Some big things have been happening for me and my photography lately. Last Monday I shot my first concert for Music Madness Magazine. It was kind of a surreal moment as the artist I was shooting (Scott Stapp) was one I was a big fan of back in the late 1990’s, and had seen in concert with his former band Creed. The show was in Clearwater which was a 2 hour drive on a work night, but the experience and the quality of the shots I got were worth it. To make it even more surreal several of my photos were posted today on his official Facebook page, Instagram, and will be used in other promotional materials. Very exciting that my work is getting shown all over the world.

     Another exciting thing thatbhappened in the last week is that I am in negotiations with a local hotel to be on retainer as their photographer. I took some test shots of the hotel last week which were well received. We are now discussing how this arrangement will look to ensure it is a good fit. I am excited about having another steady gig, but also want to ensure that I am compensated fairly for the amount of time I will be investing. I do not want to agree to do something and discover I am putting in far more work than the money is worth. I will update you all more on this as it comes together.

     Also in the last week I photographed a house that was built by a local builder in the last year. The new homeowners are in the home already, but allowed the builder to bring me in to photograph the house so that they could use the images on their website and other marketing materials. I will be doing a couple other models for them in the coming months as well.

     On Thursday my wife and I leave for a 10 day road trip to Colorado via Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. We are trying to play golf in all 50 states and take these road trips once a year. This will take our total to 23 out of 50 states so far. We will also be spending 4 days in Colorado visiting my aunt and exploring the Rocky Mountains. I will be taking a lot of photos and look forward to sharing those when I return. 

     So last week presented a couple great opportunities for me as it relates to my concert photography. Last November I met a fellow photographer, Jonathan Hawkins, at the Big Orange Music Festival. Jonathan has shot a lot of national shows and I started asking him how he got started. We started following each other on social media, and talking about concert photography. In April we met again at the Peace River Revival Music Festival, and he mentioned he started an online magazine for concert reviews and photographs with a friend of his (https://musicmadnessmagazine.com). He asked me if I’d be interested in shooting some shows for them, which I said I was. This week the first couple of approvals to shoot some National acts came in. On June 11th I will be shooting the Scott Stapp (from the band Creed) show at The Capital Theater in Clearwater. Then on August 5th I will be shooting the final date, ever, of the Warped Tour at which one of my favorite bands will be performing. Looking forward to both of these events and sharing the photos.

     That was the big news of the week, but I also got the chance to shoot a little bit for myself. We have been getting a lot of rain lately here in SW Florida, and the sunsets here are always amazing after a thunderstorm. Last week I decided to head out to the harbor after a storm and got some fantastic shots which I have posted below. We also had our second batch of Monarch Butterflies start to hatch this week here at my house. This time we had 8 chrysalis’ and so far 6 of them have hatched with the other two happening any day now. I have posted a couple of those photos below as well.

     This week I would like to get out and do some more shooting for myself and my social media. I would also like to do some indoor shooting in my studio. I have some ideas with close-up and product photography that I would like to play around with. Hopefully I find the time to get some of this in. Lastly I want to remind you all that any photos that you see on my site or social media are available for print. If there is a photo you like and want to frame it and display it in your home please let me know. The prices for the prints are listed on my website. I hope you all have a great week and watch my social media for new photos.

     Wow its been a busy month for me personally, and I realized I have not made a blog post in a month. I’m really getting antsy to do some shooting as I feel like I haven’t done a whole not in a few weeks. After my last post we spent 4 days in Jacksonville to attend Welcome to Rockville which is a 3 day Rock music festival. We attend one of these every year and its always a great time. Hoping one of these years I will be able to shoot one of these festivals…..goals! I did get a chance to do some shooting in Downtown Jacksonville one morning so I have posted a couple of those shots below.

     Since that the past two weeks have been filled with a couple fun filled weekends. The first weekend back was the Kentucky Derby/Cinco De Mayo so we were busy all weekend hanging out with friends enjoying the events, and last weekend was spent with friends out at Tracks and Trails in Punta Gorda which is an off-road vehicle amusement park of sorts. I did get some shooting done out there and I will post a couple of those below. That weekend has left me wanting to get my own ATV or side by side to go riding, exploring, and photographing the park and the people there.

     I have shot a couple houses since my last blog post (couple photos below), and had a quick job shooting the Yoga Sanctuary in Punta Gorda. Other than that it has been a very light photography month. That should start to change as I am looking to get into a few large concert venues through a fellow photographer that has started a music/concert website in which they review and post photos of shows in the area. He has asked me to shoot some for them which I have of course agreed to do. My first one may be this week (Tuesday) at the Mid-Florida Amphitheater in Tampa. Kendrick Lamar will be performing which is not a show I would normally attend as I’m not into his kind of music, but it will get me some experience with that large of a show, and I will be able to make some good contacts.

     I am also starting to get excited for next month as we will be taking a vacation to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. Most of the time will be spent in Colorado, and I plan on doing a lot of shooting in the 3-4 days we will be there. I have not been back to the Colorado Springs area where my Aunt lives since I was in Middle School so I am really looking forward to visiting some of the sites I remember as well as some new ones. 

     Aside from that I am looking to do some portrait shooting in the next few weeks. A fellow photographer friend, and owner of the tattoo shop I go to, wants to do a shoot with me which I am excited about. I just need to find the time to pick a few locales as well as come up with some good ideas. Its much more difficult to shoot another photographer than another model for various reasons, however it also usually results in great shots as you have two creative minds working together with knowledge of the medium.

     Hopefully it won’t be another month till my next blog post. As always thank you for reading along and supporting my work.