nate update

Catching up on some blogging after a crazy busy 3 day week…

Today at a demo at Casey’s Camera’s in Vegas I had my hands on the new Canon 5D Mark II. This is the camera I’ve been waiting to upgrade to (from the first 5D) for quite some time. There is a huge production shortage of these, so I have to settle for a waiting list for now, but it’s a certainty that I’ll be owning one of these suckers.

For those of you interested in this camera – here’s the skinny… The 5D has a full-frame sensor, which was the first of it’s kind when it was introduced 3 years ago in the Pro-sumer (Professional meets Consumer, yeah, “prosumer” sounds dumb, I know, but there’s no other way to reference the $2K – $5K price range. Sorry.) division. The flipside of having this giant sensor is that it collects dust. Lots of it. The pro-grade Canon cams clean their own sensors – but I figured it’s chocked into that $8K price tag. Not anymore! 5D Mark II cleans itself for about $2700 (body MSRP). Also, it’s upped it’s size from roughly 12 Megapixels to 21, it’s ISO range is insanely high now, and it’s shoots HD video!

I feel like Homer Simpson over a donut. Hurry up, Canon, get your elves busy!

I haven’t upgraded my CS3 to CS4 yet, but after reading this great review from CreativePro.com, I think I will. Typically, I’ll install the upgraded version on my laptop and toy with it for about a month, then I’ll go ahead and migrate my design stations over. I recommend this – especially for pro studios who get & give CDs to printers, clients or web developers. Chances are, they aren’t all on the same Photoshop version you are, so your files might run into some snags for at least 6 months (or much longer, in some cases) after an upgrade.

Here’s the review I read by Ben Long at CreativePro.com. Thanks for a real-world review, Mr. Long. There’s nothing worse than a butt-kissing review of a new product just to ensure the reviewer will get another beta to test in the next version, no offense, Macworld.

If you want to join us for SnowJam Las Vegas on Friday, show up at our studio at 3pm this Friday for a cold one. Then we can carpool over to the Cashman Center, which is only about 5 minutes away.

Here’s their e-mail, which I got yesterday….

Ahead of the inevitable storms and 400″ of annual powder they receive, Brian Head Resort has already fired up their snowmaking guns (see above) and plans to open ASAP. The two mountains at Brian Head are now connected by new lifts, so you can cruise around all 650 acres without ever taking off your skis or snowboard!

Remember, you trade in your admission ticket at SnowJam for a FREE lift ticket to Brian Head worth $45!

Buy and print your SnowJam ticket or discount coupon now at www.snowjamshow.com and save $2 on each admission (every little bit helps!). An advance purchase SnowJam admission ticket is good for any of the 3 days of the expo, Nov. 21, 22 & 23.

Next Friday, Saturday & Sunday, Cashman Center will be filled to the gills with over $3 million worth of equipment, clothing and accessories, and in this economy our guys are willing to make unbelievable deals. And they’ve got tons of every great brand in the business. So if you beat up your gear over the last couple of seasons or you’re overdue for an upgrade, SnowJam is your one chance all year to save LARGE!

See you at the show!
SnowJam Staff

Get down to the 5th Street School in Vegas this weekend for the Vegas Valley Book Festival. We did today, and shot some photos to tease y’all.

Check out the photo gallery link below. Also, come by the studio at 1001 S. 3rd St. Downtown on Friday night and “Drink for Democracy” – whether your candidate won or lost, you can grab a drink and blow off some post-campaign stress. Starts around 6-ish.

See you there!

5th Street School AIGA Presents 50 Books / 50 Covers Photo Gallery

Hey everyone, we have teamed up with John Hawkins of John Hawkins Unrated and Las Vegas Word Camp to give fellow Twitter users a kick off point for First Friday, The Vegas Valley Book Festival and provide everyone something to Twitter about.

Check out the Tweet Up Invite here

For anyone who is not familiar with Twitter or using Twitter, it is a great way to keep others informed of everything you are doing. Check out John’s “Become a Twitter Rock Star – eBook!” it provides a great explanation of Twitter and how to use it.

After you read it, feel free to follow John and myself on Twitter –

John Hawkins – http://twitter.com/vegasgeek

Jake Ludens – http://twitter.com/jakeludens

Hope to see everyone here on Firday.

Change is coming, folks. Here’s some screen shots from the first moments of Barack Obama’s Presidency. I hope for the best for our country. Let’s all hope for peace and success in the next 4 years.

I’d like to thank Erika and the folks at Glaceau for calling me to shoot for them at VooDoo Friday night. Check out the link below to view the gallery photos. There are some silly ones, and some sexy ones, and probably some stuff that you might not want your co-workers to see… perfect ingredients for a good party!

Here’s the link to the web gallery.

Barack and McCain were there...

Check out this homage to the “Whassssssup” Bud Ads. With a contemporary twist that’s pretty hard-hitting. And don’t forget to vote on Tuesday.