A photographers take on journaling

What’s up everyone! Mixing it up today and digging into one of my favorite tools as a person who makes stuff daily. That isn’t always a video or a photograph, even though it mostly is. Sometimes its just making lists of To Dos or wish lists and I might put down other creative ideas.

This is why today I wanna touch on journaling, and putting thoughts to paper. I want to admit up front that I am not great at this but, its something I am working on. Some days are heavier than others, and on those days maybe I will jot down how I am feeling or whats going on in life, but mostly I pack the stuff away in my mind somewhere deep but instead I catch myself writing down anything else I can think of. I mostly use a journal or notebook for my daily To Dos. Having a place where my tasks can live, help me remember them but also gives me a quick reference when my memory takes a crap and I cant remember what I needed to do. This can be as simple as putting down that I need to do some laundry today, or take out the trash. These types of things rarely need reminders because I run into them physically when I am home for the day right but what about the others things? I write them down.

Taking notes like this, or journaling, isn’t a new practice for many people. Its therapeutic, its historic, and its just a nice tool to help organize all the thoughts in one place. There are many other videos about this but what I want to touch on is getting started. It can be hard if you are a guy especially, or just someone who doesn’t access your feeling and thoughts often. I am that guy. So for me the best way to get started was just making these To do lists. Daily. For me, getting into the habit of the act of writing down makes the next day easier, but it also makes writing easier because its not so foreign anymore. I know that there are other people out there like me so trust me when I say ,start small and with things you KNOW you can accomplish. The reward of checking those boxes off makes it much more enjoyable to attempt the process the next day, and then the next. As you get into a rhythm then write it all down. Whatever you want. There are NO rules here y’all. This is your notebook. This is your property, and this is your safe space. Share it with anyone you like but keep it close to your chest if that makes you feel better about being free to write for yourself. Peter Mckinnon talks about how he uses his notebook and I found it be be very inspiring so if you haven’t seen that then I will link it here. I tried to keep a notebook in my pocket daily to start but quickly, and I mean lighting fast remembered, I hate having shit in my pockets. I love knives but they better have a pocket clip or a belt clip. My phone goes in the back pocket and my keys stay magnetically out of the way and out of my pocket thanks to my Alpaca clip. I tried carrying my chest pack daily ( still try to ) and this helped because then I could add my Kindle to the bag and have my books readily available as well but lets face it. Im old and chest packs are probably for the younger man, and Im not small so I sweat, so this is also an issue. When I do carry my chest pack I still keep extra notebooks and pens just in case though.

So what have I found as my solution? I went to the Google in search of a notebook cover that would also double as my new wallet. After a little looking around on Etsy, I took a chance and picked up a great solution though Im afraid it will be short lived but only because I think I will upgrade to a higher quality leather option. Having my wallet is a necessity and having access to my notes is as well. So having them combined is incredible. It is larger than I prefer but its winter here so hoodies are back. This makes carrying it easy. Once summer comes this may have to be switched up, but for now I couldn’t be happier. For my notebooks, I found these on Amazon that are bulleted and makes checking the box even easier and they were affordable as well. For the pen I currently use, the kid in me is pumped to use this pen I found on Amazon as well. I find it interesting for a few reasons. To start the metal design gives me hopes that it will last longer than a plastic option. Its is a red, and black pen combined with a mechanical pencil all in one. Thats not unusual obviously but what is interesting is how it works. Its gravity fed so basically, whichever option you are looking at, say black ink for the example, is what is dispensed when you click it into action. If you have a better option or something that works for you that might also work for me I would appreciate your input. I would also like to know what works for you even if its similar to my approach. I also just love pens and paper so any tips and tricks for your favorites would be well received.

