Once a year I get hit with a random cold. It always comes out of nowhere, and never lasts more than a day.
But boy does that one day suck something fierce.
But nothing is gonna keep me from giving you the daily photo! I feel like the postman, nothing can stop me from delivering!
I’m curious though, we all have our own unique cold remedies…mine is a Thai soup called Thom Yum, a pile of movies and oversized sweatpants.
What’s yours?
D
Welllll….first off, happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful mothers out there.
I don’t really have a good transition from that into the photo of the day…so, um…here you go!
In other news, I had to break down and go buy myself a new computer today. Not cool. Given that my comp is central to my livelihood I didn’t exactly have the time to wait and order one. That means I spent a bit more than I would have liked, but overall I think it’ll do the job. It’s the first computer I can remember having that I didn’t piece together myself…and what’s the first thing I do when I get home? Tear it apart and replace stuff.
And yes folks, that means I’m in the minority of artists cause I don’t use a mac. Don’t have anything against them, would love to own one actually. Just, like that spare cash a bit more 
Anyway, off to family stuff. See you tomorrow.
D
Let me go on and show you today’s image before I get into the glory of my day.
It’s been too long…I know you wanted to see another shot of Joanna.
You may or may not remember me mentioning the other day that I screwed up my shoulder. I took my happy broken self to the Chiropractor today, and…got nothing. The guy told me he hadn’t ever seen an AC separation that wouldn’t move. On top of that I apparently also had two dislocated/displaced ribs. The kicker of all this, is that none of it hurts.
Here is our conversation:
(Me lying face down on the back-crackin’ table)
Doc: “Does it hurt when I do this?”
Me: “Nope.”
Doc: “How about now?”
Me: “Just feels like you’re poking my back, should it?”
Doc: “Well, you have two ribs out of place.”
Me: “Can we put them back?”
Doc: “Take a deep breath in and out.”
Me: “K.”
Snap. Crackle. Pop.
Me: “Thanks.”
—
Overall I don’t feel any different, and everything looks the same but I took a pretty picture for you. I’m especially proud of the labeling
Be warned…
Pretty sweet huh? Let me reiterate though, I’m not in any pain so please don’t be concerned. It looks worse than it feels, and it doesn’t feel like anything beyond annoying.
Anyway…hope you had a great day, now get out there and enjoy your weekend!
-D
Good morning! I decided to get an early start and put today’s post up before I buckled down and really got to work.
Today’s photo is another of Kelechi Opara.
I know you all come here to see the photography, not to read me ramble on and on but I realized something today and I figured I should share it. Mainly because it involves you.
It dawned on me this morning that more often than not we are held back in life by the perceptions we have of ourselves, and the fears we have of the world.
Maybe this is obvious to you. Maybe not.
For example: I know that there are a lot of you out there that won’t allow yourselves to step in front of a camera because there is something about you that you aren’t happy with.
Or maybe you won’t let yourself leave a job to pursue a passion.
When I first started in photography I was afraid that I would never be good enough. That belief crippled me for a long time and made me stagnant. I doubted that I could make my dream happen, you know? Truth be told, some days I still feel like that. Then I post another image and you all help me remember that I can.
I think more often than not we are held back from the wonders of life by the fears we hold on to so dearly. Fear is there to keep us safe from pain. That’s it’s job, and it does it well. I guess my point is this…If we live our lives constantly avoiding the potentially painful or difficult things that might happen if we take a chance…can we ever find happiness?
I don’t think so, not the real deal. We may be content, but I think joy is beyond the reach of the content.
Isn’t it worth the risk of a little pain if you might end up with everything you’ve ever wanted?
To me it is.
See you tomorrow,
D
I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am that it’s finally starting to warm up.
I’m not made for winter. If Kansas would stay a nice even 75 degrees I would never want to leave.
Anyway, enough dreaming of drastic climate change. Here is today’s shot.
Do I really even need to say how much I love this shot? Lisa did a great job!
I still have mountains of photos to go through so I’ll talk to you all tomorrow.
-D
Soooo happy about today’s shot. It’s the first part of a series that I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time.
A big thanks to Lisa for flying out all the way from California just to shoot with me.
There are some really cool shots coming from our sessions, but this is definitely my favorite so far.
See you all tomorrow,
D
Man, what an exciting week!
