(Dwayne Cossey) Image + Design + Word

Lomography

deweyc — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:36:38 +0000

Well, this is my first crack at Lomography. Lomo was a kind of Russian camera way back in the day. Photographers would shoot color slide film which usually you would develop using a group of chemicals called E6, however the “Lomographers” developed the color slide film with regular C41 chemicals that were used for B&W film. This process would create a unique color saturation and vignette that we call Lomography. I don’t own a lomo camera nor do I have a darkroom that I can achieve these effects, but I do have photoshop and the Internet. With these two tools you can come pretty close to the real lomo. I recommend the link below. Darren Rowse is a bad-ass and writes some awesome stuff in addition to producing some incredible work with the camera. His article is how I learned to do lomo with photoshop. I am so happy with the results and I know you will too.

How To Make Digital Photos Look Like Lomo Photography

The Line- What I miss and don’t miss

deweyc — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:16:23 +0000

I’m out of the restaurant business but like an amputee with ghost pains in a long gone limb, I feel the pull to dive back in. I don’t miss the ass kicking and the stress of the lifestyle, but I do miss the people and the adrenaline rush of the rush, and the inevitable excuse to indulge after going through the rush. I don’t miss the four walls covered in stainless steel and grease from the fryers. I don’t miss the two ton beast of a stove that used to serve as my enemy and my best friend, in the some of the worst times of my life and great company in the best of them as well. What I do miss is my friends and the ingredients they would bring from home. I miss standing in the prep line kitchen eating tacos off a cutting board with salsa roja and lime juice running down my chin. I miss eating my dinner sitting on a empty beer keg, six feet away from the dumpster and four feet away from the grease trap. I miss all the deep conversations about life and some conversations not so deep about life in a thirty-two degree metal box call a “walk-in”, man if those twenty-five pound wheels of romano could talk. I miss the twelve hour marathon shifts in front of a 600 degree wood fired grill and then going home and practicing my knife skills on a bag of potatoes. I miss the great ingredients that we had to “throw away” and what those ingredients made for meals at home on days off. I miss walking into the farmers market before a shift with my chef coat on and all the freebies the vendors would give to me and the endless possibilities as to what I could create. I miss the identity that I had as a chef. I know that at the core of my being somehow being a chef runs a lot deeper that your chef coat. I don’t miss food cost. I don’t miss watching the ball drop on new years eve sitting at the bar, with my skin burning from the degreaser . I do miss being the last to leave and enjoying a glass of wine in a dark, silent restaurant. There is something hallowed about a place that for the majority of it’s exsistance is fast paced and chaotic, being, in contrast dark and void of a single soul. Think of times square with out the people and traffic. I miss seeing the raw ingredients come in the back door that morning and following them through the prep kitchen and then to the main line and finally to the guests plate. I miss espresso and a bowl of biscotti cereal in the morning. I miss how sweet it was to get out early on a Indian summer evening , to go get a bottle of wine and some take out and fall asleep infront of the TV watching iron chef , of course. I miss the sweet release of stress after sixteen hours in the trenches, at a dive bar with a pitcher of beer in front of me, no cup, pure bliss. I miss saying “good morning “ to everybody I see coming in for my shift, even though it’s after 1pm. I miss trade outs with other restaurants for dinner. I don’t miss guests who don’t know how to eat at a restaurant. I don’t miss using restaurant language to confuse my friends family, cause I still do it. I do miss speaking restaurant language and being understood. I miss the bonding we used to do by making jokes about the new guy on the back dock. I miss all the crazy hazing and pratical jokes we used to play on each other. I miss spending most of my shifting laughing my ass off. I don’t miss the constant stream of espresso, coffee, and other energy drinks that I would have to drink to “get up” for a shift and “stay up” until that shift ended. I can’t decide if I miss drunken guests, because on one hand they were assholes and on the other they can be much needed entertainment at the tail end of a shift. I miss the restaurant sponsored Thanksgiving dinners at my home. I miss how incredibly comfortable a pair of chef pants and a hanes t-shirt can be. I miss the hum of the hoods. I don’t miss having to sautée vegetables in a cast iron skillet with onehand, my wrists still hurt(no joke). I don’t miss the front of the house ringing in the whole restaurant at the same time. I do miss the drinks in Styrofoam cups from the bar at the end of a grueling shift on the line. I miss how good it felt to run the pass on a night when we were busy but nothing went wrong. I miss being so good that I could cook the orders coming in and prep my dinner at the same time. I miss staff lunches with the prep crew. I don’t miss calluses on my knife hand from literally chopping all day. I miss using the wood fired pizza oven for everything but pizza.But most of all, I miss the people and living life with one another, one ticket ,one shift, and one meal at a time.

