Raphsodic Bakery

A little over a year ago my wife and I were looking to move to Orlando. We spent tons of time driving around downtown, looking everywhere for a place to live. We found a little house in colonial town, dialed the number on the sign, and said we were interested in seeing the space. The property manager said he would be there in an hour. We had time to kill and decided to visit a bakery we had recently noticed on Mills. 

This bakery happened to be both Vegan and Gluten Free and all around, AWESOME. The coffee was from a small roaster in Clermont and all the baked goods were made in house. 

We ended up moving in to the house we looked at and several days later I went back to use the wifi. I had hours worth of work and the staff was gracious enough to let me occupy a table and suck up their bandwidth. 

Its been awhile since I'd been back, but when I heard they were closing a few weeks ago I had to make sure to stop in and say my goodbyes. 

We went on Thursday this past week and then I came back again at open on Friday with my camera. From the moment the doors opened there was a line. People were waiting to get in and get their last fix. Some customers even brought gifts. 

The staff was upbeat, and Katie the owner, while noticeably tired from a long week of preparation for the final day was filled with light and joy, making sure to smile and let every customer know that she was truly thankful for each and every person who came in supported the shop for the last five years. 

The mills 50 district and might I say, Orlando, lost a really great part of its food community, but heart of the business and the people in it won't be forgotten. 

Thank you Katie for loving this community and being intent on doing things well and always serving up good things. I wish you the best of luck and hope our paths cross again in the future! 

New York Times Staff Party Stencil by SKIP

My friend Skip was recently hired by Ocean Prime in Dr. Phillips to stencil a logo on to a dessert for the New York Time's yearly staff party. I was asked to document the stenciling for future marketing and promotion.

Here is what we came up with. 

For Today - Back Booth - 10/8/15

About 5 years ago, when I was moving to Seattle my friend Tyler gave me a cd filled with songs from his favorite bands. The first band was For Today. I had never heard anything quite like it. The first track was almost something like that of a spoken word poet - and then all hell broke loose and I heard more metal than I'd ever heard before.  

They recently released a new record and I had the chance to see them play live last night and take some photos. This was one of the most difficult shows I've ever shot. The room was PACKED. The venue was dark and the lighting CONSTANTLY changed, so keeping consistency was a struggle, but I like what I ended up with. 

Hammock Wedding Preview

Thought I would post a few photos before they are all done. 

These were shot on September 26th at The Courtyard at Lake Lucerne in Downtown Orlando. More to come in the coming weeks! 

Zambia Part 2

I realized on my last post that I didn't actually explain anything. So in this post I'll have a bunch of captions!

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Everywhere you go in Livingstone there are hand painted signs. This one in particular stuck out to me. Walk with the lions!

This is "Olga's"! Its an Italian restaurant that my wife and our friend Hollie would visit frequently when they lived in Zambia. To be honest, Zambian pizza isn't the best, but its still something nice if you are missing American food while traveling abroad. 

This is me before I bungee jumped off of Victoria Falls. If you scroll down one more photo you will see the view from the top of the bridge!

I had to take some photos for Kwathu Children's Home yearly calendar. Below are all of the boys. The second photo was taken outside of the home. The two little ones are Michael and Vicky! They are the youngest at the home- and possibly the cutest!

Stars. The stars are the best here. Mainly because there is very little light pollution.

On one of our last days we drove to the National Park and went on a game drive. Our friend Agrippa was gracious enough to drive us through the park and show us all of the amazing animals. It really was incredible to see these animals in their natural environments. We also go to see the rhinos! The last photo is of the Zambezi River. 

This is our friend Hollie. Her and Dawn lived and worked together for almost two years at Kwathu Children's home. Along with my wife, this was her first trip back in just over two years. 

This is a typical meal for most Zambians. That big white lump is Nshima(the n is silent). Nshima is made from cornmeal and water and accompanies most meats and veggies! 

With the exception of the last photo, these were taken by my wife. These are photos of what life looks on a typical afternoon at Kwathu - Playing games, prepping dinner, and watching TV!

Below are two of the boys from Kwathu! To be honest I get a little choked up when I see these photos. I miss them a lot.