Video Games Sneak Peek

I had an amazing night in the studio with Video Games. Here's a little sneak peek at the incredible talented Kent Erickson playing the trumpet.

I Designed an Album Cover!

I have an amazingly talented musician friend named Mike Kelly. When he asked me to design his new album cover of course I said yes!! Months have gone by and I have been waiting and waiting to finally be able to share this project with you guys.

The album's official release date is August 24th, but it is available for pre-sale. Visit his website to order your copy now and you also get a free autographed tour poster! You can also download a free song from his new album. Mike is currently touring all over Texas and New Mexico. The show dates are on his website, so if you get a chance to catch one of his shows you won't regret it.

¡Revíva!

I finally got a chance to post images from the ¡Revíva! show on May 21st. This band gets batter every time I see them. They are a group of awesome, talented guys and I love going to their shows. I always have such a blast!

Check out all of the images on my Facebook Fan Page. 

365 Project: Day 102

I wish I could just stay like this for just a few days. Curled up in bed, headphones on, iPod in hand. Content. But, you know, life keeps on going. You can't stop it. You can't slow it down. It moves on dragging you along with it whether you need to stop for a breather or not. Time keeps passing. New days keep beginning and ending and beginning again. Life doesn't care if you are tired. It doesn't care if you aren't ready. It doesn't care if you want to stay 26 a little longer.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Yep. In a few hours I'll be 27. I don't feel older. I just feel like I'm not living my life fast enough to keep up with my age. I haven't accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish by the time I turned 27. But somehow I'm supposed to accept that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be at this point and be ok with that.

Last year I went skydiving for my birthday. What better way to celebrate your life than by doing something that could end it? Short of driving into oncoming traffic, I can't top flinging myself out of a plane at 18,000 feet this year. I'm not even going to try. 26 was a tough year for me. Come to think of it, so was 25...and 24. Your 20s are tough. There is so much to learn about yourself. You do a lot of growing in your 20s. You're becoming this person. This adult. I'm still just trying to get my head on straight and get a grip on what I'm doing with myself. I feel like I'm going to look back on these years through the eyes of experience and shake my head wondering, why was I so worried, why was I so confused, why was I so stressed, why was I so hard on myself, why did I take things so seriously?

Honestly, I just want to stay right here, eat a cupcake, and let my biological clock tick over to 27 like a dream. Another year of my life. Gone. Lived. Here I stand on the brink of another beginning. Oh, 27, please be kind.

Keep Me Posted

When I was asked if I wanted to design a venue poster for my friend, Mike Kelly, of course I said YES! I love doing this sort of work. I have photographed Mike many times over the last year and I was thrilled to create these for him. 

If you don't know Mike Kelly yet, you should definitely check him out.

365 Project: Day 86

I just pulled in the driveway after my weekend shooting Mike Kelly, Asleep at the Wheel, and Bleu Edmondson. Its so good to be home. I feel like I've been away a lot in the last few months and every time I return it makes me appreciate the feeling of home even more.

My bedroom has become a little world that I have created for myself. This is the first time I have really had my own room since I was 18. I was so excited to make this space my own. This tiny little room has become not only my bedroom, but also my office, my creative space, and my sanctuary. I spend the majority of my time in there.

There is something about standing in someone's own private space with all of their things that can tell you so much about them.  From the art they have hanging on the wall, or the lack thereof, to the color of their sheets, or the furniture. Are they a pack rat or a minimalist? The things that people choose to surround themselves with speak volumes about them. Standing in my room you probably get a really good understanding of my personality.

There are lots of nice, calming blues and greens. My room has big windows that let in a lot of light during the day. There are 3 lamps in this little space. I despise overhead lighting, so I rely solely on these lamps to give off a soft, warm glow at night. I have a small desk lamp with an embroidered shade, a japanese paper lantern and blue, glass vintage lamp. The switch on my wall never gets flipped. I also have a ton of Candle Cottage candles that add a little ambiance.

Having a desk I can tolerate sitting at all day is really important to me. I searched all over until I found the perfect little vintage desk. It was supposed to be used as a vanity, but I have repurposed it as my work space. Its small and made of actual wood, not that compressed particle board crap that they make most furniture out of these days. It has brass knobs on the drawers and small decorative detailing in the wood. Its perfect for me.

The walls are full of art and photography that inspires me. Some I created and some I didn't. I have three posters from Paul Michael Dellostritto. He designs incredible venue posters for bands and live music shows. There is a bulletin board above my desk full of Polaroids, inspiring quotes and pictures of family. I have my Shade image in a 20x20 framed print hanging next to my desk. That picture was taken on Crystal Beach, one of my favorite places in the world and I look at it often. There is a print of The Soul of the Rose by John Williams Waterhouse next to my bed. I've had this print since high school. It has those blues and greens that I love and the expression on the woman's face is so tranquil. She is lost in the moment and the scent of a rose and seems totally at peace.

In one corner I have a tall, black shelf full of books, photo albums, and vintage cameras. I don't keep many books around. I try to give them away or donate them once i've read them. The only books on the shelf are the ones I need for reference or ones that I really love and will read or look through again and again.

