Wrecked Magazine Issue #7 er...Vol 2 Issue 1

Well issue #? is done.  We had some major delays this time but we pulled through.  We also had to hold off to find out who was going to win the championship at Formula D Irwindale and then decided who was going to get the cover since Tanner Foust was on the last issue's.  

This is technically the first issue of the 2nd year for Wrecked Magazine.  It's a bi-monthly online magazine so the 7th issue is really Vol 2 (year 2) Issue #1.  Wrecked was started last October just before SEMA with the Art Direction under an incredible digital artist Andy Sapp.  I didn't take over until the 4th issue and have been loving it ever since.  

I was able to help out some of my spreads with my Nikon D90 this time, though any point-n-shoot would have worked for what I needed. A spread I did for an interview with the founder of the Ziptied All-star Bash required some quick pics of...you guessed it, zipties.  Over all the spread was simple and still allowed me to be a little different that what I usually do.

Nikon D90: Some shots from Formula D '08 - Irwindale

For more click here...

Almost back up...

Well I've had to switch servers, which is always a fun task. It's almost all back up now. The site and blog are good to go and I'm going to have to rebuild the portfolio unfortunately, but it will get there.

Stick with me...

Wrecked Issue #6 is OUT!!!

Running a little late on posting this. This issue turned out great and in record time for me. We got started a little later than usual but we only had to push back the release two days (Aug 27 vs Aug 25th as planned).

The cover piece on Tanner Foust interview is the highlight of the issue...as it should be. It was the first to come to me when I started to get some traction on this issue. I played around with some textures to add grit and depth to the layout along with some very thin cross-hairs and digital interlacing overlays to complete the "digital grunge" look I wanted. I tried to stay away from doing the same image treatment I used for the Ryuji Interview in Issue #5, while maintaining my typical style. It turned out well.

On the third pic below, Joey requested a spread that showed more of a history of the cars Tanner has driven in the past. I used three images with similar angles to create a tandem drift of the three cars to achieve that goal. Add some smoke, cloudy sky, and try and match the lighting on all three cars and there you have it - minus my hidden photoshop secrets (the "easy" button).

Wrecked Magazine Issue #5 is OUT!

3 weeks has flown by and it is finally out, Wrecked Issue #5. I'm very happy with it and in my opinion it's a bit better than issue #4, but it is usually my goal to out do my previous efforts. Forty nine and a half spreads, all with varied levels of content and nearly all with completely different designs and layouts. And we were once able to release on time once again, a fact I'm very proud of. I really don't like it unless there's some pressure involved in getting it done. It gives the process of creating the issue a little bit of an edge that is very enticing to work on for hours straight. The end result is very satisfying aswell...to see all the hard work and late nights form into a finished project and go live.

Working on this magazine has been a really great experience thus far. I want to thank Joey Redmond and Jason Small for giving me the chance to do this kind of work for once and get paid for it. I really love graphic design and this has been an incredible outlet for that facet of my career. I look forward to doing more work with you guys.

I'd love to get some honest feedback on the issue, so post up!

Back to work...Wrecked Magazine Issue #5

Work has started again...well, after my day job at least. Time to burn the midnight oil and get cracking on wrecked issue #5. I'd expect a release date sometime around the beginning of July.

That is all for now.

Formula D '08 - Atlanta, GA

Round 2 of Formula D '08 is tomorrow at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA. I'm going to be shooting video for Wrecked Magazine again and I can't wait to get out there. I have never actually been to Road Atlanta in all the years I've been shooting motorsports video. I always seem to miss an event or have decided to skip it for one reason or another. I do somehow make it to Nopi Nationals lmost every year though ...anyways, that's the latest news.

Drift Alliance Splash Page

Tonight is the premiere of Drift Alliance's new DVD, Stay Hungry. I created a little splash page to help Wrecked Magazine promote the event so I figured I'd help push it on here, too.

UPDATE: The premiere was awesome, I got to see some great people I haven't seen in long time. And the movie was awesome, it's definitely worth picking up. Great job DA! I would like to note that it was by my hand that we got the projector to display in color or else the event would have been a disaster...that is all.

Wrecked Issue #4 is OUT!!!

I just got back from a wedding/vacation in Florida. But this past Saturday night, wrecked released issue #4, and I must say I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. This was the my first issue as "Art Director" and I hope to stay on and continue work on future issues. Everyone should take a look at the issue as well as check out the rest of Wrecked's amazing coverage of an amazing motorsport.

Wrecked Magazine

The past two weeks I've been steadily working on pieces for issue #4 of Wrecked Magazine and it looks like it's going to turn out really well. I've tried some new things and learned some new things and all together it's been a blast and a great way to flex some creative muscle outside of my day to day.

I'll update this post with some pics of the spreads that I'm working on after the issue drops on May 1st or 2nd.

Update: It's done...just a day or two to convert to flash and then post...it's 3:40am...good night.

Stay tuned...

Scion Tc Drift

This is where some of the footage I shot at FD '08 Long Beach was used.

Formula D '08 - Long Beach, CA "The Trip"

Thursday Night: We landed in LAX. It was 3am as far as my body was concerned. We headed to "The Kettle" for a late, late dinner, then headed to the Residence Inn: Marriott. Little did I know that my sleeping arrangements would equal two couch cushions and some sheets. "All expense paid"...next time I'll read the fine print lol. It ended up being very comfortable, the worst of it was having to endure everyone else staying up late and chatting right next to me.


Fri/Sat - Formula D - Long Beach '08:
The friday qualifier went great. I learned the angles of the track and found the best places to post up the Canon GL2 and shoot. Saturday's main event was awesome. We had perfect weather, which I've heard is typical for Cali', and the event was a success as the driver I was hired to cover (Chris Forsberg/NOS Energy Drink/Maxxis) placed 1st.

Chris Forsberg - 1st

Sam Hubinette - 2nd

Tanner Foust - 3rd

Vaughn Gitten Jr. - 10th

Sunday - Sightseeing:
I thought LA was a beautiful overall. We never did make it downtown but did get a chance to visit K-town (Little Korea), Pasadena and West Hollywood. Here are some random pics from the trip: Enjoy (and cut me some slack...it's a Sony Point-n-shoot)!

Long Beach, CA

Some awesome Graffiti in West Hollywood...

Pasadena, CA

Some awesome Italian...

and the worlds best coffee.

Can't wait to go back...maybe for Formula D - Irwindale!!!

Formula D '08 - Long Beach, CA

I've been hired to shoot some video coverage of this year's Formula D - Long Beach event. It should be pretty cool, I love drifting and it will be a pleasure, considering the last time I shot Formula D was the Chicago event in Aug. 2006. The footage is being used in my friends e-zine, Wrecked. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to work on the next issue's graphics and page layouts aswell.