I didn't mean to actually be artsy with the disposable camera I bought in Charleston in October, but there's just something about film - especially printed on matte, gritty paper instead of glossy - that just gives off a vintage, timeless feel. Classic is artistic to me. Agree or disagree, here's a a digital photo (designed to look like a Polaroid) and film photo that I think invoke a different time.

I used free actions (Polaroid) and frames (film) online - I simply typed in free photoshop frames and the results were on the first page!

I took this photo in August or September. I can't remember when, but I remember feeling like it was past sunflower season & was glad to find all of the colorful flowers still intact. Currently in the midst of exam week...

Check out my Wordpress, as that has been updated a couple of times over the last couple of months. Will have more photos on both sites soon. Last exam: Dec. 15!!!

All personal comments of this game aside, my co-worker & friend Christy and I drove down to Charleston, SC last Sunday on assignment for The Appalachian to shoot our Mountaineers play the Bulldogs. The game was close, so close that overtime was required. ASU won the coin toss and smartly decided to play defense first, blocking the Citadel's attempt at extra points. Jason Vitaris kicked the Mountaineers game-winning field goal shortly after. Side note: it was so wildly hot during this game that our team required some extra assistance at cooling off (note the big misting fans).

Sadly, school has been back in session for two weeks (sans this Labor Day holiday) and summer is quickly coming to its close up here in the Blue Ridge. The September air already has a bite to it, reminding all of us how harsh this winter may be. In the mean time, here's a scattering of end of summer photos from July & August, spanning from my garden to Virginia, to a rowdy night of music in Blowing Rock, and finally to the Watauga County Farmer's Market.

Major Magick headed on the road to Southern Pines (or some other nearby city - the confusion of that day makes the actual location of the gig quite foggy now) on July 5th for a soul show of sorts. The band played a lot of old greats & the audience ate it up. Though it was sweltering and nothing seemed to be going right, the boys pulled it off as usual. And yes guys, I have a picture of all 5 of you... at one time. By the way, the nearly identical dancing couples were getting down to a nearly 7 minute version of "Let's Get It On!"

After a long hiatus, I'm back and with more photos than ever. There's a stockpile just longing to be put on this blog & now that I finally have the Internet, a flow of posts will be up very soon!
Nestled in downtown Asheville, NC, a gathering occurs every year. For the past 31 years, the Bele Chere festival has taken over the historic downtown of the mountain city for a weekend. Sheila and I headed down to the celebration with her family in tow to take in the art, music, people, and atmosphere - my favorite part is always the smell of the food, even if I never choose to indulge in any. These, again, were taken on my Cybershot as it is easier than lugging around the Nikon, especially when the buildings force strangers closer to one another than is the norm.

On the 4th of July, Megan and I took off amongst all the traffic between Boone and Blowing Rock (due to the celebrations at Tweetsie Railroad) and arrived at the Blowing Rock Country Club for a picnic and fireworks. The fireworks were huge - we were right underneath them and I actually had to turn my camera sideways to get the fireworks completely in the shot. Fireworks are custom to July 4th celebrations, as any American knows, and they never cease to make me feel like a child again. Hope everyone was safe in their own celebrations!

As my roommate Megan and I were working on our new farmhouse in Vilas with a few friends, I rushed upstairs to scrub another layer of paint off of my hands before returning back to trimming the edges of the stairway in green. I immediately grabbed my camera, turned back around, and yelled quick instructions for everyone to drop their paint brushes and get outside. My room, as I'd found it, was being lit with the most amazing orange-purple light and I knew, without looking, that there would be an amazing sky awaiting us. We stared at the colors of the sky and the setting sun until they all faded to a deep blue and we got back to brightening our living room from a once dirty cream into our own blue, a bright, beachy hue to serve as our getaway from work and school.

My roommate Sheila and I took her dog, Forest, for a walk on campus a couple of weeks ago when she came up to visit. We started out in Durham Park before walking all the way through campus to King Street to grab some dinner at Our Daily Bread. Everything was in full bloom, proving to me once again how lucky I am to go to school at the most beautiful university in North Carolina. Walking to class amidst the mountains never gets old. Well, except for maybe in the sometimes subzero temperatures of winter. I actually took these on my little Sony Cybershot, which never fails to give me great pictures for a point and shoot.

As I walked home from class on April 15, I found that there were carloads upon carloads of people flooding the Hardees parking lot. I grabbed my camera and wandered over to find a modern-day Boston Tea Party-esque protest taking place. These tea parties took place all across the country to speak out against what some deem unfair taxes and the new government and it's policies, specifically the stimulus package. Though I couldn't stay long due to inclement weather, I did stand and listen on the porch for a while before finding myself in too much discrepancy to linger and hear more.

These are from a little over two weeks ago, the same night Adrienne and I shot portraits on the train tracks. I wish I could remember this guy's name - I'll try my best to track it down - but he just started to spin fire for what seemed to be no apparent reason other than to entertain everyone while simultaneously giving me a chance to catch some cool photos. Fire spitting is up next! Anyone?
I vow to have more photos up on my site gallery soon of this and many other events, but I have to spend the next week or so moving, so bear with me while I get everything situated.

For the past two weeks, Major Magick has performed at Koncepts Hookah Lounge. It's a small venue, but it's always packed and the atmosphere is truly one of a kind, even for Boone. The lounge's lighting is very odd for shooting photos, so the set here is only from this past week's performance as I finally grasped some concept of what needed to be done in order to get any photos at all. Stephon LaMar, the lead singer of MM, opened with a solo set and his music can be heard here, while John Harris did all of the lighting - a name that should be familiar if you read this earlier blog entry of mine.

My friend Adrienne and I went and shot some photos on the train tracks beside a mutual friend's house during a cookout. I took these on her Canon, but any editing of the color, etc. of the photos was done by Adrienne before I got a hold of them. I arranged them after I got them, of course, but half of the credit should go to her! She took some photos of me as well that are fabulous and I'll link to them as soon as I get that information from her. Enjoy - it's rare someone actually sits down and lets me do portraits.

These are a little more than a month old, but I have been wildly busy with school, so they are just now getting the loving they deserve. My friends, Jessica and Alie, and I went to an area on the BRP across the street from an overlook and found all sorts of different adventures to go on, i.e. the perfect opportunity for the camera to come out. I love too many of these photos to put them up on here, so hopefully I will have them up on my site gallery soon. The glove photo looks sort of Oz-ish to me. Speaking of, I will post photos of my trip to The Land of Oz last October soon, as my last exam ended merely an hour ago. Ahh, summer, I love you and the free time you bring me.