Dallas InstaMeet /  by Londen Wheeler

So today, I took a really big step out of my box and met with a huge group of photographers from all over the DFW area... Wait, before I begin, calling the group "photographers" would be an complete understatement because these folks are true CREATIVES. When they see a shot that they want, they make it happen and they capture it well!  These folks have some of the most brilliant minds that I have seen in a long time.

Anyway, I found out about this Instameet via Instagram and thought that it would be a great idea to go and check it out.  This was an awesome way to get your follower game up on Instagram (P.S. follow me @lonwhlphoto) too!  I somehow ended up talking to this one guy and told him that I lived a little ways from Dallas so I'm not here often.  He asked me where I lived and he flipped out because he only lives about 10 minutes from me.  I'm hopeful that a really awesome friendships will come from this meet up.

Last week, I attended a march/rally that took place at the JFK Memorial in Dallas and today, we ended up stopping at the memorial again.  It was pretty cool to see that we had over 40 people come together for photography, music, laughter, and yes, freestyling.  Who would've thought that we would get a mini concert in the memorial?  I've noticed that the JFK Memorial is a place that brings a lot of people together, no matter the occasion.  The presence and atmosphere felt great and I felt like I was really starting to make friends in such an unfamiliar place.

Check out this video that I took of this raw talent!

I'm super excited for the next event and opportunity to go shoot with these amazing creatives.  I hope you all are ready to see my photography evolve!  I learned a lot in just a few hours so imagine the progress when it's warm outside and still daylight at 9pm.  I'm ready for the challenge. I'm ready for growth.  I'm ready for friendships.  I'm ready to be a creative.

5 Year Dreadiversary! /  by Londen Wheeler

First of all, round of applause for my mom who took the time to take these photos for me!  She's not a photographer but I tell ya, she gets the job done when you ask her for help!

On February 11, 2012, I started my journey with my dreads and I could not be happier!  After years of hearing "you'll never get a job with that hair, why are you growing dreads, cut that off," I have learned that having dreads has been embraced by many.  My dreads have been great conversation starters for people of all races and sparks long conversations with people who already have dreads.  We'll talk about tips and tricks for when a dread gets too thin, braiding ideas, to what kind of scarf we use when we sleep at night. 

When I started my dreads five years ago (at Mom and Pop Jones' house), they were literally as small as my last knuckle on my pinky.  And I have super small fingers so you know those dreads were small.  Everybody in high school made fun of my little "worms" for a while but I embraced it and prayed that the "ugly phase" would end soon.  Besides, having those little dreads wasn't as bad as when I wore a back brace my entire freshman year, right?  I started my freshman year of college at EMU and my dreads grew a few inches but it still took forever to grow.  By my junior year, my hair had grown so much that I could finally get it into a ponytail.  Now, there has never been a better feeling than finally being able to get the dread that's in the front to finally be long enough to reach the band that holds the ponytail together.  By my senior year, I was able to use some of the dreads in the back to tie a ponytail.  That's when I knew these jokers were getting long!

I want to share with you a poem that I found on the internet a while ago.  It accurately describes why I chose to grow dreads and why they are important to me.  So definitely take a second to read it if you'd like!

“Somehow I feel connected to each lock
They remind me of a time before me when black was not just hip hop
They remind me of a movement towards freedom
When we were gaining the momentumm to no longer be oppressed
To me they represent bold, natural blackness

Symbols of non-conformity and to some
a sign of spiritual royalty
From ancient egyptians
to the movement of the rastafari
The lion of Judah remains represented entirely upon the heads of those
who rebel against enslavement
In modern times and during the times of
John the Baptist, King Tut, Solomon and Samson

Connected deeply to the Rastafarian and the struggle of the block
Guerilla warriors swore not to cut the locks
until the release of their authority
Jah-Rastafari or Haile Selassie I
Big ups to the dreads with conscious minds

The intertwined knots remind me of naturally grown crops of herbs
Each lock a spliff of some FIYA YA
to help calm my nerves
Burning the corruption and the lies told about the words written
While filtering out the bullcrap I found truth in transmission
Giving it to you is my soul mission

Locks. Beautiful like the afro
Symbolizing freedom from strong holds
Still black and proud though
I love locks
They remind me of pure blackness”

-Humble B”

Also, I want to give a huge shoutout to the beautiful hands who have washed, retwisted, and put some sparkle on my dreads over the years!  Y'all are awesome!

A Cold Night In Dallas /  by Londen Wheeler

So I ordered some fairy lights from Amazon Prime last Wednesday, hoping that they would get here this past Friday.   Well, I guess because it's the season of giving, Amazon thought it was a great idea to hold my lights in one of their facilities 40 minutes from my house for two days until deciding to deliver it a few hours before this shoot.  Way to cut it close there, amazon!  

