OK first and foremost, Nick Saglimbeni is the mastermind behind WMB 3D. I was lucky enough to be trusted with designing the layout for the magazine. After hearing his vision, I was on board faster than a cat on a ship full of tuna. My main job was to layout the magazine, however Nick is quite a talented designer as well, for he did the logo, and many of the ads you see in WMB 3D. Now I’m not one to boast about something to make an extra buck. I truly believe what has been done to accomplish WMB 3D is ground breaking. I’ll say it now, Nick has established himself as the best 3D photographer in the world. Correct me if I’m wrong. And if you don’t believe me, view the magazine for yourself (free sample gallery, $5 for full magazine):
iPhone/iPad iOS version
Android version

If you haven’t figured out already, WMB 3D is the world’s first magazine fully rendered in 3D, from the photography to the design. It was originally planned to be a tablet and smart phone (backlit) only magazine, but we also decided to print a limited run of beautiful 9×12″ collector’s magazines as well. We chose to do the red/cyan 3D approach because it is the most accessible across the world, and the least expensive. When technology progresses we will move towards glasses-less 3D.

3D lately has made a comeback and has seen it’s ups and downs since the recent explosion of Avatar (up), and the lackluster-last-minute botched downs of The Last Airbender (down). Seems like everyone was trying to hop on the 3D bandwagon, and in return there are a lot of bad apples to ruin it for the artists that follow through from beginning to end. I will not give away Nick’s secret on what camera he uses and how he processes the images, but I will say it’s certainly not as simple as mounting 2 cameras side-by-side and pressing a button. The attention to detail in WMB 3D is stunning. The ability to see immersive depth, and every minor detail without straining the eyes is mind blowing. Have I used enough flattering adjectives yet?

DESIGN
I’m all about the saying “less is more”. Taking any idea and condensing it into a design that fully describes what needs to be said, in a minimalist way. Too many shapes, colors, fonts and pictures can quickly turn a classy Dwell magazine into a Star magazine. Minimalist was the way to go with WMB 3D, mainly because the images were the #1 stars of the magazine. The bigger and less cluttered I could make the pictures, the better. Because of that, the articles are well written, but again, minimalist so the images aren’t covered by walls of text.

Font is by far the most important design aspect we had to decide, because on most pages they will simply contain an image and a few words. After going through hundreds upon hundreds of fonts, we agreed on the sleek rounded font Quicksand by Andrew Paglinawan. We chose this because 1. the curves match the WMB logo 2. the font family is quite large (7 variations) and 3. it is very user-friendly, modern and easy to read. To add a little spice when needed, we decided to use various fonts for section titles.

Designing with 3D images was new territory for me, but turned out to be more convenient than traditional 2D magazines. Funny thing is, you can literally place text anywhere on the image, and it WILL be able to read when viewing in 3D (unless the font is a very similar color to the background). This is because the font is being placed on the plane closest to your perspective, while the 3D image is “sunk” into the page, so you are actually reading the font as if it is floating above the image… therefore making it easier to read on busy backgrounds. Trust me once you put the glasses you will instantly see what I mean.

RESULTS
Thanks to Nick and the team’s hard work, Kim Kardashian blowing the lid off the premiere, and E! News leaking the details days before the release… the magazine has been a major success on it’s first week. But we could of told you that after documenting people’s reactions on the Las Vegas strip:

I’ll be happy to answer any questions, so feel free to comment. But overall, download this revolutionary magazine, I promise you will be amazed by the amount of detail Nick has gone through to deliver you the ultimate 3D magazine.
iPhone/iPad iOS version
Android version

Douglas posted a contest on his blog, and I thought I would give it a try. It seemed like a good excuse to have fun with a professional photo… and the sci-fi buff like myself couldn’t turn down a robot theme. The winner gets a handy Think Tank Photo memory card holder, and get to work with Douglas in the future on an upcoming project (ok ok, that might be the real reason I entered).

Before and after. Click image for high res image.

During the build-up I took a shot with my iPhone. This one showing how I added the “Launch Area” sign to the building. Designed in Illustrator, then transformed/grundged in Photoshop. At first I thought about saying “NO HUMANS!”, but the concept slowly turned into something more playful.

And of course the winnings. A Think Tank Photo memory card holder. It’ll go nicely with my other quality Think Tank gear. Thanks Douglas for making me even more aware that I need to stock up on more memory cards. Looking forward to working together again!.. Did I mention our business cards kind of look alike too??

