I Shook The Hand Of Time, And I Knew...

Today was almost the most boring day i've had this week:
i've been editting photo's since probably six o'clock this afternoon.
i went to the laundromat -- got my clothes stolen temporarily by a hungry (broken) washing machine.
Modeled for three students.
And.. traveled to Taco Bell.

BUT, today my b16oo's & stuff arrived at my doorstep (not really, i had to pick it up).
And while its all still sitting in its original packaging in the hallway, it makes me feel great to know they're here.
Kinda like a kid a few days before christmas when he already sees packages under the tree.
It's tempting.

Tomorrow i'll be shooting Lyndsie Morris and former Hallmark graduate Taylor Greenwood in Northampton.. a current trend. This will be my last shoot to wrap up my personal portfoilio submissions, not to mention my last day at Hallmark before spring break in wilmington!
10am friday i should be in the air... for an hour... and then after my layover in Newark, in the air again to Raleigh. Who will be there to pick me up? i don't yet know, but someone will be there. i hope somebody will be there.

This image is of Travis Berry, shortly before Reed Sisson arrived on the scene.. also shortly before some testy guy called the local fuzz on us for parking in his EMPTY private lot. Lame.
One profoto acute w/ silver umbrella.

You Gotta Swim.

This week has been a rather... difficult obstacle in my life.
I've had 3 models for the upcoming week cancel on me just this afternoon, spring break starts this upcoming friday and i've still four personal works to produce, edit and print by thursday. My love-life has now officially become a lack-there-of-life and as graduation's inevitability begins to creep up i'm beginning to feel the pressures of reality and the economic tensions i'll very soon be faced with.
Andrew McMahon, frontman singer/songwriter of Jack's Mannequin once wrote when facing such hardships... times ten:

"You gotta swim
and swim when it hurts.
The whole world is watching,
you haven't come this far
to fall off the earth..
..You gotta swim
for nights that won't end.
Swim for your families,
your lovers, your sisters,
and brothers and friends."

Andrew was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2005 and through steady treatments and a marrow transfer from his sister katie, he was able to overcome a seemingly impossible obstacle and survive. His message is clear even when our futures, our paths are not.
Just keep swimming,
swim through the dark.
So while my petty issues seem rather insignificant,
i'll realize that.. they truly are.
And i'll keep swimming.

Self-portrait to follow -- near future.

It Is Currently 55 Degrees And Sunny...

Today has been a RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous day in the town of Turners Falls, Mass. There's scattered clouds... there's SUN... and more importantly, you can get away with the windows down in your saturn sl2. (you know.. that company GM is trying to get rid of -- lame.)
I spent the night at my younglife area director's house Dave Wintch last night with Travis Schultz and Andrew Park, easily two of the coolest, godliest, most humble guys i've ever surrounded myself with. Travis and i had a LOT of time to just sit around and catch up on all the garbage going on in our lives, mistakes we made and what we plan to do about it.
More and more i've realized lately, that there's never a moment in my life worth worrying about the past -- its the past, let it be. What i find more important now is what exactly i plan to do about it. What have i learned and where do i go from here.
After all the deep convo, we grabbed a handful of ice cubes and started stuffing them in Andrews mouth -- he sleeps with his mouth open.
THAT was hilarious...!
Early this morning Trav and i woke up, loaded Dave's kids up with sugar and wound them up pretty tight.
Oh yeah, then we took some pictures.
The location's in Northampton, and i had one profoto acute with me, canon 5d - 24.70mm f2.8
I know i never mention all those details, but i'm feeling techie today.

EDIT -- Photos will be up later today / night as i've gotta be in amherst in thirty minutes and i have Wyldlife this afternoon. Google: Wyldlife.

Not Dead-List...!

So apparently it is NOT a crime to be snowed into another state while working on your assignments. However, it can be mistaken for laziness.

Shortly after walking out of the Hallmark Educational Facility near 3:30pm today, i froze and did a quick double-take towards the very doors i had just entered the parking lot through moments ago.

As i had indeed subconsciously seen originally, my dead-list status had been changed.
Not to the status you're assuming, based upon the title of this blog (and if you hadn't read the title, you're doing so now), but in fact.. an addition sunrise-sunset (some call this a "day") had been added to my status.
At this point i would NOT be able to check school equipment out this upcoming monday, as i had planned for -- but rather tuesday.

Annoyed and somewhat confused, i approached Tom, the kindest of characters, in the equipment room *saves you long boring conversation* and he removed me from the dead-list entirely. Apparently *nameless person who answered the phone this past monday morning at the hallmark educational building (facility)* failed to mention my circumstances and relay them to Tom before i went this whole week without necessary equipment to produce images.

I am no longer on the dead-list and will in fact be able to not only check out equipment this monday AND tuesday, but also this weekend, which saves me a TON of time and effort so i can knock this stuff out head on before SPRING BREAK!

The unrelated picture accompanying this post is a picture of Bobby O (or Bobby Quest for those trying to facebook him based on his ridiculous good looks alone).
He's a great friend of mine and terribly dependable.
Within the next post or two, i'll continue this story with a series of images from this same event during my... christmas break of 2008.

-sweet dreams, love.

Dead-Listed...

Dead-list happens when one does not return school equipment on time the following day -- no excuses. And it just so happens that i was snowed into Virginia, of all places, this past monday WITH school equipment. Dead list.
This means i am unable to use any and all school equipment for a week, in this case March 9th.
That's a bummer.
So now that i have all this free time on my hands.. i've been copyrighting my work and catching up on some video games -- when i'm not modeling for the work everyone else is getting done, because they are not dead-listed.

These are product shots i had done about two weeks ago.
The product was shot on a completely white backdrop and the patterns and shadows were added manually.

Cheers.

Another Day At The Office...

Went home to fredericksburg this weekend, hoping to knock out a few assignments and a tad bit of my personal work.
Well that didn't happen.
I should really start checking the weather before i leave my room... or the state for that matter.
It rained all weekend, and when it didn't rain -- it snowed. In Virginia. A lot, much to my surprise.
I instead spent that time catching up with some old friends and cleaning out my closet... both literally and metaphorically. Found some old trinkets and returned them to their rightful owners -- whether they happily received them or not i cannot say.
This image you see here is of a new-found friend Jesse M. of a town not too far from TF but definitely out of state. Twice he crossed the border to hangout and let me waste some studio time.
Jesse will most likely be a world-renowned traveler within the next few years... it seems he's been everywhere already and he's only 24!

This Never Originally Had A Title...

So... week 24 at hallmark finally wrapped up and shipped off to my archives better known as "memories".

Phase III portfolios are due 8.5am tomorrow and i canNOT wait to get this thing turned in and off my chest.
It's been a ridiculously beneficial experience and it has furthered my belief that hallmark truly is a one-of-a-kind school that anyone would be so fortunate to attend.

The linked image is my entry for the 'high key' assignment portion of my portfolio. This is Tamzeena... aka zeena... of Mercyhouse Church. She's an amazing gal and has more responsibilities as a mother and grad student than you'll know, but she never shows it.