I spent most of last week working on Montréal (which was possibly the most fun I’ve ever had working on the road), and I’m thankful to have survived the city’s bleak weather and souring mood (The Canadians were eliminated at home that night). With the hockey Habs on life-support, my Canon followed suit and went through customs for my return flight with very few photos of the city. My only day off was a downpour, so I had no chance to really hoof it around Old Montréal. I still got a few snaps off while we worked elsewhere in the city, and here are the first three.

Ahh, another vintage odd-shaped children’s book - and only 29 cents! I found this morsel in the same stack as my Golden Shape Books, and it’s got a whole different vibe and style. This is probably because it was published in 1970, and was printed in the Netherlands (so how did I end up with it in Indiana?). It seems rather rare, as Google is only returning 10 results.*

*UPDATE: Now I’m the #1 result. Nice.

Each March for the last few years, I’ve been throwing down with some of the best designers in amazing PhotoShop battle modeled after the NCAA basketball tournament. I looooooves me some PhotoShop tennis, and adding a format like this makes it extra fine.

This happens over in The Arena at Flashkit.com, where the rest of the year you’ll find typical PhotoShop tennis-style battles happening. The regulars are incredible designers, and this tournament brings out their best.

A pool of 32 entries is seeded into a bracket by reputation, and designers share stock and go head-to-head in a battle of PhotoShop skills. The community members vote on each pairing, and after 4 elimination rounds, the final pairing competes to become the champ. Bragging rights and mad respect are the bounty, but the experience is always where it’s at.

These are my images from round one and two…not even close to my normal output and I pretty much got routed. So as usual, I was in way over my head (I’m 6-4 overall), but that’s what makes it…um, educational!

You can see some of my past March Madness entries here and here, and a couple of other battle images here and here.

I recently found an old stash of Golden Shape Books with my childhood stuff. These books were everywhere back in the day, but there is a suprising lack of info online. I really dig these covers though…the art has that distinct ’70s vibe (muted palette, no CG, simple). Very cool. I need to get some shots of the interior next…

While searching for a particular Dr. Seuss book the other day, I noticed there was a wide range of colors on the bindings. Inspired by chotda’s rainbow bookshelves, I quickly threw the Seussian volumes into their proper ROYGBV order (I left all the white ones on the right). Not a mind-blowing display, but Coop liked it!

Eeesh, I’ve been posting so much over at Go Green Charleston that this place is getting neglected. Here’s a nothing special shot of a dancer sitting in our art room. I just liked it’s weird, subtle color.

Sometimes things aren’t that complicated…that’s how I feel about this shot. I’m not sure why that peeling green paint and blue sky works for me, but it just does. Nothing was complicated in Callicoon Center.

Here is a detail section of the wall:

I dunno…

This image was made from a scrap pile shot. The flash didn’t fire, but something about that active sillouette is still cool.

More contact sheet fun. This is Ian Davis with a huge transfer under the covered halls of ye old Carmel High School, circa 1989. Those Midwestern winters would have been much longer had we not been allowed to skate there.

This is a detail from a scrap shot, but i thought it looked cool.
So, what color would you say his eyes are?

I’m in a 4-way battle with some of my co-workers, and here is my volley from round two. I kind of rushed through it, but wanted to get it up here anyway.

I found this image while going through old project folders. I designed it as part of the first Roll Canvas mural over at flashkit.com. The Roll Canvas turned out to be an enriching experience, and a great chance to collaborate with designers of much greater ability. Check it out - I really think the final product is amazing.

In the endlessly creative world of Photoshop Tennis, a design battle can take many forms. Over at Flashkit.com, we’ve just completed Rollcanvas III. This impressive collaborative design is possible only in today’s web-enabled world, and I am proud to have contributed.

The Rollcanvas mural battle requires participants to build horizontally off the previous image, but with a catch: they can only see the last 100 pixels of the previous image. I know it sounds confusing, but a good explanation can be found here.

This is all very exciting, as everyone must wait until the end to see the full mural. At over 20,000 pixels long, it’s truly something you should go see.

Below is my contribution.

If you want to see more, you can also check out Rollcanvas I and Rollcanvas II.

Yesterday, I recovered this sketch from the flyer junkyard.
Bob Evans, Ross Dagly, and Showermast - A winning combination since 1993.

Ever since our son could walk, we’ve had a wide range of chalky goodness on the driveway. He loves the stuff. In fact, we all like adding to the weekly mural. These two characters appeared last week, and then with zen-like timing vanished under an evening rain.

Round 3 of Flashkit.com’s March Madness Tournament kicked off with some brilliant stock, clearly reflected in the work that followed. My battle with Hybrid Inc. was hard fought, and the closest of all eight pairings. In the end, his piece pulled ahead and rightfully won the round.

My image is posted below, but you should really check out the amazing work in some of the other pairings.

The annual March Madness Tournament is in full swing over at Flashkit.com, and I barely squeaked into the round of sixteen with this entry. In a rematch with NJP3, the voting was neck and neck for 2 days - he certainly brought some skills. I was lucky to escape to round 3, where I’m up against yet another mighty foe. No time to rest!

Todd Hinchman, 1989.
Straightup wallride in Indianapolis.

As great as this wallride is, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the deck art while processing the shot. Drawing on your griptape is a trend that, for the most part, ended with the 80s. However, through the wonders of modern technology we can obsess over Todd’s deepest teenage thoughts. His favorite bands (including our own, “Subject to Change”), girlfriend’s name, and even personal mantra are all on display for the world to see. Now, where are my paint pens…

Matt Gollnick, 1989.
A burst of flashes captures this layback on the indoor quarter.

I probably drew this in 1992, while a freshman in college.

Here’s a quicky from the sketchbook. Poorly executed, but I like the late-80s’Madchester‘ clothing on the guy.

After looking at this sketch, I’m actually glad I can’t remember what it was all about. Teenage angst - you gotta love it!

And what’s with that extra joint in his right arm?

In a world where photoshopping is acceptable verb usage, transparent photography loses a little bit of its magic. Though I suppose it’s hard to look at some and not think it’s marginally cool.

It’s simple to do. First pick a decent subject - a refrigerator, car hood, computer case - then place your camera in a stationary position. A tripod works best. Then take two photos; one of your subject closed, and one with it open. Some simple layering in PhotoShop will complete the composite. Peek-a-boo!

I remember drawing this in the early evening, waiting on a ride to a party. With awkward teenage energy I sketched this out in about 20 minutes, the whole time thinking of what lay ahead. But why Malcolm X, and why now? Maybe it was Black History Month in 1989, just as it is now. Maybe I had just seen Do The Right Thing. < --- Actually, it wasn’t out yet.