Where’s the love at?

deweyc — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:04:34 +0000

“You may be exhausted with work, even kill yourself,but unless your work is interwoven with love, it is useless.” -Mother Teresa-

Do you love what you do? I didn’t ask if you were comfortable do what you do. Or if you mind doing what you do. I asked if your heart beats fast when you do what you do. I asked if secretly after three or four days into vacation you find yourself wanting to get back to what you do. Now some might say that is a little obsessive. You might say but Dewey ” I work to live not live to work” I understand the importance of balance in life, but I also understand the importance of making a stand for something, and the importance of leaving a legacy behind. I was a restaurant manager before my wife and I started our own business. You have to understand I was obsessed with food. Everything about it, from the raw ingredients all the way to where the porcelain was sourced to make our plates. I have a chefs heart, I still find myself some mornings waking up and thinking what might be in season at the market that I could make for dinner that night, all before I have my coffee! The thing that got me out of the restaurant business was thinking about the dining room on any given night. I would walk around and you could literally see life happening all around you. For example at table 23 you would have an Mr & Mrs Jennings celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, a couple booths down I would be delivering a special desert plate with an engagement ring on it to a young couple. Out in the middle of the dining room I would have a bereavement dinner next to a little boys fifth birthday. Over in the bar at our “mafia” table I would have business men with their suits, top button buttoned and a perfect windsor knot, while 2o feet away at the bar watched the game and drinking a beer is two guys with their ties loosened celebrating the big sale. It was my job first as a line cook and then as a sous chef and ultimately as a Front of house manager to make sure all these peoples experience where great. I made sure the food was executed properly and hot when it came out and that the service was warm and prompt. I got to facilitate alot of lives, but I never got to change them. I loved food, but I didn’t feel what I was doing was contributing to anything. So I left and now my heart beats fast everyday. But I love it. I think thats the thing with starting a business, if you approach everything you do and every task with love and a humble heart, that automatically shifts the focus off the fear alot of people have when they go out on a limb starting a new business or new career. The fear of failure, the fear of success, the fear of what people might think of you, all of that goes out the window when you keep focused on the lives you can touch by doing what you do, not because it’s your job or business but because you love, everything else will take care of it’s self.

WOW! This says it all!

deweyc — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:12:10 +0000

I think this is so true. Thanks to Guy Kawasaki for tweeting this link. Here is his original post : http://blogs.openforum.com/2009/01/25/failure-is-the-new-success/

This is the tipping point!

deweyc — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:51:00 +0000

So it’s now half way through the first month of the year. The first of the year or perhaps earlier than that you sat down and wrote out some goals. Maybe you spent a few hours actually attaching dates and deadlines to these big goals. Maybe you broke them down further to “bite-sized” tasks and milestones so you would know you were on track. Now we arrive at this unofficial “tipping point”. This is supposedly when the gyms start to thin out, and many people give up on their new years resolutions. Where are you with your goals? Still on track? Maybe you were good for first ten days, but fell off the waggon so to speak. I had some business goals that needed constant effort day by day and week to week, but I am no where near the milestones I set. Now I’m at a place where I think a lot of people find themselves at this time of year; not having the best start to the race and now focusing on the what seems like impossible distance to cover to catch up and win the race. How do you eat an Elephant? One bite at a time! This experience has taught me that you can plan all you want and spend hours doing it, but I think the most important things to keep in mind on your way to reaching your goals is to:
1. Always know where/what you want,clearly define your goal.
2. Have a FLEXIBLE Plan.
3. PLAN on having to recommit.
4. Do it. MASSIVE ACTION!

We still have 16 more days to the end of January, I am recommitting to my goal. Pass the hot sauce I’m eating that elephant!

Fear in Life’s Equation

deweyc — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:22:00 +0000

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

How do these guys process this? I just can’t help thinking that ANYTHING is possible when you change the role fear plays in the equation. These guys have used fear not a mental block to keep them from jumping off these huge cliffs, but as a tool to keep them sharp and alert and keep themselves alive. These are human beings flying at will around mountains and roadways. There are not part a wushu movie, this is a fraction of what WE are capable of. Yes EVERYBODY has this in them. That’s the cool thing about being human, for the most part everybody starts with the same parts and if you don’t we have this incredible way of adapting to compensate. It’s just the role we let fear play in our lives that seperates us from these guys. It’s what seperates the great from the good. What role is fear playing in your life? Is it keeping you from jumping off the cliff? Is it keeping you from spreading your wings?

Economic Crisis?

deweyc — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:43:00 +0000

So I had intended for this Idea to be a video post. Yes, you heard right I am going to make the leap into to Video Blogging soon. I just wanted to get this up because I haven’t posted in awhile, trust me the first video post coming Monday will be worth the wait.

