These are my Photographs from 2009. What started to be a collection of my favorite photos that I took this year ended up being my favorite photos from theworsteyes which then ended up in a sort of recap of the year for me. It really showed me how fast time flies and how little time we actually have on this Earth. Now before I get all sentimental and heartfelt, let's start it off at the new year. Almost 365 days ago.
Thursday, Janurary 1st, 2009.
I spent this New Years with some old friends from High School. With the Christmas feeling still lingering, we hung out and watched the ball drop in NYC on the television. Classic stuff.
Friday, January 23rd, 2009.
Being well settled in our new apartment for over four months, While Ian was out being a real person, Nathan and I stayed at home doing nothing but play video games and eat ramen noodles. Not only did Caron Butler from NBA 2K9 fill our monitor, but so did many others. I also was still mourning over the loss of the reanimating Macbook Pro.
Monday, Feburary 2nd, 2009.
Monday, Feburary 2nd, 2009.
Monday, Feburary 9th, 2009.
Sunday, Feburary 22nd, 2009.
Monday, March 2nd, 2009.
Sunday, March 8th, 2009.
Saturday, March 14th, 2009.
Thursday, March 26th, 2009.
Oh and of course, how could I ever forget this...
Friday, April 10th, 2009.
Also at the show was Jack Labadie, a Richmond painter who gave Wale a painting of himself which he loved. It's good to see Richmond leaving a mark.
No one knew who this cat was when he took the stage. He said he was J something. J. Cole and was just signed to Rocafella Records. He took the mic and performed a few acapellas. Definitely left an impression on the crowd and would later appear on a number of tracks with big names and drop another of his own mixtapes, The Warm Up.
But who I have to thank for this opportunity was Jon Q from Earthtone, one of the opening bands for Wale. He basically told me to sneak through the backdoor of the venue and hang out with my camera. It worked. That's where I met the band and would later work with almost all of them in the future.
Monday, April 27th, 2009.
Monday, April 27th, 2009.
Today, we shot my friend Caleb's movie 8 Ball. There are a few things that I expect to do every now and then, and making movies is one of them. Not just making a little video, but being on set with a script supervisor and ACs and PAs and genies.
That night we came to my place and whipped up the only thing I ever whipped up that summer. Some fried rice. I like fried rice because you can throw whatever in it. Shrimp, ground beef, hot dogs, Spam. That summer involved many a food nights.
When I'm back at home, there's not much going on. I usually resort back to skateboard photography. Sometimes local pro Billy Roper pays a visit to our mutual hometown and rips. I shot a Day with Duy with him as he skated the park at Osbourn.
Monday, May 25th, 2009.
2009 was the year of road trips for me. Whether it be the ATL for a few days to be a Confederate soldier, or a few hours to DC in between call times to see The Limits of Control, it's always good to be in good company. Here we are stopping by Danny's Mother's house in the middle of the night to steal some food.
The end of VCU Cinema's 2nd production in 35mm. Steam Heat brought everyone together, if it didn't already tear everyone apart. To this day the unsolved mysteries haven't been solved... But here was another opportunity to try and remake the joy that was Ghosting.
I finally settled into the new apartment in the Fan. This would also be the location of a new office for myself. Many important meetings have been held here. Professional and non-professional alike.
SHHO brought Raekwon to Richmond for a meet and greet and a performance to promote his latest album, Only Built for Cuban Linx II. I got a chance to say a few words with him which is always cool. The performance was well, let's just say due to the management, it was lackluster aka non-existent. But who cares, I met the Chef.
This was the first time I got a chance to hang out with Rebecca. If you don't know, then you don't know. Let's just say she's just as important as me. We're working on a few things in the future. If you ever got an invoice from me, she's the brains behind the design. She can also draw a mean rainbow unicorn.
These were some of the lovely ladies on set of the first feature I worked on, A Little Closer. With the whole crew, when we were shooting, we were fooling around for the most part. Not sexually, just regularly. When weren't shooting, we were playing flip cup. Sometimes at 2 in the morning. Good times with some folks from NYC.
This weekend meant guns, BBQ, fast food, and motel rooms. Ian, Danny, Dylan and I had all went to Atlanta to film a Civil War Reenactment of the Battle of Atlanta. When we weren't in the trenches avoiding Yankees sneaking cell phone calls in battle, we were out in town trying to indulge in all the fast food that Atlanta and the surrounding area had to offer.
We made an effort to throw the old pigskin every time we made a gas stop in the middle of the night. We also made a bad ass playlist including 20 songs we hand selected.
