I spent my 37th birthday with Valerie shooting film. It had been close to 3 months since I took my film camera out. I purchased a Fujifilm x100v around September thinking I wasn’t going to shoot film anymore but there is something about it that really captures the beauty and warmth of life. All of these pictures were shot on a Pentax LX using Cinestill 800t.
I was finally able to take a trip that didn’t involve big cities. Colorado showed me a new side to taking vacations and how beautiful the world really is. All of these photos were taken with my Pentax 6x7 on Kodak Portra 400.
It’s been close to a year since I’ve had the opportunity to take pictures at a concert. I definitely felt a bit rusty but I missed the adrenaline and excitement of it. Here are some of my favorite pictures.
Shot on Sony A7iii
Life has been very strange and difficult lately. Full of changes and surprises. Sometimes we aren’t always prepared for those moments, especially when we are blindsided by them. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to open up about them but for now here are some of my favorite shots over the past couple of months.
Picture(s) 1 & 2: Shot on Minolta x700 35mm
Picture(s) 3-13: Shot on Pentax 6x7 120mm
Pictures(s) 14-17: Shot on Sony a7iii
Picture 18: Shot on iPhone 14 Pro
The past couple of months seemed to just fly right by. It is officially September and the summer is nearing the end. I haven’t shot any digital pictures since May and it may be time to pick up my Sony again. But for now enjoy my version of summer shot on film.
Royal Blood played at BMC last night and they were so good. I’ve been listening to them since 2014 when their self titled album came out. Originally, I didn’t think I was going to get the opportunity to take pictures and I was pretty bummed about it. But my good friend Aaron Busick pulled some strings to make this happen. This one goes out to you Aaron.
It feels like a lifetime since Deftones announced their tour at White Oak even though I have seen them many times in the past, the excitement of knowing they would return overwhelmed me. Being one of my all time favorite bands; I knew I would attend and receive the opportunity to be able to shoot them. With the past cancellations, this show made me remember how much I love the band. Expectations were met and surpassed; so grateful to be able to be apart of a band/tour I enjoy so much.
This is my first attempt at shooting film. I purchased a Minolta X-700 a couple of months back and I find it very scary at times. Not knowing how the picture turns out until its developed weeks later. Film is definitely a different world from digital but I am learning to be humbled by it. Enjoy.
I have this memory of myself. It’s 2005 and I’m driving in my car and “It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door” is blasting at full volume. Life is great. I’m in college(first run at it) and I feel like I’m on top of my small world. 17 years later, I still jam out to Underoath like I’m 19 again. I first saw them back in 2008 in Baltimore. It was my first metal show and I loved every minute of it. Aaron was someone that inspired me to be a hard hitting drummer. Even heavily followed his side project, The Almost, for many years. Still do. It was very cool to see them again and just have a simple life conversation with him.
One of my good friends Daniel, who also happens to cut my hair, told me about a music video I should look up. He told me that I would probably cry because it was very emotional. The music video was “Constance” by Spiritbox. To be honest I didn’t watch it at that time. I’m very emotional and I honestly didn’t want to cry. So I looked up another song by them. The song was “Holy Roller”. Immediately I was HOOKED! I showed everyone I knew; my brother, my friends, my gf. I’ve been rocking their debut album since it came out and I’m very happy to have finally seen them live. Even got my vinyl signed. Thank you Bad Boy Busick.
The first CD I ever bought with my own money was “The Fundamental Elements of Southtown” by P.O.D. I bought it after seeing their music video for “Southtown” on some Christian TV channel late at night. I’ve seen these guys at least 5 times now and had the chance to mix monitors for them back in 2018. Always a great time. Also had the chance to finally see Norma Jean live.
I finally got the chance to take pictures of one of my favorite artists, Thundercat. I first saw him in 2013 when he opened for Flying Lotus. I had never heard of him but once his set started, I was hooked. This was the 6th time seeing him and he only gets better and better.
I never imagined I would switch from my DSLR to Mirrorless. Grateful for my decision, I'm so thankful for the knowledge I've gained using my Canon 7d. Learning from close friends and making plenty of mistakes has made me appreciate the process of growing as a photographer. As critical as I am with my work; I still try to present the best photos I've captured. I’m still adjusting to the new camera but I hope these shots show the quality of it.
This pandemic has been a polar change in my life the past few months. Transitioning from a full time career that consumed my everyday life, to the realization of life’s uncertainties . During the beginning of quarantine I filled my “little vacation” with friends, drinking, and resetting my mind from the usual intense work schedule. As months past, my “little vacation” quickly turned into an unforeseeable future, suddenly I began to miss the late nights and long hours . Through the chaos, I have found glimpses of inspiration in my city that has made me appreciate my hometown like never before.
I spent the last 3 months of 2019 working a ton and not having “time” to take pictures. It’s an excuse I kept telling myself. This year will be different. Here are the last 3 months of 2019 I managed to capture.
I finally “gave in” to this blog thing. A little push from friends and curiosity helped fuel my desire to share my photos with the world.
I’ve been taking pictures with my iPhone since I can remember. It wasn’t until I would only post “good” pictures on Instagram that I started to take photography serious. Following some of my favorite photographers on social media helped spark that desire to really pursue photography to be one of my main hobbies in the past year.
Thankfully where I live and what I do for a living, I am able to always capture the essence of what I see. So here’s to the first of many.
PS. Thanks to Val, Yesi and Vic for “pushing me” to finally do this.
