Remembering To Have Fun

On February 20, 2011 by vard
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Whenever I get the chance to mix shooting in with hanging with close friends, I jump on it.  It’s a great way to bring together different parts of my life.  Connie, Monica and Amy came up with a reason to play dress up a few weeks ago and have been working on getting things around for it since then.  Prep involved a brewery run, a trip to a local SalVal for clothing options, and some silly hours working on hair and makeup.  Steve-O and Andy were on hand to pour drinks, play some tunes and make the kinds of comments that only really really close friends can dream up.  We had a blast, got a few memorable shots in the process and it gave me the chance to recon a new shooting spot.  Fun, productive and educational…it’s a good combo.

Havin a blast…

Category : Family, Studio
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Maine Sept ’10 – Day 1 – Playing With a Point-n-Shoot

On September 18, 2010 by vard
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We’re spending the next week on the road going from Maine to Virginia and back to PA.  We have the short ones along as this is all about family; and being road warriors!  As is the gig, I have an assortment of photo gear with me as well.  New for this trip is a Panasonic GF1 point-n-shoot camera on loan from Barry & Cathy Beck.  I didn’t know what to expect when I picked it up, but now I really don’t want to put it down.  It pretty much has everything I need for making fun images, minus an eye-piece; but I am starting to get used to shooting with camera at arms length.  Full manual everything and menu’s that feel pretty intuitive; enough to make run & gun shooting nearly possible.  I dig it!

We made the trip with plenty of time to rest up before today’s birthday party for my niece, her dad and his twin bro.  The kids burned off any leftover energy and we all enjoyed a stunningly perfect day here in Maine.  And we made it to George’s Pond just in time for a gnarly sunset on the lake.

Have a rad one!

Category : Family
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Chapter Change – Connie’s Canvas

On August 14, 2010 by vard
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It’s been a long haul, but we’ve finally found our home.  When we jumped into the home buying market 2 years ago I really had no idea what to expect, and I’ve learned along the way that that’s pretty normal for most first timers.  Thankfully we had the right realtor (Mike Yonick) who showed us anything and everything at the oddest hours of the week. As our ideas of what we wanted changed over time, Mike rolled with the punches during what must have seemed like a never ending adventure.  Thanks for hanging in there man.  You’ve got a friend and client for life.

There’s a lot I can say about this place, but for now I’ll just let the pics show you what we’re starting with.  I’ll do some progress and finished(ish) shots along the way.  As we get closer to the end it’ll be more clear what each space is, or is intended to be.

A quick kudos to the Donlin Girls; they really got to dislike looking at house after house, with Mom & Dad never seeming to make a decision.  It was obvious that they’d lost the love of the hunt a little over a year ago…but they always hung in there.  Thanks homies…you helped Mom & Dad keep our sanity a tad longer.

…and to Connie…I thought you’d never decide dude! :P Of course, in hindsight your patience rocked harder than ever and we scored big.  I’m super stoked to be hitting this one head on together.  Do what you do and rock this canvas out babe…I know I’m not the only one waiting to see what you can create!

Category : Family
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Updates…Studio & Community Art Stuff

On June 23, 2010 by vard
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We spent the last 5 days in Colorado visiting some friends that moved from Berwick. Caught a Rockies game, hit up a museum and had a blast catching up with them. We’ve now moved on to Sedona, Arizona…the force behind this trip. This is the first family reunion my mom’s side of the family has ever put together. Apparently my grandmother thinks Sedona, AZ is 1/2 way between the East and West coasts! lol Just kidding…she’s a rockstar and my favorite person in the world to torture and tease. She takes it like a champ and dishes it back like a pro.

Anywho, this is just a quick update while we’re on the road. When I can, I’m making progress on the editing (those waiting, I thank you massively!).

…Firstly…

I need to officially thank everyone that showed up at the www.300AlmostNakedPeople.com shoot on the 13th. Besides the nerves and stress that I was ‘enjoying’ we had a great time and got some cool images. Hoping to have those done up soon.  Big props to Ben T. and M.J. at the Press Enterprise from stopping down to cover the event…and then for the amazingly awesome FRONT PAGE article in this past Sunday’s P.E. Thank you both for helping to get the word out!

