It’s the First Five-Photo Friday!

I thought it would be fun to post five of my favorite photos every Friday– restricted to only photos I’ve taken– and today is the kick-off celebration. I come from a background of videography and editing but photography is something I enjoy so much, too. A few years ago I got my first “professional” camera and I was off and running. I’ve gravitated towards wildlife, candid photos, sunsets and astrophotography, and silhouettes. There’s just so much to capture in this beautiful world. All that to say, how can I as an indecisive person decide which 5 photos to share on this first Five-Photo Friday? Do I go with wildlife, nature, abstract designs, people? As I look through my galleries this week, I’m most drawn to the one called “Created Images” so let’s go with that. Here are my five favorite “creative” photographs. Hope you enjoy!

This one is not so different from the original, but I really enjoy the bright pink (almost a 90s-style hot pink) wash over these leaves. I can imagine this framed in a modern home.

I remember exactly where I was when I took this photo. I was sitting in the passenger seat while my dad was driving for a family gathering in Orlando, Florida. The lights were from oncoming traffic, but then I went in and did a duplication effect to give it a modern, abstract style. Even a photo that could’ve been deleted can turn into something worth looking at!

This is a montage of 3 photos, the most dominant being a wood fence. Would you believe it was part of a fence in a parking lot of a golf course country club? If memory serves, it was “hiding” the dumpster but hey, someone’s trash is another man’s treasure, as they say. I added in the visuals of tiny flower petals and some long pine needles to complete the image.

This might be my #1 favorite in this gallery. It reminds me of some type of martial arts logo. Maybe it’s nostalgic because I grew up with the original karate kid movies, I don’t know. But seahorses are cool, anyway, and the model for the photo was a seahorse that had washed up on shore when I was at the beach one day. Fascinating to see one up close, that’s for sure!

Who doesn’t love fish bones, right? 🥴 Oddly, this one is another favorite even if it might seem a little morbid. The fish remnants were perfectly in tact on a north Florida shoreline, and I enjoyed creating an image that’s less morbid, more colorful, but still with a hint of peculiarity.

Well, that was fun. Hope you enjoyed just a handful of my favorite photos. For the rest of my professional photos (wildlife, black and white, nature, people, etc) check out my galleries on SmugMug. And if you like what I posted today, consider a small donation to help me continue posting daily. Thanks for checking out my post today…

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-Out of the Wilderness

Amazon Stunt Hero Saves the Day in New Ad – The Music and the Actor

Lights, camera, Amazon! Have you ever been chased through town and in the process, totally ruined your wardrobe? Happens to the best of us, right? Check out a new cinematic Amazon commercial featuring stunts, spills, and special deliveries, then scroll down for more details…

The Actor. Like any good action film, there’s a star– a protagonist to cheer on– and in this case our hero is played by actor Mike Markoff. Mike did a wonderful job pulling off the hero role, even if we never find out why all the goons are after him and if our hero might actually be the antagonist– dun, dun, dunnnn!!! But one thing is for sure: He needed Amazon and a strong laundry detergent to help save the day. Our main character is smart AND thrifty? That’s a hero an audience can get behind.

I reached out to Mike with a few questions because I love hearing about what goes on behind the scenes. Take a look below and hey, show him some love by following him on Instagram (@MikeMarkoff) and checking out his lengthy resumé of work (like his role working alongside Glen Powell in Hit Man) on his IMDb page.

Where was the commercial filmed?
We filmed it at ranch studio in Santa Clarita about 30 miles outside LA. They built a pretty impressive set to look like the bustling streets of India.

What did you enjoy about the stunts performed?
To be honest, each take was pretty painful. I’m sitting here trying to come up with a good answer to what is enjoyable about being body slammed into a table crammed with 16 different types of Indian sauces getting in your eyes and down your pants. The enjoyable part was honestly the fight coordinator saying I did a good job.

What was your favorite part about the entire shoot process?
My favorite part of the shoot process was getting to know the stunt team- they are remarkable individuals, and as an actor, it was great getting some insight to the work they do. I can finally empathize with how difficult their job is.

The Music. Along with an intriguing story and talented actors, a good short film needs killer music. In this case, the soundtrack is a song called “Come Down” by Anderson.Paak. Here’s the full track as released in 2016.

That’s A Wrap. I love when stars appear in commercials (as characters vs. actors endorsing a product) so this ad from Amazon is right up there with my favorites lately. Congrats to Mike and all the actors and crew, the production team and everyone involved for a job well done.

