanks for watching!

more info here: http://blog.modcloth.com/2010-10-05-lights-camera-fashion

Music:
Lacrymosa
"Se Tu M'ami"
iamlacrymosa.com/

Tech stuff:

Camera: 5d mrkII
Lens: 50mm 1.4
Post: Adobe Premier Pro/After Effects/Magic Bullet Looks

Time's A Wastin'

2010-10-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

Time's A Wastin' from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

On September 16th friends from Pittsburgh and I traveled up to Michigan to attend the wedding of Jamie and Brad, two dear friends. We spent the weekend visiting with friends and helping prep for the wedding. It took place in Lowell Michigan at a state park, the ceremony was in a one room school house and the reception was down by the river, the setting was matched perfectly with our two friends. As the service ended some of Jamie and Brad's family members played "Time's a Wastin', after we walked out everyone who was at the ceremony took a group picture in front of the school house. We enjoyed donuts and coffee and watched as Jamie and Brad drove to the reception on the newly-working moped.

The day was a bit wet but didn't discourage any of the fun.

Music:
June Carter
"Time's A Wastin'"

Shot entirely with the GoProHD camera @ 720p edit: Premier Pro CS5/After Effects/Magic Bullet looks

Spore!

2010-09-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

This week I have been in Grand Rapids Michigan helping my aunt, Sheila Wyne, set up her piece and hang out around Art Prize. Check out her kickstarter page and learn more about here piece. Check out the time lapse video below.

Setting Up Spore from Jon Brown on Vimeo.
here is a little BTS, setting up my aunt's piece for Art Prize. (http://www.artprize.org/)

More info: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/669854463/spore

Salt & Pepper Forever!

2010-09-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

Salt & Pepper Forever! from Jon Brown on Vimeo.
Here is a little stop motion video promoting the vintage salt and pepper collection on modcloth.com

Check out the collection here: http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Vintage+Salt+Pepper+Collection

Video was produced and created as a team effort with the great peeps at ModCloth.

Thanks for watching!

Tech Stuff:
Camera: 5d mrkii
Lens: 24-105 f4
Simple lighting setup with some daylight balanced bulbs
Edit: Premier Pro/After Effects/Magic Bullet Looks/Quicktime

BTS: http://blog.modcloth.com/2010-09-14-salt-pepper-forever#comments

Yes I did take a double decker tour bus in San Francisco and yes it was slightly embarrassing yet more fun than you can imagine

2010-08-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

one for my Pittsburgh Peeps

San Francisco, Day One

2010-07-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my hotel room in San Francisco.

This week I am making my first visit to the west coast thanks to ModCloth, for whom I am doing videography. Here are a few shots from walking around on my first day in San Francisco.

went down to the river with a few of my friends and this is what we saw... kinda

2010-07-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

7/4/10 from Jon Brown on Vimeo.
For some time I have been wanting to do a small multi-frame project. However, in doing this "little" project I realized how complicated a multi-frame piece can become. So this is my attempt at a simple multi-frame piece.

Music:
So Long, Lonesome
by: Explosions in the sky

tech info:
Camera: 5d Markii
Lens: 50mm 1.8
tripod
edit: premiere pro/after effects
no coloring done

An afternoon in Philly, visiting my sister

2010-06-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

daylight drive

2010-06-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

daylight drive from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

So i recently got a timer remote for my camera and I decided to play with it on the road between Kalamazoo, MI and Pittsburgh, PA.

More time-lapsing fun to come soon.

Song:
Daylight
by: Matt & Kim

Tech Stuff:

Camera: 5d markii

Lens: 50mm 1.8

a timer remote

a tripod

image sequencing: quicktime

edit: premier pro/after effects

Pics of Friends @ Morgan and Andrew's wedding

2010-05-31T11:43:00.001-07:00

In Celebration

2010-05-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

In Celebration from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

Morgan, Andrew and some friends picked an afternoon before their wedding to shoot a little video to show at their wedding reception. They wanted to show their friends and family a glimpse into their lives in Pittsburgh.

Song: Zebra
by Beach House

Camera: 5d markii and Nikon d90

lens: 50mm 1.8

stabilizer: glidecam 2000 pro

edit: premier pro/after effects

coloring: Magic Bullet Looks

Road Trippin with ModCloth

2010-05-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Road Trippin from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

On the road and behind the scenes with the ModCloth photography team.

