The Creation of Zing Cha and It’s Videos

A few weeks ago a good friend that I had met while attending college in Wyoming visited Jackie and I here in Saint Paul. I can only describe him as a very positive, amazing guy that is fascinated by the world around him. He said something that I will never forget. I am paraphrasing but it went something like this, “There are so many amazing things to see in the world, you should never have to do the same thing twice.” This quote rekindled a flame of adventure and self exploration in Jackie and I that hadn’t burnt out, but had dimmed a bit with the routine of everyday life. We started to think about what really mattered in our life. What do we want our lives to look like? For Jackie it was helping others, exploring mindfulness, going on adventures, and making tea. For me it was being creative every single day, building deeper relationships, and exploring the world. So begins a new adventure. Read more

Autumn at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, Minnesota

Cars were lining the highway extending from the wayside parking lot out onto the shoulders as we approached Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. What the hell is going on? As we pulled our 1995 Conversion Van into the Park Jackie and I gave each other a concerned glance after reading “Campground Full” on the entrance sign. The scenario was this. It is October, the weather is amazing and the fall leaves are at peak color. Read more

Burning Pixels with Dan – Light Painting a Diecast Car with a CD

I was in my basement shooting my little diecast Pagani supercar, and I remembered a technique I had seen somewhere using a CD to light paint with. I wish I could give attribution to the artist, but I have no idea where I saw the technique, although it might have come from Eric Paré when he used multicolored reflective paper to create a light painting with Mike Campau. The result was an abstract form of light made up of wild vibrant colors. Anyways my idea was to light paint the car like I usually do, and then wave a CD around the image as I shined a flashlight on the CD to see what kind of look I would get. It was a messy process, but that’s the way I like to shoot. Here is how I went about it on this day. Read more