Links of Love (3)

"The secret of a happy life isn't buried in a treasure chest...it lies within your heart."
-Author Unknown

Red Hot Headshots

Ok, so there may have been a better way to describe my portrait session with Brad today, but lets face it - it was also kind of perfect. You may recognize this familiar face from an old post, or simply because Brad finds himself modeling for me on a regular basis. What can I say? Photogenic people should avoid me if they don't like their picture taken. :)

This time we were actually doing a shoot for his own use. We started off with some simple headshots and then mixed it up a bit. Yet, for a guy with aspirations to be in Stomp or Blueman group, what more would you expect?

Here are some of my favorites.

Links of Love (2)

I'd like to share another wedding ring photo. These rings belong to two good friends of mine who are big fans of the Angels. Simple and sweet concept. 

Backup Johnny

This Friday was the CD release party and summer tour kick off for a favorite band of mine, Backup Johnny. My friend Alan, from Urquhart Townson Design and Photography, and I were asked to photograph the festivities. The show was a blast, as usual. Their new EP, Dive, has some great songs. The guys also played their usual crowd pleasing covers. If you want to hear their music or find out where you can catch them live click here.

Cats and Dogs

Since I mentioned dailypuppy.com in my blog yesterday I thought it be nice to share some of my own puppy photos with you this morning. This is Brutus the Boston Terrier and Braxton the Westie. This website is seriously the ultimate pick me up. If you ever need an instant smile just go look at an adorable puppy. If you don't smile, then your heart is made of stone or maybe you just don't like dogs (which I also find weird).

I am a dog lover even though I don't have a dog. Dogs are not allowed in my apartment, but if I could I would get one in a heartbeat. Instead I have a cat. Don't get me wrong, I love my cat. I'll even post a photo so he doesn't feel left out.

Cats are great, there is just something about puppies that just make you smile no matter what. Everyone loves a puppy. With cats it's either a love or hate thing. People are rarely indifferent to cats. For some reason it is even acceptable to hate cats. Puppies on the other hand... if someone said, "I hate puppies."... you would probably think they are some kind of sociopath.

This is my cat, Apollo, right before he attacked my camera.

Time Machine

Lately I have been getting a lot of comments on my driver’s license. Normally people don’t even look at your face when they ask to see your ID. They look at the birth date or just check if the name matches the credit card. Rarely are they careful enough to actually take a look at your face to make sure it’s you.

The person on my ID is not me. It's not just the face looking at you from my driver’s license that hardly resembles the person who owns it. There is an entirely new person in her place - a person with a little more self-confidence, new opinions, evolving philosophies on life.... and bangs.

This weekend I was carded buying a movie ticket to see the Hangover. I may look young on occasion, but it is hard to believe I look under 18. This made me laugh. As I headed over to the Mexican restaurant nearby (for pre-movie margaritas with friends,) I wondered if I should have rethought my attire for the evening.

Once I was at the restaurant I had a new perspective on being carded. Go ahead and card me for drinks. In fact, if you don’t, this makes me a little sad. When the server arrived I didn’t even have to worry because we were all carded as usual. Yet, when I was carded the server asked, “So you got rid of the long hair?”
...

“Well, sir… in that photo I am 19. Now I am 25, so... yes, I guess you can say I got rid of the long hair. Furthermore, am I that weird looking in the photo that you had to comment on my ID after carding the whole table?” Of course that is not actually what I said to him, but I did say a version of that to my friends. Then we immediately started to compare our IDs,

My favorite belonged to my friend who still has her 16-year-old self awkwardly smiling back at you. If I were our server, it would have been hard for me not to laugh after comparing her ID photo to the beautifully put together women at the table.

One thing I love about photographs is how they are the closest thing to a time machine that we can get. No matter what kind of photos it is, it has the power to take you back. I can look at a photo from years ago and still evoke that emotion. For this reason, I only carry one photo in my wallet. I keep it in there because no matter how much time has passed it always makes me laugh. It’s like having dailypuppy.com with you everywhere you go (you can’t look at it and be sad). I also can’t I look at it without evoking “rolling on the floor” kind of laughter. This is why photos are awesome.

The memory and the personal connection people have with photographs is why it is my favorite form of art.

This is more fun if it's a two way conversation...

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