Barb and I operate on different circadian rhythms – I’m an early bird and Barb’s a night-owl – which works well when you live and work with your spouse 24 hours a day.

We’ve been going full-bore since April 1st – mostly 7 days a week. While we have 2 weddings next weekend, we’re really going to try, as of tomorrow, to enjoy the holiday time with the kids and keep the computers to themselves.

I love the time between 5:30AM and 6:30AM when Kate’s getting ready for school, to drink a couple of cups of my favorite bean, surf the net, plan my day and think about future plans.

I like to look at photographs from all different sources for creative inspiration, check up on my favorite blogs, think about our next vacation and look for the latest and greatest applications which might make our business more efficient – as Barb would and has put it: “procrastination”.

So, this morning I was thinking about one of my favorite contemporary culture words – Mash-up and how that word describes so much of my personal and professional life. The word began as a description of a musical genre where the music of one song was added to an a capella from another song to make something entirely new and fresh. But mash-up is used much more widely now.

You know you’re getting a little older when you look in the mirror and realize that you’re looking more and more like your Dad (or Mom). I’m definitely a mash-up of their two personalities.

Artistically, I’m a mash-up of my photography education, inspiration from other image makers, my personal life experience, and the interaction with my subject. Something new and unexpected comes out and I sit back and think – “whoa, cool – where did that come from?”

So, if you want to have some fun with your own photographs and create a mash-up of your photographs, some animation and music, and create a fun video – check out Animoto.

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