Looking for a Great Mechanic and Tire Shop?

I have had the joy and privilege (sarcasm) of getting some repairs done on my 1992 Dodge Shadow. The shocks and struts were shot, I needed four new tires, and I have an oil leak of unknown origin. For the shocks and struts and the diagnosing of the oil leak, I took the car to Just Right Auto, 13106 NE Fourth Plain in Vancouver, 360-260-2260 and they did a fantastic job. Dropped the car off Thursday morning, and got it back Friday morning. The shocks and struts are replaced, and they put a dye kit in the oil to trace where the leak is. Great service, fast, and they appreciate their customers!

To further my experience today, I took the car to Richey's Tire Factory on Mill Plain, right off the 205 by Wal-Mart. I told them I wanted four new tires, they helped me to get the ones that were in my price range, and then put them on. I was out of there in about 15-20 minutes. Great service, they love what they do, and they have HD TV with Comcast in the waiting area. How cool is that!!!

I highly recommend both places!

Speeding Towards the New Year!

With my 28th birthday and Christmas behind me, I have a new stack of DVDs to enjoy this week! My brother-in-law and sister-in-law got me the Limited Edition 2-Disc version of "V for Vendetta," which comes complete with the graphic novel that the movie was based on, pretty cool! My wife's parents surprised me with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and the special edition of "Batman Begins," my mom got me U2's "Zoo TV" concert, and I have greatly enjoyed that DVD, very innovative, creative and, perhaps, crazy. In the vein of music, my wife got me the Metallica Videos DVD, awesome! With the rest of the money I got for my birthday, I bought Dream Theater's "Score" DVD, Coldplay's "Live 2003" and U2's "U218 Videos." I am a music buff and thoroughly enjoy all of those DVDs! Not to mention the Greatest Hits Jimi Hendrix CD and the book "U2byU2!!!"

It was a great Christmas, and now I prepare myself for the end of the business year! Here is to year one of Chris Martin Studios!

Birthday Approaching

On Friday, I will be celebrating my 28th birthday, which means several things, mainly that I am getting really close to being 30, my high school reunion is this summer, and the past seems further away than it did even a year ago. In an email to a friend this morning, I mentioned that it felt like I have lived two, maybe even three, lifetimes in the past ten years. So, here are some of my highlights of my life in the past ten years:

• Graduated high school.
• Attended the University of Washington for 2 and a half years.
• Dropped out of college to be in a rock band playing bass.
• Had the opportunity to go to Israel and Jordan for two weeks, seeing everything from Jerusalem, Petra, the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, and Tel-Aviv.
• Became a Christian after 14 years of walking away from God.
• Went to art school and eventually graduated with a bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Animation.
• Interned in a video department being able to work alongside a good friend.
• Ran a video/design department for a couple of years before burning out.
• Got to hear and meet some amazing songwriters, speakers, pastors and artists in my time running the video/design department.
• Traveled to Mexico and videotaped a mission trip for one week.
  
• Got married in 2004.
  
• Started my own design/photography/video business.

Well, it may not seem like much when reading that list, but it has been a life-changing journey for me, and it continues going in a direction that I never imagined.

As I write this, I am remembering what I wrote in the senior edition of the school paper ten years ago about what I would be doing today: "I will be making $80,000 a year working at Microsoft and playing racquetball with Bill Gates." While I didn't even come close to either of those things, I am truly grateful that my life is far richer and deeper than I ever imagined it would be.

Have a Merry Christmas!

A Hodge Podge of Information

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post, and a lot of strange and wonderful things have occurred. But the first thing on my mind is the latest "American Photo" magazine, which showed up a couple days ago in the mail. It has to be the best photography magazine, just for the sheer quality of the photographers that are showcased. This month's issue is on the Images of the Year, and there are some amazing images. My favorite image is from the Wonderbra advertisement, shot by Vincent Dixon. You never see the Wonderbra, but you see everyone's reaction in the restaurant, stunning, well lit, and very funny.

