Back around the year 2000 I had taken some pictures of Gingerbread Houses at the my kids school holiday event. Playing around the next day, I took candid pictures of  my kids and dog. Well the dog just sat, but the kids had a good time. They kept asking questions. “Dad, why are we holding this basketball?” I’d tell them, “It’s not a basketball, it’s a giant gum drop.” The results of our photo session was this photo I like to post every year. Hope you enjoy it and Merry Christmas!

My kid are 17 and 20 years old now. Not so little anymore.

I like to study the history of graphic design. Over the past 25 years I haven’t studied design as faithfully as I would have liked. Recently, I found my old college text book on the History of graphic design by Philip Meggs. To show you how old I am the book is a 1st edition(circa 1983). Think the book is currently in it’s 4th edition. Looking back at all my yellow highlighting I use to like the Russian Constructivist. or maybe I had to write a report. Today, I tend to gravitate to the works of the Modern movement in the U.S. It seems to be the melting pot of design at it’s best.

I came across a 1943 Fortune magazine cover, designed by Herbert Matter . The image was intriguing. It was an abstract view of ball bearings. A black and white photograph with primary shaped colors overlaid. Amazing. When you think of the vision that it took to put this together. This was the days of oldschool prepress. No computer aided design back in 1943. Well, I had to purchase a copy of the old magazine cover and it is now framed and hanging in my office. It’s a work of art. Herbert Matter is a rock star of design. See for your self. Google “Herbert Matter”. There is even a movie on Herbert Matter scheduled to release in 2009. I look forward to seeing that.

Brownie Hawkeyes are a dime a dozen and an easy find at antique stores and flea markets. Little harder to come by old cameras still with their original box. I wanted this primarily for the box, but was very happy  to find it had the manual and a Kodak #13 closeup attachment. I like old cameras, even if I don’t often use them. I have a few old cameras, started with an Argus C3 “the Brick” and I’ll pick up a old one here and there.