My 2018 Playlist

2018 has been one hell of a year, hasn't it? Antho and I packed our vehicles up and drove from the bottom Southwest corner of the state of Nevada all the way up to the northern corner of Washington state, a trek that took us the better part of three days and covered over 1,200 miles! There was that stop in Merril, Oregon, where I thought my transmission finally clunked out on me only to discover she was just dehydrated... Before that, there was that bright, cold morning in Reno, Nevada, where we awoke to find wild horses grazing not far from our temporary campsite. We took a side trek out to Mesquite, also in Nevada, during the spring so I could draw a graduating class of high school seniors, and then the extended journey out to St George...  We saw goats, and Gila monsters, lions and tigers and dolphins! There were photoshoots at Valley of Fire, Mount Charleston, and at home! We went to the China Lights Festival and the Intergalactic Art Car show, among many other things! Like I said, it's been one hell of a year.

There were some real ups and downs along the way too, but that's the nature of life. So it goes. One thing that remains consistent is the need for music, to help power us through. You can't spend three full days driving without something to listen to, right?! While I'm generally more than happy to listen to endless hours of the Mysterious Universe podcast, to get my fix of paranormal stories and Aussie sass, I have to admit that it was a great gift when Antho upgraded us to the Spotify Premium family plan. This is NOT a sponsored post- I just really appreciate how much Spotify has helped open up my listening experience. I'm definitely one of those people who can fall into a hard rut with music, listening to the same 5 songs for weeks until I burn myself out so utterly and completely that I force myself to forget the song exists until I end up stumbling upon it sometime later in a playlist, like the handy one Spotify compiled for me of my top 100 songs of 2018. I used to gather all my favorite songs via music video into a playlist on Youtube, which I'd let play in a background window, but that's growing to be more challenging as Youtube pushes their pay-to-play services more and more. It's a lot of fun to look back and see (or rather, hear) what songs dominated my year. A lot of K-pop is present as I'm still nursing the comedown from living in South Korea and being immersed in it daily... also, K-pop (and J-pop) is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. If I'm having a tough day, it's safe to say that a peppy girl group (or smooth boy band) will perk me right back up. A lot of these songs helped get me through long, slow nights working in the jewelry shop at Harrah's and withstanding profuse rejections from potential customers. Retail sales is a tough gig to be in for me, and it was the job I held throughout the vast majority of the year... I mean, I'm not a hideous specimen of a human, and I can be some measure of charming when I wish to be, but I have a hard time trying to pressure people into buying things that I know they don't really need at prices I personally wouldn't want to pay... I've made comics about this before, man!

But now, here in Seattle, I've found a gig that suits me a lot more on a philosophic and personal level. I'm not going to delve into too many details about it, but suffice it to say I've found a company and form of work that aligns much more closely with my personal values. They're eco-friendly, have pet chickens (and kittens) at the company office, provide acupuncture and yoga classes for their staff, and are flexible enough to allow me time off for a caricature gig when it arises while also paying a living wage. Pretty fricking legit, right? I know I can't complain!

So, here's to 2019!

I'm excited to see what new opportunities and challenges come our way in this new year. While we still have a few weeks yet to wrap up this year, I've been preparing for 2019 for a few weeks already...

💘

XOXO,

NAU 

Vegas: Summer Nights and nostalgia part 2

 Black and white photos always tend to have a nostalgic sort of feel to them,don't they? Given our technological advancements and high-def camera phones occupying most of our pockets, it's good to remember that we've come quite a long way in the field of photography. Now we have fancy high-definition cameras capable of recreating nostalgic, old-timey portraits through filters and various back-end settings and enhancements! Back in the early days, your ONLY option was to stand in one place grimacing and hoping that you didn't blink and ruin your grainy capture. Given that these months mark the final few we intend to reside here in Las Vegas, Antho's choice to shoot in black and white seems especially fitting given its nostalgic connations. As much as I opine and lament the heat and consumption that rule this city, it will always hold some special sort of place in my heart because it was my home for so much of my life. I was even born here, in this city, one hot fetid night riding the coat-tails at the end of summer. Over the years I've watched the city grow and evolve, and I'm ready to close the book on it. 

