boundary 2

May 2013: Lets Go Back Inside

April was crazy. So, for May's wallpaper, lets go back inside. Find some studio work. You know, for variety.

I had to ransack through some water imagery for a boundary 2 cover we're doing at work. In doing so, I stumbled across a set I shot for Duke a while back.

This reminds me it's been a while since we've blown up the office for an extended studio thing.

It's the usual routine—click the image below to grab a big, wallpaper friendly size for your May 2013 calendaring needs.

Sidenote, it's pretty weird to see that all of Paul's top issues of boundary 2 are ones I've worked on. Including my first. Turns out I've been at it awhile.

Expression Tunnel

I spend a lot of time thinking and working on graphic design. It's how I pay the bills. But I've tried to refrain from including it here—a site I've tried to keep focused on photograph. However, I've had a category for design on this site since launching. I'm thinking it needs to get used every once and while. Occasionally they collide. Like now. I'm working on a cover for boundary 2. These covers are great to work on from a design perspective: challenging.

For this next issue, American Poetry After 1975, I found myself looking for graffiti, largely for textures to build a cover from. In Raleigh, the most accessible (and reliable) graffiti is the Free Expression Tunnel on NCSU's campus.

Now, the chore of editing these and finding a way to make them work as duotones. On a cover.

(Oh. And I'll probably loosen up a bit on posting design related stuff here. At least until the Sky2x site is launched. Which, is actually in production. Shocking.)

macro work

Right. So, I’m trying to get my act together on the design front after 3 years of working for myself and get a site launched. Well, beyond the joys of 99% content free information contact forms. Fine. The issue being that on the print work, the easy route is rendering JPEGs from InDesign or Illustrator and throwing them up on the site. Okay. “Throwing them up.” isn’t the best phrasing to go with.

boundary 2 detail

It seems the right solution is to shoot them. (Which is why I’m posting about it here.) This isn’t easy. Do I shoot it straight up? (If that’s the case am I just taking the long way to deliver, flat, boring, two dimensional images?) Or do I play with depth of field and try to make them interesting beyond just a simple design sample? I think it’s the later. If I throw in the towel and acknowledge that there’s nothing the same as holding a sample in your hands, pawing through the pages, seeing the way the piece comes together, etc. Then I get some creative license.

That’s good. And horrible all at the same time.

Anyhow, this is a cover for boundary 2 a journal published by Duke University Press. Ed. offices up at the University of Pittsburgh. Speaking of design, I need to get back to it. There’s another of these covers on the horizon.

Off to Atlanta tomorrow for the Doublecross challenge. Sadly, I’ll more than likely not bring the big camera so no action shots.