Jakewood

The Darwinian Evolution of Photoshop

2010-09-21T11:47:00.001-07:00

I found this sweet little graphic earlier today. Click on it to view larger.

Infographic: The Darwinian Evolution of Photoshop by Tech King

Kicking and Screaming

2010-09-20T15:24:00.001-07:00

I’m not 12 anymore.

It’s a bitter reality that I’m struggling to deal with, but just six weeks before my 26th birthday it’s ultimately sinking in. That being said, it’s often mentioned by those around me that I’ve got the brains of a 20-something, the body of a 40-something and the maturity level of a 12-year-old. I can’t really argue there; all valid points, indeed.

But now it’s kickball season. And although we’re playing a child’s game in a very adult fashion (you’re either hungover, drunk or drinking at the field), it’s still a game – and a game I plan on winning! Our team name is Red Ball and Vodka and while we’re in the “rookie” division we still take competition seriously.

And that’s where my problem lies. Have you ever seen a grown man cry over kickball? You should have seen me Sunday. Well, I wasn’t literally crying, per se, but rather writhing in pain after straining my quad (such is the life when you fail to stretch before an adult kickball game).

But like I said, I’m not 12 anymore. So if that means stretching for 20 minutes before a 50-minute kickball game, it’s better than dealing with the hideous pain I’m feeling now.

First photo with my new iPhone

2010-09-16T16:03:00.000-07:00

I'm still surprised by the detail in this photo, taken (and sent to the blog) with my new iPhone.

It's a shot of the sunroof in my Jeep from yesterday's rain, as well as my new background. The new HDR function on the phone is pretty sweet, so I'll definitely be playing with it a lot, not to mention the HD video!

Selling Out

2010-09-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

Not that it’s any surprise to those who know me well, but I finally did it. I sold out. I sold out harder than Green Day. Not that there’s ever been any doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t (I’d sell my pinky toes if the price was right), but after my history of denouncing certain products I ultimately conceded. Although, I guess calling me a hypocrite might be more logical.

You see, after years of bashing the iPhone (I did so publicly here) I’ve finally succumbed the greatness that is Apple:

I got an iPhone.

Now, I’ve never hated on Apple products. After all, Mac computers are the industry standard in journalism, graphic design and all things multimedia. What’s more, I’ve even praised the iPhone as a standalone device in the past (see here).

It’s AT&T I’ve had issues with. Not personally, per se, but rather witnessing the dropped calls, shoddy service and poor overall performance of those around me. Indeed, Verizon is the greatest network in the country with the best service (see map below). An iPhone on Verizon was something Holly and I have wished for since the phone came out.

The kicker began a week ago: Holly’s Blackberry Storm 1 was freezing more often than not (as was mine); then, her battery stopped keeping a charge; we received an e-mail from Blackberry for a battery recall; and then we saw the actual iPhone 4 in action at my brother’s.

It was time to switch. And switch, we did.

Now I’m up to my neck in the app store, playing free games and constantly just admiring the beauty that is iPhone. We’ll accept the fact that we may lose a few calls, but since our new service is plan is essentially the exact same as our previous Verizon (albeit cheaper!), it’s a risk we’re willing to take.

So call me a sellout. Call me a hypocrite.

Or, just call me on my iPhone.

Jake Donahue v. YouTube – Part 2

2010-07-21T11:02:00.001-07:00

It’s been a week and no response. The only difference is that when you click on the video from my personal channel on YouTube you are greeted with this little ditty:

I’ve noticed there are now three other uploads featuring the exact same Nike commercial (one is actually from Nike Sportswear). I’m not sure why the two non-Nike uploads haven’t been removed just yet, but if they make it through and I do not, I’ll be pissed.

At the very least, I do have solace in knowing that people can still view the commercial. After all, whether it’s my upload or somebody else’s, I’m just glad people are still excited about KGJ.

But as for YouTube, this isn’t over quite yet.

Coming Soon: The Donahue Media Group

2010-07-21T02:06:00.001-07:00

A new company is in the making…

The Donahue Media Group will soon launch a new website, before taking Portland, Ore., by storm.

Jake Donahue v. YouTube – Part I

2010-07-14T12:11:00.001-07:00

Well, well, well. It seems the powers that be over at Google’s YouTube have blocked my latest videos.

On Monday, I uploaded the new Nike commercial featuring my childhood and adult-life idol Ken Griffey Jr. I then uploaded the tribute video that the Mariners shared on the big screen during the game after he officially retired last month. In less than 36 hours I garnered close to 20,000 views on the Nike commercial – a video that brought tears to many people – and close to 1,000 on the video tribute from Safeco – you want to talk about making grown men cry, watch that video more than once (I will post it to my Vimeo stream soon).

I’ve been getting dozens of e-mails like this:

getoharmony23 has made a comment on Ken Griffey Jr - Goodbye Baseball Hello Cooperstown - Nike:

Greatest of All Time. Brings tears to my eyes even thinking about how I will never get to see the most exciting player that ever laced up the cleats. . :(

And this:

azarel7 has made a comment on Ken Griffey Jr - Goodbye Baseball Hello Cooperstown - Nike:

I don't even play or follow baseball very closely but I know that the man is a legend. Man just played well, no scandals, no drugs, no arrogance, just the game. Sports needs more athletes like him.

Yes, “azarel7,” sports DO need more athletes like him.

But if you click on the videos now, you will be greeted with the following bar across your screen:

What’s more, they put a “strike” in my YouTube account’s “personal record”:

(click to view larger if you want to actually read it)

I have since responded with an e-mail to YouTube protesting the matter. They will forward that on to “MLB Advanced Media,” the originators of the complaint. Since I’ve seen many baseball and Nike commercials/videos all over YouTube already, I must only assume I’m in the right.

Furthermore, this little ditty seems to make it seem like I’m acting within the legal boundaries:

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use

So, while I wait for things to be sorted out with YouTube, here is the video in all its original glory (thanks to Vimeo):

Goodbye Baseball, Hello Cooperstown from Jake Donahue on Vimeo.

Goodbye Baseball, Hello Cooperstown

2010-07-12T19:53:00.001-07:00

Thank you, Nike! Here is the latest commercial from Phil Knight and Co. emblazing the great Ken Griffey Jr. for all to see!

I saw this for the first time tonight during the MLB Homerun Derby. What a fitting commercial during an event that Griffey so often dominated.

Thanks again, Nike, for this awesome commercial!

My camera’s 10,000th image

2010-07-06T22:46:00.001-07:00

Holy Sanata Clause Shit!

After 21 months of playing with my 2008 birthday present (the Canon S5 IS that Holly so lovingly bestowed upon me a few weeks before my actual birthday almost two years ago), I finally shot image No. 10,000. And be it ever so fitting, it occurred during our honeymoon in Maui.

Here is IMG_0000 (after IMG_9999, it reverts back to zero):

Knowing that this milestone was steadfastly approaching, especially at rate in which I was shooting down in Hawaii, I really wanted a special image for my camera’s big moment.

Well, Maui couldn’t have painted a better sunset picture!

This was on our way to watch the Independence Day fireworks from the streets of Old Lahaina in West Maui. I was going to try and shoot a bunch more of this awesome view, but some Hawaiian asshole veered his beat up Toyota directly in front of me and my tripod – completely blocking our view! I was pissed, to say the least. But, alas, I still came away with what I wanted: An awesome palm tree shot. Soon after I hammered out some pretty sweet (at least for me) fireworks photos.

But enough about that one image – let’s dig into some stats.

Since Oct. 26, 2008, when Holly gave the camera to me as an early birthday present (she hid it in her bag when I picked her up from the airport, then asked me to grab something out of it. I was speechless for a moment, then excited beyond belief), I’ve taken that camera everywhere!

So, to break it down a little further, between Sunday Oct. 26, 2008, and Sunday, July 4, 2010, I shot 10,000 photos.

That’s roughly one photo every 90 minutes!

Yeah, you read that right. I averaged just over 16 photos a day for 623 days… over 112 photos a week for 89 weeks… 476 photos a month for 21 months!

Now, I’m sure those numbers aren’t incredibly staggering for somebody like our wedding photographer, Benjamin Reed, who popped off over 5,000 shots at just our wedding alone! But for a guy who’s never been paid to shoot photos, I’m chalking up 10,000 as a pretty sweet number.

That being said, here’s to 10,000 more!

Falling Stars

2010-07-02T12:49:00.001-07:00

Here’s my second attempt at a star trail timelapse, shot from the balcony of our hotel:

Honeymoon Photos

2010-07-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

Just a preview of what we get to see EVERY DAY down here in Maui:

Sunset at our hotel.

People canoeing along the shoreline.

And the sunset view from our hotel balcony (actually, this the balcony outside the elevator just three doors down from our room).

The sky is falling!

2010-07-01T12:08:00.001-07:00

This image is over 300 30-second images over a 3.5 hour time frame stacked on top of each other.

My new wife and I just started our honeymoon in Maui last two nights ago. Since she was knocked out by jet lag as the sun finally set, I set up the tripod on our balcony (Oh! Quick sidenote: We had originally booked a "garden view" room at the uber-nice Sheraton Maui on Black Rock, as anything else was insanely expensive. Well, upon checking in, we found out the hotel upgraded our room to an OCEAN FRONT view... at no extra cost! Booom shakka lakka!!!)

Anyway, I let the camera shoot one 30-second photo every 45 seconds for just over 3 hours, 30 minutes (it may have lasted longer if the batteries didn't die when I fell asleep).

Nevertheless, I was astonished at how visible the stars were with so much ground light shooting into the palm trees. I think a little over halfway into the video the lights on the ground dim lower, so next I may wait until 12:30 a.m. (that's about when they dimmed, according to my EXIF data) and start a new one. And this time I'll use brand new batteries, so we'll see what happens

My Wedding Toast

2010-06-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

I’ve been asked multiple times lately if there’s video of any of the wedding toasts from Saturday’s awesome event. Well, I haven’t found a complete clip yet, but I do have mine pretty much written out. Ben Lee (my best man) offered up the single greatest toast I’ve ever heard in my life. He is a goddamn comedian who made the entire ballroom erupt in laughter – for nearly ten minutes! His toast could be featured in a movie, and I feel so honored to have listened to him talk about me. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life.

Ever.

But, like I said, I can’t find any video. If anybody has one, please let me know!

That being said, while I did simply use the text below as an outline for my toast to those involved in the wedding, I’d say roughly 85-percent of the speech is here:

MY TOAST

First of all, thank you to my beautiful bride – you’re by far the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, and tonight I simply cannot staring at you. You’ve always been the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen – tonight, you truly topped anything I could have imagined.

But right now, I want to thank the rest of you. To everyone who’s here and not here, you’ve all been part of our lives in one way or another. It’s your presence around us who’s transformed both Holly and I into the couple we’ve become.

For the lengths you’ve traveled – literally all corners of the country – thank you for joining us today! You’re making this joyous occasion a truly remarkable event.

Cathy, my new mother, thank you so much for your contributions today. This wedding wouldn’t be the beautiful day it is without you. But more importantly, thank you for letting me marry your daughter. She is every bit the woman she is today because of you.