First off…let’s hear a round of applause for me updating the blog in under a month! Wooooo!
Remember me saying I was going to revamp my style a bit? It’s here…and I love it.
This is by far the highlight of my week though…
Just a few days ago I was notified that I had been nominated for something called “The A*List,” I had no idea what it was so I figured I should go check. Well, turns out that the city gets to vote on who they think is the best of the best…pretty cool. I’m in the portrait photography category.
So I spread the word around thinking I might do alright, but that there were a ton of great photographers in this city.
Here’s where I have to gush a little bit…you all (clients, followers, friends, family, fans, etc…) are incredible. In a few short days your votes have taken me from the bottom rung all the way to 1st place. Knowing that you all support me so much is a truly incredible feeling! I’m not a clever enough writer to be able to say it any better than that.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, or just haven’t voted yet…go check it out. Voting ends on the 27th, so there is still a long way to go but with your help I know I can stay on top!
Let’s talk more about photos though, and the lovely Jessica Crider…
If you’ve ever worked with me before, you know that I’m a bit spontaneous. This time my spontenaity got me, Jessica and her boyfriend Jordan all soaking wet. All because I decided on a whim that we needed to shoot in a lake. Yes, in the lake.
This wasn’t so much of a problem for Jessica (except for her aversion to mud) as it was for me and her boyfriend (my assistant for the day), she had plenty of swimsuits. Jordan and I both came without something to swim in. It’s so great when people are able to go with the flow though, I love it. Jordan didn’t even flinch when I asked him to get in the water and hold a reflector for me. He waded in jeans and all just to help out, and that made all the difference in the shots. I couldn’t have gotten them any other way.
Thank you to both of you for catering to me. I know you agree that the ends justified the means.
I also had some time last week to sit down and finish going over my second shoot with the ever-beautiful Randee Jean.
I don’t know what it is…I think she understands what I’m looking for before I do. Either that or I’m just that good at communicating what I want (don’t laugh too hard).
A big part of what takes me so long to go through her shots is that I can’t decide which ones I like the most…there are too many!
All of these photos were shot at the same studio where the workshop I mentioned in my last post will be held. I love the location because of how versatile it is. There’s a ton of space and it’s right in the middle of downtown so I can just walk outside if nothing indoors fits the look. How could I complain?
I firmly believe that the location can make or break a shot. I know that looking at beautiful people can make us critical of ourselves. Beautiful locations do something different though…they allow us to imagine ourselves there, I feel like they give the audience a kind of freedom. I wonder if it’s possible to shoot models in a way that eases individual insecurities while granting that feeling of freedom and empowerment.
Alright friends, it’s time for me to wrap up. A big thanks again to everyone that has supported me so far. Even if you choose not to go vote for me, the fact that you are here reading and looking at my work is enough!
Labor day is knocking on the door so, please have a safe and relaxing weekend.
-David
I know.
Deep title right?
Ha!
Aside from actually writing a blog entry I think coming up with the title is the hardest part…so, I give up…from now on it’s going to be the first thing that comes to mind no matter how stupid.
Anyway, today’s is relevant, thankfully. Last night I got the urge (as I sometimes do) to go through the discarded images from last year’s sessions and see if I could find a few gems to spark some creativity.
Some of them turned into very close crops like the one of Ashley above. I originally discarded it because the eyes aren’t tack sharp like I like them to be in my shots, but the crop wowed me so I had to work it and overcome that pickiness.
It’s been quite some time since I dirtied up a photo. I love playing around, and although I prefer clean n’ simple looking shots embellishments can really transform a piece.
The one above was done when creativity woke me up at 5 this morning. Such is life.
Back to work now, I have some jewelry photography to finish up today and then hopefully I’ll be able to post that up here too.
Hope you all have a great day!
-David
Finally!
I’m so happy this day came. I’ve been trying to do a particular project with the Central Missouri Humane Society for months.
See, here’s the thing. The Central Missouri Humane Society is having a very hard time staying afloat. They don’t turn animals away and they don’t have the funding for the essentials of care, let alone the space they desperately need. I don’t have much to donate except for some photo skills.
I felt this needed to be done.
So that’s what happened.
It was so much fun too.
A little difficult, but a lot of fun.
Read on for more photos.
