Monthly recap - 0723

Journaling and reflecting has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was too little to know how to write down my thoughts, I would draw and sketch about them instead. When I got old enough to drive, I would escape to a far off coffee shop a few towns over and spend hours journaling in a candlelit corner. I would keep detailed lists of my favorite things along with recaps of my everyday life. Journaling was how I learned about who I was and what was important to me. But lately, I haven't been allowing myself that time to slow down for long enough to reflect. To combat that, I'm starting this monthly recap blog series. Every month I'll look back on some things that have happened, some things I've been learning, and share my favorite photos I've created in the past month.

Some things that have happened + Film Drop

In July I was out of town more than I was in town. I went to Chicago twice and ended the month in Los Angeles. I photographed two music festivals (Wonderstruck in Cleveland and Pitchfork in Chicago) and I went back to Chicago to help out my friend during the Chicago grand opening of the disco club Good Night John Boy. I ended the month in LA to see family and to go to my cousin's wedding but stayed longer to meet up with and photograph some friends.

Some things I've been learning.

Health is wealth. This month I had no room for error when it came to my health. I knew I was going to be taking a lot of trips and had a lot of gigs, so that meant protecting my health. I couldn't risk getting sick or not feeling my best. During high stakes months like this, I drink extra water and make sure to take my supplements (a multivitamin, vitamin c, and b12). But this month I took extra precautions. I learned that your oral health is directly correlated to the health of the rest of your body. I started flossing twice a day and using mouthwash. I swear I've never felt better. Even on a night that you've been drinking - if you keep up with your oral health routine, I swear it'll kill your hangover.

When life hands you lemons - SQUEEZE those lemons to make lemonade. For one of the music festivals I photographed this month, I heard back from the artist THE DAY BEFORE THE FESTIVAL to let me know that I had been put on their press list. I thought for sure I wasn't going to be photographing that festival. I was so surprised to have heard back and so thrilled I still had the date open on my calendar. And BOY did I make the MOST out of being there. I was there from the first set that day to the very last set. I met managers, I met band members, I met festival execs and I talked to EVERYONE. My favorite thing that happened that day was that I found my favorite band at the fest, The Beaches, backstage and asked if I could take film portraits of them. They said yes and I got to snag some of my most prized film photos yet. My lesson in this is sometimes, you are just barely given an opportunity. With those times it's even more important to make the most out of them. Take a seat at the table, talk to everyone, have fun, make people laugh. Most importantly - photograph everyone on your bucket list.