HAPPY 10TH VIDEO BLOG!

I recorded something special for you for our 10th Anniversary! This video blog is an update as well as a preview to a new project I am working on with ProTips4U! Stay tuned for more on that!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Reflecting on the First Ten Years With Webmaster Lisa Patterson

How much have you changed in the last 10 years? If you're anything like us, you may have had several makeovers! Having worked on the site from concept to creation and renovation upon renovation, I thought it might be fun to take a stroll down memory lane and chronicle some designs of the past!

Unfortunately, the first few site designs cannot be visually chronicled since we didn't have the foresight to capture a screenshot at that time. I'll do my best to hit some of the early design basics, though.

When the website first opened in 1999, Dominique was in the midst of a competitive comeback, so we opted for a site design that would reflect her Olympic past & spirit. Those of you long time visitors might remember the first design: a white background, with Olympic ring inspired menu buttons. Each "mouseover" photo holder/menu button was a circular ring (red, yellow, blue, green & black) linked to a different subpage. The main page and its accompanying pages were adorned with exclusive photos from acclaimed sports photographer Dave Black. Dave was one of the first people to know about Dominique's new website and he immediately sent over a stack of photos for us to use. Talk about immediate support! We are forever thankful for his contribution as his photos have become a mainstay both in the "Through the Years" photo gallery and on the profile page. I wish I had a screenshot of the website on Opening Day....but I hope I was able to give you somewhat of a mental picture....

The site evolved later in 2000 to have a navy blue background with red & white writing throughout. Do you remember the floating stars that used to follow the mouse around the page? This was an immediate favorite feature for Dominique & her fans. When we switched to the navy (and later black) backgrounds, we retired the Olympic rings menu motif, but "kept the torch lit" by implementing an Olympic ring photo collage as a fixed image. (We opted to retire the menu buttons since they took too long to load!) To accompany the new navy background, we also incorporated a Macromedia Flash "site intro" when that was the trendy thing to do. The flash intro was set to music by Robert Miles and matched the site as it flashed photos of Dominique that were bordered in red & white. Scott Einuis was kind enough to host Dominique's site and provide us with additional photos until about 2001. Again...no photos or screenshots at this stage of our evolution....

....Which brings us to 2001. Dominique was looking for a more 'girly' and 'fun' site design after the Sydney Games came and went. This was also the year that we unveiled "La Boutique Dominique" for the first time...if I remember correctly.


We used a Pam Mayer photo from the 2000 post-Olympic tour and built the site around that. We tried out a 'frames' version of the site which was believe-it-or-not inspired by an old design from new (at the time) recording artist Mandy Moore. We used the very thin top and bottom frames to display purple & white colored menu buttons and "Did U Know?" fun facts. As you would navigate from page to page, the frames would stay in place and the content (in the middle of the site) would change. To keep things fun, we changed the color schemes on each subpage. The only requirement was to make sure that the subpage colors would coordinate well with purple and white. For instance, the "Contact" page was blue and teal.....



"The Latest" page was teal, aqua & purple....



One of my favorite pages on this site design was was the "Profile" page which was black, light & dark pink and dark gray. Once again, the profile page was adorned with photos from acclaimed sports photographer Dave Black.



Do you remember the red & purple "Diary" page? Every month the photo in the upper left hand corner would change. Most times, these were photos from Dominique's personal collection.



The next screenshot you see below is of the front page that was unveiled around May 2002. As Dominique began to explore many roles outside the competitive arena (such as coach and clinician), we wanted to refocus the website to help showcase Dominique's personal and professional evolution. We simply changed the front page of the site at this time, and kept the subpages from 2001 in tact.



About a year later in October 2003, the site underwent a full transformation. More than anything, Dominique was looking for a bright, fun & energetic site that was more fan focused than ever. Though we opted to keep the same 2000 tour photo on the front page, website content was significantly revamped. One of the most notable additions was a VIP section which allowed fans to login with a personal password and get exclusive content, wallpapers & more! This site was pretty bright, wouldn't you agree??



In May 2005, we unveiled one of my favorite site designs to date. This website also represented a significant overhaul in content and organization. The site, itself, though designed in HTML had many Macromedia Flash components to satisfy Dominique's goal of really livening things up! You'll also remember the the Dominique Moceanu Bobblehead Doll was introduced during this era! The "VIP" section was replaced with a password-free "Fan Zone" since we recieved feedback that the previous password protection idea was too cumbersome. (You talked....we listened!)




