S A W l a b = {artistic + mod + whimsical} shirts

stop walking around naked... put on one of our shirts


“Wear our art on your sleeve.”
designs by Stephen Austin Welch
We have two new designer T-shirts in our merch store, SAWlab.

images:
• bottle cap (halftone photograph) > white image on black shirt
• star dots > white image on black shirt

specs:
The men’s and women’s shirts are available in 100% ultra-fine combed organic ring-spun jersey for $27. Or you can opt for the standard 100% cotton for 25 bones.

More designs to follow in the coming months (time permitting, of course.)

cheers, SAW

“everyone is a photographer”

We joke sometimes that “everyone is a photographer” (behind closed doors, of course.) Nothing malicious, we just end the sentence with, well you know, “everyone is a photographer.” And then we move on. Usually this is after we have lost a shooting gig to somebody because they were the someone’s brother-in-law, or cousin (or second cousin, once removed.)

Need some proof, look no further than Nonja, the 33-year-old orangutan at a zoo in Vienna, who was given a digital camera set up to automatically post photos to Facebook*.

Here are my tongue-in-cheek responses to “everyone is a photographer”:

• so if video killed the radio star, who did Flickr murder?
• well you know why NOT every one is a surgeon, because it is hard to do as a hobby.
• so I’m at a bar, in the restroom taking a leak, and the guy next to me asks “how many megapixels...?”
• until you know the difference between ISO and ASA, there is no hope for you.
• some things you just can’t fix in post. but I am sure you will try.
• that is like saying you are a chef because you eat.
• you are not a photographer just because you are on Facebook, Linked-In & Twitter 24/7/365.
• not everyone, I met this gal once, and she was a director!

* = btw, Nonja is paid in raisins. According to a spokesperson for the zoo, “Of course the apes don’t care about the pictures, they are just an accidental side product. They just know that when they press the button, a raisin pops out.”

p.s. to whom it may concern: just to clarify, I am not bitter. just something us industry folks joke about, from time to time. ha ha.

p.p.s. Um, I’m going to go have some (♪two scoops of raisins...♪) Raisin Bran cereal now.


photo on the left: © Katrine Naleid (of yours truly) & the photo on the right: © Nonja (of Nonja)
(this diptych was doctored up by my photo pal Sue Tallon; you can see the original one here.)

font insults

in no particular order (and in jest) I write:

• ... there is noting “comic” about it.
• that kerning looks like an upskirt.
• XYZ, PDQ, I can see your t r a c k i n g hanging out.
• pardon me, but you dropped you x-height on the floor.
• you might as well replace you leading with “um...”.
• let’s put a cap on your cap height right now.
• not to get all political, but I am justified left. and you are justified wrong.
• with all due respect, you’re a dingbat.
• why mess with an inbred font family.
• maybe you should try sans sans-serif and see where that gets you.
• actually your l e t t e r s p a c i n g might be the perfect candidate for a successful comb over.

cheers, SAW (a photographer & yup, a designer—but hey you already knew that.)

p.s. this post is a follow up to “everyone is a photographer” neither of which seem to be making me any friends! ;-)

p.p.s. here is little back and forth banter between myself and my designer buddy Joel:

JM: you had me at "comic sans."
SAW: and, it looks like you’ve dotted your Ts and crossed your eyes.
JM: I've seen easier reading font choices in a chinese phonebook.

updated SAW books

I just revamped my book (my actual printed portfolio.) I added 25% new work from just 6 months ago! This is exciting for me. I understand it is easier (and more affordable) to look at a site than to call in a book; however, no matter how quickly jpegs load, and no matter how you categorize the images on a site, there is nothing more beautiful than a one-foot by two-foot open book on your lap. It speaks volumes.