I dabble from living in between Richmond and Manassas. Usually when I'm home it's because my family meets up together at someone's house and just relax. And there's nothing more relaxing then picking pears from the pear tree in the backyard on a pleasant afternoon. Maybe, lying down in front of the ocean but that's a few miles East. Unfortunately, I came home on this occasion because of a death in the family. Our Grandmother, my Father's Mother. We make new friends and share our lives with new people ever year, but with it also comes loss.
The Fall semester is well on its way and that always means it's closer to my Birthday. I like this picture because it was taken on my "balcony" in the dark night. I also wasn't in it but I showed up anyways, weird.
Same night, different balcony. A real one this time. Duda and Riley hanging out at Danny's. Fun night involving late night pizza and trying to solve a card trick Charlie and I had. Fun fun! I always thought this picture was cool. Focused to a few inches in front of me, everything visible was out of focus giving it a subjectively cool effect. Most of my pictures aren't experimental at all, so this was neat.
The biggest event of 2009 for me was going to New York. I went alone on a 8 hour bus ride but left with so many great friends. I met up with Corey Smith from Earthtone and the Wale show back in April to catch up. They were playing a show at the Greenhouse with the Sugar and Spice Dance Group, a collection of NYC's top dancers. I was treated as a VIP and lived like a Straight Edge Rock Star. Life was good. If you're in good company in New York, you feel like your life is making such progress. I wonder where I would be if I stayed an extra few days there. It was the most surreal time of my life.
Our friend Kesha invited us to her place for dinner, drinks and even a game of Taboo. It was fun feeling like we were back in high school again. I stood at the balcony in Chelsea overlooking the city and seeing the people in the wee hours of the night being thankful for what I had. We said our goodbyes to our friends and the city after the guys played one last song at her place.
I also met up with Arnold and Erik from SHHO to talk about their brand book. We took in the sights and hit up all the boutiques to bring back some inspiration as well as some tees. Black and white shots were meant to be taken of people. And New York City is the best place to find people. Planned shots leveled perfectly can seem good most the time. But sometimes you just need to have the camera around your nexk and snap pictures of interesting/hot people as they walk by. It also helps if your friends don't want to seem like tourists. True candidness, interesting angles.
When we got back from Richmond, it was like a smack in the face. We aren't really rock stars. We aren't superheros. Most of the time we don't rock the cape but the business suit. We live in Richmond, VA. But we're hoping to make a name for ourselves and for our city. Enter Score One for the Little Guy. the group consists of Brad Oblivion and Corey Smith. Two rappers from Richmond. Plus me means photo shoot. We tried to blend tough guy face with playing in the leaves.
Thrice and Brand New toured again and I got a chance to photograph them at the National in Richmond. Concert photography is the ultimate test. Lights change in a snap of a shutter. Guitarists never stop moving. Security is always on your tail and the kids behind you are jealous of your front row seat. But it also allows for some of the most interesting shots.The lighting is there for you as well as the subject matter. All you have to do is take the picture. It's like portrait photography times 10.
For some reason, I love black and white pictures with a lot of noise. Just throwing that out there. Here's Teppei of Thrice looking sharp.
In November I got to work with ATE Clothing doing some photography and video work for the Richmond clothing line. We wandered the woods with a pair of models wearing nothing but leaves. It was a tad bit nipply but hey, I wasn't complaining.
I also went around with them when they gave Thanksgiving Dinners for their annual Ategiving ever November. Their website just launched so check it out and buy a tee. Some of what they earn will go to a child in need.
My final big project of the year was working with Jack Labadie, a painter from Richmond that I mentioned earlier. You can check out the video of him we did when his new site drops early 2010.
He does paintings of Jay-Z, Michael Jordan, and the King of Pop just to name a few. Watch out for his paintings in the new year.
It seems as though it always comes back home to skateboarding. With the death of one, the birth of another came. More concrete, more skaters, more supervision. It's in a different town, a couple minutes away. It's a drastic change from being on a set with thousand dollar cameras and craft to being on a set with a one-man crew in yourself.
There were many times that I didn't have a camera handy. I wish I did but the memories will still stay in my head. The Great Cinema Field Day, working on both 48 Hours and winning, having my best friends throw me a surprise birthday party. They say scent is the most powerful catalyst of memory, well I didn't really smell anything those days worth remembering.
I had started this entry a few days before New Years Eve. I meant to publish it the day of but obviously it just didn't happen like that. It seems as though each year of my life gets better and better. It's exciting to see what the 2010 has to offer.
