Where I Am - On The Web

The internet is one big bad tangeled web.  I've been contributing to that digital mess of mass information confusion highway since the late 90's.  Today, with my over zealous creative brain coming up with so many ideas and having so many different platforms to chose from, I've found myself on every other corner of the internet.  So, consider this a little map of my art on the world wide web.


www.blackwellphoto.com 
First, and foremost - the reason I always say I'm always on the internet.  Being a stay at home dad, I do most of our work via the web.  E-mails, video conferences, and social networking all make up my day as well as taking care of a 1 year old woman.  So Blackwell Photography's website is the #1 place to find me online.  It is the core of internet presence ... the reason I'm even here, blogging!

Blackwell Photography's webpage is an idea Stacey and I conceptualized one day in the park.  It's a combination of our work.  The Trinity of websites, as I like to call it.  Her portfolio can be found at stacey.blackwellphoto.com, where as mine can be found at marc.blackwellphoto.com.  Our wedding page is it's own seperate site located at weddings.blackwellphoto.com.  That leads to the other subpages, blog.blackwellphoto.com & photos.blackwellphoto.com, where you can view galleries and purchase downloads and/or prints.

Leading into the "social networking sites" in a minute, but still sticking to business.  You can find Blackwell Photography on Facebook by clicking that link.  Twitter, Yelp, Myspace, Tumblr, too.

My personal Facebook site is dedicated to blogs I post here, random status updates, and also a place to share news/blogs/photos/& stuff.B.  It's an overall gathering place for your MB fill.  If you're a Lucas Grabeel fan, or a Drew Seeley fan - you aint gettin' through to this one unless you're super cool.  Haha!

My Twitter page is more laxed and I like to have more followers.  The more the merrier - for some reason...  It's a little more raunchy and fun.  I still promote Blackwell Photography through it, but now with the new BP Twitter, it'll more be a home for letting you know I posted a picture of Zoe somewhere.

My Twitpic is a photo site dedicated to my every day blog kinda pictures. Photos of my hot wife and I going out on dates, to shots of me on a movie set.  Whateva.

My tumblr is a place to post iPhone pics.  Anyone with an iPhone needs 1 dedicated place to upload those pictures to for years.  It's the only way to create a good archive.  And after many attempts and many different photo sharing sites, I've grown to like tumblr for my iPhone viewing needs.

Of course, this blog at Blogger is an old journal of written madness.  It dates back to 2006, so I'll keep it around for a while even if I don't post to it on any regular schedule whatsoever.

Quarter Life Crisis

Doesn't every 26 y/o who has a blog at some point create new post with the title "Quarter Life Crisis"?  While I can't afford to go out and buy a new ferrari (cuz we had to purchase a new fridge ... that took all my car money away!) I can tell the world what the hell is going on inside my crazy brain.

I want it all.  I want to do it all, rather.  And I want it all too.  I want to shoot music videos.  I want to create an album ... yeah, like a music album!  I want to be a professional painter.  I want to move to Australia.  I want to own the Canon 5D Mark II with dozens of lenses of my choice (that will happen one day soon).  I want an iMac, a new external and internal hard-drive.  How can a person focus?  How can an ARTIST focus?

I've heard "pick one!", but why?  Why do I have to be just a headshot photographer?  How boring is that?  I wanna shoot weddings, and newborns, and sexy models too!  I want to paint - and I want to show those paintings to the world!  One day I dream of my artwork being showcased in the Getty Museum just down the road...that's not bad, right?  Or is it bad for business?  Am I confusing my market?  Who IS my market?

I mean, we're good.  Zoe's full, and content, with a crib she's happily sleeping in under a roof.  We have a fridge with food in it, and I'm typing on a pretty sick computer.  We've got a nice car that gets us to Target where we can always buy more toilet paper ... so why do I worry?  Honestly, my wife brings in most of the money for the time being, but honestly, I bring in a significant amount too.  So ... so what?

Ha... I don't even know what I'm getting at.  I just finished a book about Zen and just being.  And I am ... just being.  I do what I want, when I want.  I even live streamed a painting the other day.  Does that mean that I'm going to put down my camera and only paint for financial gain?  No.  Even though I've thought about it.