I recently bought Quickbooks Pro for my business, Chris Martin Studios Inc., and now get to go through the laborious task of setting it up! I'm sure there is someone that I could pay to do that, but after 9 months of receipts and invoices, it's probably better if I do it. I'm excited though, there are some neat features that I will definitely use, especially the time sheets. No more Excel, and no more math calculations by hand! Oh, how exciting life can truly be!

The other night, my friend Rod showed me "G3- Live in Denver," starring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Very good performances on all three parts, and what cracked me up the most was how Malmsteen would shred a little, throw the guitar around his neck, and then continue shredding. Seamlessly! Amazing, well worth the cost of buying the DVD.

Today, I received "The DVX Book," Magic Bullet Editors, and InstantHD in the mail, as part of the rebate for my Panasonic DVX100B. So far, I have only read part of "The DVX Book," but already it has helped me in how I use the DVX. While the camera is not an HD camera, it's a great camera!

Wow, should I keep going? I think I shall.

I am planning on 7 one-minute short films using the DVX and the lav mics that I bought for it. I'm not really going to do anything traditional in the sense, I just want to have fun, so stay tuned to ChrisMartin.com, because I will post the videos there.

Here, here to Lloyd's Grill in Battle Ground, WA. A very great place to eat lunch!

Well, that's about it for now. I hope you enjoy the latest from my mind.

Casino Royale

Our third movie to see in theaters this week was the new James Bond flick, "Casino Royale." This was a pretty decent film, it was a little long, and there were some really stagnant parts, but all in all, this was the best Bond film in a good while.

The Office: Reprise

Well, after enjoying the last four episodes of The Office, I am officially letting you all know that it is a great season. I am rather enjoying the new characters now, and just needed time to adjust to the change.

Would Could Be Stranger Than Fiction? The Fountain?

On Sunday, I received a gift certificate to Cinetopia from our church, a thank you gift for doing a lot of work on their 40 Days of Community campaign. So, after church, my wife and I watched Will Ferrell in "Stranger Than Fiction," an interesting film about a character whose life is narrated by a woman, with a better vocabulary than his own. I rather enjoyed that film, but I also enjoyed the experience of watching it in HD in Cinetopia's Living Room theater. Leather ottomans to put your feet up, servers to take your order and bring you the food and drinks, totally awesome!!

Today, we went and saw "The Fountain," a sci-fi movie starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. What an interesting, unique, beautiful, strange film that defies description. We were so captivated, that we sat through the ending credits, enchanted by the beautiful piano score that ended the film. I will definitely be seeing the film, because it was very, very different. And that is a good thing!

The rest of the week is devoted to food, family, friends, and some great movies that we rented.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Photoshop for Photographers

About a month ago, I received a brochure for a "Photoshop for Photographers" seminar that was coming to the Portland Convention Center. I looked it over, and signed up thinking that it wouldn't hurt to go learn about the software that I use on a consistent and daily basis.

Yesterday was the day, and it was a great seminar! It started with a look at Digital Photography workflow. Being new to digital photography, it was great to learn how Photoshop's Camera Raw plug-in actually works, and how to get great looking files right out of the gate. From there, the speaker covered tonal detail using Curves, color correction, image retouching and vanishing point. All in all, it was an excellent seminar, well worth the $99 admission price. Check out Ben Willmore's site, Digital Mastery, where you can read free articles, buy his books and DVDs and learn more about Photoshop.

We Interrupt This Broadcast

The unfortunate thing about living in Southwest Washington is that we share broadcasting with Portland. This means that quality television shows, such as House M.D., are interrupted at critical and crucial plot points to tell us who won the Oregon governor race.

A New Toy!

Well, I finally bought a nice mini-DV video camera, a Panasonic DVX100B, and I must say that it is AWESOME! I used today on a shoot, and it really does a great job! It was much better than I expected.

Now to learn how to use it!

Morning Fog

I'm not a fan of getting up early, especially on a Saturday for that matter. But the other day, a good friend asked if I wanted to get up early today and catch the sunrise by the I-5 bridge on the Columbia River, and I agreed to do it, because it sounded like a great idea.

