New Year, Same Start

Happy New Year, everyone!  Man, I tell ya.  What a start to the New Year!  This year started off exactly like it did last year.  James Madison University (JMU) came down to compete in this year's NCAA DI FCS Football Championship game against North Dakota State University (NDSU).  But before I talk about this crazy game, let's talk about an event that transpired the day before the game!

My good friend, Scott came down to photograph the game so you know we had to get together and hit the road.  Thursday night, Scott asked me if I wanted to go to Waco and visit Magnolia.  You know Magnolia!  The Magnolia from HGTV?  Yes, Magnolia!  I had no idea what Magnolia was and HGTV wasn't my first choice when it comes to watching tv.  I happily agreed to take the trip down since I have never been to this Magnolia.  Come to find out, last year when I photographed JMU softball at Baylor, I stayed in a hotel right down the street from Magnolia and still had no idea where or what it was.  Seeing this place was pretty neat.  I posted to my Snapchat and within 2 minutes of posting, I had several friends send me a message saying how jealous they were of me being there. 

Scott and I walked around the store so that he could pick up something for his wife and while we did that, I was taking in the ambience of this place.  It was certainly a place I would want to visit the next time I go to Baylor.  Maybe even take a friend or two and do a photoshoot there?

So Saturday was the big day and probably one of the most exciting events to add to my list of crazy things to happen in 2018.  JMU, looking for a back-to-back win, while NDSU was fighting to reclaim their title.  A nail-biting game to say the least.  I was shooting and trying to keep my emotion out of the game but could find myself actually getting stressed at almost every point in the game.  I didn't go to JMU, never taken a class there, but I am a self-proclaimed, die-hard JMU Dukes fan!  Don't @ me.

Ok, so not only was the game super exciting to shoot, I also got to photograph Terrell Owens!  Like, the Terrell Owens.  You know, T.O.  It was a pretty good day, other than the loss.  Lots of excitement, lots of photos, and even getting to spend some time with the FCS's best photo team!  Big thanks to Cathy for getting the squad back together for another year of photos, laughs, and love.

Dallas in October

Fredy and I finally got back together to shoot after over a month of planning and failed attempts because... well... life.  We met up with Arthur yesterday and set out to take some photos.  

We set out and walked all over downtown to see what we could create and I'm super happy about the shots that I got.  We made a pit stop at Carmines, a New York Style pizza joint, where you can converse, laugh, eat good food, and look outside the window and see two Fisker vehicles like it's just a normal day in the neighborhood.  By the way, anybody visiting Dallas should stop by Carmines because the Philly Cheesesteak is absolutely amazing!

Also, I'm planning on taking a trip to Cali towards the end of this year so if you've ever been, let me know what places to check out!

Homecoming 2017

It's that time of year again!  Seeing this high schoolers definitely takes me back to my glorious high school days.  I will say that our Homecomings back in Virginia were nothing like they are out here in Texas!  Back in the day we used to have the Homecoming dance after the football game and everybody got there all stinky and "smelling like outside."

This shoot was one to remember though.  I was super excited when my friend Kelsey hit me up to see if I could photograph her sister and friends for homecoming.  I accepted with no questions asked and when you have a group of high schoolers that dress to kill, these are the results!  Thanks for allowing me to photograph your special day, guys!  I hope you had a fun and safe night of dancing!

Land of Enchantment

What’s up, everyone!  It’s been a solid three months since my last post but I’m back!  I took a little break from photography and is now back with some new “bangers” as the young folks call it.

So this weekend, my friends Kelsey, Natassia, Leo and I decided that we would take a road trip and go to Albuquerque, New Mexico for some hiking and exploring.  We faced some adversities with my work schedule changing and week before we were supposed to leave, our Airbnb host canceled our booking unexpectedly.  So, we scrambled for a couple of days to make sure we could still make this trip after we spent two months planning and being excited.

Friday comes and we’re excited to finally be leaving.  We loaded up the car and hit the road towards New Mexico.  Being in the car with friend’s for 10+ hours is a good way to test a friendship but I have to say, I enjoyed every second of the ride with my squad.  We literally talked about everything you can talk about.  From politics to “oh my gosh, what is that? It’s an alien coming to abduct us, don’t worry.”

