Kropiewnicki picked me up from the airport in Arkansas and we drove for two hours back to Tulsa while listening to a mixture of Muse, Keane, and Pedulum. His expensive $700+ stereo system in his car leaves nothing unturned when it comes to bass. It’s quite a thrill and quite enjoyable. Once in town I experience the new awe that is Quiktrip. Quiktrip is and has been a favorite and it’s always good to go inside one.

My father and stepmother took Friday night and cooked for me and some friends I had over. It was a great time to see everyone all at once and start the trip off with fun and friends. The morning following entailed with family portraits with the Appleman family. I went to high school with Laura and used to go to her house with Kropiewnicki late at night and play Guitar Hero with the two of them. It was a fun shoot that involved learning the awkward things each person did. I hadn’t seen her since graduation, so it was good to briefly catch up.

Saturday night alone made this entire trip worth it. I had my three best friend that I’ve known for most of if not all of my life over to stay the night and hang out in which we called it a “guy’s night”. I honestly felt like I was a freshman in high school again. We did everything the same, that is, went to Quiktrip and got snacks and drinks, played Monopoly, played Super Smash Bros. on the Gamecube, then finished the night with the movie Zombieland. We finally went to sleep around 5:00am, only to wake up at 9:00am for them to go to work and me to carry on with my day. I love these three men and it was so great to see them and do this for the first time in such a long time.

I spent Father’s day with my dad mostly. My sister took him out to eat dinner and I tagged along. It was good seeing her and hearing what’s new in her life. My dad and I went to Best Buy, Ultimate Electronics, Guitar Center, and the old school Wizards Asylum, where I used to go on Sunday afternoons for Pokemon and DragonBall Z card tournaments. Our excuse to go initially was to waste time before we went to dinner as mentioned above.

Monday was spent with my mother at her house. She and my Nana, her mother, just got into town from Wisconsin. I taught my mother the basics of iTunes and caught her up to the digital age of importing CDs into iTunes. Now that she is in the year 2000 for technology my brother and I are trying to get her to 2010. Slowly, yet surely.

My last full day here in Tulsa started with a senior portrait shoot with a friend’s younger brother, Jacob. It was an enjoyable shoot on a piece of property owned by the family and it consisted of several tractors and old vehicles for props. Definitely a great opportunity to shoot some new and unique. I ended by Tulsa photo shoots with a shoot for Zach Lund and Daniel Opatich. We went downtown to 15th street and found some great local shops. It was my first shoot that consisted of only film and a majority of the images turned out great.

Overall, this trip back to Tulsa was everything I was expecting and then some. Now I head off to Texas to celebrate my grandparents fiftieth anniversary. Such a rare feat for anyone in today’s time. Looking forward to several photographic opportunities with family. Until I get back, I hope you all enjoy your week  and weekend.

I’ve known of the band Keane for quite awhile now but have never taken the time to get to listen to their music and see if I enjoy it. That changed a few weeks ago when I listened to their new album and became hooked. I tried digging their new album Night Train but have failed to get attached. I can’t say I’ve given it a complete chance, but from what I’ve heard I am not impressed. Enough slander; I definitely recommend this album Hope and Fears to any and all. It’s hard for me to find an album that I love majority of the tracks. Great vocals, neat keyboard, favorite drum style in majority of their songs. Just an all around excellent find.

On a side note into my personal life, I recently got a seasonal job at Sea World. I actually went in today and filled out all the necessary paperwork and got a drug test that consisted of cutting of some hair on the head. I’ve always heard about those style drug tests but had only experience the joy of pissing in a cup. The lady there was enjoyable to talk to and we somehow ended up on the conversation of finances and adulthood. To continue on, I’ll be working in a section of Sea World called Discovery Cove, doing video work for them and their dolphin “experience”. I only add quotes because I don’t quite know what it entails. Majority of what I know is they made sure I was comfortable being around dolphins. I see this as potential and fun opportunity as well as a chance to change my mind for deep-sea animals.

Aside from the seasonal job, I’ve been working on some freelance photography as much as possible. I did my first shoot for RELEVANT Magazine and turned it in to them. I’ll see where that takes me. There is prospect of me venturing out to San Diego in November for a wedding if things work out and it becomes a sealed deal. God has been blessing me so much lately and I can’t even begin to say how fortunate I’ve been. It’s crazy how it all boils down to a pull on my insides that keep me aware that God is working.

