Tristan Ervin Photography

Behind the Scenes: Jeffrey Joslin Photo Shoot

2011-04-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

March 21, 2011 Photo Shoot with Musician, Jeffrey Joslin in Downtown Atlanta off of Luckie Street

Special Thanks to Rita Bolden for ALL of the Footage Shot.

myspace.com/jeffreyjoslin
Twitter: @jeffreyjoslin

tristanervin.com
Twitter: @TristErvPhotos

Introducing: TristanErvin.com

2011-04-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

Yep, the moment I've been waiting for has finally arrived. I finally was able to get my website up and running about two weeks ago, thanks in major part to Leslie Mack. "The Mack of all trades", if you will. Hopefully business will become more booming once people begin to take notice. Tristan Ervin Photography just became that much more legit. Check out these screen shots.

Intro Page

Home Page

Gallery

Inquiry

Contact

Meet Tristan

What's This?

Yeah, I posted screenshots, but if you want to interact with the site yourself, visit tristanervin.com

Special thanks to Leslie Mack for being the mind, the muse, and the genius behind the site. If you're interested in her designing a website for you, you can email her at thelesliemack@gmail.com

That's all I got for now. See ya!

Motivation

2011-03-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago I was at home talking to my father about, what else? Photography. He told me about this guy named Johnny Nunez; we happened upon his website, and we watched a bio video on him. Probably most motivating thing I've seen/watched/heard in a LONG time, and it made me realize my potential. It made me realize how much work I still have to do, how much promotion I have to do, and how much I need to start grinding even harder. I need to start making my presence known. I have to start MAKING things happen, and not wait, or wonder if things will happen. I have to make my own way. I been rubbing elbows with people in high places and waiting for them to get me in, when all this time, I could be doing it myself. This is my plan. I have a few tricks up me sleeve, so stay tuned.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny
This guy is sick, and half of his success doesn't even have to do with his camera. Peep 'em.

Make It Happen

2011-03-08T23:37:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've been inspired, and I mostly blame it for being in Carrollton for so long. Ever since spring break started, I've felt more motivated, happy, and inspired to do more work. (I didn't think that it was possible at the rate I'm going but..eh...)

After rubbing elbows with a variety of artists in the music industry, big and small, I've noticed something. In the midst of these people, I'm always wondering and waiting if and when will THEY say something that opens the door of opportunity for me. It didn't seem wrong for those thoughts to run through my mind. My world has literally flipped upside down, and I see why those thoughts are completely lazy, unmotivated, and unproductive. Life isn't about waiting for your moment to come. You have to go out and grab it full force if you want to accomplish anything in this world. I know what you may be thinking. "Duh, I could've told you that. That's common sense." Although this may be true, it's still a matter of putting yourself to work and actually going out to grab that dream. That's what I'm about to do.

I know how capable I am. I know how good I am. I know my potential all too well.
With all of this knowledge, it's time to stop waiting, and start doing.

"There are three types of people in this world. Those who wait to see what happens. Those that wonder what will happen. And then there are those that make things happen. Those that wonder what will happen don't put any effort into making things happen."

That's a quote from celebrity and hip-hop photography Johnny Nunez. Check this video out.

Hours of Towers

2011-02-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

Just a little documentary about my graphic design project I cooked up along with Terence Rushin who filmed the whole thing. I did all the editing, it's kinda shotty but I'm still learning. Let me know what you think!

You Can't Be Productive While You're Sleeping

2011-02-10T20:57:00.000-08:00

But you do need to sleep every now and then so you can have the energy to be productive. It's a give and take kind of thing, and if I haven't learned how to deal with it before, I definitely have now.

Besides the fact that I'm a college student (which I have to remind myself of every single day), I've been consumed in some epic type ish. These passed couple of weeks have been awesome. Gig after gig, breaking in the D300S, having the time of my life, meeting people and networking. It's been great.

Here's what I've been up to as of late:
Last Tuesday, (Feb. 1st), European artist, Tina Dico came to Atlanta and performed at Smith's Olde Bar. It was nothing like the music I've heard before. Very calm, very relaxing, and very captivating. There was something different about her music that I really liked. Just can't put a finger on it. The Leslie Mack opened up for her and blew the crowd away with a few original songs, including her new single titled "Doors", along with a covers of Katy Perry's "Fireworks" Cold Play's "Fix You." Also opening for Tina Dico was Helgi Jonsson. He was pretty decent too.

Tina Dico

The Leslie Mack

Helgi Jonsson

For more of The Leslie Mack's music, click here!

For more Tina Dico, clicky-click

Helgi Jonsson? Yup, he can be found here!

Friday was the busiest day out of the last two weeks. The first event I had was a birthday party. A friend of mine's son turned one on Saturday and I was asked to photograph this very special occasion. I've shot events before, but nothing like this before. Lots and lots of children.

Nasir

Right after Nasir's party, I headed to Smith's Olde Bar to film and photograph Sam Koon's (from the Sam Koon Band) acoustic set in the Atlanta room. Much like the set he did in Panama City, it was awesome. He performed several original songs of his and gave out free CD's with a couple of tracks from his band. Don't sleep on 'em. His voice is something to be reckoned with.

Sam Koon

For more music from the Sam Koon Band, click here!

Something cool happened when I left Smith's. I found out that Killer Mike would be performing at midnight at Wild Bill's in Duluth, GA. Thanks to BJ Ayoleke and Shanna "Smiley" Sheats from "Tha Daily Pursuit" and Terence RUSHin who told me about this event, I was able to make it out there with them to shoot the show. Honestly I think a lot of people are sleeping on Mike. Each time I see him perform, and every time listen to his music, I begin to see how smart this guy is, and how much of a lyricist is. If you don't believe me, just wait until his album entitled "PL3DGE" comes out in late March. I already got to listen to the full album, but I'll tell you about that here shortly. After Mike ripped the stage, the crew and I got to go backstage with 'em and chill for a bit. We even got to listen to him talk about "lurking", which was outright hilarious! Afterwards, "F.L.Y" came out on stage and performed. Um, I really don't listen to their music like that but I know they do that "Swag Surfin'" song...only because they performed it.
Hey, take a look at these.

Mike Bigga a.k.a. Killer Mike

RUSH and Mike Bigga

F.L.Y.

Last but not least. Finally.
Again, thanks to BJ Ayokele and Smiley who are our plugs into getting into this epic event, Killer Mike's "PL3DGE" Album Listening Party. It was a long drive out to Tree Sound Studios in Norcross but it was well worth it. Party goers had a chance to watch and listen exclusively to Mike perform all 14 tracks on his new album "PL3DGE", which is to be released in late March of this year. And of course we got photos and footage which will be up in the near future.

**THEY HAD A FULL KITCHEN AND SERVED AWESOME FOOD TO ALL THEIR GUESTS AND EVEN HAD MACARONI AND CHEESE**

Just thought I'd mention. The management at Tree Sounds and their artists show so much hospitality and they make you feel right at home. A couple people we ran into? Young Dro, Yelawolf and Mali Hunter(General Manager/Sr.VP Artist/Writer at Tree Sound Studios)just to name a few. Mike Bigga put on a sick performance as usual, and I don't think one person left disappointed.

Young Dro

Yelawolf

Oh hey, that's me.

Hey, sorry if that was a lot of reading. Next time, I won't wait so long after I do stuff to write about it, so it won't all be compiled into one huge essay. Until next time my friends.

