printvintage

At printvintage, we believe that you should do something special with some of your photos. Not all of them, just the ones that rock, the ones that tell a story or remind you of a great moment in time.

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Get snap happy in the fight against cancer

In 2010, James Saldanha was on a traveling adventure of a lifetime – the last thing he expected was a cancer diagnosis.

A fall in New York quickly turned into James’ worst nightmare, when a case of broken ribs became Multiple Myeloma, an extremely rare blood cancer – he was given one month to live.

After being medevaced back to Australia, undergoing months of gruelling chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, James has since defied the odds.

Back to the privileged position of being fit and healthy again, James is determined to do everything he can to give hope for a cancer free future.

With the help of his business partner Luke Brown and their Brisbane-based company Printvintage, James will be fighting back against a disease that takes too much, by encouraging people to raise their cups and say ‘cheese’ for Cancer Council’s Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea.

The official date of Cancer Council’s Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea is May 22, but Queenslanders are invited to pop the kettle on anytime throughout May or June.

“When you get a second chance at life you should treasure it and make the most of everyday – being part of Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea is my way fighting back against cancer, and giving others the opportunity to make a difference too,” he said.

Through the Printvintage App, launched earlier this year, people can order a limited edition Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea branded print, with all profits going towards Cancer Council Queensland’s vital work in cancer research, education and patient support.

“To get involved all you need to do is take a photo of you and your loved ones or work colleagues and order a print direct from the Printvintage App,” James said.

To get snap happy in the fight against cancer you can scan a QR code at any Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea event across the state, access the offer from the ‘Sellout Menu’ in the App (which is available for download via Google Play and the App Store) or, order an Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea voucher by visiting www.printvintage.com.

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea Printvintage prints are $5, with a standard $1.95 delivery fee for anywhere in Australia. Express delivery is also available.

Cancer Council Queensland spokesperson Katie Clift said every cup consumed and every print ordered for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea counts in the fight against cancer.

“Cancer Council Queensland is able to make a real difference in the lives of Queenslanders affected by cancer thanks to the wonderful support of people like James and their communities,” she said

“Joining Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea is an easy, fun and delicious way that we can work together for a cancer free future.”

This year, more than 6700 morning tea hosts from around Queensland will gather in living rooms, community centres, schools and workplaces to celebrate Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea and raise more than $2.5 million for cancer research, education programs and patient support services.

Visit www.biggestmorningtea.com.au or call the Fundraising Hotline on 1300 65 65 85 for more information.

Cancer Council Queensland is an independent, community-based charity, the achievements of which are made possible by the generosity of Queenslanders.

For more information about Cancer Council Queensland visit www.cancerqld.org.au or call the Cancer Council Helpline 13 11 20.

Get snap happy in the fight against cancer was originally published on Printvintage

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Photos help us forget

Why do we print photos? In fact, maybe the bigger question is why do we take photos? Why is there a need to stop what we are doing, pull out a camera/phone and capture that moment forever? I’m sure that a philosopher or psychologist has already answered this in great detail, but for me it is…. to remember.

That’s right, I take photos to remember. To remember the view, remember special moments, remember my family and friends, which in turn reminds me of who I am and what my life is all about.

For me, printing some of these important memories and moments and displaying them around my house and office allows me to relive those great memories every day, not just when I log onto Facebook and search back to 2010 to try and find the time when all my mates and I had a Hawaiian themed beach party on Hamilton Island. No, I have that photo on the wall in my office and every time I see it, it makes me laugh.

I’m not saying that I print hundreds of photos and I don’t believe in printing “to preserve my precious memories.” No, I print so I can relive my precious memories and the stories attached to them every day.

About two weeks ago we lost our beautiful dog Sandy very suddenly and totally unexpectedly. I guess you could say that Sandy was part of the printvintage team, but more importantly she was part of my family and we loved her very much.

Sandy and Maggie having a cuddle

Her suddenly death totally floored us and was very hard for my small children (2 & 4) to understand. After we buried her, which brought us all to tears, my 4 year old son told me that he was scared that he’d only remember what Sandy looked like in the hole and he’d forget what she was like when she was alive. Having our little man tell us this broke our hearts and I must admit it brings a tear to my eye now just writing about it. I guess it’s because I was thinking the same thing too. I wanted us all to remember Sandy for the dog she was, like how she curled up at the corner of my desk while I worked, how she’d bite my feet as I ran around the backyard with the kids, and how she’d sneak under the table at dinner so the kids could sneak her food.