Click here to see the other entries to the contest.

Better yet, follow this link to see the HD version: http://www.artofflightmovie.com

I’ve noticed a trend among the tip-top commercial photographers… minus a handful (Joey L, Nick Saglimbeni, Chase Jarvis, Zack Arias), most have a polished straight-laced persona that is unwavering no matter how big a gig they get, or what awards/feature they’re offered. Will I get jaded after I land my 50th job with Reebok or Atlantic Records? Hopefully I can tell you one day, but the answer to that will most certainly be HELL NO! Back to the question in the title, maybe this will answer the quizzing inquisitors; I’m featured in this months PDN magazine!!! (can you sense the excitement?!?) No, this doesn’t mean I instantly got 20 jobs the next day from the mailers, but YES I got a lot of replies from them, and that builds a solid bridge to future jobs.

As far as I’m concerned PDN is one of the most respected photography magazines in the states, so you could imagine how big my eyes got when I got an email from one of their editors. My little ‘ol mailer penetrated New York’s 6″ steel plated photography editors’ walls. After a morning chat on the phone, Jacqueline wrote a very flattering article. I can’t wait to put my upcoming 2011 work in my next planned mailer (and yes I already have it planned out!).

I thought it looked very familiar to my logo, but not until I lined them up side by side that really got me flattered. I’m sure I don’t possess the only line-circle-line logo in the world, but the similarities are undeniable.

Am I wrong? I thought just the logo was similar, then I checked out their redesigned website:

Maybe I’m being too narcissistic, but I think the header looks extremely similar to my portfolio website as well. Their primary light blue swatch is also similar to my primary color. I’m thinking someone at thelab (the design firm) at least took a peek at my logo and implemented it somehow. If so, cheers! You have impeccable taste!.. and I’m expecting my check in the mail any day now! (ha, now that’s a joke worthy of late night stand-up).

** Update **
Josh Cox brought this to my attention, a logo he designed for his company Colossus of Clout:

When designing a minimalist logo, you will be hard pressed to create something 100% unique. But being in such a powerful position Josh has a good point:

“Imagine me sending Comedy Central a cease and desist letter and demanding they change the name of Jon Stewart’s show to the Colossus of Clout Power Hour, with just an old-ass quark file and a stack of unused business cards backing me up.”

“Without the help of Photoshop, many of my images would simply be impossible to create. I take the most optimal exposure of the subject and background then combine them in order to achieve a hyperrealistic look. I primarily use the Pen tool to finely clip out objects – then combine the multiple images together for a final piece. In the end, I add universal texture, lighting effects and match the colours to tie everything together.”

And here is the image I chose to feature. Ashley Knights Jr. ripping up the 2nd street tunnel in downtown LA.

After making the switch from Art Director to full-time freelance photographer, I knew it was a matter of time before I started a lifestyle photography website. I love all types of photography, and I get asked all the time to do (relatively) simple shoots for family members, kids, portraits, weddings, etc. Considering Derrick Rose, floating desert girls, and blingtastic rap artists don’t really belong on the same portfolio as playful kids, families and newlyweds, I started a new website just for that. After countless hours of thinking of a name, designing a logo, making a twitter/facebook page, tweaking a blog, I finally launched www.davisvisuals.com. Most of the work featured is naturally lite, with a few excpetions. A very stark contrast to the massively lite and photoshopped work featured on my commercial portfolio clintdavis.net. Any day I’m behind the camera is a good day, and this is just another way to have more good days! Here’s a screenshot of the new website. Click and browse around and see if you like my softer, sweeter, more gentle alter ego

Along the way I didn’t bother to take out my well-packed Canon 5DmkII. Instead I conveniently used my iPhone 4. I highly recommend a cross country trip to anyone. Preferably with a good friend. Fortunately for me I had Domo to keep me company. He’s quiet, and makes a good pillow.

Mapped out and ready to go. Phoenix, Austin, Mobile, and Atlanta would be my pit stops along the way.

Poor box. Not an inch to spare. The Border Patrol in El Paso, TX were laughing at my car for being so ridiculously low. I just told them “this car is a tank, it’s made the trip before!”… of course after the German Shepard sniffed around my car, and asked about my US citizenship.

Thank the tech gods for GPS. Something about seeing a blue dot move across the screen makes me feel that I’m not actually driving in circles.

