Or whatever 2Chainz said on that one Drake song…So now that I got my introductory post out of the way, you know I gotta get to my bread & butter--pushing pictures (sorry i had to).

Theres no such thing as a bad photo, it’s either interesting or not

-nilknahs

This is a quote I often repeat to myself whenever I feel like I am thinking too much about a photo. Every now and again, I get into this super finicky mindset that gets in the way of progress. Whenever I feel this way I have to take a break from whatever I’m creating and come back to it later. A lot of the photos I’ve taken & collected over the years are the outcome of that ‘taking a step back’ mentality. Why is this interesting? What am I saying? Who am I talking to? These questions are vital to my approach, but sometimes they get in the way when I want to freely create & experiment. Leading me back to my original point---is it interesting or nah?

For me, seeing photos in a collection creates a better end experience. The selection of pictures a photographer curates is extremely important. Individually, each picture can have a voice, but together they tell a story.

I decided to start my project with 12 photos from my archive. These 12 photos are a small window into my story interesting to me.

token_id_1

I took this picture the day I decided to start this project. It was a simple thought, “what if I could archive, rank, and trade my photos like trading cards”? After finally telling myself I can do it (listening to Kanye will make you believe in yourself) I needed to take a photo as proof. Proof that this is a concept that I am willing to explore and execute. Proof that I am willing to bet on myself.

token_id_2

This photo is the reason why I even take photos. The photoception if you will (i might’ve just coined that phrase just now). One day I was rummaging through old photos and found this. I love seeing old pics from back in the day. Finding old pics is like playing a RPG and finding a rare memory stone lol. This stone is priceless.

token_id_3

Hitting the scene in Atlanta during the Department Store Era was a site to see. You never know who you could run into. It was always a fun time going to Edgewood and seeing what’s up with Department Store. The Department Store is an iconic venue in Atlanta where everyone went to perform & party. You could easily walk in one night and see the most random people.

token_id_4

Eating collard greens & black eyed peas on NYE is a southern tradition. Maybe even a life tradition. Let me stop I’m just rambling---but I do know it’s a tradition amongst black people. How did this tradition start? No clue. But when grandma says to eat ‘em on NYE to manifest wealth & prosperity. You do it.

token_id_5

I went to the women’s march in D.C. and it was pretty sick. I think this might’ve been one of my first marches? Regardless, it was awesome seeing everyone flooding the streets. I went with my sister and we were just walking around with a variety of people. As we were shuffling out of the crowd, I saw this very poised older black woman standing tall & proud holding her fist in the air. We caught eyes. I took a pic. Then kept it moving. She looked so cool.

token_id_6

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear ________. Happy Birthday to you!

token_id_7

Walking around my college campus early in the morning was something I used to always do to challenge myself. It was a challenge because I wanted to try to find interesting things in regular degular ass shit. At least that’s how I felt at times. With all this regular degular ass shit, how can I see beyond what’s in front of me?

Regular degular everywhere, and not a drop to drink

-Cardi B (don’t quote me)

token_id_8

For the longest time I thought eating carrots did something for your eyes. The other day I watched a video on the internet that might’ve debunked that entire theory. With that said, I’m still gonna eat my carrots. That’s all folks.

token_id_9

I forget where this was taken, but yea.

token_id_10

You Are What You Eat

token_id_11

Come one! Come all! Look no further! Behold future aliens historians, this is the 21st century concert experience.

token_id_12

Hang on. Let me Google that one David Bowie quote about rap music. Brb.

Well, that’s it. Those are the 12 photos I decided to start off with. I probably won’t go in depth like this with all of my photos I post (i like leaving things open to interpretation) but I figured this one was kinda needed.

If you scrolled this far I super appreciate you.

See ya later. Until next time.