Our most recent featured artist is Greg Steenbeeke, more commonly known by users of LTLPrints as Orkology. Orkology, a username inspired by Greg’s love of all that is plants, is not surprising being that Greg comes from the bountiful land down unda!

Originally from Sydney, Greg is now currently living in a city in northern New South Wales called Inverell. Greg has lived all over Australia, including Caloundra, a city located on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, where he occasionally had the honor of working with the late but great Crocodile Hunter himself, Steve Irwin.

Greg considers himself to have inherited his interest and talent in photography  from his  father, who introduced him to a way that he could capture the  moment, looking more  closely at the idiosyncrasies, specificities and splendor  in a world that is often  fleeting. Greg’s long affair with photography is not the  only thing working to his  advantage; he is also a trained environmental  scientist with strong background in geology  and ecology. His professional  accomplishments don’t stop there; he is also a certified  botanist, which  explains his expertise in Australian plants. Greg’s professional career as the  environmental manager for the New South Wales government allows him to  combine work with play, and past studies have also led him to extensive travels, which have allowed Greg to expand his collection of photographs to beyond his native country of Australia (check out photos tagged New Zealand).

Although Greg admittedly still enjoys capturing the vivid hues of a colorful sunset, he has gravitated towards photographing orchid imagery. Still allowing him to record all the unique colors of nature, photographing orchids also allows Greg to study the variations and wide diversity of this enormous family of flowers.

For all you camera experts out there, Greg currently swaps between using the 3MP Fuji S5000 and the 10MP Olympus e420 to capture his favorite images. Albeit Greg confesses he cannot choose simply one image out of his extensive collection to favor the most, he has a few that he really enjoys. These images can all be found in the catalogue and include plants, such as Pink Moth Orchids; animals, such as the Red Kangaroo; and scenery, such as the coastal cliffs of Sydney’s North Head.

There is plenty more to come from Greg in the future! He looks forward to soon sharing his more recent works that have been captured with his new high-resolution Olympus camera, which he has shared are his wife’s favorite because of their truly striking detail!

Greg does not have a personal website, but to see more of his work you can visit  Orkology Kreations, Panoramio, or Zip Code Zoo, all of which are sites that Greg is prominently featured. Also, you can visit Greg’s Facebook page at facebook.com/orkology.

Tags: Add new tag, Australia, flowers, Greg Steenbeeke, LTLprints.com, nature, Orkology, plants

Let’s jump right into my favorite fact about Charles Akins. He rocked the dinosaur fad in the 1990s like nobody’s business. Since I have such a soft spot in my heart for all things early nineties, Charles is without a doubt immediately, the man. A graduate of Georgia State University in Graphic Design, he leans more toward illustration even terming himself a “graphic designistrator”. Charles comes to us from an impressive background creating works for MAD magazine, American Express, Nike, & the U.S. Olympic Committee, amongst many others. He’s now showcasing designs within his partner shop you can check out here!

Mr. Akins grew up in Atlanta, GA with parents who immersed him in art. At the age of 3 he was awed by his father’s representation of “Dick Tracy” via sketch and always took part in creative camps and classes with his mom as he grew older. Charles has always felt drawn to art and creation yet kept himself well rounded with athletics, music, and acting. With a refreshingly positive attitude he continues to push ahead into the creative world and is now bringing his works to Larger Than Life Prints.

Charles is undoubtedly happy to  have found a place to bring his experimental and side projects to the masses. He can now show all of his work to the globe and it is reviving a wide expanse of opportunity for ideas not always used for contract or commission work. We’re delighted to have such a creative, motivated, and genuinely excited person offering their work through LTLPrints.com!!

Charles promises lots and lots of new looks and themes, which he describes as a plethora. Dinosaurs and the use of the word plethora (not to mention his substantial art work) make Charles Akins of HelloWally the perfect featured artist! If you’re interested in checking out more of his work take a look at AkinsStudio.com and Illoguy.com . He can also be reached at CAkins@akinstudio.com .

Tags: charles akins, dinosaurs, hellowally, LTLprints.com, Prints, surf

Sean Martorana is our featured artist bringing us impressive designs from +HE_S+UDiO. Hailing from Glassboro New Jersey and a graduate of the Art Institute of Philadelphia, Sean has identified as an artist his entire life. While others may express their thought through music or song, Sean finds his release through graphic design.

When asked for his strongest influence he said emotions, whether his or those adsorbed from others, play the biggest role. Sean enjoys creating projects with undertones of spiritual and African art that are entertaining to the eye. He has a deep appreciation for symbolism and wants what he makes to engage the viewer.

A believer that passion drives everything, he enjoys the relationship between the created piece and the viewer. Sean’s favorite pieces at the moment are the Shaman Skull Series because of the use of symbolism, spiritual aspects, and the fact that it’s just a bad ass image. We’re glad to have Sean’s designs at +HE_S+UDiO LTLprints shop. You can find out more about Sean at StudioGraphics.biz or reach him by email at imagine@studiographics.biz.

Can’t wait to see more designs Sean!

