>{therealnickjones}<

Every true creative knows that you don’t develop during the 9-5 routine, it’s what you learn outside of work that counts. With that said, I’m commited to showing you guys some of the stuff I’m playing with in my free time, even if it’s not all that great… Here’s today’s experiment.

I have these images in my head recently of shots taken from my Bible, laid over scenes that reflect those particular verses. A few months back I was assigned to shoot a Lifechurch.tv experience in Oklahoma City. I got some pretty cool shots of Stephen that I’ve hung on to (Stephen is one of my best friends… I’m a groomsman in his wedding next week… but that’s another post…) So I took some shots of my actual Bible and laid them over some of those shots I grabbed of Stephen.

What I really like is the natural blur you get from taking a true photo. It’s a blur you just can’t fake in post production.

If you like that shot, here’s another I did a few months ago….

Well the official announcement has been made. YouVersion is coming. The Official Site

I’ve been privileged to know a little bit about this project for the last few months, and let me tell you, I’m excited. Here’s the idea. It’s the bible. The whole thing. But it is also a compilation of thoughts, sermons, pictures, videos, groups, discussions, etc. that relate to the scriptures.

Think of it this way.

You read Psalm 91:11 (For he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways)

Now imagine that you are given hundreds of resources, from church messages that use that scripture to photos that represent that thought. There are movies that reference that main idea. Discussions ongoing that debate and analyze. There are study groups going through that passage. There are friends that have tagged that verse as a personal favorite. There are thoughts that have been jotted down by your friends as they read through that passage.

This is a new age of bible study. And I am eagerly awaiting it’s arrival.

Read more here.

ok, I’ve recieved a few messages lately asking me about my photo technique. Let me just say up front, I don’t consider myself a master of this craft by any means. I feel like I’ve been fortunate to get some of the shots I’ve taken and even more fortunate to sell some of them… Anyway, I thought I would take some time to write out a few thoughts on some things to keep in mind to get a really good photo. I’ll be using some of my flickr photos as examples.

1. GET CLOSE.

I think the worst thing that has happened to photography is the digital zoom… If you want a good photo, you really need to be intimately close to your subject. Obviously there are exceptions (landscape photography, wide angle stuff) But for most journalistic or artistic photography you really need to get close. Here’s a favorite of mine.

If you want to improve at this, try setting your camera as wide as it will go (all the way zoomed out) and move yourself closer instead of zooming in. There are so many awesome aspects in a photo that you will only capture if you are truly close.

2. LOOK FOR FRAMES.

When I take a picture my first thought in composition is how to naturally frame the subject. Are there objects in the enviroment that will create an interesting framing effect?

Can you shoot through a naturally created window?

Sometimes frames will only cover one side. That’s ok. some of my favorite shots are framed on one side only.

3.SHOOT THE ORDINARY.

So many people think they are uncapable of taking “cool” pictures because they don’t have any “cool” subjects. I think the true sign of an artist is making something ordinary look special. Shoot a ton of shots. Save some of them. Throw a bunch out. The days of the old school photographer working for hours to shoot one exposure are over. You can take 3,000 pictures for the same price as one. So shoot as much as you can. Here are some random shots I took while I lived in a typical apartment in OKC.

I’ll post some more thoughts later. I don’t want to throw it all out there at once you know…. My best advice is to keep shooting. Honestly, you’ll never get better if you don’t take a LOT of pictures in a LOT of different situations. And if there are certain topics you want me to talk about let me know.

A great new track was released by The Thieves of Kailua. All I can say is this is definitely getting some play in the backyard this summer. Check it out!

So I’ve spent the last few days up in Grand Rapids with a bunch of crazy guys called XXX Church. I can tell you that they are some of the most down to earth, genuine guys I’ve met in the industry. They truly care about what God has called them to and work at it with a passion that is inspiring. These guys are tied in closely with the guys from To Write Love On Her Arms, a ministry that seems to be gaining a lot momentum lately… I think the highlight of the trip for me was sitting down to lunch with Craig and J.R. I read their book Starving Jesus as soon as it came out, and thought it was one of the most honest books about the Christian world that I had ever read. If you don’t know them check out their podcast here. More to come about this project later, all I’ll tell you right now is to be sure your church is taking part in Porn Sunday.

I’m headed to Michigan. Well, I was headed to Michigan. But I hit Dallas. I HATE flying through Dallas. I hate flying through Dallas and I hate flying American Airlines. Now my mom would probably bitterly dispute that statement with me, but I don’t care. I would much rather fly SunJet’s cheap uninspected twin brother of an airline than fly American Airlines out of Dallas. My last two encounters with AA are as follows.
April - Sat for an hour and a half on the runway while the maintenance crew fixed the cabin lights.
May - Had two seperate flights cancelled as I attempted to get home from Florida.

So why would I think that today would be any different?

Today I waited for 45 minutes in a crappy little corner of the DFW airport waiting for my crew to arrive from another plane. Once that crew arrived we boarded the plane…. and sat for another hour and a half. A “minor discrepancy” kept us grounded until after 9 pm. As if that wasn’t enough…. I finally arrived in Grand Rapids (2 and a half hours late) to find that the rental car place had closed for the night, leaving me stranded at the airport. Great way to start my shooting in MI….

Maybe I can just take a Greyhound home….

Switch Inside Out Showpiece from Nick Jones on Vimeo

I was recently asked to take a lot of the videos I have produced from the last few years and compile them into a big showreel that would show the look of Switch and keep interest throughout. Here’s what I came up with….

My portfolio from Nick Jones on Vimeo

Here’s a random sampling from the Nick Jones portfolio.

So I’m about to head out for yet another night of softball in the sweltering hot Oklahoma summer night. Every year I sign up for the softball league, and every year I regret it on week two. I think I only do it for the sunflower seeds. It seems like my typical night of softball goes as follows….

Run to the outfield.
Watch the infield bobble every ball.
Watch a few balls fly over my head and over the fence.
Run to the dugout.
Fill up on sunflower seeds.
Hit the ball directly to the short stop.
Repeat.

And the crazy thing is, I do this EVERY WEEK. I think I should stick with making videos…

If you have HBO, well I envy you. You’ve gotta check out the new series by The Flight of the Conchords. Check it out! You’ll be singing classics like “The Humans are Dead” and “You’re so pretty” in no time.