Walkabout.

     Once upon a time, there was a guest speaker in my photography class. He was a really cool guy and he was very kind and very inspiring. What I liked about him was that he was successful, but he wasn't overly successful. It was just nice to see a guy that was really good at what he did, but wasn't a cocky, uber-successful, franchise-owning multimillionaire.
     I'm getting off-topic.
     In his presentation that he gave to the class, he told us that one time he got really disheartened. He was uninspired and he did not know if what he was doing was worthwhile. He then proceeded to tell us that when he felt this way, he realized he needed to just force himself to create things. So he went for a walk and decided to find something beautiful every fifty steps. He began to walk and every fifty steps he stopped and took a picture of something that he thought was beautiful. By the time he finished his walk, he remembered why he loved what he did and gained a new resolve to be a part of it. Then he told us, "When you realize what you really want to do, you make sacrifices."
     This has always been really inspiring to me and I have always wanted to try it. So about a month ago (I am really behind on my blogging) I went on a walk and I stopped ever 100 (50 was too short for me) steps and tried to find something beautiful:

     I offer the same challenge to you. It doesn't matter if you are a photographer or not, but go out when you feel down and find something beautiful. Something that reminds you why you love life.

When life gets you down, remember: shift happens :)

Music and Poetry.

     I am feeling all the things. When this happens, I usually go to music or poetry*. Here are both:


Take a Deep Breath and Run

PANIC.
ABSOLUTE PANIC.
RESOUNDING, REPOUNDING PANIC.
Though it reoccurs often enough,
it still induces PANIC.
Quiet PANIC.

Though some instances
create butterflies in stomachs
and others create nothing but pain,
these situations create whole heaps of trouble
and a mess.
Always a terrifying, horrible mess.

PANIC.
You almost forgot,
but PANIC never quite lets you forget
that others are upset
and others expectant
and PANIC.

Stop.
Focus on something.
Something that makes you sigh.

Now,
Relax and go outside.
Take a deep breath and run.

Breathe.
Digest the copious air.
Let it scrub the panic away.

Run.
Don't sprint to get away,
run to think things through.

Then,
when you can
live and feel again,

Return.
Walk to the couch,
sit and make some realizations.

Because you need to.


Ghost of Corporate Future

I do

Outside the air and sky were made of ice.
The wind was howling, making a black din.
But everything I saw and heard was nice,
When I could hold you close and breathe you in.
The windows showed the white heaps of the snow.
Beyond the walls the clouds were growing gray.
But listening to Nat King Cole all low,
I knew - in fact - it all would be okay.
When cold, hard life was looming over me
And I just felt like everything was wrong.
You held me close and helped my soul to see,
What beauty could be found in Winter's song.
Then all at once I noticed something new:
I realized that I do, I do love you.


Laundry Room

Your Eyes

Your eyes just don't
go away.

They are not so
piercing blue.

They are not a
rich, deep, brown.

They are simply
real-life green.

Not a dream,
simply beautiful
reality.


Goodness Gracious

A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me

Raindrops

Naked As We Came

*warning, this will all be very sappy and angsty. Bite me. Also, it will probably make no sense.

Ode to Photography

     In my Humanities class, we discussed a poem by John Keats entitled "Ode on a Grecian Urn". It was written during the final stages of Keats' short life and muses on a fictional Grecian urn that contains scenes of a story that does not exist. Rather than discuss a real piece of art, Keats decides to commentate on art in general.
     Keats ponders different scenes painted on the urn and reveals how jealous he is that they are forever trapped in that scene. The maidens that are teasingly fleeing the pursuing men will always be lovely and the pursuing men will always be thrilled by the chase. The boy who is about to kiss his love will always be in love and the girl whom the boy is about to kiss will always be beautiful. The trees will never die. It will always be spring. Those people will always and forever be eternally there. Frozen in time.
     This got me thinking about how photography is essentially the same. It is an art form that freezes a moment forever. That second in time is stuck for eternity for better or for worse. So I created a photo essay based on this idea. Hope you enjoy it:

Eternal Spring

 Falling

Moonrise Over St. George 

Indecision 

Collision

 Ecstatic Leap

A Question

"'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' - that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

- John Keats, "Ode on a Grecian Urn"

Slender Man.

     I wish this was Halloween...cause this is some freaky crap. I was just taking some pictures with my friend Michael Erickson...and...well you can just see for yourself:

Composition.

     I have a question for you: what do you notice about these pictures? What makes them make you feel what you feel? If you feel anything at all?

Beard.

     I grew a beard.
     Then I shaved it off.
     I took pictures of it:

I was in a bathroom.

I had a camera.

I had a mirror.

I had to take a duck-face-bathroom-mirror-camera-in-hand picture:

Now time for the weird rant:

     I am so glad I grew a beard. Sounds weird, but whatever. It was probably the only time I could (depending on whether or not my wife likes beards) so I said YOLO quietly to myself and didn't pick up the razor one morning. 

     Having this beard taught me a lot of things which I will present to you in LIST FORM*!:

1. I got my food 30% faster in most restaurants.

2. I was feared 20% more.

3. I was asked the question, "CAN I FEEL YOUR BEARD?!" 8 times.

4. I had my beard felt without warning 5 times.

5. Beards increase face temperature by a factor of two.

6. Beards increase face itchiness by a factor of seven-hundred thousand.

7. Beards reduce facial perception by a factor of four.

8. MY BEARD IS RED?!?!

9. I was asked if I knew if my beard was red 10 times.

10. I was asked why my beard was red 25 times.

     Something I couldn't quite figure out was why a lot of people feared I had gone off the deep end. A lot of people would give me worried looks when they saw my beard and ask me if everything was alright. It was a little confusing.

     So there is my random post for the week.

     Hope you enjoyed it :) if not...oh well.

*Facts listed in List are approximate. Levi didn't really care much about exact numbers during his beard-growing period. Instead this list reflects how much Levi noticed certain things that happened while he had his beard.

Concert Night.

     I went to see my friends perform in the Madrigal's Columbus Day Concert. They did so good! The whole program was really well done and nice to watch. Here are some pictures from the concert and from after the concert:

 NATALIE ANGRY!

Silly Tessa. You can't escape me!