Music

The Artist's Way - Week 7

Day 42:

In the reading this week I am reminded of two things:

"Don't compare your behind the scenes to some else's highlight reel" - Someone

"Don't compare your behind the scenes to some else's highlight reel" - Someone

And–

Week 7 Goals:

Morning Pages x7
Artist Date x1
Archeology, An Exercise
Complete as many additional Exercises as possible.

Archeology, An Exercise

Complete these phrases:

  1. As a kid I missed the chance to be a kid

  2. As a kid I lacked friends my own age

  3. As a kid I could have used a mentor or someone that would just listen to me

  4. As a kid I dreamed of being a scientist

  5. As a kid I wanted to be loved and understood

  6. In my house we never had enough time for ourselves

  7. As a kid I needed more positive re-enforcement

  8. I am sorry that I will never again see a world where everything doesn’t exist in your pocket

  9. For years I have missed and wondered about “G”, I wonder how she is doing these days

  10. I beat myself up about the loss of my youthful energy

“It is important to acknowledge our positive inventory as well as our shortfalls. Take positive stock of what good you have to build on in the present.”
— Julia Cameron - The Artist's Way

Finish these phrases:

  1. I have a loyal friend in Nathan, mostly, or Kristin, she always sets me straight

  2. One thing I like about my town is how close I am to just about everything I want to do

  3. I think I have nice wit

  4. Writing my morning pages have shown me I can change up my day to day and set new habits.

  5. I am taking a greater interest in starting something for myself

  6. I believe I am getting better at managing my stress and feelings

  7. My artist has started to pay more attention to other artists and their struggles and challenges

  8. My self-care is a big bath tub with plenty of room. I wish I had one.

  9. I feel more calm, confident, and full of anxiety all at once.

  10. Possibly, my creativity is wanting more from me and the world around me .

There will probably be a lot of poor excuses on this one. I was traveling all week for work and didn’t get a whole lot of time to myself to complete the tasks assigned.

Tasks:

  • Make this phrase a mantra “Treating myself like a precious object will make me strong” I made the effort to write this at the top of each of my morning pages, and think heavily about how I can treat myself better day to day.

  • Give yourself time to listen to one side of an album, just for joy. This was able to be done, except the album could have probably been more joyful. I found myself wanting to listen to The Downward Spiral a few times this week…and I did.

  • Take yourself to a sacred space and allow yourself to savor the silence and healing solitude. Silence is pretty hard to find in New York City. I’ll take some time next week and see what quiet places I can find.

  • Wear your favorite item of clothing for no special occasion. This also will probably be a next week task.

  • Buy yourself one wonderful pair of socks, one wonderful pair of gloves– One wonderfully comforting self-loving something. I’ve spent a lot of money on my Artist-child over the last few weeks. I think I need to slow down lest I become way more in debt than I want to.

Check In:

How many days this week did you do your morning pages? Have you allowed yourself to daydream a few creative risks? Are you coddling your artist child with childhood loves? I skipped a few days this week, 2 for sure and I did a half day one day. I was in a van a lot for work, and also on a very tight timeline most of the mornings.

I want to have more time to daydream, and I’d love to coddle my artist child more. But I’m not sure how.

Did you do your artist date this week? Did you use it to take any risks? What did you do? How did it feel? I also skipped my artist date. Which of course really sucks because I was in one of the most fantastic of cities in which to do just that.

Did you experience any synchronicity this week? What was it? None that I noticed.

Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant to your recovery? Describe them. I almost feel like I backtracked a little this week. I dove into my day job hard, and really didn’t carve out any time for me.

I feel really anxious as I am finalizing this entry, I wanted so much more out of it. I will do better in the upcoming week to try and “catch up”.

Much Ado About Nerddom V: A Geeky Variety Show - 2017

After stumbling upon a last minute photo gig for Much Ado last year, I knew that this was something I'd love to be a part of once again. I ran into Dani at the Game of Thrones show last month and asked if there was going to be another Nerddom event this year.

I'm super happy that she remembered the photos from last year and gave me an excited "yes" when I asked to shoot this one too. 

