0Posted by Nate Ludens on November 23, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Last Saturday was a rainy and cold day in Las Vegas. Bummer for trying to get around a desert town when in a hurry – bigger bummer if you’re hosting an outdoor event called a Photo Walk, my first solo project for the Las Vegas Adobe User Group.
Guess what, though? Perfect day. Really – the light was flat and everything was wet. If you had the proper clothing and you’re warm enough, days like Saturday make for some really nice photos.
I want to thank the other shutterbugs who joined me at Springs Preserve for our first AUG Photo Walk. Also really want to thank PJ Perez and Springs Preserve. Great place!
Super-mega-creative friends of mine in the Las Vegas-based band, Slow To Surface, released their newest EP today on iTunes. Once again, I had the fortune of being the guy they called for album art. I’m a fan, for sure. Have been since the first weekend I moved to Vegas in 2001. When you get to be, in a small part, a piece of the puzzle of a new release – it’s a pretty cool honor. Here’s a post with the album art and a logo concept we worked on last year.
Here’s a look at the digital version of the album cover. Promise me you’ll check it out on iTunes. They’re a damn good rock group and they deserve a couple spins on your iPod, dammit. I think you’ll like what you hear and go for more.
Slow To Surface - Body Archery - Released Nov. 23, 2010
0Posted by Nate Ludens on November 7, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I haven’t ever won a royal flush, a lotto or a big jackpot – but if I did, it might compare to the day I had on Saturday, November 6, 2010 with my family.
We went to Tony Hawk’s Stand Up For Skateparks fundraiser at Wynn Las Vegas. I knew it would be a great time, but I had no idea I’d A) meet and take a photo with Tony himself, B) see an insanely great skate demo with the best skateboarders on the planet, and C) share the whole thing with my wife and 7-month old boy.
I have been a fan of Tony since the early 80′s, but my favorite skater was Christian Hosoi, who literally flew out of ramps – higher than anyone until some dude named Shawn White about 20 years later. I traded concrete for snow in the mid 90′s while living in Colorado, and I still ride every chance I get – 15 years later. (in 2004, I named my business after the best ski runs – Black Diamond Digital Imaging, closed in 2009). Since then, I’m more a fan of Tony Hawk than just about anyone. Now I know the dedication and passion it takes to be an entrepreneur, and to do things your way. Very few are successful, and even fewer build an empire – their way – and have a good time doing it, while giving back in the classiest manner.
Today (Sunday, Nov. 7) there’s a construction crew breaking ground on a new skatepark at Rotary Park here in Las Vegas, near Hyde Park School, where many of my family and friends went to school. It’s one of nearly 500 the Tony Hawk Foundation has built in the US.
I sent out a tweet yesterday with a challenge to my 800-ish followers on twitter. It said “I just met @TonyHawk. Go ahead and try to find a cooler person on the planet. I dare ya.” I’m not holding my breath.
Here’s some photos from the event, shot with my Canon 5D Mark II and a 50mm f/1.8 (the “nifty fifty”). I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them, but again – I’m not betting on that, either.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on November 3, 2010 at 9:35 am
I had the fortune of shooting photos of another great production by Project Dinner Table on Saturday, October 30th. The event was held at a farm on the northern edge of Las Vegas called the Gilcrease Orchard. (Yes – there’s a farm in Las Vegas). Rick Moonen from RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay and his team provided the eats, Nevada Beverage provided the parrrr-tay, if you know what I mean.
Now the tech lingo: I shot the entire event with a Canon 5D Mark II, using 3 lenses: a 24-70mm f/2.8, a 70-200mm IS USM f/2.8, and I cheated, using a Tamron 11-18mm EF-S lens (not compatible with full frame sensors… or so they say). Dude, there wasn’t much light, so I utilized the awesome noise reduction in Adobe Lightroom 3 on a handful of these shots, though – the 5DMkII continues to amaze me with high ISO functions. Boy, Canon has come a LONG ways since I used to shoot snowstorms at ISO 800 with the 10D about 7-8 yrs ago. As usual, my favorite shots are the goofy ones from shoestring-level or odd angles, getting a little close to the BBQ grill, or some of the slow-shutter speed shots from the tripod. Lesson to take away from this event (for me) – bring a truckload of AA Batteries or rent a new Canon Speedlight that recycles flash faster.
Special thanks goes out to Gina, (Happy Birthday!) Kim, Christine and the rest of the event coordinators. This was their 2nd event in a week, and as always, they put on one unforgettable evening. I hope you enjoy the photos (below) as much as I enjoy shooting them.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on October 29, 2010 at 4:52 am
Today’s prominent facebook-API message on every Hootsuite user’s dashboard was kind of a shocker to some, and quite a few comments I read today showed anger or frustration. There’s some lessons to be learned here, and I think Hootsuite’s going to be the one observing their users (us) learning the most.
On some minute level, I have to wonder if it’s a delayed power play from Facebook to sort of show 3rd party apps “who’s boss,” – or perhaps some 3rd parties cut some dev corners to get out a head start on the Social Media App game. This isn’t a hack on Hootsuite – I’m a big fan, and have been an advocate since it’s launch. Tweetdeck, Echofon, Tweetie for Mac, I’ve used them all. Every single one has glitches – the more social networks it operates, the more drama with API calls, the more down time. Chalk most of these up to growing pains. (Anyone all-too familiar with the Fail Whale?)
Lesson 1: You get what you pay for. When Hootsuite announced a few months ago that they were going to a pay model, the company was met with massive Boos and Jeers. Hootsuite retracted, and said they’d chill and develop a new strategy for their pay version. Well, today they showed corporate users (the freeloaders, specifically) that if they want Hootsuite to single-handedly operate a company’s Customer Relationship Management, they may actually want to invest a dime in it.