And my mom, you’re the sole reason I am who I am today. Your struggles and strengths, your heart and your soul have impacted me more than you know. Thank you for the life you’ve provided me, and the mentoring I’ve received. You’re much more than a mother, but one of my closest friends. I’m sorry for the week we’ve had, but what better way to get over the lowest of lows than by the highest of highs.

While my grandma isn’t here and grandpa is here in spirit, I can only thank them for everything else. Every single ounce of the person I am - the good things, anyway – are directly related to my relationship with them. My grandma is my true second mother, while my grandpa was more of a dad and friend than a grandpa – he will be missed so incredibly much. I do feel better knowing that he’s most likely sitting in heaven telling God how to make things better, because if anybody can do that, it’s Euge.

So, before I move on, a toast to Eugene Matchett, my grandfather.

Now, these guys (groomsmen). Thank you all for not just getting me here today, but getting me everywhere I’ve ever been – I know I only have one brother, it feels like I’m always surrounded.

Ben, my best man, I don’t have enough time to talk about you. You are a unique and inspiring individual, and people are better for knowing know. Since playing video games at Oregon state, our fake fist fight before lake Shasta because the seniors thought it would be funny, our trip to Coeur d’Alene and everything since – you’re indeed my best friend and truly a best man. Thanks for being there every time I needed it.

Gene – you’re like an older brother, you’ve backed me up when others neglected, and you’ve always seen the best in me. I’ve looked up to since I was a kid, and I always will.

John – again, you’re more like a brother than a friend. Holly and myself have always loved you and miss you know that we live in Oregon. You’re one of those guys who dance around in my head when I’m about to do something stupid – I ask myself What Would John Do. Sometimes it actually works.

Zach – You are my little brother. I know we may be cousins, but I’ve always considered you my brother since we lived at Grandma’s a few summers ago. You’re a cousin, a brother and most importantly a friend. We’ve had similar lives growing up, and think we’ve both done something right if our Mom’s haven’t killed us yet.

Michael – finally, my actual brother! What can I say? From the time I was a little boy I’ve wanted to be you. You’ve always been inspiration to me. I wanted to go to WSU because of you, I wanted to join a frat, and most importantly, I wanted to marry a blonde. I think that’s the only one that really worked out in the long run!

Jeff- I’ve only said a bad word about you once – when you woke Holly and I up one morning by screaming your own name – the next morning I only laughed, as I showed up late to work and tried to explain myself. You’re a great friend, both Holly and I look forward to your wedding next year and a long friendship living nearby.

Aaaaand.

Garret – We weren’t best friends in high school, but since getting to know you after graduation I wish we would have been. You’re quite possibly the nicest guy I know, and I know a lot of people. Holly has always considered you a relative because of your friendship, and I’m happy to have you here

The bridesmaid’s: wow. You all look so beautiful and elogent. You’ve made Holly’s life so much easier, which in turn has made mine the same. Thank you to Holly’s sisters and my own, as well as Kathy and Emily.

But for the Bride. I cannot thank you enough. You are the most generous, loving and caring individual I know. I’ve loved you from the day I’ve met you, and I can’t believe we thought it was only a joke in high school when I said we’d get married one day.

But most importantly, thank you for saying yes. After all, when I proposed to you last year, all I got was an OK. Hearing you say “I Do” gave me all the confirmation I needed! If our lives are half as good as the past few have been, I will be the luckiest man alive!

Why I Love My New Bride

2010-06-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

This was a complete and total wedding surprise. Holly bestowed the greatest wedding cake upon me the world has ever known! This wasn’t the main cake, but rather a supplemental “groom’s addition” accompanying her beautifully-decorated masterpiece.

I’m baaaack

2010-06-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

OK, so it’s been over a month since I’ve shared with the world what’s been going on in Jakewood. But, with all due respect, I feel I should be granted a wee bit of leeway these past six or eight weeks.

In what’s quickly become the busiest time of my life, I never could have conjured up the sheer madness that has been my life lately. From coaching Little League during the regular season to taking on the younger All-Star Team in the post season (although my assistant coaches really did more work, thank you so much for all their help!), I was also involved in a little party yesterday, an amazing night over a year in the making.

You know, my wedding?

Holly and I got married yesterday evening, surrounded by friends and family who flew in from all across the country. It was indeed the greatest night of my life, a true event that will forever be ingrained in my memory thanks to those who attended. Pictures will be coming soon, thanks solely to the work of Ben Reed – by far the most amazing photographer anybody could ever ask for!

However, it hasn’t all been pure joy. Just less than two weeks ago my grandfather finally passed away following a short battle with lung cancer. The funeral was held on Monday, just five days before our wedding. But, like I said during my speech as I toasted my mother at the wedding, it was only fitting that we gathered soon after experiencing the lowest of lows to celebrate the highest of highs.

Grandpa, you will be truly missed. Rest in piece forever.

The days leading up to the funeral were obviously cumbersome, but even more so as I was charged with writing the obituary. (You can read the entire obit here). Thanks in large part to my former journalism advisor Nils Rosdhahl from North Idaho College, I was able to work with my grandmother, mother, aunts and uncles to tailor the endearing article so fitting for the greatest man I’ve ever known.

Nevertheless, I’ve since learned the best way in dealing with these things is simply not to dwell on the fact that I’ve lost somebody so paramount in my upbringing, but rather celebrate the life of and memories of the incredible man who shall never be forgotten.

As cliché as it may sound, I truly believe that while one life has ended a new one is now beginning. The best possible way to honor my grandfather is simply to spend my life affecting those around me as positively as he did his.

And that starts with my new bride: Holly Beth Donahue:

Portland Golf Club

2010-05-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine from high school is now the membership director at the Portland Golf Club. They needed photos for marketing materials, so of course a photos-for-golf trade was all I needed!

The lighting wasn’t perfect, but we still had fun. If anything, we scouted spots for next time. HDR brought out some locations better than others:

Brochure

2010-05-20T21:46:00.001-07:00

I designed a brochure for somebody’s homework assignment recently, yet I went forward with it like it was for a $1,000 client. I' had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use this trick with the grassy typography, and voila, here it was!

So, while I essentially did the project for free, it was SO WORTH IT! Even if only for the fact that I spelled “Grow” with grass.

Here’s the cover (PS: There are a couple of typos, but I really wanted to share the design before I made my final edits!):

More Photos

2010-04-28T22:40:00.001-07:00

Tonight Holly had her friend Kathy come over to help sew things for the wedding. Thus, I boogied outside and shot some more photos. Let’s just say the other day got me all excited to get out as much as I can nowadays, especially with the killer sunsets we’ve been having.

Here’s how I killed a few hours tonight down at the Sunset Transit Station where the Max Rail drives by:

My Photographic Evolution

2010-04-27T23:38:00.001-07:00

I think it’s funny to look back at the “Edits” folder of my computer. That’s where I keep any photo I shot that I took a few extra minutes to make sure it looked good enough to share. Since it’s organized by date, it’s very easy to notice the trends I’ve gone through in just the past year.

You can tell just by stepping back and looking at the bunch as a whole where I first learned about Vibrance/Saturation in Photoshop CS4, as well as when I took the saturations to extremes. Then there was the heavy editing thanks to automated actions you could download from all over the web, followed by the heavy vignettes. There’s lots of panoramics and night shots, as well. Eventually came the HDRs followed by the use of Topaz Adjust to bring out single images into HDR-like fashions; not to mention long exposures, fast exposures and time-lapses.

Now, I’m into letterbox-style black borders. Why? I have no idea, aside from the fact that I’ve seen a few photographers (see here, here and here). Maybe it’s how they turn into a square. Perhaps it’s the contrast. Like I said before, I have no idea – I just like it.

…at least for now. We’ll see what happens next month.

Anyway, I’ve been busy playing with some older photos and taking some new ones this week and last. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

This little dandy was hiding deep in one of my Coeur d’Alene folders. Shots like this make me miss my drive to work in Idaho, all along Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive.

This was at sunset tonight. Holy friggin’ moly it was insane! I didn’t think I’d get it to look nice at all, and especially since I didn’t have my tripod handy. But I guess I was wrong…

I have wanted to shoot this photo since first moving to Portland, especially after seeing some awesome images of this same vantage all over flickr. Tonight was my night! This is actually an HDR of three separate 15-second exposures (+1, 0, –1).

From the same spot as above, overlooking downtown Portland from the top of OHSU. I had never been up here before until tonight, and I can’t wait to go back again! (Looks WAY better large!)

New edit of an old shot: This was from back when John came to visit. A little too dark for my taste, but I think that’s probably why I kind of like it, it’s not my normal edit.

And lastly, one of my favorite shots ever with an updated edit. This is probably my best “journalistic” shot, as I was on a police ride-a-long for a page design I thought might look nice. I borrowed a Canon from school and rode with a cop (who I actually went to middle school with, oddly enough).

Quick Break

2010-04-18T14:07:00.001-07:00

Anymore it is far too easy to get my mind off track. I’m supposed to be working on a project I have due tomorrow, and it will likely take most of the day. So it makes total sense that I would get up in the middle of it all just to go outside and take a photo, for no other reason than to alleviate an urge that suddenly overwhelmed me.

And it wasn’t anything special, either. Just a panoramic down the road:

Click to view larger.

Little League, Big Win

2010-04-18T11:55:00.001-07:00

So far this Little League baseball season I’ve been stoked with the potential my team keeps flashing. While moments of incredible brilliance often times rear their gorgeous heads when I least expect it, more often than not we screw something up. But since we’re just two games into the regular season (five if you count the pre-season pitching machine tournament – I don’t), that is to be expected.

Nevertheless, since we’re just a AAA team of 9- and 10-year-olds in a league not too obsessed with winning, I’m happy with our progress. We know what we need to work on now and what we’re pretty good at. We lost on Friday due to simple mistakes made by our own team, so our win yesterday was even greater when the players realized why they won – preventing those same mistakes.

But the greatest achievement so far this season has come in the form of one new player. At his first practice, having never thrown a baseball in his life, he only talked about his undying love for basketball and why baseball “sucked.”

Then a funny thing happened: He got better each practice, proceeded to take a greater interest in baseball, and now leads the team in hits, stolen bases and batting average!

In the middle of a recent game, after ripping a line drive into the outfield and then stealing third base on the subsequent play, he came bounding into third base with a beaming grin.

“Coach Jake!” he bellowed as he reached the base. “I LOVE baseball! I think I love it more than basketball! No, I love it the same. Ummm, no, never mind. I love baseball more!”

I’m chalking that one up as my greatest coaching success And like I said, we’re only two games into the season.

I love this sport.

Waiting for Heidi

2010-04-13T09:45:00.001-07:00

A few weeks back I met my good friend Heidi downtown for pizza and beer at Rocco’s (more about that place in a bit). Nevertheless, since I had the afternoon off work and didn’t want to wait indoors for our meetup, I headed downtown an hour early with camera in tow.

Now, I’ve seen this elephant before, lastly when my buddy John visited over Thanksgiving, and we simply took a few shots with our Smart Phones. But this time I had my Canon S5, so I grabbed an HDR:

I’m fairly certain that this might be my greatest HDR capture yet. Especially with the blue skies and white clouds behind, thanks to Photomatix for helping me pop the colors and contrast (Of course, I cannot wait for Photoshop CS5, check out the new HDR file handling it boasts. Can I get a Boom Shakka Lakka?).

