There are the moments just after that are often left alone without thought. That is the basis behind this series, titled Gone, shot at very specific times of day to illustrate the forgotten moments before or after an action.

The third assignment in my lens based class.
http://on.be.net/1zmze48

I've always been one of those people that needs to move around, see and experience new things. If I become too static, I start to feel stuck in place throughout my life. My creativity goes down, and my general mood falters.

It started happening recently, admittedly probably because I've been watching too much travel channel shows on Netflix. When it started leaching into my dreams I realized I needed to get off campus for a bit.

Having not a cent to my name, the only reachable spot to me right now is Downtown Sarasota. So I went and explored for several hours.

One of my friends asked me to go shoot with him last night, and we had a great time shooting dusk and then nighttime.Unfortunately my camera battery died a bit into the night, but it was great time.

One of my favorite things to do in Sarasota when I'm not on campus is visit Cat Depot, a super friendly, welcoming cat shelter on 17th street. I went there recently with two friends and my camera and photographed oodles of cats.

So, since it is Friday, feel free to enjoy these cat photographs.

View full series here: Behance Portfolio

For Lens Based Communications, my photography class this semester, my professor told us to shoot a series focusing on point of view. I was a bit stumped on what to do to be honest. Sure, I could command someone to stand still and let me photograph them from all angles, but in all honesty I've shown her a lot of portraits and I need a bit more time in the studio before I'm truly comfortable around all the lights.

So naturally my mind went next to pills. No, not really, but I've been toying around with a portrait series idea for a while that deals with drug addiction, so after realizing I needed to shoot before Friday, I grabbed the extra Pantoprazole 40mgs that I never took from when I had severe acid reflux.

Luckily, a change of diet and lifestyle really helped that out, but the insurance company kept sending prescriptions and they kept showing up at the pharmacy. 

I shot with both a 50mm 1.8 and a 55-85mm lens, the former only a few shots because of a troublesome focusing lens. I'll eventually get another 50mm, but I have to gather the money first.

You can view the rest of the series on my Behance portfolio.

I should preface this with a note that I've finally picked up the courage to follow my dreams of photography, and the change in major has been welcome as well as rewarding for me.

I originally headed down to Indian Beach with a group of fellow students to burn old, chemical stained silver prints for a motion project I am currently working on. What ended up happening was more an afternoon full of interesting conversation with both friends and strangers, including these two absolutely lovely individuals I happened to meet named Gerald and Nancy.

This shoot was somewhat of a breakthrough for me. I'm working with a new camera, and a new subject: strangers. One of the things I wish to do through my photography is tell stories-this is why I am drawn to the portrait as a subject. My problem had always been that I was too shy to simply ask to take someone's photograph.

These two welcomed it though, especially after having sat and talked with them for quite a bit about a wide range of subjects. They were so encouraging that I have a lot less fear now when shooting photography in the street. Sometimes it just takes that one person to encourage you before you can enter into something great.

"Too Cool" Photo Series

First off, Happy New Year! I've been terribly busy over break-more so with personal events and things rather than art, however the time away from the pressure to create has left me ready and excited for the upcoming semester which starts in a little over a week.

I'm immensely happy to be leaving the bitter cold of New York behind me in 7 days as the cold has been bringing out all those uncomfortable symptoms in me that it usually does, and even more excited to be jumping right back into my classes. I actually miss the late nights spent scrambling on homework.

Anyway, I whisked my brother away with me one morning to photograph him, and the results came out quite well. Having a bright personality as well as ADHD can make working with my brother a little hectic, however he often comes up with the better ideas for photographs and lets his true self shine through so much better than if I were to pose him.

Take a look on my Behance for the full series.

"Paradise Cafe"
Digital Painting

I've gotten to the end, and I'm not too sure how. Nonetheless, here I am at the end of a long but crazy, terrifying yet exciting, emotional roller coaster of a first semester. I've met so many beautiful and inspiring people and grown not just as an artist, but as a person as well.

Artistically however, I cannot deny that I've grown. Where I am now compared to where I was four months ago is just incredible. Through all the pain and sleepless nights, I have come to appreciate the harsh and demanding curriculum here at Ringling.

That brings me to the piece offered above. It is my 2D final, completed a few days early (much to the sacrifice of both my back and eyes from late hours in the labs) so I won't have class on Friday.

The task was to create an abstract design and then from that design pull a narrative illustration.

I've included some of my process behind this piece to show my workflow. I'm excited to improve in digital painting the more I work with the medium as I think it could be something fun to create in once I'm more comfortable.