Busy but Happy

I've been meaning to write another post for days now, and I never seem to find the time. I added my Twitter feed to this, to somewhat make up for my lack of legitimate activity. Life is always hectic during the first two weeks of the month, as we scramble to put together the next issue of Jagazine. This month has the added pressure of being our year-anniversary issue, which we need to have no later than February 4th -- the day of our anniversary show/party/event. Any free time we have goes into planning for that, as well as trying to get the remodeled website up and running. It's been going pretty well, but we need to pick up the pace if we want it all ready by next month.

Aside from Jagazine, I've been shuffling through my day job. Some days are hectic, but most are pretty slow. I've been doing design work for the Husky rescue I volunteer for. This weekend also holds the possibility of taking a road trip to VA to pick up a wolfdog for Howling Woods Farm. That could make for an interesting mini-adventure.

Oh, how could I forget? I've got relatively big, dork news. I purchased a Nikon D90 body! I was going to hold off until Spring, after getting tax money back, but I just couldn't wait. I received a $500 holiday bonus from work, which made buying the D90 less painful. I managed to snag one for $760, and after selling my D60 body for about $300, I made out like a bandit. I didn't have to dip into my savings at all! Total success.

Anyway, I'll probably have an entry comparing the D60 and the D90 once I get more familiar with it. We did a mini photo shoot for Jagazine last week, which was my D90's first big test. The photos came out spectacular. The quality is so much better than what I could get on my D60. It's probably more noticeable for me, because I scrutinize my photos at like, 600% in PSD. But overall, I'm very happy with my purchase.

More blogging to come soon, I promise.

2009 + 1 = 2010

As with many of my previous journals, I think a year wrap up entry is required. Above is a (crappy) photo, taken from the rooftop where I welcomed 2010. That's New York's hazy skyline from Brooklyn.

This year marked changes in myself, and in my friends. Little traumas changed mindsets, relationships began, ended, or even rekindled, friends moved away and came home.

My travels didn't take me too far this year. In early 2009 we ventured to Chaz's Poconos retreat (hence the above photo). A few weeks later we drove to Stockton to visit our friend Ed.

Dan moved to Brooklyn for a few months, which resulted in more NY trips than usual. But it was to be short-lived.

When the weather warmed, we went outside... we hiked Watchung Reservation, Rutgers Gardens and Hacklebarny. We warmed ourselves at Sandy Hook. I accompanied my mom to the old Neshanic flea market that I remember fondly from my childhood.

I saw balloons take flight while volunteering for Howling Woods Farms. Friends and family gathered for South Plainfield's Labor Day celebrations. Dan and I traveled to an obscure Pennsylvania town for GameCore Con. We camped in Wharton State Park with Teresita.

Fall crept up on us, and we kept to our traditions. We hiked more, we visited Ort Farm for pumpkins and cider, and chowed down on Mexican food afterwards.

The day before Thanksgiving, we shared a meal with friends. And the day before X-mas eve, we had our yearly "Eve Eve" party. Dan and I traveled to Massachusetts to film and photograph our musician friends, which was an adventure I won't forget.

This past year cannot be described completely by my travels alone. A great deal of it was shaped by our creation of Jagazine. Despite the struggles to keep the magazine alive, the monthly rush to get everything together and printed, we've made it. Many doors were opened thanks to our little 5 and 1/2 by 8 and a 1/4 publication. We've made some great connections, and friendships. I can really feel the community beginning to grow, and it's exhilarating.

2009 also marked my college graduation and the beginning of my first full-time job. After working from home for several years, I started working in a cubicle for the first time. Two and a half months in, I've learned I definitely need more out of life.

Big things are already in motion for 2010. Thanks to an unexpected holiday bonus, I purchased a $700+ Nikon D90 camera body today. It was tough for me to spend that much, but photography is quickly becoming a big part of my life. It'll be hard for me to sell my D60 body, because I form silly emotional attachments to objects I've loved so much. But the new year means new adventure, and a new camera will only make them better.

Jagazine will be taking off to greater heights this year. We've set some high, but attainable goals. We'll be celebrating our year anniversary in style at the Crossroads, thanks to a new connection and friend, Katie. We're launching a completely remodeled website thanks to another friend, Wallace.

Before I sign off on this entry, I feel I must at least mention some of 2009's let-downs. After all, it's our victories and our failures that shape who we are. The good thing is, I'm having a hard time thinking of the bad, so they must've been greatly outweighed.

Probably our biggest disappointment was the falling-through of Jagafest. It was a learning experience, and we'll surely rise up with our next event and completely obliterate the bad feelings left over.

In 2009, Rob and I grew closer to Dan, and to each other. This is overwhelmingly a good thing, but we had our fights and hurt feelings.

In the winter of 2009, my pool began to collapse. This might seem like a silly thing to be depressed about, especially based on how little I actually swam. Growing up, I spent most of my summer days around the pool. Usually my friends liked it more than I did, but I didn't care. It was there literally my entire life. It sparkled every Labor Day and kept me afloat as I did my summer reading years ago. I remember the excitement of opening it up every summer, and the anticipation of waiting until it was clean to swim in it. I remember swimming with my Nana, my parents, even attempting to take my old cat in with me.