This morning, I crawled out of bed at 5:30, prepped my photo gear (tripod and D70s) and picked up my friend. We hung out at Starbucks for a while, then drove down to the pier by Joe's Crab Shack. Encased in fog and darkness, we began to take pictures of the I-5 bridge. A surreal moment, and truly enjoyable. It was quite the adventure, and I am grateful for going.

For the first time since buying my camera, I was able to take some long exposures, and I really enjoy the colors that are the result.

It's Been A Long Time...

Well, it's been a long time since my last post, and here is what happened:
- My wife and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary.
- We received our new car, a 2001 Ford Taurus, with enough money to pay the excise tax.
- I bought the legend of Johnny Cash on CD.
- Watched House Season 1 and 4 discs of Season 2.
- The Office Season started, and disappointed every step of the way.
- The Lost Season started, and satisfied every step of the way.
- My business, Chris Martin Studios, continues to grow, I continue finishing projects, and more projects are coming in.
- My wife and I went to Powell's Books, Portland Music and Art Media yesterday.

And so are the days of our lives...

A Fitting Tribute

In a fitting tribute to my dying car and my love for hating spiders, my new blog header features this wonderfully gross picture of a spider that I took on my walk on the Heritage Trail the other night.

I'm challenging myself to take at least one picture each day this week. It has been an interesting and fun challenge for me.

Good Samaritan

My wife and I went on a walk this evening on the Heritage Trail in Camas, WA. The parking lot has several warnings that this is a high crime area and that you should lock your car and take your valuables with you. We never really thought much of that because we have two junker cars, but as we pulled into the parking lot tonight, there was a nice four runner with a smashed window. Well, I guess this is a high crime area. Ironically, a developer is building brand new condos right down the street from this parking lot, and there is also a private golf course.

As we began walking, expressing how much smashed windows suck to the people around the four runner, we didn't really think about it after that. As we finish our walk and get to our car, I load my camera bag into the backseat, open the front door, sit down, stick the key in the ignition, turn and listen to the sound of nothing. The lights are on, but no one is home in the engine. Man, I have to find someone to jump the car. Thankfully there is a young man sitting in his Volvo and I ask if I could get my car jumped. I realized my jumper cables weren't in the car and said that he would go home to get his cables. He said that he just lived down the street and that he would be right back. To our surprise, the young man returned with his dad and a pair of jumper cables. How awesome and amazing. The car fired up, I thanked the dad, and I got my wife and I home. Me being the curious type, I turned off the car and turned the ignition. Nothing.

Thank God for the miracle of receiving a 2001 Ford Taurus from a relative, because it will relieve our junker complex for vehicles.

Switchbacks and Suffering

Yesterday, I decided to go for a hike out in the Columbia River Gorge. It has been just about two years since I went on this particular hike, and as I have unfortunately let myself go in the physical department over the past three years, it was extremely difficult.

As I started out for Upper Wahkeena Falls, my heart began to pound and my legs hurt, reminding me of two things: 1) I really miss hiking and being out in nature and 2) Damn, I'm out of shape. It was really sad, but as I felt the cool breeze and spray from Upper Wahkeena, I pushed on, setting my course for the switchbacks up to the lookout of the Gorge and my favorite section of trails that eventually lead to Fairy Falls, Devils Rest and many other destinations. The switchbacks, recently being paved, were just as I remembered them, neverending, yet, as I stopped over climbing each switchback, my attention was drawn to something different everytime. From the way the sun was streaming through a giant maple, a moss covered wall home to several millipedes, a dew-covered spider web, fuzzy caterpillars, a dead tree with its roots sticking up in the air, there were so many fascinating things, and for the first time, I felt the freedom to try and photograph them. It was great! Not many pictures turned out, but the key was that I was trying new things. FINALLY! Trying new things. Hiking a trail that has long forgotten my loving stride, taking pictures with new techniques (flash in the outdoors, slow-shutter zoom, high ISO, macro), and most importantly, getting in the car and driving to such a beautiful location.

