A little credit...

This is always nice to see:

This is next to a giant art installation I was commissioned to do a few years ago. I recently had to stop by the building it's housed in (NYLO in Plano, TX), so it was nice to see the artwork again. I have a similar installation hanging in Warwick, RI that I'd love to see up on the wall. I've never seen that one displayed in real life... just photos of the art hanging.

Chicken Fried Steak?!?

This year hasn't been the best year ever. It was tough for everyone. However, there were plenty of shining moments... Sometimes, I just have to sit back and consider myself lucky. I'm doing what I want to do in life - and I'm making money at it. I'm not stuck in a cubicle. I'm doing what I always thought I would be doing. It was a tough year, but it was still good.

The perfect example? Right here:

Isn't it just cool that I get paid a lot of money to go take a photo of a chicken fried steak?!? That just doesn't happen every day. I'm lucky to have clients like D Magazine. I pay my bills with my camera, getting to see and do all sorts of fun things.

OK, so a chicken fried steak photo may not be as cool as some of the album covers or rock concerts that I've shot, but it was still fun to me! And, it is a whole lot better than getting minimum wage to cook the chicken fried steak!!!

Have a Quick Christmas...

Incase you haven't been over to QuickDFW.com or to a Quick newsstand this last week, I thought I'd show you what you are missing out on. I recently shot several notable Dallas personalities (musicians, a celebrity chef, radio and television host) as they acted out memorable scenes from holiday movies. If this isn't making much sense, you'll get the idea once you view the photos...

As you can see, they all make sense, especially after comparing them to the original movie scenes. It was a lot of fun to do, and I think everyone else who participated had a good time, too.

Video of me times three...

Here are three videos of my recent shoots. One is shot by Cindy Chaffin, the next is by John Jones and the third was a combination of people up in the studio (it was a busy shoot).

Quick Photo Shoot with Blythe Beck, Photographed by Jason Janik from Cindy Chaffin on Vimeo.

Ten years and counting...

I found the first photo I ever took for The Dallas Morning News. It was on December 14, 1999, so I've officially hit my ten year mark with them. I'm glad they have been one of my clients for so long. I've learned a lot since then, and I hope to keep learning until the day I die. I think the best part about shooting for the DMN is that I've met so many great people.

OK, so I never said it would be a great picture. It was a restaurant review for some little wing place. The food looked good, especially to a 25 year old kid, right out of college! I think I shot this with my old Canon A2E. Heck, I might've even been using my Canon AE1 Program during those first few assignments, just because I had a wide variety of lenses for it. I think I only had two EOS lenses when I first got out of school - and one was the ultra-cheap 50mm 1.8f. Isn't that crazy? It's a long way from all the digital bodies and L series lenses that I work with now.

Some days...

Some days just aren't fun. I can deal with it. I'm just not happy with all the hassle that comes with the job today.

I recently sold an image to a French magazine and I've had to deal with that mess. It sounds like everything is fixed now, so I should be getting paid soon. And then I have another client who wants to short change me on a shoot. I'll either get it worked out or wind up losing a few bucks on the disputed difference. It's not the end of the world, but it's still a hassle. Oh, and I have to resend a disc to a client, because some of the pics aren't pulling up. Did I send a bad disc? Is it their computer? Who knows... all I know is that I now have to re-burn and re-mail a job that should've been closed out already.

Maybe I'm just in a complaining mood today. Sorry. At least you get a chance to see that being a freelance photographer isn't all parties and pictures. It is also dealing with a LOT of messed up business issues that need to be resolved. Things very rarely run as smooth as you want them to. Even with shoots, they are often getting rescheduled and pushed to the very last minute, or subjects don't show up on time.

I'm still happy to be doing it, though. I'll take the bad days as a freelance photographer, because they are still better than many people's good days stuck in a cubicle!

I'm on the radio...

You don't have to be in Dallas to hear me on the radio tonight, since KNON has a live stream on their website:

www.knon.org

So, listen in from 11pm until 12am tonight and hear me talk about some of my favorite Texas bands that I've photographed over the years. In Dallas, tune in at 89.3FM or just visit their website.

Speaking of ArtCon 5...

This video from the KERA website shows my donated artwork near the end, around 4 minutes and 40 seconds. It's the piece with 36 little pictures of Erykah Badu, all printed at different opacities...

www.kera.org/blogs/culture/2009/12/13/about-last-night-artcon-5/

Art Conspiracy 5 was a fun and very packed/busy event, as you can probably tell from watching the rest of the video. My piece sold for $100, which I think is a respectable amount for charity. I think I'll try to participate again next year.

A night in Deep Ellum...

