Blue Marilyn Graffiti

 

 

Blue Marilyn Graffiti

Last Thursday was the opening of my first major show! Alongside my friends and fellow photographers, my show Blue Marilyn Graffiti opened December 5th, 2013 at Northern Kentucky University's Main Gallery. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm thankful to everyone who came to support me. This exhibition also featured the work of Colleen Donohoue, Cassie Graves, and Salena McKenzie. A big thank you is owed to David Knight who has been the Gallery Director at NKU for many years.

 

In the coming days, I will be posting images that were featured in my show.

NKU Student Union

Completed in 2008, the James C. and Rachel M. Votruba Student Union is the central hub for most students on campus. About 40 years older is the University Center, built in 1977. 

Significantly more modern and spacious, the SU provides NKU students with a multitude of services including its very own Starbucks, a game room, conference rooms, dining, and a place to come together. The Student Union is also one of the first of NKU's buildings to break from the concrete box design that most of the campus is famous for. 

http://studentunion.nku.edu/

NKU's Welcome Center & Parking Garage

A tough shoot, but some gems emerged.

NKU Fall Color: Salena with Coffee

Before the inevitable winter, when NKU turns into a gray mass of sadness, campus foliage explodes with reds, oranges, and yellows. You can find some truly beautiful places in the Fall.

Nick Nichols

Today, or should I say yesterday now, I got the chance to hear Michael 'Nick' Nichols speak at the Cincinnati Zoo about a few of his projects. His most recent work covers the struggle of African elephants as they fight to survive a constant onslaught by poachers looking to sell their ivory tusks. Moreover, he points out the indifference China has shown in light of the elephant massacres. Ivory is desired by carvers in China to make various objects. Currently, the Chinese government does nothing to decrease/eliminate the sale and purchase of ivory. The current elephant population, in the area that Nick is photographing in his book, is little more than 400 individuals.

I strongly suggest everyone to check out Nichols' book Earth To Sky for a more detailed and heartbreaking look at this tragedy.
This link will take you to his website:
 http://www.michaelnicknichols.com/product/earth-to-sky-pre-order/

Scott High School Eagles

It's been 4 1/2 years since I've attended Scott. I can still remember waiting for the parade to pass on Taylor Mill Road as it made it's way to the homecoming football game. SHS is in the middle of a laundry list of renovations, but it's nice to see that some things haven't changed.

Parking Lot K

NKU is a commuter school. It has about 25 parking lots in total which radiate out from the center of campus. However, many of these lots are only partially paved or completely gravel. After that, you'll come to no-man's-land. In the farthest reaches of the west side parking lots, gravel yields to dead grass before meeting the thickets edge. NKU charges roughly $200 per parking permit.

Above is vantage point from the bridge leading to one of the many parking garages around NKU.

 Griffin Hall (GH) is Northern's newest 53 million dollar darling -- an addition that's approaching its second anniversary coming October 11th. Be sure to grab your party hats! ;)

The colorful, contemporary aesthetic of the Student Union (SU)  and GH show the college moving pleasingly away from the imperviously solid, concrete cubes for which NKU is well known. 

For a short project, I traveled around Newport's Westend over the past two weeks. This area is unique in many ways, but the feature I chose to focus on is the battle small businesses are fighting to just to survive. Superstores are becoming ubiquitous, forcing the small clothing, grocery, and appliance stores to shut down. Amidst the changes the Newport landscape has seen in the past 50 years, pride is a quality that has never left the residents. Newport has changed, its people have not.

Jessica & Jared

Jessie is an old friend, from the good ol' days of high school. She and Jared have been together for a few years now and seem perfect together. I mean, come on, even their names look good side by side.

What Jessie may lack in height, she makes up for in sweetness, and she is easily one of the kindest people I've ever met.

Alyssa (The Girl Between The Leaves)

A bit of a workaholic, Alyssa loves coming home to her personal jungle of plants and flowers. When I asked if I could pose her with some of the lovely elephant leaves by the Fine Arts Building at NKU, she crawled knee deep into the plants and smiled.

Jessalynn

 

Her name is Billie Jo, and I loved shooting her wedding. This was taken at Spring Grove Cemetery and is one of my favorite photos, from any wedding, that I've taken.  

Above is a shot of the Fine Arts Center and Loch Norse at Northern Kentucky University. It's a lovely spot for picnics. :)

A somewhat old picture of myself. :)

I'm a Northern Kentucky photographer currently attending NKU. This blog is a window into the various places I find myself in, and a method for me to share my images. I love making photographs of all kinds, but my interest, as of right now, is primarily in the landscape genre. I welcome everyone to my blog and encourage constructive critiques and comments. Thanks for visiting!