We arrived in Albuquerque around 7pm Mountain Time. Talk about a long drive, right? Feeling exhausted and with a painful headache, I jumped into my bed with shoes on and all.  Kelsey and Natassia brought me some pain killers to relieve my horrible headache and that’s really all I remember from that point. I guess I was so tired from the drive, working full time, and barely sleeping the night before that I was just worn out.  I woke up the next morning feeling super refreshed and ready to start the day.  We got dressed, planned our day and hit the road.  About an hour and a half away from Albuquerque is this place called Tent Rocks.  We hiked to the very top of Tent Rocks (around 6,700 feet above sea level) and was taken back by its beauty.  You could see the six to seven million-year-old layers of rock all around and it is just crazy to think about how long these mountains have been here.  On our way down from the mountain, we came across two runners who passed us to run to the top.  By the time we were halfway down the mountain, the two runners sped past us.  Now, as a former runner, I was out of breath and struggling in the altitude but these runners ran past us smiling like it was nothing.  Like, what?!

Later that evening, we drove about 30 minutes through Albuquerque and arrived at the Sandia Peak Ski & Tramway.  First of all, I had no idea what I was in for.  I thought it was going to be a chill tram ride… No.  We were suspended thousands of feet in the air overlooking Albuquerque for about 10 minutes.  I know I looked pretty cool on the outside but me on the inside was screaming and shouting the entire time.  Once we got to the top, you could literally see for miles.  We were standing about 10,000 feet above sea level which is the highest I’ve ever been outside of an airplane.  The temperature felt like fall time in Virginia.  If it feels like that in August, I can only imagine what it feels like come December.  I’m sure the temperature is easily in the negatives. Still worth the view I'm sure!

Sunday comes and we wake up for one final push to explore Santa Fe which is an hour or so from Albuquerque.  We arrive in Santa Fe and it is literally one of the coziest downtowns I have ever been in.  I didn’t feel that hustle and bustle of normal downtowns in other cities that I’ve been to.  Definitely a place where I can see myself living.  Santa Fe had a unique spirit and I felt like a local walking around.  We got to experience the shops, the outdoor flea markets, and an awesome outdoors art exhibit.  One of the really cool things about walking around Santa Fe was hearing Native American languages being spoken.  I’m 23 years old and has never heard a Native American language in person.  Beautiful is an understatement.  The people I came in contact with were amazing, I felt the tranquility in the air, and I honestly felt refreshed again.  They weren’t kidding about New Mexico being the Land of Enchantment because by the time I left, my spirit was overflowing with joy and peace, even when things around me weren’t.

After spending a couple of hours in Santa Fe, we loaded up and started our trek back to Dallas.  We got into Dallas around 11:30 on Sunday night and of course, no matter the time of day, you will be stopped on a 75mph highway in traffic.  Never fails.

Special Shoutout

I do want to give a special shoutout to Kelsey for reaching out to me and inviting me to go on this trip.  It was truly something magical and the bond that I made with these three amazing individuals will be lifelong.  Let’s plan another trip soon, guys!  Cali and the mountains of Colorado are calling my name now!

NCAA DI Softball Regionals at Baylor University

People still can't spell my name right, guys! 

It's funny how I ended up in Waco for four days, especially because I never really expected to be shooting any sports any time soon.  This past Monday, I got into work pretty early, like 5:30 am early, and my coworker who sits behind me asked if I had any photography gigs this weekend.  There weren't any Instameets going on and I didn't have any portrait sessions so it was an unusual, "no."  Literally an hour later, I get a text from my former internship supervisor asking if I had any plans this weekend.  I told her no and that I was just going to chill and probably hang with some friends.  Which then sprung up her next question...  "How far do you live from Waco?"  My response was roughly two hours depending on traffic because anyone who lives in Texas knows that if you take I35, be prepared to plan your day accordingly.  She then asked if I was interested in shooting the NCAA Division I Softball Regionals at Baylor University.  Being that I was upset that I would miss another Regional with JMU, and after finding out that they weren't hosting this year, I sprung up and said, "when, where, and how long do I need to be there?!"  She told me the weekend game plan and I told her that I was in after talking with my manager and getting approval to go.  Before you know it, I was heading down to Waco with a car full of camera gear, bumping my Spanish worship playlist on Spotify and catching minor cases of road rage.