-Tristan Ervin Photography

P.S.
Shout outs to BJ Ayoleke, my new found friend Shanna "Smiley" Sheats, Mike Bigga, Terence RUSHIN, and Wynton Yates. Ya'll are some awesome people. Even you Rush.

Oh, and I have a lot of video footage too. I'll be getting on those soon.

Destinee Diaz

2011-02-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

Last week I got the opportunity to photograph and meet Destinee Diaz. She's a Theatre Major here at good ole (phych) UWG. I met her through Chelsea Turner (my esteemed model and make up artist), and right off the bat, I knew I had to get her in front of my lens. Check out some of the photos we took!

Wait no, first look at this. It's my first attempt at doing a promo video:

Okay NOW here are some of the photos

Introducing My New Nikon D300s

2011-01-27T20:59:00.000-08:00

I waited about four months for this moment. I remember sitting in David Short's Photography 3 class looking through a B&H Photography Magazine that wasn't mine. As the pages turned, I stopped on the most important page. This page had the Nikon D300s on it, and from that point, I KNEW that was going to be my next camera.

September, October, November, December. The months went by as slow as they possibly could. I didn't have to save for the camera because of the fat refund check I would be receiving from the school in the middle of January. Time seemed to go by slower and slower as each month passed, especially once it got to the few last days until January 21st. January went by SLOW AS HECK. But then January 21st came. The day I got my refund.

The day I got my refund was the day I FINALLY was able to order my camera from B&H. Of COURSE I was going to choose the "Next Day Air" option. It was worth the extra 35 bucks. From that point, those the next three days seemed like three YEARS. (I ordered it on a Friday, they're closed Saturday, so the soonest they could ship it out was Monday, which meant I'd get it Tuesday.)

Saturday, Sunday, Monday...ugh.
Tuesday. UGH.
I have a 2 hour and 45 minute 8pm class. The feeling of how long the class was doubled. Class let out, and I JETTED to the post office to go pick up my lovely. But then something happened. As SOON as I put my key into my P.O. Box, THE FIRE ALARM GOES OFF.
-___________________________________________________________-
We got out of class 15 minutes early (10:30) and I had 30 minutes to get to my next class, Graphic Design. I waited 20 EXTRA MINUTES to get my camera because they had to evacuate the building, close everything down, and wait for the fire department to come. I staked out.

FINALLY everyone was allowed to go back in the building, and I did the obvious. I bum-rushed, bowed, kicked, and stomped my way through the crowd to get my $1500 box of goods.

*insert HUGE smile here*

It took me a while to open the box, because I was scared. But I finally did it, and oh, it was a magnificent moment in the history of Tristan Ervin Photography.

Check it out:

Big Boi and Vonnegutt Sponsored by Chegg's Textbooks and Tickets Tour

2011-01-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

So about 3 weeks, Chegg surprised me along with a lot of other people when they announced that Big Boi and Vonnegutt would be performing for FREE at Center Stage in Atlanta. All you had to do was simply text a number to another number, and you wait a week or two for them to text you back telling you where to pick up your ticket. Unfortunately when I got mine I was nowhere near Atlanta, so my oh so reliable partner, Mr. Rushin, was able to pick my ticket up for me.
In the end however, we didn't need tickets because we were able to get on the Press List to shoot the concert. We had 3 extra tickets, and were able to take two other people with us. (Oh yeah, that third ticket was for Twist, but he got on the list too. After Terence and I got on first).

Um, anyway. The first act was Turquoise Jeep. For those who don't know who they are(aka, about 90% of the people who were there), they're the "Fried or Fertilized" guys. Absolutely HILARIOUS! I would post a pic that I got of them but uh....they kinda suck.

A couple other acts came on that I really don't remember, then these two DJ's came up and had THE LONGEST MOST DRAGGED OUT SET OF THE WORST HITS OF 2010 EVER. Twist expressed to everyone how he felt, cussing at the top of his lungs about how horrible it was. It was justified. It was fun after the first 10 minutes, but as minute 45 came about...my back was hurting and I wasn't really enjoying myself.

First up, Vonnegutt. I've heard a lot about these guys and I enjoy their music for the most part. They're from my neck of the woods, Marietta, which I think is pretty cool. They did about 5 or 6 songs if I remember correctly they had me and the rest of the crowd going.

Kyle Lucas

Neil Garrard

And then there was Big Boi,A.K.A. Antwan Andre Patton A.K.A. "Big" A.K.A. "Francis the Savannah Chitlin Pimp" A.K.A. "Daddy Fat Sacks" A.K.A. "Sir Lucious L. Left Foot" A.K.A. "Billy Ocean" A.K.A. "Rooster" A.K.A. "Freddy Floater" A.K.A. "General Patton" A.K.A. "Hot Tub Tony" A.K.A. "Black Dog"
That's a lot of names, but this guy has a lot of clout. Of course, he put on a phenomenal show, which goes with out saying. He went through most of his old hits, a lot of his new ish, and even brought Vonnegutt out when he performed the "Follow Us" Remix. Loved that.

Big Boi

C-Bone

Big Boi and Kyle Lucas Performing the "Follow Us" Remix

Hey Chegg, thanks for putting on this free show for all of us broke, ballin' on a budget, college students. And thanks for letting me rent my Geology book for a quarter of it's retail price.

B.o.B Performs "Bet I"

2010-12-27T08:10:00.000-08:00

Hey, check out this video from the other night. I recorded it with my new iPhone 4. 720p HD!

Whynatte Presents: B.O.B. AT SMITH'S: THE HOMECOMING

2010-12-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to start. I left with B.o.B's set list, signed by him, an autographed mixtape, and a piece of his guitarist's, Kyle King, guitar. Merry Christmas? Haha.

It was sold out crowd at Smith's Olde Bar last night, but from the looks of inside and outside the venue...it didn't look like it. Probably because my crew (Terence RUSHin and Twist) got there about an hour before doors opened...they opened two hours later...uh, anyway. I should've known that the show wouldn't start at said time but...I guess we want to reassure that we got a decent spot to photograph the show. As soon as we got there, we recognized PlayBoy Tre in the parking lot. We parked right next to him and he heard me playing "Past My Shades" in the car. I only found this out because we were able to catch up with him after the show to exchanged emails/business cards/etc. Once we got there we ran into B.o.B's guitarist, Kyle King, and we showed him a couple of photos we took of him at the Six Flags show earlier this year. Of course, he liked them, asked for our business cards, and we got his e-mail.

First off, let me say this. Smith's is probably the best venue I've ever been to simply because of the general admission, and that people are able to get up close and personal with the artist. In my case, I'm able to get some ridiculous shots. Okay.

After a long enough wait, we finally got upstairs and chilled for another hour before the show started. The first act was a guy by the name of Jeffrey Joslin (singer, guitarist, and pianist). I think he performed three or four songs, and they weren't half bad. I'm trying to find where I can here some more of his stuff. He kind of sounds like...Plain White T's? but without all the unnecessary pop crap they throw into their music, and it was a little more chill. He dug the photos that I took of his performance, and they've since been e-mailed to him for him to use.

Up next, Playboy Tre. As usual, he came hard and got the crowd amped up for the guy that came after him. It took me awhile to get use to his music, but I'm slowly beginning to like it. He also brought out Sean Faylon. I've never heard any of his stuff before, but judging from his performance, I'm looking forward to hearing a lot more of his stuff. I think TwisT said it on his blog, but one of the reasons why I like some of his music is because he does a lot of "I don't care what you think, I'm gonna do me" type stuff. That's cool. Check 'em out.

