Strangely so, I think, because we’re so radically different. Yin and Yang I suppose. I’m all about controlling my environment, he’s all about going with the flow. I have a hard time letting go of precise planning, while he lets things evolve however they will.

So my first struggle with him when trying to setup this shoot was pinning down what exactly we were gonna do.

Me: “What defines you, Jerramy?”
Jerramy: “Living life, filling it with love and dreaming.”
Me: “Dude, I can’t shoot that…”

Love, for example, simply as a concept, is too broad and abstract to capture in an image. I shoot the consequence of love when I shoot a couple, I shoot the expression of love with a kiss or hands clasped together, but I can’t shoot love. And I can’t shoot life. And I can’t shoot dreams.

So I kept trying and trying to pin down something tangible to shoot. This proved to be very difficult with him. We did come up with some ideas, but nothing I was crazy about.

So when I decided to meet him by a park, still without a solid plan I felt confident about, I called…

Me: “Hey where are you?”
Jerramy: “I’m in the north parking lot. I’m sitting on the curb next to my car, playing my guitar.”
Me: “Don’t move!! This is you!! This is our shoot!!”

Screw the park; we shot this in the parking lot instead! And this is my best representation of Jerramy. Easy-going, filled with hopes and dreams, and loving life however it comes at him

Oh and here’s the NURF Wars poster Jerramy was the star of. See? It’s making SOME progress! And yes, the “One Man. One Last Job. Lots of NERF Guns.” tag line is obviously meant as a joke. Otherwise I think it would mean I’m currently stuck in the 80s.

I broke someone else’s hard drive… (iPhone photo)

Well ok, not really. This one was defective. It refused to stay on. The USB cable seemed to fit kind of loosely since it was purchased and it would turn off randomly. Per the advice of a tech guy, I opened the enclosure containing the portable hard drive to see if it would help it stay on.

It didn’t.

I found myself having to push the cable in and twist it clockwise, HARD, and then hold the USB cable in that position to keep the hard drive on. If I flinched, it would turn off. It’s hard to operate a computer when both your hands are busy pushing and twisting a cable…

Refund please!!

In other news…

Day 275/365

My replacement monitor just got here a few minutes ago!! Here’s to hoping that it’s not defective too (iPhone photo)

Just three more big boxes and I’ll finally be able to call jaws of life to pry me out of my basement!

For those of you just tuning in, on January 12th of this year, I started a project wherein I would shoot a picture a day, every single day for a year.

So far, I forgot to shoot on a day and added that to my tab, I accidentally deleted the pictures I took for one of the other days, and I’ve found myself taking some decent shots that without this project I would not have bothered to try taking in the first place.

So uh… wonderful learning experience… journey of a lifetime… eye-opening project… all that cheesy crap.

But the reality is still that I’m struggling with this, and have been for some time. I distinctly remember thinking, very soon after starting the project, “Uhh… I’m out of ideas…”.

That was in February.

But unless something significant prevents me from it, I always finish what I started, and this (not so) little personal project is no exception.

Oh I should mention before posting these that my computer screen died on me late on Saturday night. That certainly adds to the fun for a visual artist huh! It was really weird seeing my desk without the monitor there.

You know what I should have done that night though? Call up and invite a whole bunch of people to watch me edit my photography, tell ‘em it’s really important and they just have to make it, and then when they get here, they can just stare in shock as I “edit” my work and exclaim “Oh man check out how beautiful the light is on that one!!”… Without a monitor sitting in front of me. Just an empty space where the screen should be…

That would have gotten me checked into a mental hospital in a big friggin’ hurry!

Thankfully, I didn’t end up in a mental hospital and I recently made friends with an awesome local photographer. Heidi made the trip to my house at about midnight just to bring me a 14″ monitor she had lying around so I could at least have a means to stay connected with my work and the world. A 14″ screen isn’t exactly ideal, in fact, for the most part it’s downright frustrating, but it beats the mental hospital outcome by a mile.

So if you’re reading this, thanks Heidi. I owe you one!

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to in the last little while, photographically speaking.

Day 228/365

Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way
“Born to be Wild” – Steppenwolf

Day 229/365

More wires and skies (iPhone photo)

Day 230/365

Only the beautiful and talented model Dani Jae can thumb wrestle and look fabulous doing it (iPhone photo)

Day 231/365

Death by Black Hole is a really fascinating book (iPhone photo)

Day 232/365

Really wasn’t in a good place that whole week (iPhone photo)

Day 233/365

A good friend’s daughter Trinity for her 1st birthday. I suck with giving kids birthday presents, so I offered to take pictures instead.