Anyway, it seems like every where you turn you see some kind of headline about a recession or the economy tanking. Magazines,TV, and radio are having a field day with this. It got me really thinking if I should start to freak out or not. Seriously the market tanks 4oo points, so maybe I should start putting my money in my freezer. So I was out and about yesterday running errands had to go to the post office and then thought maybe I should stop by the store pick up a couple of things. It kind of made me mad, because I had to park all the way out, it was packed for some reason. Then after that I went and got a bite to eat at Mcdonalds and again had to wait in line at the drive thru. Then I filled up my tank and it was hard to find an open pump. Finally I found myself at Best Buy and there were other people there spending money on video games and music. My point being that though out my day of running around I fought lines and traffic because there were OTHER people out SPENDING money just like they always have, and not just the bare necessities either. I think in the day where the headlines are screaming doom and gloom it’s to guarantee the news channel viewers so they can protect their advertising dollars. It’s my opinion that everybody can start to freak out when you go to the store and you’re the only one there. It’s when the consumer stops consuming, that’s when we are in trouble.

A Slight Change…

deweyc — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:30:00 +0000

After looking back upon my post on this blog, it seems to me that this blog has taken a turn toward very serious and intense. That would be cool if I were serious and intense all the time, but I’m not nor is my life or perhaps my outlook on life. So there will be a slight change in the scope and tone of this blog. As well as perhaps a name change or at the very least the graphic will change. I look forward to the future of this blog not only as a resource for the community that will eventually read it but as a place for a few laughs and good converstation.

10 Questions for YOU…

deweyc — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:54:00 +0000

I have some questions for you, so grab some paper and a pen and follow along with me.

1)What are the top three dreams and/or goals that you have way up on the top shelf of your consciousness that are sitting there gathering dust?
2)Why have you yet to realize those dreams and/or goals?
3)When is the last time you really felt like you were WINNING at this game called LIFE?
4)Are you passionate about what you do? Would you do it for free?
5)If you aren’t passionate about what you do, why would you spend the majority of your life doing it?
6)What is it that makes your heart beat fast?
7)What are you passionate about?
8)How could you bring value(product or service) to the marketplace(potential customers) with this idea that your passionate about?
9)Have made the decision to work your passion?
10) If you know that what your currently doing is not moving you closer to your goals and dreams and that you could bring value(product or service) to the marketplace(potential customers) doing what your passionate about and by doing this it would transform your life, enrich your relationships with family and friends, and help you realize your most lofty of goals and dreams, why on earth are you still sitting there?!?(I know that was a long question but that’s how I roll.LOL)

Quick go now and act upon your passion, it will bring you riches that far out weigh fortune and fame.

We all get the same amount of time

deweyc — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:38:00 +0000

I was reading a magazine article the other day and it said that we all get 168 hours every week. I don’t know why that sounds so amazing to me. It’s just in the business that I am in I hear alot of “oh, we are so busy!” or “I am always at work!”. These are lies that people tell themselves, me being no different. I have wasted so much time, doing stupid stuff. It’s even more painful I think when you know that your wasting time and you still spend an hour picking the color scheme on your outlook program(that’s ironic!). So I was on a cross-country flight and DID have the time to kill, so I spent it adding up all the hours that up the average Americans 168 hour week. Here’s what I came up with:

Sleep-56(8hrs per night- like anyone ever gets that!)
Work-60(According to the US Census in 2003 the Avg Commute was 24.3minutes)
Eating-17.5(1/2hr for breakfast,1hr for lunch and dinner)
TV- 30(Yeah that’s right, I just averaged it out. For the exact numbers go Here.)

If I stop right there that leave John Q. Public with 4.5 hours left in a week. I know this isn’t everybody out there and there’s a lot of activities that I left out but this is the average. Can you image what the average person could do if they cut 5 hours a week in TV time? That’s 6.5, 40 hour work weeks. What could you do with that time? How different would your life be if you focused that time and energy on improving your self? How better would your family life be if you used that time to make memories with your family?

There are so many theories on what it takes to really win in life. Is it Quality or Quantity? In your work life, home life, or spiritual life I think Quantity brings Quality. There have been some great moments that I have had with my oldest daughter, Kayla, moments that have afforded me the opportunity to shape her very character and look into her soul and see how she ticks and I would never have had them if I hadn’t invested the time in just being with her. How do you get good at your job or business? You have to train and put the time in, not only to learn the technical aspect of what you do, but if you do something long enough you get that quality insight and understanding that only someone that has put time in could know. I can’t tell you how cool it is to know my wife so well and so see how she has grown and adapted to life. Don’t waste anymore time. The people out there that have the wealth and live the lives that you dream about all get the same 168 hours every week. The only difference is that they used them just a little different. I promise you that if you use your time differently that you and your life will definitely not be Average.