Here are the rest of the shots I captured while waiting. All in all I’d say arriving early was worth the wait!

While Holly was out

2010-04-08T21:03:00.001-07:00

Tonight, my bride-to-be was out at Cirque du Soleil, so once again, I had the apartment to myself.

This is never a good thing.

With an empty home I quickly remembered this photo on Flickr and how much I wanted to try it myself. It was this photo that made me realize I could only try it when she was out – imagine the mess I would create.

So, here’s my version. I couldn’t get the timing down exactly. And it took 62 tries to get a few I liked, but this was the best:

Portland Clouds

2010-04-08T18:07:00.000-07:00

I went to the Pittock Mansion this afternoon for one specific idea: A time lapse video of the clouds moving over downtown Portland. I took one photo every 15 seconds for 35 minutes.

Low and behold, it didn’t turn out so bad.

Flower Time Lapse

2010-04-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Holly got a plant from her mother the other day. Seeing as how I've been into time-lapse photography lately, I thought I'd see how it would bloom if I set up my camera.

So, after six and half hours of shooting (1 photo every 3 minutes), I came up with this little ditty. Unfortunately it doesn't look as cool as I thought it would, but I didn't feel like leaving the camera and laptop going all day. Maybe next time. I want to buy the AC adaptor for my camera, that way I can leave it plugged in and take photos for 3 days straight!

Anyway, here’s my 6-hour attempt:

Calendar Contest Winner

2010-03-31T12:46:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite websites, Smashing Magazine, holds a monthly contest where users can submit calendar designs for computer websites. Last month I downloaded one of the awesome designs for my own desktop.

For April, however, I decided to design my own and submit it. I thought I was one day late, but alas, I just found out today my design was chosen!

Now, I wasn’t the only winner, as they pick a slew of designs to feature each month (click here to see all the winners this month). But I’m still excited that such a prestigious, world-famous multimedia website would feature a design by me!

So, without further ado, here is the design I submitted (their only rule is that you showcase their logo somewhere and include a calendar in the design for only one month).

By the way, that photo of the squirrel was taken with a borrowed Canon Mark III during my fellowship at the Poynter Institute. I still firmly believe that any single person can take phenomenal photos with that camera.

If I can do it, anybody can (here are some of the others I shot with that awesome camera).

New Website

2010-03-29T20:30:00.001-07:00

I finally started building my Online Portfolio (jakedonahue.com). For real this time – and not just another Wordpress template, either. This one is alllll me!

But the keyword here is STARTED.

All I have is a landing page at the moment, but I created it from scratch. All by myself. This can still direct you to my temporary blogger site holding my graphic and news design portfolio, as well as my writing portfolio on another blogger site.

You can also access many of my social media outlets along the bottom (you have no idea how long it took me to make those buttons “pop” when you hover over them).

So let me know what you think. I have a feeling the rest of the site will be based off this.

Crown Point

2010-03-28T13:20:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday I was going to drive out to Cannon Beach for some photos and spend the afternoon with Holly. Well, unbeknownst to me, she already had plans – so, I was going to go alone. But after thinking about it, I really didn’t want to. Besides, the coast was supposed to get rainy in the evening and I wanted a sunset photo anyway.

Instead, I waited a few hours until close to twilight and drove up to the Crown Point Vista House, roughly a 30 minute drive from our house. Now, the only reason I even knew about this building and the subsequent stellar view was from this photo on Flickr, taken by one of my new favorite photographers, Andrew Curtis.

I wanted to capture something similar, but alas, the cloud cover would not allow it. Rather, I was able to capture these three little beauties:

I never thought I’d be able to get the clouds look so nice during a sunset. After seeing this guy’s shots of the sunset at Fenway Park in Boston, I really had the itch for it. So, obviously an HDR was the only way to go and I’m fairly happy with my results.

A nice little 15-second exposure of the building and moving clouds. The moon was peeking through at moments, but my favorite part of this photo is the red light on the security camera screen. It’s easier to see when viewed large. You can also see some stars poking through in the larger version.

This is actually three images merged together. Since I was so close to the building I couldn’t get the entire window set and moon in the frame. I really like the cloud movement in this, but I’m not so sure about the way the building is slightly rotated in the frame. I was on my hands and knees in a parking lot with cars driving close behind, so I didn’t have much safe time to experiment.

Editing

2010-03-22T17:29:00.001-07:00

A while back I shared a photo that I shot after being inspired from others on Flickr (here is the shot that inspired me). Anyway, in the comments under that photo somebody recommended I try a photoshop plugin called Topaz Adjust.

So, I did. and while I really think the newer version looks better, it still looks too much like a cartoon. But I guess that’s how most HDRs look. Oh well, here are the two different versions. The first one is my edit with Topaz adjust, while the second image is the original.

I guess that my favorite part of topaz is that it really brings out the contrast in things, like the clouds and the wooden pillars.

Holly Cooks!

2010-03-19T17:53:00.001-07:00

Holly (out of the blue) decided to make homemade pizza the other night. Not a regular cook, I was perplexed by her decision, to say the least.

But then I saw her pie! It looked great, smelled great and tasted excellent!

So, last night we decided she should make another. And this time I set up my camera and laptop to catch her in the act:

Holly in the Kitchen from Jake Donahue on Vimeo.

Counterintuitive, maybe?

2010-03-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my good friend Heidi via Google Buzz (still not sure how to even use Buzz, but I seem to get notifications from everybody else), I noticed this retarded little goody: Solar-powered cell phone covers.

Like the author of their article even says:
"I have no idea if the environmental cost of making these things cancels out the benefits..."

My point, exactly! I have no doubt that every sandal-wearing, paper-recycling, hipster-wannabe in Portland will be toting these contradictory phone covers around by summer. But there is no way these things do more good for the planet, especially with an $80 price tag. Assuming they only make a marginal 25% profit off of them (and they're probably marked up much, much more than that), they would cost the company roughly $66. In reality, it's probably closer to $50 per cover.

There is no way they've been churning these things out sans a huge electricty-guzzling factory.

But here's the real kicker: It takes a 2-hour sunbathing session to garner enough power for only a 30-minute charge. If you're going to spend $80 for something to just charge your phone for 30 minutes, why not buy a spare battery? Wait, it's an iPhone? Damn... You can't even touch the battery.

(Want a spare iPhone battery? You have to do this).

I've got a better idea: Take that $80 you would have wasted trying to "go green" and put it toward cancelling your AT&T contract.

Go to Verizon and get a Blackberry. Then kick Luke Wilson in the head.

More Portland Photos

2010-03-14T17:43:00.001-07:00

I keep seeing awesome photos on Flickr that were shot around Portland. This only inspires me. It’s gotten to the point that I think about taking pictures more than anything else. When I grab my baseball gear for Little League practice I contemplate bringing my camera “just in case.” Just in case of what? I have no idea.

Anyway, here is some of the stuff I’ve been up to lately:

Click here to view this larger (it looks much better big). I went down to the waterfront again last night after seeing some sweet shots online. It had been a while since I shot a pano, let alone a waterfront photo of Portland.

I had driven up to the Pittock Mansion to test out some new settings on my camera one night. When I walked back to the empty parking lot after a heavy fog rolled in, I was greeted with this. The back lights of the Jeep flashed a few times because I pressed the unlock button on my key.

This didn’t come out the way I wanted. I will go back soon.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky this day! I’ve been meaning to get down to the waterfront so I can snap a nice evening photo with lots of clouds flying around, but this was a pleasant surprise. It was so incredibly blue and clear I was just as happy.

I shot this on the way back to my car after shooting the one just above it. It’s hard to see, but there are cars flying by the freeway bridges in the background (as well as the busy road to the left of me as I shot this).

Yet another waterfront photo. This huge yellow tree has always intrigued me, but this attempt didn’t come out as nice as I had hoped.

Catching Water Drops

2010-03-13T15:45:00.001-08:00

I recently downloaded a program called CHDK for my camera. It stands for Cannon Hack Development Kit. What it does is offer options on my camera that were previously not available. For example: Before I installed the hack my Canon S5 IS could only take a photo with a maximum shutter speed of 15 seconds. Well, when the CHDK firmware hack loads onto my camera from the memory card, I am able to shoot photos with the shutter open for over 30 minutes!

Conversely, while the fastest shutter speed available before the hack was only 1/3200 of a second, I now have the option to capture photos as fast as 1/100,000 of a second!

Thus, you can imagine my excitement when I realized I could probably shoot one of those famously popular water droplet photos. You know, when you catch a single water drop frozen in air over a pool of water. So, I set up camp in the kitchen this morning. With the black dishwasher as my background, I set a glass of water on an end-table and set up my tripod. A few shots into this experiment, and voila!

I promise that I didn’t alter either of these photos at all! All I did was bump up the brightness/contrast in Photoshop, increase the vibrancy a tad, and that was it!

Starscapes

2010-03-10T14:41:00.001-08:00

I’ve been wanting to shoot some night photos lately, especially after seeing some of the most amazing photography I’ve ever witnessed.

Timescapes.org is friggin’ phenomenal! I could watch his videos for hours, even though he only has two.

Anyway, after researching quite a bit online how to do it the past week or so, I finally snapped my first shots of the stars. Since I’m in Coeur d’Alene, far away from the bright lights of Portland, the skies were much more clear. Even more so since I was out at my grandparents’ house in the woods:

This one was only about a 30-second exposure, I think.

I left the shutter open for 17 minutes on this shot, that’s how the stars look like they’re streaking across the sky.

Both shots came from the back deck of my grandparents’ house. Tonight I’m going to try and tether my camera to my laptop and shoot a timelapse video. But who knows if it will actually work. At least I have fun trying!

Eugism No. 1: Stupid Turkeys

2010-03-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

Well, it didn’t take long following my earlier post that a Eugism reared its beautiful head!

Euge was laying in his bed at the hospital surrounded by a few family members. I had just arrived with Holly from his house, where we narrowly missed a group of turkeys crossing the road just outside their driveway.

Of course, I shared the experience with him as soon as I entered the room.

“Damn stupid turkeys,” my grandma immediately quipped.

Well, it wasn’t long after that Grandpa raised up a bit, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, glaring across the bed at his wife.

“Stupid?” he asked. “They walk around and shit in the yard, but THEY don’t step in it, YOU do! Who’s the stupid one now?”

For a moment, at least, everything was back to normal in the world of Euge.

Eugism

2010-03-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

That’s pronounced YOO-JIZ-IM.
As in a Eugene Matchett “ism” (as in pretty much anything my grandpa says or does).
So, at the request of many around me (and after a huge reaction to the post I shared earlier about a conversation between my grandparents), I’ve decided to start chronicling as many Eugisms as I can.
If you have a Eugism you would like to share, e-mail me at jakedonahue119@gmail.com. Of course, this assumes you’ve actually met or heard of my grandfather. If you have not, you will soon. I have a goal to collect as many Eugisms as possible – maybe enough for a separate blog!

