Spring Awakening

*Note: the following post is a reflection on this past Saturday and Sundays Shenanigans *

Me- via text-"what do I wear!?!?!"

Ainsley-via text-"I don't care just hurry your ass up in the city!"

You see me and Ainsley have an interesting friendship that consisted of meeting on facebook because we're both doing the Disney College Program together! trouble is, she lives in Philadelphia.....

*two weeks prior to Spring awakening*

Me- "you should totally come to chicago and rage with me before we get down to florida!! its gonna be sick with the line up they have INSIDE SOLDIER FIELD"

Ainsley- "I totally would, just gotta see if I end up with enough money and get the days off of work"

*one week prior to Spring Awakening*

Ainsley-via text-"YOU NEED TO CALL ME ASAP"

ME- *calling* "what happened???"

Ainsley- "I Just won two VIP all access passes to Spring Awakening"

Me-"WHAT HOW!?!?! YOU LIVE IN PENNSYLVANIA!!!!!"

Ainsley- "It was from this radio show and I have some Southwest points saved up to use for a flight"

Me- "wowwww, talk about perfect timing and SMALL WORLD, I can't believe this is happening"

next thing I know, I find myself on my way to the city to meet with a girl I've never met in my life, planning on having a blast with our beautiful relationship and love for amazing music! 

who do we plan to meet along the way? two other AWESOME College Program interns, Domi and Alyssa who happen to live in the chicago area as well! 

After we FINALLY met, I feel like I've known the girl for years, we just clicked. we came together for a music fest and knew what we were getting ourselves into, but what we didn't know was the details of what was about to unfold. 

Drinks after drinks after.... other things and TONS OF DANCING, we met with some awesome people along the way both from the past and present.

It truly is amazing how people can fade away over the years and with something as simple as a music festival, bring back old friends for a common love for music. Not only can that music bring back those friends, but meet new amazing people along the way and allow for MORE amazing memories/shenanigans in the years to come. 

With that being said, thanks Ainsley, Mark, Heather (Gonzo), Christine (Lee), Kevin (Cam), Tania, Teresa, Kym, Tony, Domi, Alyssa, Candace and Molly for an EPIC two days of madness in the city with artist like A- Track, Afrojack, Arty, Benny Benassi, Carl Cox, Datisk, Dillon Francis, Diplo, Flux Pavilion, Wolfgang Gartner, Kill the Noise, Laidback Luke, NERVO, Skrillex, and Hardwell :') 

CHEERS TO REUNITING FRIENDSHIPS AND BEGINNING NEW ONES! 

p.s. next on the to do list is take pictures with EVERYONE, but here's a few from the weekend!

NOT MY PHOTO, but just an idea, of what unfolded ;) pure amazingness <3

 and DONE for the count........

all that remained from the life changing event........

DCP LOVES SPRING AWAKENING <3

 Until next year, Northcoast is in the near future with some amazing people..... and in the horizon is something truly surreal in the spring of 2013..............

ULTRA 2013, need I say more? 


Until then have a P.L.U.R.fect night everyone! 

Deuces.

"Lord forgive me for I am about to sin like a...... never-mind"

*Note: the following post is a reflection on this past Saturday and Sundays Shenanigans *

*waking up in the morning*

Feeling amazing! why? because TODAY is the not just any day, but the first day of Chicago's SPRING AWAKENING!

Mom- "are you getting ready yet? we're leaving soon, your grandma should already be at the church"

Me- "......................................................................"

Me- "uhhh yea I'm getting ready..."

 (85% of me forgot that today was not only Spring Awakening, but my grandmas Baptism in the city)

After getting ready, and brushing my teeth I found myself sitting in the back seat of my parents car daydreaming.... about what the next few hours and days would consist of, nervous I was gonna be late, but excited for what the new adventures would bring I was SO ready. 

while sitting in the Church I found my self further daydreaming because the actual sermon was in spanish and a long story short, I lack the spanish speaking gene. Snapping photos away, I was trying to be as courteous and as respectful as I could, but I was also determined to capture pictures of my grandmas special day. Finishing the morning with my family we asked her, so how do you feel now grandma?

"I feel clean inside AND out"

The happiness throughout her face truly showed a transformation I'll always remember and be proud of. Ironically I'm leaving a church to go to a music festival though where only god knows what will happen............ ANYWAYS

here's a few from the morning! 

After it was all said and done, what do I do? 

