On Returning
You always had this in your plan, didn’t you?
They say the grass is always greener on the other side.
SonShine week was always the most-anticipated week of my year growing up. A local community centre ran the week-long program of events in my village. The purpose was simple: Love the village. Bless the community. Get to know the community.
It was powerful; the experience of love instead of judgement.
It transformed me. My experiences during those times, of being on teams working alongside friends and strangers, changed my perceptions of this place.
Then came my escape route: university.
Glasgow scared me to start with. My first week there was a challenge; a country bumpkin adapting to the fast-paced city life.
Now I can’t imagine living without it.
And here I am. Back with my parents. Back in the countryside.
This is the last place I ever thought I’d be again.
This was always in your plan.
Coming back.
Everything’s the same, but it’s not.
People move on. I moved on. Regulars change.
Friends get married. Have kids. Move away.
I’m different too. My perspective is different.
Same streets, so familiar.
Same people, but we’re all so different now.
They say the grass is always greener on the other side.
Super Saturday
Most excited about this game, obviously…
v 
I had a blast at Murrayfield last year watching this game, would love to be at Croke Park today.
Hello Again
I’ve missed you.
I’m sorry I’ve been a lax blogger. Will you still be my friend?
I moved country a few weeks ago. Northern Ireland is slowly infiltrating my mindset again.
I’m thinking about how I translate my experiences in the city (Glasgow) to my current reality in the countryside (with my parents).
I feel like I’ve been in a very dry season creatively.
Moving to Glasgow unstopped something in me.
Moving back, the challenge is to not let that blockage happen again.
I keep coming back to something Blaine (I think?) said: What am I creating that’s just for me?
In that vein, I’ve been redecorating my bedroom.
I’m living in what was my youngest brothers bedroom, and the redecoration process has actually been so good for my soul.
There’s something so beautiful about having a blank canvas.
What do you see?
Here are some other things inspiring me in this season, in no particular order…
A talk on doing what you love by Gary Vaynerchuk.
Story by Robert McKee.
View From The Obel
Had the privilege of shooting at the Obel Tower in Belfast on Thursday, where Bluestone Film were shooting a promotional piece for the Electrical Training Trust. When completed, the Obel Tower will be the tallest building in Ireland, standing just over 85m high. The light was beautiful early in the morning, and I captured a few shots over the city.
Lyrics On Friday
Well, not really lyrics, because I can’t find them online. But I am loving this song lately – Rend Collective Experiment are rocking my world. Love the feel of the video as well, really nicely made film!
AB Distributors
I know I’ve been terribly lax in filling you all in on the details of my move back to Northern Ireland – please forgive me! Over the last few months I’ve been dialoguing with Rob Bryce about finding a way to work together under the auspices of his film production company, Blue Stone Film, where I’ll get a chance to use my photography & social media skills. We’re still figuring it all out, but suffice to say I am loving it so far!
It’s coming together slowly, but I moved back last week and jumped straight into work! We were involved in a shoot for AB Distributors last week, who held a very swanky event for their clients at the Baby Grand in Belfast. With the aid of a little drama and a lot of humour, AB Distributors joined their clients in looking at best practices and how to show off their excellent products.
Stay tuned for further updates…!
Claustrophobia Is A Very Long Word
A mix I made for one of my best friends, which is serving as excellent music to work to.
Music To Rock Your World
Sorry the blog has been so quiet lately – it’s been a bit of a crazy couple of weeks. I moved back to Northern Ireland on Tuesday, so had a very full few days of enjoying Glasgow and my friends there, before diving straight into work.
No lyrics today, but I thought I’d share a few of the albums I’ve been listening to lately….
Butch Walker – Leavin’ The Game On Luckie Street
Carlos Whittaker – EP
Nathan Jess – O Rescued Ones
Lyrics On Friday On Saturday
Carlos Whitakker’s EP is FINALLY on iTunes UK… you will want to pick this EP up, seriously – it’s great. I can now stop listening to the chorus of this on repeat on Los’ website, and listen to it in it’s entirety. I love the chorus, the audacity of it, the trust… I long to sing those words honestly.
We fix our eyes on You, You are God alone
We fix our eyes on You, You’re our only hope
For all we have to lose is our very soulsSave us from these comforts
Break us of our need for the familiar
Spare us any joy that’s not of You
And we will worship You
Yeah, we will worship YouSatisfy us, Lord, in Your unfailing love
Satisfy us, Lord, that You would be enough
We have nothing here, let Your kingdom come[We Will Worship You - Carlos Whitakker]
inDesign
Learning how to use this bad boy today. Using it to design a wedding album, have been told the best way to learn the software is to set myself a project. So here goes!