Got the chance about a month ago to go around downtown Nashville and try my hand at more street photography. You see things differently when you’re not trying to just take pictures of specific people of places. You have to see things in a way that you never have before and be ready to capture the moment.
I’ve been waiting a while to post about this shoot because i know that most people will just see the pictures and not the words i’m typing or the people in the pictures. Most people who see these will only see nudity or porn or sin or a world they know nothing about. For me, I see passion and relationship and living in the moment. For me as a photographer i got to watch and capture 2 people communicate and feel intensely and respect each other. Ropeplay in nature is ironically kinky but inevitably a bonding experience.
I grew up in a community where “kink” was a bad term. No sex before marriage and courting was suggested instead of dating. Basically very conservative. And I don’t necessarily disagree with the ideas behind the rules and caution that was taught to me. Rules teach self control and discipline, which i think are essential qualities for us to be at our best and most productive. I believe the idea behind the rules is the important part. Why are we doing the things that we are doing. How is this rule keeping me safe or keeping others safe. Because that’s why we have rules and laws and instruction. It’s to keep you and others safe. Understanding the root of rules is essential to understanding people and our actions. What I’ve found as I’ve gotten older is a curiosity for people and a better understanding of people and why we do what we do. There are many exceptions, but I try to live my life to the fullest with the time God has given me and i love interacting with other people who are passionate about life and want to experience to most out of it.
As I photographed this session I mostly witnessed a back and forth, give and take of communication and pleasure and pain. It was trial and error and learning about how each other reacted and playing off that. Kink is a lot of knowing boundaries and learning about people in a very vulnerable setting. It takes our most intense feeling of pleasure and joy and pain and creativity and mixes them together to be the most sensual and playful and painful moment. I understand that moment. Everything in life is gone. You don’t think about bills or school or anything else saying you down. You’re wholey in the moment. Your brain stimulated by everything you’re feeling. For me, rock climbing does the same thing. It’s dangerous and strenuous and it takes everything you have in that moment to make the right decisions and pour all your strength and emotion into not falling. Nothing else matters.
I loved photographing these beautiful people and the love they have for each other. Glad they let me share it.
Photography started for me when I was going on these solo adventures and doing and seeing things that most people wouldn’t believe if i didn’t have a photo. I also wanted to inspire more people to adventure. Just get out wherever you are in go exploring. My first camera was the iPhone 4. This post is to show my progress as a photographer but also to show that you don’t need an amazing camera to capture great photos. The best camera you can have is the one that is with you and that you know how to use. I’m a better photographer now but that more from practice than from thousands of dollars of gear. Gear helps. Don’t get me wrong. Low light situations, long exposure and depth of field come into play with better cameras. But in my opinion the content of the picture matter way more than bokeh(background blur).
Food for thought. Would i be the photographer I am today if i hadn’t started with basic iPhone cameras? I think that learning how to get the shots i wanted with the limited options of an iPhone 4 and 5s made me figure out how to frame my pictures well and make the subject of my photos more obvious. learning the basics on a simple camera made getting great pictures with a complex camera easier.
My brother and I took a week off from our day jobs to spend an entire week working on music and writing new material. We kinda took a year off last year. Even though we re leased music, we didn’t play any shows. Honestly it was really nice to be able to put quality time into my other hobbies like photography and climbing. That being said, we are going back into music hard. It’s our passion, our ultimate goal. I love doing so many thing in life, but music is the one that makes me feel the most alive and feels like it has the biggest impact on life.
We squished everything into my room studio and rehearsed every day. Cables everywhere, lights and drums in my way every time i went to bed. A bit annoying, but worth it. I wanted to capture the feel of music week. messy but effective and a brothers bond so i took these photos:
I’m going to make 2 post about gear. First, the gear that i currently carry in my back every day. These are things that i have built up over time that i believe give me the best chance to capture most of the photos that i want to get. Second, I’m going to make a post about cameras and show my progression into photography.
I have a bag set up for video and one for climbing and one for any other adventure. Maybe I’ll get into those someday. This is my everyday photography carry:
Canon EOS R
-The main reason I decided to get the EOS R is the amount of cross-type focus points it uses for auto-focus. My 5D mark ii only has one cross point focus point and it’s right in the middle and since most of the time i’m not trying to focus on the middle of the screen i have to constantly point the camera at what i want to focus on, push the shutter down halfway, then reframe my camera to the picture i want to take. Definitely a skill every photographer should get good at. The EOS R has over 5000 focus points… which means i can use the one where i’m trying to focus. Next, the EOS R shoots great video and has a flip out screen. I shoot music videos and some band vlogging and the capabilities of low light and using cLog in 8bit has made editing video way easier. Finally, it’s smaller. My 5D is a beast even though it feels good in my hands it is a lot to carry up cliffs and mountains. The R just helps that a bit. ($1500)
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 mark ii
-When i got my 5D i didn’t realize i couldn’t use my ef-s lenses that i had been using on my SL1. That wake up call was rough. All the lenses that would replace the ones i had been using cost $700+ compares to the $200-$350 i had been spending. I decided if i was really serious about it to dive in and get a lens that could cover all my bases from landscape to portraits and that i could keep the rest of my life. $1800………..!!!!!!!! after tax and a UV filter. The salesman at Best Buy stopped looking me in the eye because he could tell i might cry. I was so scared to pay that much. I have no regrets. This lens is a work horse. I have thrown it around in backpacks and swam with it. I’ve stood in the rain and snow and desert with it. It’s taken a beating and takes crystal clear pictures every time.