"Hold up, hold up, hold up
It's Bobby Ray
I mean my name B.o.B
When I'm on this mic I melt that fire
That's my job."
And that's exactly what he did...kind of. He wanted to light his lighter during "Satellite" but it didn't work so he had to bum someone else's fire. Bobby did his thing as usual. He did all my favorite songs, and even performed a couple from his latest mixtape, "No Genre". Let me tell ya, This was the best thing that happened that night. Look.

That's right.

The second best thing that happened was Bob taking my phone after I showed a photo I took of him at Six Flags, showed his guitarist "Aye man! Do you see this?" and then showing it into the crowd. Hale yeah. I owe you bruh.

Hey Bob, thanks for the energetic, mind blowing, unforgettable performance. I hope my photos help embody the experience last night.

Full Set of Jeffrey Joslin here.
Full Set of Playboy Tre here.
Full Set of B.o.B here.

Twitters:
@bobatl
@playbotre
@Jeffrey_Joslin

Oh, and you can follow me too if you'd like!
@TristErvPhotos

Peace.

P.S.
Hey, look at TwisT's set from last night here
Terence's stuff will be up shortly, in the meantime, you can still view some of his stuff here.

Baow!

Lately

2010-12-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

Uh, I started this post about a month ago, but I never got around to finish it. I guess you can pretend that you were reading this a month ago up until November 22nd, I think. Anywho, here it is...

Well obviously it's been awhile, and a lot has happened since my last post on September 9th. I would apologize for not keeping you updated but I won't; everyone knows that once something you like doing becomes part of a class, it is no longer fun to do. That's what happened in this case. (No offense Professor Short!)

I'll post some photos here shortly, but first, I want to give a brief synopsis of what I've been up to lately. For the last month or so, I've been Atlanta nearly every weekend doing different kinds of work, working with production companies, directors, individual clients, concerts, shows, etc etc. Some were paid gigs, some weren't; that'll change soon though I suppose.

Nov 3rd-7th
RUSH and I were worked on filming/photographing a music video for A-Y's "Fall Back." The video came out awesome and I'd like to think that some of the photos I took behind the scenes came out okay as well. You can view the video here. Of course, the ever evolving Terence RUSHin shot, directed, and edited the video.

Nov. 5th
I was able to shoot the La Roux concert at the Tabernacle in Atlanta with, you guessed it, RUSH. I've heard some of her stuff before, due to Terence blaring her music in his room, and him randomly bursting into one of her songs in the middle walking from class. I enjoyed the show though; it was...different, but I liked it. She kept the crowd entertained, so entertained that the people behind me kept pushing against me while I was photographing the show. They left with a couple bruised ribs-I wasn't having that.

Nov. 7th
I made my way down to Little 5 Points in Atlanta for a photo shoot with the Born Dreamers Production Co. They were a fun group to work with and I got some pretty decent shots after experimenting with lighting and such. Later that night I caught up with Ms. Leslie Mack to shoot her and her new band at this dope little spot in Atlanta called Cloud IX. They sounded awesome and I also got to meet/photograph a couple of dope artists including CoCo Jones, BigRec, and 5IVE.

Nov. 13th
Georgia State had a fashion charity fashion show entitled "Fashion Reel" that RUSH and I had the opportunity to shoot. (If you haven't guessed already, Terence and I do a lot of work together). We were the only legit photographers there, so of course, we were able to make it rain with our business cards and gain a couple of contacts. Fun times.

Nov. 20th and 21st
My Aunt Nikki is 1/2 of the Neo-soul duo, Slick and Rose. They shot their music video for their latest song "Pop-Fresh" in downtown Atlanta, and I was asked to come on set take behind the scenes photos, as well as photos that will be featured in the video. We were able to wrap up the entire shoot in two days, and it was tons of fun. I was also able to meet and shoot well known underground hip-hop artist, Mike Flo, and a girl with awesome hair, Ahki. And of course, they got business cards from me.

Nov. 22nd
Far Out Ventures put on a spectacular show at Smith's Olde Bar sponsored by Deeper Than Dope, Giant Unplugged, Yellow Llama, Terence RUSHin Photography and Video, and myself-Tristan Ervin Photography. The show featured the sultry sounds of The Leslie Mack, the dope lyrics of Bias, and energetic "Black Elvis", Glenn Saddler. It's so awesome having musicians (that have actual talent)as friends. I'd rank this show among my favorite three shows I've been this year. They all had the crowd rocking the entire time..and of course, I was able to capture every moment of it.

You can check out music from Slick and Rose here:
http://www.myspace.com/slickandrose

The Leslie Mack can be heard here:
http://thelesliemack.bandcamp.com/
Follow her on twitter @TheLeslieMack

Bias has a couple of songs here:
http://www.myspace.com/imsobias

Mr. Glenn Saddler:
http://glenn.bandcamp.com/

Last but not least, you can view the full photo sets of all the above and MORE on my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristography/sets/

Happy Trails,
Tristan Ervin Photography

This Week in Tristan Ervin Photography [Aug. 29th-Sept. 4th]

2010-09-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Or....last week.
Last weekend was a huge weekend int he world of T.E.P. My good friend Caitlyn Peppers (now Weathers) married long time friend, Jordan Weathers, on Saturday. I had the privilege of photographing such a joyous occasion and have a fun time doing it! I got a ton of great shots, and I pretty confident that these pictures will help her always remember one of the best days of her life.

SUNDAY!! As of Sunday, August 5th, 2010, I am no longer a carless photographer that misses out on opportunity after opportunity due to not having a source of transportation. I bought a 1999 Purple/Burgandy/whatever Mistubishi Eclipse RS. It was one of the happiest days of MY life and I also have photos that will help me remember how much excitement I had when I drove off the...apartment complex lot that I got it from.
...Okay I lied. I didn't drive it off the lot because I didn't know how to drive a stick. I drove the automatic Equinox and watched my dad drive my car back home. Haha. But still, I was excited about it. My dad gave me manual shift lessons AT NIGHT, and I caught on pretty quickly, I think. I learned the basics within two hours, and I also know how to conquer hills now. It's not as hard as it seemed at first. Right now I'm still trying to get use to the car, but I'm liking it. A few things that need to be done:
New Paint Job
I need some damn BASS in the back
My friend Jonathan installed a new stereo in it, I bought rather cheap from Walmart, and it's pretty decent. It's convenient too since the cigarette lighter in my car doesn't work. It has a USB port for my iPhone and iPod, as well as an auxiliary jack. I think I'm done talking about it now though. Take a look.

Remember the Name: Leslie Mack

2010-09-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

Now before I get started, click this link. Right here. And Listen.

When I first heard Leslie play back back in the spring of 2007, my mind was blown and I just had to have her play in my "FreeCreditReport.com" video...except I was the one singing. I've seen her play her acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and singing, and it seems as if she gets better and better every time. Her raw talent is able to captivate anyone and everyone if they're in the presence of her song.

Remember when I said that we're trying to become..."famous?" Well it seems as if we're getting closer. Leslie and I have been working behind the scenes a lot for her upcoming performance at the University of West Georgia on Saturday night. At times it seemed dim, but everything is slowly but surely coming together. Apart from watching her perform, concert goers will be able to pick up some awesome merch that we've put together. I can't reveal what it (they) are because it's gonna be sort of a surprise?...or treat?

Music lovers from the Metropolitan Atlanta area and West Georgia students will be in for a treat Saturday night when she opens up for rapper, Rude Boy B. You can RSVP for the event via Facebook by clicking on this link.