Check out their sweet style book!
http://www.modcloth.com/

Music: Sleep Experiments

Tech info:

Camera: 5d mark ii

Lens: 50mm 1.8

Audio: Zoom h4n handy recorder

Edit: premier pro/after effects

coloring: Magic Bullet Looks

Jeffrey Runs...

2010-05-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey Runs The Marathon from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

Pittsburgh Marathon at the Union Project:
http://www.unionproject.org/Home

Hopefully this makes you laugh, it was a rainy day so I just stood in one spot and got some images as Jeffrey, the director of the Union Project, ran by.

Kickin' It Local Style

2010-04-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

Kickin' It Local Style from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

A short piece about living local in Pittsburgh.

Shot during a couple of great events put on by some awesome organizations and businesses at E2 in Highland Park.

find more information about eating and living local here:
http://www.enricobiscotti.com/
http://www.growpittsburgh.org
www.justharvest.org

More detailed videos to come.

music:
Parchman Farm
by
The Parchman Prison Band

thanks

weekly videos

2010-04-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

April 20-25 2010 from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

So i decided to try and do a short/simple video with or of friends (or whatever) each week. Using images from the week as well as a song that I hear more than others during that week. This is something that is personally therapeutic. Being involved in big projects is great but doing little videos like this make me feel like I am getting things done (even if it has nothing to do with work).

Shot with my pocket camera (kodak zi6) so I can take it wherever I go.

these videos are primarily for friends and family

song:
go do
by jonsi

Buechner Institute Impromptu Conversations

2010-02-26T06:43:00.000-08:00

These are a couple conversations from a larger videography piece for the Buechner Institute at King College. Special thanks to Ron Hansen and Kathleen Norris for being so humble and patient.

Conversation with Ron Hansen from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

A spur of the moment conversation with author Ron Hansen at the Buechner Lectureship, 2010. Special thanks to Ron for his generosity.

Conversation with Kathleen Norris from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

A spur of the moment conversation with author Kathleen Norris at the Buechner Lectureship, 2010. Special thanks to Kathleen for humoring us.

Tech info:

Camera: Canon 5d markii

Lens: 50mm 1.8

Audio: Zoom h4n handy recorder

Lighting: all practical

post: Premier Pro/After Effects

S+R=L

2010-01-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

So last year I attended a wedding for Sarah and Rhett. I made this for them...

12/19/09 from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

Sarah and Rhett, remember this?

music by Sigur Ros (untitled #3)

Technical stuff:

Shot with: Canon 5d markii

lens: 50mm 1.8

Audio: Zoom H4n handy recorder

-great piece of equipment, although, I did not capture the audio very well on this example.

edit: Premier Pro/After Effects

No coloring done

D+M Metals

2010-01-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

Back in Grand Rapids for half a month or so, mostly in town for weddings, however, I also am helping Eric Buist with a promotional video shoot(Click on his Name!). Eric is a film guru that I graduated with and always has something cool going on. For this project we are basically shooting large machines having their way with metal. I have always had a thing for lasers and welding so its kind of a dream come true. We are shooting double camera style with the 5d markii and Eric's Panasonic HMC40. Here are a few stills, photos are unedited.

Excellent family photos

our "professional" lighting system

The HMC40

Unwrapped

2009-12-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

Last night I did some videography for the Union Project's Unwrapped Circus. An event that truly lives up to its name; slack liners, hoolahoopers, dancers, singers, ceramicists, stained glassers, painters and many other creative and interesting people were participating and in attendance. Oh and we should not forget the open bar with pomegranate martinis and beer from Penn Brewery, helping people embrace circus life. Originally designed to raise money for the Union Project, the event displayed how special and important the Union Project is, especially for a city like Pittsburgh. I was there mostly for videography (coming soon), however, here are a few photos. pictures are unedited.

my friend/roomate Jenna

Union Project's Staff

Jealous of Michigan friends

2009-12-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

If its gonna be cold it might as well snow. Walked around our house this morning to take a few pictures of the falling snow, crossing my fingers that centimeters will turn into feet. Just to clear things up, I do not have a house full of children, there was a family that lived in the house before us. pictures are unedited.

Mornings In Pittsburgh

2009-12-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

Mornings in Pittsburgh are filled with coffee, craigslist and more of the internet. As the job search continues it becomes a little harder to stay motivated for other projects knowing that money is hard to come by. Freelancing is all well and good but it can become tiring, especially

when there is not enough to go around, yet, I am still trying to remember that I am one of the lucky ones. pictures are unedited.

