User Profile

I've always enjoyed reading other peoples livejournals, but had not considered having my own until recently. I'm a photography student; in one more semester I think I can honestly call myself a professional. After a few years in school, I can't help but see photographs all the time. I can't help but see the image in everyday mundane scenes/interactions/relationships. It is almost as if for every image I see, within a few seconds I have considered why it caught my attention and have begun composing in words why it spoke to me and what it says about life, love, people, death, loss, or any other theme, elaborate or simple. So needless to say I do a lot more writing now, and usually it has to do with photographs and photographic concepts.

I'm not all photography though. I'm 21 years old and as aforementioned I am a senior. I go to Columbia College in Chicago... "Oh wow, ChiCAAAAgo..." people usually say. And I reply "yep, Chicago." Because it's just Chicago to me. It has become home and I love it. Spend enough time here and it seems no larger than my beloved Southern Pines, NC. Before Chicago though I was a much more fickle/indecisive young man. I went to 4 other schools in 4 semesters. I have long explanations for why I left each school... but I'll save the breath. I went to Colorado State first, then Sandhills Community College, Then University of North Carolina at Greensboro, then University of North Carolina at Pembroke. THEN here. It was a long journey, at times I thought college just wasn't for me. I got into photography as a side project making a little money here and there, and thats when I realized that I was in love with the young art of making photographs. Here I am.

Aside from all of that (because how many of us can truly be defined by out major or profession?) I am also into some random pastimes. My next love is for vintage scooters. About 5 years ago I fell in love with the classic italian scooter known as the Vespa. I pined for one for 2 years, and finally acquired a 1974. Me and that little bike have been together for 3 years now. I restored her a year later to a beautiful 1970's orange, and just this year I rebuilt the engine. I was once a novice, but by performing the maintenance and restoration on that bike by trial and error, reading, and peer-guided help I've become somewhat of a veteran. I truly love riding and working on these old scooters. The people who ride them are usually pretty interesting too. Vintage scooters got their introduction into sub-culture lifestyle in the early sixties when they were adopted by the primarily male fashion/social movement known as the Mod movement. Mod's were working class men and boys (along with a few women) who were trying to break past the social barriers set for them by dressing hip, dancing cool, and always looking to part on the shiniest scooter possible. For more on the Mod movement go to Wikipedia. The Mods were followed shortly by the skins and then the punks. Both groups clung to the italian scooter as almost a trademark. That being said, One of my other favorite hobbies/pastimes is going to soul nights here in Chicago. Soul nights are a Mod happening. Heres a visual: the only place you will ever go where there are more guys on the dance floor than girls. Tonic suits and ben sherman, chelsea boots and trainers... everybody is dressed hip and dancing like crazy. Take a snapshot and it looks like you are in a swank club in London in 1965. You get the picture right? Live In Chicago? Come check it out. You'll love it. For a good intro to the kind of soul I'm talking about, your most accessible artist would be Marvin Gaye. He's the one that made my mom say "ohhhh, ok - thats the soul you are talking about." Some of Marvin Gaye's stuff I think is of the same genre, something you can dance to! For example "Too busy thinkin' bout my baby" ... The word "Soul" Has been used to describe all kinds of music from the 60's until now, so be careful in your judgement.

Aside from hobbies... I'm a generally laid back guy. I have a dry sense of humor that gets wittier the better I know you or the more comfortable I am around you. I generally don't care what the general population thinks about me, and I'm happier because of it. One character trait I have that could be portrayed as good or bad though, is that I am very conscious/caring about what the people who I know care about me think. For example, I'm over sensitive about what my best friend or mom might think. I guess we are all like that in a way, I'm just trying to be honest. I've been described as understanding, compassionate, and just. Truth be told, I think I'm just a problem solver at heart - and that makes me want to help friends figure out their shit. If that means listening, being unbiased, and helping find a resolution or peace.. then thats what my simple little problem-solving mind does. If that makes me compassionate and understanding, so be it.

And the future. Where do I want to be one day? I don't know. After leaving 4 schools in a row, I have learned to be happy in a place. I have also learned that place and circumstance hold very little weight on true happiness. The happiness I have found is within me, and everyday I try to sculpt it into a form that is less dependent on my circumstances. Life is full of pain... just as it is full of joy. I would hate to think that the level of peace in our souls should be as up and down as our circumstances. I'm not religious, but am constantly striving for a peace, a balance, an enlightement that can only be found in the sub-conscious, or super-natural.
Thats me. Feel free to look at my journal, or just the photos. Write me. Come to Chicago, let me make your photograph.

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