Biggest Little City in the World | Reno, Nevada

A pocket of population in the high desert, Reno truly is the Biggest Little City in the World. It's a slice of Nevada culture without the grandeur of that other popular gambling city to the south. Chalk full of its own character and quirks, there's something special here that we only got a brief taste of. On the long road back to Canada, we had started the morning in San Francisco and pulled into Reno in the early afternoon.

Dave and I took to exploring downtown and crossed under the famous Reno arch. Welcome to "the Biggest Little City in the World". To me, neon signs always look naked during the day without the glow to complete the package, but they were cool nonetheless. Smaller, less imposing casinos stretched around several streets, many mimicking their Vegas counterparts.

Reno certainly has its own vibe, and despite being an obvious gambling town, it felt a lot different than cruising in Las Vegas. There was more of a local personality about it. It didn't feel like everyone was a tourist, and on top of that, it's pretty secluded from everywhere else. Maybe it was just the harsh light of midday taking some of the fantasy out of the scene, but surprisingly I didn't even feel swayed to gamble. Instead, we pushed onward to Salt Lake City.

Inspired Singles: Gimme Shelter

Issue 12: Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones

This notable track from the Stones' 1969 album, Let it Bleed is fueled with a distinctly urban and raw sound. I always think of a 70's era cop drama when I hear it - it may have also been in a Scorsese movie (the Departed?).

To me this is a quintessential Rolling Stones track, in that it seems almost improvised, slightly chaotic, with a great hook and a lot of energy. I've had the pleasure of seeing the Rolling Stones twice in concert and that has pretty much solidified my appreciation for the group's iconic status. Gimme Shelter, and the entire album for that matter, is required listening for anyone with an interest in rock music. It pulls you in, tells a story, and has you singing along even when you don't know the words.

You don't have to take my word for it though. Rolling Stone magazine placed Gimme Shelter at #38 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Weddingstar Behind the Scenes Teaser

This summer I was asked to go up to Calgary to film and create a series of behind the scenes videos for one of Weddingstar's magazine photo shoots. The experience was a lot of fun, not just because of everything that I got to witness about how the magazine/catalogue for the company is produced, but because it gave me a chance to take the videos that I create for Weddingstar in a bold new direction - finally outside of my small in-house studio! 
 
On location shoots are something that I see becoming more and more important as I look for ways to help promote what the creative team members at Weddingstar design. It's what I love about the job. Everyone is able to play a key role by bringing their unique skills to the table and I feel fortunate to be able to share and learn from those mixed experiences. 
 
The behind the scenes shorts I ended up creating are only around a minute to a minute and a half long each (over 6 videos) but I think the imagery and mood of the shorts make a strong impression. They'll begin debuting in a matter of weeks on our WeddingstarTV YouTube channel. Until then, check out this teaser trailer I created for the debut below.