New Mexico knows how to put on a good sunset show.

3am somewhere in West Texas, yep.

After 17 straight hours I arrived in Austin, TX at a friend’s house. Along the way I picked up a few hitchhickers.

Ben Sassani was shooting a wedding on Oct. 2nd in Austin, and I thought I’d help out. I didn’t know free beer was involved. I also didn’t know that Ben is THE master at Angry Birds. WTF!

Introducing the (2nd) best bar-b-que I’ve ever had. And where else than The Salt Lick outside of Austin, TX. Arguably the best part about The Salt Lick is that it’s BYOB. Meaning you can BRING all the beer you want. Now that’s what I call family fun. The 1st best bar-b-que? Easy, that’s Bessigner’s in Charleston, SC.

Next is the legendary Lance Armstrong’s Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. Do I really need to say more? BIKING UTOPIA!

Meet Shah, Fred Sassani’s dog. The biggest, scariest, nicest Doberman in Austin Texas. He does lots of circles. And is awesome.

Now meet Chewy, Ben Sassani’s dog. The exact opposite of Shah lol.

Louisiana is fascinating if you love wetlands. Chick-Fil-A is ALWAYS fascinating.

This threw me for a loop. One second I’m driving through rural Alabama, and the next I’m going through a time-warp tunnel under Mobile, Alabama!… at 41mph.

After a night in Daphne, AL (just outside of Mobile), I took off to Atlanta. Now THIS is what I have in mind when I think Alabama. Old, empty, long, 2-lane roads being hugged by tall trees and blue skies. For kicks I listened to country music.. for 5 minutes. That’s all I could handle, but it felt right.

I rolled into Atlanta, and my friends Lieze and Andy Sapp invited me to come along and see Jeff Koons at the High Museum of Art. He’s one of the most successful artists of our generation. Yes, please.

We got to ride the Marta train to and from the Museum. A little scary around midnight, but living in Los Angeles trained me to be tough!.. but that’s not a street tough, that’s Andy taking some pics

After a good nights rest, I drove the remaining leg to South Carolina. It’s good to be back. And Domo was thankful to get out and stretch his legs, and touch REAL grass for the first time in his life. Cheers!

Typical landscape of California. Bogart was a great co-driver. He pointed out all the squirrels.

Just so California could remind every driver on the I-10 that they care about the environment, they set up 3,100 turbines near Palm Springs. An amazing spectacle, and would be interested in knowing how many rear-ending-rubber-necking car accidents happen because of them.

Rows and rows and rows and rows of turbines.

They almost look like trees from very far away.

5:00 AM next morning I head out with my adrenaline junkie buddy Matt Frohlich from South Carolina (who goes to helicopter school in Phoenix) to base jump off of Superstition Mountain. Me? I was just along for the ride for a good hike and take some pictures

We park and start the 2hr hike to the top of Superstitious (the jumping point framed in the background).

An Arizona sunrise is about as good as it gets.

For a brief moment I felt like I was delivering some ring to some volcano.

Once the sun rises the rock looks even more menacing.

Rule #1 when going anywhere in Arizona: Bring plenty of H2O.

Matt looking EXTREMELY nervous to be doing his 800-some-odd jump off a big rock.

Rule #2 when going base jumping: Bring a friend. Rule #1? Open your chute.

Finally reaching the top, Scott and Matt do a wind check to see if it’s safe to jump.

Yep, it’s safe. Tie your shoes tight and get ready. Rule #24 of Base Jumping: Strap a video camera to your helmet so you can impress the ladies on youtube.

One last survey before descending over 1000 feet in a little over 1 minute… hopefully not any less than that.

Matt’s recorded jump. Listen at around 00:10, the sound of the chute opening sounds like a shotgun. That’s me at 0:14 watching from the tip top lol. They got to the bottom of the mountain in 1 minute. It took me 45x that to get back down

For Matt, base jumping is more safe than driving down a highway, so I wasn’t very worried about picking up any body parts. In fact later in the day we did an impromptu photoshoot near Camelback Mountain of another base jump. Look for the edited shot very soon. After the shoot, and jump, I had just enough time to snap off an incredible sunset over downtown Phoenix. One day I’ll sky dive… and dare I say, one day have enough confidence to jump off 1000′ tall rocks? That’s a damn good way to get over my fear of heights.