Photos don’t only capture the moment, but they allow the people and in this case a dog to live on after they’re gone. For my family and I, the funny photos we’d printed of Sandy and stuck on the fridge really helped us deal with her passing, as they helped us to relive the happy moments we’d spent with her, the fun we’d had together and how full of life she really was. I’m sure that over time we’ll all forget that image of Sandy’s body in the hole and through our photos, remember her as a fun loving bulldog who was a important part of our family.

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Photos help us forget was originally published on Printvintage

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Cambodia and its ancient past

Here at Printvintage we love to travel and explore, so from time to time we will post some commentary and photos from places we’ve visited that are often off the beaten track and worth checking out.

Faces of Bayon

Earlier this month James visited Cambodia and the provence of Siem Reap, which is where the remains of the Khmer empire resides. Now a UNESCO world heritage site, about 3 million visitors each year come to see the various historical monuments in the region, which were constructed by a succession of kings between 7th to the 13th centuries. 

Ta Prohm temple – used for the filming of the movie Tomb Raider

Several countries including, Japan, China, Germany, France, and India have taken on the funding, restoration and conservation projects on many of the archaeological monuments, which is wonderful to see. Depending on the king at the time the temples reflect both hindu and buddhist religions with intricate carvings in the stone and delicate paintings still evident today. The detailed structures from wood, along with the gold and jewels used to decorate the temples at the time are now long gone as are many of the statue buddha heads (stolen and sold on the black market), but you get a sense of awe when contemplating the beautiful Khmer architecture and construction at the time.

Detailed stone carving @ Bayon telling the story of an epic battle

James’s guide named Sopheap ([email protected]) provided the in depth knowledge allowed one to appreciate the rich history and culture of the Khmer empire . It is very important to secure a knowledgeable guide when visiting Siem Reap so that you get the most out of the experience. James spent 5 days exploring the region and over this time Sopheap shared everything he new about the rich Khmer history, the religious mythological stories behind the intricate hindu and buddhist carvings. He also gave a sobering account of modern history of Cambodia and impact that the Polpot communist regime had on the country and its people. If you’ve seen the movie the Killing Fields, then you’ll get a sense of what transpired.

Angkor wat

There are conservative estimates that between April 1975 and 1979 when the regime was overthrown, about 20% of Cambodians (1.5 million people) died from overwork, starvation, disease and execution. It has only been since 1998 when Polpot died and the Khmer Rouge movement fell apart that the country has been at peace. During the time of the Khmer Rouge about 10 million land mines were laid and although they are being removed, it is estimated that 5 million still remain today causing deaths and casualties each year, mainly amongst children and inquisitive male teenagers.

  James @ Ta Prohm, the temple in the jungle where Tomb Raider was filmed

Sopheap took James to see the great ancient capital Angkor Thom, the celestial palace Baphuon, and the enigmatic Bayon, which was the royal palace at the time. It was interesting to see broken shards of pottery under foot from the period showing how raw and archaeologically unexplored these sites still are.

Bayon temple

The most famous temple that everyone comes to see is Angkor Wat, which is surrounded by a huge man made moat several kilometres in circumference. It is still in fairly good condition compared to most of the other temples and was constructed during the 12th century. Sopheap was able to take James into this impressive temple before sunrise so that he could experience the tranquility before it was descended on by thousands of people waiting outside for it to open. James was privileged to sit and meditate right in the centre of Angkor Wat and relish the peace, quiet and beauty of Angkor Wat, a memorable experience indeed.

  Buddha at Angkor Wat

If you are interested in visiting Siem Reap and exploring some of the many ancient temples, here are some others worth visiting: – Ta Prohm temple, made famous by the Tomb Raider movie, sunrise from Phnom Bakeng (only a few people make the hike up to this temple in the morning, however sunset is a mad house), Citidel of the women, and the temples east of Angkor including some of the earliest temples from the period forming the Rolous group.

Learning to cook

Artisans Angkor

You also must experience some of the local culture and Khmer food when visiting Cambodia. James took a local cooking class as he loved the freshness of the food and became addicted to the delicious rice noodle soup served for breakfast. The Phare Cambodian Circus is a must see, performed by some brave and extremely talented youth that comment on social issues in an artistic and very creative way (www.pharecambodiancircus.org). Also there are several non profit organisations helping the talented local people continue their traditions of art and craft or sculpture, painting, silk work and more. Angkor Artisans is one such place worth visiting to get a feel for the Cambodian creativity. 

Phare Cambodian Circus

The best time to visit Cambodia is between November and March during the dry season. James strongly recommends sourcing a good guide to get the most out of the visit. You may wish to tack it on to a trip to Vietnam or Thailand, but if you are in the region, then take 3-5 days to explore this historical place and immerse yourself in the beautiful culture of the Cambodian people, you won’t be disappointed.