While things were difficult to get to the top and back, and I am still feeling the effects of that hike, I was able to really say that through that suffering, it has produced in me the desire to keep trying. Sure, I couldn't go at the pace that I once did, but it seems to me that if I would have went at a faster pace, not only would it have harmed me, but perhaps I wouldn't have seen all that I saw on the hike, and had the magical epiphany that I had.

Season Premieres

In the coming weeks, two of my favorite television shows have their season premieres, Lost and The Office. First, The Office. What an awesome show, in that the fake documentary as episodic television model works well. I have been a sucker for the Pam and Jim love story, and when they kissed in the season finale, my wife and I sat shocked, because we thought the writers of the show would prolong that moment for so much longer! We are both eagerly anticipating the return!

About a month ago, Kristina and I rented the first disc of Lost: Season 1, because neither of us had seen the show before. Fast forward to today, when we just finished the season finale of season 2. HOW FRICKIN' AWESOME! Every time something cool happened, I would turn to my wife and say, "I love this show!" We are excited to see how things are going to develop in season 3. The only downside is that since we watched the first two seasons on DVD, we are now going to have to contend with the reality that if want to find out, we can't just put in the next DVD and watch it all day long. Oh, and commercials. Sadness.

Working Out of a Backpack

My latest business offering has the potential for me to travel overseas, and with that, I am thinking about how to effectively work out of a single backpack with multiple mediums. In April 2004, I traveled to Hermosillo, Mexico with my church and for one week I was a videographer in charge of video taping everything, which was awesome because it gave me a taste of my dream of one day being a world traveler documenting what I see and experience in video and photography. But the one drawback that I will never forget is that while the camera (a Canon XL1) took great video, I had to carry around the bag, as well as a large tripod and a backpack with all the filters and miscellaneous product that necessitate great video. I was worn out by all that gear!

But today in the wonderful world of 2006, times are different and great products are shrinking in size, and since I am building a system from the ground up, I have the privilege and benefit of researching quality products that will work from a backpack.

My first stop is a backpack. Tamrac has an Adventure 9 backpack that holds a professional digital SLR with 5" lens attached, several spare lenses, flashes, accessories and a laptop! Perfect, that covers my photography gear as well as a computer, but what about video. Enter the HV10, Canon's new HDV camera that fits in the palm of your hand. From what I have seen, the video quality rocks (even though a potential drawback is a lens that is too telephoto at its widest length) and it would fit into the backpack. There is also a built-in light and flash, how handy! But what about audio? There are no mic inputs, so how could I get professional audio for video production? Well, Zoom has a new product called the H4 that sounds almost too good to be true! Built-in mics, XLR mic inputs, built-in guitar effects, and more! That rocks! But we'll see when it comes out how good it really is. Other miscellaneous accessories that would be great and accessible within this system is a carbon fiber tripod, why carry around a bulky tripod, and a reflector to help with some lighting.

Well, as I begin putting together this system, it is also a very functional system when working around the Portland/Vancouver area, so this is definitely a great system to invest in. I'm sure something better will come along each month, but the good news is that there is hope for a great mobile production facility!

Confessions of a Converted Pack Rat

Yesterday and today, I have embarked upon the monotonous and gargantuan task of shredding box upon box of old receipts, bank statements, invoices, pay stubs, and old bills ranging from power to the athletic club that I used to be a member of. It's like an odd trip down memory lane spanning four years and sometimes beyond, cards from Kristina when we were just dating, pictures of my family, young pictures of me on driver's licenses and permits, old video rental cards and my coveted rejection letter from Big Idea (I applied for a job there out of college).

All in all, I can't believe the amount of junk that I held onto thinking that one day I would revisit everything for some reason that is now beyond me. In the midst of shredding the fifth box, the shredder has seized, obviously burdened with the single sheet of paper that I placed in it, effectively saying, "no more, I need a break!" I still have one more shoebox to go, and I still haven't touched the three giant cardboard boxes in my closet with random artwork from art school and various nick-nacks from an era when I obviously had money to waste on such frivolous things such as nick-nacks.