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 mark ii
-I just got this lens last week. Low aperture wide angle lenses for full frame camera’s are expensive. I’ve been wanting this lens for a while because it offers a lot in the video world along with landscape and vlogging. I had been saving up everything i made from photography in a jar to buy this lens and was almost to the point where i could afford a used one off Ebay. This one popped up on fb with a couple parts missing and dented but worked perfectly fine for $450. Used it to shoot some BTS stuff this week and I’m in love. I ordered the parts i need to bring it back to new and I can’t wait to see what i can do with it.
Samsung T5 SSD
- This is my new travel hard drive. 1 terabyte of SSD power. It’s sooooo small. Almost didn’t believe it was real. I carry 2-3 SD cards with me all the time too but always back them up as soon as i’m done shooting onto a hard drive. I have definitely deleted everything on an SD card and not had a backup and just lost everything. I got this hard drive for $80 on fb. Totally worth it.
YouPro YP-870 Remote Trigger
-I started out doing photography to capture my own adventures when i went out alone. Once i figured out how to trigger my phone or camera it changed everything. I finally got picture of me doing these adventures instead of just landscapes. I do a lot of self-photography, maybe less now although i’m trying to make sure i do something every week, but it’s kinda the only way I can document myself doing the crazy and exciting things i do. I’m either by myself or I’m with friends who aren’t photographers or don’t take the time to take their phone or camera out to get shots. This trigger allows me to set up my camera somewhere and get in front of the camera to document myself. As far as the brand and trigger itself, it’s just a decent RF trigger that had good reviews on Ebay. I think I got it for around $50.
Puluz Camera clip
-I got one of these with a bunch of other cheap clips to clip my camera to my backpack. This was, by far, the best one. I now own 3 of them and will probably order more in the future. It’s aluminum and has a nice click when the camera is inserted and most of all is very reliable. I trust my cameras 100% in in it without having to work about it falling out and thousands of dollars of gear breaking. I ordered them from China and it took a while for them to get here but $12-15 each is totally worth it for an adventurer.
Canon LP-E6N batteries
-My camera last a long time on these batteries. I moab i never turned my camera off and it easy went the whole day. That being said, I’m always prepared. If you’re in a cold environment your batteries will die much much faster. I constantly forget i have last a dead battery in the camera, get on location to a shoot and am super glad i have spare batteries. Also for me it is worth it to buy brand name Canon batteries. I got some off brand batteries with my 5D when i bought it and 2 of the 3 have stopped working. $20 each
Gloves
-I never used gloves in the past for anything other than cutting firewood with the chainsaw, but that’s mostly because all the trees in Kansas have thorns. I have used these gloves so much. Especially when shooting climbing photography and you have to hold onto a sharp rock to get the right angle or you’re jugging up ropes or if you’re just out in the cold and have to keep your fingers on the trigger so you don’t miss the moment. (Picked these up on the side of the road. Best paid of gloves i’ve never bought.)
Giotto’s Rocket-air Blower -medium-
-For the longest time i thought i just had dead pixels on my camera and would have to go edit them out every time. Little did i know that it was just dust on the sensor and this little guy would do the trick. Great little cleaning devise, especially for dirty and dusty environments. Used it a lot after backpacking and trips to Moab or Red Rocks. Got it for $12 on Ebay.
Lenspen and microfiber cloth
-Very similar to the Giottos. Just a quick easy way to lean your lens and dust everything off before you take shots. Nothing worse then getting the perfect shot and the dirt on your lens ruined it. (eBay $12)
Electrical tape
-Gotta be able to fix cables and keep dust or water out of things. A small roll of electrical tape comes in handy a lot. ($2)
AAA Batteries
-The only thing here that needs these batteries in the remote trigger. That being said I end up using these batteries constantly for everything. Someone always need AAA batteries because nobody else carries extras. Be the hero, carry extra batteries. (I need to start Venmoing my friends that use all my batteries)
Nickel
-Did you see it in the picture? I always a a few coins in in my camera bag. There’s always some type of tripod mount or my Puluz clip that needs to be tightened with a coin. Just next time to see a coin on the ground, put in in your bag. (Had to bend over to pick it up)
I’ve been restless lately. On my days off, by the time i wake up and get going i only have an hour or 2 until it’s dark outside. I hate winter. Been trying to juggle photography and music and work and adventuring and creating things, so i decided to explore more of downtown Nashville in case i find anything i haven’t seen before and try my hand at some street photography. I walked 7 miles and had a blast. i found it was kinda hard to get the pictures of people i wanted to with my 24-70mm lens without people kinda feeling weird. Need to get myself a 70-200mm soon. But all in all i had a lot of fun and got some images that i like and feel like tell decent stories.
