Two Thousand Ten Fin

Every year is like a marathon. Everybody starts off at the starting line at the beginning of the year. But at the end of the year is what really defines what the hell you did and accomplished the past 365 days. Some people don't make it off that line and are right where they started and then there are some whom can't even see the starting point they are so far ahead of the game.
We trip and fall, some get right back up...some don't and stay put...and some are too scared to go and see the course of the run.
Some take risks.
Some make attempts.
Some fail.
Some succeed.
"If you're not failing every now and again, it is a sign you are not doing anything very innovative." - Woody Allen. My favorite quote of 2010 by the way.

2008 was a year of ultimate highs for me. 2009 was a year of ultimate lows for me. 2010, well, it was a bit of both.

This was a year of a rude awakening that I needed. Everything that happened in this year was and is for a reason.

Amanda and I = did not work out but we are now best friends and basically picked up our friendship where it left off before we started dating in 2008. With how things are now, I am very happy and extremely glad they did not turn sour. Being friends for so long, then dating, then breaking up, then maintaining that friendship is a very rare thing. I am very thankful for that.

Google and I = did not work out but we are still homies. I Google everyday :) and will Google everyday probably for the rest of my life. It is OK Google that you dropped me to the curb with that heartbreaking phone call I received on my last morning in Las Vegas with your 'dream come true' job that was not going to happen. So Google, I will inform you that I have my own 'dream come true' job of my own as I climb this ladder. Maybe me and you will meet again one day...on better terms from your part I hope.

Sincerely,
That Photographer Dude


Mini and I = did not work out but I still stare at you and become oblivious to traffic, laws, and traffic signs as you drive by me. You will be mine one day, oh yes, you will be mine. Just not right now because I have a plane ticket to save up for to Indonesia. Priorities first. Mister tC, you have done me well the past 6 years and I will stick with you for a while longer.

Bulldog and I = did not work out but I still laugh everytime I see you. You will be in my possession one day, just didn't seem to happen in 2010. I work 55 hours a week and I am usually out and about 4-5 nights out of the the week so I'm not home enough to feed you. You would ultimately die of starvation before I would get a chance to feed you those delicious Keebles 'N' Bits. So for the sake of your well-being and my morality, let's wait for when the time is right.

George da Bulldog :D

Now for the brighter side of 2010! Raise the roof.

My job and I = did work out because I am no longer in the restaurant industry. I love food but damn, working in restaurants sucks. The money isn't even worth the bullshit you have to put up with so for everyone working in the restaurant industry right now: My hat goes off to you because I know how it is so Godspeed my fellow comrades. Now as for right now, getting paid to be surrounded by photography all day everyday...yeah, I struck gold on this one :) Thank you SPC.


My travels and I = did work out because I visited (in no particular order): South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. 28 states out of 50 in the span of four months. A total of 9,651 miles and a total time of 6 days and 19 hours on the road. Next year: Indonesia :) and the year after that: Tokyo :)
God I love to travel.

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Dewi and I = did work out because of fate. How does two people over 15,000 miles apart, one in the northern hemisphere while the other is in the southern hemisphere, one in the US and the other in Indonesia, one in snowfall while the other is in rainfall, one in sunlight while the other is in moonlight, meet but have yet to meet in person.
Thank you Facebook :)
How this 'movie script' of a story started was a friend request she sent me back at the end of April. She was looking for an Indonesian musician whom is named Brandon. She typed it in and somehow, out of the thousands of Brandon's on Facebook, I was one of the top search results. She liked my default picture which (at the time) was a black and white photo of myself on a boat heading towards Alcatrez in San Francisco Bay. She browsed through my photography and wham bam here we are at the end of 2010 as I am writing about her. I never except requests from people I do not know but hers, for some reason, I left pending for over a month. It was perfect timing as if it were written in the script to 'Ooo! and Ahhh!' the audience. Once the whole thing with Amanda and I came to a close, I decided one day to click "Confirm" and everyday since then we have talked and most recently have used Skype to see each other for the first time other than pictures. Everyone that I know knows what type of person I am and they know of my personality, my 'wants' and 'needs' in life. Ultimately, they know I am done with Spartanburg.
So why not jump across the ocean?
September can not come any sooner :D

My Photography and I = did work out because it has no other option haha. Before I started working at SPC, I thought I had a good amount of knowledge about photography. HAHAHAHA...excuse me.....HAHAHAHAHA.............OK I am done....no wait............HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...snort..HAHAHA..............OK seriously I am done now. 

