Ten to fifteen years ago when I saw an image while looking at a print ad in a magazine or passing a billboard on the street, I most likely recognized the image, and could tell you what Stock Photo CD that image was on. CDs from companies like Comstock and Photodisc were a familiar part of our design resource library. Stock photo services have come a long way since I first started using them. Today, I start with an online search of some of my favorite stock photo services. There are so many places for both hobby and professional photographers to upload their photos, I often find what I'm looking for after a short search, a quick click of a download button, and without having to pay a thing! Plus, it feels good to find unique images and support artists of all experience levels. That is, when I need to use stock photos. With digital cameras, so many clients have their own photos, or I can take photos to fit the project. Of course the quality of the photo needed will depend on th...

The behind the scenes process that goes into the creation of visual art of any kind is interesting and exciting to me. I'll never forget the slow, loud clicking sound that traveled through the Akron Beacon Journal as the printing presses were started. The smell of the ink and the sight of the web of paper woven in and out of the cylinders was fun to watch everytime. What started as an idea translated into a design on my computer screen, went through many hands before ending with the final project in print. It seems, very much the same in the production of a movie, except in a larger and lengthier scale. We've been very lucky in the Cleveland area to see that production, as major motion picture companies come here to film on location. The newest one in town is Marvel Comic's Captain America: Winter Soldier. The amount of work that went into one 34 second scene was incredible. A whole day of preparation the day before included cranes, tons of weight hov...