Late night dog walks
server on smoke break while you need a refill on your diet coke
symmetry building seating
Preds alley
1am traffic
where musicians end up in Nashville
Even trucks wear boots downtown nashville
Nashville Local
travel with the team, vacation with the team
Free train ride
How crazy is it that I’m constantly in a struggle with who God has made me and the love He has put in my life and the judgemental religion that has come from Jesus dying on the cross for all of our sins. Jesus sets a standard for how to deal with non-believers and I feel like the believers didn’t even see it. Cast the first stone. God loves everyone and Christians be acting like He only loves people who don’t mess up. Ugh. Get real. Get real love. When you’re perfect then you can judge. Since none of us are like that then give everyone a break. You’re judging someone who matters to God. Stop it. God cares just as much about them as He cares about you.
I’ve been forcing myself to do a self shot portrait shoot each week so i can test out new ideas and capture myself since I have tons of pictures of other people and very few of me anymore. I really want to start doing self adventure photography again, but haven’t felt like going anywhere this year since i’ve been sick. It’ll definitely be a goal of mine this year to get a lot more shots of me on adventures. Anyway, here’s a quicky that i did tonight. I’ve been saving this idea for someone else but decided not to wait anymore.
ISO 1600
70mm
f/2.8
1/160 sec
I’ve been mutual friends with Luna for a long time. I’m not actually sure how we haven’t met before this shoot, but I’m glad we finally got the chance to colab on a shoot concept thanks to my friend Taylor. I love the grit and color and standard that this shoot captures. Here’s a few of them.
2020, you’ve been all over the place. Started out the year hungover from alcohol that i don’t remember consuming. Or that i didn’t have. Nobody knows, but i was in bed for a good day and a half. Who knows? Then 2 days later got the flu and spent 5 days in bed shivering and sweating out that stupid virus. Missed work, missed dates, lost 14lbs(?). I still have a cough that is reluctant to leave my company. Had to cancel my Mexico climbing trip next week because one of the guys i was gonna go with can’t get his passport. Gonna have to figure it out.
All of that and this is still gonna be a jam of a year. Did 2 photo shoots the last 2 days and love what we captured. Scheduled a music week with Michael so we can live the full-time music life at least 1 week a year. I’m almost well enough to start climbing and working out again. And since i’m down 14lbs I’m taking advantage starting at the bottom and i’ve been eating really well and gonna get lean and strong.
I still have a week and a half off in february to go climbing. Where should i go? Maybe i’ll just go to airport and go. Life is up and down and I’m gonna make my ups epic and roll with the punches of the downs. Stay excellent.
I did not make time to post everything i’ve been shooting in the last month on here. I ended up doing 12 shoots in December. I only had 2 models bail day of the shoot, but because i was doing so many shoots, that time wasn’t wasted and i ended up editing that day. I feel more confident than ever that i can get the pictures i want anytime I shoot. There’s something about portraits i love. They’re simple for the most part. you know who the subject of the picture needs to be, but you want to add creativity into that picture. Adding clothes or jewelry or props or landscape or no clothes. All things that frame the subject. Add to the subject. Add to the story of the picture. So that when people see the picture they see emotion or mystery or curiosity or feel a connection with it. Color, Contrast, shadows, highlights: light makes up the picture. My studio lights aren’t that great. I use 100w LED daylight bulbs from walmart in a $30 softbox. from eBay. But when you understand light and how it works then the world opens up. When you understand your camera and it’s settings then you get faster at capturing what you want.
Understanding is probably the most important thing in my life today. Understanding people opens up compassion and lessens frustration. Understanding media and social elements opens up community and connection. Understanding tools opens up creativity and independence and self reliance. Understanding yourself opens up self control and growth. Understanding God has opened up love and peace for me. I’ve spent a lot of the last couple years learning and trying to understand people and things. I feel like it helps give me a big picture of life.