I head home Friday and spend a few days in Oklahoma before I head down to Texas for my grandparents 50th anniversary. I’ll be having quite an eventful and productive summer.

This song is so great. The beginning sounds like the beginning of an intense action-packed movie trailer, turns into something that’s a mix between a techno and hip-hop sound, then goes trance sounding.

And do not try to be consistent, for what is true to you today may not be true at all tomorrow, because you see a better truth.”

Brenda Ueland, author of the book If You Want to Write (A book about Art, Independence and Spirit) has such great quotes inside. This book is quite enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it. In fact, I thought to myself that every student in high school should have the opportunity to know about this book’s existence and be able to read it. While I don’t see that happening, partly for reasons explained in the book, I wish I would have read this sooner.

It isn’t just for writers. It is for everyone.

Shiver

I feel the cold against my skin,
Shivering as we look at the stars.
The touch of your lips on mine,
I now feel warmth from inside
I don’t shiver any longer.

I feel the cold against my skin,
Shivering as we walk on the ice.
The touch of your hand in mine
I now feel warmth from inside
I don’t shiver any longer.

I feel the warmth against my skin,
Content as I lie here in my bed.
No touch from your fingers and lips,
I feel nothing from inside
My mind is a clock that’s ticking,
My heart, a tool that keeps beating.

It’s interesting how life comes and goes and we build and grow from each experience. We are molded by the cuts of the wind that surrounds us on a daily basis. Nostalgia has been getting the best of me and I wish I could make it stop. A visit back home is going to be nice and I look forward to it.

[hint] click the image to enlarge it via Lightroom Plugin. :)

Hope you enjoy.

[See post to listen to audio]

I switch in my mind what I want to do with my life more than a square dancer changes partners and I hate not being certain. My heart is falling for video and film, coincidentally, and I think I like where it is headed. I’ve been spending time watching more short films than usual, which is a huge improvement from not taking the time to watch any short films on my own. The video below is great. I didn’t really know what was going on in the very beginning, but I ended up crying by the end of it. I always claim to be a cat lover, but dogs are just as great. This is such a great and touching story captured very well.

Graduation is in fifteen days and I couldn’t be more excited, except I still don’t have a job. I’ve been meeting with my Career Development Advisor and we’ve been talking through available options and what I need to be doing, which is excruciatingly helpful. He’s a pretty cool and enjoyable guy and is legitimately relaxed. I I came rushing into the meeting today in cut-offs, a plaid button-up I grabbed from my closet, and my trusty Vans shoes. I felt I had determined his personality enough on the first meeting to go ahead and guess that it wouldn’t be the end of the world, and it wasn’t. Enough said on that, as I am sure all one or two of you that actually read this are so concerned.

Ben is moving back to Albany, GA on Friday to work on Sherwood’s new feature. He’s been a great friend these past two years and I am both stoked for his opportunity to work on a feature film and sad that he is going away. We’ve shared many many experiences and memories that I will always remember, so long as I don’t lose my mind when I get older. I don’t know why I go out of my way to do this, but Ben Mcleod has a website that you can go to and read his four, if that, blog posts. He keeps up with it as much as he takes care of his pet horse. A few general and vague topics covered from memories include but are not limited to camping and driving his car into a water picket, not picking him up, visiting his family, watching him get made fun of in class, and have him talk to and try to get Starbucks employees on his side while trying to belittle Star Wars. He is a good man and I will miss him, that is until he returns home to his friends back here in Orlando.

Despite being a creeper story, I will share a brief look into my photography past. I picked up photography in January of 2009 and am great friends with Rachel Gittens. Rachel works at Relevant Magazine and knew Matt from there. To connect the circle, she told me how Matt had started out, from what she was aware, and it went from there. I checked out some of his work early on as I started photography and instantly became a huge fan of his style of photography. I’ve explored the Internet and come across several professional photographers websites and galleries and I can’t find the same emotion and style that is captured with his work. That being said, it comes down to me saying that of all the photographers out there, that I am aware of, I have been most inspired by Matt and look into his work the most when it comes to photography. He has since started a company in Virginia called The Duck Duck Collective and I definitely recommend you to check out his/their work.

A few behind the scenes pictures from today’s shoot. On a bad note, I wasn’t thinking and parked in a spot that wasn’t for public parking, so I came back to my car with two parking tickets. I hope Orlando uses that money well.