Updates: It seems like an eternity..

..Since I last put together a blogpost. April was pretty busy and as I sat at my desk a few minutes ago planning out some blogpost topics to write out and publish over the next few days, I realized a general summary of my latest activities was in order.

Volunteering is the Mother of Invention

I think volunteerism is one of the ways in which photographers can have the greatest impact on their community, surroundings and audience. A couple years ago, I volunteered my buddening event photography skills in support of a fundraising gala hosted by Action Africa, a local non-profit that was closely associated with a friend of mine. The event took place in a perfect location overlooking Washington, DC and a number of friends were in attendance so it was a pretty great night.

Like a number of non-profits and NGOs working in Africa, Action Africa serves the rural populations of Sierra Leone and Nigeria in a variety of ways, including facilitating the delivery of medical and school supplies, provision of micro-loans for small enterprises, sponsoring students, etc. But it was throughout the dinner that I learned of what differentiates Action Africa from a number of other organizations that conduct similar work; Action Africa employs a number of key representatives on the ground level of the communities that are served by its work who ensure that the donated goods reach their intended recipients.

The Last Two Weeks, Today

What an absolutely amazing two weeks.

Over the past few days I have; hosted a fundraiser in support of Action Africa's efforts to send a 40ft container of medical supplies to Sierra Leone. Highlights include my friend donating his locks of hair for the cause;

"Chomp" - Special Thanks to @wiseowlclub for the buzz

Organized a viewing of the street photography documentary "Everybody Street" at The Leica Store DC and photographed a great night of awareness for Jennifer Tress's #NotPrettyEnough project;

Jennifer Tress with her panel 

Took some photos of one of the best Story League shows at Busboys and Poets I have seen;

Made a few portraits of my amazing friend Jamie Corley;

Joined a band (first show is September 5th at The Pinch!) and shot some very special rolls of TMAX400 at muralist/artist Eric B's going away party.

Edy Blu performs with some keys

Oh yea, and I quit my day job of the past four (4) years. An eternity in young professional terms. I had the chance to work with some great people in order to deliver practical training courses to government representatives from a diverse collection of emerging market countries. I traveled to Africa a few times and learned A LOT about an unquantifiable number of things, but it's time. Time to start devoting more energy towards photography and collaboration with likeminded folks similar to those listed at the top of this post, and most importantly, work for myself.

I will cherish so many memories from that job though:

Up until this point my life has been a constant experiment and I can't wait to see what the odd-ball variables of running my own business has in store for me.

YIKES!