Don’t try to be original. Try to be good.

Hello and Happy New Year! I feel the best way to start a year is with a quote. So, I’ve been scouring the web in search of one. Read the title of this post a few times and let me know what you think. I chose this quote from Paul Rand because, as a designer, it got me thinking. I found it to be inspirational.

Inspirational? Yes, inspirational. How original can you really be? Is being original the best way to solve a design problem? Is taking inspiration from a tried and true movement (i.e. Art Deco) the best approach? I believe the latter to be the case. Everything is re-invented at some point, whether it be fashion, music or design. As a society we are constantly innovating and taking inspiration from the past. So …

“Don’t try to be original. Try to be good.”

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

So, blogging has had to take a back seat recently. The work has piled up and something needed to move to the bottom. I finally took a break last night and put in an old favorite, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Not my all-time favorite Christmas movie—It’s a Wonderful Life holds that title—but a great one nonetheless.

After the curtain closed it really got me to thinking how hard it is to find a good comedy. Everything Hollywood puts out now is either cliché or is directed by Judd Apatow. In my opinion, this is a cult classic that still holds up, even with the lame ending. After 20 years it hasn’t lost its luster and Chevy Chase is brilliant.

Take a break, rent or add to your Netflix queue and enjoy a little holiday cheer from the Griswalds.

10 Years Later …

At a Leadership Conference last Friday in Los Angeles, CA, Bill Gates, Sr. was presented with a photo book, honoring his involvement with The Gates Millennium Scholars. My wife, Jihee Kang Lombardi, was in attendance. She gave a touching speech to over 500 attendees and handed off this memento, which she designed and handbound, to Mr. Gates. I can’t even put into words how proud I am of her accomplishment.

Jihee was an Inaugural recipient of The Gates Millennium Scholarship in 2000. Christina Wong Poy, GMS’s Senior Relations Manager, contacted her to design this gift for Bill Gates Sr. to celebrate their 10th anniversary. It’s a 44-page photo book that showcases photos of him with scholars and provides quotes from the scholars themselves.

We Have a Winner

As promised, here’s the update to announce my winning submission to NightVisions. The photo will be on display in FotoWeek Central 1, 3338 M Street NW, through Saturday. I stopped by this afternoon to check it out and, for optimal effect, signed it with a red pen.

If you didn’t have a chance to check out my submissions earlier this week, please follow the link below:

NightVisions  |  FotoWeek DC 2009

UPDATE (12/11/09)

The photo was Untitled and I was collecting your suggestions for a name. Well, the new name has been chosen thanks to Katherine Farley at Oatlands Plantation in Leesburg, VA. The new name is … drumroll please …

Night Grip

Acquainted with the Night

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

– from Robert Frost’s Acquainted with the Night

This past weekend I participated in FotoWeek DC’s first annual NightVisions. It was an all-night spontaneous adrenaline rush. The premise was simple: photograph DC between Saturday, 11/7 at 6pm and Sunday, 11/8 at 6am.

I have been wanting to go out at night for some time and was completely up to the challenge. I asked another photographer, Josh Tyler, to join me in this adventure and we walked the streets for over 6 hours. Capturing the city after dark was an experience I’ll never forget. One of my submissions—not yet determined—will be continuously projected at FotoWeek Central 1 at 3338 M Street NW, starting Thursday morning.

I will update this post as soon as I find out which image was selected. In the meantime, please follow the link below to my favorite images and let me know which is your favorite.

NightVisions  |  FotoWeek DC 2009

This will be the first of many nights capturing the city after dark. Pick up your camera and get acquainted with the night. You won’t regret it.