I have redefined the term "You learn something new everyday." I set that bar up so high that you might as well learn 73 things everyday to keep up on par with me. I am surprised my brain hasn't leaked out of my skull, grew legs, and jetted off to Montana just to get away. But you know what? I love it. Absolutely love it and I could not ask for a better job in Spartanburg.

And as for my two main photo excursions this year: Roadtrip across the USA and New England Roadtrip. Here are three of my favorite photos from the year.

Roadtrip across the USA: Colorado/Kansas border

Roadtrip across the USA: Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco, California

New England Roadtrip: Acadia National Park, Maine

Well 2010, my friend, you were quite an interesting year. I am going to miss you however, probably even more than I miss 2008 because I like my placement in life better than 2008 offered me. 

So 2010, I raise my glass up in your honor as you have reached your untimely death and I raise my glass even higher for the newborn 2011 whom is just took its first few breathes.

2011 is going to fucking rock.

Chuck Norris is Dead... For Now

This just in! The unthinkable, the unimaginable, the indescribable happened. The wicked beard of the east has been defeated by its master in a razor fight to the death. I was comfortably in my bowl chair, playing my 360. Jonathan was on his laptop and he uttered those words that I can not describe as too how painful they were to my delicate ear bongos, "I'm thinking of shaving it off." It all happened in slow motion. My mouth dropped as my eyes widened. I whipped my head to face him and went "WWWWHHHHHHAAAATTTTTT???" My 360 controller slipped out of hand and fell graciously to the floor and bounced hitting my coffee table. I think my ears started to bleed.

His beard became part of the group, its own member, its own character. It was called many names, but one never stuck. Chewbecca, Chuck Norris, The Brawny Man, Grizzly, ect. I particularly liked Brawny. I could just see Jonathan with an ax in one hand, a roll of paper towels in the other and one leg propped up on a defeated log in the middle of a forest. Deer, rabbits, even bears run away to hide from the epicness of the beard. I even heard an urban legend that the beard ate and swallowed a hippopotamus and a herd of zebras on multiple occasions. True story.

My most memorable moment of me and that beard (not gay) was..................................... I don't have one. Well, probably the photo shoot I did with it as it was in its dying process. Enjoy below :)

Simplicity is best and brilliant

It is the simple things in life that make more sense and have more beauty to them. Think about it.... the wheel. Whom ever invented the wheel should deserve to rule the world. Without that thing, all these other 'complex' things would never been invented. Sliced bread! You can do a 2,678,982,561 things with sliced bread. It's simple.

And then there is art. Jackson Pollack and his splashes of paint on a massive canvas. Milton Glasor and his "I <3 NY" logo that has every single city in the world with "I <3 whatever city I'm in" t-shirts for sale. It's simple. And then I stumbled upon Jason de Caires Taylor, a sculptor who carved concert blocks into human figures of all shapes, sizes, sexes, races, ethnicity, and everything in between and threw these massive pieces of rock into the bottom of the ocean in South America. Then he let Mother Nature take over. It was time consuming but view the pictures and you will see what I am talking about. It's a simple idea that is brilliant.

Visit Drowning Beautiful to see more pictures

The Lost Footage of the Original Star Wars Trilogy

Just recently during the first week of a cold December, lost footage from one of the greatest movie trilogies was found in a basement which belonged to 'Name Withheld.' He was down in the basement to grab some Christmas decorations and found this raggedy box with 'Star Wars' written on the side in bold black letters. Did curiosity kill the cat?
No. Curiosity led the cat to lost footage of the original Star Wars trilogy that is worth an estimated $132 million dollars.

I was able to get my hands on this footage from the sheer courtesy of 'Name Withheld' and I am presenting it to you for your enjoyment. No DVD/Blu-Ray release is announced yet.

