View allAll Photos Tagged LovingLife
I am passionate about Life.
I know you've heard it, but my brother lost his, so I will not waste a moment of mine. I am living it for both him and I. And having a lot of fun.
My first thought of passion made me want to take a photo of Mr. Cat and I. One thing we have never, ever had a lack of is passion. I think that chemistry has gotten us through some hard times. But he is working late tonight, so I had Anna take this shot since it encompasses the passion that I feel about many different things and the overall best thing - life.
Passion is so good.
I also thought about passion tonight when I was driving home from Anna's softball practice and the sky was changing before my very eyes in the most amazing ways and it was killing me to not be at the beach taking pics. I get moved when I see the sky and it is beautiful. Passion.
I have passion for my child in a way that when I pick her up, I have to hug her and hold her hand and reach in the back seat and grab her leg on the way home because I just love her so much. Passion.
I am so passionate about music that I have over 5,000 songs in my iTunes library and thousands more on a hard drive for music only. Music melts me, gets me dancing, moves me...it is a BIG part of my life and I value the fact that I know a lot about many artists across many genres. I LOVE music. Passion.
I love to cook. I get excited about making a meal for my family and savor the smells as the ingredients come together. Passion.
I am a Leo. A very passionate person. I roar loud about what I believe in and am glad that as I type this, I feel passion.
Some may laugh about how dorky I sound, but I do not care. I am glad I am this way.
Here's to passion.
People really fascinate me.
I meet so many different kinds of people.
One day I'm shooting a guy covered in tattoos and piercings... the next day the Mayor of Chicago... A famous blues singer on stage... and then this guy.
I'm amazed at the differences in human beings...
And I'm impressed with all the similiarities.
We all dream the same dreams...
There's only minor variations.
We all pretty much want the same things out of life.
Getting this close to people has taught me a lot.
It's been one of the most rewarding endeavors of my life.
Man I wish I could make a bunch of money doing it...
Enough so that I didn't have to do anything else.
I'd do it every day... in so many different places...
I'd love to travel the world and bring you images of all of the different people...
Who dream the same dreams.
Faces on the street
Chicago 7.23.11
35mm 1.8 cropped square contrast shot up
I popped David at the Ventian Festival in St. Joseph Michigan.
He was cool with it.
I thought it'd be nice to start the week off with some color.
David's a colorful guy.
Dude's a superstar!
And that beautiful woman in David's glasses...
That's David's girl.
I hope you all had a great weekend.
Faces on the street
St. Joseph Michigan 7.17.11
35mm 1.8 SOOC
These two lovely ladies were in a hurry through the very windy streets of Cleveland this cold December day.
Credit : @frankly_.frankie (instagram)
Strut! . . . . . #strut #walk #newdo #lovinglife #dogsoftheday #dogsofinstagram #cavoodle.
I was supposed to go backpacking.
Things didn't work out that way.
I went to the beach instead.
Sunburned to a crisp I got home at six thirty.
I didn't have any plans.
A friend hit me up...
'let's go shoot some street.'
And so out the door I went.
At 8:51 pm I took this shot.
The places I find myself amaze me.
Life swirls all around.
It spins maddeningly.
It's a vibrant and exciting ride.
It takes my breath away sometimes.
So after I was finished taking my picture from yesterday and was headed back down the road, I spotted this car heading toward me. It was beautiful and I wanted a picture of it. After it passed me, I thought to myself, "I'm already going to be late getting back to work, so what the heck?" and make a u-turn and followed the car down the road.
I figured that they were probably out for a quick ride and would be turning off soon into one of the farms. So I followed them for a while. They turned right and I turned right. I continued to follow them. Then they turned left and I turned left after them. Certainly they must be stopping soon, right? I imagined myself pulling into their little farm and taking pictures of their car. So I kept following them. They turned right and I turned right again and we continued down the road. This went on for a little while, when finally they pulled over to the far right-side of the road at a stop sign, I am assuming to let me pass.
Instead of passing, I pulled up next to them and rolled down my passenger-side window. I said, "I guess you noticed that I was following you?" and they said that they had. I explained that I am a photographer and that I had wanted to take some pictures. They said I could and when I asked where might be a good spot for me to pull over, they said "anywhere, you can do anything out here!"
So, I pulled over and took a bunch of shots while we talked. The men in the car were Irv and Earl. This is Irv's car and he was letting his friend, Earl, take it for a spin. It's a 1930 Ford Model-A 2-door. Irv purchased it sometime in the 90's and restored it in 1996. Regrettably, I didn't get any decent shots of the two of them to post.
So, that was the rest of my lunchtime adventure yesterday!! Hope you're having a great Wednesday!!
All you gotta do is love what you do.
If it's a true passion that you hold deep within your heart and soul...
if love is what's driving you...
you'll become the master at what you love to do.
It's gotta come from love.
That's where most good things... and all truly great things come from.
I really love shooting people close up on the street.
It's become a deep passion of both my heart and my soul.
Sometimes I dream about the people's faces that I've shot...
Sometimes I dream about the shots I've missed.
Something was always pulling me in this direction.
For as long as I can remember.
I wanted to do this.
I always wanted to get closer.
But it wasn't until I truly came to love it that I got any good.
Love brings an extra dimension to this endeavor.
I believe it's an essential dimension to doing this.
People can feel it.
They react to it.
They respond to it.
They open up and they engage my lens.
In that moment they become a part of it.
If you love it... you'll do it... and if you keep doing it because you keep loving it... you'll get better and better.
I love it so much that sharing these shots with people who find them interesting or inspiring is really a reward in itself.
I wish I could convince everyone that they could do this if they just let go of the fear and felt the pull of the love just like I did.
If you've never shot a closeup shot of a person like this... try it out on your friends and your family.
They shouldn't get too snappy with you.
Once you've become comfortable with the mechanics involved you can get yourself somewhere where there's a bunch of people.
Drink a beer or three... let your courage build up... let the love in your heart shine and just do it.
Do it for love!
Do it this weekend!
Break through that barrier and you'll thank me for tellin' you that you could.
If you haven't... you've got no idea how much fun it is... how rewarding it'll be.
If you have... man... you know what I'm talking about.
Feel the love.
Let it take you places you could never have imagined that it would!
Faces on the street
Chicago 7.23.11
35mm 1.8 cropped square with contrast, exposure and color squeaked
People watching has changed since the advent of texting.
People look like they're 'alone' but so often they're engaged in conversation with others that you just can't see.
They become somewhat 'oblivious' to what's happening around them.
They 'tune out of life' and into their little machines.
I'm guilty too.
I've had to shut my phone off or turn it to silent when I'm out shooting the streets.
The distraction is too much.
It takes me away from observing what's going on around me.
Everyone is so 'connected' these days.
Each of us like a single 'neuron' in an intelligent system firing off bits of information or receiving them throughout our day.
I had bigger dreams than being a 'synapse' in life.
More and more I see 'freedom' as tuning out of all of the bullshit and the disruptions.
I wonder sometimes...
is all of this technology making life better...
or is it taking something away?