"Put your hand right here in mine"

My friend Diana and I attended Andersonville MidsommerFest on Saturday June7th. We’re both fans of local artist Nathan Graham and wanted to attend his performance. Shortly after his set began and beautiful couple made their way froward and began to dance like no one was watching. Nathan sang a number of slow and upbeat tunes as the rain washed away any worry or care in the world for these two - dancing among the raindrops on Clark Street.

You can listen to Nathans music on Spotify | I’ve also included a performance by Graham from Fret12 at The Salt Shed.

Appreciation

Note to self: All of the work you did was worth it…

"Where I'm From"

Where I'm from

The church bell knocks its brass clapper

From its tower

At the top of every hour

Awaken,

The morning,

The Mourning Dove sings its song of yearning

A new day is dawning

Where I'm from

The emergency alarm wails

Distress signals

And distant train wheels

Passing along the rails

At the edge of town

A familiar sound

Where I'm from

Where have I been

Red church doors, stain-glass, and hymns

Lessons of history and obedience

Arithmetic and perseverance

Make believe day dreams turned

Truthful reality's

Where I'm from

The ghosts of life's past

Flash,

Vast memories of fresh cut grass

Pressed against dew drenched toes

Bloodied knees and dandelion blows

Wishes to a future unknown

A love for life

Before life's loving woes

Where I'm from

Where my bones have grown

Where I depart

Where I return, home.

Where I'm from

Everything is the same

Hauntingly,

As time reveals my age

My adolescence will forever remain,

Where I'm from

- STRIX GENUS

April 2nd, 2024

FroSkate x Swish Meet Up

On July 07th 2023, FroSkate - a BIPOC women and TQGNCNB centered skate collective, and Swish - Chicagos first queer/trans basketball meet up group collaborated their communites for a pride month celebratuin and fundariaser. The event took place in La Villita Skatepark where a bbq, a pick up basketball tournament, and freestyle skatboarding took place. I had a great time shooting around and meeting a few new folks as well as catching up with a few familair faces. If you’re ever in Chicago I highly encourage you to check out both of these collectives. All donations went to Black and Pink + Out of the Closet Chicago.

Clcik here to check out my reel recap on Instagram

A Letter of Gratitude

Thank You

Thank you for holding space for me. You were one of the few places that gave me a sense of freedom to fully be myself and. Your rushing water and applause from the trees drowned out all the worldly noise making it easier for me to think clearly. My mind would wander with thoughts like the water wandering through the stream. Everything flowing, and free to simply be.

Thank you for the amazing memories. From escaping the summer heat with a friend and letting water rush on our back against the water, to taking photos of a friend that I’d later spend 3 years in a relationship with. You stole my first iPhone, but that’s okay. It had memories of a previous lover that I wouldn’t have let go of had it not been for you.

Thank you for providing life. Your canopy of trees draw small crowds of folks who know about you to enjoy the beauty you harbor. Wildlife uses you as a water source; your banks a place for mothers to lay their eggs. For me, you make me feel alive every time I’d come to you. Walking down the hill and listening to the waterfall inviting any traveler in like a siren to men at sea.

I will miss you greatly as I begin my new chapter in the city. The memory of you will always be in my heart. Until next time.

Homie Hideout

January 4th - 6th 2021

Happy New Year

Caitlin, one of my best friends, suggested we go out of town for a few days because we both were having a really hard time staying sane at home. She asked “beach or mountains” and of course I chose mountains. She booked us a cabin and away we went to explore Helen GA.

As many times as I’ve visited north Georgia I had never been to Helen. It is a tourist town for sure, with German influenced architecture and shops. Our cabin, Knotts Landing, was a cute one bedroom Air BND that sat on top of a lake just 10-15 minutes from the downtown area of Helen. I slept in my cozy Coleman sleeping bag on the couch and Cait took the bed. It had everything we needed apart from food in the fridge so drove to Walmart and got some food to utilize the grill. Night one was kababs, night two, grilled chicken (would have been fish if we caught any).

We explored downtown Helen during the day. PROS -Not a lot of crowds because of the pandemic and the holidays ending. CONS- Not much was opened because of the pandemic and the holidays ending. Despite the chilling temperatures our first and only adventure stop was the Georgia Mountain Coaster , a one seater (one adult one small child) manual break coaster that takes you down a 1 1/2 minute decline through the mountains. We did it twice. It defiantly brought out our inner child. We shopped and ate at Cowboys and Angels Restaurant and then I got a little tipsy a Serenity Cellars, a small vineyard with really good wine!