I shoot for a lot of different clients, but it seems like all my favorite shoots are for Quick. This story just hit stands, and I'm pretty proud of it. I went with some of the other Quick crew down to Deep Ellum for an all-nighter. We soaked up the scene and reported on the good, the bad and the ugly. It was a blast (even though the weather was colder than cold)...

ArtCon 5 info...

This is cut and pasted from a press release regarding this Saturday's show. You should attend and bid on my piece...

Art Conspiracy is in the air again, which means it’s time for doing good and having fun.

Our 5^th annual Art Conspiracy starts at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 12^th at 511 W. Commerce. We’ll have secure parking (with police officers and parking attendants) 2 blocks from the building, beer and non-alcoholic beverages available. Although the forecast looks good, we’ll have heaters this year too!

If you’re not quite sure about the whereabouts of the warehouse, please visit www.artconspiracy.org to see a map.

Art Conspiracy is taking part in a couple of new things this time around. First, you can buy tickets in advance through Prekindle. The advantage is that you won’t have a long wait at the door. If you’re interested, click here to purchase tickets:https://secure.prekindle.com/promo/id/20981892446683638

Another great thing? We have partnered with KERA’s Art&Seek, an online community at www.artandseek.org where creative people can come together to find, discuss, create and react to art. Art&Seek has been featuring profiles of Art Conspiracy artists and of our beneficiary , Resolana. See more here:http://www.kera.org/blogs/culture/?s=art+conspiracy

As you probably know by now, Art Conspiracy differs from other arts fundraisers because the artists do their work on site the day before the event. On the eve of Art Conspiracy, artists work in shifts to fill 150 18 x 18 plywood canvasses, basically turning the warehouse into a giant art studio. During the actual event on Saturday,December 12, all of these newly created pieces will be sold in rapid-fire live auctions. Starting bids for all pieces is $20.

The artwork is made by Dallas-area artists of all stripes and the pieces they create at the warehouse represent many styles. If you look to the left, you see just a few of our artists and what they’ve come up with for past events.

All of this will benefit Resolana, a group that provides rehabilitative art lessons to women in the Dallas county jails.

Here’s a quick look at the schedule:

7:00 Doors Open

7:20 RTB2

7:50 Art Auction One

8:40 The Boom Boom Box

9:10 Art Auction Two

9:50 The Crash That Took Me

10: 20 Art Auction Three

11:00 Telegraph Canyon

Thank you so much to our artists who give us their time and talent to create original auction worthy works and to our volunteers who use everything from carpentry skills, screen printing abilities and organizational talents (just to name a few things) to make Art Conspiracy tick.

A big “thank you!” to our sponsors too for providing us with money and the materials that help make Art Conspiracy happen.

Sponsors include:

Ben E. Keith

Architectural Carpentry Materials

West Dallas Industries

Beckley Brewhouse

Faire Father

Greenscape Earth Designs

Print Place

DME Solutions, LP

In the five years Art Conspiracy has been around we’ve been lucky enough to have the support of thousands of attendees, hundreds of artists and hundreds of volunteers. We’ve raised more than $50,000 to help groups including La Reunion TX, St. Anthony Community Center and Preservation Link.

We’re looking forward to Saturday night and doing more good inDallas, hopefully we’ll see you at the warehouse!

See my studio through the eyes of KERA...

I was recently interviewed for KERA's website. They have a video blog feature on Dallas artists and their studios, and I guess I was important enough to make the cut. You can see the entire piece here:

www.kera.org/blogs/culture/2009/12/05/video-artcon-5-photographer-jason-janik-joins-the-artseek-studio-tour/

The video portion is also hosted on youtube, so you can view it that way, as well:

Baby portraits...

Yes, I book an occasional baby portrait. I don't JUST shoot rock stars. I'm a big family man and I love my boys. Why wouldn't I enjoy a few baby photo sessions every now and then?!?

Cloudy moon...

I snapped a couple pics of the moon the other night. It was going in and out of the clouds and looked kind of cool. Not the best moon picture ever captured, but I thought it was nice enough to share.

My fellow photogs...

As this decade is coming to an end, I thought I'd look back on a few people who don't always make it in front of the camera. I'm talking about those people who are normally BEHIND the camera. Over the years. I've snapped a few pics of some fellow Dallas photogs, and now I'm sharing them with you...

Dylan Hollingsworth

Allison V. Smith

Ange Fitzgerald

Irwin Thompson

Mona Reeder

Stephanie Alexander

Joel Winburne

Rachel Parker

Scott Mankoff

Texas Grammy nominations...

Texas musicians have racked up a bunch of Grammy nominations this year. In honor of one of this year's nominees - Roy Hargrove - I am posting an old picture I took of him...

Art Conspiracy 5...

