Scott Andrew at Fray Cafe 2004, Inspiration is always the big idea for me at SXSW interactive.

The folks over at Pixish have joined forces with SXSW Interactive to put on a slideshow gallery which will be shown during the Interactive conference. There is currently an open call, until March 1st (sorry for the late notice on this) to submit photos which fall under the theme, My Big Idea: From Inspiration to Invention.

The open call is for members of the South by Southwest Interactive online community (past, present and future attendees), however the photos for this assignment do not have to be specifically related to SXSW.

300 finalists will be chosen to appear in a slideshow that will be displayed at the Austin Convention Center during SXSW Interactive (March 7-11, 2008).

10 winners, chosen by the judges, will receive a free registration badge to the 2009 SXSW Interactive Festival. These 10 winners will also receive 1 year of Flickr Pro.

Winning photos may also appear on sxsw.com and in future conference-related materials.

Did you know that Austin Texas is the home of the world’s largest urban bat colony? Each summer, the underside of the Congress Street bridge at Town Lake becomes the home of 1.5 million Mexican fee-tailed bats. Each evening they emerge from under the bridge to hunt for insect prey, which can average 10,000 to 20,000 pounds a night.

In March, the bats begin their return to Austin from their winter migration in Mexico. At the southeast corner of the Congress Avenue bridge, the Austin American-Statesman created the Statesman Bat Observation Center providing a dedicated area to view the nightly emergence.

Having visited Austin twice, I have yet to witness this phenomenon (especially since the peak months are July and August) but I’ve been told that they start reappearing in March. If interested, you can call the Bat Hot Line, 512-416-5700, Category 3636 for information on daily emergence times. Or check online.

Infomation Courtesy of Bat Conservation International

Perhaps, this year I’ll finally see these bats in flight.

It’s a little known fact that there are FREE trolleys called Dillos which run through the core of downtown Austin. It’s a great way to check out some of the sites around town, or perhaps you just want to get away from the crowds and find somewhere quieter to eat that doesn’t have a queue.

There are 5 different lines which you can catch mostly off Congress or the Blue line that stops in front of the Convention Center only through the lunch hours (11-2)

Stops are marked by a sign with a picture of an armadillo and the trolleys tend to come every 15 to 20 minutes. But note, there is quite a number of blocks between stops. I highly suggest that you refer to the Schedules and Map links I’ve provided below. Take note that each map highlights the various destinations you can reach on the Dillo.

Silver ‘Dillo, Orange ‘Dillo, Red ‘Dillo, Gold ‘Dillo, Blue ‘Dillo – Runs only during lunch (11am-2pm)

More info about public transit in Austin can be found at the Capital Metro Transit site which includes a handy dandy trip planner.
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Back in 2003, when I first went to SXSW interactive, I did this campaign called send a Kid to Camp. The basic premise was To offer up portrait sessions to fellow SXSW participants for a modest fee. It basically helped cover my flight down there and in return sponsors got decent photos of themselves to use as they pleased.

In 2004, I went to SXSW interactive again and didn’t publicly do the campaign, however I was inundated with requests to shoot more photos and it became sort of a SXSW tradition for me to shoot portraits while at the conference.

Of course I haven’t been back to SXSW for a few years now, but that hasn’t stopped people from emailing me each year about possible photo opportunities. But it seems that I’ll be on the road to SXSW this year, after a long hiatus.

So because I am lightly employed at the moment, and because it’s been a SXSW tradition for me, I’ll be offering up Portrait sessions during the conference at a special SXSW rate.

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