Let Them Eat Cake

I am a big fan of constant education, so I read a lot, attend seminars and classes, and self educate constantly on all sorts of subjects. Learning new perspectives is among my favorite things.

A good friend of mine, and film maker Brett Culp, gave me a book about a year ago called Let Them Eat Cake by Pamela Danziger. I finally found the perfect time to read it in my flight to and from Las Vegas. I am so mad at myself as I highlighted some great ideas and quotes, but left it on the plane. Well, maybe it is for a reason, and somebody else will get an opportunity to read it who knows... You ever notice that sometimes a book or information seems to find you at the exact time you were ready for it?

I loved this book on marketing luxury. It really spells out that today people aren't caught up in a keep up with the Jones' attitude. It's true, luxury today is personal and not unattainable goods that you never get enough of. And, there is nothing more luxurious than when you buy a life experience like a vacation, or a spa treatment, or a piece of art from a special place of meaning, or of course a one of a kind photographic experience...ha ha Even in technology luxuries have become about personal experiences, an IPhone for instance holds your personal photographs, your favorites TV shows, your personal music library, and much more.

Thinking from this perspective has made me think a lot about the experience we provide at our studio. We've always known that experience is important. Among other things, that is why our galleries and offices are decorated uniquely, so that everyone has an experience that is different from the everyday. But, after reading this wonderful book, we are on a mission to do more in regards to experience and finding ways to make our experience a little more personal for everyone.

For anyone who is into marketing, in business, or likes reading about these sorts of subjects, you should really pick up Let them Eat Cake. It opens some dialog and offers a fun way to look at what luxury really means today to each individual person.

Valley of Fire 2008 Video

Late last night, I produced a short highlight film of our ride through the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada just outside of Las Vegas. I thought everyone on the ride would like to check it out. I am happy to send out DVD's to everyone on the ride, just get in touch with me and I'll get an HD copy out to you. What a great day to get some fresh air and just enjoy. We've done several rides over the past few years when we go out to WPPI each year including this, Red Rocks, and Death Valley as well. It's always a great time. Special thanks to my good friend Ken Sklute for organizing the ride. I know it takes a lot of effort to get everyone on board. For those photographers who haven't done this before, I can't suggest it enough. The video should say it all about how much fun we have. The music is from Triple Scoop Music I should mention. They have an extensive library of music for video production. Captured on the Canon XHA1 HDV camera, produced in Final Cut Pro, and Color Graded for effect in Apple's new program Color which is part of Final Cut Studio 2. Enjoy!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone. I am looking forward to both mine and Jennifer's family joining us today at home. We have been away for a week as guest speakers at the International Photography Conference in Las Vegas, so it's good to be home. Don't get me wrong, I love Las Vegas, but 8 days there is a bit long.

I want to thank our sponsors Apple, Profoto, LexJet, Tamrac, and Triple Scoop Music for their help in making my Master Class a great success. Each of you were helpful in so many ways, and we certainly appreciate your time and effort. Also, special thanks to those who attended for their kind words throughout the week. We had a lot of fun with the group and the pleasure was ours.

I also got to be the chair or lead judge for the album competition. Basically, this means that I don't have to personally judge, but oversee that each entry gets a fair shake. It was an interesting competition with a little drama as usual. But in the end, the judges made sound decisions and I am proud of the choices they made. It isn't always easy to make hard choices, but they stood up for what they believe was right, and that is all we can ask of anyone.

One highlight of the week was when myself and a bunch of other photographers and friends rented Harley Davidson's and got out of the city for a ride through The Valley of Fire. An all day ride through the dessert with fresh air, blue skies and friends. You couldn't ask for much more of an escape. We filmed the ride in HD, so once I get some of the footage edited, I'll try to post it here.

It's great to be back and settled in to work again. I am in the thick of so many projects being worked on right now, which we will unveil in late spring, that it was hard to leave them for a week. Wedding season is approaching in the Northeast, and it looks like we are in for a fantastic year. Hope everyone enjoys Easter and the long weekend.

New Super Six

Cycling and racing season is here now that temperatures are getting into the 40s and 50s in Connecticut. I am so psyched I just got my new Cannondale Super Six and took my first ride up Whirlwind Hill today. We live at the top of this long and crazy 17% grade hill, and riders come from all over the state to tackle it. This bike is awesome at only 15.4 pounds give or take, it is extremely light, but on the down hill holds a line incredibly well. The Super Six is built with a full carbon fiber frame, rear triangle, forks, and even has carbon handlebars and brakes. I also stepped this years bike up first class with full Dura Ace components. I pretty much just want to put it in a room and stare at it. It is definitely a work of art in the bicycling world.

