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