Day 234/365

Whenever I find the time, I love to go hang out at Rob Diamond’s Actor’s Lounge. Always gives me some good talent to keep an eye out for when I’m ready to work on new film projects (iPhone photo)

Day 235/365

Fresh perspectives on old themes.

Day 236/365

Seeing the curvature of the lights (iPhone photo)

Day 237/365

Trinity really dug into that cake (iPhone photo)

Day 238/365

The view from your backyard is always nicer than you think (iPhone photo)

Day 239/365

This looks like something Chase Jarvis might have done in one of his daily iPhone photo shoots (iPhone photo)

Day 240/365

Scrounging around to find a picture when I once again didn’t feel like picking up my giant brick of a pro camera, I found that the iPhone had a really strange lens flare through the windows of my bathroom (iPhone photo)

Day 241/365

My skateboard. I should mention that one of the reasons I wanted to pick up skateboarding was simply from a desire to feel what it’s like to glide past the world around me, feeling the wind in my clothes, in my face, all without moving a muscle. On that front, the experience hasn’t disappointed at all (iPhone photo)

Day 242/365

I’m getting more and more requests for shooting at the Salt Flats

Day 243/365

If there are any cops reading this (actually, the groom from day 242 is going to be one), please don’t come looking for me for holding up a camera in my car to take a mediocre picture of an old classic that I don’t know anything about while going slightly faster than the speed limit. Thanks! (iPhone photo)

Day 244/365

More sky, this time without wires

Day 245/365

A rainy day!

Day 246/365

Two things with my good friend Alisha.

1st, the “video” test I did with her just before the real shoot.

Alisha from Raji Barbir on Vimeo.

Then, you can add muscly to the already very long list of adjectives to describe everything Alisha is.

Day 247/365

I cooked something!

Day 248/365

In the morning, I saw this cool light pattern on my basement wall that I’d never seen before then (iPhone photo)

Then in the evening, I decided it was time to unwind to some classical music (iPhone photo)

Day 249/365

The inside of an abandoned car in the field behind my best friend Lisa’s house (iPhone photo)

Day 250/365

Ok I’m sorry… but am I the only one who sees a farting bunny in this one?? (iPhone photo)

Day 251/365

My portable recorder has a full head of hair! I laughed hysterically when I put that windscreen on (iPhone photo)

Day 252/365

Mason wanted to see pictures of himself as I took them (iPhone photo)

Day 253/365

I’m pretty sure this was THE laziest picture day this whole year… We have Apache helicopters buzzing around quite a bit here because of the nearby kinda-sorta military base right down the street. I’ve seen them fly really low. REALLY low. I’ve always wanted to catch one as it hovered down to the ground with civilian cars in the foreground.

But this wasn’t it. This was just plain lazy. Sorry (iPhone photo)

Day 254/365

Had to take a new self-portrait for my listing over at Wonderful Machine. I’m listed in the US under Salt Lake City and then if you filter by specialty I’m listed under Beauty and Fashion.

Anyway, I hate self-portraits… and I’m not crazy about this one… Maybe someone can take one I’ll finally like for longer than 30 seconds.

Day 255/365

I wrote a song. I think I’m going to call it “You Make Me Feel”. For one pair of ears only.

Day 256/365

Heather and Jenny, for a Utah Business Magazine shoot.

Day 257/365

Gliding! (iPhone photo)

Day 258/365

I actually really like this one. I was just wandering around the very empty plaza on Redwood Rd and around 5400 S. on a Sunday, waiting for someone (iPhone photo)

Day 259/365

Patterns in the field (iPhone photo)

Day 260/365

3 good things I did that day.

1st, I made tabouli!! I make good tabouli. Really, I do!

2nd, I took a walk on an incredibly windy day despite the advice not to (iPhone photo)

3rd, I took more pictures of wires in the sky (iPhone photo)

Day 261/365

I love that cake.

And I love the fire-like light on those rings.

Day 262/365

No way out… (iPhone photo)

“Wish You Were Here” (iPhone photo)

Day 263/365

Downtown with Sam & Aileen

The coolest piano ever!

Day 264/365

Mason is slowly taking over my love for skateboarding (iPhone photo)

Day 265/365

I never took a picture of my empty desk with the missing, very smelly (it burned up) and broken screen. This is the 14″ replacement. It makes my speaker monitors (the big ones) look huge. I just got an email telling me that my new screen is getting here on the 7th, assuming FedEx decides it wants to deliver on time.

Day 266/365

LOL!!!

I saw this while walking into the Walmart with my little boy Mason, did a double take and then laughed hysterically. Can you spot the misspelling?