For More of The Leslie Mack:
Become a Fan!
Follow Her!
BandCamp!
Myspace!

Documentary Photography Class

2010-08-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

This semester I'm taking a Documentary Photo class. Unlike the photography classes I've taken before, this one has a catch. We have to work on ONE project that has to withstand the entire semester. Now, this is something that has the potential to be extremely awesome, or extremely horrible. Hopefully it won't be the latter of the two. Here's the e-mail I wrote to my professor. Let me know what you think, please?

"This is super late, I know. But I have finally come up with what I may want to do for this class. The reason it has taken me so long to talk to you about it is because of uncertainty; this is one idea that has stuck with me the longest but I didn't think it could withstand the longevity of the semester, so I've entertained other thoughts ideas. This is it though.

This past summer I think I've found my niche and exactly what I want to do in the field of photography, and that is music. Towards the end of last semester, I found myself shooting local show after local show, and even used my images for my final project. After the school year ended, I shot three huge concerts in Atlanta and it was the most satisfying experience I've had with a camera. It seems as if shooting music, in general, fulfills me more than shooting in any other realm of photography (portraits, weddings, fashion, sports, etc).

So here it is, I have figured since this is the one thing I know I'm good at and the one thing I love, why not keep doing it for not only myself but for this class.
So far I've had about 4 ideas, but I would like to narrow it down to two perspectives, and tell two different stories. I would like to tell two stories from two different perspectives.

1.)The Artist's side- There's one artist and one band that I would like to follow, and I know they're more than willing to allow me to do so. These are local artists and I frequent their shows. The great thing about them is that I know them personally, and I know how they are when they aren't doing music. You can still tell that even when they aren't holding a guitar, or drumsticks, that they eat, sleep, and breathe music. With the one artist, I've been helping her out a lot behind the scenes in terms of her trying to get herself out there in order to perform more frequently, at more venues, and to begin to expose herself, music wise of course. It's the small things that matter the most, and these are the things that we have been working on. I don't think I want to reveal them in this message; I'd like my photos to do that. With the band, I would like to do almost the same thing. They just recently signed with and Indie label and they're extremely amped up about it. I haven't worked with them directly yet, but that can definitely change. They're well known in Carrollton, and in the metro-Atlanta area. They've traveled a lot around the state and have even been outside the state a few times. THIS is something that I would like to document. I guess you can say I want to capture "the good/the bad/ the ugly." I want to get shots of them practicing, traveling, performing; I want to know what drives them, what's they're motivation, why they do what they do, etc.

2.)The "fan's" side- I believe that this will be done on a much broader scale because there are a variety of fans out there, and there will be an abundance of people to talk to and take photos of. Again, narrowing it down to two within this portion of the project , I would like take a shot at "local fans" vs. the fans that attend the huge shows, the sold out concerts, the fans who finally get to see the one person that they've always wanted to see perform live. Several questions I would like to answer are questions include:

What does music mean to you?
How important/why is music important to you?
What does it do for you?

I would like to interview these people to get direct answers, and also attempt to catch them candidly while the show is going on- I believe these portraits will answer those questions because of the raw emotion. Right now this part seems a little on the surface but I'll be able to dig a lot deeper as the semester goes on because more questions, situations, and topics will begin to arise.

I think I'm more than capable of making this series last not just the entire semester, but I see it going further than that. I feel that strongly about it. What I look to gain from this project is better understanding of how music works, for lack of better words. I want to know what it’s like to be a musician. I want to know how other people view music and musicians. Of course, this project isn’t something only I would like to gain something from, but I would love for people who view these photos to gain the exact same thing, if not more."

We May Be Famous

2010-08-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

"You never know who you know"
That was pretty much the gist of our conversation last night. Why just slumber in your free time when you can go out and do something? Something you're passionate about. Something that you enjoy. Something that can make an impact on others.
That's our mission this year. We're going to skyrocket.

Photo by....Myself.

How It Happened

2010-08-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

So we left for Six Flags to shoot the Bobby Ray (B.o.B.) at around 3 in the afternoon and got there around 4:30. The doors to the ampitheatre opened at 4:00, so we were half an hour "late". We got into the park and as we made our way to the venue, we saw signs that said "No Cameras Allowed Beyond This Point". That kinda...put a damper on things but hey, our cameras were in book bags so it's not like anyone could tell. Once we get in, the ampitheatre is halfway packed; of course everyone is towards the front. We walked around and eventually sat about 10-15 rows back away from the stage. At this point we're thinking:
a.) How are we going to get to the front?
b.) Well...even if we did get up there, we're not allowed to have cameras so...

As we're sitting there dumbfounded, Terence and I see this dude who's all dressed up with a Six Flags name tag, so we figured he was official. Terence got up to go talk to him. He asked the guy who was in charge of the photography for the show that day, and he referred us to one of the event photographers...you know, the bounty hunters who take you down when you first walk into the park, wanting to take your photos. Of course, Terence asked them who was in charge, and they referred him BACK the the same guy he just talked to.

So we're back to square one with the same questions we had last time.

a.) How are we going to get to the front?
b.) Well...even if we did get up there, we're not allowed to have cameras so...

A couple of minutes go by, and then I see this guy who looked AWFULLY familiar walk from the back stage area. I point and say.."Terence...isn't that...." and before I could finish my sentence, dude got up and speed walked to him. His name is Jon Gist and he graduated from West Georgia two years ago. They were about 100 yards away from me and the whole time I had my eyes on them, watching how the conversation went. Terence asked him who was in charge of the media pit. "I am"
That was the ticket. Terence looked at me and gave a weird grin and text me "bring the bags nigga."

We were able to get press passes to get into the media pit to shoot the show! If you read the previous blog, you know how the show went. It was SICK. After the show we got invited backstage to meet B.o.B and shoot his meet and greet.

Today Terence's photos were published to the Channel 2 Action News website, The Source, Yahoo! via the Associated Press, and Newsshoppers.com Big ups to him on getting exposure!

As for me, my shit was looked at, and wasn't good enough. It kinda sucks but...whatever.

July C, The Cool Kids, Bobby Ray aka B.o.B.-What More Can I Ask For?

2010-08-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

Maybe a new camera, because I'm starting to grow rapidly out from my D60. A new D300 is in the works though. Man, this past week has been crazy. Sleepless nights, sweet concerts, one beautiful model. I've been one hard working man. Want to see what I did? Well the fruits of my photography loins are right below this, so check them out!

I was able to turn my room in to a mini-studio. I had to take my BABY BABY photos down in order make space for a white wall. I used my flash/umbrella kit and photographed Miss July C.
July C

The Cool Kids, at West Georgia? What? SAC surprised us all by bringing these guys here. The show was okay, they could've been a little more enthusiastic though. At least my homies Terence Rushin and Twist made the show look more fun than it was. [It was still fun, but I thought it could have been better. I'm not hatin' though]
The Cool Kids

Man, I missed out on Bobby Ray's free show at the beginning of the month at Center Stage in Atlanta because I had R.A. stuff to do. I thought it'd be my only chance to shoot. Little did I know, he'd be in Atlanta performing again at Six Flags! I ended up goin' with my man RUSH and, again, he was able to hook me up. I got in for $10 with his season pass! I'll blog about the whole experience shortly in the Loser's Always Win Blog. I'll just say this, we got SUPER DUPER lucky. Here are my fav photos from the show.

B.o.B.

