Bang bang. The year is starting off at a wild pace with El Niño’s storms, insane sunsets and sunrises, and enthusiastic entrepreneurs working on their businesses. It’s also a political season, a season when Climate Change is an inevitable topic. It’s a year when new inventions are emerging as we innovate new ways of living to adapt to what we  know about the world.

Lunging into 2016, we (Jake & Jackie of Jake J. Thomas Photo) are working our asses off to provide the best social media for our accounts. In addition to communicating with managers and business owners to craft the best editorial plan for each account we are finding ways to keep ourselves inspired and to keep our visibility on the rise. Jake continues to post to Santa Cruz Waves everyday twice a day which keeps him actively exploring the coast during the golden hours. Jackie continues her daily practice of posting a macro photo to her Instagram account Jackiemacro.

In addition to these photo passion-projects we are also working on a dance. Jake came up with the original concept and name “Time Slap” which is a four part lunge step. He has developed the dance alongside Jackie using it as a way to break up their work day and to get exercise in a fun way. We find that it is helpful to keep ourselves fresh and creative. First we started with the song “Jumpman” by Future and Drake, but we’re currently dancing to the song “Bake Sale” by Wiz Khalifa and Travis Scott. Our goal is to make it the The Ellen Show to perform our dance and to talk about our social media marketing techniques.This week Jake started the first in a new series of body paintings. Working with long time collaborator Emily Pizante he did a black and white line drawing and photographed her with a single light for high contrast. Working with Big Pete is a learning experience on many levels. Not only has he created an awesome brand of delicious cookies but he is also an urban farmer constantly working on his craft. We’ve been excited to interview people about Twisted Tasting 2016 organized by Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing. This is Chicken-heart Spam made by El Salchichero to be paired with a Japonica Pilsner from Uncommon Brewers. Twisted Tasting is the cutting edge of food and drink in Santa Cruz. We are so excited to be a part of it and cant wait to see what everyone brings. 

In a very exciting development for Jake J. Thomas Photo, we started working with Joel Magen of Dark Horse Pottery and Santa Cruz Pottery. We want to take our food photography to the next level and that means incorporating beautiful ceramic art into our food stylings. Having made his living by making pots for 42 years here in Santa Cruz he brings a truly organic quality to a shoot. 

Jake met up with Gary Irving, Rob Wilson, and Norman Locks last week to discuss teaming up on creative projects. Gary is working on his Seven Deadly Sins series, Rob just got a book deal for his long-form poem “When Nikita Moon Rose,” and Norman is rabidly working on new media projects.