I'm such a slacker....

I apologize for the long absence and radio silence on my part. Things have been super crazy since my last post. Many shows have been photographed. Life had dealt many good and bad things a like. I found love, lost it, and currently working on finding it again. I lost a great deal of myself and am working on refinding myself and getting back to the things that are most important to me. Spending time with friends and family, working on my photography career so that i don't have to continue working at Wendy's forever. I love the people I work with but I just can't stay there forever. It's draining and doesn't pay near enough for the bills I have to pay and the trips and shoots I have planned.

Thankfully things are starting to pick back up again. I've been shooting a lot more and recently started working on a podcast and doing shoots and interviews for that. It's been a great deal of fun. And I cant' wait to see what it leads to in the future.

lets see...since my last post I've shot many shows the most recent one was Mindless Self Indulgence (MSI). With everything I've been dealing with lately seeing them perform with all that energy and angst and rage in their music really allowed me to get out of my head and focus on me and just enjoying myself. Even was able to meet the band after the show. I have to admit I had a fangirl moment when meeting Mrs. Lynz Way. She was super sweet and meeting her was just icing on the cake. :)

I'm still shooting for AMG...though I don't know for how much longer. Due to recent things that have happened. I was suppose to have gotten the pass for MSI through them, but they gave my pass to another photographer. Luckily I know someone who has their own music publication site and he managed to get me a pass through his site. It really pays to know people and have friends who are into all sorts of different things. The same friend is going to help me create my own music publication...that I'm currently in talks with him and getting everything I need to set that up. I'm ready to take my career into my own hands and be the one in charge of getting my own  passes and everything. I'm tired of depending on someone else to do it and being left disappointed because I was either passed over or my pass was given to someone else. bleh.

anywho, that's about it. Will try and keep this thing up to date. and will later post the photos from my experience of meeting the MSI crew. :) take care!

~R

UPDATES...

Since my last post many things have happened. I started shooting part time with the Atlanta Music Guide shooting concerts. In November I shot "The Raconteurs" at the Tabernacle. In December I shot "Dir En Grey" and "The Birthday Massacre". And just a few days ago shot "Emilie Autumn" at The Loft. Each was a great experience and I highly enjoyed each one. Well not so much The Raconteurs shoot mainly because it was a sound board shoot and I'm fairly short and there was so many tall people between me and the stage so I was shooting blind. But I learned a few things and finally got to see Jack White so it was well worth it. :)

The Emilie Autumn show was an experience. It was the first show I'd ever been to where they threw cupcakes at the audience. It was entertaining and fun. Victorian and Theatrical. I can't wait to see her live again.

WIP...

Working on a tumblr account for a daily photo blog. Will likely be adding a few photos to catch up with the month of Aug. Then gonna try and get that sent out to everyone I know that has a Tumblr. (I honestly don't like the site but it's a great marketing and networking tool. So there ya go...

Saturday I'll be heading out to Toccoa to shoot ringside at SWA Wrestling. Really looking forward to it. I use to photograph the guys of the FWF a while back and have since been missing shooting ringside so one of the wrestlers is hooking me up and getting me in. Then on the 20th I'm suppose to be going with another friend to do another wrestling gig in Norcross...I'm hoping I have the money for that one. It's going to really boost my experience and expand my portfolio.

Terrible Loss...RIP Robert C. Steenburg

July 28th 2011 at around 11pm a good friend of mine was driving on his moped and was hit from behind by another vehicle. The driver, who had been texting while driving, of the vehicle ran over him and drug him for several feet. My friend was then picked up and flown in, via helicopter, to Greenville Hospital. They placed him in ICU and did numerous tests. My sister and I recieved the news of this horrific accident around 3pm on Friday, all we were told at the time was that he was in ICU and the doctors were saying there was nothing they could do for him. My dad got home and we all drove up to South Carolina to be there for him. We arrived just around 7:30pm and sat with a large group of his friends and family waiting for news. It is with great sorrow that I say that at 8pm my friend passed away from a head injury he had sustained during the accident.After filling out paperwork the family gave permission for them to allow all of us to go in and see him. Going back into the hospital ICU ward will always be part comfort/part regret. I have lost many friends over the years but never have I been at the hospital when one passed away, nor had I ever seen their body only a hour after they'd gone. Seeing him lying there covered in bandages and hooked to all those machines, completely broken...will haunt me for the rest of my life. But I am grateful to have had the chance to say goodbye.

Nearly a week has passed already and I'm still in a bit of shock. I still can't believe he's gone. But I know he's in a better place. He's no longer suffering and for that I am happy. The next night, the SWA in Toccoa, Ga. held their fan appreciation night, and paid tribute to his memory as both a wrestler and himself. It was very touching filled with lovely photos and even video clips from some of his tag team matches with his partner Venemous. During the show each wrestler within the areana said a few words about him and just before the show they did a ten bell salute to him with the other gathered kneeling next to the ring.
Today, on this 4th day of August a lovely service was held to honor and celebrate his life. Robert touched so many people and made so many friends that the place was packed out. Not a single seat in the place was left empty and there was even people gathered outside the chapel in the lobby standing. Not long after returning home from the hospital I sat down and worked for eight hours creating something to honor his memory..for several days it has been my profile photo on facebook and a few people have actually borrowed it to use as theirs. When I went into the chapel today that photo I had created was part of a collage of photos they had put together to stand next to his closed coffin. Then later I found that they had even printed copies of it to hand out to family. Normally I would be furious that people had taken my work without permission..but this...I couldn't help but to feel touched and happy that they thought so much of my work that they would do this. They even gave ME a copy of it and his mother hugged me and thanked me for creating it to honor her sons memory. I was absolutely speechless. I felt proud of myself for unknowingly helping them in some way with that piece.

Robert was one of the happiest people I've ever met. He cared about his friends and family and did everything he could to try and help. He had a big heart and loved all his friends and family dearly. He lived for god and had a huge passion for wrestling. He worked really hard taking on countless hours at his work, I was honestly surprised he had the time to even train to be a wrestler, but somehow he managed. Though I am very saddened for this loss, his death was not in vain. For you see, he was an organ donor and now six people have been given the chance to live their lives and be with their friends and family. =] I am so very blessed to have been able to call him a friend, to have known him. I'll never forget the times we had, the laughs we shared, or the memories we made. I'll cherish them and think of him often and carry his memory with me and try to be the best person I can to honor that memory.

RIP Robert C. Steenburg <\3
You'll never be forgotten, my friend.