My First Maternity Shoot

 

 

Wrestling!

I got invited to an amateur-league wrestling match and there was no way I could turn that down. Since I was just spectating, I kept my shooting gear at the barest minimum,   my D7200 and my 50mm lens. I hoped the sensor quality and the wide, 1.8 aperture would be enough, to take on whatever the environment. Even then, it was a stretch. The event was in a gymnasium, which means low light that casts in a color that’s a massive pain to white-balance. Plus, I had to stay in my seat, so I wasn’t free to find better vantage points.

But, that’s technical stuff, and the rest of the event was spectacular. Everyone was suitable over the top, and there were a handful of wrestlers who felt equal parts El Santo, and Kamen Rider, which is AMAZING. I think I may be hooked, and can’t wait to see more of this.

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Kent Fest

It’s been a long, draining week so I decided to skip most of Kent Fest this year and opted to take some much needed time to recharge at home. I did eventually make it down in the evening in time to devour some disgustingly satisfying festival food and shoot the fireworks. Fun fact, nothing makes a person feel more attractive than when they’ve single-handedly devoured an entire funnel cake in the span of 10 minutes.

A couple’s car died and they got a jump from the icecream stuck.

This was the crowd I had to battle to get my amazing/terrible festival food.

 

At least I got to play around with photos of the fireworks.I tried a technique I found online, in which I set a long exposure then adjust the zoom on my lens while the shutter is open. I think something longer than my 24-70mm would have been better suited, so I’ll try my 70-300mm next time. I’m happy with what I have for now, but want to try again before the holiday weekend is over. 

Hitting the Beach

I took a few days to just recover after finals had finished. Now, I’m rested up, and ready to get back in the action. My awesome friend, Tegan, hit me up to check out one of the Great Lakes beaches. 

 

 

We found some interesting junk laying around the beach, and they looked so much cooler in black and white.

 

Free Comic Book Day 2016

How could I ever let such a hallowed tradition as Free Comic Book Day sneak up on me? Probably the fact that it’s finals week at grad school. I’m still glad I made time for this though. It’s just what I needed to destress.

Cloud Reflections

Why did I ever think that trying to start doing daily updates again this close to the end of the semester was a good idea? Oh well, shooting is helping me de-stress. See if you can spot what’s wrong with one of the photos.

Welcome to Night Vale: Live

  

                    I was lucky enough to run into my wonderful friend, Kate. She showed off her new poster from the merch booth.

  I think I need to start getting better at taking my own advice and allow for some personal time. I’ve been throwing myself into my school and magazine work so much that was forgetting that I’m allowed to enjoy myself every now and again.  Fortunately, I’ve awesome people like my friend, Lucy, who messaged me late the other night asking if I wanted to check out a live performance of one our favorite audio series, Welcome to Night Vale.

                A night of getting out of the house with a friend, and seeing some of my favorite actors performing exclusive material was exactly the pick-me up I needed. I’ve been feeling more relaxed, and more importantly, more productive for a while now. I’ll have to make it a point make mental health more of a priority. Maybe I’ll even make more time for blogging again.  

2014

2014 turned out to be kind of a big year for me. I left my temp job to freelance full time, had my work published in a book,  got married, moved into a house, and just last week I became a godfather.

Those are just the bigger events of my life from this last year. For all of the smaller moments and memories, I look back through the photos I’ve taken this year. That’s where all the tiger hunts, bike rides, fashion shows, travel, events, and quiet afternoons reside.

I actually tried to get all artisitc and shoot this at a slow shutter speed to get the motion of the water. The ducks stayed as still as one could hope.

As summer arrives, Max must defend the apartment from ever-fiercer insects.

Fezzes are cool.

I found a split tree while were hiking and wanted to emphasize the textures in post using high contrast black and white.

This shot was a bit of an accident. He was just helping me test the lights, and we got this. I dig it though.

This has to be my favorite photo of the day.

(Left to right) Me, Phil, Laura, and Joe,

 This is what I love to do more than anything,  the love and support of those closeto me, as well as everyone I’ve met through the site, is what lets me keep doing it. I can’t say for sure where I’ll go in 2015, but I have some big plans in the works. So, keep an eye on the site, and we’ll go together.