Wolf Laurel Wedding

Every now and then you meet people and immediately understand that your paths had to cross and by doing so certain things are aligned and correct in the universe.  I didn’t know this in the beginning when I had planned to meet Cassi for coffee at one of my favorite places downtown Johnson City, The Willow Tree Coffee house ( RIP ) and if I am honest I wasn’t aware of this connection until the actual day of the wedding. As with all things, including the above mentioned coffee house, Covid has effected and altered it all.  When Cassi and I sat down and started the introductions she mentioned the details of the wedding as far as they had planned at least. They had planned a wedding near by in Gray but then had to take a step back and reconsider due to Covid but also because they were moving. Logan is from Memphis and they were headed there for his work. This meant they decided to look at planning their wedding a little differently. I would like to state that since Covid my weddings have needed to be scaled back and more elopements have happened, and I could not be happier. I find it so much easier to create intimate, meaningful work when I can focus more on creating and less on 200 guests to get in my frame. I say that to emphasize how thrilled I was when Logan and Cassi decided to have a small, intimate wedding at Wolf Laurel Community. This is a private community located near Wolf Ridge Ski resort and a beautiful place to declare their love privately amongst the small close group of friends and family they could include. This ultimately means it’s much easier to get to know those present, and also makes it easier to work closer with everyone than it might have been before.  My work needs this connection to be meaningful in my opinion. I hate when my work seems clinical, and without emotion. Not that I don’t connect to all of my clients but there are different levels of this of course.

Logan and Cassi attend the same church as my family and I. A different campus but the same network and this was one more way we were connected. They have been extremely kind and caring since knowing them. I owe them my gratitude for that alone as well as for the confidence that they have in my work but that they also encourage me to have in myself. They are beautiful people with wonderful senses of humor and gave me full reign over the creative process. Another reason I knew our time together would be unique and incredible. It was, for the record. I don’t have a list of vendors to include in this post or to tag because these two truly took care of everything themselves. The only vendor there was the hair and make up team and they did an incredible job while I weaved in and out creating a timeline of the day visually. 

I also experienced a first at their wedding that truly touched me and lit a fire in my faith all at once. They mentioned this to me on the day of the wedding and that threw me off for a second but only because I immediately put so much pressure on myself to make sure it was captured. If I could go back and change anything at all this part may be were I would have wanted something different but even as I type this out, I know in my heart that’s not true. Staging moments has its place but moments like this need to be fluid and unfaultered. Mid way through the ceremony the young couple moved to the side and took turns washing one another’s feet. They knelt without hesitation in claiming to put God first in this life. They were making a public declaration of not only faith, but of servitude toward and for the other person. I was speechless. Just as Jesus came and taught us to serve, they reminded us, this is Love in its truest form. Serving one another. 

The entire day was magical and so easy to be apart of and not only as the photographer, but as a friend. As a part of their day not disconnected and forgotten.  I can’t imagine a more perfect love story for Cassi and Logan than the one we shared on a mountain side among their people. 

This one was a little longer and I apologize but hey, I haven’t written in  a minute so I had some making up to do right?

I wish you forever Mr and Mrs Eavenson!

Craggy Pinnacle Trail 2020

Adventure, or as we call it around my house “adventure” is most welcome for me and my family. I often venture out on my own, or maybe with Atlas and then depending on our find we may then plan a trip back with the rest of the family ( minus Jaryn this trip unfortunately ). You may have seen my images from Craggy Pinnacle Trail the first time Atlas and I visited on your way to Asheville to drop off some film at Ball Photo. We even made a vlog that day. I shot mostly film that day with a mix of digital but surprisingly only took the Canon Eos R and 50mm 1.2L lens. I am usually not a 50mm fan but man this glass is something special. This is not a gear post though so back to it. We had to make a pit stop before our hike and on that journey Natasha noticed the abandoned prison and made sure I stopped by there on the way out and I am very glad we did. How cool is this find?

As you can see the skies were blue and the clouds were full, but that would quickly turn to rain but we were determined to find some time outside together. We planned ahead and had our rain jackets so nothing would stop us.

These are the things that I remember most. These are the tales I want to recall one day. Days full of smiles, dirty Chaco feet and time outside together. This is a super short, simple hike but so worth the drive. You pass through several tunnels which we always hold our breathe until we clear the exit side because Atlas loves to do it and that’s enough. These images may look familiar in some way if you saw the first gallery but this was a different day. A day we celebrated the little things again. Time together, time in nature, time to remember how strong we are as a family.