Joey Jessica Photographs » Lifestyle and Wedding Blog

I have been listening to a fair amount of DJ Shadow lately.  Mostly his instrumental work.  It is good thinking music for me, or late night photo editing.  He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained huge notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing….. in late 1996(the album art above right), which was constructed entirely from samples and exerts. He has an exceptionally large record collection, with over 60,000 records.  Jessica and I just got a record player from her grandmother.  Since we are getting her record collection, it mainly consist of big band music and a little bit of country folk..  We are definitely looking to expand the collection, not quiet to 60,000 but with a little more variety  Definitely check out his music HERE and pick up one of his albums HERE.

Although all of the film isn’t back from the lab, Jessica and I couldn’t resist posting this photo of Amie + Steven underneath some of the most magnificent live oaks that we have ever seen.

Our friend Chris snapped a few photos of Jessica and I and I thought they were super cute-  Thanks Chris!!

The Dodos are awesome.  They are an indie rock band from San Francisco. One of my favorite tunes from them is Fools off their 2007 record, Visitor. I like to listen to them while at work or riding my bike in the afternoon. Listen to them HERE Buy their music HERE

A few weeks ago myself and a few friends (Jessica, Chris, Brad) helped our friend Drew move to New Jersey.  Drew took a position at Salon Caru, a super sweet Paul Mitchell salon in Hoboken.  First.. a brief history… Jessica and I grew up with Drew so it was a very emotional trip for us.  A little sadness but mainly excitement and admiration.  I have been talking to Drew about his career and what he saw himself doing in life for the past year or so.  One day he told me that he knew what he wanted and what he was going to have to do to get there. So he did it.  We are so proud of him, and admire him for seeing an opportunity and seizing it.  It is a bit nerve racking to leave your friends and family behind, move to a place with a bazillion people and start from scratch.  You have gotta be willing to risk it all and he did.  So here we are, present day..

We took a few rolls of film with us and documented the super short and fun road trip to NJ and back.  We all got to Drew’s house in NC around 6am to finish packing the Uhaul truck.  Our friend Amber dropped by to say goodbye, shed a few tears and participate in the group shot.  A starbucks venti later and we are heading north.  We stopped off for a picnic at a truck stop, ate our share of powder doughnuts, and listened to Harry Potter on audio book.  We drove the scenic route to avoid tolls and made it to Jersey around 5 o’clock, just in time for the awesome traffic. YES!!!

We get to Drew’s new place, which is an awesome renovated brownstone and begin to unload as fast as we can, because the Uhaul is halfway blocking the road (according to one lady car driver, whom we will not mention).  None the less, it is all finished, accept for the sofa.. and it is not going through the front door.  We are about to run out of ideas, when a gentleman passing by on a bike, says he moves furniture for a living and can help us get in inside.  We give it a shot, no luck..  We have the bright idea to go through the back instead, but it involves jumping four 8ft privacy fences (while carrying the sofa).  So this total stranger says he doesn’t mind, and we get to climbing.  Two burnt out shoulders later, the sofa is inside.  We all sit and take a few minutes to relax, and agree to go explore the new neighborhood.  We ended up eating a great cuban/mexican restaurant called,  TAQUERIA, drank amazing Pomegranate mojitos an talked about our day and how nice that random guy was.

This next day of our trip was spent hanging out in the city, making some new friends, visiting some clients, eating awesome food, and seeing the Richard Avedon exhibit (which was phenomenal).  We were all very sad to say our good byes, so no one lingered around for fear of tearing up.  We made the goodbyes short and sweet and were back on our way to NC. The rest of the trip, AKA long drive home, consisted of Starbucks, Redbull, some fast food and Brad and Chris imitating dudes at gas stations.  So many laughs.  I can’t wait until next time.  Again, congratulations to you Drew,  we love you and and really proud of you!  Below are a few of the photos we snapped while we were on the trip.

Another few frames from a shoot I worked with Jessica on last month

Wow!  It feels good to be back.  Jessica and I had an awesome mini vacation and photographed two amazing weddings while we were away.  Film is off to the lab and we’ll be sharing some of the photos soon.  Today’s music comes from a band that I heard a little while back but didn’t catch their name. I love their sound, a mix of poppy electronic with a sort of fairy tale twist …if that make sense  I was talking with my buddy Griffin Davis and he told me to check out a band that he had been listening to, and I was like YES!! VICTORY!!!  I finally found out their name, I love it when this happens.  School of Seven Bells is their name and I recommend them for multiple occasions, for getting ready in the morning, an afternoon bike ride, or a late night drive.  They are fun and energetic three-piece band formed by Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines, together with identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza. The band is named after the School of the Seven Bells, a mythical South American pickpocket training academy.

Wow!  It feels good to be back.  Jessica and I had an awesome mini vacation and photographed two amazing weddings while we were away.  Film is off to the lab and we’ll be sharing some of the photos soon.  Today’s music comes from a band that I heard a little while back but didn’t catch their name. I love their sound, a mix of poppy electronic with a sort of fairy tale twist …if that make sense  I was talking with my buddy Griffin Davis and he told me to check out a band that he had been listening to, and I was like YES!! VICTORY!!!  I finally found out their name, I love it when this happens.  School of Seven Bells is their name and I recommend them for multiple occasions, for getting ready in the morning, an afternoon bike ride, or a late night drive.  They are fun and energetic three-piece band formed by Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines, together with identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza. The band is named after the School of the Seven Bells, a mythical South American pickpocket training academy.

Curtis and the Deheza sisters met when both were opening on an Interpol tour. The three decided to end their commitments to their old bands, move in to a shared space, and create a home recording studio together. (thanks wiki)  Half Asleep is the title of the song that I initially heard by them, if you want to check it out.  You can hear them HERE and purchase their music HERE.  Enjoy!!