February 2018

The month of March has a little over a week left and yet I'm just now getting to making my monthly blog post for the month of February. During the month of February, I was unable to keep true to my goal of having at least one photo shoot a week. However, I did have a couple engagement photo sessions during the month of February so I wasn't completely dormant. I am hoping to finally post photos from those sessions when I find time. I also finished off the month by doing photography for Wake Up with Waukegan over at Bonnie Brook Golf Course. 

One of the most exciting changes that came with the month of February was new photography gear. In recent years, I have decided to allocate my money towards photography education programs and new lenses. Going into 2018, I was planning on finally investing in getting a new camera body since the Nikon D80 I owned was not a full frame camera and pretty outdated. Despite the limitations of my Nikon D80, I was doing my usual routine of procrastinating on purchase a new camera. I really did end up putting off purchasing a new camera for as long as I could. 

My need for a new camera would suddenly change on the morning of February 15th. That morning I decided that Waukegan Harbor seemed like a good location to do my photography. I thought the ice formations over on the south side of the harbor might make for some cool shots so decided to wander along the rocks a bit. I was a little torn between staying safe on the rocks or risking it and getting closer to the ice. In fact, I even added to my story on Snapchat pondering such a question. I eventually decided to take my chances on the ice and fell into the lake with my camera in hand. I quickly got out of the lake after my impromptu polar bear plunge, just not quick enough to save my camera. 

As I was walking back to my car after my dip in the lake, my main concern was having a camera for the engagement session the next day. I guess you can say that the universe gave me the push I needed to finally get a new camera. I ended up spending most my day looking at the available options for full-frame Nikon cameras and debating which one to get. Ultimately, I decided that at this moment the best camera for me is the Nikon D610 and have been happy with that decision so far. 

Also during February, I found time to get out and have some fun in my spare time. I ended up going to the Aragon Ballroom for a few Friday night shows. The headliners for the shows I went to were Gramatik, Ganja White Night, and Excision. Of the three shows I attended, I would have to say my favorite had to Excision since his music is so heavy and visuals are always so amazing. February also marked the first time in quite awhile that I attended ArtWauk since my schedule finally allowed it and I didn't have any work on display in any of the galleries.

January 2018

Well, the month of January I've been working on trying to build momentum with my photography and get my business moving in the right direction. I'm continuing to work on both the 365 project and the portrait-a-day project that I started in 2017. Another personal project that I'm trying to resurrect is a weekly creative portrait project. Yesterday was the first day where I resumed work on that project.

For my business, I'm trying to have at least one portrait session each week. So far I've accomplished that goal between two paid shoots and two free ones. The paid ones was Bhargavi's maternity session and family portraits for the Vashers. The free ones were of my nephew, Je'kori, and then an anniversary session with my parents. Also, I had the honor of photographing the ribbon cutting for Real Invest Inc. It was very cool getting to see a side-by-side comparison of how they remodeled their office building and exciting to hear how they could help with future developments in our community. 

I am also happy to say that I followed through on becoming a member of the Lake County Art League and the Waukegan Chamber of Commerce. I'm looking forward to seeing how these organizations can help me to grow as an artist and businessman. Joining the Chamber has already started to pay off with attending their Business After Hours event at Cracken Cakes & More. If it wasn't for attending that event, I wouldn't have met Mikki Schuk of Real Invest Inc. and been asked to photography the ribbon cutting. Also, I met a fellow photographer named Marie Schoblocher. She was helpful in that she gave me new ideas for my marketing and also said maybe I could second shoot some weddings with her.

Finally, what is life if you can't have a little fun. I went over to my alma mater to see Waukegan beat one of their big rivals, Zion-Benton. Also, I took in a couple shows in January. The Aragon Ballroom is starting become a venue that I'm becoming pretty familiar with the last couple months. This month I went to Datsik there and did he ever put on a show. My other show in January was actually my first show at the United Center. I finally got to see one of my favorite bands, the Killers. It was definitely up there as far as my favorite shows I've attended goes.

Je'kori | 5 Month Old

My second photo session of 2018 was my nephew, Je'kori, coming into the studio a little over a week ago. My sister had been trying to bring him in for a personal photo session, but we had a tough time getting it together during the holiday season. I was happy that he finally got to have a portrait session with me and I'm also happy that so far I'm staying on track for having at least one portrait session per week.