I tell ya what, the wait was definitely worth it because Natalie and I got some amazing shots in Dallas.  The temperature was in the low 30s, both of us had two pairs of pants on, I had three jackets on and gloves and still froze from just an hour of walking around.  I know, I know, "Londen low 30s isn't actually that bad."  But if anybody knows me, 96 degrees in the shade is cold for me.

Natalie and I met up in the Klyde Warren Park, started shooting a few shots there and worked our way over to the AT&T Performing Arts Center.  Being new to the city, it was great to just walk around and see what was around but there's still a lot of city to see.  However, seeing the rest of the city will have to wait until it's warmer!  I definitely can't wait until l can have a full day to just go and explore the city and find more interesting places to do some shoots.

One of my all-time favorite photographers, named Brandon Woelfel inspired me to go buy these fairy lights and do a shoot like this.  I'm trying to step out of my shell and try some different things with my photography.  So I hope you guys are excited to see more of this and some other projects that are coming in the future.

This Past Weekend /  by Londen Wheeler

It has certainly been a while since I have posted anything to the blog.  But this past weekend, I had an opportunity to photograph a high school senior and a college senior.  I'm super grateful for the time that we spent together and getting to know them more.  We all toughed it out and tried to withstand the cold weather and crazy wind, especially on Saturday.  Kudos to Gabby for wearing a dress with the weather being the way it was.  "You tha real MVP."

Jayden Nixon - high school senior

Jayden Nixon - high school senior

Jayden is a high school senior from the Charlottesville area.  I didn't know Jayden and his family but found out that we had many different connections with people we knew.  We really live in a small world, I'll tell ya that much!  It was awesome to meet Jayden and his family!  Good luck with the rest of your school year and let me know where you choose to attend college!

Gabby Smith - college senior

Gabby Smith - college senior

Gabby and I go wayyyyyy back.  Back to the middle school days and spending our summers at the Boys and Girls Club in Charlottesville.  When I moved away, we lost touch and somehow reconnected when we got to college.  The first time that I had seen her (outside of social media) since middle school was at a bowling alley in Harrisonburg when some friends and I got together for my birthday.  Since then, we've been keeping tabs on how we were doing and scheduled to do a shoot together!  It's so awesome to be able to reconnect with amazing, lifelong friends.  Wish I could be at your graduation, Gabby!  I'm proud of everything that you've accomplished!  The future is bright for you.

Undergrad... (Check) /  by Londen Wheeler

Well...I am proud to say that I have graduated from Eastern Mennonite University!  What a wild ride it has been for sure.  Honestly, I didn't think that I would make it this far but with God's grace, support from family and friends, and a little hard work thrown in the mix, I can finally say that "I made it."

EMU's class of 2016 voted for me to be one of two undergraduate commencement speakers.  As soon as I found out that I was selected to be a speaker, I complained about it and thought of it as being something else to have looming over my head.  After about 48 hours of thoughts and complaints, I thought to myself, "hey. You've made it this far.  Go out with a bang!"  I spoke about my experience as an undergraduate student and charged the institution to work on hiring more diverse faculty and staff.  If you'd like, you can listen to my speech here or on EMU's Podcast (my speech starts around the 11:46 mark)!

Every year, EMU awards 10 seniors with the Cords of Distinction.  These cords are awarded to seniors who have made outstanding contributions to the university, community or society.  I've had my eyes on the Cords of Distinction since my freshman year of college.  I wanted to get involved and make sure I got one.  Besides graduating, receiving the Cords of Distinction was one of my biggest goals.

One thing is for sure.  I'm going to miss the heck out of my friends, my teammates, my coach, and my professors.  Not going to miss the work but I'll definitely miss those who made my experience as a college student easier to bear.  It's going to be weird knowing that I'll be on "summer break" and not go back to campus to see everyone.  What's really going to be weird is knowing that I don't have to train to run track anymore.  That was a big part of my college experience.  Even though I hated the workouts 95% of the time, being on the track team allowed me to mature, meet some great people, and allowed me to have some extraordinary friends.

Right now, I am laying my hat in Texas.  It has already been a nice change of scenery and I can already tell that it will be another hot summer (if you have allergies, stay away from Texas).  I can't wait to do some connecting and shooting with some of the local photographers as well.  If any of my friends want to fly out and do some exploring and shooting with me, definitely let me know!  There's plenty to do around these parts!

Annnnd...Another cool thing about graduating is finally getting a chance to get photographs taken by someone other than myself!  Special thanks to Ashley Link for these photos before the Commencement Ceremony.