I see snow! An afternoon in Pittsburgh

2009-12-05T15:24:00.000-08:00

Spent the afternoon visiting friends and exploring more of the city. It was the first snow that I have seen in Pittsburgh, I am excited for winter. Pictures are unedited.

Settling into PIttsburgh

2009-12-03T14:33:00.000-08:00

Pittsburgh is beautiful. During the past few months my relationship with the Ohio turnpike has become one of forced interaction with a lot of awkward small talk but I am now totally moved to Pittsburgh and thankful to be somewhat settled. I am finally able to go out and explore the city, with or without a camera. Here are a couple pictures of one of my first outings. I look forward to creating in this city. pictures unedited.

Thanksgiving with the Denooyers!

2009-12-03T14:17:00.001-08:00

Jeff and Alex

sister

Chopping the House

2009-12-03T13:12:00.000-08:00

Traveled to Chicago recently to do a regional commercial for the Chicago Chop House, a swanky steak house in the heart of touristy downtown of Chicago. Just order an 80 dollar steak and a bottle of Cristal and you will be right at home. I took a few pictures of their "cuisine" while we were shooting the commercials. pictures are unedited.

This is my mom and it was her birthday..

2009-12-03T13:09:00.001-08:00

One night of Art Prize

2009-12-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Art Prize has come and gone, and Grand Rapids is still changing for the better. Say what you will about what "kind" of art it brought to the city, the thing I am most happy about is that It brought people to the city. Revitalization has gone on all around the city and the was a great chance for folks to see it in person. It was great to see people in the streets and experiencing things they had never seen before, together. Since I was in the middle of moving to Pittsburgh I was only able to spend a couple of days looking at the art prize version of Grand Rapids but what I did see was a look at what Grand Rapids might become. I'll post some more pictures later. Photo's are unedited.

Back in Grand Rapids: Lowell Pink Arrow Event

2009-12-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

It seems that I spend more time on the Ohio Turnpike than anywhere else these days. Back in Grand Rapids for a night after wrapping the Inner City Film Project and I covered the Lowell Pink Arrow Event. Another photo/video project for Fifty-Fifty music, this was a fund and awareness raising event for cancer organized by the Gilda's Club. All artists from Fifty-Fifty were there to play a few songs at the Lowell High School football stadium. Thousands of people came out in Pink Shirts to show their support. This was also my first time shooting aerial photo's and video, which is loads of fun. Photos are unedited.

Inner City Film Project: first images

2009-12-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

I spent one of my first weeks in Pittsburgh working on a small zero budget independent film called "My Destiny". The entire fiasco was labeled the Inner City Film Project because of its goal to include the inner city community. The community was part of the cast and crew, including kids shadowing each of the crew members while we worked. In conception this is a great idea, films can be powerful in many ways and to have the community make something that they could be proud of would be life changing. However, it did not work out this way, it seemed as though none of those previous mentioned goals were first priority to anyone. Even the "director" (and I use that term only because that is what she called herself) was there because she had a vision that she was going to win the Nobel Prize for this project. In truth they were there to take advantage of the dying community and the free labor that they were getting from people that were inspired by the idea of the project. What could have been great turned into a complete joke. here are couple pictures and a simple video that I did for the cast and crew wrap party.

Clairton,PA

one of the few remaining Coke plants in the area

Inner City Film Project: edit for cast and crew wrap party from Jon Brown on Vimeo.

A weekend in Pittsburg

2009-12-03T08:50:00.001-08:00

A couple photo's from the first weekend I experienced Pittsburgh. In our back yard enjoying some Yuengling and Dave showing his excellent acorn throwing form.

Fifty-Fifty photo shoot: Melissa Dylan

2009-12-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

A couple photos for a Shoot with Fifty-Fifty Music and Melissa Dylan. Melissa is another Fifty-Fifty solo artist and is a lot of fun to walk around the city with. photos are unedited.

Fifty-Fifty photo shoot: Rebekah Rhys

2009-12-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

Another photo shoot for the record label Fifty-Fifty Music, this time for the solo artist Rebekah Rhys. photos are unedited

Sargent Ave. Photoshoot

2009-12-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have updated this blog so I am going to do it all at once.

Summer of 2009 I worked for a small record label called Fifty-Fifty music. My job title was visual director, I was responsible for producing photo and video content.

