Shutting down

Hey gang,
Making the switch to the (honestly superior) wordpress layout for this blog.

I've recommitted to updating it and I promise you will at least be moderately amused at the new blog.

www.accidentaladventure.wordpress.com

Check it (please)

-- Eric

P.S. - This blog will probably be shut down soon...so yeah, check the new blog.

5.19.10 - film

Hallelujah, I'm shooting film again.

Thankfully, I was part of the last class to go through the UM journalism school that shot on film.  I feel that to really learn how to take compelling photographs, you need to know how to use light.  Taking photos on film is the only way to do this.

When you shoot film, you have to thin through every shot.  There is no way to know if what you're getting is good, you just have to trust it.

So, to prep for a project that I will be shooting on film this summer, I have decided to shoot some practice rolls of film.  Here are some early results.

Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

-ec

PS - Without question, my inspiration for the way I shot these photos was photographer William Eggleston and his book The Democratic Forest.  Check him out.

5.17.10 - graduation.

Well, after a long hiatus, I FINALLY have a few things for you.

This last weekend I made a triumphant return to Missoula for graduation.  Although i walked last year, shown in this photo, I technically graduated this year, so I figured I should show up.

The other photos are from this weekend, mainly following my buddy Kyle and his big day.

Hope you enjoy, should be coming back with some actual writing soon, had a few things in the works.

Paz,
ec

4.26.10 - Detail of the day

After slacking on the "detail of the day" for a few weeks, I finally have one for you all.

It is the speaking end on a condenser microphone from the band's soundtest on Friday.

Hope you enjoy,
ec

4.25.10 - The crazy weekend

Well, I gotta say, this was one of the best weekends I've had since moving to Helena.

It started off with a bang on Saturday morning, quite literally in fact, it was the bang and pound of sound checking a drum kit at a park in downtown Helena.  The show was on at 1:30, a bit rough around the edges, but overall, a great first gig.  If you're interested, check out www.reverbnation.com/stumblingfree for some of the live originals.

Then came a Carroll College tradition that I had yet to take a part of, Softball Weekend.  Five games and a couple (a gentlemen never tells) drinks later, it's back at the house watching a movie and prepping for the work week.

Overall, it was an incredible weekend.  Good friends, lots of laughs and some crazy stories to tell at a later date.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Posting a photo from the show.

-ec

The band - 4.18.10

As the last night of Coachella wraps up very far away from where I sit right now, I've decided to blog about something music related.

Around two months ago, three friends and I started a band. We've been practicing about twice a week, working on our own stuff as well as some fun covers. For me personally, it has been exciting, terrifying, exhilarating, frustrating and generally a learning experience.

 I will be the first to admit that my musical talent is lacking (thus the "frustration") but I have to admit that the prospect of playing music for people is very exciting prospect. As funny as it sounds, the most difficult part of this "starting a band" process has been naming ourselves and, after many failed attempts, we came to a consensus on a name tonight. So, the band of Travis Grotbo, Ali Lunnon, Brendan Casey and myself shall henceforth (kind of fun to announce this like a knight...) be called....

Stumbling Free

The inspiration for this name came from a quote by Trappist monk, poet, social activist and author Thomas Merton, in which he said, "We stumble and fall constantly even when we are most enlightened." This really rang true with us when we thought about times in our life when we were on one of those "mountaintop experiences" we still fail to live our lives the way we want to and even the way we are called to live them. A lot of the music that I've written reflects this, that even when life is full of amazing things, I have failed and, on the other side, even when I fail, or stumble, good is just around the corner. So, Stumbling Free.

Now, to finish this post, I'm going to do something that definitely takes me out of my comfort zone. I decided to post a (VERY VERY rough) demo of a song that I wrote called "Kerouac's Love Song." It's a song based on Jack Kerouac's novel "On the Road" (my all-time favorite) and how I have seen it apply in my life.  I am jumping out of my comfort zone because I really feel that my song writing is less-than-strong, but, whatever we are afraid of will inevitably make us better when we face it head on, so, I hope you enjoy, or at the very least tolerate, the song below.

Follow the link to my tumblr page.

http://ejconn.tumblr.com/post/532569103/new-song-kerouacs-love-song-really-rough

 -ec

faith(lived) Multimedia Feature

My latest bit of work for the Diocese is a new feature called faith(lived).  Here is the press line and a link to the page.

"Take a deeper look at the CYC Convention at www.diocesehelena.org in the first installment of faith(lived).  This event based multimedia feature presents a perspective of the event from those who have lived it.  For the CYC Convention, hear from 12 participants, ranging from high school freshman to a mother of three."

Check it out at http://diocesehelena.org/news-events/mt-catholic/faith-lived-cyc-2010.html

hope you enjoy,
ec

Website redesign - 4.11.10

Hey party people,

After an amazing weekend working the Diocese's Catholic Youth Convention, I finished up the redesign of my website.  Check it out at www.ericconnollyphotography.com and let me know what you think!  Below is a screenshot.