Back in the Blogosphere

2010-03-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s not exactly a secret that I’ve been neglecting my own little corner of the web over the past few months. With what’s been going on in my life lately, it hasn’t exactly been on the top of my list (or on my list at all, rather). Between Little League and my grandpa, trips to Coeur d’Alene and working, I’ve been spread a little thin, to say the least

Here, take a look at this nifty little graph I just whipped up in Excel (God’s gift to man!):

Starting in January 2009 and running through last month, you can see how much I’ve posted each month. Since October of last year it’s pretty much been a downward spiral!

Well, no more; I’m back, baby!

And while more often than not I utilize this page for nothing more than fulfilling my own egotistical mindset, whether sharing photos or just listening to my own voice, I do know of some people who have shown a small affinity toward Jakewood.

Welcome back!

More Photos

2010-02-23T15:52:00.001-08:00

With all that’s going on around me lately it seems that this blog has been at the very back of my mind (unlike this time last year, when it was indeed at the forefront of everything I did). However, I’ve been busy with work, trying to more work, bouncing between Coeur d’Alene and Portland to visit my grandpa, not to mention preparing for the upcoming Little League season (more on that later).

Nevertheless, I definitely have been taking photos.

With my newfound obsession inside the wide world of Flickr, I’ve been following other local photographers religiously. It’s especially intriguing to me how others shoot the same landmarks, as their perspective is often times quite different than my own. Long story short: I love my camera again.

As for my recent stuff, I’ve leaned pretty heavy on the HDR and processing in Photomatix and Photoshop CS4 with Topaz Adjust. I think I’m going to try and back off the Topaz Adjust a little bit, however, and maybe try the HDR a little less. I know it looks pretty sweet sometimes, but more often than not the photos just look fake. Even some of the amazing photographers I’ve seen sometimes overdo the HDR. But maybe I’m wrong. Who knows. I don’t really care, as long as the picture looks good.

Lately, though, I’ve finally started exploring parts of Portland I’ve only seen through Flickr. Photographers like Aaron Reed, Andrew Curtis and Zeb Andrews have chronicled some of the best Portland imagery, and it’s by following their Flickr Photostreams that I see where the best views can be attained. I’ve learned a great deal about my camera and how to use it better by attempting to imitate some of their shots before looking for my own.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to lately. Seems I’ve got a love affair with Portland-area bridges:

Underneath the on-ramps an off-ramps of the Fremont Bridge.

Mt. Hood behind downtown Portland.

Looking up from the ground at the bottom of the St. Johns Bridge.

Silhouette of the St. Johns Bridge at sunset.

From the hillside at the south end of the St. Johns Bridge. In case you can’t tell, I love this bridge!

Fremont Bridge just after sunset. I think it looks fake because the sky turned out so incredibly blue. Oh well, what can you do? Not a cloud in the sky…

My Grandpa, the comedian

2010-02-13T12:44:00.001-08:00

For anyone that doesn’t already know, my Grandpa was recently diagnosed with a form of lung cancer, Mesothelioma to be specific. Thusly, I've spent the past week in Coeur d’Alene at their house helping out. I’ve since witnessed some of the funniest moments of my entire life.

Earlier this morning, Grandma yelled at Grandpa about not eating enough breakfast these days. She went on to scold him about simply eating a small bowl of cereal and some peaches, saying he needed to make himself a more fulfilling breakfast.

Soon after, as Grandma read the paper, Grandpa quietly got my attention by winking a few times. He looked at his wife and quietly boomed: “Well, I think it’s time for a small bowl of cereal.”

Grandma – obviously not amused – peered around the corner of today’s Coeur d’Alene Press and glared deep into his soul (I could feel the burning from across their living room!).

“Ok,” he said. “I guess I wouldn’t say no if somebody brought me scrambled eggs and toast.”

Grandma obliged: “I will make that for you,” she said, before returning to her crossword puzzle.

Then, a minute or so later, she quipped: “You know, I’m going to keep track of all these little games you’re playing on me. And when you get better , I am going to make you pay.”

Then, a few seconds later, she said again, “I am going to make you pay.”

She brought him a warm breakfast, eggs, apple sauce and english muffins. “There ya go, kid,” she said, and set it in his lap.

“You know what,” he responded. “I think I’d rather just have cereal and toast.”

“I’m not even going to respond to that,” she answered.

I hit the floor laughing harder than ever.

___________________________________________________

Last night’s highlight, after Grandpa yelled at the TV:

Grandma: “Gene, has anyone ever told you that the TV can’t listen to you yelling?”

Grandpa: “Shirley, has anyone ever told you to shut up?”

Save the Date

2010-02-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

Now that Holly and I have finally got things organized concerning all things wedding-related, our Save The Date cards should be in the mail any day. That being said, here is a sneak preview of the card I created for our STDs (I’m not too fond of that acronym). The people at the Crystal Ballroom let me sneak out on their balcony to shoot the photo, and then a few minutes in Photoshop let me change the reader board text to a more fitting sign.

I know Holly probably wanted everybody to wait until they got this in the mail, but I just couldn’t hold back any longer!

More Portland-Area Photos

2010-02-05T18:16:00.001-08:00

Here are some more photos I’ve taken lately in and around the Portland area. After seeing so many great shots on Flickr, I’ve gotten the itch to get out as much as possible. I now have a huge list of photos I want to shoot thanks to seeing what others are doing in the same areas.

Here is what I’ve been up to lately:

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

2010-02-05T17:58:00.001-08:00

There is a technique among photographers that turns high-contrasting scenes into seamless masterpieces. It’s called High Dynamic Range, or HDR for short. Here is a simple breakdown of what happens:

Let’s say that you want to take a picture of a cityscape next to the river. What’s more, you want to do this in very low light. You want the lights on the building to show perfect, the water to reflect perfect and the sky to come out perfect as well. Unfortunately, most cameras simply aren’t capable of creating such an image. Either the highlights get washed out when the shadows are perfect or vice versa.

That’s where HDR comes in handy.

If you are creating an HDR image, you are going to take separate photos at different exposures before merging them all together. One photo will be underexposed, one perfect while another may be overexposed. When you merge the three together in a program like Photoshop or Photomatix, the best parts of each photo show up in the end.

And that is what I did this morning. When I woke up at 6 a.m. for reasons unbeknownst to me, I couldn’t fall back asleep. So I decided to be productive. I had seen many phenomenal photos on Flickr taken from the same spot down on the river. I tried to mimic them the other night, but to no avail. (Here is my favorite photo on Flickr of this scene).

Instead, I got an overall dark image. Here is my first version from the other night:

I got down there a little later than I had planned, but still gave it a whack. You can’t even see the pilings in the dark, and I even tried using my flash. No dice.

So, this morning, as I laid awake in bed thinking of how to be productive at 6 a.m. in the morning (without waking Holly, of course!), I decided to get the same photo as the sun came up. That way I could get the best light possible.

I was stoked when I got down there just before it got real bright out. I figured an HDR would be the best way to get all the elements I wanted, so I took dozens of the same exact shot. When I loaded them up in Photoshop CS4 afterward, they just didn't impress me.

But then I remembered a friend who always talked up Photomatix, so I downloaded that to see what I could do.

Voila!

I think I am love. I went back and ran another image through Photomatix instead of Photoshop, and I loved the results! Here is the HDR image that I shot this morning. Without a doubt, I have to say this is probably the greatest photo I’ve ever made – and it’s all thanks to HDR:

View it larger on my Fickr page here.

From the archives

2010-01-31T21:02:00.001-08:00

I found a bunch of CDs full of old photos spanning all the way back to my days at Oregon State. More to come, I’m sure, as I’m sifting through thousands of photos in my spare time.

The picture of Ichiro is when The Sentinel scored a press pass for me and some photographers at Safeco Field (I used somebody else’s camera). The “No Alcohol” photo used to be my desktop background at school (ironic, eh?). And the bottom photo is my cousin’s children watching the eagles fly along Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Our cat was bored…

2010-01-31T20:48:00.001-08:00

At least we’re productive when we have nothing better to do.

Flickr, baby!

2010-01-17T12:14:00.001-08:00

I just finally discovered the power of Flickr.

Oh, I’ve used it in the past for minor things such as sharing newspaper designs and photos from my Blackberry, but last night I spent hours on the site. Unfortunately, I need to upgrade to a Pro Account to utilize the site best, but that’s $25 a year.

What’s more, I already upgraded my Google Picasa account, so I am going to see how the sites compare in the near future before upgrading Flickr as well.

Nevertheless, playing with Flickr last night showed me some awesome advantages: Groups, comments, notes, etc. Right after uploading some pictures, there were instantly both views and comments.

Obviously, I was stoked.

The greatest advantage I discovered, however, was viewing other similar photographs. I ran a search for Portland and saw images I had already thought of taking, but now I know they’re possible. Surely I won’t match the professionalism (they used damn nice cameras), but I can surely imitate. Even better, hearing some of their comments about my own shots was sheer awesome.

But now that I know some sweet spots around Portland for good photos, I cannot wait to get back out there.

Longer Night Video

2010-01-08T19:56:00.001-08:00

Last night I was able to use the balcony outside The Crystal Ballroom to shoot photos for our Save The Dates. When I finished, I shot more video with my camera to make my first night video a little bit longer.

So, thanks to some more Coldplay, here is my latest nighttime video:

Burnside from Jake Donahue on Vimeo.

Crystal Ballroom

2010-01-05T22:36:00.000-08:00

I’ve been racking my brain for ideas to design our Save the Dates for our wedding this summer, but alas, I’ve got designer’s block. Obviously, since I consider myself a pretty decent graphic designer, it makes sense that I want these to be the greatest thing I’ve ever designed; after all, you’re only supposed to get married once, right?

Well, I went down to the intersection by The Crystal Ballroom (where we’re getting married in June) to see if any good photos might lend their way into a design.

Not exactly. But I did snag a few pics I liked, although they’re far from ever making it onto my Save the Date.

The famous neon “Dance” sign adorning The Crystal Ballroom.

Cars driving on the freeway underneath Burnside.

Night Video

2010-01-05T21:30:00.001-08:00

Crystal Ballroom Traffic from Jake Donahue on Vimeo.

It’s no secret how obsessed I am with shooting photos at night. (See here, here, here and here… Get the picture?). However, one thing I’ve always wanted to play with was nighttime video.

I love photos of cars driving at night, the way they streak across the screen in just a red or white light. And I’ve seen videos of this effect elsewhere, so I know it’s not too hard to accomplish. Thus, why not combine the two. I’ve had this notion in the back of my mind for a few years.

Well, where better than downtown Portland?

Turns out I’m not the only one. I stumbled upon this website the other day where a guy specializes in just this sort of videography: Andrew Curtis – Time Lapse Photography.

He is a friggin’ stud!

After seeing his site, I just had to finally buckle down and play with my camera. I figured a three minute video would suffice, and when all was said and done I finished with the 16-second scene above.

That just makes me wonder how long he spent making the following videos. This first video from Andrew Curtis is the original video I saw from him, and the rest are just mind-boggling!

The World Leaves Portland Behind from Andrew Curtis on Vimeo.

Dizzy Driving from Andrew Curtis on Vimeo.

Cinco De Mayo Carnival from Andrew Curtis on Vimeo.

Hot Dog Haiku – in print!