Tags: "the Studio", Design, LTLprints, LTLprints.com, Partners, personal design, sell your print, skulls

“+HE_S+UDiO is a creative design/ marketing and communications company made up of artistic, free minded individuals who exhibit extreme pride and passion in their designated fields. We use this passion to create meaningful works of art, powerful designs and creative products. …Our talents are captured through marketing and advertising graphics, photography, fine art, illustration, merchandise and multimedia forms such as film, websites and email marketing publications.”

And now some of the designs produced by  +HE_S+UDiO are available as Larger Than Life prints.  Whether you are looking for the “Bluebird” of Happiness to brighten your wall. 

A “Shaman” to watch over your room. 

Or a “break dancer” to inspire your best moves.   

+HE_S+UDiO designs are unique just like the Larger Than Life prints that you can turn them into.  So come check out +HE_S+UDiO designs and all of the other amazing creations in the Larger Than Life prints catalog!

Have interesting designs, photographs, paintings, etc?  Consider opening your own Custom Shop in the Larger Than Life prints catalog! Click here for more info on our Custom Shops. Or interested in being a Larger Than Life prints partner?  We can feature your company and designs in our catalog, just like +HE_S+UDiO and we offer our Affiliate program so you can offer your customers more choices when ordering your designs!

(This post brought to you by Gloria Bell on behalf of Larger Than Life prints.  Any questions can be directed to gloria@ltlprints.com)

Tags: "the Studio", affiliates, Design, Graphic Design, Larger than Life, Larger Than Life Prints, LTL, LTLprints, LTLprints.com, Partners

With the approach of the bright, shiny, warm weather, we all become more drawn to the gorgeous colors and sites we find in nature.  If you are like us, you find yourself wishing that you could bring all of that colorful goodness into every space you occupy.  Now you can!  Larger Than Life prints catalog is growing daily and there is Nature of all sorts ready to stick up on your walls, ceilings, wherever you want a little of the great outdoors! 

Whether it is a big colorful flower to be the centerpiece of your wall art

or the view of the beach you wish you were on       or           the trees you wish you were walking through

or a magical undersea world.   

All of these (and more!) can be found in the Larger Than Life prints catalog. Whether you want a single image or a full wall mural, we’ve got it.  Or submit your own design or photograph and use our simple create & design tools to customize your print.  So come browse the catalog, order your print, brighten up your world and add your photos of the results to our Flickr group!   Can’t wait to see how you Brought the Outdoors In!

When Carsten and I launched LTLprints.com it was our goal to be transparent about who we are and what we do. We want to celebrate our business, our customers, and our successes, while continuing to be open an honest about our failures.  In this case, I want to talk about the latter.  Yup, we made a mistake.  Fail!

I look to a number of companies for advice on how we should operate and do things correctly.  One of our customers and a company that I have great respect for is Zappos.com. Zappos is known for their amazing customer service. For example, they offer free shipping for any product returns. They do a great job of taking care of their customers.  When I think of how we should run our customer service I often look to Zappos for insight.

When we make a mistake, I want to make it right.   We care about the product and our service and I won’t settle for anything but the best.  Some people talk about it but we make it real.

Recently we received an order for 5 Kanji symbols.  We printed and cut out the black symbols on our unique fabric material.  The prints turned out great, except for a couple which had small white boarders, due to a cutout issue (the blade was off by a millimeter).  This caused a white “halo” around the black prints which obviously is a no-go, especially when installed on a dark red wall.

I’ll let our customer Steve tell you the rest of the story in his own words.

“When my order of kanji decals arrived from LTLPrints I noted a couple of problems with the registration of the print vs. the cut. I wrote them an email and within 5 minutes Kendall called me with an apology and an offer of a free replacement. In order to satisfy me they completely updated the process they use to produce the decals. Excellent job and excellent customer service. I will most certainly be referring LTLPrints to my partners.”

Best Regards,
Steven Wright

Larger Than Life prints was  contacted by Ronald McDonald House Charities in Tampa Bay, Florida.  They were planning their annual Spring gala, the Storybook Ball, and were looking for something new and different to include in their decor.   They had discovered our “Wanted poster” template and decided it was a perfect vehicle to help spread their message.  When they sent us the details for the posters, we have to admit to getting misty eyes.  Printing a poster for a little boy who “wants” a new heart is a little heartbreaking.  But every cloud does have a silver lining!  We were being given an opportunity to be a part of a magical night that raises money to help sick children and their families.

“Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Tampa Bay provides comfort and care to children and their families by supporting local Ronald McDonald Houses®, its cornerstone program, and by making grants to other local not-for-profit organizations that help children in need. The Ronald McDonald House® of Tampa Bay provides a home-away-from-home for families of pediatric patients in area hospitals.”   The Storybook Ball is one of their major fundraisers and we had been asked to provide posters that would help with those fundraising efforts.

Alison Barrick of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Tampa Bay had this to say about Larger Than Life prints, the Wanted posters and the Storybook Ball

“The Wanted Posters that LTL Prints provided for our Storybook Ball, Lasso the Moon, were a huge hit in our silent auction room. Our event decorator was extremely impressed with the quality and look, and all of the guests raved about how perfect they were for our event. We plan to keep them for years to come! Thank you LTL Prints for providing us with such an outstanding product at an unbelievable price.”