Each set from which the photos are from are available at the following links:
July C: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristography/sets/72157624610165807/

The Cool Kids: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristography/sets/72157624646687561/

B.o.B.: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristography/sets/72157624790733652/

P.S.

What I've Been Working on as of Late

2010-08-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, but I'm back. A couple of things came up that inadvertently put me on photo hiatus. But now I'm "back and better than ever".....? I ended up making a couple of purchases to add to my belt, including another SB-600, a mini-softbox, a flash trigger and receiver, and a stand and umbrella for my flash. Sadly, at the beginning of the summer, my other SB-600 flash broke while shooting Leslie, and the old Vivitar my dad gave me had died. Eventually I'll get the 600 repaired and order another stand, so I can have a pair.
Anywho, things have slowed down as of late and there's been a couple of things I've been working on, experimenting with, and playing around with. Had I'd known that I could get these tools at such a cheap price, I would've been at this point a long time ago but hey, better late than never. Right?
Here's a couple of photos I've taken over the past week.

Leslie and I are working on business cards for her music. We finished the back of it last night but we couldn't find any images I've taken of her actually with a guitar. We shot today in my room; here's one of the photos we came up with.

While she was making sure her hair was okay, I got curious. I ducked into the umbrella and took a photo of myself just to see what I could get. Usually you don't see a person INSIDE the umbrella so..

Lastly, here's a sneak peak at a little something Terence RUSHin (of RUSH Photography and Video) and I have been working on. We can't spill ALL of the beans yet but....."V"

P.S. Remember this:

You Can't Miss With These Two..Well, I know I can't

2010-06-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years, I've shot countless people. I've had good shoots, and bad shoots, and...okay shoots. Sometimes, with certain people, it's either hit or miss. Your models will either give you exactly what you want, or vice-versa. More times than not, your vision will go right over the model's head. There are two people in particular that stand out, and that I absolutely love shooting. Both of these people go above and beyond each time, and we always come up with amazing results. With every shoot we do, the bar is raised for the next one.

Chelsea Turner

As I was shooting Chelsea the other day, I got to thinking. Every time I have every shot this girl, she not only gives me what exactly I'm looking for, but she goes beyond. Not too many people can do that, and a majority of the time people will only give you the bare minimum. I've shot Chelsea numerous times. Yes, she's a very attractive women, and yes every photo that I have ever taken of her usually comes out amazing. This time was different. I don't know what it is, but she absolutely blew my mind with these photos, and she definitely made my job a lot easier. This shoot was totally worth the 14 mosquito bites on both of my arms.
View Chelsea Turner's Shoot-June 14, 2010

Leslie Mack

When it comes to photos, Leslie and I just seem to click. It seems like we're on the same page about every aspect of the shoot. The outfits, the poses, the expressions, the scenes...everything. My Dad even made an analogy about her and I.
"You two are like the Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of photography. There hasn't been one shoot that you two have done where either you or her seem remotely look out of tune."
I believe it.
View Leslie Mack's Shoot-May 18, 2010

I know what you may be thinking, "Tristan, you should totally do a shoot with them together."
The funny thing is that we have. About a year and a half ago we did a murder themed shoot and the photos came out pretty decent. Of course, since then, I'd like to think that I have upped my game a little bit, and I'd REALLY like to get them together again and do another themed shoot. Hopefully we can do this soon.
View Cold Blooded Here

Broken Bells at Center Stage

2010-06-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

[For those of you who haven't heard of the Broken Bells, please read my previous blog.]

As soon at they walked on the stage, I had a permanent smile on my face. These guys KILLED it. Every last song had the crowd either singing along, or just flat out screaming and "WOOOOO"ing at the top of their lungs. I felt bad for not knowing their songs, especially listening to it nonstop on a daily basis. RUSH and I, again, got in the front row as we did at the Big Boi show, and didn't budge. We got both got some awesome photos, and I recorded my FAVORITE song, "The Ghost Inside", as well as "The High Road." We also got some awesome(expensive) schwag. T-Shirts and a Matchbox....with matches in it of course. This show was perhaps one of the greatest experience I've had in awhile at a live performance. The best part-they sounded EXACTLY as they did on their record. I loved that. The performed eight songs to open the show, then for some reason, they just walked off stage! No one knew whether that was the end of their show, or what. They didn't wave or anything. But every second of the wait, the crowd got louder and more excited. Then out of nowhere, James Mercer comes back on stage with a bottle of beer in his hand, followed the rest of the band. These guys definitely know how to work the crowd. They performed four more songs, and closed out with a SICK instrumental. One by one they each left the stage in about 2 minute intervals, each waving at us before their exit.

From entrance to exit, these guys were total crowd pleasers. Sadly, the Broken Bells conclude their nation wide tour tonight (6/11/10) in Athens, GA at the 40 Watt Club.

Below are a few photos I took of the show, and beneath those are the two live performances of "The Ghost Inside" and "The High Road"
The full set of photos can be viewed here.

The Ghost Inside Live!
The High Road Live!

Broken Bells to Perform in ATL at Center Stage 6/10/10

2010-06-02T18:29:00.001-07:00

Listen up! A couple weeks ago, that boy Terence 'Beer Haterade' Rushin got me hooked on to this band called The Broken Bells. The first song I heard from them was titled "The Ghost Inside". Although the song was about a prostitute, it sounded pretty...neat.The band consists of two members: James Mercer, the leader singer and guitarists of "The Shins", and Brian Burton, also known as Dangerr Mouse. (You may have heard of this guy, he produced the Grey Album without warrant). Anywho, after listening to the first song I decided the get the album. Dopeness.
Next week on June 10th (three days after my 22nd birthday. I want a scooter), they will be performing at Center Stage in Downtown Atlanta. I don't know how much tickets are so ya'll might wanna hit up TicketMaster right quick.

If you end up goin, hit me up. RUSH and I will be in attendance.

Click Here to give "The Ghost Inside" a listen.
For more information on the Broken Bells, visit http://www.brokenbells.com/

Broken Bells
Thursday, June 10, 2010
1374 W Peachtree St NW
Atlanta, GA 30309-2904

Big Boi and Jay Electronica Perform in Midtown Atlanta

2010-05-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Terence, Twist, and I got extremely lucky, or maybe it wasn't luck. Maybe it was supposed to happen. We found out two days prior that Big Boi would be performing for free in Midtown Atlanta, so of course, we planned on being there, and maybe getting up close to shoot him. We got there an hour prior to the show, and there was a good sized crowd waiting to get inside the venue (The Yaarab Shiner Temple off of Ponce de Leon in Atlanta). For about an hour, we waited, then they FINALLY opened the doors to let everyone in. There were at least a good 100+ people in front of us, so I didn't think we'd really get a chance to get close to the stage. Funny thing-there was an open bar, so as soon as the doors opened, people started bum-rushing the bars. While the alcoholics did that, Terence, Twist and I made our way to the VERY front. Perfect. Shout outs to KIN and Microsoft. They really know how to host an event...FREE EVERYTHING. Along with the performance, they gave out FREE shirts, FREE stickers, FREE buttons, and FREE posters!!
Here's what I got:

Jay Electronica-I've heard some of this guys stuff before, but I never knew it was him. I didn't realize it was until he started spittin' his lyrics. The dude is a lyrical master. He hasn't been in the game for a long time, but he WILL be a force to be reckoned with.

Big Boi aka Lucious Leftfoot aka Daddy Fatsacks aka General Patton aka Son of Chico Dusty- I think you get the point. It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. This guy knows how to put on a show. Of course, he's been doing it for awhile, but there's something about watching an artist doing what he does best-you can see it in their (his) eyes. They will NEVER get tired of doing what they do. His performance was timeless.

