JPG Magazine is now excepting submissions for their 6th issue with the theme “Oops”.. I’ll let them explain:

Sometimes the best shots are accidents. They come from the moment your finger slips, your settings are wrong, you shoot into the sun, or your model sneezes. The results are more about serendipity than technique, and they can surprise even the most accomplished photographer.

The theme for Issue 6 is “Oops!” to celebrate these happy accidents. We’re seeking submissions of photos that say “Oops!” to you. Maybe it’s a photo you didn’t mean to take, or a moment you didn’t expect to capture. You’re encouraged to have fun with the theme. Surprise us!

Got the perfect “Oops!” photo? Submit it now! Submissions open until April 30.

Now you can only submit 1 photo so make sure it is a good one.. and good luck.

more info or to purchase past issues of JPG magazine:

• jpgmag.com
• JPG Magazine Flickr group
• Derek Powazek co-creator
• Heather Powazek Champ co-creator

– Short Post –

Being an veteran “T-Shirt Guy” I have this thing about t-shirts.. I know how much they cost. So I have a real problem paying $68 for a t-shirt no matter where the cotton comes from. That’s why I was excited to stumble onto tenbills.com.

At first glance I saw that the shirts were set up in a series of 12 shirts, designed around a theme.. cool idea I thought .. then I quickly bought 2 shirts (The Contraption by Sean Dietrich and Air Brooklyn by Manuel R. Galvez) and continued to explore the site. I discovered that they were not just selling cool tee’s on the cheap.. they believed in the culture that revolves around the T-Shirt.

Ten Bills is not just a team of t-shirt lovers. We’re music lovers and we’re art lovers. We love to love! We love those who express themselves and their creativity and will continue to help artists reach wider audiences. We believe that self-expression is the only form of expression. We feel that our emotions should govern our actions – not society. But it’s emotions that we need more of in society.

And it is the way Ten Bills embraces this culture that I believe will set them apart from other “indie t-shirt shops”.. they seem to not be building just another “E-Store” site for shirts … they are starting a community… So go and set up your profile, “take the cake”, spread the word, introduce yourself to the message board, and join the community.

– Long Post –

I wrote a little bit about how serious I am about t-shirts in a previous post but I’m gonna go a little deeper this time…. I OWE JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING I HAVE TO T-SHIRTS… let me explain.

See I used to work as a day-time bartender at a local bar about 10 years ago and it was there that my life changed forever (or at least for the last 8 years so far). I remember the day like it was yesterday…. It was a sunny spring day in Sacramento as I strolled into work at 10:15 am, only 15 minutes late and feeling pretty good, I had a bit of a problem getting to the bar on time (and wearing my hat backwards.. but that’s another story) so I was a kinda worried when I saw the folded piece of paper taped to the cash register with my name on it…. could it be that final step .. the written warning that has been threatening me for weeks now.. nope… it was a memo that said the bar was joining a community softball league.. relieved I finished reading. It was the last line that read, ” and if anyone knows anyone that can design a logo for t-shirts let me know because I know a guy that can print them”. That night when I got off of work I rushed home.. OK I had a couple of beers and then drove very safely home.. I fired up the computer, a smoking 133mhz Pentium with 16megs of ram and a fresh Compuserve internet connection, and opened up a rarely used program called.. Publisher by Microsoft. I preceded to design my first logo.. and yes I used brush-script.

Anyways long story short.. the screen printer was blown away and asked my to design a t-shirt for a local radio station’s annual concert so I did it and they were blown away. I quit bar tending the next week and became a designer.

Two years later I was working for a one of the biggest screen printing shops in Sacramento, designing shirts and stuff for clients like Apple and Aerojet and two years after that I became an art director at one of the fastest growing advertising agencies in Northern California designing stuff for clients like the Sacramento Kings and Toyota. Four years after that I became my own boss and have been running a small design studio ever since… And I own it all to the T-SHIRT.

absolutkravitz.com

North Kingdom does it again… again … and again! This time with a little help from one of my favorite musical artists.. Lenny… and one of my favorite vodkas .. Absolut.

Here is a little info from the North Kingdom site..
A unique cooperation between Lenny Kravitz, Absolut and 10 fantastic remix artists from around the world. The tracks, the videos and much more are free to download and share.

I haven’t listened to all of the tracks yet.. but the one from Lenny is pretty hot…

I think it is safe to say that I really like North Kingdom.. I believe that they are definitely one of the top 5 if not the top firms developing websites today… and that’s all I have to say about that.

• northkingdom.com
• lennykravitz.com
• absolut.com

The ability to think rectangular is not an easy skill to come by, but a necessary one for any accomplished art photographer. Rebekka, not only mastered this skill but I’m pretty sure she was born with it. As a budding photographer myself I realize how special this is. And as an art director that has seen my share of portfolios I realize how rare it is.

Rebekka’s conceptual self-portraits are unique and undeniably sexy. Check out her set called “multiplicity” and you will surly see what I mean. Rebekka’s self-portraits earned her the lengthily title of “FLICKYS PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD for Excellence in Self-Portrait Photography 2005″ and by looking at some of the other portraits in that category that was no small accomplishment.

Here is a little about Rebekka from her flickr profile ….

open, honest, a bit eccentric, fit, smart, witty. self taught portrait artist, i draw those for people from photos, anyone interested in that sortof thing send me a line.. im now absolutely obsessed w photography. Self taught in that field as well. All photos here taken by me and processed by me, unless otherwise noted.

Finding Rebekka on flickr wasn’t difficult, she seems to have a pretty large following. If flickr had a ranking system I’m sure her profile would be up towards the top judging by how many comments her photos generate. And speaking of her comments.. read them she tends to give a little insight to how the photo was taken or at least the meanings behind them.

Oh yeah and did I mention that she also draws fantastic portraits in pencil and pastel that you can order? And she is also a stunningly attractive woman that lives in Iceland so you know she has some sort of sexy accent (oh well found out no accent.. raised in Florida.. but you can still imagine that she has one if you want… I will).

Find out more about Rebekka in this blog interview with Christopher from Photography360