2010-01-04T19:22:00.001-08:00

Last summer I was enjoying three hotdogs from Gittel’s Grocery in Coeur d’Alene so much that I penned a haiku on the subject. Well, it seems I’m not the only fan of those famous franks: A writer for The Spokesman Review in Spokane, Wash., also shares the same love as I.

In fact, he recently wrote an article on the matter (see it here). Even better, he quoted my haiku:

Searching online for details about the subject, I came upon a blog post, written by former local resident Jake Donahue, in which he eloquently waxes poetic about the wonderful wieners at "the Biggest Little Store in Town." His haiku showcases the typical emotional and physiological response to this divine lunchtime tableau: "My mouth salivates/Three for a buck thirty-nine/Hot dogs are pure bliss."

How sweet it is!

Holly Mosaic

2009-12-29T00:07:00.001-08:00

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on here, so here is a something I’ve been working on in Photoshop. It’s just 12 different photos repeated, while Holly is overset and the transparency is tweaked. I think I’ll try a few more with this technique, as I really like the way this simple one came out.

Elf Yourself

2009-12-13T13:42:00.001-08:00

I guess this thing was pretty popular a while back, but I just saw it and think it's awesome: Holly and I got “Elfed.” This is scarily hilarious…

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Finally: Portland’s Best View

2009-12-09T22:17:00.001-08:00

Ever since moving here, I’ve wanted nothing more than to find a spot where I can take a picture of Portland as a whole. And since I live in the western hills, that should have been easy, right? Wrong.

However, if only I had taken a trail just off the road we drive seemingly every day, I would have found this:

Getting Mt. Hood in the background was more of a bonus than I could have imagined. I forgot how prominent the major peak was even from Portland. So, my new favorite viewpoint is behind the Pittock Mansion.

It’s been so clear oustside lately (not to mention so cold!), I imagine this must be one of the best views of the entire region at this time of the year. Here’s the picturesque scene just as I arrived before sunset:

Basketball Program

2009-12-09T18:09:00.000-08:00

Once again I get the pleasure to design an event program for North Idaho College’s athletic department: a high school invitational tournament hosted by the college. Unlike last year, where I was given a cover and asked only to design the innards, I get to create the entire program from cover to cover this year.

But before I finish (or even really begin!), I had to design a schedule for the high schools involved to post around their campus. Thus, I came up with this:

John’s Portland Trip

2009-12-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post this when I put photos up a couple weeks ago, but something pretty sweet happened during John’s inaugural Portland visit: We won free tickets to a Blazers game at a bar raffle, just two hours before tipoff. Even better, the tickets were located in the Lexus Room, the level where people get all-you-can-eat free food and (sadly) non-alcoholic drinks.

Nevertheless, it was an awesome time. John had never been to an NBA game while I had only seen one, yet amidst everything we still left at halftime (the Blazers sucked that night, anyway).

Here are some of the shots I got from our corner seats, including an obvious indoor panoramic (As always, click to view larger):

No “Happy Gilmore” in Canada

2009-12-04T17:09:00.001-08:00

Remember Happy Gilmore, the greatest golf movie to hit screens since Caddyshack? More importantly, do you remember his awesome running swing? Well, if you golf in Canada nowadays, that swing is illegal. You heard it, against the law. After a man recently hit another golfer with the ball after swinging like Happy Gilmore, a judge ruled in favor of the victim!

So, even though the shot us by no means against the rules (though it’s not exactly in good taste), in Nova Scotia the shot is against the law.

Read the whole story here.

Website bonanza

2009-12-04T11:41:00.001-08:00

It seems like I haven’t posted in over a week. Perhaps that’s because I haven’t!

Well, it’s all in good cause – building a Flash website! I know I’ve inundated this blog with routine proclamations concerning the “new” and “improved” JakeDonahue.com. Since buying my domain name earlier this year, I’ve indeed changed it's homepage more often than not.

But, believe it or not, I’ve finally settled down. Seriously. I’m not even joking!

My indecisive mind eventually buckled down, creating a monster of a website in Photoshop before transferring it to Flash. Sound easy, eh? I’ve worked on just the design in Photoshop for over a week, then spent 18 hours over two days mocking up the Flash file; I’ve since doubled the hours in just Flash, this week alone.

What’s more, I’m simply a Flash novice – no fiend here!

That being said, let me know what you think. I’m still learning Action Script and tweens, motions and dynamic images.

Let it also be said that my inspiration for this site design came from the background photo. It’s a panoramic of the downtown Portland skyline, one that I’ve bee looking forward to shooting since moving here. With my buddy John in town, we walked all over downtown before finding such a terrific vantage.

So, click the image below to view my newest attempt in Flash. Mind you, it’s roughly 80% done (still need to perfect the layout under the DESIGN tab, not to mention import material for WRITING).

Let me know what you think!

Fatty Americans

2009-11-29T12:21:00.001-08:00

Here’s an attractive infographic showcasing a very unattractive epidemic. Thanks to Joel for posting this on Facebook.

Click image for larger, easier-to-read version.

Portland at Night

2009-11-25T22:35:00.001-08:00

My buddy John flew into Portland today from Coeur d’Alene. He’s one of my groomsmen, not to mention a great photographer with a nice camera. So, I felt it painstakingly obvious that we should spend the afternoon at the waterfront by a city he’s never seen.

And, it was great.

His photos turned out amazing, especially when leaving the shutter open and using his zoom. There was a nice, very old gentleman by the water who informed us of the trick, one that we spend quite a while experimenting with.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t resist the temptation to churn out another panoramic of the Portland skyline, especially since this was a new vantage along the river I had yet to view.

As always, click to view it larger.

Cars on the Steel Bridge.

Moon over the Steel Bridge.

Subtle Sexuality

2009-11-19T22:32:00.001-08:00

I love The Office. This music video is a spinoff from the show.

New Website

2009-11-19T18:59:00.001-08:00

I’m pleased to announce the new JakeDonahue.com, version 2.1. Stay tuned, as there will undoubtedly be updates, but this is the new home for everything Jake Donahue: Design, Photos, Portfolios, Blog and Resume.

If it’s by Jake Donahue, then JakeDonahue.com will be the starting point. Of course, this new homepage is only the beginning. I actually borrowed a template to get it started in Adobe Dreamweaber, and I plan on learning both HTML and CSS, not to mention PHP and Flash.

Until then, when I am able to announce the new and improved JakeDonahue.com version 3.0, just go with the flow and let me know what you think (to begin with, I don’t like the bars flanking each side of the main page…).

Nevertheless, at least it’s better than nothing!

Napoleon Dynamite

2009-11-17T00:16:00.001-08:00

Holly and I watched that Idahoan movie again yesterday, and I completely forgot how awesome the election dance was. Here it is once more, just because I could watch it every day:

Bindi

2009-11-16T13:45:00.001-08:00

Our cat is obsessed with the window in our spare bedroom. But as soon as I enter the room (normally I yell at her to get off my desk), she bolts for the door in a flash, leaving just the moving blinds and papers flying off the desk.

But today, after many failed attempts, I finally caught her in the act:

My new online photo portfolio

2009-11-15T22:38:00.001-08:00

Lately, I’ve been working on uploading all my favorite photos to one website. After trying Google’s Picasa and Yahoo’s Flickr (I highly recommend Picasa!), I decided those sites were better for simply storing photos online.

But when it came to sharing, I decided to build a Wordpress site, especially since I already own JakeDonahue.com (which is still being constructed). Eventually all my portfolios will be held there: Design, Writing and Photo – not to mention, this blog.

So, with that in mind, I officially launch my photo portfolio:

www.JakeDonahue.com/Photos

It’s ready before the main site because I want to test out Wordpress, as I’m considering building the entire site through this content management system. What’s more, I tentatively considered moving Jakewood to WP as well, but I’m too much in love with Blogger and the layout I have now.

Nevertheless, here is a screenshot of my new photo site.

He’s baaaaaaack

2009-11-12T11:19:00.001-08:00

It wasn’t official until yesterday, but Ken Griffey Jr. is back with the Mariners for one more year (see the ESPN article: Mariners 'tickled pink' with Griffey 1-year deal).

I’m so giddy, it’s gross. But just in case this is his final year in the pros, I plan on buying tickets to the final game of the 2010 season to see his farewell. What’s more, the M’s look better than ever to make a run at the playoffs next season.

Perhaps one more photo sequence like this end his amazing career?

Wedding Photographer? Check!

2009-11-11T20:18:00.000-08:00

My greatest contribution to our upcoming wedding has been choosing our photographer. And this was no easy decision – I toiled through dozens of portfolios – until I found Benjamin.

He’s a phenomenal wedding photographer, a photojournalist and even a celebrity portraiture artist: From Kobe Bryant, Beck and Woody Allen, to Molly Shannon, Selma Blair and Chelsea Handler. Not to mention shooting for National Geographic, Business Week and the Los Angeles Times.

But his wedding photos are even more stunning. I didn’t know the exact traits I wanted in a wedding photographer, but I knew what I didn’t want: fake, cheesey posed shots or cliché traditional close-ups. After the countless websites and portfolio’s I’d seen, I began to give up hope and narrowed down a small list that I would consider settling on.

But then, thank god, there came Ben’s wedding portfolio. (His wedding portfolio is Flash, so no reposts here. But check out the site here.) Here’s a screenshot of his homepage.

What’s more, his personality meshed absolutely perfect with Holly’s and mine. He’s going to dive into our wedding with the same fervor as us, and even said he wished the wedding was sooner (he’s excited already).

Since I can’t copy any of his wedding stuff, I’ll share some of the other photos I found on his Facebook profile’s photo album:

Yeah. That’s Kobe Bryant!

Host of E’s “Chelsea Lately” Chelsea Handler.

And of course, Woody Allen!

Awards

2009-11-04T16:31:00.001-08:00

So the one year I clean up and snag a chunk of awards from the College Media Advisors’ annual design competition, Best of Collegiate Design, they stop publishing the book of winners.

But of course.

After 16 years of printing this damn publication, they stop when I make it. Supposedly, instead of the book they normally give away, all the winners receive a certificate. How cute.

However, they did make a slideshow that showcases all the winners. And that’s OK, because they only reason I ever liked the book was to see what other colleges are doing. I love flipping through and getting ideas and see who’s used some of mine.

Oh well, at least I won this year. And by that, I mean I made it into the book. And by that, I mean I made it five times! With close to 1300 entries from almost 80 colleges and universities, I’m pretty stoked to say the least.

So all is well in the land of Jakewood –- at least for now.

Here are the awards I won and the pages with them. By far the greatest success in my collegiate career concerning all things design is winning first place in the nameplate category. I spent more than a year designing the template for The Sentinel’s current nameplate, so winning that was huge for me.

NAMEPLATE: 1st Place

HEADLINE PRESENTATION: 2nd Place

SPORTS PAGE: 3rd Place

INFO GRAPHIC: 4th Place

PHOTO PAGE SPREAD: 4th Place

University of Texas

2009-11-03T21:53:00.001-08:00

One thing I looked forward to more than most things in Austin was the University of Texas, home of the Longhorns. Their football team is currently ranked second in the country, and I was begging the BCS Gods they might be playing at home last weekend.

Alas, they were at Oklahoma State.