Dear Tristan,

2010-04-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

Let's snap back to where you were last year. You were happy last year, correct? Good. Do you know why? Don't allow me to answer this for you, you know exactly why. Now get back to that point again. I want to you stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself, because it will not make things better. Fix yourself. You have a lot of things that you need to work on. A lot of these things you will deny at first, but take the time to look into them. Stop holding back, and be honest with yourself. You are a good person, but you are not perfect. You know this better than anyone. I want you to have Jesus in your life, more than you ever have before. You are NOTHING without him, and nothing good will ever come if you do not have him. Forget the things that you long for, and let him do for you. He only wants what is good for you, so do not be afraid to let go. You will be blown away by the abundance of life you will receive. Embrace the people around you, because they WANT to be around you even though they necessarily don't HAVE to. They are there for a reason, do not push them away.

Please Tristan, listen to me. Lately you have failed to do so, and I am getting tired of it. I won't give up on you, but you have to meet me half way. Promise me now, that you will start meeting me half way. I'm telling you all this now. It's nothing but talk. I want you to take what I'm telling you, right now, and get the ball rolling.

No one can do this but you.
NO ONE can do this but YOU.

Sincerely,
Your Gut

P.S.
Stop being so soft and harden the hell up.
Grow a backbone.
Learn to say "no".

New Doors

2010-04-13T11:18:00.001-07:00

A couple of new doors have opened for me in the world of photography. As photographers, we can only do so much of the same work, that often times our work becomes redundant. This isn't always a bad thing, but it can lead to just being a one or two dimensional artist. Lately I haven't been feeling as creative or motivated as I should be. Usually when I take photos, I get two or three shots that I'm very happy and proud of. That hasn't really happened in awhile; this was changed inadvertently.

First things first. I usually photograph live shows at least twice a month. When I first started a little over a year ago, I took images and got results that I couldn't even fathom. Of course, as time went along I shot more and more shows, and my photos began to look more and more the same. My satisfaction with my images began to drop lower and lower..until one night, March 13th to be exact. It was the night of the Smokers of Lyrics and BABY BABY concert at the Alley Cat. S.O.L. was up first and I began snapping away. I was coming up with the same old pictures that I usually get; I had a feeling of extreme discontent. Despite the feeling, I kept going. Later on BABY BABY went on. Something happened, and it was a complete accident. For some reason the exposure on my camera was set to 3 seconds. I took one photo, and was more or less puzzeled at what I got. It was a stream of lights, with the drummer in focus. A light bulb went off in my head and I began to experiment. I upped the exposure to 6 seconds, and adjusted my aperture to 6.3. I hit the shutter button and "painted" out the streams of light for the first 5 seconds. On the 6th second, I aimed my camera at the bassist, pointed my external flash at him, and came up with one of the greatest shots I've ever taken. I did this several times with each of the band memebers of BABY BABY (Fontez Brooks, Grant Wallace, and Kyle Dobbs). I've always read about long exposures, and even tried it once or twice, but I never got images like these. Door Number One:

We FINALLY began to start working with film in my Photo II class here at school. I've shot film before-35mm with a Canon AE-1. I've never developed my own film before though. I finally got to, and it was a long, exciting process. Out of 12 exposures, 3 came out well. Here they are. Door Number Two:

1,271 Miles

2010-03-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

I had no idea of what I was getting myself into.

I didn't even know that this was going to take place. This was entirely a spare-of-the moment decision, but it was probably one of the greatest decisions I've ever made, which lead to an even great experience.

Thursday, March 18th, 2010
A friend and I were planning a trip to Panama City, FL. I found out later today that she wouldn't be able to go (no hard feelings, it wasn't your fault!). I had alternatives just in case, but my heart was still set on Florida. I didn't have a clue as to what I would do. Go home? Stay in Carrollton? Or even as crazy as it seemed..rent a car and go to Panama City by myself. By MYSELF! At the time, I felt like I needed someone to go with me, so I began to ask person after person. Of course, since it was so last minute, people either already had plans, or they just couldn't go. This posed a problem because I've never been on a road trip alone before, and I didn't know how to go about managing, surviving, and even planning this trip. I didn't know if I had enough money. I didn't even have a clue as to where I was going to stay, thankfully Aubrey Young had messaged me in regards to my trip, that the Sam Koon Band would be performing in Panama City the entire week. I had to start planning out the trip because I eventually got to the point where realized that I WILL be going, even IF I had to go by myself. Since they would be performing in Panama City, I figured that I could drive down there, shoot their show, then drive to Mobile, AL to stay with my grandparents. After a day with my grandparents, I'd go to Pensacola Beach, since they live roughly half an hour away. Then I would return home. The trip would only be two or three days. I started looking at places I could rent a car, and I was nervous because I've heard over and over again that you have to be 25 or older to rent a car. Wrong. I stumbled upon Enterprise.com and was relieved to see that I could rent a car, being 21. There's a $75 fee that people under 21 have to pay in order to rent a car, which isn't bad at all. At this point, I was still searching for people that would want to go with me.

Friday, March 19th, 2010
I could barely sleep the night before because I was anxious, excited, and filled with the anticipation of what may or may not happen within the next two days. The first thing I did when I got up in the morning was calling my father. I had some questions that HAD to be answer regarding renting a car, and of course, to let him know what Spring Break plans may be. [On this day, he called me a grown man! Ha!] Afterwards, I called the rental place and got a quote for the car. I went to class, asked some people if they wanted to go, and of course, no one could. After class I finally realized that I may be doing this thing by myself. Looking back on the whole trip, I'm kind of glad no one came with me, but I'll get to that part later. After class, I went to work and made the reservation to pick up the car the next morning at 9:30am. The rest of the day went by soooo slow. The anticipation was growing, the anxiety was growing, and the anxiousness was growing. Later in the night my friend Justin, a photographer that I've worked with before, messaged me. He lives in Nashville, TN and does a lot of work with models, bands, and several other clients. "Dude you are coming up here and you are taking some photos with me. I'm going to get a model and we're going to shoot her all day at several locations." I wasn't about to pass that up. I added another destination, and another day to my trip.

Here WAS my itinerary that I came up with on Friday night:
Spring Break 2010 Schedule
March 20th
• 9:00am-10am: Call Enterprise to get car
• 10:00am: Walmart-buy GPS, leave for Fusion Church
• 12:00pm: Leave for Panama City, FL; Contact Sam and Justin
• 5:00pm-6:00pm: Arrive in Panama City, contact Sam
• 9:00pm-Sam Koon Band
March 21st
• 12:00pm-Leave for Mobile, AL; call Gramma
• 2:00pm-3:30pm: Arrive in Mobile, AL
• 4:00pm-Leave for Pensacola, FL
• 4:30pm-6:00pm-Chill at the Beach
• 6:00pm-Return to Mobile
March 22nd
• 3:00am-4:00am: Leave for Nashville, TN
• 9:00am-10:00am: Arrive in Nashville, TN
March 23rd
• 2:00pm-Leave for Marietta, GA
• 5:00pm-Arrive in Marietta, GA; Visit both parents
March 24th
• 2:00pm-Leave for Carrollton, GA
• 3:00pm-4:00pm: Arrive in Carrollton, GA; return car
I packed up everything I needed, and got some rest for the next day.

