Hello and welcome to the last blog post of 2021. Traditionally, we have shared our favorite images from the past year. Of course, we have a lot of favorites and so our posts have pretty much been a photodump smorgasbord from the past year. This year, challenged ourselves to find and share 21 photos from the past year, along with a short blurb or story behind each one. So without further adieu, here they are. Enjoy.

Philip & Jared / Novo Studio

On a recent photoshoot, the inevitable happened; I dropped an expensive studio flash while I was handholding it to get a certain shot. I don’t know how or why, it just slipped out of my hand. These things happen in a photographer’s line of work and that’s why you (hopefully) have insurance. I do carry insurance and after some deliberation, some research and some “go with your gut instinct, I began the process of switching up my studio lighting setup from Profoto to Godox.

It’s no secret that our beloved downtowns are filled with cool alleyways. And as our downtowns continue to grow and revitalize, the traffic in our alleyways is slowly increasing. Late last year, we collaborated with Downtown Rogers Inc. to turn one of our alleyways into an art gallery. The goal was to emphasize the fact that as our alleyways get more foot traffic, the need to keep them clean and safe and even make them more inviting is increasing. To make it even more personal, the art in the gallery was made up entirely of images created in that particular alleyway. Today, we’re sharing some here on the blog.

Happy #throwbackthursday

Happy #throwbackthursday. Today on the blog, a visit back in time to 2010 where an entire day as spent exploring and photographing the ghost town of Picher, Oklahoma. Enjoy.

It seems surreal to be writing a blog post during these unprecedented times. Just 2 weeks ago, the signs of spring and the workload that typically follows, was buzzing with activity and promise. And then, everything literally stopped.

Literally.

Stopped.

In the days that followed…

If you’ve ever perused our instagram feed for strolled by our studio windows, you know that there are a good many older cameras that occupy our space. Some sit prominently in the window shelves while others dot the interior landscape of the studio itself. Some of them actually function and some of them stopped working decades ago but still look pretty. The history of our craft is a fascinating one and part of discovering and learning and honoring that history has been the accumulation and presentation of old cameras in the studio space. It wasn’t until recently though, that we decided to participate in the #throwbackthursday hashtag phenomenon and honor one camera from the collection every week, along with some detailed photographs and a brief history. If you follow our instagram, you’ve probably seen these posts but we thought it important to share a few here on the blog as well. Cheers everyone.

How do you compile a decade’s worth of images and stories into a single blog post? If you ever figure it out, please let me know. In the meantime, this a best attempt at highlighting some of the ongoing clients, fun jobs and unique ingredients that have compiled the last 10 years of Novo Studio.

Enjoy.

Change is inevitable. Sometimes, it’s quick and abrupt. And other times, you start to feel the slow pull and growing tension of the current circumstances and you start wondering what to do about it. The latter has been my experience over the last couple of years…

Almost directly across the street from the studio is The Rusty Chair, an eclectic store filled with cool vintage finds, unique decor and…well…to be quite honest, stuff you never thought you’d see. Take for example the…

Food and beverage photography is quickly becoming one of my favorite jobs to work on. Part of this newfound love lies in the fact that I…

No words I type here will be able to put into proper perspective, the amount of gratitude I have for my clients, my friends, my colleagues and for those of you who stumble onto my site in one way or another and appreciate my work. Here’s to hoping that you have ample time to eat too much, make memories with your families and most importantly, breathe.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving.

In the midst of a hectic travel schedule, I somehow found the time to slow down and enjoy the journey. Here's a few images from my recent travels. Enjoy.

I've been on a shoot for the past couple of days and the property where I've been shooting is incredible. The actual location where was setup and shooting was near some cliffs and in some woods because it was outdoor apparel. But the other parts of the property had more cool junk than I've seen in a good long while. After finishing up, I was given a small tour of the property and snapped a few photos. Enjoy.

Today, I am wishing my dear friends and next-door business neighbors a fond farewell and happy retirement. Trolley Line Bookshop was a local favorite long before I moved in next door. This was largely due to the personable owners, Pat and Myra Moran who never tired of making friends and involving themselves in the community for the better of everyone. Their shop had the cozy and quaint feel of a neighborly downtown business because it was genuine and not manufactured and their presence (as well as their incredible selection of interesting reads) will be sorely missed. Cheers and Best Wishes, you two and thanks for everything. 

** View a previous blog post about their shop here **

Last week, I took a few days to detach from work and life. I camped out, slept in the truck, did some fishing (caught nothing), read some books by the river, played my guitar, sat by the fire, explored some scenic roads and made some photographs. By now, you all know that this sort of detachment is a part of my routine so I'll spare you the further dialogue and share some of my images from the week. Enjoy. 

This week, the workload is light and the need for adventure is high. So I am taking some time to drive, camp, paddle, pedal, explore and most importantly, breathe. The cool thing about this blog is that I can schedule posts ahead of time, to appear in my absence and I have taken full advantage of that technology. Happy Spring Break everyone.

It's been a busy start to the year, much busier than this time last year. This time last year, I couldn’t have handled it. Professionally and personally, I was drained. So drained in fact, that I started 2017 by taking a sort of sabbatical. Owning AND operating a business is hard. And this whole balancing life and work thing is a learning process that is ongoing and ever-changing. In this season of life, I have been lax in my blogging endeavors. I hope to remedy that in the coming weeks, as I’ve got some fun things to say and some cool work to share. In the meantime, I thought I would share a very quick update on where I'm at a year later and how taking a sabbatical has changed my work life. 

A heartfelt thank you to all of my friends and clients who made 2017 such a memorable year. This blog post contains some of my favorite commercial and lifestyle images from 2017. I couldn't pick just a few favorites, so there's a lot. Send me your medical bills for injuries related to excessive scrolling and Have a Happy New Year. 

I recently had the opportunity to collaborate once again with the crew from Red Barn Studio Live Sessions. The lineup during this year's Fayetteville Roots Festival featured a unique mix of music styles and personalities. The first video from the series was released today and features Iron and Wine. Give it a watch or a listen or preferably, both. Long live singer/songwriter rock and roll.