Blue Ridge, Georgia

river

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The rustic charm and beauty of Blue Ridge, Georgia somewhat conceals the  influence of Atlanta. Just a short trip up the road from the big city, you will find beautiful waterfalls and idyllic farm settings tucked into the rolling mountains. Look a little further and you will see those luxury properties that people dream of. It’s all there including a quaint little town with shops, galleries and nice restaurants.

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

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No matter what time of year, there is always something to see at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

International Trade

One of my favorite aspects of working for the state of Georgia is to travel and visit the businesses that make our economy hum. The entrepreneurial spirit and the sheer volume of activity is astonishing.

It was a true pleasure working with these 3 companies to tell their story about how they have been able to increase their exports through assistance from the International Trade Team. Their sincerity is obvious.

Happy watching!

We Speak Business

Here is my latest video project. It took me months to gather testimonials from companies such as Porsche, General Motors, Panasonic and several others. But the end product is a short (1:45) and concise testimonial for Georgia’s exceptional business environment. Hope you enjoy!

Somewhere in California

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Sure was great to be back out West with good friends in spectacular places.

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Augmented Reality

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I know apps like Layar and Junaio have been around for a while, but this is the first time I have actually employed the technology in a print ad.

QR codes have proliferated the ad space, and still have their place, but the amount of actual scans in the b-to-b realm is a little disappointing. Regardless, companies like Layar and Junaio are now offering QR code scanning as well but with more bells and whistles.

One thing I have found when it comes to prompting the Augmented Reality experience on your iPhone, Android or Tablet: the greater resolution and contrasting information in the image the better results you’ll get.

Download Layar and give the above a scan and let me know if it works!

Photography Lesson

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I’ll be honest. I’ve been a point-and-shoot kind of guy for a long time. If I ever were to get a little bold and throw it in Manual, I’d inevitably be asking myself, wait, is it f4 or f22 that let’s the most light in? Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad – but close.

With the purchase of the Canon 7D, I decided it was time to venture beyond the automatic settings, and my cavalier approach, and possibly see beyond my one dimension. I came across Donne Ashlock’s photography lessons and decided to give it a go.

When I showed up for my lesson it was a cold and wintry day at Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta. Nevertheless, Donne surprised me by bringing along a model, and we immediately set to work.

We went through some basics, and then he showed me some deeper custom functions of the camera. Next he helped me think through how I framed the subject and the background, as well as adjusting to the light source. The experience was certainly eye opening.

I have a long way to go – and hope to schedule future classes with Donne Ashlock – but my baseline knowledge is slowly growing.

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Bassy

Bass

Even in the winter months, there are plenty of great opportunities in Charleston, South Carolina for catching fish either on the fly or with a spinning rod. A friend and I caught about 15 of these redfish. Good times!

Happy Holidays

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This year we wanted to take a different approach with our holiday card and make it a little bit more interactive with a few calls to action. Of course, we were careful to keep it light and spirited without beating you over the head with a marketing message. We hope you like it.

Year in Review

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I am pleased and proud to have participated in the creation of our department’s “Year in Review” which illustrates some of the teams’ accomplishments in fiscal year 2012.

Our designer did an amazing job!

If you know me and would like to have a better understanding of what I do on a day-to-day basis then check it out. You might also be amazed at how much is going on in the state of Georgia.

You can download the pdf here.

The intersection of business and lifestyle. Robert Payne | Seattle, Washington