I can't help but think about what I else in different areas of my life that I have put into a cardboard box thinking that perhaps one day I would revisit it. Thank God for the notion to want to move into a new apartment, because it has given me motivation to exorcise the pack rat demon that has plagued me since moving out on my own.

Inspired Intrigue

If you're anything like I am, you are constantly seeking inspiration. Looking at the work of another artist, a natural state of comparison sets in, and in your mind you either confirm that you are better or worse than that individual. While on the surface that doesn't seem like such a bad thing, the reality is that comparison in any form defines the main limitation that is consistent between all creative disciplines and ultimately, life. The reason that is true, is because we are uniquely made, and meant to be different from one another. And that is a good thing. It is good that I will never be Michelangelo, David Carson, Steven Spielberg, Walter Murch, Galen Rowell, or Chris Martin from Coldplay. It is good that I will learn to be who I am created to be, because the greatest deception is for us to believe that we can be like another human being in action or intent or desire. As artists, our sole concern is to find our identity...and then smash it into a million pieces as we mold and shape who it is that we are to be. The only way that we can find our identity is to search, to create, to deny, to believe, to destroy, to build and to find the life that is freely given to us as a gift.

I found out lately that it's okay to think what you think and it's okay to say what you say. When you try to be someone else, and only say what you think someone else wants you to say, you eliminate your thoughts and ideas and identity, breeding confusion. Confusion in your mind regarding others and yourself. You become self-centered by ignoring your own point of view, because deep inside you hold everyone ransom because you have martyred your opinion. That is the image of a true tortured artist. The primary goal of an artist is to get beyond what others think of your work, and to detach your personal worth and value from the art that you create. If you are unable to do that, you can never have the freedom to be yourself, and the freedom to create and try new things, without the fear that someone won't like you because your artistic attempt is a failure or not good enough. This is the path that artists must walk. Some make it, some cut off their ears, some quit their jobs in search of something deeper, some end it all. But they must realize that holding the power of creativity in the palm of your hand is dangerous if improperly wielded. However, with a healthy view of the world and your life, creativity creates some of the most beautiful art that has ever been seen this side of eternity.

All that said, I love what I do. I am constantly intrigued by what can be accomplished, and that drives me as an artist. But what intrigues me more is not only what can be accomplished but what has been accomplished in the natural creation of the world that we live in. Waterfalls, canyons, plants, trees, rivers, oceans, clouds, and rain, all beautiful elements that can easily be taken for granted, yet they never cease to amaze me, to blow me away by the unlimited supply of diversity and creativity. I'm also intrigued by people, another source of diversity and creativity. I love to people watch everywhere I go. And how people interact with one another leads me to scratch my head as I wonder why they do what they do, how they are so different from me, and what makes us truly unique.

As you can see I am intrigued by many disciplines of thought, creativity, and art, and yet while they are so different from one another, they are united by their limitations. I believe that the limitations of one discipline only leads to a greater impact in another, increasing the ability to communicate, and that is the heart and essence of true art. A web of mediums and disciplines forming a foundation that is able to support the weight of communication. That is what I choose to stick to, not a devotion to a specific medium, but a devotion to the art of communication, learning to communicate truth, beauty, value, worth; each time simpler and more effectively. That is the true challenge as an artist, and I pass that challenge on to you.

NOTE: To keep my thoughts simple and straightforward, I use the term "artist" to describe a collective of professionals ranging from filmmakers, print designers, web designers, photographers, musicians, writers, and anyone else that employs creativity to solve a problem. This is from my previous website posted on November 13, 2005.

Welcome to ChrisMartin.com

Welcome to ChrisMartin.com, the thoughts and ideas of Chris Martin. If you are looking for my portfolio of work, feel free to go to the Chris Martin Studios link in the right-hand links section. Thanks for reading my blog!

If you are looking for Chris Martin of Coldplay, please go to www.coldplay.com. Be sure to buy their music, it is great!