Tonight, I had a spurt of creativity — something I haven’t had in quite a while. I decided to showcase my most recent work by writing a new blog post — something else I haven’t had in quite a while. These images are custom wallpapers I made for my school. I’m hoping they’ll use them in the computer lab or something to add a bit of extra personality.
After a long-time sabbatical from video editing, I recently had the opportunity to create a book trailer for Marcus Brotherton’s new book “A Company of Heroes”. I really enjoyed putting this trailer together, and quickly realized how much I have missed telling stories through video. Good times!
Everyone who truly loves Christmas also loves to see neighborhoods decked-out in true holiday spirit. As we walk/drive/sleigh through each year’s winter wonderland of lights, we see homes with decorations that fill us so full of Christmas Spirit that we could swear we are one carol away from bursting.
Every season, Heidi and I make it a point to take a few evening walks around our neighborhood and check out the Christmas lights. A number of years ago, we started talking about the specific things we liked and the things we didn’t like about the decorations we saw, and eventually we came up with an unofficial scoring process. This year, we decided to make our scoring method “official” and share it with the world. Get your free scorecard, and start judging your neighbors’ yuletide prowess tonight:
Obviously, this is meant as fun way to look at one of America’s favorite holiday past times, so don’t come Grinchin’ to me if you see something on the deductions list that you make a yearly part of your holiday decor ( unnecessary blinkage will always be a deduction). If you think of something that I have omitted, please leave a comment and I’ll see about adding it to next year’s scorecard.
Merry Christmas!
Recently, I have begun to expand my knowledge of Photoshop by slowly wading my way through a number of excellent online tutorials. I realize now how little I knew about the thousands of tools and settings that Photoshop has to offer. This is the most recent graphic I completed and I am very pleased with the way it turned out:
I have been out of the church graphic design business for quite a while now, but I recently had the chance to get back to my roots and create some graphics for my current church (pastored by Heidi’s dad). Thanks to the opportunity I had to work with two of the top designers in the industry, I’ve picked up a few tricks along the way. Here are some of the highlights:
Key graphic for one of the messages of the current series, “I AM”:
Standard-issue promotion slides that rotate on-screen before service:
I fully admit that this next slide is a complete plagiarism of CCV’s Class 100 graphic. In the epic battle of innovation vs. duplication, duplication inevitably gets a win from time to time. I figured the gods of design would forgive me as long as I copied the best.
I am especially proud of this last graphic because its an original piece by my beautiful wife. She’s come a long way in her ability to visualize and create things in Photoshop, and I felt that this design deserved some public recognition.
I admittedly have a deep fascination with Mormonism. Growing up in Salt Lake City, I have been around the religion for most of my life. I’m definitely not someone who agrees with their theology or their claim that they are a Christian denomination, but this American-grown religion’s short, volatile history and their modern-day people and practices are definitely interesting.
Last week, my family and I took Heidi and her parents (who were in SLC for Harrison’s adoption hearing) downtown to Temple Square for a tour. Here are a few photos of that trip:
Temple construction began within days of the Mormon pioneers settling in the Salt Lake Valley. It took 40 years for this intricate building to be completed. Its walls are nine feet thick and the outside is detailed with numerous astrological symbols (including earthstones, moonstones, sunstones, constellations, and the lunar phases).
One thing I find particularly fascinating is the architecture of the buildings are at Temple Square. The fact that these simple pioneers were able to design and build such detailed and ornate structures is amazing to me. This six-spire, Gothic-style building is the largest of all the temples worldwide (over 100).
The granite used to build the temple was quarried from Little Cottonwood Canyon 20 miles away. It took days for each block to be hauled from the canyon to the temple site. Though construction on the Salt Lake Temple was the first to get underway, it was the fourth one completed.
One particular change I have noticed in the tour since I first took it is the fact that most, if not all, the tour guides are young women. The temple guides have been called to do their two-year mission in Salt Lake City (much like other faithful Mormons are called overseas). Our guides were Sister Meyers from Albuquerque and Sister Arnquist from Dallas.
The Assembly Hall was the first building at Temple Square to be completed (1877). It was built using small scraps of granite from the temple construction. This meeting place was where Mormon pioneers met for church in the early years. The building is now used for regular community concerts.
Inside the North Visitors Center, tourists will find huge, detailed murals of popular Old and New Testament stories and a large, interactive model of ancient Jerusalem. The centerpiece of the building, however, is the 11-foot marble Christus statue which stands in the middle of a gigantic mural of the universe. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t creep me out a little.
Directly north of Temple Square is the new 21,000 seat Conference Center where large meetings are held (you’ve seen their painfully boring bi-annual television conferences, right?). This is also the building where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs. Mormon financial records are not made public, but the estimated cost for this building is over $240 million.
The Joseph Smith Memorial Building is east of Temple Square and was formerly the five-star Hotel Utah. This statue of Joseph Smith sits in the lobby. Mormonism’s founding father is a very interesting figure. Descriptions of this man range from prophet of God to storyteller to philanderer. Despite his murky reputation, he definitely was a man of great influence and charm.
This final photo was taken from the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I think with a little work, this could easily be used as a postcard. If you are ever in Salt Lake City, I recommend that you spend a few hours to take the tour. I can guarantee you’ll discover some things you never knew about Mormonism.
As part of a recent process of brainstorming various ways that I could earn a bit of extra money this Christmas, I thought up a t-shirt idea, designed it, and then published it on CafePress.com, an online company that specializes in custom-printed clothing. Here’s my final design:
If you or someone you know is a political junkie (or just likes wearing cool, custom-made t-shirts), please pass along this link along to them. I earn a small amount of profit for each item sold, and that money will definitely be helpful in paying Harrison’s final adoption fees (December 19 is the official date!). Any additional traffic you can drive to www.cafepress.com/the2grays will be much-appreciated!
Happy shopping!
This Halloween, be sure to remember that the harder you trick-or-treat, the higher the chance that someone’s going to take a ton of your candy and give it to a kid who stayed home and played Grand Theft Auto IV all night.
