Banff, AB Canada
Art Director + Photographer
In a couple of days I’ll be leaving for a much needed vacation. We’re heading to Canada for the first time to visit family and are anxious to get on our way. Obviously my posts will slow to a screeching halt, but I hope to take photos while I’m away and post some when I return.
Oh and contrary to the graphic above we will not be traveling by fighter jet.
This hotel in Japan looks absolutely amazing. The color scheme, design, concept, everything. Totally not something I could stay in if we ever went to Japan, but I’m attracted to the idea and the experience. More photos and information here. (via Jonathan Moore)
On Monday, Dec 22nd I crammed into a 2 door Civic with my good friends Mike and Ryan and headed up to Dallas to attend Hype/01. I wrote about HYPE awhile back and at the time didn’t have plans to attend since I knew I would be in Houston already for Christmas. But after I wrote the post both Mike and Ryan turned on the heat and soon afterwards we had plans to drive up and check things out. The event featured several artists from the various vocations of photography, fine art and music. I had no idea what to expect since I don’t know any of the featured artists outside of some brief emails with photographer Andrew Shepherd. All I knew going into the event is that it aligned with my interests both artistically and missionally as all proceeds were donated to Sower of Seeds, an international ministry involved in providing clean drinking water in India. From my personal experience and various reports on some of the featured artists’ blogs, the event was a huge success. In speaking with Andrew Shepherd I learned that this was the inaugural HYPE (hence the “01″) and the dream is to take HYPE to other cities around the country. I think the whole idea is fantastic and I hope those dreams become realized sooner rather than later. In the mix of the success of HYPE, the highlight of the night for me was spending 10+ hours with two friends on the road. Our initial plan was to stay the night in Dallas and get up early the next day to make the drive back down to Houston, but after an hour or so at HYPE we decided to make the roundtrip in the same night. I knew I was in good hands as both Mike and Ryan are used to late night driving…Ryan with his countless trips around the state to see some of his favorite bands and Mike driving all the way to the San Marcos outlets in the dead of night just so his lovely wife could get some shopping done on Black Friday. Kudos Mike…in that respect you’re a greater man than I, even if I do think you’re a lunatic. I’m ready for the next late night road trip, maybe to HYPE/02 or whatever number they’re up to at that point. Selfishly, I just want to hit up that buffet at Sam’s in Fairfield again and see what new religious trinket Hargrave will buy at the local gas station to bless our trip. Although this time on the way back I think I’ll pass on the Starbucks in Ennis. That blonde-haired dude behind the counter who, with great pleasure, described how good their chocolate chip cookies are still haunts my dreams.
A “behind the scenes” video covering some of Jeremy’s involvement with the Passion World Tour. The shots will be compiled into a book called “Awakening” that is scheduled to be released in the spring. The idea of this hits so many nerves in me: traveling, photography/design, experiencing other cultures, spreading the gospel.
Back in May of 2006 Cynthia and I went to England and Scotland for a business/pleasure trip. Before we left we stopped into Half-Price Books to get a couple of new books to read while we were away. I didn’t really know what I wanted to get, but I had heard of the book “Long Way Round” by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman and so when I found a copy I figured I’d check it out.
I devoured the book.
The book tells the journey of McGregor and Boorman as they circumvented the globe (heading east from London and ending in London) on their motorcycles in 2004. Both actors are motorcycle enthusiasts and become very good friends after meeting on a movie set several years ago. The idea for the trip started when Ewan visited a map store and discovered that it was possible to make a roundtrip around the globe on a motorcycle with only having to take a handful of trips across the water. He pitched the idea to Charley and they put the trip in motion. I love to travel and have often had the desire to take off for a few months and travel the world, so reading a book like this definitely resounded with me. Plus the fact that these are both celebrities who are out of their professional element and pursuing personal passions also made for an interesting read. You were able to get an idea of who these people really are instead of viewing them through the distorted lens of the media.
Another element of the book that greatly appealed to me is how they did it. I don’t own or ride motorcycles, but the idea of packing up your supplies and hitting the open road on a motorcycle sounds invigorating. Often the pair (along with a small support crew) would simply stop off on the side of the road and make camp. Even though both of these guys are well off, they didn’t use their monetary means to live it up on their trip. To them the purpose was to experience the countries and cultures they passed through and to soak up their surroundings as much as possible. There are stories of them pulling into a town and having to find a place to stay at the last minute. There are countless run-ins with immigration officers and locals that make for some tense moments. Plus the times that people recognize Ewan are pretty entertaining and actually happened less often than I thought.
In addition to the book a TV documentary was produced and aired on BBC television. The documentary was then distributed on DVD, so after I finished the book I Netflixed the set. Cynthia watched the episodes with me and we had a blast viewing them. The episodes were a great compliment to the books and those paired together offered the most complete picture of their entire journey.
So it was with great excitement that I found out a few months back that in 2007 Ewan and Charley did “Long Way Down“. On this trip they went south from the northern tip of Scotland to Cape Town. I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of the book and just a couple of days ago Amazon delivered it fresh to my doorstop. I have no doubt that I’ll devour this one just like I did the first and as soon as the DVD set is ready for the US it’ll be in my Netflix queue. If any of you have the Fox Reality Channel, the series will be shown starting August 2nd.
The “Fox Reality Channel”….really?
If you’re looking for a good casual read or something to fill your Netflix queue, check out Long Way Round. If any of you have already read the book or seen the documentary, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