Bhargavi | Maternity

On the first Saturday of 2018, I had my first photo session of the new year as Bhargavi and her husband visited my studio. I'm hoping that this is first of many portrait sessions that I have this year. In fact, one of my resolutions for this year is to have at least one portrait session per week. I haven't quite settled on who I will be photographing this week, but I surely have some ideas for people to contact.

December 2017

Good thing one of my resolutions for the new year wasn't to make my blog posts in a more timely manner. Especially since here we are almost a third of the way into the month of January and I'm just now posting an update on how December went for for me. The month of December provided very little in the way of rest. The first week of the month kept me busy with photography. On the first Sunday of December, I had a morning family portrait session in Lake Bluff and in the evening I had wedding up in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, that I photographed. Then on Wednesday that week, I did event photography for the Climate Action for Lake County and Puerto Rico. Also during this month, I did a couple headshots with one client being a former classmate of mine and the other being one of a current friend. December marked my second month of displaying my work during ArtWauk at Undercroft Gallery, which is located in the basement of Christ Episcopal Church. 

Meanwhile, there were plenty other events that kept me busy as well during the month of December. I went to a variety of different shows in the area including acts such as Tchami, Illenium, Midnight Tyrannosaurus b2b Figure, and even went to see the Impractical Jokers. The end of year has the tendency to have plenty of get togethers and I ended up going to parties held by Clean Power Lake County, Schuler Scholar Program and my former job, Six Flags. Even with all that, my favorite part of the month was following Pretty Light Live on their end of year tour stops. Me and my friends saw them play two nights in Detroit and the New Year's Eve show in Philadelphia. It was a ton of fun doing that and I don't think I could have asked for a better way to celebrate my 30th birthday. 

I'm doing my best to start this year strong and trying to grow my business. I had my first portrait session this last weekend in my studio. This aligns nicely with my goal of having at least one portrait session per week. I'm hoping to keep the momentum going and getting my nephew, Je'kori into the studio of Friday. Once again, ArtWauk is sneaking up on me with it less than two weeks away already. Another step I'm taking to increase my visibility is becoming a member of both the City of Waukegan Chamber of Commerce and the Lake County Art League. 

Tiffany & John | Wedding

On the first Sunday in December, I had a busy day with a couple photo gigs. These photos are from the afternoon when I had the privilege of photographing the wedding of Tiffany and John. Going in I wasn't very sure what to expect since I had only communicated with the bride via a few e-mail and messages beforehand. I was very happy with how smoothly everything went and to have the opportunity to capture a lovely wedding in the process.

November 2017

November was a hectic month and I'm expecting the month of December to even top that hecticness. While I may not have had much in the way of photo gigs, I had plenty of other work to do that related to my photography. The last two Saturdays of November, I had events showing off my work. The second to last Saturday, I participated in ArtWauk with my show, Glimpse Surround, that is currently at Undercroft Gallery. Then the last Saturday of the month, I set up at the Parlor and participated in Small Business Saturday. My only photo shoot of the month took place at Old School Forest Preserve on the surprisingly warm Sunday after Thanksgiving. 

Now in regards to my personal life, it was decent month. Early in the month, I had a ton of fun getting to see ODESZA perform. Also, game night crew has continued to get together and have some very fun game nights. The main change of late has been the fact that they are now hosted at Taylor's new apartment and that they now happen of Saturdays instead of Sundays. Final personal event of note was Thanksgiving. For me, it was much of the usual in that I celebrated at my parents' home. We had a relatively small group made up of my parents, 2 sisters in college, my grandma, and myself. We managed to make it through the holiday without annoying each other too much and even had some fun. 

The month of December is definitely shaping up to be a busy, but fun month. I have quite a few shows that I'm looking forward to going to this month. Over the next few weeks, I will be going to see Tchami, Impractical Jokers, and Figure. I'm most looking forward to my plans for the end of the year. This week, I booked an Airbnb in Detroit and bought tickets for Pretty Lights Live at the Fillmore. Also, I'm planning on following Pretty Lights Live to Philadelphia for the New Year's Eve show. This month I will continue to run my exhibit, Glimpse Surround, at Undercroft Gallery so please stop by during ArtWauk/Holiday Wauk.