I am really honestly confused at what I need to do in order to get people to interact on my site... I have tried to ask people to participate, and even asked people to give ideas if they feel like there isn't the right kind of content on the site.... I have my comments turned on for my blog posts, but I have very few people actually responding to any of my blogs... am I really that boring, is there really nothing on this site that grabs your attention or makes you want to talk or share. I am a huge fan of having some good intellectual conversations, but that seems hard to do when you are doing nothing but talking with yourself.... Well, maybe one day I will figure this all out... until then, look at a picture of me!!
Bowling...
Tonight I have bowling... I have been bowling for just over 3 years now and I have started to get pretty decent at it. I really like bowling and I am not sure if it is because it is fun, if I am competitive, or because it is with family... but I definitely enjoy it and believe all three are reasons I enjoy it. I am bowling on a league with my brother and my cousins and tonight we are bowling against my fathers team. So, tonight is going to be a really fun night! On Tuesdays I bowl with my brother, my cousin, my dad and my other cousins boyfriend and that is a great time as well. (although we got destroyed last night!) I also do bowling tournaments like the state tournament every year and when I do those, I get a chance to bowl with my other brother. I would recommend getting into a bowling league with family members even if you aren't the greatest bowler in the world. It is great to get out, enjoy the company of family and you get a chance to meet new people as well!
Days like this...
Today is one of those days you want to make some hot chocolate, and watch a good movie while enjoying a nice warm fire... Nothing like curling up to a fire, some hot chocolate and a great book or movie. I think the weather today would be perfect for that...now all I have to do is build a fireplace, by some hot chocolate, and figure out what book or movie I want to watch or read!! I think I might read, it has been a while since I have read a good book and I think I need to get back to reading and writing and things like that. I have to get my creative juices flowing and get new ideas so I can implement them into my photography.
What are some of your favorite books? I just saw a post on Facebook the other day about a book that I read back in high school called "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. It was a really good book that really had your imagination running. I would recommend that book to anyone. I think I should read that again and then continue on with the other 3 books in the series. Maybe I will do that!!
Cidermill....
Went to the cider-mill with some family yesterday. It was the first time I had been to a cider mill since I was a kid! I had a good time even though it was a little chilly. I realized how much I really missed having apple cider and donuts! I was able to get some awesome pictures of the family picking apples as well, and that is always a plus. I really recommend making a trip out to the cider mills this fall and enjoy some good family fun while also eating some great grub!!
9/11
It's been a few days since I have last updated my blog... I feel like I am seriously slacking!!! I need to keep on top of this stuff. Well, I figured the best day for me to get back into a groove would be to post about something that has a great significance in the world.
Most people have the common phrase "Where were you" about significant events like this and I can answer that with certainty! I was a young Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps.... I had just finished Boot Camp and my MOS (Military Occupational Specialty, or job) school/training and had been at my new duty station for less then 6 months when 9-11-01 arrived. I remember getting into work that morning and seeing my Warrant Officer come out of his office with a very down and nostalgic look on his face. Before anyone could ask what was going on, he simply stated that the world trade center had been struck by a plane. It didn't take long for us to go into emergency lock down mode. With in hours of the two buildings collapsing, we had moved weapons and security measures into place surrounding our barracks and had our whole building on lock down. It was virtually harder to get into the Marine Corps Barracks, then it was to get on the whole naval base of Norfolk, VA. We were standing at one point 8 hour guard shifts, and still working our normal jobs. There were some days that we were lucky enough to get a couple hours of rest before or after a guard shift or a regular work shift. We had sent Marines to New York to help with security of the medical ships that were there with in hours of the towers collapsing as well. I can tell you that those next few months were pretty hectic and long! Since then, I have seen my younger brother deploy twice to the Middle East, once to Iraq and another to Afghanistan. I have had friends who have lost their lives defending the freedoms that most take for granted everyday, and I don't think I can ever forget what that day has meant or how it has impacted my life, and the lives of those around me! Let us never forget!
