New work on the site!

We've been slammed! Which is a good thing, no complaints here, however we just haven't had much time to update the website. So here it is! Not everything, but some of our favorite work from the last 9 months! 

Here's what's been happening!

New in the FOOD gallery is some of our latest work with Native Sun.

We have a ton of new work up in the Lifestyle gallery from a wide variety of our clients!

A sick album cover collaboration with Sean Tucker and JayJease

A few adorable animals...

And we've added a whole new gallery of the social media content we have been creating for various clients over the past year. Check it out!

October Calendar Challenge

Still playing catch up from August...busy busy...

However, here is your much anticipated October Calendar Challenge Blog Post! Taaa-daaa!

October was "National Adopt A Shelter Dog Month", so of course we all had to show off our furry family members (Pets only). Nacho, the pup on the calendar, was recused by our good friend Alicia, and he's quite the character. If you've got pets, you know they all have unique personalities, just like you all. Thanks for letting them shine! 

Here is my contribution to last month's challenge, in case you don't see enough of these two on my feed...

#figthedestroyer #theotheprotector @amesploss 

#figthedestroyer #theotheprotector @amesploss 

And here are all of your amazing pets. Looking for more friends? Adopt!

Check out Adopt Local Jax for ways to adopt!


September Calendar Challenge

I know, I know, but better late than never. So here it is, the last week of October and I'm just now getting a chance to write my September blog post. Luckily, September's challenge was a fun one and we had a lot of people participate. The goal this month was to put the tiny people, provided by Figure 8 Studio, into fun situations and take a photo. You guys had some great submissions!

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Check out the great pics below! Stay tuned to the F8 website, new work and new blog posts are just around the corner! 


August Calendar Challenge

Well, here we are, more than half way through September and I am just now getting a chance to write up my blog post for August. I have to say, you guys did a great job this month, way to go! I hope you enjoyed flexing your creative muscles and/or getting things done! 

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Here's what I have been up to:

I turned an area of my yard into a succulent garden. I also discovered a snake living in my plants and got a good work out in whilst running away from it. I will count that as 2 things accomplished.

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I set up a scanning area in the studio where I can work on scanning in some of my latest film work. No snakes were found. Minimal physical effort exerted. 

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I started working on the special art projects for those of you that submitted images, and as soon as I get them finished and framed, I will be delivering those to you as well!

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I shot and submitted a design for the AIGA JAX, ALWAYS SUMMER POSTER SHOW! If you have never been, I highly recommend it. Its a great event, great design, and a fun way to spend a Saturday night! Here's a sneak peek of my poster, you'll win an extra high-five the night of the show if you can guess my song. (No cheating those of you that have seen it already!) Here is the event info, hope to see you all there! 

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Now the moment you've all been waiting for, your submissions! You guys rock! 




July Calendar Challenge

July's challenge was to post pictures pertaining to vacation. It could be a photo reminding you of a recent trip, a photo to get you excited for an upcoming trip, a photo to represent a dream trip; anything about vacation. 

Here is mine. I took this image on a recent trip back to Pennsylvania. The trip wasn't really for fun, it was for a funeral for my grandmother. As sad as the occasion may have been, the time I got to spend with family was great and a much needed break. It's funny how sometimes traveling for work, or less than fun reasons, can end up being some of your favorite travel memories. So while in Pennsylvania, I spent some time with my mom at her second-hand, antique store, and she showed me this small travel bag filled to the brim with, clearly, what this woman thought were essential travel items. I was so fascinated by the items crammed in her carry on, that I just had to photograph them. Some of my favorite items to note: the Town House Hotel complimentary travel supply pack which includes two different kinds of cigarettes, the always needed white eyeliner pencil (I imagine her using it as an eyebrow pencil), and the rubber travel slippers. 

You all made me so jealous with your vacation past, future, and present photos. I hope you enjoyed seeing everyone's photos as well. Check them out below in case you missed any. I look forward to seeing what August has in store for you! 

 

June Calendar Challenge

June's challenge was to challenge me! So those participating had the opportunity to come up with a challenge of their own, and challenge me to create an image in response. All of those responses are posted below, so check them out! Thanks to everyone that sent me a challenge this month, I had a lot of fun thinking about the themes and what I would do. I hope you enjoy. 

Challenge 1: @smallfoxmedia wants me to show them why I "do what I do", what "makes me me".

I struggled with this one because who I am and why I do what I do has changed and developed so much over the years, so I will take you on a bit of a journey through time here...