Star Wars: A New Hope

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars: Return of The Jedi

YPU

Late last year I submitted my portfolio to a company called YPU which stands for YoungPhotograghersUnited. They only accept 50 photographers a year to join them in a exclusive network with connections to many international photography agencies and companies.
Sometime this summer they sent me an email stating that they apologized that they I wasn't selected to be one of the 50. I didn't mind because I know there are thousands of photographers out there much better than me and that capture photographs that make me envious that I wish I took that picture. But from receiving that email I have high hope. Google fell through for me, let's see if this sparks anything

Also in that email they stated that they are allowing me to join their social network community. As well as many photographers who want those connections to the world that awaits their creativity.

Without hesitation, I joined. I want those connections and I am posting this because I want all the photographers I know that the door is open. Walk through it.

YoungPhotographersUnited

Roadtrip Across the USA: Day 14, 15 (Pursuit of Happiness)

This is it. It's over.

The best two weeks of my life, thus far, has come to an end.

It was 1:45am on Sunday morning when we pulled into my parents' driveway. It took us 35 hours to get from the Grand Canyon to Spartanburg over a span of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is now one minute past 4 am and I am sitting here in my parents' living room writing this. I've got a lot of laundry to do tomorrow.

Now what do I do since this short journey of a lifetime is over? I'll figure that out. I always do when I come to crossroads in my life and every time in the past I've made the right decision. If I didn't I would not be who I am today.

The final two days of our road trip across the USA started off with a 2 hour relationship with the Grand Canyon. That's right. I said relationship because when you visit her and see her for the first time, you forget there are thousands of other people just like you glaring at her in awe and you just think about you in that particular moment watching her in her beauty. As your pupils absorb everything the canyon has to offer you just stop everything that you are doing, and just stare as if she is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. That's when it becomes a relationship.

When you walk to the edge of the cliffs you start to get nervous.

Your heart beats faster.

You struggle for air.

You become scared for your life.

One slip and you will ultimately come to an end one mile down. But I like to test the limits. I like to see how far I am willing to take myself into a situation that exhilarates me and pumps adrenaline through my veins. What is the point in living if you don't take risks every now and then? The good thing about this is I survived since I am here writing this blog. The bad thing is I wish that 2 hour relationship could have lasted longer.

There is this ledge that sticks out and becomes narrower towards the point that Andrew and I went to the night before. We wanted to go back to take some good photographs since we had a lot more daylight. When we climbed down the cliffs to get to the ledge there was this blond woman whom was sitting on the edge in her own world with the canyon. She heard us coming down and got up to greet us. I didn't get her name but us three exchanged a few words in the few minutes we had on the ledge together. She is from the Netherlands and was on a road trip across the US with her family going to all the stops that we went too but in reverse order. Seeing our cameras in our hands, she kindly asked if we would like our photo taken. She did and gave us the cameras back. I started taking more photos and then began to think about how people meet, how people run into each other. A woman from the Netherlands meeting two guys from South Carolina on the ledge of the Grand Canyon one mile up. This is what traveling does best. Meeting random people in even more random spots. She took a great photo of Andrew and I by the way. We exchange a few more words and wished each other safe travels. Her next stop was San Francisco. Hope she likes it because you know my love for that city.

We saw what we could in the very little time we had with the canyon then got in the SUV and headed East. Meghan started the first trek as I was in the passenger seat. During our drive through the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico I put on my headphones, replayed the song "Awful Game" by Milosh, and went into a unique state of mind for a few hours. With my Dad's journal in my hand and finishing the last pages of his journey that he took 35 years ago, I wrote in mine. It was the longest entry that I wrote from this trip and of course those words stay with me but my mind began to bounce back and forth about what's going to happen to me when I get back. This road trip was exactly what my mind, body and soul needed desperately. Now that it has come to an end will all the negative/depressed feelings come back? Or will I have created this new outlook on my life and how I control it? Let's hope for the latter.

One of my favorite books is called "The Art of Happiness" which is written by the Dalai Lama. Hence the title, you will know what the book is about. The first paragraph of the first chapter is the greatest collaboration of words I have ever read and ever single one makes perfect sense. He writes,

"I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness..."