Here are a couple of random pictures (not really the ones that the record label would choose) from the first Photo Shoot with one of Fifty-Fifty's bands, Sargent Avenue

GET IT

(unedited) Blurry Sargent

(unedited) Sargent Ave enjoying each other

London Torch Relay

2008-04-08T04:14:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday the Olympic Torch made its way through London and I was lucky enough to have a front row seat. Through the same online publication I was able to have a press pass at this event to take pictures. It was an all day event with carnivals, concerts and parades throughout the city. However, excitement for the upcoming Olympics became secondary to the overwhelming cries against China and any support of these games. Both Chinese supporters and Anti-Chinese activists were out in full force which made for an intense and unforgettable atmosphere. The above movie includes pictures that I took of the protesters and demonstrators at the relay. (you might have to let it load for a minute or two)

Anti-war Demonstration, 15 March 2008

2008-03-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

As I do most Saturday mornings in London, I found myself wondering the Southbank, enjoying the street entertainment, the free concerts and the atmosphere of a city relaxing. However, this Saturday became different when i stumbled upon the Anti-war protest in Trafalgar Square. The Organizers claimed 40,000 people participated in the event while police estimations were much lower at 10,000. The atmosphere was incredible with many famous speakers and culminated in a march on Parliament. Here is my interpretation:

Back in London Town

2008-03-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

The end is in sight. The first half of the semester flew by and the second half shows no signs of slowing. As we get closer to summer one might think our days would be filled with more sunshine and less wind, rain and cold. One would be wrong, as soon as i stepped off the plane from Athens and saw my breath, my pace quickened and life resumed its race. Although I wouldn't say I am caught in the "rat race", I am just a fast walker. Regardless here are some pictures from my time in Greece.

Thira

The volcano in the center of the "harbor"

The town of Ia, It sits at the end of the island where a spectacular sunset can be seen

From Thira, the largest town on Santorini

Goodnight instead of Goodbye

2008-03-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

Back at the Matrix internet cafe again before we spend our last night on the island. Today we reached the summit of the highest mountain on Santorini and the whole island was laid out in front of us. We could see where we had gone and what we had missed (and we didn't miss much other than the summertime crowds). As a fitting end to our time here we will spend our night on the beach, under the stars and our feet (hopefully) in front of a fire.

Frank, Clio and George

2008-03-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

Coming from the island of Santorini in the Aegean sea I decided to spend a couple minutes in an oddly open internet cafe.
My two friends and I have been throughly enjoying our spring break in Greece. Athens was amazing and Santorini is everything that you see in the pictures. We have spent time on the colored beaches (red, white and black), climbed the mountains and have been amazed by the hospitality of this small place.

Santorini is currently in its off-season, which means nobody is around. This has been a blessing and a curse, while we have loved the private beaches, which normally are walked on by thousands, there is nothing open. It is so deserted that we struggle to find other people. This lack of people also means cheaper prices like 7 euro a night for a fantastic hotel. I seem to be running out of time but I hope that all are doing well and I will post pictures from this trip when I get back to London on Monday.

We are Scientists

2008-02-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

Well tomorrow I will be hopping a flight to Greece and spending my spring break in the Mediterranean. Two of my flatmates and I will be making the trip, hitting all of the sights in Athens then taking a ferry to an island called Santorini. I'm very excited to have a break from the big city and I will be posting some pictures when I get back without a doubt.

This picture is from an interview session with the band "We are Scientists." They are a fairly well known "indie" band and seem like two intelligent guys. We interviewed them in the basement of a club called Social, it reminded me of my current mold infested living situation.

Fancy Schmancy

2008-02-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

Due to the fact that I am living among a bunch journalism majors I have been hooked up with opportunities to publish pictures. Mostly I get to tag along to concerts, interviews or art shows and have my pictures published on a online entertainment publication. This has been a great experience and has truly enriched my time here. I will also start to include some of those photos.

This Photo is from the Fortnum & Masons grocery store which is basically the Harrods of grocery stores. This picture does not give you a good overview of the store, however, what it does show is the detail of wealth. Even the sugar cubes are better than.

For Family and Some Friends

2008-02-27T10:24:00.000-08:00

So I decided to dive into the world of blogs. I hope this will prove to be a good way to let y'all know how and what I am doing. It will most likely be more similar to a picture book but since pictures say a thousand words you will have a ton to read. good luck.

I will start with one of my favorite pictures from my weekend in Paris. This is of the Arc de Triumph at night. Paris was an incredibly beautiful city, planned and laid out very nicely, I just wish the people were as nice as their city. Doomed to be looked down upon before the first English word leaves your mouth, I never once felt welcome in the world's most "romantic" city.