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-Out of the Wilderness

Sports Betting Mistake – A Week Later

Phew, what a week it’s been! Hard to believe today is day 8 since I was real goofball and made one of the biggest mistakes of my adult life. Actually, it’s probably THE biggest but there’s that one time I left the buffet at Golden Corral and I wasn’t full and that other time I walked through knee-deep fresh water alone in Florida. OK, OK, all jokes aside, last week was rough. I felt highs, lows, and everything between.

Yesterday, exactly a week after my bone-headed decisions, I deactivated my Hard Rock Bet account. Not just signing out or deleting the app, but a full scale departure from the app that enabled me to go down a road I never thought I would. You might wonder why I waited a week to close my account. Well, the short answer is that I was in such a dark place of being upset and vulnerable that I didn’t, I couldn’t, even think about doing anything that got me within a hundred feet of sports betting.

I really wish I could go back to the Monday night before and just turn my phone off. Put it in my truck. Make a different decision. But God’s grace doesn’t include time travel. It does include family and friends, though. In the aftermath, I’ve been like a tree bending over from its own weight, destined to uproot and fall over. That would be me– broken and lonely– without the support of people helping me stay upright. To keep my chin up. I’ll be saying “thank you” so many times that everyone will be annoyed, I’m sure.

The Bible says that my faults and failures can be redeemed. I don’t know how that’s going to look– whether the good that springs from all of this will be spiritual, relational, financial, emotional, just one of those, none of those, or all of those and more, but I know one thing for sure– it will be God’s doing. If it were me, things would turn into a mess so quickly.

“It’s kind of wild that something so terrifying can become something so beautiful.”

That’s from a movie that aired on Great American Country over the weekend. Are those movies sometimes Hallmark-level cheesy? Of course. But that line is my life right now. Well, I’m still a lot closer to the terrifying part but I believe beauty will come from last week’s ashes. It might take a very long time to know everything God has planned but I have to believe He can redeem it. After all, he turned mankind’s most heinous act into what saves mankind (the death of Jesus). Is my situation bigger than that?

A friend showed this song to me and it’s never more relevant in my life than now. Even at my lowest point, Jesus is lower still. In other words, he’s in the valley with me. With us. What other God gets into the mess with us? Thank you Jesus. Thank you for comfort and hope. While I still shutter with disbelief that I could do something so stupid, I’m starting to anticipate seeing how Jesus is going to make this into something beautiful.

Psalm 145: 19 “The Lord fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.”

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-Out of the Wilderness

American Idol – The Top 14 and Is Love In The Air?

This was probably the least entertaining episode of Idol this season except for a couple of rising stars. Did the contestants pick songs from a bottomless list of choices, because I didn’t love any of them. However I’ll say this: When Gabby started, I thought here we go again with another drowsy song but then her performance turned into the best of the night, and she can sure sing! No surprise then that she made it to the top 14.

It was just a weird night with the songs. The handful (or two handfuls this season) that always sound good sounded good so there wasn’t any damage done (I’m thinking of Jamal, Thunderstorm, Canaan, Breanna and my favorite, Slater).

But love is in the air and I’m not just talking about that Target commercial that kept popping up. Just looking at the YouTube stats, the top viewed from last night are from Jamal (94k), Canaan (73k), and Thunderstorm (64k). John Roberts is making gaines, too. If YouTube views is an indicator of how fans are voting, Jamal is feeling the love and might run away with this thing!

Who’s your favorite and why?

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American Idol on Easter… I’m Still Standing

You could say the theme of the Easter episode was “I’m still standing” as most contestants AND judges Lionel, Luke, and Carrie performed songs about Jesus– because, you know, if he rose from the dead then technically he’s still standing. So much for death having victory, right? But not all contestants got to sing. Four got the least amount of votes and therefore are out of the competition (Kyana, Grayson, MKY, and Penny). As it is now, my favorites are still in– Slater Nalley, Thunderstorm Artis, and Jamal Roberts.

A quick recap of the Easter episode, officially titled “Songs of Faith,” is that the show got better and better as it reached the crescendo of Carrie Underwood performing “How Great Thou Art,” a song becoming part of her overall fame in the last few years. As far as the contestants go, it’s practically pointless to discuss their talent because they all have it. I have a feeling we all pretty much know the ones who are starting to really stand out and can we all admit that it’s Thunderstorm leading the pack? I think Filo is gaining momentum because of his sweet mom (and his amazing talent, of course). Lots of love shown to moms this episode and I watched a little bit of the episode with my sister. Every time someone talked about their mom, the camera showed their mom, or they ARE a mom (Breanna), my sister and I said, “…oof, top 5!” We said that for about 9 different people so the match doesn’t quite work but when you mention your mom, how can you not get an automatic bid to the next round, right? Sweetness overload.

My favorites of the Easter episode were Filo, Thunderstorm, John Foster, and CeCe Winans.

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-Out of the Wilderness