-ec

The day to day - 4.7.10

At some time, everyday, I will have a camera in my hand. 

It's just part of my job.

It's really part of who I am.

And thus I start the new (semi-regular) feature of this blog.  The day to day.

Today, I was playing with a new lens we got for the work camera.  The shot is a stitch of the Cathedral of St. Helena at about 2PM today.

Hope you enjoy,
ec

Detail of the day - 4.6.10

Happy Tuesday.  It's not Monday!  Back at work here in Helena, which inspired my Detail of the day.

My job would be nearly impossible without my blackberry.  As much as I dislike how permanently connected I am, I couldn't operate on a day-to-day basis without it.  So, in honor of that, the shot below is from the very desk I sit at.

Hope your week is going well,

-ec

sick days - 4.5.10

Hello everyone,
My apologies for the short hiatus from posting, I've been basically flattened by a stomach flu for the last three days and I have had no motivation to do anything beyond trying to keep food down and having my mom score me some Gatorade.  But, I am back in Helena, recuperating to go back to work tomorrow.  Today's post will be brief, here are a few links to some photographers that I have either worked with or just think are awesome.  Hope you enjoy.

Andrew Zaeh - My supervisor when I interned in New York, Andrew is a phenomenally talented photographer working for Atlantic Records.  Andrew is a master of location lighting and huge shoots.

Seth Kushner - Seth is a Brooklyn based photographer/videographer/graphic novel writer and aficionado.  I worked with Seth when I was in NY.  Seth is also a master of location lighting and taught me how to get things done quickly and still get stunning results.

Richard Avedon - A man that truly needs no introduction.  Fashion/editorial legend.  Enjoy his website.

Kristine Paulsen  - University of Montana J-school grad, with a masters no less, Kristine is an incredibly talented photographer and I am blown away by her website.  Good work.

Alright, back to rehydrating.
Have a great week!

-ec

Detail of the day - 4.2.10

I love music.  Honestly, I cant imagine life without it.  Lately, music has had an even larger impact than usual, mainly in the form of having the chance to make some of my own.  Me and some (amazingly talented) friends started a band.  It's been a trip so far and motivated me to purchase new strings today for my guitar.  Thus, the detail of the day, new guitar strings.


enjoy,
eric

Detail of the day - 4.1.10

Today's DOTD (yeah, i know, acronyms suck, but I'm kinda lazy) is from my drive today. It is from the gas station at Clearwater Junction and it just struck me how tied I was to the gas stations.  My job is attached to the "fossil fuel addiction."  It is not a good thing, but it is, unfortunately, part of my life.  Someday this will change (, hopefully.)

-ec

driving day - 4.1.10

I have noticed that when we do something repetitively, especially over a long period of time, it is incredibly easy to slip into the routine and go into an auto-pilot like state.  I see it very often in my life, whether it be the views of Glacier Park or the Jewel Basin from my hometown of Kalispell, MT or the tiny details that happen from when I wake up to getting to work.  As I said in the first "detail of the day" post, life is in the details.

In response to this, I've decided to start documenting some repetitive occurrences in my life while trying to see them like it's the first time.  So, check out the photos and let me know what you think.  Today's photos are from the 3.5 hour trip from Helena to my hometown of Kalispell.

Enjoy,

Eric

PS.  The photos of the deer are specifically for my friend, pen-pal, and AMAZING blogger Chelsea.  I just know she likes deer and I saw at least 40 on the road today.

 

 

 

 

Detail of the day - 3.31.10

As former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, "It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."  
In my life, the word "details" usual refers to the photographic meaning of the word,  A close-up photograph showing an important detail of a story.  So, I decided to attempt to post a "Detail of the day" (almost) every day on this blog!  Hope you enjoy.

Today's detail shot is a baseball that hangs out at my work desk.

  

The adventure begins - 3.31.10

Welcome to Accidental Adventure, my latest foray in this binary jungle that is the blogosphere.  A few details you should know as we begin.

My name is Eric Connolly, I am a 23-year-old recent college graduate, working my first "grown-up" job as a Multimedia Specialist (essentially photographer/videographer/web-content-guy) for the Catholic Diocese of Helena.  I love music, fly fishing, reading, the Boston Red Sox and shooting photos.   I'm located in the beautiful Helena, MT and I really like fish tacos (unsurprisingly difficult to acquire in Montana.)


The title of this blog is drawn from a quote by my all-time favorite photographer, Richard Avedon. It reads:

And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible.

 This little gem on wisdom, which is taped on the wall next to my desk, is one that I reflect on often.  My life, as it stands right now, seems like an adventure.  I have zero idea where I'm going, no long term prospectus or plan, no idea where I will be in ten years.  And I love it.

So, this blog will be my space to jot down thoughts on what's happening in my life.  As opposed to my photo-blog,  this space will be personal.  So, I hope you're down for the ride, hope you enjoy.

-eric