Maybe one of these days I'll have the time or energy to write a new blog. I'm way behind on my yearly birthday blog. But I swear this lack of sleep is really dragging me down..... :( 

To be continued...... eventually! Thanks for checking back!

Until then.... keep smiling!! :)

-Kevin

©Mike Ashcraft

Very short because I'm off to bed here shortly but I just wanted to let everyone know to keep your eyes open. I will have more updates, photos, & blogs very soon!! With August being a very HOT month, I sure do keep busy with my photography. Good things to come though!! I'm doing what I love & collaborating with some amazing people who I'm so thankful to have met over the last couple of years. 

Anyway, hope everyone is good and I'll be in touch very soon with new stuff! Plus I have another birthday coming up on Monday so you'll at least get another birthday blog from me by then. :) 

The last time I went to Pei Wei with my good friend Kyle, my fortune read "Your creativity takes you to great heights." I thought that was very fitting. :) 

To be continued.....

All the best,

-Kevin

I still have a little bit of editing left to do but I'm back to shooting beginning tomorrow! Woohoo!!! I have a number of projects in the making already that I'm very excited about. I'm shooting with the lovely country musician Ashley Adair tomorrow and the amazing versatile model/tattoo artist Lucille Furr on Sunday. 

I'm also going to begin putting together my first photo book soon as well which is kind of overdue. It's always nice to have your work presented in a book and I think I have more than enough material from the last 3 years to fill a book. It's definitely been non-stop for me that's for sure but I've been very thankful for everyone that has supported me along the way. I've worked with so many amazing people and with that I have grown as an artist. It's such a great feeling when people say they can recognize a KevShots photo just by looking at it even though I don't have my name plastered all over the photo. :)

People seem to be shocked at times that I don't have a lot of equipment too. I only have one camera, one lens, and one flash. I've always tried to prove that it's not about the equipment entirely and I've always tried to do as much as possible with as little amount as possible too. It's about knowing the equipment you do have in order to capture that vision. Having the latest & greatest in gear is not always the best option. The best option is learning the fundamentals of photography that's always been there first. And by being limited on options makes you a better artist. ;) 

On a side note: the recent photography & album layout I did for Megan Conner's EP is going to be used as promotion in Discmaker's next month catalog. That's pretty cool since Discmakers is basically the largest & most popular CD duplication service around and I'm sure they get a lot of albums made each month. So it's an honor to have something I've done chosen as one of the few they use to promote their products. With this and the photo of Rachel Williams I did that was presented in Country Music Weekly Magazine, I guess you could say I'm a published artist now. I mean I've had my photos in local newspaper articles in the past but having national publications use my work is what means the most in my opinion. Having your work recognized and used by credible sources without even having to do anything except do the work is a wonderful feeling. I'm sure some would disagree but this feeling means more to me than money. I'm all smiles here...... :)

Anyway, the batteries are charging and I'm almost off to bed. Early morning start for me in order to prepare for a day of shooting. Looking forward to it! I used to be so caught up on planning for a shoot & finding the best locations.... but now I'm a little more relaxed because I know it all works out in the end. When you think about too much then that's when you fail sometimes. Just believe in yourself, relax, and everything will work out! That's what I keep reminding myself at least and I think it's working so far. :)

-Kevin

Ok here I am again! One month later..... 

Hopefully one day I will be able to blog a lot more. I really do love to write but unfortunately there is only so much time in the day! So I do what I can... :) 

This year I've slowly but surely been trying to catch up on photos & projects that were already in the works or from last year before I take on more work or shoots. I hate the feeling of being behind on work or things I want to do. And of course I hate putting people off too. So very soon I will have my slate clean and start shooting again. This time I will take on work a little more slowly so I don't bombard myself. 

At the moment, my Canon 20D camera is at the Canon Factory Service Center getting cleaned and serviced. That camera has seen about 25000 photos so I figured it was about time to do that since I never have. I had heard through some other photographers that sending it to Canon is the best route. I was debating on upgrading to a newer model of camera but I just couldn't justify spending at least another $1000 on a new body. I weighed out the advantages I would have over the money I would spend. The 20D has served me well over the years since I took the plunge into the photography world especially with shooting portraits of people. So I thought at the moment spending $200 to get the 20D refreshed by Canon would be the best economic choice for me. I figured that on down the road if I'm going to spend thousands on a new camera then I might as well get a full frame camera anyway.