Raw Radio X....
I am not too sure how many of you out there like to support local artist and local musicians, but I just recently came across this pretty awesome local station RawRadioX.com (or on TuneIn Radio as Raw Radio X) that is all about supporting local Detroit Musicians and artists.... I highly recommend checking them out as well as some of the local bands that I have recently shot for. It is amazing at how much talent there is floating around this place. I think we need to do a better job of supporting local talent..... So, I really honestly encourage you to check out Raw Radio X at www.RawRadioX.com and follow them on Facebook.
Street Photography...
I am about to head to downtown Detroit for something and I am thinking about taking my camera and doing some street photography. I haven't really done a whole lot of street photography, but I think today is a pretty nice day for it. Maybe try and get some portraits of the people that are out and about downtown. Faces of Detroit kind of thing? What do you think?
Michigan Music Festival
This past Saturday I shot some awesome local bands downtown at Saint Andrews Hall... I have spent the last few days going through and editing them and I am now posting them on the site. You will be able to see them under the Bands section of the site. If you know someone in one of the bands, feel free to let them know they can find them here and also that they can utilize the images online for non commercial use with photo credit given to Robert Boos Photography. They can either tag Robert Boos Photography on Facebook, or put Robert Boos Photography along with my website www.robertboosphotography.com. Thanks!!
Wicked Frenzy
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to shoot at a local music venue thanks in large part to the band Wicked Frenzy. They were playing at Saint Andrews Hall and I was looking at grabbing some images of bands and I was able to get that opportunity thanks to their promoter, Lexy. They were awesome to work with and I had a great time! I look forward to doing more cover type shoots for the band in the near future!
Friends...
A friend of mine wanted me to look at making the previous time-lapse video a little different, they felt the song wasn't a good song for the video, so I made some changes and without further ado, here you go....
Sports Photos
Just received some good news that a friend of mine recommended me to do the team photos for a local youth football organization. Now, I have to focus on building good print packages to offer the director of the organization so they will decide to work with me. This could be a really awesome thing!!! I wish I already had a good price list for packages like this. Now I need to do a ton of research and figure out how much other photographers charge for this kind of service. This could end up being a a great yearly thing for me, so I have to make sure I give a great deal and also need to make sure I bring my "A" game with my quality of work!!! If you can't tell, I am pretty excited but still have some work to do!!
It's been a while....
Sorry that I haven't been updating my blog recently. I have been a tad busy and to be honest have really been neglecting my work. I need to regain my focus and get back to bringing awesome content to all of my fans. Picture of the day will be resuming here shortly, as well as throwback Thursday..... In other news I went camping this past weekend with a lot of my friends and got some decent images of the group. We had a good time and I even participated in the ALS Ice bucket challenge while out there camping. If you haven't done so, or have not been challenged, you should totally check out www.alsa.org and look at donating to this cause. ALS is a very harsh disease and we need to help fund research to help those who are or can potentially become affected by it!
While camping this weekend, we also had a Fish Fry Friday, I did a time lapse video of the group around the fire while my buddy fried all the fish for us... You can see that here: http://youtu.be/MeUP1GQN2T8?list=UU63zbll8Lpn_xWyuQDDvDQA
45 minute mini sessions....
I am going to start doing 45 minute mini sessions, please contact me and we can schedule you for the days that I will be doing them... the cost will be 60 dollars, and we will shoot for 45 minutes, and then go through the images on a separate day and decide which 5 images you want... the 60 dollars will cover 5 images at low resolution for sharing online. I am looking forward to getting some awesome images!
Sad Day...