My vintage cameras all sit proudly on display on that same shelf. They are my babies and the only thing I collect.  I dream of all the pictures that they once took of events, families, friends and treasured memories in people's lives. I wish I could see the things they have seen.

My bed frame is black rod iron twisted into swirls and curly Qs. My mattress is covered with light cornflower blue sheets made of organic cotton. I have two pillows and I sleep with both of them at once. Each has a case to match the sheets. There is also a chocolate brown, chennile body pillow that I snuggle up next to. I have a down comforter with a soft, tan, micro suede duvet cover. My bed is amazing. Its a shame that I don't sleep much.

So, now that I'm home, I unpack the car, walk into my room, toss my coat on the bed and take a deep breath. Its so nice to have 4 walls I can call my own. A place where I can close the door behind me and decompress, relax, and spend time with myself. I love my little home.

365 Project: Day 84

On the road....again. I just can't seem to stay home these days. I'm off to fulfill another of my many New Year's resolutions, to photograph more musicians. This weekend I'm shooting Mike Kelly, Asleep At The Wheel, and Bleu Edmondson.

Long drives alone through the desert are good for contemplating the complexities of life. On my drive I was thinking about why I waited so long to really pursue my dreams of being a photographer. I've known this is what I wanted to be since I was a little kid. I'm going be 27 next month and I have just now gotten my butt in gear? I know what was holding me back: fear. Knowing what you want out of life is scary. What if I try as hard as I can and it just doesn't happen? Then what am I going to do? Failure is not an option here. I have no back up plan. This is the only plan.

I feel like I'm getting a late start, but I guess its better late than never. Maybe its good that I hesitated for so long. Now, I'm older, I'm wiser and this time around I really mean it. I really want this. I see now what I was missing out on during all those years of being afraid. How did I ever expect to get what I wanted if I never even really tried? I've realized that not trying my hardest is failing and that is unacceptable.

I look back on all of that time and now I see myself clear as day. I wonder what in the world did I think I was doing? I wouldn't call all those years a waste of time though. They were only a waste if I learned nothing and I feel like I have gained so much from that experience. All those years of internal struggle, being afraid of my ambition and not really understanding why I was unhappy. I could have lived my entire life that way. I guess that's just my style. Stubborn. I don't learn unless I struggle. This lesson took me almost 10 years to learn the hard way. They say hindsight is 20/20 and man, they are right. My future may be blurry, but at least I know I'm headed in the right direction.

365 Project: Day 58

Music. I can't live without it. I feel it in every part of me. The right song can give me chills and butterflies. Just hearing it can lift my spirit or move me to tears. My body will sway to a melody or I'll nod my head to a beat without even realizing it. I blast the stereo in my car and sing along to the the radio at the top of my lungs. Some songs can only be listened to with your eyes closed. You can feel them at the very core of your being. If you let it, music can change your life.

As a kid, when there was housework to be done, my family cranked up the stereo. In our living room we had one of those big, silver, rectangular stereos that had all the metal knobs and dials. On each side were two wood framed speakers stacked on top of each other (4 total). They were taller than I was. We would turn up the radio and the whole place would fill with music while we were cleaning. That was also the 80s, you know, when MTV still played music. My mom loved the Georgia Satellites song "Keep Your Hands to Yourself". Every time the music video came on we'd turn up the TV and dance around in the living room. I even remember the video. The band was in the back of a truck driving down the road with their crazy long hair blowing in the wind.

At the Texas State Fair, amongst all the rides and commotion, there was always a live band playing. I have a distinct memory of standing outside in the dirt, the smells of greasy food and cotton candy and listing to a band, feeling my heart pounding and whole body vibrating to the rhythm of the bass line. I have so many more memories of music in my life. Obviously, even as a kid, it made an impression on me.

Now, I don't leave the house without my iPod. It stays tucked perfectly into a pocket on the back of my wallet. You never know when you'll need it. When I lived in Boston I walked or took the train everywhere, so my headphones were practically implanted in my head. I always loved watching the city buzz around me to the soundtrack of my choice. Since I work at home now, I have music playing all day. I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is start up my Mac and turn on iTunes. Throughout the day it shuffles through the 3,856 songs in my current collection.

Going to see a live band perform, no matter who they are, is one of my favorite things to do. It can be someone in a coffee house, or a huge show with hundreds of people, it doesn't matter. I feed off of that energy. Watching a musician perform can make you experience a song in a completely different way. You can see the passion and the intensity in which they meant the song to be heard when they wrote it. Its in their faces, their body language, and the energy that they project on the audience. When someone is performing it demands my attention in a way that nothing else does. The whole world could fall apart around me and as long as the band kept playing, I wouldn't even notice.

Many of my closest friends in life have been musicians. I, unfortunately, have no musical talent of my own. I played the violin and the flute as a little girl, but believe me, I was no prodigy. Being surrounded with talented, creative musicians has enriched my life in ways I can't describe. My friends are inspiring. Its the reason why I love live music photography so much. To be able to go to a show and stand right up front with my camera is my idea of heaven. It combines the two greatest loves in my life.  Being on tour with a band or musician that I believe in would be my dream job. I've been shooting for a few musicians lately, promo images, CD covers, etc. That's where my heart is and I want to do a lot more of that sort of work. Its my way of being a part of the music the only way I know how.