Tara and Leah Mangan blew everyone’s mind with the cake of cake’s!  Thank you both mucho! There’s so many more people that NEED to be called out…once I have the images ready, they’ll all get the props they deserve. I’m definitely looking forward to doing it all over again soon. I’ll be posting more info on that as it becomes available.

Other things:
The Berwick Mural Project is rockin big time already. Alley Art is making major progress and the YMCA retaining wall will be in full swing once we return to PA. The blog is a touch outdated, but I’ll be making that right in the near future. We’ll be posting ‘artist profiles’ soon so everyone can get to know the great people MAKING this a reality. As always, we’re looking for volunteers all the time. Whether you can paint or not, there’s plenty of ways to get involved. Touch base with Connie through the BMP blog if you’re ready to be part of something HUGE!

Things To Do In Berwick

Check out this cool new Facebook group started by Berwick doer Steve Hampton. How smart is this…whether you’re looking for, or know of something to do in Berwick, share it here. Props to Steve for making this convenient and totally useful community board.

…and lastly…

I’ve got the goods on ANOTHER community art project that will need LOTS of people…about 100 I’d say. :P That’s all I want to dish on that right now as we have a few things to finalize, but if your interested you can talk to the man himself that came up with the idea. Berwick native, Zach Bremmer. Bro doesn’t even live here anymore and is rockin the creativity for the hometown. When I have more info set in stone, I’ll post it for sure…until then, dig it out of Zach if you can.

That’s it…time to go prospect for gold…Uncle Steve scored some yesterday and I need a tan, so why not!

Category : Family
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…and a few more recent images

On May 24, 2010 by vard
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…is this ASAP enough?

Joey & Jamie’s Vegas mind-melt gave me some time to work up a couple of posts I’ve been wanting to do.  Nooooo, not WHILE in Vegas…you can get a lot done on a 3 hour flight!  Here’s a few from Connie’s most recent modeling shoot.

How much does she ROCK for getting the hair dyed dark just to do this shoot the way I’d pictured it in my head?  Every shoot seems better than the last with her…and that’s a damn good thing!  :D  Once again, thank you Kat for rocking the makeup & general shoot assistance.

And here’s a few from the most recent band promo shoot I’ve had the opportunity to work on.  1 Hot Mess is 1 rad crew of people to have on the opposite end of the lens.  Connie and Kat rocked out the back end of this shoot as well.  When the 3 of us are firing on all cylinders, life is GOOD!  Thank you to everyone involved!

Category : Family, Studio
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April Fool’s Hijinks

On April 1, 2010 by vard
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Man I had some fun today.  For four years I’ve wanted to pull what I thought would be one hell of a funny April Fool’s Day prank: making it look like A Perfect Blend, my mother-in-law’s coffee shop here in Berwick, PA, was closed and out of business.  For four years all I’ve ever done was wish I was doing it.  This year I finally made the decision to just get it done.  Last night Connie & I stopped in and covered the entire front window area of the shop with newspapers and hung an ‘Out of Business’ sign on the front door.  We also tethered a video cam pointed outside to a T.V. on the inside.  The idea here was to be able to see the expressions of the locals walking up for their morning fix, as well as a way for me to see outside so I’d be able to run down anyone that ACTUALLY thought we were closed.

It worked better than I could have ever imagined.  All day long we were able to enjoy the hilarious expressions on people as the thought of the shop actually be gone from their daily routines crossed their lost faces.  Slightly evil, perhaps, but everyone enjoyed the laugh and seemed to have a lot of fun.  The newspaper and T.V. station showing up was an unexpected bonus as well. :D

I’ll file this in my war chest of examples I use when people tell me they have nothing to do, or that there’s nothing to do in this town.  Make your fun.  Be bold, do something…but never stop having fun!  Thank you Mary Lou for letting me do this.  I really appreciate the chance to mess with so many people!  :D

Rock On!

Category : Family, Socialness
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