As sad I was to see the last design go, Dominique was maturing and looking to change up the website in 2006. The main photo was taken during her engagement photo shoot with Mike. We took advantage of the beautiful spring/summer photo to put forth a very feminine and simply lovely design concept! You might remember that Dominique introduced her DVD, "Dominique Moceanu's Golden Moments" very soon after we unleashed this new design.



....and now we are up-to-date. In 2008, Dominique wanted to refresh the site and invoke the Olympic spirit once again! We opted for a classic 'gold medal shot' for the main photo and played off the Atlanta 1996 green color on her medal to build the site's color scheme. For the design, we opted for something that we described as "sleek & sporty." What do you think? Did we succeed?



10 years is a long time, but in many ways it has quickly come and gone. It's been quite an experience, both personally and professionally. Having a venue to communicate with you is exactly why this website was estabished, and I continue to feel like we are fulfilling that purpose as we had set out to do from Day 1. I can honestly say that Dominique puts you, the fans and website visitors, first whenever she's makes decisions for the site, and to know that she continues to have your support & interest "after all these years" is pretty great!

On that note, we continue to seek out your feedback and welcome it. Please send us your thoughts, suggestions & reflections on the last 10 years by replying to this post!

Here's to 10 more!
Lisa Patterson
Webmaster

AN INTERVIEW WITH KIM HACKMAN

By now, you may have seen the photos from Dominique's photoshoot with Kim Hackman. For a special 10th Anniversary website feature, we take you behind-the-scenes to learn more about this talented young photographer and her experience of shooting Dominique for the website.

Kim Hackman is a 19-year-old photographer from Cleveland, Ohio. With a background in black and white film photography, she continues taking photo classes, only recently making her way into the digital world. While Kim has a wide range of interests, including a passion for surrealism and fine art photography, her main concentration is documenting the world from different people’s perspectives. Taking her passion for stories and her love for art, Kim strives to produce unique images with meaning. Kim is currently a sophomore at Ohio University, where she is studying photojournalism and French.


DM.com How did you get involved in photography?
I have always been amazed by the beauty and power of photography, but it wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school that I actually had the opportunity to learn the technical and aesthetic workings behind the lens. My high school offered a black and white film class, so I built my foundation for photography in the darkroom developing my own film and prints.


DM.com What are you currently doing with photography?
Since high school, I have continued taking photography classes and shooting pictures for fun. I am currently studying photojournalism in the School of Visual Communication at Ohio University.


DM.com What is your main goal in this profession?
My main goal as a photographer is to develop a distinctive style. There are so many amazing photographers out there, but only the most unique ones capture images that really stick with people. I want to be able to tell stories, and share moments that embody the essence of a person, truly representing who they are.


DM.com Who do you look up to and why?
I have a lot of respect for all of my teachers and classmates. I had a fabulous photography teacher in high school, and have continued to grow so much as a photographer under the instruction of my wonderful professors at OU. I also really look up to my fellow VisCom students, both former and current. I am incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so many talented photographers, and grateful to constantly receive their support and guidance. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.


DM.com What was it like doing a photo shoot with Dominique? Did you enjoy the experience? And most importantly, are you pleased with the results of the photos? I had a great time working with Dominique, and learned so much from the experience. We had a lot of fun finding creative ways to illustrate all of her different roles as a wife, mother, student and athlete. Dominique is such a beautiful and confident woman, and she definitely knows her way in front of the camera, which made it easy to capture some really great shots that we were both pleased with.


DM.com What difficulties did you come across during the photo shoot? Unfortunately, we had some trouble with the lighting due to the unpredictability of Cleveland weather. I try to use natural lighting as often as I can, but the inclement weather didn’t allow that for most of the shots. We just had to improvise and get a little creative, but ended up with dramatic lighting that produced some really nice shots.


DM.com Which photo is your favorite? I’d say my favorite photo from the shoot is the black and white shot of Dominique and Mike in the bedroom. The image is such an intimate moment that truly captures the love between the two of them, while showcasing Dominique’s confidence and independence at the same time.


DM.com Is there a website people can go and visit your photography? If they'd like to book you for work in the future, where should they contact you? To see some more of my work and for contact information, visit www.kimhackman.com.


Thank you for your time with DM.com. We wish you all the best in your future! Your photos are gorgeous beyond your years!

Kim Hackman's work can be viewed at her website, www.kimhackman.com

YOUR FAVORITE?