The Original JT Photography

Today begun with an odd mix of enthusiasm, desperation, confusion and frustration. Late last night I received two frantic phone calls – one from an intoxicated friend who was “whisper screaming” to me about her boyfriend who she suspects has been cheating on her. The second call came from -the boyfriend who was audibly shaking and scared that she was going to hurt him. Both were asking if I could “PLEASE come get her”. Bare in mind that going to get her requires a six hour drive (each way). Know what, I don’t feel like going into details with that story. Just know that I decided to avoid being sucked in to someone else’s drama. Yay me! Additionally, my ex sent me a text (we don’t speak) saying that she would be by to pack her things. I had expressed that I couldn’t be around her anymore so when she came by the condo I would simply leave. I think the finality of her actually leaving had just begun to set in and it was really fucking with me. I know I mention her a lot but, again.. it’s my blog and I need to vent.

So, back to Astrid. Normally, the night before a shoot, I go through all of my gear, make sure all batteries are charged, lenses are cleaned… everything is ready to go. Needless to say this was not one of those shoots. I pack all of my gear into my jeep, drop off my dog at day care (yes, I’m one of those people) and hit the road to San Diego. My secret weapons are my Dyna-Lite XP1100 and my Alien Bees Vagabon 2 DC-AC inverters (fancy names for portable electricity). Once arriving at Astrid’s house, driving to a location, setting up my lighting… I find out that BOTH of the batteries were dead!! I feel about two inches tall. The sun is going down and there is no way to salvage this shoot. Thankfully Astrid is a great sport, she just laughed it off and only gave me a few wise cracks. We went to a cozy local bar, had a few beers, some killer hot wings and then I headed home with my tail between my legs… lol

Moral of this story: Don’t let relationship drama (yours or anyone else’s) throw you off your game.