I will be participating with 149 other artists and several bands on December 12, as part of ArtCon 5. You can watch a video interview about the event here:

www.kera.org/artandseek

John Popper...

Some pictures I take wind up getting filed away and forgotten. I almost forgot about this portrait of John Popper, the musician and frontman for Blues Traveler. I took it near the end of 2008, then never did anything with it, until now...

Almost ten years...

December 14, 1999 was the first shoot I did for The Dallas Morning News. It has been almost exactly ten years, and they've been a pretty awesome client. I've learned so much through those ten years and done so much. I think I need to track down a copy of that first assignment and share it. It was some restaurant in Hillsboro, if I remember correctly.

Anyway, ten years is about nine years and six months longer than I initially thought I'd be shooting for them. I was so young and nervous back then, I just knew I'd blow it somehow... but, I didn't. Now, let's hope for another ten years!

The other website...

Not sure if I mentioned this lately or not... I recently moved my music, band, rock and roll photography website to a new domain name. I'm going to use www.janikphoto.com with a PH in photo for my editorial and corporate work portfolio from now on. I am still working on that website, so you STILL see a temp page online. I just rotates through some pics and gives my contact info. I really need to get that new site built.

Back to the rock and roll pics... They are now at www.janikfoto.com with an F, as in foto. Eventually, I'll have the two sites link back and forth between each other, so you can easily find both. However, I wanted a distinct transition between the two bodies of work. I didn't want it all on one website. I hope it wasn't too confusing for everyone...

ASMP Christmas party...

ASMP Dallas Christmas Party:

At Ghost Bar Dallas Roof Top Lounge "W" Hotel

When: Thursday December 10
Where: Ghost Bar 2440 Victory Park Lane Dallas, TX 75219 (214) 397.4100

members and non-members are welcomed -- In fact, the entire photography, design, advertising, commercial art, art, modeling community is welcomed to join our soirée. Just mention one of our members (or say you saw the poster =).

The "private" party is from 7:00 - 9:00 PM (the bar opens to the public at 9:00 PM). We can stay as long as we like until closing.

There is no charge to enter for us, or our invited guests, spouses, or dates. ($20.00 per person to the public after 9:00 PM). No one under 21 years old is allowed, please dress appropriately for the Ghostbar or you may be refused entrance.

There are a limited number of snacks & free drinks and after they are exhausted the party will become a cash bar. We will have a live band Luv Bus, fronted by Gary Boren, which is a mix of jazz/indie/salsa fusion band, that also plays Johnny Cash covers, YeeHaw! (hey, I happen to like Johnny Cash). The clubs Disco starts at 9:00 PM and will be up-volume, up-tempo, and get-up- & dance.

Parking -- There will be valet parking at the W hotel that is NOT paid for by ASMP - there is limited self parking in the area - since there is a Mav's game at 7:30 that evening we suggest you use the valet and be aware there will be traffic.

Presidential portraits...

World leaders need pictures, too. Follow the link to a great feature on portraits at the United Nations in New York:

www.newyorker.com

Digging through old photos...

I was digging through old photo files, looking for an image that The Recording Academy (the Grammy Awards people) wanted to use. While searching for it, I found a bunch of photos that were either:

a.) terrible to look at now, but I thought were cool way back then.

b.) terrible then and now. Why did I even bother shooting them?!?

c.) still cool after all these years.

I always liked this series of images strung together. It is of the Texas indie band Eisley from 2002. I shot it with my good old Mamiya medium format camera using available light and a small extension tube on the lens. That camera made for some great images. I think these would still hold up today...

I also thought this image below was decent, considering where my skill level was back in 2002. If I shot it today, I wouldn't throw it away, but I'd definitely feel like I phoned it in. It's still got a place in my heart, though. And, at least it shows that I didn't suck back then, but I've also grown a lot as a photographer over the years.

It's not all Rock and Roll...

Dallas just doesn't have enough music photography to pay all the bills, plain and simple. It makes up a big chunk of my annual income, but I'd be driving a 1980's Honda Civic and eating Ramen noodles if I ONLY shot music in Dallas. We'd all like to herald the vibrant and talented scene here, and it IS amazing. However, it's not LA, NY or Nashville.

I bring this up, because you'll have to diversify in Dallas. Yes, I shoot a lot of music here in Big D, but I also shoot a lot of corporate and PR stuff. And it can be fun, because it gives me some variety. For example, I was recently commissioned to do some shots of a private school during their family day and during a community performance.

These images will most likely be used in brochures and on a website for the school. There wasn't much rock and roll, but I liked it! Was that a bad pun? Yeah, I know... I'm cheesy like that sometimes. Anyway, enjoy the non-rock side of my shooting...