All that being said, here’s some of the pictures i’ve taken in the last month:
-maybe I’m a workaholic. Maybe it takes me too long to wake up in the morning. Maybe I should eat a little better. Maybe I need to get over the fact that I hate talking on the phone. Maybe I turn 30 in 2020. I don’t know. These are things that I think about. All these little things kind of haunt me. Yet day to day I find that I love life. I love people. I love this earth. I love God because for years I felt empty or like I was just stuck in a rut. I kept asking God why I felt to empty and weird and God opened my eyes to truth and filled my heart and life with the fullness of love. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever felt. I’ve experienced a lot of crazy amazing things, but they were all temporary. Love through Jesus just kinda stayed. I don’t know what else to say about it-
Time to shave. Create my own mold
I started Beer Church a little over 2 years ago. I felt like God wanted me to break down barriers and create a safe place after i read some places in the Bible where Jesus was in a room with a bunch of different people just having conversations and talking about really crazy stuff. I just assumed they had some snack and were most likely drinking wine. I saw my coworkers get off work and immediately start drinking beer and trying things. What if i created a safe place and let people try different types of beers for free? I didn’t want to do it. I’m an introvert and i hate having a set schedule for things i’m not paid for. So i did it anyway. The first week i invited everyone i could think of to come over from 9pm-12am and bout $30 of different types of beer. I got some firewood for a bonfire and bought some folding chairs for everyone.
My brother and I sat around the fire by ourselves for 3 hours. Nobody came. I obviously was really disappointed. I probably should’ve just stopped there. But i felt like God still wanted me to do it. So the next week i did the same thing. Honestly i didn’t expect anyone to come. Kinda hoped nobody would come so i could just forget it and move on. My house was packed that week. It was awesome. so many different people and conversations. Just a safe place. a Church.
Here I am 2 years later. I literally have no idea who is gonna show up each week. People tell me all the time they’re coming and they don’t or 20 people will show up randomly. No idea. I’m not even sure that I’m making a difference, but i have faith that something good is coming of this. Even if it’s just for me being obedient. Still blows my mind that people don’t just flood in to get free beer. Who knows. The word “church” scares people. Makes sense.
I’m not gonna proof read this. there’s probably spelling errors and such. I don’t care tonight
This is my friend Kit. Really cool guy who’s trying to make it in the music production world. I wanted to get some shots of him because i love his style and his attitude. It was a really fast shoot, but these were the photos i was wanting to get.
I’ve been really frustrated recently when it comes to music video making. I started making music videos when Michael and I started Danger Scene and really enjoy the creative process and new art form. Being able to pull off shots with an iPhone or green screen that nobody thought I’d be able to do. Recently I’ve had a much harder time coming up with story lines for videos that are possible(on our budget) and unique. I don’t want to copy something I’ve already done, but I can’t think of anything else right now either. Ugh. Every time i think of an idea I either get shut down by someone else or I run the number on how much it’ll cost and it’s too much. Here I am a year past when I should’ve had this video done and I’m no closer than i was a year ago… so frustrating.
Here’s the videos I’ve done myself so far:
Got to go up into the canyons with my friend Isaac and catch him on his bike before I left Salt Lake City last month. Beautiful time of year and super awesome bike. ‘‘Twas a fun time until it started snowing.
So my goal this year was to make it to Red River Gorge every month to climb. It was suppose to be a high of 30s to 40s and a low of 16 degrees last week. NOPE! I can’t do it. I’m actually fine in that weather if i get to keep mittens on, but for some reason my fingers go numb instantly and hurt so much as soon as the weather drops below 40 degrees. Thats why i’ve kinda hated the cold all my life. I can have fun in the cold but was always in pain until i got a really good pair of mittens. It just makes climbing in cold weather a terrible and dangerous experience for me.
All that to say, I booked last minute cheap tickets to Las Vegas for my friend Elizabeth and i and we went out there for a few days to enjoy some 70 degree weather climbing big walls. Made me much happier to be in the desert. We did my first big wall on Trad and I had a blast carrying a ton on weight and a backpack up 770 feet. Trying to find places to put gear and build anchors is the most fun way to work on your problem solving skills. 10/10 would do again. Finished the last route in the dark and watched the moon rise over Vegas. On the last day i realized i had messed up our flight back so we booked a last minute overnight flight back that got Elizabeth and I home just in time to go to work for the day. Turns out I can still pull overnighters. Adventure is out there. Go look for it
I don’t think I’ve ever gone to the Red River Gorge and not made friends. What an amazing hub of amazing people.
Took this picture a while back and realized it very much portrays what depression feels like. Sitting alone and naked in the road just waiting for something to happen. Curled up in a ball trying to save any part of yourself you can and not wanting to get up.
I don’t always deal with depression, but i have experience it many times in my life. Always seems like one of the few things i can’t control. There are things that i can do to help with depression. Being around the right friends, being active, creative, talking with God about it. Asking my brother for help probably had the biggest impact. Life is hard and fun and crazy. You don’t have to live it looking like this picture.
