R&R: Resurrect & Renew

I’m not talking about looking back into the depths of your past work and remaking old work (that’s another post). I’m talking photography.

I bet most people have, somewhere in the junk-filled room in the back of the basement, some really old film lenses. They inherited them from their grandparents and had no idea what to do with them so they threw them in a cardboard box. I bet that, even if you think it’s not you, you just haven’t looked. If not, go to mom and dad, or grandma and grandpa, and I’m sure they do.

This happened with me. My grandma gave me an old film camera (thanks grandma!), possibly my dads. I got home, and I’m like cool! Film would be cool to learn and master. I decided to take film photography up as a hobby. Well months down the line, nothing happened. I came to terms with myself that, after paying money for film, and getting the film developed, as well as a couple of fixes to the camera (like a new battery), it was a lost cause. It sat in my closet for a couple more months when I found out a fancy little tool that was going to take my photography up a few notches. They are lens adapters. They come in all sorts of different varieties for each make and model and mount of, basically every DSLR camera out there. And it really is a game changer

If it’s anything like my situation, the film camera was gifted to you. Therefore with $25 you can double your lens collection. At least that’s what I did. Film cameras are a hassle, and it makes no sense when everything is digital, except as a hobby. So instead of letting it sit in your closet like most film cameras do, use those lenses! Trust me, they are a lot better than you think they are. For $25 I came away with a 35mm, 45mm, and 85mm lens. That is an absolute steal. You can also go to eBay and pick up film lenses cheap, a lot cheaper than new lenses. I have a feeling these are going to be my new favorite lenses. You can get the adapter I used (Minolta MD to Canon EF) here. The adapter cannot employ autofocus, which is not a big deal.

Here’s the lineup:

The original film camera and two of the three lenses.

This is the adapter.

The 35mm lens

A close up of the 35mm

The 45mm lens

The 45mm lens up close

The 135mm lens. I probably won’t use this lens much. It is a “zoom” lens but the zoom is not adjustable.

These photos were shot with the 35mm and 45mm lenses.

Vintage Text Effects BETA

In my recent portfolio post I mentioned my plan to launch a shop featuring design resources and art prints. I just finished up Version 1.0 of my first design resource, and I need someone to test them out. I will be releasing 2 of the 20 text effects in order to get a feel of the demand and popularity of this resource. If you sign up to beta test this, you will reserve a free copy of the full set once my shop launches.

Fill out the form below. Once you sign up I will send you a response email with a link to the text effects.

Cheers,

Caleb

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Hand-Made Thank You Cards

These are some hand-made thank you cards I made. I got a custom stamp of my design and printed them with black ink. If you like these, you can buy these on Etsy. $8 for 10 of them. I love when I get to see my designs on paper rather than digitally. 

#summertypechallenge

Hey guys! A few days I started a “challenge” on Instagram.

Each day I, along with my friend, Amanda Randolph, will post a new hand-lettering piece in a goal to, one, have fun, and two, challenge ourselves to be creative everyday and strengthen our typography skills. Follow us along the journey with #summertypechallenge . Feel free to join us too if you like.

Follow me on Instagram: @caleb_designer and Amanda: @amandaslettering

Critique vs. Criticism

Similar but not the Same

Two words that seem the same, but yet have a significant difference. Criticism is defined from Merrian Webster as “the act of expressing disapproval and of noting the problems or faults of a person or thing”. Critique is defined as “a careful judgment in which you give your opinion about the good and bad parts of something”. Both are forms of feedback. Criticism focuses on the bad, critique focuses on both.

Which is Better?

They both have their values and places, but there is a clear one you want to seek. Critique is by far more helpful than criticism. Yes, they are similar, but criticism seeks to point out the bad. In my experience, it does nothing to address the good, or even help you make the bad better. Also, criticism has a way of discouraging. It focuses solely on the bad, and none about the good, and most people are told to think that there is nothing good about their work and they give up.

Bad or Good?

We’ve all heard the phrase “constructive criticism”. I don’t believe in that. I don’t believe criticism has the ability to be constructive. Constructive criticism is plainly a fancy word for critique. Criticism is bad, but critique is good.

Seek both, value one

So seek critique, not criticism. If someone criticizes you, turn it into critique. Ask “Well, what’s good about it, and what should I fix to make it better?”. Seek constructive feedback that guides you to get better. Being told the negatives is not inspiring you to get better. Quality advice and ideas on how to make your work better are invaluable, and you need a mentor that will guide you and critique you.

Critique Online

There is this fantastic site called Hunie. You get a certain amount of uploads and people critique your work. The more you critique, the more uploads you get. Read more about how it works at Hunie.co

The site is invite only, but you are able to request an invitation.

Dare to be Different Shirts

So you know that one graphic I made the other day? This one?

Well you can get a shirt over at Teespring. These are great quality shirts and they really do the nice job with them. Now here’s the deal. The only way to get one is if a total of ten are ordered. So share this! I am offering a 10% off code to whoever shares and comments. So share!

Get it for only 15 bucks. Yeah, that’s right, only $15. Get ’em here

Palm Sunday Graphics

With Palm Sunday in less than a week, get this classy floral Palm Sunday graphic over at CreationSwap for just 3$. Comes with two .jpegs and the original .psd file. Get it here

In the Beginning-New Mini Movie

Hey guys!

I am excited to announce what might be the biggest project I have ever taken up. My mission is to tell Genesis 1 – the creation story – through a motion graphics mini movie. This is a huge project but it excites me. I know it won’t be easy with numerous elements that must seamlessly work together, but it will be a good challenge. This video is truly going to be epic and I plan on spending many months pouring my heart and soul into making it exactly how I want it. I am super excited and I can’t wait to show it to you guys.

 

Amtrak

I had this really abstract idea for a new Amtrak logo that changes their whole brand. The A is transformed into a railroad track that goes off into the distance, displaying a since of longevity, distance, and order, with the tracks being straight instead of curves. This is a much sleeker look but much more abstract as well.

Bae

This is a roll-in for a teen sermon series about dating. Get it for free!