How Intepid Is Your Eye?

Intrepid

One of my favorite words: Once once used to refer to me while taking some photos for a local publication. I have been trying to work it into sentences ever since then.

in·trep·id

inˈtrepəd/

adjective

adjective: intrepid

fearless; adventurous (often used for rhetorical or humorous effect).

"our intrepid reporter"

synonyms:

fearless, unafraid, undaunted, unflinching, unshrinking, bold, daring, gallant, audacious, adventurous, heroic, dynamic, spirited, indomitable

Now I like to use it as a name for a style (?) of some digital photographs that I do not often roll out for anybody to see. I have a great time making these pieces and really hope to see them hang in a few more places this year. Time to send out some emails and get these babies hung up on a wall near you!!

Wanna see a little more?
https://sites.google.com/site/jrprosite/home/jr-pro-photo/intrepideye-art

Open Mic at Avogadro's Number

It was a very lucky thing that happened to me when I walked into Avogadros's Number in Ft Collins thst day in October 2012.

I was there to see if they're acoustic open mic would allow me to perform some comedy, tell some of my jokes, crack wise while on stage, you get it. They welcomed me in and allowed me up to 20 minutes to tell my jokes. In open mic comedy, you are very lucky to get any more stage time than 5 mins. This was awesome!

The situation was far from typical for many reasons. Chiefly among the differences was the fact that there did not happen to be anyone there to announce the performers names or to engage the crowd in anyway. I was used to there being an MC who would stand up on stage and at the very least make introductions. A few of the performers would say their name but if you have ever seen a musician talk into a microphone you may have noticed that they are a soft spoken bunch.

I take the stage and introduce myself, the comedy portion of the night has begun. My set goes well in front of about 15 people. I have plans to come back but  maybe not really soon. That no MC thing kinda threw me off.

Just by pure chance I am back at Avo's taking some photos at a show when I see the owner. He recognizes me and asks me how I liked performing at the open mic and if I planned to come back. I just casually mentioned the fact that it was weird to not be introduced by anyone. His reaction? He just looked at me and said, "You're Hired!" I was certainly not trying to get a job MCing an acoustic open mic, but that's what happened.

It's been more than two years and that mic has become the center of my Tuesday, It affords me great opportunities to see who is coming up in the music scene and who I might want to bring in on the radio to play live, develop new jokes and develop as an MC type guy. They feed me and pay me too. Not bad at all.

It has also meant some great times and plenty of chances to shoot and edit video. Starting in 2015 I have been shooting and editing short recap videos from each Tuesday night mic.

YouTube Channel

All a part of the plan to try to always be learning and growing. Hopefully growing into a healthy and vibrant video production business in the future.

www.JRProMedia.com
www.NorthernColoradoDJ.com
www.UpJasbo.com
www.JR-Pro.com
www.TheOddHours.com

Old Umpire Habits Have Sprung!

Some old habits die hard while others are all too easily abandoned only to be picked up years later. Not all habits are bad, some, if started early enough can even help shape who you will eventually become.

Last weekend I found myself picking back up an old habit from my younger days. 

My old habit allows me to be outside, it allows me to really let loose with some guttural sounds no other activity has ever asked me to do. It puts me in the center of attention at times while other times totally imperceptible to anyone watching. Last but not least it allows me to cultivate a wicked farmers tan.

Umpiring is said to be the only job where you are expected to be perfect on your first day and then get even better. It’s a strange activity, in fact it is a job where you can make some pretty good money if you have the guts to stand behind a 12 year old catcher with anxiety issues while imagining an invisible box in the air and yelling really loud if the ball travels through any part of it.

I remember feeling a great deal of anxiety when I stepped on to a field at 18 years old wearing my uniform and about 4 or 5 hours of book and field training on my short sleeves.  I thought I knew the game, I thought I knew the rules, I was about to crawl inside the game and get a look very few fans. players or coaches get. I was an umpire and I had to stay on my toes. I learned how to not take things too personally as parents and coaches yelled, complained and insulted me. As time went on I developed a flow and I felt comfortable and confident on the field. Most of the criticism had stopped after two or three seasons.  I had become a seasoned umpire during my 5 total seasons and I had worked my way up to working older and more competitive leagues. Then, one summer, I decided to concentrate on balloon entertainment/twisting (www.UpJasbo.com and never got back onto the field for 15 years, until a week ago.

This was a Spring tournament  which meant the kids know the game, they don’t make a ton of mistakes, they can pitch, catch, throw and hit. My job was relatively easy, see it, call it, easy. Things went really well all things considered. I umpired 7 games over two days and was very sore and a little sunburned. 

It felt great to be back on the field and I was quite happy that after 15 years the next generation of umpire hecklers had some new jeers for me to enjoy. Instead of my old favorite of my umpire license’s origin and validity being questioned or being accused point blank of being seeing impaired. I was informed that I was “missing a great game” a slight difference. Might not be original or even all that new, but I kind of liked it. It was more about what wasn’t being said. Implied insults. Sarcasm.  Baseball was finally speaking my language! I knew I was going to have a great time after that.

I did get a few compliments from parents, coaches and players. Mostly just thanking me or telling me I had a great game. My favorite compliment was as we were getting ready to start an inning the catcher who had curly, wavy locks of hair very casually mentioning how he liked MY hair. High praise indeed!

www.jr-pro.com
www.NorthernColoradoDJ.com
www.JRProMedia.com
www.UpJasbo.com

Colorado Video Production In-The-Works!

There never seems to be a dull moment in my life which is always sending me looking for something new and something I can hopefully one day make some money doing.

I have been slowly ramping up another side business which honestly I hope will be a great money maker for me in the future. I have been contemplating how long I might be able to continue to DJ weddings and other events. I will be 40 later this year which makes me think I might have another 10 or 15 years before people will be going to younger less expensive DJ's.

Going back to the mid 90's I have had the urge to make and edit video. I had to camcorder and I was shooting a lot of footage but two VCRs were just not a good way to edit anything cleanly, I soon gave up the idea back then.

The last few years have found me doing more and more videos to promote my own wedding DJ business. As of last year I started recording ceremonies and trying my best to put them together as something clients might one day want to pay for. All along adding a few more cameras to provide more angles and then finally this past fall, adding a computer which could handle multi-cam HD edits.

I have shot and edited two short films and many recap videos of a music open mic I host every week. This summer I hope to have about 35 weddings booked with most of them including ceremony services which I have every intention of recording, editing and providing at little or no charge.

Next year will be the breakout for the video business with an emphasis on wedding and business film production. It will be an adventure to get the ball rolling and amass those demo videos as I continue to learn and grow as a video producer.

www.JRProMedia.com