All the photos on my site were taken with the 20D and it's only a 8 megapixel camera. So it's not about having the latest & greatest. The tools is only one aspect of photography and it definitely does not state whether you are good or not at the art. It's not about what you have, it's how you use it! ;) And I've tried to do as much as possible with as little amount as possible too. Just think that years ago and some still to this day use film cameras. Some of the greatest photos can be taken with the most cheapest cameras. Hell I can take simulated Polaroid photos on my iPhone with ShakeItPhoto that I just love! It's about capturing the moment and the emotion. It's the simple things that means the most. The technical aspects of a photo is not what's going to make people continue to come back to look at the photo. It's the emotion & story that it conveys. How well a photo portrays someone means a lot.

For a while now I've been running on fumes and I really have to push myself a lot these days due to a sleeping disorder I've had for the past 8 years. I never feel fully rested or feel like I have as much energy as I should. It's been affecting many aspects of my life. But soon I will be seeing another sleep specialist so hopefully we will be able to find me a good solution to better sleep. The sleep disorder stemmed from a brain tumor I found out that I had 8 years ago. We beat the tumor by surgery, the side effect was the sleep issues. But I really can't complain too much. It definitely could have been much worse and I'm making the most of every moment with the little amount of energy I do have. No complaints here because I get to continue to do what I love. :)

I dived back into the photography world head first back in late 2006 with a little band called Lady Antebellum. This was way before they were the award winning touring artist they are today. But they believed in me and encouraged me to push ahead with what I do. I'm definitely grateful for that. Concert photography was just the beginning until late 2007 when an artist by the name of Megan Conner took a chance with me and I started into the world of promotional portrait photography for musicians. Since then I've had a chance to work with many musicians and I have acquired friends because of it. It's really been a great ride. The photography I did lead me to doing graphic design work in the form of posters, website banners, and album layouts. I've completed 3 album layouts this year alone along with a poster or two. Through out this blog I will insert some of the work I've done lately when it comes to this. Just recently I completed an album layout & photo shoot for Megan that I'm kind of proud of. It's been a long time coming for her and I definitely share the excitement with her. It's great when you can have long term working relationships with people. 

Last year I ventured into the model world and thought out of the box a little bit. I had a chance to work with a handful of great models. It was a lot of fun because it was very freeing for me since I was working with other creative people who were only out to create something special too. So I definitely intend to continue working with models this year along with the musicians I have working relationships with. I think the mix in the different types of photography not only helps be in being a better photographer but it makes it a lot more exciting because of the differences too. In order to become a better photographer you've got to take the steps to do something you normally wouldn't do. Not only does it give you more nerve & confidence, it gives you experience as well. Time, experience, and having an open mind is what makes a great photographer. Not the equipment. Of course better equipment is nice and can help but only if you're already experienced in knowing how to use it to the best of it's ability. Otherwise it is wasted money.

By having the courage & confidence and getting out there in the scene back in 2006 has made me the photographer I am today. No one taught me and I never went to school for it. It was all up to me to decide on what I wanted to teach myself. And I'm still learning to this day. The best feeling to me is when I see an artist improve over the time I've known them. That means they are listening to themselves and the people around them. It's the ones who don't listen that never improve. You're only going to get out of something by what you put into it. As they old saying goes "The Proof is in the Pudding". 

Well I have already written over 1200 words now so I guess I better bring this to a close. Forgive me if I rambled too much or I said things that I've already said in the past. Expect more from me very soon whether it be with website updates, photography, or design work. I'm still going as strong as ever and I'm very grateful for all the opportunities that come my way!

To be continued as always..... :)

All the best,

-Kevin

Hey everyone!

I'm starting to write this blog while sitting at the Nashville airport. I'm leaving on a jet plane to Tampa! I'm so looking forward to getting away for a bit. I'm actually going to see my good friend Michelle that I haven't seen in a little over 10 years! Looking forward to catching up. A lot has happened in both of our lives over the years and we've matured a little too.

Anyway, I'm slowly but surely getting back on track with my life and my photography. A lot of the pressure is starting to lift which is a good feeling. Last year I got a little overwhelmed with everything. I'm always pushing myself and wanting to do so much but unfortunately I can't do it all when I would like to so it stresses me out at times. Over the last couple of years I've been shooting more than I've been editing & releasing photos so that was weighing heavy on me. I love doing both but there needs to be balance especially since I work the day job as well. So I decided to take a step back from shooting and catch up on what I already have on my plate along with other life projects before I really shoot again. It will be more fun to shoot again without the pressure of existing projects and hopefully I can stay ahead too. Plus I know people would like to have their photos too! So I appreciate everyone who has been so patient with me. ;)

So that's a little more insight with what's been going on with me! Life is good and I can't complain too much. I'm making the most of it as always. This little trip to Florida is really going to help I think. So hopefully I will come back refreshed and ready to take on the world again! :) Expect more from KevShots in the very near future!!

Life is what you make it!

Always smiling...
-Kevin