I originally decided to "do photography" when I realized I did not have what it takes to be in the medical field. Blood makes me fuzzy in my brain, and seeing other people hurt or in pain makes me shut down. I was always good at "art stuff", always excelled in art class, and luckily my high school had a great photography program that introduced me to a new medium. When I left for college my intent was to double major in fashion design and photography, but after realizing how much time and money (sorry SCAD) that was going to take, I quickly settled on photography as my major. 

So to recap, so far blood and money are the two reasons I do what I do.

My degree led to my career, which led to me meeting and working with Paul for 10 years. My love for the job and friendship with Paul kept me here, and after Paul's passing, my desire to continue his legacy and make him proud, something, that as of late, has made me question my career. Photography isn't always the most lucrative of careers, if any photographer says otherwise, they are lying, I promise you. It ebbs and flows. On the days the phone doesn't ring, I wonder if I made the right decision, but at the end of the day, what makes me me, and why I do what I do, is my continued love for photography, the feeling that I am doing what I set out to do back when I was 18 years old and what I was taught and then trained to do. Knowing that my family, friends, and husband are proud of me and the work I create, and I am proud of the work I create. 

I think everyone questions their career path sometimes. Its natural. We don't know where those paths will lead us so it can be scary and overwhelming. If you can look back on your journey, and your career, and the life it has given you, and you are happy with both of those things, then you did something right. I did what I wanted to do, so I am the reason I do what I do. 

Karen actually took this pic for me, so that's kind of cheating, but I don't have many pics of me that aren't "selfies". 

Karen actually took this pic for me, so that's kind of cheating, but I don't have many pics of me that aren't "selfies". 

Challenge 2: @mareesalou wanted me to finish a book this month and give a review. Easy Peezy! I am a reading machine! I actually read two books this month, but finished this one most recently. 

I read "Beautiful Ruins" by Jess Walter. I'm not going to lie, I was attracted immediately to the cover, because I am in love with Italy, especially the coast. I also saw that NPR highly reviewed the book, and I'm a sucker for some NPR programming, and have had great success with other recommendations from them. 

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I'm not good at reviews, so I'm going to cut and paste a brief description here (thank you amazon): "Beautiful Ruins is the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962...and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later. " 

And now I am going to tell you what I liked about the story. First, the chapters time-hop, which I enjoy because the story plays out in different eras; Hollywood in the 60's, post-war Italy, WWII, present day Hollywood, and all the time in between. 

The second thing I really liked was the character development, because all of the characters had their flaws and weaknesses. They weren't unrealistic like in some books, they each were dealing with their own set of problems, and each others. 

If you are looking for an easy read with a good story and a somewhat happy ending, I would recommend this one for sure!

Challenge 3: @cymkaren challenged me to take a photo out of my window while driving. KAREN! YOU ARE CRAZY! YOU ARE GOING TO GET US BOTH KILLED! So I had Gil drive, which may or may not have been safer, and I snapped a pic coming over the Matthews Bridge for you so you would remember us here in Jax while you spend a fun summer month in Chicago! Check out the sweet windmill pic Karen sent! See you soon Karen!

Karen's cool windmill pic posted on her Instagram!

Karen's cool windmill pic posted on her Instagram!

My, not quite as cool, pic of the Matthews Bridge, but going to Regency Target isn't exactly as exciting as a road trip to Chi-Town!

My, not quite as cool, pic of the Matthews Bridge, but going to Regency Target isn't exactly as exciting as a road trip to Chi-Town!

Challenge 4: @squeakjoy Wanted me to recreate a child hood memory. Hold on to your seats for this one folks...

So, when I was little, let's say 4ish, my Grandmother used to babysit my and my baby sister, who was 1ish. Every morning she would arrive at our house before we woke up and after breakfast, before Kelsey (the baby sister) woke up, Gram and I would play quietly in the playroom. My playroom had great morning light, and in front of that East facing window was an old-school school desk. It looked like this: 

So Grandma would sit in that desk and pretend it was her fishing boat, and I of course would sit underneath it pretending to be a mermaid. When Gram would stop her boat and cast her line, guess who ended up taking the bait?!? ME! and she would reel me in and say, "Oh look at this beautiful mermaid I caught!". Being 4ish, this was THE BEST GAME EVER! I got to be a mermaid, and get complimented by my Gram, but mostly I had her undivided attention and adoration, something you start to loose when a new baby enters the household. So, since I spend a lot of time with my Gram still, and still value her undivided attention and adoration, I easily convinced her to be my fisherwoman one last time. So for your enjoyment, I have provided the unaltered image, and then, my fantastic "Artist's rendering" so you guys can really get a feel for my mermaid beauty and drawing skills. 

 

This one is okay, but...

This one is okay, but...

BAAAM! MAD MERMAID SKILLS!