Nevertheless, Nils and I still wanted to see if we might get inside the stadium. So, with Loren, Mike and Paul, we trekked toward the 102,000-seat football cathedral on our last day in town.

Surprisingly, the front doors to the main office at the stadium were open. We went through every door that was open once inside, up every flight of stairs until we realized Nils was gone. Five minutes later, he returned, and motioned for us to follow him.

Apparently he fell into the PR office and weaseled one of the PR guys to give us a tour of the press box. And just like that, we were in.

Here’s the panorama I got from inside the stadium:

As always, click to view it larger.

Bat in the airport

2009-11-03T18:38:00.000-08:00

We had two hours to kill once we got to Austin’s airport before heading home Sunday afternoon. Low and behold, we weren’t away from the bats just yet: There was a winged demon waiting for us inside the terminal. The first time we saw it fly by, I snapped pictures like the paparazzi. Enough so that one of the airport employees asked me to stop, saying “You’re flash is blinding everyone around here.” (It was incredibly hard for me not to simply say, “Then don’t look at it!”)

Needless to say, people were freaked. After all, this bat was swooping around like it owned the damn airport, dodging people left and right by inches from the floor to just above their heads. The next time it came around, I stubbornly obliged with that airport employee’s demands and settled for the picture I already shot – but video doesn’t produce a flash.

When the bats come out at night

2009-11-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

It’s said that 1.5 million bats inhabit the underside of downtown Austin’s Congress Street Bridge. Every night from spring though fall they take off into the sunset as night arrives, and hordes of people gather to watch. Here’s a video clip and picture I took of them all leaving:

Crowds line the bridge both above and below waiting for the bats.

Over a million bats heading down the river.

Stragglers left behind.

Inside the Capital

2009-10-29T21:02:00.001-07:00

The Sentinel News Editor and I moseyed on over to the Capital Building this afternoon to take some photos. Here is a panoramic I made from 11 photos I took on the 4th story inside the dome.

Austin a.m.

2009-10-29T06:39:00.001-07:00

Funny thing happened around 3:30 a.m. this morning: I woke up. I was ready to get up. I was ready to for the continental breakfast in the hotel’s lobby and stoked for this journalism conference in Austin.

But it was 3:30 a.m. So I went back to bed.

Even though yesterday was exhausting (I hate flying anymore), I woke up again at 5:30 a.m. after a combined nine hours of sleep the previous two days, and I was up for good. A shower and a short shave later (I’m keeping the beard until I go back to Oregon), I decided to take some photos of the capitol building down the street.

My buddy told me about a program better than Photoshop when it comes to HDR merging, so I decided to try that – but then my tripod broke. So I tried my best, and only came out with one decent shot. I haven’t downloaded Photomatrix yet, but I plan to later today and play with these photos some more.

Anyway, here’s the one shot:

Gene’s Garage

2009-10-27T10:57:00.001-07:00

My cousin Gene is almost done building his garage in Hayden, Idaho, just next to Coeur d’Alene. Needless to say, it’s huge. Gargantuan – damn near the size of his house! Anyway, we put some boards up on his roof the other day to prepare it for the final roofing this week.

Of course, we had more fun with my camera than his nail-gun. Here’s Gene on the roof (I love the sun):

Funny Picture

2009-10-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ricky, a friend of mine from Coeur d'Alene, recently pointed this photo out to me. It's a group shot that we took in the Denver Airport on our way back from Kansas City lasy fall following the Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Advisor's fall conference. Even though we won a Pacemaker and two Best-in-Show awards for The Sentinel, I was obviously not very happy about this picture.

I think it's funny that you can view this photo on the North Idaho College website (see here), especially since I look so pissed. I don't even remember why I had that scoul, but something must have tipped me off!

Coeur d’Alene-bound

2009-10-21T09:44:00.001-07:00

Today around 6 p.m., I finally depart back north toward the Lake City: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Indeed, my favorite place on earth and longtime hometown, I’ve been waiting in fervor, to say the least.

Now, leaving Holly alone for two full weeks is not exactly something to look forward to; but since her work schedule is insane and Coeur d’Alene is a close second to my fiancée (concerning all loves in my life), I feel it slightly justified – especially since the length of my trip has been dictated by speaking engagements and a trip to Texas.

What’s more, I can work from my laptop the entire trip. So it’s nary vacation time, save for a few days hunting. Nevertheless, if I had to work the entire trip it’s still worth seeing North Idaho in fall.

Hunting (Part 3)

2009-10-19T10:35:00.001-07:00

Now that I only have a few days left until my return to Coeur d’Alene, I’m chomping at the bit just waiting to go hunting. If anything, I look forward to being outdoors more than anything else.

Truth be told, I have no problem just camping, target shooting and drinking a few beers each night, while my cousin Gene is embodied by the notion of killing. Indeed, it’s quite exhilarating stalking a deer or herd of elk, but the hunt is what drives me more than the actual kill.

Needless to say, it’s an empowering adventure either way. And since my move to Oregon, I’ll only get a few days this year as opposed to the countless weekends when residing in Coeur d’Alene.

Thus I plan to seriously take advantage.

That being said, in keeping with our archived hunting article history of years’ past, I now present my final sports column from North Idaho College’s paper, The Sentinel.

BOING: DEATH TO BAMBI
By Jake Donahue | The Sentinel
Originally published Nov. 20, 2006

AH, THE FRAGRANCE of death is permeating throughout North Idaho. It seems the further you get from downtown Coeur d’Alene it feels more and more like the bad side of Detroit.

Gunshots, killings – and that’s just in the mountains past Lake Fernan.

It is deer season, baby, and I’m getting ready to assassinate the kingpin of the forest. Bambi, once my childhood friend, is about to meet his maker (and I’m not talking about Walt Disney).

Oh how I yearn to bathe in the blood of the dead.

Sure, I have shot a grouse, caught a salmon and dropkicked a squirrel, but to bring down a beast as big as myself makes me shudder just imagining the sheer possibilities – the gallons of blood, yards of entrails and unholy smells are worth the 22-year wait.

I got my first deer tag this year, and I’ll be dammed if I chalk up a goose egg.

ON SATURDAY MORNING, I made a decision: I called in sick to work because I was going to hunt. I was unwavering in my mission (though I did watch the first half of the Michigan-Ohio State game), and prepared for the hunt of a lifetime.

Rifle? Check.

Camo jacket and Carhartts? Check.

Lawn chair, pillow to sit on, peanut butter sandwich and deer call? Check, check, check and check.

Indeed, it was to be a glorious day.

I nestled into my lawn chair under my Grandparent’s deck, tossed a few marshmallows into my hot cocoa and leaned back as gunshots echoed throughout the mountain like Independence Day. I’m the first one to admit that some people don’t call what I do “hunting.”

These are the same people who don’t shoot grouse from moving vehicles or hunt by the light of the moon. They also follow the “laws.”

But my hunting guide (my cousin Geno) told me long ago that we write the rule book as we go. So what if we sat in lawn chairs next to the dryer vent at our grandparent’s house? At least we keep warm.

WE SET UP a decoy up on the hill, complete with a two-way radio next to it. We sprayed deer piss liberally across the meadow. Then we sat under the deck.

Most people wait hours, sometimes days before seeing a deer on their hunt. We waited 15 minutes. But as a massive buck approached and we grabbed our guns, an ear-splitting screech pierced the still air – it was the sliding door to the deck.

We like to consider ourselves great hunters – real men of the wild – yet we often times forget we are sitting next to a house; it was time for Grandpa’s cigarette.

Thus, the deer ran for its life.

So between the door sliding open and close every so often, the occasional sound of cars driving by and the ever-present noise from the washer and dryer on the other side of the wall, we simply waited.

This time, unlike numerous other hunting trips under the deck, we had a radio next to the decoy. That enabled us to use a deer call from the house, through the radio, and it sounded like it came from the decoy!

Illegal? Most likely. But that’s the only way to get the big deer.

After watching one tiny buck cower away from our daunting decoy (the rut was approaching, and thus bucks will attack each other for first dibs at the most beautiful babes of the backcountry), we waited a little while longer.

Being the impatient imbecile I’ve been dubbed, I decided to no longer wait. I’m not missing out on a deer this year, so as it got darker I concluded the next deer to walk out was going …

Boom-shakka-lakka!

I dropped that monster of a doe so quick I heard the valley shake when she hit the mud. So what if it didn’t have antlers, it was a big deer and it was now dead – by my own hands

Nevertheless, my cousin was the one who gutted, skinned and hung the bloody carcass from the rafters in our garage. Long story short, I basically just pulled the trigger and then watched Geno slaughter the slain beast.

But already, I cannot wait until next season. I have the urge to ungulate anther, a passion to kill again. There is a dead deer in my grandpa’s garage right now waiting to be cut up, but I’m already contemplating my next kill.

I may not have butchered Bambi, but I murdered his mom.

My mom’s cat hates me

2009-10-16T11:12:00.001-07:00

Remember when my own cat hated me for a week or so? Well, it seems that hatred has been present in my mom’s cat for quite a while. I always thought Zeus was simply temperamental, but alas, he friggin’ hates me.

Seriously, he wants me dead.

Don’t believe me? Check this out (and I was being nice, too):

Something about all this seems vaguely familiar… Oh, maybe because I’m starting to get used to the feline race despising me:

Hunting (Part 2)

2009-10-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

The infamous “Geno,” my cousin.

In keeping with the tradition of the season – hunting season, that is – I’ve decided to pull a few “Boing” articles out of the dusty archives.

So, here is part two of the series (part 1 should be just below this post). Coming up next will be the third sports column I wrote about the adventures of Geno and myself, and don’t be surprised if I throw up a “Best of” post featuring my favorite hunting photos from years past.

Enjoy!

BOING: THEY CALL ME TNT, DYN-O-MITE
By Jake Donahue | The Sentinel
Originally published Nov. 21, 2005

Breaking up the monotony of my newly-dawned 21-year-old life may seem challenging until you realize that my life is far from that.

Amidst the madness that makes up me, lies the most important aspect that I feel I truly represent: Surrounding myself with those who match my maturity level – thus explaining why I love coaching third grade basketball for Coeur d’Alene Park and Rec.

Indeed, this age group is solely playing for the sheer enjoyment of the game. Or, at least, that’s what I tell myself after respective losing scores of 17-3, 16-4 and 20-0. And true, while all is fun, I must gloat about our sole W on the score sheet: a 4-2 romping we barely held on to in the final minutes.

For, to say the least, that’s all I can hold on to. Until my cousin Geno calls me up, of course.

That’s when I set aside my copy of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Coaching Youth Basketball,” which I really do own, and absorb all that Geno has to offer.

(By the way, this is the same dude who got me hooked on North Idaho’s claim to fame: That redneck’s national pastime of the ever-amazing sport known as road hunting. He taught me that few things rival the feeling an exploding grouse leaves you with. Especially when you shot with one hand from a moving truck, while not spilling your beer in the other.)

But today, he just got done watching Rob Zombie’s movie “Devil’s Rejecets,” and enlightened me with some of his self-proclaimed wisdom he boisterously dubs ‘Geneglish.’

“Even though Rob Zombie’s wife kills people in the movie, I think I’d still date her,” he said. “She’s so freaking hot; I guess I’m just a sucker for danger!”