It was a very sad day yesterday... One of the greatest influences on life, decided to take his own life. Depression is something that we all need to be aware of. I have often said that I believe suicide can be one of the most selfish acts one can make, but in all reality, I think we as a society are to blame most of the time. We often times don't recognize, or when we do recognize depression, we write it off, but many times we neglect to reach out, to just have a conversation with that person. So often just a simple conversation can help someone feel important to the world. I have posted recently about Veterans, and helping them out, and I have even posted about my writings on a selfish entitled but not responsible society, this tragedy is simply a reminder of why I feel the way I do about those subjects... No more excuses, we as a society need to step up and help each other out as best we can!!!
The image I have chosen is from one of my favorite movies, and one of the best parts of the movies... If we could just see the world like Robin did as Sean Maguire!
Veterans...
A friend of mine shared a music video by a pretty major band today. The band is Five Finger Death Punch, and the video was for "Wrong Side of Heaven" I will post a link for those interested in seeing it. But, the video was about veterans and the struggles they sometimes go through when they get out of the service. I am a Marine Corps Veteran as most of you already know, and I definitely want to make sure that I can do everything I can to help a warrior brother or sister from going through hardships such as losing their family, or being homeless, or even going through PTSD or just hit with depression. I think we as a community need to help our returning Veterans acclimate back into being a civilian. I think it is important to let them know that we care, even if we can't understand why they are where they are.
Another friend of mine mentioned to me that he was interested in joining the military. Which normally if you are a young 18-30 year old, with no family or other responsibility I would recommend it. This friend however was past 30 with a family, so I asked him why he was interested in joining now. He said he just felt like he had to serve his country. My recommendation to him, and anyone else in a similar situation is help serve your country by helping out Veterans. Join an organization that helps wounded warriors, or returning veterans. Don't leave your family to serve if you don't have to. Hopefully this video will help inspire you to go out and help a veteran in need!
The Marlin Family
Had the pleasure of capturing images of a little angel yesterday. The Marlin family was kind enough to have me out at their place capturing a day in the life of new parents. We got some fun pictures and had a good time. Little Kenzie was just adorable the whole time. She wasn't super happy when we changed her outfit, but she loved laying on the floor and having mom and dad play with her. It truly was a good time!!
The World Around Us....
The following is something I have been working on, it's been a while since I have added to it, but I was just reminded today that I need to get back to this:
Issues With Society: Entitled, but not Responsible
Have you ever felt like you just didn't exist? Like, no matter what you did, or said, or acted, people really just didn't notice you? I think it is amazing at how as a society we can miss the obvious signs of someone who is clearly reaching out for help, and over look them, often saying they are just trying to get attention. Well, that is right, they are and there is usually a reason they are trying to get attention. Sometimes just a simple conversation with a person can make their day, their week, or even their year. But, we will never understand that unless we have been in those shoes, the shoes of the forgotten soul. I have often noticed that you often get recognized by friends and family when you don't do anything at all, when you just kind of vanish from existence. It usually takes a little while before they notice, but they notice eventually. Why is it people have to fall off the face of the earth for someone to realize they are hurt, or depressed, or scared, or nervous. I think we are so self-centered now days and only think about how something will affect us that we don't pay attention to others, or care about how others feel. We have totally become a selfish me, me, me society. We feel entitled, but don't ever want to take responsibility. It is amazing how we can continue to function as a society with that mentality, how are we ever going to move forward?
The worst part about all of this is technology has almost helped halt our advancement as much as it has furthered our advancement as a society. When was the last time any of us really just randomly had a genuine conversation with someone offline? It doesn't happen as much as it used too. You are not in the; who, or the where, or the how unless you have heard it through one of our many social media grapevines. I don't remember the last time I actually sat down with someone and really enjoyed just talking and being with that person. Even when I go out, conversations are at a minimum, last just a few seconds, then we go on about are ways. It is absolutely crazy how more people don't end up feeling lost in this society, how they don't end up feeling like they don't belong, or don't exist anymore.