Overall we had a really good time! Sometimes you just need to chill with a homie to feel normal again. Pro Tip, fishing in below 40 temps at midnight with catfish bait may not work. Also, don’t go to Helen Tuesday-Wednesday, its the “weekend” for a lot of shop owners.

Theres a shorter version of the trip on my YouTube channel but I like this one better.

It's been a year

2020 happened. Here’s to the future.

Scenes From the Cape

In June of 2019 we drove the Jeep from Atlanta to Cape Cod for a 2 week vacation at Heather’s grandmothers cottage. The trip was long and exhausting, but it was all worth it once we finally arrived. The moment we stepped out of the car we could smell the Atlantic and could hear the roaring of the waves welcoming us to our destination.

Growing up in the northeast I had never been anywhere north of New York I was super excited to go. Driving through Connecticut to Massachusetts was the best part of the trip; mostly two lane highways and a lot of scenery.

The cape is truly one of the most beautiful towns I have ever visited. Learning about it’s history, meeting Heather’s grandmother, Nancy and her neighbors, and getting to enjoy this place Heather used to go as a child was such a wonderful experience.

From the Brewster Store, to the narrow bustling streets of Provincetown, our vacation to the Cape was truly one of the highlights of 2019 for me. I didn’t film too much, but here are some of the highlights from our trip.

Just looking back on this trip last year compared to how things are now with the pandemic has me feeling some type of way. Hopefully we will be returning soon!

Ruins

Southwest Atlanta Junkyard X Warehouse

Last autumn two friends and I went about the city to find cool places to shoot. We came across this discarded warehouse in southwest Atlanta. I don't no much about it, but from what I saw part of the old railroad used to run through here, it’s tracks now paved over with concrete. It appeared to have also been someones dumping ground for old broken trucks. We couldn't find a way inside, but the outside was just as entertaining. 

"Amicalola Falls"

November 13, 2016

My friend Nader and I both had nothing to do with our Sunday. We wanted to get out of town for a while so we decided to head north for Amicalola Falls. Over the past few weeks smoke has been drifting into north Georgia from the wildfires in Tennessee, North and South Carolina. The smoke from the wildfires made for some hazy shots, which I love, and the falls itself was a gorgeous sight. It was well worth a tread up the 604 steps to see. lol 

Atlanta Pride 2016

10/07/16 - 10/09/16

We come together once a year to celebrate equality, life, and above all things love. This years Pride Festival was definitely one for the books. Happy Pride, Atlanta!

((Shot a few moments with my camera. Did not get as much footage as I'd hoped. I was waaaay to lit.))

Dog Park

Leash-less and Lovin' it!

Our dog, Bella hasn't ever really done well in public places as well as car rides, and walks. Since we don't have a fence for her to roam around in, we have to take her out ourselves which can be a very difficult and frustrating task since she can be so skittish. On a walk she gets very nervous (barks a lot, whines, doesn't listen) especially around other dogs, but we have been very patient as we understand why she is this way, and we have been working with her on this for quite some time now. We try to take her on drives as often as we can. I've attempted to take her on hikes with me but, I find that it's a bit to much for her so I just to stick to neighborhood walks. In the last year, she has gotten so much better. We've been setting small goals for her and she has been meeting them. One of our/my goals was to take her to a dog park, which can be a very risky thing for a dog like her. 

Early Wednesday morning, I took Bella to her first trip to the dog park. It was only the two of us for about 20 minutes until another (very kind) lady showed up with her two (also very kind) dogs. I had Bella in the small dog area and the other two we're on the large - two separate enclosures. They met through the fence and talked to each other in their doggy ways. After 10 minutes of sniffing each other they all sort of went back to doing their own thing. Bella played for about an hour before she completely wore herself out. I was/am beyond proud of her and her progress. We took a special trip to get ice cream for her before getting back to the house, haha. I'm going to try to take her once a week so that she can continue to get more comfortable around other dogs/animals and also get a good lil' exercise. CANNOT wait until we get that fence!

 I managed to grab a few clips of her while there. Sorry in advance for the shaky cam. 

Spring Summer Reel 2016

Had a lot of random footage from would-be videos this past year; exploring abandoned buildings and just other miscellaneous stuff around the city. Decided to throw a little reel together with a few clips to sort of put em' to use. I haven't uploaded anything in while. I've missed editing.

