Hey, I’m Jeff Rock. I'm a designer, photographer, and tinkerer in Richmond, Virginia.
After a decade of designing and developing computer-based training, I co-founded Mobelux, a full-service digital agency. My first product was Tumblr for iPhone. I’ve done a little bit of everything over the years, from developing iOS apps to producing a podcast. In my free time, you can find me behind a camera somewhere or under the hood restoring one of my antique vehicles.
Gear
I’m always changing my setup, but here’s a list of my current tools.
Desk & Office
- iMac 5K (5th gen). Starting to show its age but still a great daily driver.
- iPad Pro (3rd gen). This is the first iPad I’ve ever owned that I found a use for. The Apple Pencil and the functionality improvements in iPadOS have made it into a useful device with distinct capabilities.
- Yeti Blue. A great general purpose USB mic.
- Sony a6600. Currently used as my webcam with the f/2.8/ 16-55mm G and a Camlink 4K. The face-tracking AI autofocus is amazing.
- Elgato Key Light Air. If you need a key light for daily video conferencing, get this one.
- Presonus Eris Monitors. I’ve used many audio monitors over the years, and the quality of this one stands out. If you need a compact desktop monitors this is a great pick.
- Teenage Engineering OD-11. Floor speakers are great for room-filling, warm sound. This classic Scandinavian design has been updated to work with Spotify and Airplay. The bluetooth Ortho Remote is a great little controller if you’re willing to splurge.
- MacBook Pro (4th gen). Yeah, it’s the one with the butterfly keyboard. I hate this laptop, but sometimes, you have to go portable.
Photography
- Leica M-P (Typ 240). If you’re a fan of rangefinders, it doesn’t get better than this. Full-frame and built like a tank. I opted for the Professional model that comes weatherproofed and cuts down on the Leica branding.
- Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH. Sharp, solid, and dreamy. Great lens for general purpose street photography.
- Adobe Lightroom. After a decade of using library files, I finally took the plunge and went full cloud. It’s good on a Mac, but it sings on an iPad Pro.
Videography
- Lumix GH5. If I’m being honest, I don’t like this camera, but it’s very flexible and it gets the job done.
- DaVinci Resolve. I used to be a huge fan of Final Cut, but after the infamous rewrite I moved on to Resolve for its power, flexibility, and amazing grading workflow.
Music & Audio
- Teenage Engineering OP-Z. Part OP-1, part Pocket Operator, the OP-Z is a fun, fast sequencer that’s surprisingly capable despite its size. I was able to compose, mix, and export the theme for 24pt with it in about 30 minutes.
- Teenage Engineering OP-1. I ordered my OP-1 the first day it was available. It’s serves as my controller for Reason and a sketchpad for song ideas. The UX, UI, and utility are sublime. It’s one of my favorite products ever made.
- Zoom H6. Fail-proof audio recording. If you’re shooting field interviews, this is a must.
- Reason Suite 11. I’ve been using Reason since it was announced as the successor to Rebirth in 2000. It’s a powerful DAW with capability and character that nothing else matches.
- Adobe Audacity. If you’ve ever had to restore audio (or fix audio that was poorly captured) you know how important a good waveform editor is. Very competent editor that comes with Adobe Creative Cloud.
About this site
This site is hosted on Netlify and statically generated via Hugo. All posts are written in Markdown. All typography is integrated via Hoefler & Co Cloud.typography. Everything was developed in Nova, designed for high-definition displays, made responsive for desktop and mobile devices and built to work well in a standards-based browser like Safari or Chrome.
I’m quicker to respond on Twitter but feel free to email me with thoughts and questions.