There has been a lot of progress since the 4th Skatepark Build Update. They have started to shape the snake run (SE of the two large bowls). The drainage for the upper two bowls also seems done. They are laying out the bottom shapes of the bowls in preparation of cementing. The shape of the bowls are really coming together!
For more information or to donate:
– a2skatepark.org
I just found out about Ann Arbor Give Camp last week at the A2NewTech meetup. It is a bunch of techy people who get together and donate their time and skills to help non-profit groups. I decided to go and had a great time. I helped out with front-end design, a little back-end coding, photography and more. I mainly worked on The Brian Project group. We developed a new WordPress site for them and also worked on their branding and communications. It was a blast to help out and code with smart and fun people. Here are some photos to take you behind the scene at the 2013 Ann Arbor Give Camp:
I went to the Ann Arbor New Tech Meetup again, but this time I took a few pics too. It is an event that is held at the University of Michigan Law School that allows 5 groups to pitch their ideas (quickly) and get feedback from the crowd. It has been growing steadily since I started going a couple years ago. It’s great to see new ventures and get you motivated to keep up-to-date on new technologies.
Since the 3rd Skatepark Update, the crew started work on the clover bowl with a roll in and a smaller bowl to the East. The kidney bowl looks like it got a little deeper. It is starting to look like a park!
For more information or to donate:
– a2skatepark.org
Wow fall is here, or at least a taste of what is to come. We had our first strong north wind come. It had been a while since I had to sport a full wetsuit. I went to Blue Lagoon on Lake St. Clair. It was the usual gusty and up and down wind we come to expect there, but with minimal time that was the only option.
The Ann Arbor Skatepark has made some progress since the 2nd update. They have started to dig out the kidney bowl on the top of the hill. It looks like it will be a really fun shaped bowl! They also started digging at the bottom of the park. It is good to start to see some shapes, starting to mind skate…
For more information or to donate:
– a2skatepark.org
I recently updated the front-end of the website. It was in need of a new look since it had been a few years since it was last updated. I’m still running the site on WordPress. This theme is based on the WordPress twenty twelve theme. I wanted to change the layout to make it more simple and let the graphics do the talking instead of the theme’s style. I relied heavily on my imagery and choice of topography. Below are some of the key changes made to the site:
Document / Photo Count:
I changed around the display of the posts on the homepage. Each new post is represented by a featured image to entice the user to see the collection of work. I overlayed the image with the title, date and tags of the post in order to give the user an idea of what the post was about without giving the user the full view of the image. I also added a document and photo counter to the bottom left corner to give the user a heads up about the amount of content to expect on the next page load. The icon will change based on the content.
Full Width Images:
Because the site is so graphically based I moved to make the images as large as possible. This will give the user a better viewing experience.
Google Fonts:
I used Google Fonts to create a clean look with the topography. This lets you replace the standard fonts with more unique looks to add a different look to a website. I am using: Pathway Gothic and Josefin.
Instagram API:
I leveraged the Instagram API to show the last image I have posted via Instagram on the front page. It also will show you the number of likes and tags used in the post when you hover over the image.
Justin and I took a stroll out to Monroe, Michigan to get in a kiteboarding session. The wind didn’t quite pick up enough for us to get out and ride. So we headed into Monroe to take a look around. We visited some historic sites and the downtown. Here are some photos from the adventure…
It was a beautiful morning in Bloomfield Hills. As I was driving through, I had to stop and take a couple of pictures.