Music: "Bill Murray" -Phantagram

"Road Trip to The Ryman: An Evening in Nashville"

On June 11th I took a solo trip to Nashville to see Stephen King at the Ryman Auditorium. Back in March I found out he would be doing a tour to promote his new book "End of Watch", and making a stop in Nashville. I'm a MASSIVE King fan, so going to see him was a must, especially since he was so close. I patiently waited on the Ticket Master App for the tickets to be released because I knew they'd be sold out in minutes. Luckily I made it and got my seat before they did! 

The drive to Nashville is about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from Atlanta. Took I-75, to I-24, into I-40, a very scenic ride passing through the mountains of Georgia and Tennessee. I kept myself occupied listening to podcasts and signing along to Rihanna's "Anti" album, as well as taking some snapshots along the way. 

When I arrived I stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall vegetarian restaurant called, Sunflower Cafe, and got myself a veggie burger with a side of fruit and quinoa/rice (way more than I needed, so much food). The food was delicious and the staff was so nice. Definitely recommend eating here if ever in Nashville. 

Once I ate I had about an hour and a half to spare before entering the auditorium. I didn't realize that in Nashville they are behind an hour so I unintentionally over estimated my arrival time. To my luck it was CMA Weekend so there were tons of tourists, and events going on within a block of the Ryman and it took me about 30 minutes just to park. Once I finally found a place to leave my car, I had a little less than an hours left and the line outside the venue had already started and was growing by the second. 

After waiting in line for about 45 minutes it was time to finally see Stephen. The line slowly pushed forward as we all staggered our way inside. If seeing Stephen wasn't enough for me, being inside the Ryman was such an amazing experience. There is so much history within it's walls being the oldest and most monumental venue in Nashville with many of music's greatest legends having served on it's stage, such as Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash. I took my seat and after yet another hour of anticipation, finally he had appeared on stage. Honestly, I have never been so star struck in my life. He was as perfect as I could imagine. (I couldn't take any photographs because we were under intense watch as we were not allowed to). 

Once he was done speaking, and I could breathe again, we all pilled our way out the door where we received out copies of "End Of Watch". I then spent about an hour sigh seeing the strip still packed with CMA goers and purchased a few souvenirs before grabbing some gas and taking the journey back home. It was such a great evening and my only regret is not getting to stay for longer than that night. Will definitely return for sure, hopefully very soon.

"A Moment at Tybee"

Tybee Island 6-9am

...Because sometimes you need a lil' getaway.

Happy Place

Happy Place

We all have that one place. That place you run to when your down. That place you can always find peace within yourself. That place that isn't exactly home but somehow it is. This is mine.

Friends in Bands

I've been taking photos of local bands here in Atlanta for a little over a year now. Majority of the gigs I've shot, are all thanks to my friend, Matt. I met Matt (lead guitarist of local instrumental, metal band, Spore Lord) back in February of 2015. He and I became pretty cool. He'd invite me to shows and had introduced me to a lot other bands to cover.

One of those bands included group of guys called, Uncle Van and the Buzzards of Fuzz, whom I later met at their album release party at The Music Room. I fell in love with their music as well as the guys themselves and made a point to shoot every show I could. Cool thing is they guys are Spore Lord and the Buzzards are all really good friends and have known each other for years. What's even better is having been accepted into such a rad group of people. 

Yesterday they played a gig together at The Earl. Matt's wife was celebrating her birthday the same night, so it was destined for a good time. We ate, we laughed, we drank, a lot. It's never a dull time with them.

I love you all. You literally rock my world. 

Happy Birthday Val.

Check out the boys

Spore Lord

Music

Buzzards

Music

Early Bird

Among all of my favorite things to do in life, there is nothing like waking up early enough to catch a sunrise and head out for a morning hike. As a photographer I find dawn to be the ideal time of day to go out and shoot.  It's quite, the light is a lot softer, and if you get lucky you may catch some wildlife you typically wouldn't find roaming around out in the open at any other time of day. 

Friday had been a wash out, and overnight the rain had finally stopped and the temperature decreased, which could only mean one thing, fog! There is nothing more majestic to me than a hazy sunrise, so I threw on my hiking boots, grabbed my camera and made my way over to the the dock at Sweetwater Creek.

(Creek + Trees + Fog + Sunrise = A Happy Me)

Here are a few shots I got using my phone (since I idiotically took a dead camera). I headed for the trails after I took a few shots on the dock, but  I was coming down with a cold and hadn't slept that night, and didn't really have the stamina to stay out for another hour. Also my phone is on 2% and that is a big  no,no when you're alone in the middle of the woods. 

I also saw a fox, but he ran away before I could take a picture of him.

All images were taken with the Samsung Galaxy s5. Edited with VSCOcam

So are you a night owl or an early bird???