Project for Work  

Time for the weekly wrapup. The deal for the new studio we were planning isn’t going to work out, so were looking for a storage unit to contain all our stuff until we find a new space. Not getting the space is a bummer, but I know we’ll find something great eventually. Also on the bummer front, I’ve sold the motorcycle. With the impending studio deal, I decided to let my favorite toy go. I found a buyer within 45 minutes of posting it to craigslist. The couple that bought it seemed pretty stoked, so I know it’s got a good home.  I didn’t realize how attached I’d become until we drove off after signing the papers.  C’est la vie.

Selling the bike right now was incredibly bad timing too.  The Cabrio has been in the shop for over a week now, and we just had to have it towed to a different shop to have the oil pump rebuilt. Going from 3 vehicles to one is like diving into icy water, and I’m not over the shock yet.  To add to the inconvenience of sharing one car, the repairs on the Cabrio seem to be piling up.  On the bright side, once they’re all done we can put it on craigslist too.  A small convertible doesn’t cut it when you’ve got ladders, light stands, and photo gear to haul around. I’m looking for something along the lines of a van, minivan, or suv, but we’ll see. We also found a house that we’re interested it.  Taryn is working on arrangements to look revisit it and to check out some comparable houses in the neighborhood. It’s a 30+ year old, 3800 square foot ranch, on 2.5 acres of land.  The 13 minutes drive to downtown Raleigh rocks, and it’s a five minute walk to the Lake Wheeler Park.  Rural living, easy commute, and the right price make me like it a lot.  But, and there is always a but, with the musty smell in the basement, the “unique” landscaping, and the basement furniture being up on blocks, we’re concerned that there might be some water issues.  If we put an offer in on it, it will definately be contingent on a thorough inspection.

Work-wise, I’m buried beneath a pile of work that just seems to grow every day. Office stuff is, as always, growing faster than I can keep up. Photographically, there is *way* more to do than I have time for.  Between pushing to meet deadlines on office projects, editing images & albums for clients, and prepping for upcoming shoots and shows, I’m getting very little sleep these days.

Speaking of clients, the CAM Exposure Time project was this weekend.  I have to admit that it was one of the most fun things I’ve done this year, and I’m already looking forward to volunteering next year.  It was great to hang out with a group of motivated and talented photographers, as well as the terrific volunteers who were there to help out.  On top of that, every single one of my sittings went well and were with really fun people.  Taryn and I spent the day running around, shooting terrific images, and laughing the whole time.  At the end of the day we were both exhausted and happy.  It reminded me why I enjoy photography so much, and why I want to make it my career.  I’m still editing the images, but I’ll post a few of the personal shots and outtakes to flickr, and a selection of my favorites to chrisengel.com.

IMAGE: One of the few crossover projects I’ve been working on is the poster pictured above. It is one of the props for our national sales meeting, which is next week in Las Vegas. I did all the photography, design, and build. I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to do it again anytime soon, but I’d jump at the chance if so.