So rest in peace, Kizmann family swimming pool. You served us well and provided countless memories. I know, in the long run, closing you will help my parents save money -- but you will be missed regardless.

Life Feels So Simple

I've been neglecting his blog lately, but I think the holiday season is a fair excuse. First, let's pick up where I left off.

On December 8th, Dan and I traveled up to Dudley, MA to photograph and record an MC Lars/K.Flay show at Nichols College. The drive up was relatively peaceful, aside from some NYC traffic. We jammed to lots of nerdy hip hop, Weird Al, and Christmas music the whole way up. We got to the show early and were treated like important people. We were supplied with passes to go backstage and the Lars dressing room, where we were able to snag some grub.

Shooting the show was honestly my favorite photography experience thus far (the Cudzoo show coming in second). I was able to move freely on and around the stage, which really helped my photos. They're not perfect, I would've liked less grain -- but that won't get better until I upgrade to a D90 with its higher ISO. Other than that, though, these were my favorite show photos taken to date. It was a relatively short set, and the excitement made the whole thing fly by, but I soaked up every second of it.

After their set, we relaxed and watched the headliner, Pitbull, perform. There was more pelvic energy in that gym than I could handle, at that point.

We were able to stay at the hotel with Lars, Flay and the gang (Thank you, Mike). Driving four hours back to Jersey wasn't an option. We stayed up late, giggling about silly things and telling secrets. The next morning we struggled to consciousness under a blanket of fresh snow, ate at a Friendly's, and parted ways. It was definitely an experience I won't soon forget, and hope to repeat again.

Since then, life's been trucking along, business as usual. Dan and I go to work everyday, do the damn thing, then come home. I've eaten an immeasurable amount of chili, drank a bunch of beer, watched a lot of UFC and other silly shows. I've hung out with some friends quite a bit, others hopefully more now that it's winter break.

Last night was my sixth annual X-mas Eve Eve party. I can't believe I've been having this thing for six years... time sure does fly. It makes me so happy to see everybody, and as always, the gag gifts were a hit. Tom got a lot of great photos of the gift opening ceremony. I didn't take too many, but we captured the night on HD video a la Dan, so that should be entertaining.

I definitely love the holidays. I'm so cheap when it comes to most things, but I'll spend a good amount of money to give gifts and host my party. As cheesy as it sounds, giving really is much more rewarding than any gift I've received. (But my Nikon is a close second, gotta admit!)

As 2009 draws to a close, I'm happy to say I'm in a really good point in my life. Despite the day to day redundancy and setbacks, I think I'm happier than I've ever been. I hope 2010 brings more of that feeling.

Adventures Begin

It has becoming more and more obvious that I can't spend my life working in a cubicle. It works for me right now, because the pay is decent, the atmosphere is (usually) pleasant, and I couldn't ask for much more from a first job. I can't do this for too long, though. I feel it might be soul-crushing.

Ultimately, I'd love to travel and photograph the world. I'm certainly not the best photographer. I'm working on improving every day. But I'm positive I would live a more fulfilled life. That's why I'm pushing for Jagazine to work out; I want to be my own boss and do something worthwhile with the greater portion of my life.

Tomorrow, I get a taste of the future I one day want to have. Dan and I will be driving up to Massachusetts, where we will be covering another MC Lars show. I've photographed these guys plenty of times, but this time we're driving considerably further, and staying overnight. The exciting part isn't so much the performance, but the journey. I will take what I learn from this trip, and (hopefully) apply it to covering all sorts of events. Or it will just be a lesson in making exploration into something worth sharing.

I want to sharpen my eye as a photographer, but not only in the aesthetic sense. I want to create the kind of photos that tell stories. I want to revisit all the great documentary photographers I studied in school, and apply aspects of their techniques to my work. Brassai, Walker Evans, Paul Strand, Garry Winogrand... I could list photographers all day.

Among other things, I want to change the world. Artists have always captured history, even before written language did. I know that art is my best chance to communicate something memorable. I need to keep pushing myself.

Here goes nothing, and everything.

Frackville in Flames

Last weekend we took a spontaneous road trip around the NJ/PA border. We had no particular destination in mind, and overall it was a pretty boring "adventure". The only thing that made the day worthwhile was taking shots of a burning building.

It was extremely lucky (unlucky?) for us to find this sight. We had been driving for a few hours, and decided to exit the highway at a town called "Frackville". We were hungry, and there was hope of finding a Cracker Barrel or some other corny chain restaurant.

We drove through little Frackville and passed the above building. We saw the "Apartment for Rent" sign, and joked about moving in. After a few minutes, we realized we had left the town, and turned around. There was more commotion than when we had first drove through, and in a matter of minutes the building we had just seen was burning.

Luckily, there was no one inside and the firefighters had it extinguished relatively quickly. I had never seen a building burn right in front of my eyes before, so I'm glad we made our random stop in Frackville. And yes, we did end up filling our bellies at a nearby Cracker Barrel.