  Bakong Temple at Sunset

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Cambodia and its ancient past was originally published on Printvintage

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I do it Standing Up

I like to sit down as much as the next person does, but it just can’t be good for you to sit in the one place huddled over a computer 8 hours a day working, plus all the time you spend on your ass watching TV, facebooking, tweeting and watching cat videos on YouTube.

Surely as animals we are designed to move constantly, to chase wildebeests, to spear fish and run away from saber tooth tigers, but the modern life just doesn’t allow us to do that. Insert obesity epidemic.

Now I just want to state this up front: I’m not a fitness freak, I’ve never done yoga or had a colonic irrigation, I’m just a normal guy who spends a lot of time chained to a computer trying to make things look pretty for my clients. It was quite normal for me as I’m sure it is for you to spend 8-12 hrs a day sitting on my bum working on my computer. I’ve been working this way for at least 10 years and I was constantly getting a sore neck, lower back pain and a fat ass. So I decided that something had to change.

I had heard about the whole ‘standing desk thing’ somewhere, but I could only think of 1 person that I knew that did it, Donald Rumsfeld. To be honest this almost put me off the whole thing straight way, maybe standing up all day doesn’t allow enough blood to get to your brain and means you make bad decisions, God knows Donald has made a few.

I decided to treat it as a known unknown and give it a go anyway. I got some besser blocks and pavers from my shed and boosted my desk up about 30cm so it was at the right height and got to work. How did it go? After the first day, my legs hurt, my ass was tight and I felt like I’d spent a day on my feet working in retail.

I’m sure that some people would have returned the besser blocks to the shed and blamed Donald Rumsfeld for their pain, but I decided to stick with it. As time past I found it easier and easier to get through a day on my feet at work, the pain went away and I started to feel fitter, faster  and healthier, especially my metabolism which seemed to speed up big time.  I’ve also found that when I do have to spend all day on my feet, like if I’m doing some location filming, I have much more endurance.  I’m not saying that a standing desk is a miracle weight loss cure, but it can’t hurt to be standing up supporting your own weight rather than sitting down all day. I also found that it allowed me to move around a lot more and I even put some dumb bells under my desk so I could do some reps while a video was rendering.

But I guess the key question is, am I more productive or does it just mean that I work less and dance around the office more? I think I’m more productive, I focus on my work when I’m doing it and will often reward myself with a sit down after completing tasks. And will I keep doing it? Yes. Although, like everything, I think it’s best to mix it up. I tend to do 80% standing 15% sitting and 5% getting Lattes…

I’ve done a bit of research and from a medical point of view the jury is still out on the over all benefits, talk to any doctor or physo and they’ll tell you that you shouldn’t be sitting down 8 hours a day, but a study in Denmark found that the incidence varicose veins was higher among those who stand or walk at least 75 percent of their time at work ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1740939/ )

So come on get off your ass and give it a go, if anything your ass will thank you for it #standingdesk = #tightbuns

I do it Standing Up was originally published on Printvintage

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DIY mobile video production

Want to promote their ideas, products, services events and brands online with video? Then grab your mobile phone or tablet.

Luke has worked in video and multimedia production for over 10 years and during this time he’s seen a lot of change, but Luke argues that mobiles and tablets are going to change video production more than anything that has come before. This is because mobiles and tablets allow you to shoot, edit and publish on the same device and the video quality is a lot better than you might think and it’s only going to get better.

In this video Luke will teach you not only how to film with you mobile device, but how to get good quality sound and create something that engages your audience.

Luke’s mobile video production tips:

Story is the most important thing, your video needs to tell a story, it needs to be interesting otherwise no one will watch it.

Good quality sound is more important than good quality video. I can put up with shaky camera work but if I have to strain to hear what is being said I turn off. The number 1 rule of sound recording is to get the microphone as close to the talents mouth as possible. The microphones on mobiles and tablets are really quite poor so when recording interviews you need to use a wired lapel mic. I’d recommend this one which you can buy from Amazon for about $20 http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR-3350-Omnidirectional-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B002HJ9PTO  and you’ll also need the adaptor http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/km-iphone-mic.htm for $25. Or even better buy it in Australia http://www.videoguys.com.au/Shop/p/30214/vidpro-xm-l-lavalier-condensor-microphone-for-cameras-and-smartphones-vpxm-l.html

Shaky camera video always looks unprofessional so when possible always use support, this could be a tripod, it could be sitting your device on a desk or even leaning up against a tree while your filming.

