Just ask Ben Thompson.

He’s an encyclopedia on notorious Pirates, Warlords and Rogues that survived history. Read about Novgorodian King Rurik who usurped power by burning down a city, and Ivar the Boneless, who had his men carry him on shields so that he could kill the enemy with his crossbow (he was a cripple).

Its an entertaining read

Over the last couple of years a lot of people have helped me out and gave me opportunities that helped me develop my skills in. Although I’ve still got a long way to go, I feel like those opportunities and people helping me out, did help me get where I am at the moment way faster.

So to me it’s more than logical, that when ever somebody asks me for help, I’ll try and help out where I can. The shoots always turn out to be a lot of fun and seeing somebody being super happy with the results is such a rewarding feeling! There is less pressure than shooting for a client and since most of the people are really passionate about “their thing”, it all feels really smooth and natural. So whenever somebody asks you if you could help, and you’ve got the time for it, go for it!

Recently I posted a preview picture of the shoot I did with Sirvan Ugur and her leather bag. She needed some photos for her final paper and presentation, so we went into the studio and out into town to shoot a couple of pictures.  On October 2nd, she held her final presentation and graduated with an 8 (out of 10)! So now it’s time to post some of the pictures, and even though they are different from what I normal do; it sure was a lot of fun to help her out!

Share the knowledge and spread the love!

Ivar

http://www.iamivar.nl – photos that love you!

Last week I received my new business cards from Moo (http://www.moo.com) and am, once more, happy with the results. The paper and print quality is perfect, the only comment I can make about the cards is that you do have to be careful with them. If you happen to let them roam around freely with other objects; the cards might not always walk away without scratches or tears in the foil. But then again, treat them carefully and they’ll stay in perfect shape.

The main reason that I went with Moo is that they allow you to use up to 50 different images to use on your card. For me this is a plus for the two following reasons.

If you, like me, think picking a brand of toothpaste is a hard task; try picking the one image you would like on your card for the next couple of months.

Now, you might be thinking: “What about the person having to pick one? Won’t they find it a hard choice?” Yes the do! But that’s a good thing; they’ll take some time to look at your images before slipping it in their pocket and dropping it in a box at home. This way they’ll see more of your work and your name will also stick with them longer, and that’s never a bad thing.

The bad thing is that you’ll go through your cards way faster; often people want to take more than one. Luckily Moo extended their package range from 200 to 400 cards, so you can play that generous photographer who gave them more than one card. For those who prefer Moo’s half size minicards, since last week they allow custom flipsides for those too. Yay.

Here are the ones I got this time; excuses for the crappy image, the gear is at the studio and the Netherlands have turned dark and gray over the last couple of days.

New cards, new email, new slogan and more exciting stuff in the pipelines.
The exciting times just don’t seem to stop!

Güle güle,

Ivar
http://www.iamivar.nl – Photos that love you!

I decided to take a deeper dive into the whole social media thing and just started the Master of Communication in Digital Media program at the University of Washington. Last night my class heard from Jeff Khadavi, the founder of GoTime.com.

This past spring GoTime released a sweet Happy Hours iPhone app for Seattle that locates you using GPS and then gives you a list of the nearest bars currently hosting happy hour. Or use the shake function and the app will choose a bar for you. And best of all, it’s free to download!

The Stranger (needlessly?) created a similar app called Cocktail Compass. I heard that it’s a good app, but signs point to GoTime having the edge on better info–more happy hours listed and constant updates for accuracy.

GoTime recently produced a Happy Hours app for Portland, and now they’re getting ready to go national, providing happy hour information for 30 cities across the country.

As Khadavi gave his presentation to my class, I realized that my hard drinking days are far behind me, but I still do enjoy the food deals that happy hour offers. In no particular order, here are some of my favorite places to get some great budget bites.

1. Contour is right by my office so I have spent a lot of time here with my co-workers. It claims to have one of Seattle’s best happy hours, and I would have to agree. You get good food for a super low price. I especially enjoy the tomato honey basil soup ($1.95) and the provolone cheese burger ($2.95).

2. Oliver’s Twist offers $2 off its artful cocktails during its 5:00pm-7:00pm happy hour. I like the classic Presbyterian (bourbon, ginger ale, soda water) and the Miss Nancy (gin, rhubarb-tarragon syrup, lemon, blood orange bitters and bubbly). The roasted fingerling potatoes in duck fat make me swoon.

3. Matador in West Seattle restaurant is roomier than its Ballard sibling, which means you’re more likely to score a table and the great deals on Matador’s upscale Mexican food. With the exception of the Tex-Mex spring rolls (get rid of these already!), everything on the happy hour menu is delicious.

4. Stanford’s in Tukwila has a long and varied happy hour menu, and it offers discounted food and drink twice–from 3:00pm-6pm and 9:00pm-close. It serves chili cheese fries and other fattening favorites, but it’s also possible to put together a healthier meal. Try the Southwest chopped salad.

5. Umi Sake House offers many different sushi rolls and sashimi sets to choose from, but I also like the garlic short ribs. The 4:00pm-6:00pm happy hour stretches to 8:00pm in the front porch and bar. In addition, Umi has a late night happy hour from 11:00pm-1:00am Sunday-Thursday.

6. Ivar’s Acres of Clams on the Seattle waterfront has happy hour from 3:00pm to close! That alone makes it awesome. Additionally, as The Seattle Times reported back in February, Ivar’s extends happy hour beyond the bar and there’s an area where families can enjoy the discounts. So now I have a place where I can hang out with my single friends and my husband and son can come too.

Now that makes me happy.

Normally you wouldn’t find me doing product shots, I simply miss the interaction that I normally have with models. But yesterday was a special occasion, a good friend of mine, Sirvan Ugur, has been designing a bag as her graduation project. She asked me if I could help her take some shots for her final paper, some product and some lifestyle shots, so we dived into my new studio space and I found out soon enough that my equipment might have been a bit too much for this simple setup. But hey…if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing right?

Sirvan also knows karate.

After the studio shoot was done, we went outside to enjoy the warm late summer day and shot some lifestyle photos with the bags. I’ll post those later, after they’ve been published in her paper…she graduates October 2nd, wish her luck!

You might have noticed that I said that we shot this in my new studio, and I guess that deserves an own entry on this blog but here is a headsup. I’ve got access to one of the rooms from an old movie theater. It’s temporary for an unknown period, if people buy the building I’ll have to leave…but till then I’m going to make the best of it!