Creative: Blurb Roadshow

Shot this image ten years ago in Amsterdam RIGHT in front of my hotel. Leica M6, 50mm and Portra 400VC.

Getting ready to depart on another leg of the Blurb Roadshow. On deck are Amsterdam, London and Sydney, back to back to back. I used to think I travel a lot, but I once taught a workshop in Santa Fe and I was the ONLY person in the class who had not been to Everest base camp. True story. Blurb Roadshow is always a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Being in front of Blurb users is the key. Coming to an event is a good way to get a college degree in Blurb bookmaking, all in a single night, afternoon, morning or event. I find that a lot of people, even people who use Blurb, understand parts of our platform but might not know about other parts. Magazine, Trade Books, custom books, offset, distribution, etc. There is actually quite a lot to know. I’m still learning.

My character in the roadshow typically does a lot of lectures, workshops, photo-walks, etc., but it changes with each installment, which is one reason why this job is so much fun. In Amsterdam we’ll be speaking with the Amsterdam Photo Club. In London we’ll be the D&AD Festival. And in Australia we land right in the middle of the Head On Photo Festival where The Lost Rolls is being exhibited. And there is much, much more. Check the events page on Blurb.com for the latest.

In addition to my duties at Blurb I have my own set of goals and aspirations when I go abroad. Find gluten free food and a spot to to my yoga. Yes, both good. Try like heck to get eight hours of sleep a night. Never gonna happen but a boy can dream. Explore. Yes, for sure. Make things. CRITICAL. The ONLY piece of real camera gear I will bring on this trip is the Fuji x100T. This camera is, in certain circumstances, a trifle slow, but overall it’s growing on me, and for the money, size and weight it’s a grand machine. The XPro2 is more advanced and just might be in my future. Who knows for sure? I might also become a professional interpretive dancer. Would I love to take my M4 and twenty rolls of film? Sure, but do I want to carry this and never use it? No. The fact is I don’t get much time on these trips. They are, after all, work trips, so I have to take what I actually need and nothing else. All of you know how great it is to travel easily and freely. One bag, small gear, etc. Rather than cases, backpacks, hassles with customs, etc.

In addition to the Fuji I will take another camera, but it might not be what you expect. Instax. Mini. And a TINY Moleskine journal to glue the prints in. If I don’t have some analog magic I will go insane. I always have my journal, which is nice, but having a way to make prints is even better.

Finally, I’ll take my audio gear. Not all of it, but a striped down, guerrilla style setup. Recorder, one mic, XLR cable, headphones, shotgun mic, dead whatever that thing is called. This allows for me to record ambient sounds and also do Dispatch interviews if I find someone willing to sit down.

And finally, all of this fits in my favorite photo bag, the Tenba Shootout 14L. This carries camera, batteries, charger, audio recorder, mic, cables, shotgun mic, biz cards, Kindle, two hard drives, my computer, passport, journal, all my presentation tools, foreign power adaptors, headphones, VAST cash reserves for when things get wild, phone, snacks and a truly strange assortment of things I pick up while traveling. Now, Tenba makes a new, slightly smaller version of this bag that has a different front end, which you can find here. I love how clean this bag is, and both are almost weightless by themselves.

The key to all these trips is for us to get in front of you. Talk, learn, teach, listen and try to improve what we do and what we offer. And increase our frequent flier points. That is huge. If you find yourself in these cities at these times please come join us, say hello. And if you know anyone who might be interested then send them our way. Blurb is a useful, entertaining platform and for image makers or creatives the possibilities are endless.
And just for fun a few random images from our fall roadshow from 2015. These are not all from Blurb events, just random things around the periphery. All portfolio quality images. Weeping is a normal reaction when viewing. See you on the road.