I’m bad at updating…

…i know this and I’ve accepted it.  Here’s another video from Blake’s.  If you don’t have the new Lupe Fiasco album, I suggest you go out and cop it.

To hold you over…

until I get around to a real update. I was in Hickory, NC last weekend to hang out with my homey, Blake (aka DJ Decryption). We do these jam sessions every time we get together, but this was the first time we’ve ever done anything on video. Enjoy…the rundown:~Make it rain~We takin over~I’m so Hood~Crank That~Solja Girl~Ay Bay Bay (with hand clap)~Sexyback~Lovestoned

from youtube.com posted with vodpod

Know-vember

Images from mom’s ceremony in D.C.

Some images from El Paso/Jaurez:

My grandfather’s wake was very emotional. I helped carry his casket the next day at his funeral ceremony. I had never been to either before a couple weeks ago. The images from those two days are still pretty fresh in my mind and honestly, it still has me shaken up a bit. Seeing my dad and his siblings, people with such strong personalities and so much strength, reduced to slumped shoulders, tears and tissues…..is not easy to see.

On the night of his wake, after the priest had finished and we all sat down, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” started playing softly over the speakers in the chapel. It was his favorite song.

It’s been difficult to get my mind back to school, but I’m doing okay. I shot Yuri and Noah a few days ago, and it turned out pretty well…studio lighting is frustrating, but I’m slowly getting the hang of it.

Anyway, I’m back and ready to finish 5th quarter up as best I can. Happy Thanksgiving if I don’t see ya and good luck with work to all you crazy PC kids.

Joe

Mi Abuelo

My grandpa passed away last night…

he liked cowboy hats, a good pair of boots, El Paso, his kids, his grandkids and Frank Sinatra.

going home on Wednesday. Please keep my fam in your prayers.

Gomenasai…

 

…means “I’m sorry” in Japanese. Sorry for the lack of posting lately. Sometimes life gets a little too busy, blah, blah, blah, school, blah, blah, blah, work, blah, blah, blah.

Seriously though, I have been busy. School started back up at the beginning of the month and as usual, we’ve hit the ground running. 5th Quarter so far has been…interesting. It’s a strange time right now…it’s the beginning of the end of my time here @ PC and while that’s ridiculously exciting, it’s also petrifying to think about. Questions that seemed so ridiculous a few quarters ago (“What do you want to do when you get out?” “What do you want to shoot?” “Where do you want to be?”) now seem really serious and pretty daunting.

But nevermind the questions, it’s the answers that have me freaking out lately…”I HAVE NO IDEA!” Seriously.

I’ve recently discovered that I like to shoot…well…everything. And while that’s awesome, and blah, blah, blah, range, blah, blah, blah, diversity, blah, blah, blah, options, it’s also quite discouraging. Don’t get me wrong, I like shooting everything, and being able to walk into any situation and be fairly comfortable with the subject matter is nice, and hey, I don’t want to pigeon hole myself or anything…but at some point, I need to choose a path and stick to it. At the moment, I can loosely say that I want to shoot people….and that’s about it. I guess the first step in figuring all of this out is to start organizing my images…and that’s one of my goals this quarter…to start putting things in “boxes.”

In other (less stressful) news, my birthday was on the 9th. I’m 23. A few of us went out for some Mexican (appropriate) and some drinks on Tuesday night. It was good times. I think as I get older, I have more of a problem with people celebrating my birthday, so I like to keep things small…dinner, drinks…I’m good. Happy Birthday to me.

Not really much else to report…I’m really trying to work hard this quarter…harder than ever, and I hope it shows in my work. Some random thoughts, a OSV (Old School Video if you’ve forgotten) and then I’m off to catch my plane…I’m heading to D.C. for the weekend…see more below…

~Thanks to everybody who came out on my birthday! I know Tuesday is a weird night to get people out, with class and all, so I really appreciate it.

~The new Little Brother album dropped a couple days ago. It is amazing and you should get it. If you don’t believe me, ask the resident Little Brother expert, Karelia. Track 6, “Extra Hard” is my new theme song for the quarter.

~I’m headed to D.C. today. My mom just got a new job (FORCE Master Chief…no big deal), and is having a big ceremony tomorrow afternoon. A lot of my fam is going to be there, so naturally I have to be there too. It’s basically the highest position an enlisted sailor in the U.S. Navy can reach. My mom will be the FIRST African American to hold the position in the HISTORY of the United States Navy. Insane.

~I’m also seeing an old friend for dinner tonight…I’m pretty nervous and kind of excited about seeing her. It’s been a while…almost a year…also insane.

~My dad got me a GPS for my birthday. It is the new hotness, and literally 2 days later, it saved my ass about 4 times on an assisting job I had. I have dubbed it “Gina,” as in Gina from the hilarious, highly underrated show, “Martin.” Here’s a typical conversation between “Gina” and myself:

Gina: You have arrived at your destination.

Me: DAAAAAAMN Gina!!!

~I’m a little upset that I won’t be here for the Halloween party at Blake’s. I was gonna go as “Barack yo Mama”, basically the ghetto version of Barack Obama. It was going to be hilarious…oh well…If anyone needs a costume idea, you can have mine.

~Got to see Dj-Decryption during his layover here in Atlanta! We only had a few hours, so we grabbed some lunch in the Atrium area, and chatted a bit. Great to see my homey! YOU CRAZY FOR DIS ONE, DJ-D!!

~I’m in this “Lunch with Legends” class this quarter. We go and hang out with one of the top photographers in Atlanta every week, tour their studio, and take them out to lunch. It’s my favorite class.

~It’s getting cold out…don’t know if i’m a fan or not…I do get to rock my sweet WFU jacket again though…so that’s cool

~Rachel Claggett rocks.

~Juliet Lam rocks.

~Got to see my homey Karl and his bro at the Wake vs. Navy game last weekend. Had a BLAST, AND I met David Robinson! The Admiral!! good times, yo.

Okay, I’ve gotta get going….blah, blah, blah, flight, blah, blah, blah, mom’s new job, blah, blah, blah, ex-girlfriend, blah, blah, blah, take great photos, blah, blah, blah, be a good person.

joe

OSV:

I used to live in Silver Springs Maryland and I remember when I heard Arrested Development for the first time….it was tribal, it was organic, it was fun, it was love. “And the loud bright colors that I wear….BOOM!!!”