Helping others has become a lost cause, people don't know how to receive help any more, or don't appreciate it like they used to. I want to get back to feeling alive, doing things for others and feeling good about it, making another person’s day and knowing that their day being better makes my day better. I want to live in a world of happiness, and not emptiness or selfishness. Let's get the world back to a better place, one friendly gesture at a time. We all believe it is good, but none of us do it. When was the last time you did something for someone else, just because? When was the last stranger you helped change a tire for? When was the last time you helped someone carrying something that was too big? When was the last genuine conversation you had with someone, just because you knew they needed a friend? Let's start coming together, and stop pushing away!
Our society is more willing to give you tough love then encouraging support. It is amazing at how a friend or family member can tell you how stupid or crazy an idea is faster than they can give you words of encouragement. Take for instance my wanting to take notes on conversations about love. I have already told the people I know on Facebook of all things, that I intend on doing just that taking notes of conversations. Out of all the posts on that status, only one had a glimmer of support, the others were all ridiculing me about how crazy, or creepy that was. Is it really crazy to want to take notes on what is going on around us? Is that being too personal? I also posted a survey about love, and interesting enough, only two responses and both I know were not from friends or family, but strangers. Only one friend or family member even inquired about the survey and felt they couldn’t give their opinion because they couldn’t truly define love. I even have relatives who believe my thought process is backwards, that I have the issue and society is correct. Their reasoning is because more people have thought I was crazy, than have actually taken my survey. But do numbers of responses to one thing or another constitute what is acceptable to society standards? That makes me wonder about the ultimate test of society as a mass being correct, if everyone jumped off a bridge, would you? If society doing things by the mass is the correct way to do things, then you must not be a vital part of society if you decided to not jump.
That brings me to another point. What constitutes the right and wrong way to view society? We do things because others do them, but does that make it right? I believe that goes back to the selfish, me, me, and me society that we live in. If something is determined to be bad, all we need to do is blame it on following someone else. Well, I did it because they did it. But, that goes back to not taking responsibility. Not enough people take credit for their actions, and don’t hold themselves as accountable as they should. The reason I implied that they do hold themselves somewhat accountable, is because when something goes in their favor, they will make sure that people know it was them. Take for instance a team works on a project together, say the team succeeds and the project is a success, each team member will want to make sure that they all were a part of that success. But, say that same team fails, how many of those team members would step up and take credit for the failure. I would guess not many; you would probably find more pointing fingers or at least thinking to themselves who is to blame.
Headshots...
Portraits and head shots are a type of photography I really enjoy. For some reasons these are really fun to do and you can often get different types of moods or feelings from a good portrait or head shot. Most of the work I have done so far have been portraits or head shots, and I almost always try to get a head shot when I am doing other work such as at events, or just out and about. I think they help in telling a story. Something I have learned through out this journey of mine is that when telling the story through pictures, it is best to get a wide angle showing everything, then get a little closer of a shot to the subject you are shooting, then get a tight shot usually a head shot or similar and this really helps tell what is going on. The wide explains the surroundings and the things that are impacting the subject, the closer gives a quick glance at what the focus is on, and then the tight close up shows the mood or the emotion that is coming through.
Football...
Are you ready for some football!! It is coming to that time of the year and I got a chance to capture some images at a little league football practice. A friend of mine has a couple kids that play football so I went out and took some awesome shots. It was definitely a great time, the kids were working hard, and I was able to really get some cool shots. I am really excited for the games, because then I can get a few more action shots. Practices consisted of running the same drill over and over so it was really tough getting different shots... but this one here is a pretty awesome shot!!
Superman....
UPDATE: Had fun shooting with my cousins little one yesterday. I haven't really had the experience with babies and my cousin has been wanting to get some pictures of her little superman. So, I went over and we just tried a couple things and got some decent shots. There are some with her and her little man, and some with grandpa and little man. This image here, is one of the ones we got and I happen to like it a lot... actually so did his dad, so his dad took a snap shot on his phone with him in the same position.... YOU CAN NOW SEE ALL OF THE IMAGES IN GALLERIES UNDER MASON... All in all it was fun, and I am looking forward to doing more pictures with this amazing little boy!