Well, it’s been a crazy summer, and when summer started, I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish over the summer, so I thought I’d update you on what it is that I _actually_ accomplished.
I told you guys I would be going to this concert. and it was incredible. If you ever get a chance to see either Streetlight Manifesto or Reel Big Fish in concert. You should definitely do it!
While in Dallas for the show, I got to see some friends from high school, and I can never pass up an opportunity to take pictures of them (usually). Anyway, this is Jesse. and…he’s pretty cool, as you can see.
From a blog post a few months ago, some of you may remember this TV photo shoot. Tyson (my model for the shoot) did a music video with all of these TVs in the Spring, and I wanted to jump on that wagon and see what a photo shoot looked like. Thanks again Tyson for helping me set up and take down the whole thing, and being my model. It’s always a pleasure. If you want to see the other photos from the shoot check it out here
An artist friend of mine, Joel Armstrong, is working on (and currently advertising for) a wire show about garage sales. He asked me to document garage sales via photography. So, I spent a lot of the summer going to garage sales with Joel, and shooting random items. It was a lot of fun. If you’re interested in the show, check it out here!
Originally, Joel has asked me to photograph all the items he was drawing in wire. This was my first concept shot of what that might look like. In the end, he decided to go a different route due to a list of reasons, but I learned a lot figuring out this shoot, and the editing style.
I bought a motorcycle! My dad, uncle and I drove around the black hills in South Dakota on our motorcycles. I shot this the night before Dad came up and picked me up to trailer to South Dakota. It was a lot of fun. Learned a lot. Saw some giant heads on a mountain. The photo below is one of the places at the end of Spearfish Canyon on the West side of South Dakota. It is very much the middle of nowhere, but there were surprisingly a lot of people in this restaurant. Want to see more pictures from that trip? Check them out here!
I was able to shoot my first successful Star trail in South Dakota, right outside of Deadwood. Thanks to my dad for being patient with me while I set everything up.
After South Dakota I hopped a plane to Washington. 10 Boarding passes later, I ended up in Spokane Washington with some very dear friends from college. We ended up picking berries and eating lunch at a fruit farm. The photo above on the right is the box of cherries we picked, and Jess’s son, Oliver in a cherry tree.
This is Shane and his son Benjamin sitting on the porch on a beautiful Washington afternoon. good times, good friends. beautiful weather.
These are the two families I went to visit in Washington. It had been too long, and I am so glad I was able to finally make it up there to see these guys.
After an epic journey to find a rental car that would let me drive one way from Spokane to Portland, I drove to meet my mom in Portland, OR. It’s a beautiful city, you should go sometime.
A few days after Portland, my mom and I drove through the Redwood forest, and hung out in the area for a couple days. I tried to shoot as much as I could through these days, and if you want to see more of those photos check them out here!
After the Redwoods, obviously comes San Francisco. Peir 39 is where the seals hang out, so mom and I decided to stop by and see what was happening.
After I got back from that excursion, it was time to take my car down to Texas to get some work done on it. I rode a train to my home town, and met up with my dear friend Micah. He and I have been friends a very long time. Micah made it into grad school in Essex, England (which is very close to London). But because he is an actor, he needs an updated headshot every year. So, before he took off for across the pond, I did a handful of shots for him and designed a few things for his website. Check it out, he’s a pretty incredible fellow.
So, last week, my second year of grad school started, every school year I have the joy of my birthday landing on the day of school starting, or very nearly on the day of school starting. But, my parents are the best, and even though they couldn’t make it up to Tulsa for my birthday, they did send incredible, beautiful gifts. Thanks again mom and dad.
Anyway, school is underway and I have some crazy cool things up my sleeve (or so I think). But if you’re in the Tulsa area, in a few weeks is the opening for Joels show (keep your eyes out for a blog about the photos I took for Joels show) and in about a month is the Indie Art Festival where a handful of art friends and I are going to be selling all kinds of incredible things that you can buy! Stop by if you get a chance.
Thanks for reading, see you soon!
Natalie