Of course, one of the best things about books is that you can always revisit them, and if you're the author or someone who's opinion holds some sort of merit pertinent to the material, you can always add an epilogue, too. I've absolutely no doubts we'll be visiting this place again in the future when the city has evolved further in its endless quest for relevancy and temptation and surprises us with all new growths and developments. One out of the multitudes of reasons why I look to leave this city is this endless pursuit of growth- it's like an amoeba, expanding its feverish flagella into the expanse of desert surrounding it, consuming remorselessly from the fleeting resources nearby. Nevada and surrounding desert communities are already growing perilously close to the edge of our water-reserves, which could lead to pronounced difficulties going forward as the city keeps growing, and growing, and growing. Cost of living is going to soar as more people move from California to support their team (we're getting the Raiders, in case you haven't heard) and the population booms in directly inverse proportions to the resources available...this seems an inherently bad idea, to me. 

But, I digress. I'm no city planner, and as the city grows and expands, so too perhaps will its financial resources and the ability to spread it's tendrils farther to secure its future resources. I don't particularly care to stay and ride out the storm, though, as I expect it won't be easy. Like countless generations before my own, I'm striving out in search of the American dream, opportunity, and better weather.

So, this nostalgia seems fitting. I'm grateful for Antho's foresight to utilise the black and white setting on my camera to capture these, and I hope you enjoy.

Cheers. 

NSFW Bodyimage project with Marshall Bradford

Note: This post was originally written back in February 2016, but I removed it. I've chosen to share it once again because I think it's worth commemorating, regardless of how (ironically) insecure it might make me feel. 

Antho and I recently did a photoshoot with local photographer Marshall Bradford as part of his Bodyimage project. No photoshop, just us. He's done quite an extensive series now with a cornucopia of shapes, sizes and styles so we felt comfortable volunteering for it. While I doubt I'll ever feel 100% comfortable prancing around in the buff, it was a fun adventure and I'm glad we did it! 

Rather than try to awkwardly word my way around it, I'll include Marshall's statement about the project as he wrote it:

"Image is everything. If you don't look like the media tells you to you will never make it in the world. Forget about finding love and happiness. That's what the pretty people get.

Or that's what we are told. I don't really feel that way. As a photographer in Las Vegas I have shot my share of high polish perfect modeling photos and I'm not saying I won't shoot stuff like that in the future. I am also an artist and to that end I have the need to try new things with my art. 

My thought with this project I wanted to show what we really look like. I wanted to photograph people simply being themselves and being proud of that. People should love how they look and love themselves first. No matter the way you look you should remember that your happiness comes from within. That's the goal of this work. To allow the subjects own beauty to show. I have learned a lot starting this project and I'm excited to see where it leads me to. 

The project is simple. Straight nude portraits and body scapes of anyone who wants to volunteer. I won't be telling you how to pose or nudge the shoot in any particular direction. My goal is just to let you be you. That's going to be the hardest part for me. All my training is telling me to control the shoot to get the look I'm going for.  

In this world of photo editing and "fix it in post" mentality theses are going to be as close to pure as I can get them. Shot and edited for black and white then done. I'm not shooting theses in B/W only because I want a certain tonal range.  

If you would like to be a part of this please message me and let's set up a day to shoot. I'll be working on this for the next few months. At first I thought this would be a quick project because I wouldn't get a enough interest from people. I thought I get a few and that it would be it. I am extremely excited at the response I have gotten and the number of people willing to come along with me on this journey. Its been amazing and I can't wait to see where it goes. 

Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to be a part. It's a very brave thing to allow the world to see you as you really are. I could have not done any of this work with the trust my friends place in me. I'm on honored to be able to photograph the subjects in this project. 

Marshall"

Without further ado, here are some of the photos:

My absolute favourite!

Antho in a nutshell.