It always feels good to have satisfied customers but knowing that we     contributed to this very worthwhile charity having a successful              fundraising event is an awe inspiring experience.  It does feel so good to help DO good!

(This post brought to you by Gloria Bell on behalf of Larger Than Life prints.  Questions can be directed to gloria@ltlprints.com)

Tags: "Ronald McDonald House", charity, Customers, Larger than Life, Larger Than Life Prints, LTL, LTLprints, LTLprints.com

We at Larger Than Life prints are always so thrilled to send off  the prints that have been ordered by our awesome customers whether they have submitted designs or chosen from our catalog.  Then we get curious - Where did they put it?  How did it look?  Now we want to SEE the results!  We are asking all of our customers to share with us & everyone else.  We have set up a group on Flickr so you can submit your photos and share with not only us, but everyone else in Flickrland.  You can also send us photos to put up on our Facebook page (Feel free to join our Facebook group if you haven’t already - hint, hint!)  Or if you are a video person, send us video showing & telling us about your installed print and we will share it with everyone.

Here is a peek at some of the photos already in our Flickr group!  Feel free to add more, just make sure you tag with them “LTLprints”.  We can’t wait to see your photos and the cool places you have installed your prints!

**Download the Layered Photoshop File Here - 43 megs**

Looking for something new and different for a gift or party decoration?  What about a “Wanted” poster?  Your friend or loved one’s face and their “crime” staring out from a good old-fashioned, “needs to be hanging in the sheriff’s office” Wanted poster.    We at Larger than Life prints received a request several months ago for exactly this type of print.  After scouring the internet looking for just the right image and coming up empty-handed, we thought it was better to create a super high-resolution version of the template in case anyone wants a huge print again in the future.  So we did.

LTLprints.com is an open company.  We try very hard to be transparent about who we are, what we’re doing and why we are focused on certain projects.  In addition to our transparency one of the goals is to give back to the community.  We feel that a sharing community will generate more than the hording that is common place.  Based on search traffic, we can easily tell you that we’re not the only ones looking for a high-resolution wanted poster template to start from.  So, without further adu, here for the worlds consumption - a high resolution wanted poster template.

We only ask for a few things in return.

1. If you use this file please please let us know by leaving a comment on this post.
2. If you’ve made improvements to the base template send it to images [at] LTLprints.com so we can update this file for the group.
3. Consider using LTLprints for your oversized removable wall graphic needs.
4. Be nice to each other.  *** most important ***

We also hope that when you have something that you’ve invested some time into that others would enjoy that you share it openly and willingly.  We think it’s the right thing to do, how about you?  Leave us a comment to let us know what you think.   STAY TUNED for an upcoming post on how Larger Than Life prints used these Wanted posters to help a major charity with their fundraising efforts.

**Download the Layered Photoshop File Here - 43 megs**

Sincerely,

Kendall Schoenrock & Carsten Petzold
Founders, LTLprints.com

(This post brought to you by Gloria Bell on behalf of Larger Than Life prints.  Please direct questions to gloria@ltlprints.com)

Tags: Adobe Photoshop, Carsten, Carsten Peltzold, Graphic Design, Image resolution, Kendall, Kendall Schoenrock, Larger than Life, Larger Than Life Prints, LTLprints, Poster, Template, Wanted poster, Wanted Poster Template

I’ll be the first to admit I love Larger Than Life prints (and not just because I get to write for them!).   They not only look and feel incredibly cool, but they will stick just about anywhere.

So when I took this photograph on a recent trip, I immediately                                                                        thought about how it would look as a Larger Than Life print up on my guitar-playing son’s wall.

Now, all of my previous Larger Than Life prints have been designed by their immensely talented crew, but this time I decided to play designer myself.   A few quick clicks later, I had my account set up and was ready to click on the “Create” tab.  The instructions were clear and easy!   I uploaded my photograph, but you can upload any design (as long as you own it!) - a photograph, a drawing, sketch, anything you can upload from your computer.

Then came the fun part! - Since I wanted just the guitar and not the background, I used the painless Cutout Tool to outline the guitar.  A few more clicks and I had checked out, paid for my print and received an email confirming that my order was being processed.

True to their commitment to produce your print within 24 business hours, I got an email this afternoon letting me know that my print was done!  Here it is coming out of the printer!

Now my 17 year old Guitar Nut has a 4 Foot Multi-Colored Seriously Cool Guitar to hang on his wall!  And I have earned Cool Mom points for months!  Best part - I will be uploading this photo and a bunch of my others to sell in the Larger Than Life prints catalog.  I get paid whenever someone purchases one of my images from the catalog.  You can too!

So, like the title says - If I can do it, ANYONE can!   Go find that picture you really love or the design that you have always wanted to have on your wall and quick and easy, you will have your own Custom Larger Than Life print!

(This post brought to you by Gloria Bell on behalf of Larger Than Life prints.  Any questions can be directed to gloria@ltlprints.com)

Tags: custom, Design, Prints, Wall Art