Saturday, March 20, 2010
I woke up this morning and was SO ready for the day to begin. I hygiened myself, got dressed, called Enterprise, and waited for them to pick me up. I expected to get the hatchback that I reserved online, which I didn't mind at all because it was better than not having a car and going nowhere. But oh....oooooooooooooooohhh that's not what I got. I got a black 2009 Pontiac G6! Ayee!!!! I got into the office, signed the paper, and got out. The car was MINE for four whole days. This played a major role in my scheduling though. Instead of having to return the car on Wednesday at 4:00pm, I agreed to return at at 10:00am, for a lesser charge. I didn't stop by Walmart to buy a GPS, because my dad helped me find an app on my iPhone called AT&T Nav. The app itself is a free download, but you pay AT&T a monthly fee of $10, which is a lot better than spending $100+ on a fancy TomTom or Garmin. This also played a MAJOR role in my trip as well, which I will talk about later.I drove back to my room, loaded everything up, and headed to Atlanta to stop by Fusion Church. (By the way, Happy 1st Birthday Fusion!) After I left the church, my adventure began. At 1:30pm I was on my way to Panama City, FL.

I put my destination into my iPhone and followed where ever it told me to go. It didn't register with me that when I chose "fastest route", it would lead me to a bunch of back roads all the way to Panama. This lead to several mishaps and urks on the way. I really can't bring myself to realize how DUMB it was of me to wonder, "hey....why am I not on the interstate? hm...maybe this is how it's supposed to be?" After about 3 hours of driving on these back several bad, bad things began to happen. First off, I was in nowhere, Alabama. Apparently AT&T has little or no coverage in this area. Without coverage, my GPS will not work and my phone will not work. I have no way of knowing where I am or where to go; I have no way of calling anyone if something were to happen, and no one had any way of getting in touch with me. You have to realize that when you are driving on these roads, gas stations are few and far between, and being an African-American male, you have to be careful of where you stop at because.....well, yeah. I was riding on faith going in and out of these coverage areas and then another thing happened. My phone DIED, while on the car charger. At this point, I didn't care WHAT gas station I had pulled in, I had to find somewhere to stop and get my situation, situated. I stopped at BP Gas station in Dothan, AL and tried turning my phone on several times. It wouldn't come on. I unplugged it from the charge, plugged it back in, and it still did not come on. THEN, I took out my laptop, plugged my phone into it, and thankfully the white apple popped up. After that, I went into the station, got an orange soda, and got back onto the road with my laptop on, charging my phone, and continued to use the GPS. Half an hour later, guess what happens? The phone dies AGAIN! Now I start to really panic. Again, I pulled over at the first gas station I saw. I didn't know what to do. The laptop charger didn't work, nor did the car charger. I sat in the car dumbfounded. I thought that was it. I'm just going to turn around and backtrack all the way back to Carrollton. Something eerily happened. After sitting in the car for nearly 10 minutes doing nothing, a group of people in a white minivan pulled into the gas station. When I say that these people were straight HOOD, you couldn't get anymore "hooder" than these guys. This minivan had 22 inch platinum spinners on it, a good 7 people dancing and listening to terrible southern hip hop gibberish, smoke coming out from all windows...the works. All of them had there oversized T's on, gold teeth, dreads, and shades. Honestly, no offense to ANYONE, I was initially scared. Then I realized...hey, these guys aren't here for no reason; I mean, where else could they be going? I completely forgot about how frightened I was, got out of the car, went up to their van, and "did mah thang".

"Hey fellas, where are you all headed?"
"AYYYYEEE MAN WE HEADED DOWN TO DET PANAMA CITAY!! WHERE YOU FROM NIGGA!?"
"I'm from Atlanta. Listen, my phone just died on the car charger and I was using it as a GPS. I'm headed to Panama City myself. Would ya'll mind if I followed?"
"NAWWWW MANE AIN'T NO THANG! WE FOLLOWIN DET BLACK ESCALADE BEHIND YO AHH, SO JUST FOLLOW DA WHITE VAN MAH BAH! AYE AND LOOK, DIS MAH CD!!! LISTEN DO DIS AND BURN DET THANG! GIVE IT OUT TO YO PATNAHS ONCE YOU GIT BACK TO DA A! DEM BAMA BOIZ IS DOIN BIG THANGS NAH!"
"Alright man, I'll do that [of course I didn't]. 'Ppreciate you lettin' me follow you."

I got back in my car, waited for them to leave, got behind them, and followed them. As I was driving, I tried plugging my phone up to the car charger one more time, before completely giving up on it. I had Sam's number, so I could find a phone and call him when I got to Panama, just in case I couldn't get my phone to work. But it did! It started charging! I didn't want to run the GPS app right away, because it sucks up battery life like it's nothing. I let charge 3/4 of the way and turned it on. It took about 45 minutes for it to get there, and for 45 minutes, I was going 50mph in a 65mph road. You already know, as soon as that GPS came on, I blew right pass these guys, giving them a thumbs up. Other than STILL going in and out of AT&T Coverage areas, everything was fine. My phone was working, and I still had street signs, even though I had no clue where they lead to.

At around 5:30pm, I finally arrived in Panama City, FL. Once I got there, I planned on meeting up with Sam and his band at their condominium, The Dunes of Panama. But of course, things aren't supposed to go according to plan. Now don't me wrong, I did expect to hit SOME traffic when I got there, but this? This was ridiculous. I was exactly 2 miles away from the hotel when I hit the most devilish traffic I have ever seen. At the time, I was telling myself, "oh, well I'll just turn off of this street, my GPS will redirect me, and I'll get to the condo quicker. Apparently everyone else in the City of Panama City were thinking the same way. The main roads were clogged, the back roads were clogged, and the back roads OF the back roads were clogged. There was no way I could win. I sat in this traffic from 5:30 to around 7:30 when Sam called and told me that the band was headed up the to the Hofbrau to set up. Since I was kind of, sort of, not really close to the hotel, I had to reset my route. I was hoping that it'd take me somewhere where the traffic was much less, but of course, it was much worse. It added another 2 hours of waiting in traffic. I was in sweatpants and a t-shirt, so of course I had to get myself together. I pulled into a gas station, filled up my tank, and made myself presentable.

During this time, I witnessed the most outrageous, belligerent, crazy, people on the planet. Granted, it is Spring Break, people are going to act a fool, but what I saw was ridiculous. Besides the terrible loud rap music, the people hanging out of the windows and sunroofs, the yelling, and the souped up candy painted Cadillacs, people where taking off their clothes, cussing out each other, fighting in the streets, pouring alcohol on the ground AND on themselves, etc. etc. It all just added to how much I was already pissed off at being in this horrible, horrible traffic. My windows were up and my doors were locked. There was no way in hell I was going to get involved in any of this.

Two hours later, I finally got onto a road that wasn't congested at all, and I made my way to the Hofbrau in Pier Park. Thankfully I made it right on time. The Sam Koon Band had just finished setting up, I went up and let them know I was their and that I was ready to photograph they're show. They were AWESOME and I got some awesome photos. After two hours, I caught the itis and I barely could keep myself awake because of the long drive there, and because of all the stress from being in traffic. I made it through the night though. Sam graciously offered to let me stay at their condominium for the night. We drove there after the show was over, and once we got there, I saw a bed. That was all she wrote!