Special thanks to my good friend and Stage 1 team mate George Dickerson for helping me put the bike together and tune it up. George, by the way, is an fantastic DJ who is an incredible mixer that spins at some Manhattan clubs, and available for weddings and events. It's rare these days to find a DJ that can mix on his level.

Looks like I'll be able to catch a race this weekend in Bethel, CT. if I can wake up early enough on Sunday morning. I am sooo looking forward to a healthy summer filled with exercise and competition. I have to make time to get from behind the computer, and this is definitely part of what keeps me going strong.

Blind Melon Show

I got to catch a concert this past weekend at a small venue in Hartford, Connecticut. I caught this shot from the IPhone of course. The band Blind Melon is back, and after 12 years they are releasing a new album. Anyone who is a Blind Melon fan has got to catch one of their shows. Their new singer sounds just like Shannon Hoon, and truth be told, he hit the high notes with room to spare. I have never seen a singer able to scream in key the way this guy does.

I became a BM fan years after their early successes and loved the in between stage as a band called Unified Theory as well. I am just psyched to find a band that isn't radio driven that can deliver like these guys do. I always seem to be drawn to music and artists that are, maybe too good for the radio!? Deeper lyrics, unique changes, and talents that are far from the basics, Blind Melon rocks. If you were a fan in the past, catch a new show, you will no doubt be blown away.

Leopard Leaps

I finally got several of our machines upgraded to Apple's new operating system, Leopard. I waited a little while as I usually do with newer software and hardware from any company just to make sure everything was on the table in regards to updates and software compatibility.

Apple truly outdid themselves with this new operating system. The organizational benefits alone are worth the upgrade price. The cover flow feature is unbelievably fast and when you deal with tens of thousands of images, documents, and video clips, finding exactly the image or item you need for a project just got a whole lot easier.

I also notice that my calenders are syncing perfectly. I am not sure why, but with past systems, I couldn't get calenders to sync flawlessly, but that is obviously a thing of the past as well. Taking it a step further, networking just got friendlier as well. Shared computers and drives automatically show up in the finder without having to connect manually which is a blessing when you are working with many computers in many places.

As a photographer with offices in three places, it's also nice that we can connect directly to each computer as if we are sitting at it. With Leopard you can see your desktop remotely no matter where you are. A big blessing when traveling on assignment or away from a specific computer.

For anyone who is considering the upgrade, I can't say enough. I was shocked at how genius this new platform is. The things I mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg, but I am glad I switched because these features are new keys to our ability to stay on top of our game.

Apple Care Experience

Apple computer is at the core of our business here at Maring. As a photographer, we spend sooo much time staring at the computer at images, it would shock most people to realize. Thank goodness, Apple understood this and created more than just a numbers work flow, but instead created a digital lifestyle. They have managed to make long computing hours as enjoyable as possible. But that isn't why I am writing this post. I am writing it because of an recent experience I had just this week.

I bought Apple care two years ago with a new PowerMac G5 tower. The computer started having some issues, so I called Apple support, and they had me take the computer in for repair. A few weeks had gone by, which was unusual. Every time I have taken computers in for repair in the past, I would get a call the next day and it would be all set. I wasn't concerned about the time since I have 14 macs and never keep my data on the computer drives just in case. But they called me out of the blue and stated that they were having trouble finding the part. So, rather than making me wait any longer, they were going to give me a brand new 8 core top of the line Mac Pro with everything I had in the original in terms of upgrade. They even offered to transfer all of my data and extra drives from the original. Of course I agreed, and they called two hours later saying it was ready to be picked up.

WOW.... I was so psyched. A company that just did the right thing even when it had a lot of expense to it. I have had PC's in the past and it was a complete disaster when it came to getting them repaired, much less replaced. I am a firm believer that you get more bees with honey! As a business owner, I never take the complain approach to other businesses I work with. But, like Apple did, I always try my best to do the right thing.

I am not sure who to thank here for making the tough decision to step up. Maybe Steve Jobs, maybe the manager at the Apple store I frequent, who knows.... But I want to shout out a quick THANK YOU to the folks at Apple for making my long hours at the computer just about as fun as one could make it, and for backing up their products with such a surprising level of customer service.

I am going to followup with some other Apple posts coming up simply because I purchased several new software applications, and once I get a change to use them, I'll comment so other photographers can get an idea of my experience. Right now, I am starting to utilize the new Aperture 2.0, Bento, and upgraded all my systems to Leopard. So, I'll be giving a heads up on these new products.