And this is the guy I’m supposed to hunt big game with the next morning. The same guy who asked me to hunt with him that night (illegal) from his truck (illegal) on private property (also illegal).

“Didn’t you know that a full moon is God’s natural spot light?”

May God have mercy on my virgin-hunting soul.

True, I once vowed to kill Bambi, and while I didn’t share Geno’s gut-wrenching, mind-bending, twisted enthusiasm, I was going to get a deer in my first season, that much is certain.

So before leaving the house last Wednesday morning, I grabbed my boots, Carhartts, hand warmers and camo jacket – no safe hunter’s orange for us, apparently that stuff’s for “pansies.”

“Those deer are just frolicking down there and eating their morning grub,” Geno said. “Little do they know, there is gonna be bloodshed in theat peaceful little village.”

Once in the truck, I felt it necessary to call a friend back in Oregon about my upcoming experience, and share with him my love for deer hunting (lackluster at this point, to say the least). After cussing me out for waking him up at 5 a.m., I was belittled once more: “You’re hunting!?” he blasted. “Since when do they sell Carhartts at the Gap, you preppy little mountain-man wannabe.”

Screw him, I had deer on the mind, and deer piss on my clothes. Welcome to Idaho, where the men are men and the deer are scared, where buttering yourself up in deer urine and huddling around other men in the woods is considered bonding – not bondage!

However, one major problem surfaced during our first legal outing: We both re-learned how big of a klutz I am.

“From now on, Jake, I’m going to call you TNT,” he said. “Because when you walk through the woods it sounds like a bomb is going off.”

That meant only thing, we were back in the old Toyota and headed further into the wilderness, where I couldn’t scare the deer away and Gene could stun them with the brights. Why use deer decoys when the front headlights of a pickup will stop any deer in its tracks.

Illegal? I thought so, too.

“If we go down,” he says, “we go down hard.”

Long story short, day one was filled everything but deer. So the next morning after we camped atop a local mountain, we barreled through the snow-encrusted hills with a ferocious fervor – the first legitimately legal outing we had experienced together.

We used a deer decoy, with no luck. We tried deer urine all over the place, with nothing to show but a God-awful-smelling tent, and then we even tried deer calls.

You guessed it, nadda.

“I think I use the deer call too much,” Geno said. “Just like with women, I call so much I scare them away."

Two more days went the exact same. Sure, I heard deer in the brush, but I’m sure they were bouncing around back there making fun of me, saying to other deer how funny I smelled.

I know I wouldn’t go anywhere near a deer covered in human piss.

The experience as a whole turned bittersweet. While hunting, legally, leaves a morally clean slate, I think I may stick to the warmer climates offered by an elementary school gym. Indeed, there is no greater joy than coaching youth sports, but I’ve still got a vengeance for venison.

Bambi is still numero uno on my list, but we’ll see if I tag him.

As we left the camp, I came to the conclusion I may never hunt with Geno again, for the sole reason he mentioned this demented musing after, noticeably, much thought: “I wonder how bad a deer’s butt stinks when it’s in heat.”

Mother of God.

All that is Man

2009-10-15T09:44:00.001-07:00

I’ve got good news and bad news.

The Good News: I’m going back to Coeur d’Alene at the end of this month to fly from Spokane to Austin, Tex., for a design award (thanks to NIC for paying!).

The Bad News: Well, it’s mostly bad for the deer and moose running around Fernan Mountain. My cousin Gene and our buddy Todd will be spending the 3 days following my return from Texas hunting. It will be glorious. Todd has a moose tag, Gene and I both deer, while tree stands are setup already. A few days camping on the top of a mountain in early November, with temperatures (hopefully) in the single digits and snow hammering down, might just possibly be as close to perfection as my young life will experience.

Boom shakka lakka!

Anyway, in the spirit of the season (and because I’m literally counting down the hours until my trip!), I’ve decided to share my four favorite hunting articles – written by me, of course – that I penned whilst editing Sports for The Sentinel.

So, here is the first column I wrote about hunting, while the next three will come in the next few days. From the bowels of Boing (my old sports column), I give you:

BOING: BIRDS, BEER CANS AND BULLETS
By Jake Donahue | The Sentinel
Originally published Sept. 19, 2005

I recently experienced the most North Idahoan tradition that I am sure exists: road hunting. Because of this truly redneck ritual, I have ultimately realized how skewed my interpretation of this sport was – nay, how skewed was my perspective of all sports.

Indeed, I may have once deemed any “sport” boasting the use of animals or wheels (such as rodeo and big game hunting, or NASCAR and BMX racing) was as far away from the wide world of sports as one could reach. If baseball was the sun in our solar system of sports, NASCAR was a black hole in a different universe.

I even proclaimed they were simply reasons for rednecks to congregate and drink themselves into oblivion – much like St. Patrick’s Day for us Irish folk, or college for guys like me.

However, after a close friend of mine took me on this life-altering journey through the woods, with a rifle in one hand, a Natty Light in the other, and his knees on the steering wheel, I now understand why rednecks road hunt: It’s like shooting fish in a barrel!

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve been around hunters my whole life: my dad, my grandpa, my uncles and my cousins. Oh sure, I went camping and fishing and I’ll be the last one to turn down a venison dinner; I even work for Black Sheep Sporting Goods – the leading vendor of all things fishing- and hunting-related in the Northwest.

But let’s face it: I’m a city kid. While my cousin wears camouflage, I shop at the Gap; when they’re up four in the morning before daylight, I wake up in time for the 1 p.m. Seahawks’ game. While I’m at parties chasing tail, they’re in the woods chasing whitetail.

Needless to say, I’m the last one you’d expect with a gun. Yet all it took was $30.50 at the mighty ‘Sheep, and now I’m an official card-carrying resident hunter/fisher.

And that’s all it took for my cousin to throw me in the pickup with a rifle and 12-pack. The walking, talking, human quote-machine of a cousin of mine has been like my big brother; so if he says it’s legal, I simply assume it is.

“Laws? What laws?” he once said. “I write the rule book as I go.”

We embarked on our journey slowly but steady, a stop for gas, a stop for beer, and a quick pep talk before heading up the mountain to slay the bird locals know as “grouse.”

“In town I may be the biggest loser around,” he said, staring off into the wilderness. After a momentary pause, as a devilish grin slowly spread across his face and the twinkle all but vanished from his eyes, he added: “But up here on the mountain, out in the woods, I am God – I decide what lives and what dies.”

He reared his head back, bellowed a satanic chuckle and peeled up the swerving dirt roads.

I have no other worldly experiences to justly compare the following two hours of my life. In short, I flat-out don’t remember the most of it, simply quick images of the sky clouding up for a rainstorm (“If this weather was a pizza,” said Gene, “than it would be extra-saucey!”).

I remember answering a phone call from my girlfriend – to his complete and utter disgust, as women apparently do not belong in the world of hunting, or even on the minds of men in the “hunting zone.” Yet as quickly as he was to denounce my answering of the call, he yielded one more bit of advice from his ever-growing repertoire: “Tell her that she has the body of a supermodel and the brains of an astronaut.”

At one point, I’m pretty sure we were knee-deep in elk feces searching for a fallen grouse carcass.

All in all, we didn’t end up with a single bird in the bag. In fact, the journey in which I speak of lasted only 25 minutes – that’s all it took before we reached the real hunter’s plateau: a monstrous grass field where grouse are aplenty, the deer and the elk roam, and beer cans and shotgun shells can be seen for miles.

It was indeed a true redneck’s paradise; worse yet, I found myself awe-struck when I quietly muttered one solitary word in this land of animal solitude: “Glorious.”

Apparently road-hunting is illegal, some rule about being 200 feet or so from any roadway. Yet what I considered road-hunting was actually legal: riding to the prairie with guns behind the seat.

Consequently, I have now budged from a position that many felt was impossible: I will be the first to admit hunting is a sport. The adrenaline rush you get when ending the life of another living creature is simply unparalleled.

I’ve never scored the winning touchdown in a football game, but I have played co-ed recreational softball. I’ve coached two Little League teams and I’ve sunk a hole-in-one on the third hole of Seattle’s most notorious mini-golf course.

Yet all those pale in comparison to shooting a grouse. Worst yet, I bought a deer tag this year, too. If they’re at all like shooting a grouse, than may God have mercy on the whitetails of North Idaho.

Bambi, prepare to die.

Flash, baby

2009-10-15T09:30:00.001-07:00

After more than four years I finally decided to upgrade. Not a new computer, oh no. I’ll wait until I can afford a Mac. But I finally bumped up the miniscule RAM on my Toshiba to roughly a Gig and half (it was 512 MB before, believe it or not).

Yeah, 512 MB. Do you realize how long it takes to open InDesign CS4 when you’re running less than a gig under the hood? A long freaking time. How about 12 minutes to merge an eight photo panorama in Photoshop CS4. Yeah, life was dandy.

But now, sweet Jesus, I can download FLASH CS4!!That’s what I used back in Florida to make my Poynter project, and I’ve missed it ever since. Oh, how I’ve yearned for the succulent taste of action scripts and tweens, animations and motion paths.

Well, now I get to delve into it once more. Not just for fun, but for work! I’ve built the website template for my company’s book (I signed a confidentiality agreement, so no real news about it until it prints…), and I want to keep the site contained in our office – rather than pay a web programmer.

Thus I’ll be spending the better part of November with my other girlfriend, Lynda.com. There will also be a slew of Q’s I plan to sling at my Poynter fellows pertaining to web design and analytics. But in the meantime, here is what I’ve got for the template so far. Let me know what you think, but remember it will be way better in Flash, when the buttons highlight and boxes appear and the Polaroid pictures flip through.

Panoramic

2009-10-14T10:16:00.001-07:00

Here is the photo I wanted to take the last time I was in Chicago. Phil and I spent over an hour looking for Garret’s famous popcorn, and after three failed attempts we asked for directions. However, the final destination brought us by this spot along the river, and even though it was mid-afternoon, I figured a decent night shot was to be had.

Anyway, I would like to discover a way in which I merged the photos together without bending the tops of buildings. But for now, I’m happy with this (as always, click the photo for a larger view).

Chicago (again)

2009-10-14T09:42:00.001-07:00

Last week I went to Chi-town for the second time in just over a month. This time, however, it was with Holly and her family for their annual foundation meetings. But, seeing as how I’m not exactly in the family yet (sans a June 26 wedding next year…), I spent most of the time checking out the town with my brother-in-law-to-be.

Needless to say, much of the time was devoted to pictures. And we had a blast taking some of them. What’s more, I got my tripod back!

Phil, Leia (Holly’s sister), Holly and I at the hotel.

Leia’s photo from the women’s bathroom of the Hancock Tower. Supposedly the city’s best view.

I’ll throw up another post where we spent a lot of time on photos such as this one.

Phil loved the camera.

Yeah, right. Like I ran the Chicago Marathon…

Phone Pic

2009-10-10T13:02:00.001-07:00

This restaurant is off of Michigan Ave in Chicago… I almost peed I laughed so hard. I love my Asian friends!