RACE HOME LIKE A MAD MAN TO GET TO SOLDIER FIELD AND DANCE MY LIFE AWAY! 

until tomorrow folks ;) 

The lost photos, but never forgotten memories

This past weekend was amazing, from meeting new people and creating new memories to dancing my life away at Spring awakening music festival in soldier field :)

But this post isn't about the event... you see I took a lot of pictures the first day there with my fish eye film camera and as eager as I was I had to see how they turned out. So I brought them in to get developed a couple days ago along with some other previous rolls of film

After making a phone call and showing up to see how my photos turned out, I showed up only to find out that two of the four rolls of film didn't come out.... the photos from Spring Awakening were gone....I still had a few photos from some friends who took the easy route (probably the route one I should've taken) in bringing their digital camera and I was unfortunately out of luck

After getting home and taking the time to look at the photos that did make it I found memories..... but not just any memories, they were the ones from spring break in California and coming to realize that I forgot to write the LAST CALIFORNIA POST from Lake Havasu Arizona

One picture after another, I was being taken back to in time to Cali where I made new friends and had the greatest time

although I still remember the details to spring break with Kara and her.... adventures in the porta potty,  Saras randomness, Taylor on the balcony.... and last but certainly NOT least Mego...

I decided to keep the details between the people who actually went and took place in the shenanigans

This may have not been Las Vegas, but whatever happened in Lake Havasu, Stays in Lake Havasu.

here's a glimpse of the last few days of spring break in California

Thanks to everyone I met while down in California I had the greatest time after a rough time in the past and I wouldn't have changed a thing. 

And thanks Megan for not only the invite to the awesome state of California, but for being a great friend.... even though I still want my running shoes

till then, much love Cali, see you soon! 

The Headshot || The Model

having conversations with myself is what I do and sometimes when I listen to myself, I get some pretty awesome results! 

"how do I go about getting people to check out my page.... well I gotta promote it first of all....how do I do that?"

*logging on to facebook*

Me- "looking for anyone who would be interested in being photographed! message me on this facebook page for more information!!"

within a half hour I got over 10 people getting in contact with me! what were the chances of it being THAT easy. next thing you know I'm meeting up with one of my close friends and old teammates, Raf, from high school this morning for a promotional photo shoot! 

At first I was pretty nervous because I was concerned.... I was worried that I wasn't gonna be good enough or that my equipment wasn't enough because I didn't have the flashes and soft boxes to assist in the shoot, but after doing research and more and more learning, I stumbled upon this old video I watched about getting the perfect headshot. 

what did I gather from it? 

-its not about the equipment (surprise surprise)

-use your surroundings to your advantage

-put yourself in their shoes, tell them to breathe and stay calm, its a photo, not life or death

-its NOT the models job to create the photo, it's the photographers job! 

-its what I say and do in the situation to get the photo I want

-to get the shot you want, remember to guide the eyes, the shoulders, the eyebrows, and the mouth 

 -have fun

After feeling confident about it, Raf and me set off at 7am to the forest preserve. dressed to impress he was ready to go. After getting the settings right in my camera, we began taking shots and right away I noticed he was nervous, tense, and not comfortable. 

Me- "Raf, Breathe! It's okay, we're just taking some pictures"

Something as simple as that seriously caused a 180 turn for the best. Right away he was breathing, laughing and definitely more calm.

We kept walking and taking photos and guiding him through the motions of the shots I wanted, but a long with that I asked him what he preferred, more natural pictures, one of him smiling or more of a serious look. After agreeing that he was a fan of the serious look and I was a fan of the natural "life style", my goal was to meet both our views, and this is what we ended up with! 

By the time we were finishing up the shoot, Raf was confident, comfortable..... and getting hot (since the sun was coming out more) so we finished up the shoot with one last pose. 

When the pose was developing, everything from the mouth, the eyes, and the shoulders were lined up to his figure. I finally told him to lift one eyebrow slightly. After having him hold the look, I took multiple shots from different angles and this is what we got! 

I don't know about you folks, but I personally noticed a huge difference between the first shot I got of him at the very beginning and the last three of the day. Notice how something as simple as an eyebrow gesture can cause a dramatic photo change.

In the end Raf became a confident model (given that this was his first time) and I give him props for putting up with my goofyness so early in the morning! 

"Calvin Klein has nothing on us"

And that's a rap! 

Until tomorrow, Happy Friday everyone! 

Summer School and Awakening

After making it through my birthday AND even more importantly surviving finals at DePaul, I was SO happy to give my brain a rest for the summer!!! 

......only to find out that I was approved to take summer school *enter crying face*

It's okay though, because if I didn't end up taking these classes I would have been going to a "fake graduation" in the Spring of 2014 graduating in June and coming back to take those last couple classes. 

WHO DOES THAT! so of course I'm suffering now, for a good cause of course

BUT ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

After meeting amazing people and weeks of planning and of course a little luck in the world (with winning free tickets), me and some awesome friends doing the disney college program are meeting up for SPRING AWAKENING in Chicago this weekend :D 

"what's spring awakening ethan?" 

ONLY THE BIGGEST DANCE MUSIC FESTIVAL CHICAGO HAS SEEN

alright alright I don't know if its the BIGGEST its ever seen but knowing I'll see DJs and Artist like:

Skrillex

Afrojack

Flux Pavilion 

Hardwell

Benny Benassi

Carl Cox

Laidback Luke

Wolfgang Gartner

R3hab

Moby

Datsik

NERVO

Just to name a FEW!

what better way to meet future co workers then to start off with a music festival ;)