natural beauty

i’ve probably mentioned this before but our graphic designers are awesome…i love this artwork!

and since we’re in the holiday spirit, i’ve made it available on our flickr page for you to download! you can use it on your desktop, as a card, or whatever else you may want to do…just click on the image!

william eggleston

william eggleston is a memphis-born photographer who is credited by many for establishing color photography as a legitimate artistic medium.  the majority of his photographs were taken during the 70s…i’m really drawn to the color and composition.

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“this is beginning to be my new favorite kind of light. it brings out a spectrum that appeals to me, warmer colors that i don’t always notice at other times. it’s like when a thunderstorm moves through and the light changes swiftly from cold to warm.” -william eggleston

check out more of his work here.

party time, excellent!

good morning! i have lots of fun photos for you today from last nights 1920s themed holiday party here at the navy yard…it was a blast, and building 543 looked beautiful. here are some photos i got while they were setting up, followed by some taken at the party.

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stay tuned for a 1920s office style post!

pickin’ out photos…

whenever the images are ready for an upcoming catalog, our team lines them up in the hallway for everyone to look at. we pick our favorite and mark it with a post it note, and this helps them decide which images to use and which one goes on the cover. it’s really fun…these photos are for our march catalog, and they look great!

musical ornaments

if i had a christmas tree, these are the kind of ornaments i’d put on it. i saw these on pitchfork and I think they’re so cool – they’re recycled christmas tree ornaments made by the glass casters union in oregon, and proceeds from the sale of the ornaments go towards helping homeless and low-income families in oregon. this year’s designs include modest mouse, blizen trapper and the decemberists (shown above). i also like some of the ones they’ve done in previous years:

on the road: part two

“what is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? – it’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-by.  but we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”

what did you all think of part two of on the road? this section of the book finds sal (kerouac) back on the east coast settling in to a quiet contentedness with his girl and school and family, when a surprise visit from dean takes him on another wild cross-country journey.  this trip’s scenery, traveling in dean’s car along with his girl Marylou and their friend ed dunkel, reminds me of my own road trip as they take the southern route across the country.  they stop in new orleans to visit old bull lee (in reality, william s. burroughs), a heroin addict who brings out the madness of the intimate group.  after new orleans, they continue moving on through texas, new mexico, arizona, and then into san francisco via the oakland bay bridge.  this portion of the book is more about their journey on the road than what happens when they get there…which ends up not being much, as sal finds himself broke and homeless, wandering the streets in search of something he never finds.  part two ends with him returning back east, unsure of whether or not he’ll ever see dean again.  why do you think he went on this trip? and why do you think it ends on such a melancholy note?

have any of you ever taken a road trip? where did you start and where did you end up?

firefly literacy fund

some friends of mine are involved in a nonprofit organization called the firefly literacy fund that I think is really cool…it’s all about bridging the opportunity gap in the city of philadelphia by working with families, teachers, schools and shelters.  they have donated hundreds of books to elementary school students and this past october they worked really hard on turning the library at the southwark elementary school into a relaxing and inviting space where kids would want to spend time…and they did a great job, as you can see in the above images. they’re having an event this wednesday to raise money and awareness for this important cause…click here for details, and check out their website fireflyfund.org!

are any of you involved in good causes? what charities are you most passionate about?