Tobasco Pizza Commercial

2009-10-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

I really had to make sure everyone I know sees this commercial by Tobasco, where they encourage you to put their hot sauce on pizza. If it’s not the creepiest thing you’ve ever seen, please let me know what is –- I’d love to know what’s creepier than this:

Cougars All-Access

2009-10-07T22:30:00.001-07:00

When it comes to recording television on my computer, I am completely inept. And thus, for my Fox Sports Northwest acting debut, I just filmed the tv with Holly’s camera. What’s more, since my computer has been so incredibly slow lately, I was forced to piece together the three clips with Windows Movie Maker

Jake on Cougars All-Access from Jake Donahue on Vimeo.

Obama Mask: Linked

2009-10-06T22:00:00.001-07:00

Remember this mask I made during the election last October? We also printed one for McCain on the other side of the page in The Sentinel.

Well, check out this page.

I really can’t complain about someone stealing my photo, as I often times link to other people’s photos. So I’m not even complaining. I just find it very interesting that a year later someone links to it. And they don’t even reference the photo in their blog post, either. It’s just a visual aide to a topic similar to that of the design.

Who let the monkey out?

2009-10-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the lowly Washington State Cougars faced off in Autzen Stadium in Eugene against the Oregon Ducks – and it was a friggin’ bloodbath. Knowing this, I decided to be as big a WSU fan as I could – after all, the Cougs needed all the support they could get.

So, I threw on my cougar shirt, some red shorts and tied a Wazzu blanket on my back as a cape. Not owning a Cougar mask, I did the next best thing: dawn a gorilla mask!

As you can tell from the photo, I wasn’t pretty. But I scared the hell out of Puddles (the Ducks’ mascot). Look at the left eye on his costume. Notice anything funny? I know it’s hard to tell from the photo it’s upside down. Yeah, I can’t prove it, but I like to think I scared him enough it popped off because of me.

But my crowning achievement may have come in front of a camera. The crew from Fox Sports Northwest’s weekly show “Cougars All-Access” taped me yelling, “Don’t go anywhere! Cougars All-Access will be right back!” The show is on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

What’s more, I must have posed in front of at least 20 separate cameras as people kept asking for my picture. Everywhere Ben, Jeff and I walked, we were stared at. Or, maybe, they were looking at my mask.

But I was a celebrity. Even if it was only for one afternoon!

McDonalds Rap

2009-10-05T22:35:00.001-07:00

I just saw this video on YouTube and now I can’t stop thinking about french fries … or a McChicken … or a Coca Cola … mmmmmmm …

Whether ketchup or mustard, it’s still funny!

Portland Panoramic

2009-10-01T21:32:00.001-07:00

Even though I’ve been sick the past two days, I had an urge to go downtown tonight. Since I finally found a perfect spot to snap a photo of Portland’s downtown skyline, I wanted to take another shot.

Here is what I got last time when I found a dock next to OMSI (after a pretty big edit, of course) when my sister and her boyfriend came to visit last week:

Here is tonight’s shot:

Next time I hope to get to this spot earlier and stay longer. Of course, it will help to have a tripod and leave the shutter open longer when it’s dark, as that is the one photo I really want: Portland at night.

The only problem with this time of day is the large groups of people in row boats – apparently crew is quite large on the river. They ruined most of my photos today (not the one above, thankfully), so maybe next time I will try to make them look good in the frame.

We’ll see.

Fifty Word Bio

2009-09-30T12:39:00.001-07:00

Recently I’ve been updating an old story I wrote for The Sentinel that will be reprinted in Idaho Magazine’s November issue. They’re running my photos, as well (see my favorite below).
But the hardest part of the entire thing is penning a 50-word “mini-bio” of myself that they will run on the Contributors Page. I didn’t realize how hard writing about myself could be.
But, after toiling for more than a few hours, I finally finished this little paragraph:

A recent college graduate, Jake Donahue is a journalist in every sense of the word. He’s covered student government scandals and opined the cons of handicapped parking; photographed everything from pelicans to panoramic; but above all else, loves newspaper design immensely. He’s a Little League coach, freelance designer and soon to be married.

And here is one of the photos I used in the original article, hopefully they pick this one, as well:

ACP Best Front Page Nominee

2009-09-30T09:58:00.001-07:00

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this little ditty I discovered earlier this month: I’m a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press’ Design of the Year competition, specifically the Front Page category.
Talk about an honor! Here is the page that won:

So, come Saturday, Oct. 31, at the 88th Annual ACP/CMA convention in Austin, Tex., I find out whether I won 1st through 6th place. The top winner receives Adobe software (I guess I can sell it, as I already have CS4). Needless to say, I’m beyond excited. This page already won 1st place in the Non-Daily Broadsheet Cover category for the Student Society of News Design’s University of Missouri design contest. I do have to mention that one of my favorite photographers made this page possible: Tim Sorenson, who shot the helicopter photo and ASNIC pic.

Here is my competition. They all look pretty damn good, and they’re from way bigger schools with proven track records in design success. Cross your fingers!

University of Illinois: The Daily Illini

Columbia College: The Columbia Chronicle

University of Indiana: Indiana Daily Student

North Carolina University: The Technician

University of Washington: The Daily

Tilt-Shift Photography

2009-09-29T10:05:00.001-07:00

Thanks to inspiredology.com for showing me a new photo-editing trick. Apparently you can you do this with a special camera, but I’ve now discovered the effect is greater if you edit the photo in Photoshop.

Here is insiredology’s description of the technique:

Tilt-shift photography involves using both tilt and shift camera movements to simulate the depth of field of a macro lens, making life-size objects appear as though they’re actually miniature in scale. The effect can be incredibly powerful, instantly turning a sprawling metropolis into a miniature village or toy town. Many people have been tricked by it over the years and you’ll have to inspect the stunning images below carefully to believe that they are, in fact, real.

While some photographers prefer to use expensive cameras and lenses to create their tilt-shift images, others choose to use postproduction techniques instead. By blurring the top and bottom of an image, as well as increasing its contrast and saturation, you can create a tilt-shift miniature fake that looks just as good (if not better) than the real thing.

Click here to view their page showcasing “40 Stunning Tilt-Shift Images of Urbanity.”

Needless to say, I don’t exactly have many personally-shot photos of “sprawling metropolises.” Thus, I borrowed these original photos from Google images and Stock.Xchng. But, after following the editing techniques I learned from this tutorial, voila!

Best Business Cards … EVER

2009-09-29T09:52:00.001-07:00

I had seen this website a long time ago, but finally remembered to revisit it yesterday. I’m not sure how some of these people got them made, but I hope to make a new one worthy of this list.
Here is the list of all the cards posted by the Design Inspiration Lab at Inspiredology.com. However, here are some of my favorites:

This is my card, as it stands now… Definitely not as creative as the ones above. Hopefully that will change soon:

I rushed to get this design printed as fast as I could before I left for the Poynter fellowship in Florida, as they advised bringing personal cards.

A Jakewood Milestone!

2009-09-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Holy hell! I was dinking around in my Google Analytics account today and just noticed something I was wondering about: How many unique visitors have I had to my blog? Conisdering I don't advertise it at all (aside from a few Facebook notifications), the only traffic I get should be from people I inform. Sure, there were a bunch of Google referrals -- albeit the mighty iPhone -- but when it was all said and done, yesterday marked my 1,000th unique visitor!

Mother of God.

While there are blogs who probably generate that much traffic on a weekly (if not daily) basis, I was astounded. That seems like a big number concerning how I semmingly blab about nothing important; in my life, however, everything seems important.

Finally, stay tuned. I am in the process of moving this entire project over to Wordpress. It will become part of my personal website, a massive project I am undertaking involving my graphic design portfolio, writing portfolio, my online photo gallery and of course, my blog. It will be a one-stop-shop pertaining to everything Jake Donahue-related, much like a Costco (except you don't need a membership card at ww.JakeDonahue.com

Anyway, it's a long process, and since I'm working on other sites as I learn HTML and website design, don't expect anything soon. But there will be a big announcement when the move takes place (maybe then I will start advertising. How else could I get people to check my portfolios?)

Lastly, to those who continue reading this often, let me offer a mighty THANK YOU! While this whole thing started as an outlet for me to force myself into writing as much as possible, seeing comments and hearing that people are reading Jakewood make me want to continue as long as possible.

So Thanks, stay tuned, and let's shoot for 2,000!

Beer slushy

2009-09-23T22:38:00.001-07:00

I put a beer in the freezer this afternoon to get it chilled. Two hours later, it was definitely chilled – it poured like a 7-11 slushee. After sitting in the glass a few seconds it grew … and grew … and grew!

More Photo Edits

2009-09-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some more before and after edits of photos I had on my computer. I’m still in disbelief how easy it is to make a boring photo look great …

By request…

2009-09-23T00:13:00.001-07:00

The Original Sausage photo.

Photo Madness

2009-09-22T23:51:00.001-07:00

Well, now I know how people take good photos – Photoshop!
Oh, sure, I’ve always been a fan of the infamous photo-tweaking platform, and I knew photographers used the tool to edit their pictures to a certain extent. However, after some online research and tinkering of my own, I just discovered how make a bad photo look good.
I mean BAD photos look GOOD. Take this before/after for example, it only took five minutes to edit the hell out of:
BEFORE:

AFTER:

I mean, seriously, holy hell! I feel lied to. I feel betrayed. I feel like every time I’ve seen a photo I admired it was a sham! I’ve spent so long trying to capture the exact image as it should be in my viewfinder when all I needed was Photoshop.
Yes, there is always some editing to be had – whether vibrancy, saturation or brightness/contrast. I just never assumed it would be to this extent!
Here are some more before/after pictures I edited tonight. I am in awe of how big a difference some retro tints and vignettes can make.

A Sausage by Any Other Name…

2009-09-21T22:44:00.001-07:00

…would still not look as good as this bad boy! Unless it had onions and sauerkraut, of course.

Blackberry Storm + Photoshop CS4 = Awesome

Spot The Pelican

2009-09-21T16:22:00.001-07:00

Wow, it’s been a whole week since I’ve posted anything. That’s the longest layover in a while.

Anyway, remember that pelican from Florida? The pelican I dedicated my Poynter project to? Well, I finally got the project online at it's very own hosted domain name: www.SpotThePelican.info (.info was only $1 … opposed to $10 for .com).

So, without further ado, just click on the image above to view the Flash website I built. And be sure to click on the VIDEO tab once at the site to view my blood, sweat and tears from Florida (since I finished the video early, I then spent two days learning Flash CS4 to build a site to host it).

Cannon Beach

2009-09-14T12:41:00.001-07:00

I had the privilege of showing the Portland area to a fellow Poynter alum this weekend, and although I still consider myself a tourist in this city, I’m pretty sure yesterday was the perfect cap off to popping someone’s Oregon cherry.
After sleeping in, watching NFL all morning and early afternoon, we bounced over to Cannon Beach to see Haystack Rock and clam chowder at Mo’s.
The sun was far from shining, but since nobody was on the beach I finally was able to get the panoramic of Haystack I’ve wanted to for quite some time. It’s nothing special (if anything, I oversaturated another photo!), but I tried a technique I’ve heard of before: The name avoids me at this time, but I took three series of photos at separate settings and merged them into one photo.
And, voila:

Click on the photo to view it larger