Dogs For Breakfast - Our Reel Life - Web Series Chapter 24
DOGS FOR BREAKFAST
An unscripted web show, starring Charles and Jennifer Maring, that takes you behind the scenes of their creative journey as a married couple who make their living as artists.
Summer is finally here, and this is prime time for us in regards to our workload. Although we are juggling a lot we are really enjoying the creative process, and we are slowly starting to see our daily efforts come to fruition. Creating art, and spreading the word about it's existence, is a slow steady process that takes a lot of persistence. We work full time on our dream, which makes it complicated as budgets and bills get in the way.
PERSONAL GROWTH
If we can't be silly, then what's the point of it all?
We started Our Reel Life for two reasons. First and foremost, it was a way to capture our own journey from a private and personal perspective. Secondly, we wanted to grow even more confident with the creation of content and video, and get to a place that we would never question our decisions when we are working for others on assignment. Creating this little web series is paying off as it gives us the ability to test audio, and video, captured a wide variety of ways and learn not only the "best case scenario", but also what you can get away with if you are in a pinch. That's incredibly important because history doesn't unfold in the order that we wish it to, and sometimes you just have to start filming regardless of the camera in your hands or the audio source at your fingertips to capture a defining moment. If you want to improve as an artist, and get to a point of creating excellence, you have to produce a massive amount of content. We are experiencing the benefits of that effort, and it feels good.
TECHNOLOGY
Charles taking portraits on the Lumix GX8
You'll see in this episode we are testing out some new cameras from Lumix, which has currently become our preferred systems after working with every camera brand out there. They just seem to understand where the industry is going at the moment better than anyone else. Rentals are one thing, and perfect for niche assignments that have unending budgets. However, when it comes to purchasing gear we look for systems that will give us a quality ROI, and that meet the needs of 90% of our work. As some brands continue to grow cameras larger, Lumix seems to focused on making the technology more user friendly. Our spines appreciate that as we like to carry a lot of gear and often work alone. I have been testing out the Lumix GX-85 and there are a few posts on the blog surrounding it. The more I use it, the more I love this camera. While it may not be the end all be all camera, it has earned a place in our personal and professional lives. The quality of footage it produces is simply stunning, and on par with more sophisticated systems that have more bells and whistles. If this is any indication to what their next flagship system will have in it we will see something revolutionary.
MARING VISUALS
In Connecticut Senior Portraits have become somewhat of a right of passage for students, and we go all out to make their experience the best it can be. We've spent a small fortune creating the ultimate experience for our clients, and we take a great deal of pride in every aspect of our portrait business. The days are long, and filled with a lot of details that keep us on track. Mornings start with watering all the flowers we purchased to keep them fresh and usable as long as possible. We save our shoot time for the afternoons as that is when the lighting is best.
Believe it or not, this is a business meeting LOL. Our conversations revolve around our work day, but at least we can plan meetings under the beautiful sky.
When we moved into our home there were very few trees, and almost no landscaping. One by one we have planted over 100 trees or shrubs to create an exquisite environment for our clients to enjoy and make them most of. I would say that we enjoy it as well, but the truth is that we spend most of our free time just keeping it going, and looking beautiful. My days often start at 5am and end at 10pm, but the creative process and personal growth are what keep us motivated to work this hard.
However, the sunsets here are simply stunning, and we have managed to relax for a couple of evenings by the pool together. Relaxation for us is more like a business meeting as all we do is talk about our work, but at least we can have our meeting under the beautiful sky.
CHARLEE FASHIONS
We have launched some new collections recently on the fashion front. Collection NOIR, and The Peony Collection (which will be only available in the summer of 2016) as it is limited edition. We also have some other designs and themes coming to life as I write this for late summer. We consider our first collection a success. We had a great response from those that know us as artists, and we appreciate everyone helping to spread the word. Thank you for the likes and shares in our social channels. As simple as those things are, they help us tremendously, as spreading the word about a new product is a very slow process now that social media requires an advertising budget to get post seen. Also thanks to all who wrote so many great reviews! We are so happy about our product quality, and even more thrilled that you are as well.
AT HOME
Two of our besties, both English Mastiffs, and they must be fed.
The garden is looking amazing, and we are starting to reap the rewards with fresh vegetables. We are in hopes we will find some time to share some recipes straight from our garden as we are working towards a great harvest. Other than that it's just maintaining the property, keeping the pool clean, and feeding the hounds. Somehow they have better breakfasts than us...
That's what you see in this episode. Two artists balancing work, and life and trying our best to grow personally and publicly. Thanks for allowing us to share Our Reel Life with you..
CONTACT CHARLES & JENNIFER ABOUT
CREATIVELY FILMING YOUR LIFE ADVENTURES
