Unemployement

For the last month I have been looking for a part time job while I’m finishing up my senior year. I only have four credit hours this semester, and the class I thought would be hard is much easier than I thought. So naturally, I have a lot of free time. This might seem like a good thing at face value, but I promise you, it is not. Last semester was the busiest time of my life, this semester is the least busy I’ve ever been. It has become painfully clear, I would much rather be “too busy”, than not busy enough. I have been more bored in this last month than any other time in my life. I’ve applied to what seems like everywhere that is hiring, but to no avail. When I’m not applying to jobs I’m most likely binge watching Netflix. I have watched enough TV in the last month to satisfy me for the rest of my life. This week I am on a Netflix break. I have done this a couple times since I’ve been back in Siloam. No Netflix for me this week. When I take my weeklong breaks from Netflix I become 200% more productive. It’s wonderful.

All of the negative replies to job applications have been tough. I really didn’t think it would be this hard to get a job. I’ve even started applying to places outside of photography and graphic design. Being rejected by Lowe’s is not the highest point in my semester. It’s frustrating, but I’m trusting God. I don’t know what His plan is, but I’m excited to find out.

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

The best parts of this semester have been Ultimate weekends. The Ultimate Frisbee team has been to two tournaments this semester. One in Denton, TX, and the other in Conway, AR this last weekend. The tournament this last weekend was the first tournament JBU has ever won. The most notable teams we played were TCU, LSU’s B team, Missouri S&T, and St. Louis University. Ultimate weekends are exhausting but oh so worth it. Not having class on Mondays after a tournament makes the weekend even better.

I’ve had quite a bit of time free since I’m not working and class barely takes up any of my time. I’ve shot a couple times and worked on some other personal projects. I can now put a real looking light saber in video, so that’s pretty cool. It’s time consuming, but pretty sweet (sorry no example video; someday). Max and I are still moving forward on starting up our own business. It is slow going and we hit a bit of a snag in registering our LLC, which had to do with mistaken identity, but it’s getting cleared up and things are moving forward. Not everything I’ve been working on is done and ready to be seen, but I thought I’d share what I’ve finished so far, enjoy!

These first three photos are from when it had snowed. The intent was to try a 3D moving photo, but I included some of the normal photos as well.

    These photos are all from the studio.

    This photo is on display in the JBU Gallery currently.

    I was bored (lot's of free time, remember?) so I decided to make a mock Vogue cover.

The Worst Semester Ever

I can't believe it's been six months since I last posted anything. It has been a crazy these last several months. Last semester was the busiest time I have ever seen. I operated on less sleep than I thought was even humanly possible. The entire semester was busy, but there were three or four weeks in a row that were especially hectic. I remember getting an average of about 10 hours of sleep during the week in that month. I would try to catch up on sleep on the weekends but I never got enough to make up for the rest of the week. I would work through the night, usually ending up going to bed around 7am to catch a few hours before class. Luckily there were enough seasons of The Office to keep me sane through the wee hours of the morning. It was an incredibly intense semester, but it was one of the best semesters of my life. It was further revealed to me that I am most happy when I am busy. I would much rather have too much to do, than not enough to do.

I was working on two big projects last semester, which would have been manageable if it weren’t for all of the other classes going on at the same time. One project I was working on was rebranding The City of Lincoln, this included new town signage, a website redesign, new town logo, as well as several other things. In this rebrand was included the marketing of Lincoln Lake, the city’s largest public park and the biggest attraction for Lincoln. My partner and I also designed a logo for the lake, as well as made a video, designed an app, and planned an event at the lake. The final product of all of this work was put into a book, which we turned in at the end of the semester. This project was difficult, but it wasn’t the project occupying most of my attention for the semester.

    Lincoln Lake Guidebook App

    Website

    Lincoln Lake Logo

    The City of Lincoln Logo

The project that most of my efforts from last semester were poured into was the product photography for The Select Man. Max, my partner, and I worked on the project all semester long. We went from contacting Mason, the owner and founder of The Select Man, to the completion of our project, which was the launch of the website and the printing of the look book. We shot the images for the online store, and also the images for the look book, which I also designed. It was an invaluable opportunity working alongside of an actual clothing company and having our photos used in the real world. The local news station even did a story on the company and featured some of the photos we took. It was nice to see all of our work come to fruition. It was a tough project. Our deadlines kept getting pushed back because of clothing availability. The project originally was going to include a video look book as well, but we quickly ran out of time.

Here are just a few of the photos that went into the look book.

To see some more photos you can visit www.TheSelectMan.com

Max and I learned a lot from this experience. Although it was tough, we stuck through it and will take what we learned and apply it to the future. Max and I have also realized how well we work together. We are even working out some details on starting our own company to provide for other business’s creative needs. Keep an eye out and I will update you on the progress.

"When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."

                                                                                    - Arnold Schwarzenegger