Candice Dunlap's Blog

November 24, 2011 / candicedunlap

Liner Notes As Packaging Design

I’ve been meaning to post this train of thought for a while, but life and recent surgery complications have been the priority lately! But here tis:

Now I’m all for technology advancement, and heck, when mp3s first came around (and I was in high school – sigh) I was the first one to burn all my CDs to my hard drive (and buy a larger drive) so I could easily listen to them, and when ipods came around, upload them to my ipod.

The changes in the “music industry” intrigue and excite me, but the decline of CD sales (and manufacturing) makes me sad. Let me explain.

I love liner notes. I love packaging design.

I would spend hours listening to CDs and reading the liner notes, from the lyric booklets to the credits/dedications at the end. This was how I found out who the other people involved in making music were. It was like a hunt for more information. You know, before Wikipedia. When I bought my first CD, it came in a long box with the CD inside. It was like opening a present, except you knew what you were getting inside. I could identify a CD case by its spine and easily find the one I was looking for on my CD shelf or rack.

CD packaging has evolved from the default plastic case to cardboard/recycled material, to even elaborate box-sets that are like works of art. (Some, like Tori Amos’ tour set, include both the recycled cardboard packaging and the plastic outer shell.

Tori Amos Live Box Set

Then there are the highest end sets, such as the Burton/Elfman box)

(My) Elfman/Burton Box Set, not yours!

With digital-only sales, the liner note booklet is going the way of the dinosaur. Digital booklets in PDF-form just aren’t the same. I could make one of those myself.

And in an increasingly digital-only age, how much longer are CD’s even going to be created? I’m not sure exactly how much cause there is for freaking out just yet – records (LP’s) are still being made.

Is the LP too outdated to keep making? I have box sets from Radiohead and Placebo that came with multiple CD’s and LP’s. I’m not a DJ. I’d probably never listen to the records if they didn’t have b-side material on them. Why waste the money making them?

The answer: because people buy them. Some people still do, anyway. It’s the same case for CD’s: people still buy them, so companies keep making them.

A few other packaging faves that I’ve collected:

Lord of the Rings Extended Soundtrack (Did I mention my senior music history paper in college was basically what this set has for liner notes? Yes I'm a wannabe musicologist. Look it up.)

Talking Heads Box Set

Tori Amos Piano Collection

August 31, 2011 / candicedunlap

Looking Up?

Literally and figuratively. Deciding to start a new job in a few weeks, catching treefrogs on the porch for the first time….it was a good night! Click on the photo for more froggy photos.

Is that a moth?

August 13, 2011 / candicedunlap

Richmond, Virginia

Sometimes I get to go take photos of jobs that my company has done, and sometimes those jobs happen to be in really high buildings. I couldn’t help but take advantage of the skyline opportunity.

Richmond, Virginia - View it on Flickr

August 11, 2011 / candicedunlap

Dinner with Mood Lighting

Since it’s *finally* starting to cool off here in Virginia, I’ll start posting my “ode to summer” photos…starting with the things that have been hanging around (and off) of my porch

Dinner with Mood Lighting

mmm...Dinner

July 29, 2011 / candicedunlap

Hornets are Mean (and easier to photograph when “sleeping”)

Hornets are mean. They sting people, and last year there was a particularly mean one that stung and killed one of the many hummingbirds in our garden. This one met its end before it could do any damage, and it was one of the larger ones, so I decided to try some macro-lens action on it.

Hornet on Glass

Just Sleeping? Thankfully, no.

Dime vs. Hornet

July 21, 2011 / candicedunlap

SDCC 2011 – Living the Dream by Proxy

The next few days at the San Diego Comic Con, with so much action to choose from, will be completely ridiculous. Did I mention I’m not actually going? Which means that a burden is actually lifted and I can “choose” any and every panel that I’d like to attend. Realistically, I’d have to choose one or two of these events and wait in line for them all day.

Last night was preview night, which is the best night to wander around the showroom floor, buy things, and get photos of anything and everything. 3 hours goes by amazingly fast, but it’s the least-crowded time…which means you can actually move through the mob of people at a walking pace instead of a shuffling pace.

Thursday, Day 1 of SDCC

3pm Game of Thrones Panel
5pm Batman: Arkham City
5:45pm Vertigo Editorial
7:30pm Detecting Deviants in the Dark Knight: Profiling Gotham City’s Serial Killers
8:30pm Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog

Friday, Day 2 of SDCC

10am Torchwood: Miracle Day
11am Paramount: Adventures of Tin-Tin
11:15am – AMC’s the walking dead
2pm – Green Lantern the animated series video presentation and Q&A
230pm: Black Dynamite
245pm Dreamworks: Fright Night
10:15pm Encore of Batman: Year One

Film: Chillerama My brother, Josh Dunlap, was in this: 8pm at Gaslamp 15 Cinemas 701 5th Avenue, San Diego

Saturday
3pm Creator-Owned Comics with Robert Kirkman/Dark Horse: Joss Whedon (2)
430pm DC Focus: Jim Lee
730pm: The art of the hollywood movie poster
745pm Mythbusters
Nerdist Live Podcast with Karren Gillian and Matt Smith

Sunday
1230pm: BBC America’s Doctor Who
200pm Max Brooks: Zombie Survival 101

2009 Comic Con Coverage

July 18, 2011 / candicedunlap

World War II in Photos from The Atlantic

An amazing ongoing collection of World War II Photography over at The Atlantic. Be sure to check back every week for new additions.

July 15, 2011 / candicedunlap

Fredericksburg Hardware Store Demolition…

Fredericksburg Hardware Store Exterior Side

Flickr Gallery Here>>

The demolition of the Fredericksburg Hardware Store is currently underway. In its place will go 8 townhouses, “Brownstones,” for the “bargain” price of $700,000.

The hardware store was open for roughly 60 years, and I remember visiting it with my father when I was younger. It had that general-store feel to it. It sold more than hardware, to attract customers of all types. But in the end, box-stores like Lowes and Home Depot put it out of business. It happens, but it’s still sad. History should be preserved, not destroyed.