Caught texting on ESPN in between innings! - Photo courtesy of Scott Eyre

Once I got there, I was feeling pretty nostalgic to be traveling with a JMU sports team again and seeing all of the familiar and friendly faces from Harrisonburg, Va.  I also got to meet the extremely talented Director of Video, Clayton.  It was awesome to watch him work and create the videos that he does for the athletics department.  I also got to see my friend, Curt Dudley, the voice of JMU athletics and I met Ty, one of the team administrators.  We had some great conversations and got to know each other in the little bit of time that we had in Waco.

So, I'm just going to share some of my photos from the games, which is the whole reason behind this post.  Also, check out this photo that my friend, Scott took of me on ESPN!

Thursday - Practice at Baylor University

The ambitious Dukes take the field at Getterman Stadium to get some practice in.  The weather from Dallas to Waco is very different.  The humidity in Waco was enough to take your breath away and before I knew it, I was sweating profusely and feeling dehydrated.  Other than that, it was nice to get back on the field to get some shots after not shooting any real sports since January when JMU's football team won the national championship in Frisco.

Friday - JMU vs. Oregon State University

Ok, so nobody ask me how I was able to get Coach Dean to give me a thumbs up but I sat there for a good five minutes waiting for him to do something.  As a result, this is what he did.  Can't complain because the shot was totally worth it and if you know Coach Dean, I'm sure it is meme worthy because someone like him has to have a ton of funny phrases that would be perfect for memes.  The Dukes had a great first game against OSU and it was tough at first to get my eyes back into seeing action again.  Everything was moving way faster than what I had practiced for earlier last week (See my Neighborhood Basketball post).

Saturday - jMU vs. Baylor University - Game 1

The Dukes went into this game ready to go and I was confident that we were going to get this dub and go home for the night.  We were up 2-1 going into the sixth inning, but Baylor had a heckuva hit and ended up with a three-run home run.  That homer gave Baylor a 4-2 lead over JMU.  Upset?  Yes, but the ladies responded in the next game against Kent State.  The rest of the tournament was on the line going into that game and in order to move on, we would have to beat Kent State.

Saturday - jmu vs. Kent State - Game 2

This was it.  The moment we were all waiting for.  If we won this game, we would move on and play Baylor again on Sunday.  This one wasn't a nail biter thankfully.  The ladies marched right by Kent State to go home for the night with a 4-0 win.  The media guys didn't leave the field until a little after 10 pm so we were pretty tired.  We went back to the hotel room, I plugged up my camera batteries to charge, took a shower, and knocked out before I could count 3 sheep.  It was a long day, especially in that Waco humidity having your energy and every ounce of water drained from your body.

Sunday - jmu vs. Baylor University (Again)

So, here we are.  The game that would decide if we go home or play Baylor for a third time to take him the Regional Championship two years in a row and advance to Super Regionals.  The day started off pretty chilly and I think that I was more nervous than the ladies were.  I was pacing and walking all over the stadium because I just wanted the game to start so we could get to this second game and decide the winner of the regional.  After the game started, things were going as they should.  Both teams were giving it their all and only time would tell when the winner would be decided.  While trying to intentionally walk the batter who hit the three-run homer on Saturday, JMU's pitcher threw a pitch that went left and Baylor's runner on third bass took the opportunity to slide into home plate and score a run.

Outside of that one point that was scored, neither team was able to get points from hits.  There were a lot of great plays being made in the outfield by both teams.  But just when we thought there was light at the end of the tunnel, a senior batter from JMU smacked a ball to center field!  I mean, it looked sooooo nice.  I thought to myself that this was going to be it, the home run that could get us out of the hole.  The ball fell just a few feet short of going over the back wall and was caught by Baylor's center fielder who wasn't letting a single ball touch the green the entire game.  Defeated?  For now, yes.  But there's no doubt in my mind that these ladies will be just as great next year.  I see them being twice as successful as they have been the past few years.  I'm ready to see this team make it to the Women's College World Series!  It's only a matter of time now, ladies.  Let's do this!

I want to send a super huge shoutout to JMU athletics for allowing me to photograph this tournament.  It is always an honor to be apart of this amazing program, surrounded by amazing players, coaches, and staff.  You all made the experience a million times better and I am truly grateful for all that you have done for me.  Can't wait to see you all again!

Click here to vist JMU's web site!

To see more content from this weekend and to follow JMU athletics, visit their web site.  Click the link under the photo.