I wonder what would happen if a large corporation had a call center full of volunteers and donated phones… I digress….
Lesson 2 is for non-professional SM users. Just because you can post and schedule every update on facebook and twitter and your blog and LinkedIn and MySpace – doesn’t mean you should. When was the last time you actually logged into each of your social networks to post on each, individually?
Here’s a few shots of rock legends, Great White. I shot these from the edge of the stage at the outdoor amphitheater at Sunset Station in July 2010. True story: In image 212, I had just turned to shoot the crowd, when I spun around to catch up with the onstage action, I had the neck of a guitar about 6 inches from my lens. It seemed like guitarist Mark Kendall was mocking me a touch, perhaps for not paying attention to one of his kick ass solos. I wish someone would have shot a photo of the grin I had from ear to ear the whole time I was shooting this show.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on October 14, 2010 at 9:57 am
These are a few of my favorite shots from my first Project Dinner Table, back in June. This was their third event, held at Cashman Baseball Field. I have since shot each monthly event and at each dinner, I receive many compliments on these shots, all very appreciated. Truthfully, though – the real artists here were the talented culinary team and Gina – the event organizer extraordinaire, who scoped this location.
If you haven’t been to a Project Dinner Table event – don’t miss out. Go to projectdinnertable.com and reserve a spot. It’s a great event every time for a great cause.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on October 10, 2010 at 6:57 am
I’m kinda on a Black & White kick lately. In some instances, color can distract from the emotion I try to tap into when shooting concert photography…I like to get shots that the viewer can feel. The shot below of Sin City Sinners’ guest guitarist, Jimmy Crespo I feel captures a moment where the note is penetrating our ears and souls. You’ll see more shots like this one in some of my other posts. I can see a series of these shots down the road, if I get back into gallery work. I think I’d call it Sweet Emotion Series. Partially for the great Aerosmith tune (Crespo’s old band, coincidentally), and partially because this type of concert photography really does steal some sweet emotional moments.
These shots were taken June 19th at Club Madrid inside Sunset Station – for the Sin City Sinners, a Vegas band that plays originals and cover tunes of classic hard rock tunes like GNR, Cheap Trick, and everything in between. Go see them. I promise you won’t regret it.
Every time there’s an exhibition game in Las Vegas involving pro sports teams, there’s an influx of news reports that “Las Vegas gets hopes up for Pro Team” Here’s one.
I’m a baseball, football and hockey fan, and I would love it. But it’s a long ways off until a few things change. No, I’m not talking about the economy.
Take last weekend’s Frozen Fury – the annual pre-season hockey game at MGM Grand between LA and Colorado pro hockey teams. This game is soooo far from a regular season game…. and I think the attendees know it. It’s a Fan-Appreciation Party for Kings season ticket holders. For Las Vegas – and MGM Grand in particular, it’s specifically designed for LA-to-LV traffic directly into the MGM Grand casino floor. The game itself is secondary, I believe, and this is the tunnel vision that’s keeping the city from having a pro team. Corporate involvement of Sports Marketing in Vegas always seems to involve a competitive slant, fear of losing slot revenue or high rollers while they’re enjoying themselves someplace else. Newsflash: today’s consumer knows what’s on the other side of the street.
So, really… Why can’t it work? Here’s what I think:
Most locals who wish for a pro team don’t currently show up at the sporting events they do have. It’s apples and oranges, I know. But it’s all we have to benchmark so far.
Corporate team owners don’t know how to market to locals.
From my experience, the marketing strategy of the Wranglers is to cold call ex-ticket buyers and sometimes offer them free shit on “special” games. The 51′s strategy is a carbon copy. A few phone calls to invite you to the “special” games and a billboard. Bobblehead dolls can only go so far. (Note: I can’t speak for Arena Football, because I have yet to attend one. I hear great things – and it appears that they have an improved strategy over their counterpart sports: I know when the games are without a google search).
I think it’s important to note that this isn’t a testament to the on-field (or on -ice) product. Every single game I have attended was well worth the price and an entirely enjoyable time. No exceptions. I say all the time that these are the two most valuable experiences one can have for under $20 in Vegas, and I stand by that.
Ever the constructive critic, I’ll offer a few ideas for sports marketing in Las Vegas. First – build culture. Teams should lobby for and support more pre-game, post-game events and locations. The Wranglers are present at McMullans Irish Pub across the street after every game – this is an example of how to make your players more visible to fans and non-fans to build familiarity and conversion. Free, or low-cost shuttles to and from games would encourage attendance and responsibility on their respective $1 Beer nights (highest attended games). Pep-rally mentality does exist, but it’s not nearly visible enough to sound like fun to someone who’s not already in the know.
The single largest thing holding back Las Vegas from having a sports franchise: Giving back to Las Vegas. The city’s largest businesses must be involved with ticket blocks. I don’t know or care what the bulk rate is to have a NV Energy, Cox, Zappos, Harrah’s or MGM section at each Vegas sports arena, but it needs to happen. Casino VIP players will love it, employees and their families will love it, and the Las Vegas valley will benefit for years to come.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on October 3, 2010 at 12:17 am
Going into June, I had a unique opportunity to interview Steel Panther’s lead singer, Michael Starr. (You can check that out on the Station Casinos Blog if you want). The following week, they returned to Green Valley Ranch with a packed house. I was lucky enough to be the house photographer for the show. All I can say is: hhhahahahahahahahahahahhh ahhahahahah ahahah aahhhhhhhahahahahahahahahahahahah.
These shots are pure fun. The stageshow at Ovation is great, and Steel Panther takes advantage of it. Their show uses every bulb, color gel, smoke machine, and outlet available to rock your ass off like it was 1987.