Use photos in your video to help tell your story and if you can’t take them yourself you can buy images from websites like www.istockphoto.com

DIY mobile video production was originally published on Printvintage

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design your own converse

On a recent trip to USA, James popped his head into Converse’s San Francisco Market St flagship store to see what an iconic vintage brand is doing to stay fresh and hip these days. And from what he saw, they are doing a lot to impress their loyal customers.

Firstly, this is their biggest shoe store ever and with its cool urban look and a local DJ spinning the latest tracks sneakers and apparel are beautifully displayed over two floors. Besides the abundance of different styles of sneakers, what caught James eye was ‘The Create Lab’ where you can design your very own wholly original Converse sneaker, bag, or apparel on a touchscreen kiosk and it gets made right there in front of your eyes. At the front of the counter were kiosks where you could basically customise every element of say a Chuck Taylor for about $75 USD.

They also have a “Design your own” function on their US website (www.converse.com) which unfortunately doesn’t exist on the Australian Converse site, and for Aussies and other overseas customers they only ship within the US. There are of course ways around this like setting up a myus.com account or something similar that allows you to buy from US online sites and ship internationally.

Here is what James came up with after about 20 minutes of designing his sneaker pattern. He was able to customise the the outside body, inside lining, tongue, heel strip, rubber sidewall, toe bumper, racing stripe, eyelets, as well as the colour of the laces and the stitching too. Even if you don’t need a new pair of Chuck Taylor’s, check out the design your own tool on the US Converse site to get a feel for how cool it is to customise your own shoes, but beware, you could spend a good chunk of time being creative and designing that shoe you always wanted and so be very tempted to purchase it.

design your own converse was originally published on Printvintage

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Printvintage, photography, vintage culture and more…

Welcome to our inaugural post. Printvintage is a photography blog created by Luke Brown and James Saldanha. You will find this blog is influenced by design, art, music, fashion, food and travel. Our goal is to inspire vintagers (followers of our blog) to appreciate and explore what surrounds them and preserve those occasions and memories in fun creative ways.

On our site you will see three tabs: Print Vintage; Photography; and Vintage Culture covering our major themes. Printvintage will broadly focus on the Printvintage photo App that we recently developed and launched including tips, events and creative ways to share photos. The Photography tab is focused on technology we’re impressed with, ‘how to’ guides of taking photos and videos with phones / cameras, cool websites, blogs and apps worth checking out And finally our Vintage Culture tab will broadly touch on design, art, music, health (food, lifestyle), and travel.

So what inspired Luke and James to build a photo App and start a blog?

Well, we’ll have to go back in time a little to answer this one properly. Both Luke and James became friends after working on various consulting projects together at a major photography company. Luke lived in Brisbane Australia and James lived in Sydney. James’s wife was accepted to study medicine in 2012 on the Gold Coast (1 hr below Brisbane) and they made the move up the east coast of Australia from the hussle and bussle of Sydney to the sun and beach culture of the Gold Coast.

Luke’s background amongst other talents is running a successful video production company in Brisbane called Run Media and James split his time between small business start-ups and consulting to companies like Fujifilm. They are both passionate creative individuals and over time realised they had lots of values in common. They got together for coffee in late January 2012 and as their conversations generally do, began talking about new ideas and ways to do things better. One topic led to another and before they knew it the seed of building a photo App together was planted. Both understood the photographic industry well after being involved in for several years. James was a key member of a company that built one of the first photo kiosks in the world to handle digital film and saw how quickly the photography world changed with the introduction of digital. Luke and James knew that there was a whole generation that have not been educated to print and that while people today don’t need to print every photo, they is a desire to print those hero shots. The problem is that it is not that convenient to do, hence the need for Apps like Printvintage to make it quick, easy and affordable to print those hero shots.

They both worked on the idea around an easy to use App for about six months before commencing work on building it. They spent a good part of a year having it built and along the way made many refinements. The App finally released in October 2013 was a lot different to what they originally envisaged and this was only possible through a series of light bulb moments along the way. Standard products like invites and greeting cards now compliment the double sided 5×5 inch square print that their idea started with. There is a “Sell Out” option where vintagers will get access to special offers on branded merchandise at their local events.

We’re looking to build a strong community of vintagers over time who wish to learn from each other, inspire others and share their ideas, views and creativity. So follow us on our Printvintage journey and join in on the many adventures we have along the way.

The Printvintage App can be downloaded on Google Play and IOS

Printvintage, photography, vintage culture and more… was originally published on Printvintage