I've cut out several vices in my life that have plagued my creativity and productivity and I think that's where all this extra energy and ideas are coming from.

I don't care if I tweet too much, or if I Facebook too much.  Even though, sometimes I wonder if I do.  But I can't worry about if I'm doing something wrong all the time - that's a waste of time!  I opened up a tumblr account the other day.  Why?  I dunno - I wanted a place to post my iPhone pics ... even though I'm a part of The Best Camera project and Twitpic.  I'm not even confused! ... I'm just presented with so many awesome options that I want them all!

And like I said, I'm only 26.  Thankfully.  I've got A LOT to do and hopefully (knock on wood) I've got a lot of time to do it.

I'm going to start calling myself a visual artist.  I photograph.  I paint.  I draw.  I make websites and flash designs.

What now?

Peace,
-marc

The Launch of Blackwell Photography!

A few days ago, August 23rd, to be exact, Stacey and I launched Blackwell Photography!  We have combined photography forces to create a trinity of photography services, including but not limited to actor's headshots, musician portraits, and wedding celebrations!  We're super excited to be starting out on this very exciting adventure, and encourage you to check out Blackwell Photography's Blog.  It may be just as entertaining as this one.  And you'll probably get more photos of celebrities and less pictures of Zoe.  Until Zoe is a celebrity.  Then I won't know what to do!  :)

We're really, really excited, and even offering a launch special.  Go check it out!  Share with your friends, and support a dying art - photography!  We always appreciate your continued support.

Years pass.  Does it get any easier?  I continued to say no.  But you do stop crying as much.  Today is the 5 year anniversary of my mothers death.  It's really difficult still, and I assume it always will be, but the other women in my life make it easier.  Stacey is the best wife and partner a guy could ever ask for.  She's always understanding when it comes to the mom subject, and now that she is a mom - she gets it from a very different perspective.  Zoe too, middle name and all, reminds me of my mother daily.  I sometimes imagine that my mom used to look like Zoe when she was 11 months old.  My mother would LOVE these ladies in my life, and vise versa.  I think, no ... know, all 3 of us are better people because of Marcia Blackwell.

Zoe's 11 months today too!  It's a crazy week!



Stacey organized a walk this evening for my mother and some friends are on their way over to take a little walk around the neighborhood and grill out.

I feel like I've been posting a lot of stuff in the past 3 days.  Tweets, Facebook posts and links, blogs here  and there.  It's all for a good cause, trust me . . . and I've been holding back!

Alright - love you guys!

Peace,
-marc

What I Do ... Now.

My number one priority right now is Zoe, (who is really 15 weeks old this week).  I am a dad, then a husband, photographer, web designer.  So let me explain really quickly what it is I do.

I run a small sole proprietorship called Marc Blackwell Photography.  It's been a legal business since 2007 and it's been a lot of fun.  I shoot everybody, but I work with actors more than anyone else.  I shoot headshots, musician portraits, bands, families, you name it I've shot it.  I also shoot weddings with my amazingly talented wife.  She has a day job but we work on the weekends when we're together and someone can be with Zoe Toes.  Together we make a good team.

I also work with Stacey, my wife, and our good friends Brandon and Laura in a little company we call Red Letterbox Productions.  Brandon is an amazing music producer, crankin' out jams left and right for established and aspiring musicians.  Really, his sound is amazing.  And Laura is a bright and creative graphic designer mixin' up images, cd covers, social media graphics and more colorful stuff.  Stacey and I do photography together and I also create the websites for the group.  We're a one-stop shop for actors and musicians.  And it's been fun so far, we're really hittin' it hard this year. 

So I work on a lot of websites as well as taking pictures.  I've devoted myself into the world of CSS, HTML, PHP and Wordpress.  I can create a mean website that does more than look pretty.  And it's perfect work being at home I can do it whenever I'm not feeding, changing or playing with ZB.  :)

Here's to the economy picking up, and to doing our part by providing high quality services and products for fair prices.  It's how the world goes round. 

Much love,
-marc