I read those words over a year ago for the first time but now after all the experiences I had and memories I created on this road trip I know how to do that exactly. The trip changed me. How could it not? and of course it changed me in a very beneficial way for myself and for other people. The 2 months prior to this trip were the hardest I've ever gone through and the saddest I've ever been. The 2 weeks following those 2 months were the best of my life. Funny how they coincide with each other but everything happens for a reason. I've come to accept that and I learned how to seek happiness, my own personal happiness because of this trip. Sometimes in life you just need to step back, take a breather or two then jump right back in. It will change your perspective on everything and it will definitely rock your world. 

Now the next step in my life must be taken. 

What will it be? I don't know but let's go find out. Godspeed to myself.

Roadtrip Across the USA: Day 13

Today did not start out good for me. Everybody I know now knows that I am supposed to start a temporary job with Google. Well I was supposed to receive an email about my flight information to San Francisco this Sunday but I never received that email. So this morning I called the agency before we left Vegas and they told me that Google canceled this project they wanted to do.

I was crushed. Completely taken aback. Completely heartbroken. Why? Because I seriously thought this was my big break, my chance to get out of Spartanburg. I know I can still get out of Spartanburg but its muthaf***ing Google! The biggest website on this planet. The project can still happen in the future but as of right now Google canceled it. Don't know why either.

Now I really don't want to come home from this roadtrip. This roadtrip has cleansed my mind and soul and I don't want to go back to what got it all scrambled. Don't get me wrong, I love Spartanburg and I love the people that are my life there. I love both with everything I have. Deep down I have to, not because I feel obligated to love the city but because it's been my life since I was 5 years old. But I've come to the point where I feel that Spartanburg has nothing else to offer me. I can't fully blossom in my career as a photographer there. Check Monster.com and type in 'Photographer' for Spartanburg and see what results come up. You will know exactly what I mean. I've gained everything I can from this city and now I want more.

Seeing the West Coast again made my heart skip a beat. And now that this Google thing sorta collapsed on me, what do I have to lose? I've begun to think that I will start looking for jobs out West in San Francisco or L.A. or New York. And I've even thought about asking my Godfather in Guam if I can move in with him for a few months just to get away from it all.

With this on my mind all morning it was hard to let it go and go back to enjoying the roadtrip. We left Vegas and headed back East. Made a stop at the Hoover Dam, which actually is smaller than I expected it to be. It was massive, of course, but in my mind I always pictured bigger. Hot as hell too. The desert reached 119 degrees outside. Our sunroof was too hot you couldn't place your bare skin on it for more than 3 seconds without yelling a bunch of four letter words. Driving through the Arizona mountainous desert, however, made up for the heat and was gorgeous. It really made me just stop what I was doing and daze out the window to absorb its massive beauty. We stopped at this small gas station in this small town called Seligman, Arizona, home of the birthplace of Route 66. Pretty cool. Didn't plan on stopping there and it happened to be the birthplace of America's most famous road. Got back on the road and headed to the Grand Canyon.

We got there when the sun was setting. I was getting antsy in the car because I knew I would get gorgeous shots of the Grand Canyon as the sun settled. I dashed out of the SUV as soon as we parked and gunned it. I jogged for about a half a mile and was immediately out of breath. Jogging at 8,000 feet is sorta difficult. As I ran, to my right was the Grand Canyon. No guardrails or anything to keep you from falling to your death. My first glance of it stopped me in my tracks. As I walked towards the edge I was still struggling for air but it didn't phase me as I looked at the most beautiful, massive, awe-inspiring creation by God or whatever higher power you believe in. You do not come to see the Grand Canyon, you come to experience it. You come to absorb it. You come to make it feel how small you are and how grand life is and how f***ing beautiful this world we live on is. You just have to stop and observe.

I found a ledge to take my shots, one mile up from the bottom. The air was nice and crisp. I was one minute to late to get the shots that I wanted as I ran to beat the sun. The sun had the entire sky a deep orange but when I finally got to a good spot the sky was beginning to turn dark blue and black. Still took my shots but I didn't hustle enough. The darkness took over quickly and it became dangerous to climb out onto the cliffs and ledges in the dark. We headed back to find a hotel room. We did and now the Grand Canyon waits for the sun to glisten its beauty. Come on sun. Hurry up and get here.