BAAAM! MAD MERMAID SKILLS!

Okay stop laughing now, we have one more challenge to go...

Challenge 5: @tayyfigg has had a pretty killer first 1/2 of the year in Chicago and wants to know what I am looking forward to in 2015. So, if you get nauseated easily, you might want to stop reading now, because its about to get super lovey-dovey and oooey gooey up in here!

What I am looking forward to the second half of 2015:

1. A million selfies with this guy. He gets me, and we laugh a ton, and take really awesome selfies.

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2. Tons of pics of these two crazies. Sorry social media, this proud mama thinks her pups are hilariously adorbs, and I'm going to prove it to the world. 

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3. Good times with good friends and family. I would be nothing without the people I surround myself with, so I look forward to spending the rest of 2015 and beyond with all you crazy cats! (In case you just missed that, yes, I consider you a friend, now let's make some memories.)

Sorry I couldn't fit everyone in this pic, I still love you. 

Sorry I couldn't fit everyone in this pic, I still love you. 

4. And of course, I look forward to new work, new clients, and expanding my knowledge and love for what I do. 

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May Calendar Challenge

Patience was the theme of May's calendar challenge. Its something we use everyday without even noticing it. The only time we really even notice patience is when we start to loose it. Obviously its always easier to loose something than to find it, so actively practicing patience can be a real challenge, all photos aside. 

This month I had people contact me about how they were practicing patience on the job, in their relationships, with family, with friends, even with day to day life. Some of you were able to capture that in photos, some of you were just able to acknowledge what was testing your patience and find ways to take a step back and deal with those things. 

I'm no saint, and I can loose my cool just as easy as anyone, so the best we can do is keep on keeping on and try to exercise patience when it is most apparent it is needed. I'm rooting for all of us!

If you didn't get a chance to check out the making of video from the May calendar image, check it out in the previous post. Also, check out some of the images you all submitted! 


May Image Timelapse

Here's a sneak peak at May's challenge, which of course I will blog about at the end of May. In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying their calendar image for this month. 

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Here is a quick timelapse video I put together to show you how long it took to create the image. All said and done, it took about 2 hours and 35 minutes to create (the Mandala, not the video). Patience is a must.

April Calendar Challenge

We are just breezing through the year...

April's challenge was to "take to heart" the fortune in a fortune cookie and see how you can positively apply the message in your own life. If that was super hard, then a nice photo of your fortune to share with the social media world would suffice. 

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Everyone did such a nice job this month, I'm super anxious to see what they come up with for next month's challenge. Check out some of the posts from April! 

As an added bonus this month, we have some extra follow-up posts from our "One-Love" February challenge and our March "Collections" challenge. Thanks for posting!

Coming soon: the timelapse video of me creating May's calendar image! Stay tuned!

March Calendar Challenge

March was super fun, getting to see everyone's collections. We even had some friends without calendars contribute their collections, super cool!

For those of you that haven't guessed, last month's challenge was to photograph your  collections. Collections are fascinating to me because I like to hear how people begin collecting, and the importance your collection holds in your life. My collection is vintage cameras. My grandfather is the one that actually started collecting them for me knowing that I was going off to college for a degree in photography. Aside from the collection he curated for me, I have been honored to have been given my Aunt's camera, a Pentax K1000, which I used my entire college career. Also, my great grandmother's vintage kodak, which was purchased for her by my great grandfather by taking on a second job. I also own my grandmother's first video camera. 

My collection of vintage cameras.

My collection of vintage cameras.

I hope everyone has enjoyed seeing what other people collect. Check out the #fig8studiophotochallenge submission below, and I hope to see your April photos soon!

Disclaimer: The April calendars went out in the mail today, so watch for them soon. Sorry they are late, I will be sure to get May started much earlier!


The Figure 8 Studio Calendar

As Figure 8’s first big project of the new year, we introduced the Figure 8 Studio Calendar Project. Here’s how it works: Twenty-seven of the most rad people we know received in the mail a hand-made (by us) clipboard calendar. At the end of each month they will receive, in the mail, the next month’s calendar page/image. With that, will come a photo-challenge that they are to complete and post to social media, tagging us. Some months there will be a prop included (watch for February’s images to start rolling in). At the end of each month, they are to take the calendar image, and gift it to someone to let them know they are thinking of them. Because we think so highly of the people receiving these calendars/challenges, we are looking forward to sharing their lives through their images, while at the same time being able to share ours. If you would like to see their progress throughout the month, please follow us on social media and check back in at the end of every month to see their amazing images posted here on our blog! 

Check out how some of our favorite people have displayed their calendars!