Sunday, March 21st, 2010
After a GREAT nights sleep, we all woke up at around 10:30am. I walked out of the room and went to the patio. What I saw was probably the most disheartening thing ever. Horrible overcast skies, two read flags, six foot waves, and a tide that almost covered the entire beach. There was no way that I, or any of us could go out and enjoy the beach. I planned on only being there for a day, and for that day, I planned on hanging out with the guys, helping them promote on the beach, and just enjoying my time outside for the day. I was going to leave for my grandparents house at around 4:00pm. Due to the weather, I had to make some changes. First, I was going to skip out on going to my grandparents, staying in PC for another day, because apparently Monday would be perfect, and going up to Nashville on Tuesday. There was one thing wrong with that-Justin only had off on Monday. For a split-second, I just thought about skipping out on him as well, but we haven't shot in over two years, and there's no telling on when we'll be able to work together again. Nashville was back in the picture, by my grandparents were still out. They understood though. I stayed in PC for the rest of the day, went and had McDonald's breakfast with the band, and went to a packed Walmart. Eventually the overcast went away and the sun came out. The winds were still extremely high, making it very dangerous to go out on the beach. I did anyways, because I was set on getting at least one decent picture on the beach. After I got my picture, I went to a t-shirt store and got myself a NEAT little hoodie for 10 bucks, went back to Pier Point to take some photos there, and off of the pier, then I went back to the condo and chilled for a bit until the Sam Koon Band's acoustic show. I decided to stay one more night and leave early the next morning for Nashville. I shot the acoustic show for about two hours, had some weird tasting German fries at the Hofbrau where they performed, then headed back to the condo and called it a night at around 11:00pm.

Monday, March 22nd, 2010
I woke up at around 3:30am, got myself packed and hygienified, and left for Nashville at around 4:00am. Before I got too far, I stopped at a Shell Gas Station, got two Red Bulls, and filled up the tank. Once that was over, I was on the road again. Again, I was taking back roads. After about 3hours, it finally hit me harder than it did before. "Why the HECK am I not on the interstate?" There's an option on the AT&T TelNav Application. You can either choose "Fastest Route", which won't always be the interstate, and will most likely be back roads, or you can choose "Preferred Highway"....."OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH SNAP!! I'M STOOPID!!!" I chose "Preferred Highway", and it took me directly off whatever back road I was on, and onto I-65N. Much Better. While driving on I-65, the itis set in once again. I always hear about people falling asleep at the wheel, and I always thought it was ridiculous to do such a thing. But I stand corrected. I never realized that it was so EASY. I pounded those two Red Bulls until I reached the nearest exit, and got something to eat. I was in Decatur, AL. I went to a McDonalds, got out of the car to stretch and wake myself up. While doing so, I saw the most AMAZING sunrise. I took a picture of it, got something to eat, and got back on the interstate. As I was getting closer and closer to Nashville, the sky grew more and more overcast, and eventually snow started to fall! This wasn't your regular everyday snow though, these flakes were HUGE!!! (I have a video of it too haha!) I drove through the snow and as I was driving, I saw signs that stated that I-65N was closed. That meant I would be forced to get back on those awful back roads AGAIN. All cars had to get off on Exit 325 and take the detour via US 31. Boring, boring boring. Once again, this back road me had me in and out of coverage, meaning my GPS couldn't be picked up. I just followed all the big rigs because a group of trucks that big wouldn't be on a back road for no reason. After about 45 mins, we were finally back on 65N again, and it was smooth sailing all they way to Nashville from there....except for the part where I REALLY had to pee badly and there weren't any exits for days. It was way too cold for me to pull over and get out of the car and pee in the trees. I got to a rest stop, did my business, and bought myself some fruit snacks to stay awake because the Red Bulls didn't work as well as I wanted them to.

FINALLY I made it to Nashville, and met Justin at his house. We had a quick breakfast and headed right back out to pick up Marissa, our awesome model for the day. We shot at three different locations around Nashville, spending about an hour+ at each. First we started at Percy Warner. It's a huge upscale neighborhood with mansions for DAYS. We shot Marissa on this gigantic stone [and muddy] staircase. Next we went to the Parthenon, which was built 9/10 scaled to the original one. Last, we shot at the muddy Mt. Olive Cemetery. Along with driving through downtown and doing some brief sight-seeing, this was probably the most fun day out of the entire trip. There's something about actually seeing things for the first time that you've only heard about your entire life. After shooting all day, we dropped Marissa back off at her apartment, and headed over to Justin's mom's place. Apparently Justin told her all about me, and she was elated to finally meet me. She cooked these AWESOME sandwich type things for us; it hit the spot. I also met Justin's gigantic cat. She's the most chill cat I've ever met. For the rest of the night, we went through our photos, comparing shots, editing shots, AND Justin showed me a software that will watermark all my images at once! No longer will I have to sit on Photoshop for hours watermarking my photos manually. Thank the Lawd!!

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
I woke up at 9:30am, hollered at Justin for a bit, then peaced out. It was a sad day-the final leg of my trip. Again, I got myself together, got in the G6, and made my way back to Atlanta. Along the way I stopped several times. First I stopped to get gas, next I stopped at a Walmart to get lotion, because I was extremely ashy and extremely out of lotion, then I stopped at Burger King! As I made my way through Tennessee, I experience the most scenic drive ever. I drove through the mountains, the valley's, over the rivers and through the woods (not even kidding haha) and even shot a couple of pictures while driving. It was great. As I-24S eventually lead me to I-75S, it hit me. Only 110 miles left on my trip. It was bitter sweet. I got to Marietta and stopped by Dunlieth Elementary school, where I went for 5th grade, to see my P.E. teacher, Mrs. Gehweiler. Unfortunately she wasn't there, but I left her a cool note on her desk letting her know that I stopped by and how my spring break went. Afterwards, I met my mom at the library and hung out with her for a bit. She digs the car. I picked up my brother from his bus stop and got the "OOOOOH SNAP!! IS THAT YOUR CAR!?". "No...it's :(". We both cried....not really. We went over to my father's place and watched as he pieced together the LCD to my brother's iPhone. It's not quite fixed yet, by my dad always wins. I left for a bit to pick my ballin' friend up so we could go the Town Center Mall for awhile. Good times!

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
...and well, that's it. I'm back in Carrollton, I returned the car, and I'm so not ready to get back to the old grind. But I have to. The break was fun while it lasted.

La Fin.

This road trip was the most liberating, exhilarating, overwhelming, greatly needed, proudest, exciting, and fulfilling experience I have ever had in my entire life. The fact that I was by myself for most of it allowed me to learn a lot more about myself. It was my first self-sufficient trip I have been on by myself, and I hope there will be many more to follow. I did a lot, I saw a lot, I learned a lot, and most of all, I accomplished a lot. One thing that I keep repeating in my head is that in the span of two days, I saw a beach, mountains, 80 degree weather, snow, a wind advisory, a big city other than Atlanta, AND the coolest of them all-I did two shows in Panama City, FL, and a professional shoot in Nashville, TN. Oh yeah, I'm branching out.

P.S. The ONLY thing I regret about going is this trip is that it's a MEAN set back in my attempt to buy a car.....*Kanye shrug*, oh well!!

The majority of my trip was spent in a Pontiac G6 :D

Band I'm shooting the first night, that's my photo on their shirts :D

The one day I'm here, it does this....

Off the Pier near Pier Park

Sunset

Been driving since 4 this morning. It was great seeing the sunrise. I still have about 5 hrs to go.

P.S. Alabama backroads are NOT "the move".

Justin and I shot Marissa at several locations around Nashville today. She did an awesome job!

Best photo from our shoot.

First location we shot at, Percy Warner

Second location, The Parthenon

Leaving Nashville