Finding Togetherness With Distancing

March 23rd, 2020

As we all know, the corona-virus has affected many people, families, and places. As we pray for those affected by this as well as the national lock-down, I as well as my family have been practicing social distancing. With many jobs on hold and people in their homes quarantining, like myself, I have found myself restless and looking for inspiration to continue my creative flow. Honestly, it took me a few days to realize not being able to do your everyday routine doesn't mean you can't go out and enjoy the free, fun, and finer things in life!

One thing we got to do was enjoy the care package my mom sent us for Valentines day with candy, which I don't eat much, heart shaped noodles for my favorite Chicken Alfredo, and some wine my mom and I usually like to drink. This was fun as I got to take so many photos and didn't have any time crunch, needs, or anything to worry about; just me and my camera and my family having fun. Another one of my favorite parts of this quarantine was going to see the LDS Temple, whiich stands for Latter-day Saints, in Gilbert Arizona. I've always been fascinated by buildings, and have always loved taking photos of places and things that stand out to me.

The structure and the trees around it look so cinematic like a movie scene, and it was raining so the street was glistening and reflective of the building. This part came from a session of exploring where we went to check out the church, and some other sites i'd seen while living in Arizona that I never got a chance to stop at.

For example off the 202 the Dignity Hospital always caught my eye, so we decided to stop over there. They had a sign we thought was interesting that read, "No Hospital Deliveries", which may be a normal thing but we thought it was unique due to the virus and overflow of patients at the hospital, but who knows! Although I have still had a few jobs its been a much more relaxed week and a half from what i'm use to and I have been taking advantage of it and loving it! To end this blog I wanted to say that even in times that seem scary or like we're suppose to be caught up in worry, you have to find happiness and positivity in what you have. When you take time to see whats around you and not get so caught up in the world and whats going on outside you realize all the inspiration and creativity you need might be easier to find then you think!

Love Makes Life Easy

March 2nd, 2020

One of the most contagious things you can come across is energy. When someone has a warm spirit or you feel something familiar or you admire something you usually seem to gravitate to it. My latest photo shoot was a genuine example of the worlds greatest type of energy, love!

Ashley and Micah booked me to take photos of their engagement and engagements are sometimes organized and the couple isn't exactly looking forward to it so they just want to get it done, or the fiance is making them do it and they aren't all in to it so you have to pump them up, which is fine. This was not the case with these two. From the second we started shooting you could feel their loving energy and how much they cared and wanted to be around each other. They knew each others every move, making my job fun and easy!

Some couples come with no ideas and leave the creativity up to me and we go from there, which is awesome too, but Ashley and Micah had their own style and creativity and usually when that happens you just let them create, and it worked out beautifully! We had a great time exploring Surprise, AZ and shooting in the beautiful open of Arizona! One of the main reasons I love shooting engagements the most is because it leaves me with a feeling of happiness and fulfillment that you left someone with something they will remember forever as a beginning to the rest of their lives! Big thank you to Ashley & Micah, you can check out some photos from our session below!

Relax, like a cat!

Feb. 28th, 2020

Sometimes as a photographer, I get so caught up in my work I forget about whats going on around me. For example last night was one of those nights, I was reaching back to leads, editing photos, working on my website, doing so much at one time my original plan had been to go down to Tempe Town Lake and take a new photo of the bridge that i'd been planning for days (old photo posted to the right).

Frantically, as it was getting late, I made sure I had my bag, camera, and tripod to get ready to go on our adventure! We loaded into the car and began the drive down to Tempe, I was feeling really good about it at that point and had the perfect spot planned out. Once we arrived I got out of the car and scanned the area to see that the spot I had planned up over the lake overlooking the city was vacant and screaming my name! I walked over there ready to shoot and set up my tripod and hooked up my camera. Once I had everything ready I went to turn on my camera when I realized it wasn't turning on. At this point i'm thinking, "great, my camera is broken", among many other "whys" going through my head.

As i'm thinking of millions of ways in my head this could be happening, I take the camera off the tripod and flip it over and open the battery cap only to find, no battery. I then looked in my bag for my spares when it hit me. I could see in my head exactly where I left my batteries and chargers as I was letting them charge on the floor where I work and had forgot to grab them before I left, I was shook.

I went back to the car disappointed when my girlfriend asked me whats wrong and I had to tell her, "I left my batteries at home, and my charger". I realized my attention was on the wrong things when I had a plan of action.

This experience taught me just to RELAX, slow down and enjoy life. Nothing in life needs to be rushed so much to where it affects you. Take your time to enjoy every minute and laugh at the moments you can't control, its the best medicine!