Real life, personal thoughts, and pictures

For anyone who knows me personally, you may know that it is ridiculously hard to get ahold of me sometimes.  And even when I'm there, I get a little distracted sometimes.

For those who don't, just realize that during the summer, I work full-time, practice my photography, work freelance in addition to my job, try to work out regularly, have some level of a social life, and keep my apartment clean-ish.  I also keep up with other obligations, including (but not limited to) active religious participation and hopefully starting to work with a mentoring program soon.

This is not the school year.  This is the "off season."  It can and does get worse.

After going through a couple years of over-burdened workaholism, I realized that with all the strides I've made in art, one thing was missing...

... a real life.

And I'm out to fix that.

 

A couple weeks ago, my roommate and I went out for a cruise in my brother's new Jeep (which he's quite proud of).  It was one of those random little things that he was excited about, but with my schedule I might have declined or put it off in the past.

But I went.

And Rachael went.

And we had fun.

The really monumental thing is that I took my camera with me.  Often, the sheer volume of photos I work with made picture-taking a burden, because in an effort to be "productive" and "disciplined" I had upset the balance between practicality and living.  I had to get things done rather than doing things for people, and do things right rather than explore and create.  I wouldn't take pictures unless I thought they would be amazing or fill some requirement.

That mentality does not work out in the end.  I've spent a lot of time trying to DO so much that I became numb and tired.  Now it's time to LIVE.  That means making time for people that matter, for really getting connected spiritually, for personal work, and saying no to things that I just can't manage to do.  It'll take some work to re-balance everything, but I'm looking forward to the challenge... and the resulting imagery.

Ohio Sunset

Another little tidbit from the trip home.

 

My mom and I were driving home at the tail end of a rain storm, and the half-covering of clouds was too good to pass up.  I pulled into a shopping center on the edge of a cliff (not kidding about the cliff) and took this picture over the side.  It's so simple and clean that I couldn't bear to mar it with a watermark.

 

Just don't steal it... deal?

Hello, Ohio!

So, I spent the better part of the last two weeks visiting my parents in the greater Cleveland area of Ohio.  I have to say, even though I love the mountains in Utah, I come to crave the trees and rivers of the Midwest.  Here are a few photos I took around Ohio while satisfying that craving:

To tell you the truth, the first seven pictures were captured at a park where my mother used to take my brother and I to play often as children.  It was a nostalgic moment.

Marianne and Dan - Engagements

What do you do when Utah gives you a blustery, snow-covered spring morning?  Head to the greenhouse!

Marianne and Dan wanted to take advantage of the beauties of spring, but Mother Nature wasn't going to hear of giving a warm, clear day within our time frame.  The folks over at Sunshine Greenhouses were the cordial hosts to our shoot, and their facilities are beautiful!  They have fantastic plants and greenhouses, and we had so much fun that I really want to go back and get some geraniums...