Tag / Nuwomb

Building a Photoblog with WooThemes

[pinterest count="horizontal" float="left"] Last week a post of mine was published on the WooThemes Blog. By discussing the building of a photoblog with WooThemes, I wanted to explain that you can build your own dream WordPress theme via multiple different WooThemes themes. I titled the post “Fork Your Own Dream WooTheme” as forking means to steal (use) existing code. Oddly enough it seems to have fallen in great timing with the Steal like an Artist book and the Remix videos. Essentially I was stealing code from other themes built by WooThemes. Not really “stealing” though because I always had a developer subscription (meaning I had access to all themes). I could learn how to add a feature from one WordPress theme to the theme I wanted to use overall. Even though the theme I wanted to use didn’t have a portfolio or photoblog feature, I could still add it in easily by inserting the code and styling from other themes.

Building my photoblog on Nuwomb.com is still a work in progress but it’s pretty close to done now.

You can learn more about this process by reading the blog post and seeing the screen captures.

As well, check out the Nuwomb Photoblog of mine to see it in action.

Exploring a New Logo

There’s never really been a logo for nuwomb – http://www.nuwomb.com – as it’s been a short hit of ideas that never stick. I’ve really been trying to think of what it could be and I keep becoming drawn to a more abstract camera. But, the thing is a camera seems like it might be too much – too much detail overall. However, when I think of the lens of a camera or the shutter of a camera, I think of stylizing that with the idea of a fetus in the womb too.

I think the lens of this camera could be the actual logo. With this logo, I could apply it to lots of camera graphics and anything.

The idea behind the logo is totally aligned with my initial ideas for Nuwomb as well – it’s about refinding or rediscovering what makes you feel alive: photography. It’s like seeing yourself within photography or which a new lens on life. I quit my corporate, stressful, negative job to being a new life on a path with photography and entrepreneurship.

The only thing about the logo is that I admit to sucking at making it pixel perfect. The in getting the abstract/stylized fetus within the lens (womb), I chop away at it. I tried to make it in Illustrator but I still struggle with the pen tool and everything else.

The other part of this is I am lost on a font. Used in the graphic is League Gothic but I’m not convinced.

I’m shooting it off again to a rockstar to have a look.

Feel free to leave thoughts too :)

About My Seattle Trip

I’ve just started posting about my trip to Seattle for the iPhone Photography Workshop with Jack Hollingsworth at CreativeLive. I opt to post about it on Nuwomb.com because it was much more related to my journey with photography and the democratization of photography instead of vacation.

I do want to have this site as a more personal place.

If you’re interested in reading about the experience and what I learned, head over! I’m writing about it in a number of parts because it would be way too long. It’s probably too long anyways…

Seattle was brilliant and I’m happy the worst weather I experienced was rain (they’re getting SNOW right now).

I’ll leave you with one of the Instagram shots from the Instawalk in Pikes Place Market in hopes of enticing you to go read and share :)

If I Started a Vision Board: Steady Growth

If I started a Vision Board, this analytics graphic would be an image that would be stuck to it. This image shows really great, awesome, steady growth of a website. You can’t see the actual metric numbers but I have a feeling they are quite impressive.

I caught Darren Rowse aka Problogger mentioning that Digital Photography School aka DPS had it’s biggest traffic month ( this month, you know, November 2011 ). I can only imagine those numbers and he said he has to pinch himself some days.

I’ve mentioned a number of times that I don’t want to create a replica of DPS with Nuwomb. It’s not the point to teach photographers or as I like to say, Democratized Photographers, how to do everything related to photography. There is a different story to be built for Nuwomb, but the growth chart from Google Analytics is where I see the sight in due time.

Darren has a pretty impressive piece of work there at DPS.

Print Products and Nuwomb

I’ve tried to sell prints in a number of ways with little success. Actually the success is pretty minimal but that’s okay and it’s never stopped me from shooting more photography. At the same time, I would like to make it simple to grab a print of mine if someone is interested. In my eyes, sometimes they just need to know they are available.

At the same time, I’ve always had a mindset that I don’t want to laundry list my prints. If someone is interested in a specific photo that’s not listed for purchasing prints, they will always contact the photographer anyways; however, the prints I display in a store setting means that these are my favorites. These are some of my works that I really love.

I’m working on an integration of creative life transformation on nuwomb.com that has a focus on photography. I intend to have some print products and who knows what in the future. Im still planning it all out. The closest thing I can compare the vision to is photojojo / digital photography school / art of non conformity. It’s a blend of so many things over the past few years. Think creative epicentre for life re-alignment with a purpose. What surrounds a life in that place?

Anyways, the image I shared here is from me snapping a shot for one of the print products that will eventually be up in a store.

Mashing WordPress Themes Locally

I’ve been working on a mashup of the Canvas Theme and the Argentum Theme (both from WooThemes). A bunch of the front end looks are pulled and tweaked from Argentum but it still retains the Canvas Framework. Mashing a couple of WordPress themes is a really cool learning experience as I’ve had to look at code at the line by line level. I’m amazed what I can uncover in a short period of time and I’m blown away by the amount I am pulled towards this kind of creative work.

As I work on mashing a couple of awesome WordPress themes, it’s actually one of the first times I’ve not done any of this with a live site. I normally load the site, make it live, and then tweak. This time I’ve been working locally and I have had to fight the urge to just put it up into the web. Right now, I feel as if almost everything has been addressed [comment styling needs change] but I’m still holding off because I want to tweak some of the copy. I’ve been refocusing the overarching vision for the site and what I see as the bigger picture. The focus on Nuwomb.com will still be photography right now, but the movement is much greater. I see photography as a great stepping stone for greater and greater access to creativity.

As much as I’ve held off, I am pretty sure I’ll load it up tomorrow. The photoblog will be back, but with a casual posting frequency. And a shop will be in place for prints and other ideas. I really want to take it further and I’m just digging some ditches right now.

Happy Thanksgiving!