A Post for Monday Mornings

It's extremely hard to get going on Monday mornings...especially after having an amazing weekend. Nevertheless, we all crawl out of bed/hammock/couch/floor with an enormous sigh and get on the weekly grind once again. So here's a little inspiration/motivation for the Mondays we all love to hate. I know I woke up a bit like this today:



Innovative Coffee Lid by Josh Harris
Coffee Top Caddy by Josh Harris is designed to help the coffee runner with people’s orders.

Rather than remember what his coworkers want, he can place the coffee accessories onto the tops of their coffee cups and everyone will be able to customize their own drinks to their liking.

Via Toxel

24 Motivational and Inspirational Quotes

01
“If at first you don’t succeed, think how many people you’ve made happy.” - H. Duane Black

02
“Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome.” - Arthur Ashe Jr

03
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” - Colin Powell

04
“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone.” - Bill Cosby

05
“The power of imagination makes us infinite” - John Muir

06
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” - Henry Ford

07
“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.” - Samuel Johnson

08
“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” - Beverly Sills

09
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” - Harry S. Truman

10
“If you care at all, you’ll get some results. If you care enough, you’ll get incredible results.” - Jim Rohn

11
“Every artist was first an amateur.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

12
“The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.” - Ben Stein

13
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” - Michael Jordan

14
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” - Herman Cain

15
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” - Thomas Edison

16
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” - Albert Einstein

17
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” - Tommy Lasorda

18
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T. S. Elliot

19
“The distance is nothing; it’s only the first step that is difficult.” - Marquise du Deffand

20
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

21
“A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” - Walter Gagehot

22
“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way; if you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” - Frank Banks

23
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” - Michael Jordan

24
“Success is not permanent. The same is also true of failure.” - Dell Crossword

Via Toxel

GT Motoring Session

Sorry for the hiatus all - I was in California all weekend and ended up getting stuck at the airport all day Sunday (we flew standby) and NOBODY was getting on because of overbooked flights and the enormous snowstorm in Denver. Apparently they got a YARD of snow? Unbelievable.

Anyway, the day before we left for LA, I had an opportunity to shoot for GT Motoring. They brought out their sick GT-R and their E92 M3 (briefly) to play with my E90 M3 and my friend Ernest's R35. A bigger treat, however, was right next door - a DMC (Delorean Motor Company) shop with a ridiculous amount of the iconic car in repair, storage and for sale. It was amazing. Here are some sample pics from the shoot:








Big thanks to Greg at GT Motoring for the opportunity to shoot. Click here to check out the rest of the set and stay tuned for a slideshow!

Bimmerfest: UMG x IND x APR Collab

So Bimmerfest 2009 is rapidly approaching and I've been lucky enough to have a slot at the Nitto booth, front and center with my M3. If you remember, my 335, now returned back to stock for daily driving duties, was featured on BMWUSA for the launch of the new LCI (facelifted) E90/2. I've been looking to do some bigger work on the M3 and with the 'fest coming up so quickly, now seems like an opportune time to do so.

I was speaking with my friend Ilia at IND, and we got on the subject of doing a custom diffuser for the car and molding the current polyurethane lip to the bumper. I was all about it considering I'm not the biggest proponent for exposed carbon fiber. Here's a pic of the car for reference now:



He made a call to APR and they agreed to make a diffuser for me pending a design. I wasn't a huge fan of their E46 M3 diffuser, but I am definitely excited to offer my design to what will undoubtedly be a very functional addition to the car.

Anyway, here's a shot of my first mockup:

BEFORE


AFTER


I have to mock things up at different angles, but I'm pretty happy with the way it looks. The real test will be tomorrow when we mock things up in person. Stay tuned and THINK BIG.

Word on the Street

Stay tuned for a proper introduction to the new guys on UMG! Think BIG.

Obi (Wons a Photoshoot) hi-res slideshow

Hey all,

Remember the Obi (Wons a Photoshoot) preview thread here? Well the pics are done, so have a look at the slideshow I made by clicking here or the player below (will open to a new window):




My personal challenges for this shoot were to shoot solely with a Canon 35L f/1.4 and shoot knowing that I was going to turn them into black & white.

Here are a few snaps from the shoot/slideshow:





worn out from shooting!

Enjoy!

Design Respeck! (Part 5: Lunchroom Edition)

Here's another edition of "Design Respeck!" for you guys. I wanted to bring this one back to the lunchroom days for all the kids who brown-bagged their eats from home. Om nom nom. I'm waiting for someone to come up with a really sweet update of the brown bag though. As timeless and cool as the brown bag is and will always be (Power Rangers lunchbox just can't cut it 24/7), it needs a refresher...time to put on the creative cap. Anyway, enjoy!

ASDA Lunchboxes

You know what I always hated? Looking at those vending machine sandwiches in their sad-looking hard plastic containers...or worse...their 7-11 cousins in their unmistakably unsterile saran wrap digs. Thank goodness for creativity. Not only does it manage to be functional packaging, but it manages to look good while doing it...inside and out. It is some seriously cool stuff to take to the lunch room.

"Considering structure, graphics and materials I created a set of three lunchboxes for ASDA, the brief asked for them to be seperate solutions, however still maintain a strong visual idenity throughtout the collection. The lunchboxes cover three distinctive ranges, healthy, satisying and childrens. This project won a D&AD Yellow Pencil for Packaging Design (Silver)." - Emma Smart (designer)

Via Idealist

Giant Gummi Bear (on a stick)

I don't know about you, but I know that I've been waiting for the Gummi Bear to catch up to these supersized times. American gluttony aside, these giant bears of sugary deliciousness would make a perfect Pixar movie marathon companion and show up all the other kids at recess with those puny, normal sized bears. Who's cool now? And at $10 a pop, it's a pretty sweet bargain. Here are some specs:

* 4" tall (not including stick)
* It's on a stick
* Choose from 3 flavors: red cherry, blue raspberry, and green apple
* Weighs 1/2 pound
* Equivalent of 88 regular Gummy Bears

Via Vat 19

Fruit Juice Packaging by Naoto Fukasawa




Although I only posted up the banana and strawberry variants, you have to check out the kiwi packaging. So much cooler than "Juicy Juice".

Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa has created a series of creative fruit juice packages that have the look and feel of the fruit they contain.

“I imagined that if the surface of the package imitated the colour and texture of the fruit skin, then the object would reproduce the feeling of the real skin.”

Via Toxel

New Movie: "In For Service"

The newest short film by Unscene Media is DONE! Huge thanks to Patrick BMW in Schaumburg for letting us film on location and to Mark for lending his time and acting. Click here or the image below to check it out:



I was tired of seeing car videos with no plot...no back story and just driving fast. So for this shoot, I tried to make it a little more like a short movie - a bit like what BMW used to do with their BMW films. BMW, are you listening?! Anyway, hope you all enjoy the video. It was a blast to make and there will be more to come. Stay tuned and THINK BIG.

Ashton Photoshoot

So last year I had an opportunity to shoot my co-workers daughter, Ashton. She was by far one of the most cooperative and cheerful toddlers EVER. It was a blast. Thanks again for the opportunity Sabrina & Tom! Thinking back, I remember doing a majority of the shoot with my (now extinct) 40D and 70-200L f/2.8 IS. Now I remember why I shouldn't have sold it. Anyway, I figured I would do a short little slideshow of the shoot for you guys:



Click here to download (right click & save) or watch in high-res.