San Francisco

Saturday, June 16th 

Hello all! It is a beautiful day to be alive. I just wanted to post some photos from the trip I took this past March to San Francisco, California. The city by the bay was beautiful in every way. This was my first trip to California and I was not let down. Along with seeing the usual tourist attractions including: the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Lombard Street, it was also an amazing experience to just walk through the city. Being from a small, southern state, it's easy to forget how much more there is to experience out there. It can be intimidating to go to a different place, but everyone needs to experience life and what it has to offer. Remember, You Only Live Once. YOLO! Now go, go experience life!

Song of the day: "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z

walking towards the Golden Gate Bridge

The Bay

fog rolling in on the bridge

I thought the road winding into the rolling hills was beautiful, almost unreal. 

Hello All,
 Today I hired my niece to model for some test shooting in the new studio; her payment included a rented redbox movie, and a soon to be purchased new toy. I feel like I'm ripping her off a little because her photos turned out so beautifully today.  I have photographed her since she was a baby. It really is amazing to see how beautifully she responds in front of the camera. All the time she has spent posing for me, really shows as she has grown older. Sometimes my attitude towards photography can get negative, but then something happens and I find inspiration. Photographing family seems to always get me back on track. It reminds me why I love my job so much. There is nothing like capturing beauty in someone, that they didn't realize was there. The key is to make the person comfortable, otherwise, there is no point in making portraits of that person. I still struggle making first time clients feel comfortable, but moments like today with my niece, pushes me to keep trying. Everybody deserves to have at least one portrait of themselves where they see more than just their flaws. Peace out my friends.

Song of the day: "Lucky" by Jason Mraz

On June 11, 2012, Clinton, MS had a severe storm come through the area. Luckily there were no reported tornadoes, however, our pool area suffered from the storm. Of course, it would get damage, after we worked hard to get the pool pavilion looking good and "party ready". Now we will have a rush to get our pavilion in top notch shape for the next upcoming party.  Sometimes when these kinds of things happen I wonder why do I even try. Why do we try? We build knowing that one day, things will fall. Well I guess its not about that because nothing lasts forever. It's more about how you handle yourself when things get dark. Just remember, the sun shines brightest after the storm. As Andy Grammer says, "ya gotta keep your head up". 

So my after graduation plan has begun! I have opened up a small studio in Clinton, MS. After being so drained from my last semester as an undergraduate, I thought it would be a good idea to create some new energy to get me rolling with life. That's where energymuse came into play. I found this interesting website with all types of jewelry. Each piece of jewelry is designed with specific stones to create different energies for different people. I found the present necklace to be perfect for my circumstances. The affirmation for the present necklace is, "I surrender both my past and my future; I live in the power of now." It is a perfect attitude for where I am at in life at the moment. I live for now! Instead of focusing on my mistakes in the past or worrying with where I'll be in 10 years, I'm going to focus on living in the moment. Check out their website at energymuse.com. Below is a photo of me with my new energy, check it out!

VULNERABLE DISPLACEMENT

This series is a culmination of my undergraduate work from Mississippi State. Creating and developing the idea for this body took a great amount of research and experimentation. With the help of my thesis committee: Marita Gootee, Dominic Lippillo, and Benjamin Harvey, I completed this series in March of 2012. Below I have included the artist statement along some of my favorite photographs from the series.

Hello All!
 It has been a while since working with a blog, however, I'm up for the challenge. This will be my place to share with the world my inner thoughts. I will be sharing all sorts of information that I feel is important to the rest of my fellow bloggers. Most importantly, I will keep you all updated on my photography career. I just accomplished a huge step in getting where I want to go. I was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a concentration in photography from Mississippi State University. Up next, I'm not sure, but I'm going to keep pushing myself and see where it takes me.