"If we’ve learned anything from "Empire Strikes Back", it’s that the 5th one is always the best! 
Much Ado About Nerddom: A Geeky Variety Show celebrates its 5th birthday this year at the amazing Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse! Not sure what to do with yourself the Wednesday before Con revs up? Well, come on down and let us psyche you up for the insane weekend ahead!
We’ve got burlesque, we’ve got puppetry, we’ve got stand up, we’ve got music, and we’ve got TWO BARS! "

 

Dani Herd

Roula Roulette

God Module: eVISCERAte Tour w/ Finite Automata & Cursed Earth Corporation

There are a few perks to being close with bands in your local area. By supporting them you are helping other artists support themselves and their dreams, and if you become really close with them it means that you get a chance to regularly see great live music AND get a chance to do what you love. The guys from Finite Automata are currently on tour right now, and made a stop here in Atlanta with God Module and a new up and coming band Cursed Earth Corporation. 

Naturally I had a standing invite (in case you haven't figured that out yet) and was given the chance once again to shoot. 

First up was Cursed Earth Corporation. Based out of Lexington, SC and performing live for the first time. If they didn't mention it, I would have thought these guys were a driving force that had been well toured and ready for action.  If their future is anything like they played this show, I can see them going places. Be sure to check them out on Soundcloud.

Next was Finite Automata. These guys are no stranger to this blog, and there is little else that I can say that hasn't already been said. Even though there were some casualties during the tour opener, the guys brought their A-game and performed a set full of the theatricality that they are so well known for. This set also featured a relative rarity, Scott and his keyboards were set up in a much cleaner lighting situation, so I was able to capture a few great shots of the deathpimp himself at work. 

And finally, the headliners of the night, God Module. Performing their album VISCERA in its entirety to celebrate 10 years of the album's release. I was given the opportunity to shoot them last year for a magazine article that never really materialized, but I happily now can share some images taken during this very foggy performance.  

For someone who doesn't consider himself a band photographer, I sure am shooting a lot of bands lately. Not that I am complaining, any time spent with a camera in my hands is a good time. 

Stoneburner: The Mouse Tour + Die Sektor, Finite Automata, And Zy_Gote (G-master 85mm Test)

So I make it a pretty obvious that I am a die hard Sony fan. But that's a story for another time. Earlier this year Sony announced a new series of lenses designed for their pro line bodies. I'll spare you those details as well, but let's just say that they are billed as being the next best thing in photography.

I have thought about this glass since the announcement and have wanted to get my hands on the 85mm f1.4 lens. I broke down and rented one for the next few weeks, and of course wanted to give it a good solid test. I'll start with a few of those photos, and then will transition into the rest of the photos from the night. For those of you here for photography things and not tour photos, keep your eyes open. I'll be posting another blog entry once I completely put things through their paces. 

G-Master test Images:

And now more words and tour photos:
Starting the night was Zy_Gote. Stan is no stranger from this blog, and you may remember him from some of the studio test photos from last year. This was his first live show, but you would never know it by the quality of the music and performance. I'll be the first one to say that the set went off without a hitch, and it can only go up from here.

Then Finite Automata took the stage: 

Atlanta based (for not much longer :( ) Die Sektor was up next:

And finally, the headliner for the night. Stoneburner:

Snog + The Labrynth: The Compliance Tour (Finite Automata and Ecto Proxy) – 04/20/2016

I don't fancy myself a band photographer. But sometimes when the shoe fits, you just have to wear the hell out of it. I was invited by Dom of Finite Automata to photograph their show with Snog and The Labyrynth for their Compliance Tour 2016. 

Recently I had the chance to add one of my "legendary" lenses to my collection, a Minolta 70-210 f4 (The Beercan). I was itching to try it out, and especially in a lower light environment. Overall I found it to be a little hard to work with at times, but I was extremely happy with what I was able to capture. I'm really happy that this lens fell into my lap, and I can't wait to use it in a more controlled environment.

The first opening act was previously featured in ReGen magazine, Ecto Proxy. Since shooting them a few months ago I have been in close contact planning a shoot for their press kit (Spoiler alert, coming soon). 

Next came a group of guys who also are no stranger to this blog, Finite Automata themselves. You may recognize a new guitarist from the last time we worked together. Damien from Ecto Proxy has stepped up and joined another project (So it's time to update their press kit photos as well). 

Next up was The Labrynth:

And finally Snog!

At the end of the night, I was pretty happy with the images I was able to capture. And as always big thanks to everyone for inviting me out to snap a few shots. Keep your eyes open, and ears to the ground for some new photos coming soon from both Finite Automata and Ecto Proxy. 

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