So Monday and Tuesday this week, I spent around 25 hours on set for the movie What’s Wrong with Virginia? I found a link online that said they were filming in my hometown, so I clicked on it and read about it, and it had a link at the bottom to go sign up to be an extra. So… I clicked it and signed up!

It ended up being two days of very little sleep and long days of waiting around on set just being fascinated by the film crew, and a little time where you’re actually doing something useful while filming. I was cast as a hot dog vendor with three other guys, so I spent most of my time inside a little glass box that blocked the cold, under 50ºF winds and got to warm my hands on the heat lamps for the french fries. The other extras played tourists on Virginia beach on a hot Labor Day afternoon. HAH! Some warm Labor Day. Everyone was shivering and got to wear coats in between sets.

There were, however a few celebrities on camera. Jennifer Connelly plays the crazy ex-wife of Ed Harris, who is a sheriff running for State Senate. Toby Jones has a part. He plays Dobby the House Elf’s voice in the Harry Potter movies. There was one guy who was cast from Michigan playing Dale, the friend of the sheriff’s son, Emmett who was played by a guy cast from Australia. Dale has a cool death scene that was right outside my hot dog stand, so I got to witness that being filmed about two dozen times from inside there.

I’m so glad that Michigan passed the film incentives and is bringing the film industry into Michigan. It’s a beautiful state that can use the economic boost of Hollywood films. And a big thanks to TicTock Studios as well for being one of the first film studios to cater to Michigan. I hope to see lots more film productions coming to Michigan. I greatly enjoyed my teensy acting experience, and would like to be an extra again in the future.

I do not garden. The last time I  “gardened” I picked weeds out of the bricks for my mom when I was 9. That’s the extent of my green thumb outdoors; killing weeds.

My mother however, loves to keep a garden. A few years ago she decided she was “too old” to go crawling around in the garden, so she’s hired a gardener to keep tending it and planting new flowers. And now, it’s made a nice place for me to take pictures! I use it as a background for senior portraits, and now I make it my subject as there are quite an abundance of lovely flowers in bloom. So check out this new lovely set of a Summer Garden.

So my Lensbaby Muse, and macro kit came last week. And the first major things I took pictures of were some flowers my mom had. I think they look awesome with the effects the Lensbaby can create, and with how close and detailed I can still get with the macro lenses. Creates interesting areas of focus, and the lens blur around the sweet spot really forces your viewer to focus on the same thing you are. So, check out my flickr set and leave comments!

I’m not usually one for sports. In any form. I don’t play sports, I don’t watch sports, my only exceptions being Olympic diving and gymnastics, and Winter Olympics. But that’s only every other year, which is plenty enough for me. But to say that I actually got excited and was yelling at this dodgeball tournament is saying something.

Dodgeball is a smaller sport in collegiate levels,  not many universities have them, but mine does, and we hosted the Dodgeball National Championship Tournament the other week. It sounded like it would be something fun to shoot so I took my camera and went to the game. I stayed through the semi-finals on the last day and let’s just say, my university dominated the whole time and went on to win. The best game was where another Michigan team had our side pegged down to one guy, but he kept catching balls that allows another player onto the court, and we turned the game around and still beat the other team. I don’t think I got as many pictures for that game because I was too busy yelling. And I think I’ve added dodgeball to my list of exceptions that I’ll watch.

Here is my flickr set of the best photos from the games. Click through to see more.

The other shoot I did that weekend was some behind the set stuff for my friend Mike. He has been filming his new student run TV show, Jeff & Mike Write A Comic and asked me for some photos. I have to say, his show looks hilarious and it was great fun being on the set in my friends’ apartment. I’m really looking forward to when the show actually comes out. But until then, enjoy these behind the scenes shots of the filming. Click through the image for more.

Inspired by @JavaJunky‘s desire to go sit on some swings, I was reminded of my own love for swings. I recall being quite the swing hog when I was in primary school (K-3). I would run out across the playground in order to get the best swing for me; one where my feet wouldn’t drag in the gravel nor would I have to jump up to reach the seat.

Once I had the perfect swing, I would spend the almost whole grueling 20 minute recess on that one swing. Usually I’d have a friend next to me and we’d race to see who could get the highest the fastest. And whenever two people got stuck swinging together at the same rate we’d shout, “Get out of my bathroom!” and other such childish things.

Other times I would be alone, or just in my own mind and I would just watch the clouds above, aiming my feet at them. Then I’d imagine being able to jump off at the very top of the upswing and fly over the football feild and over the trees on the other side.

This is one of my few childhood memories that let’s me pry into that child’s imagination I had back then. I savor these memories and still enjoy a good session on a swing to really remember them. Now, if you were also a swing hog, then you know the one funny downside to swinging for so long. When you finally jump off at the end of recess when they rung the bell, you land in a spray of dirty gravel and stand up and do that funny waddle back to the classroom because your butt has lost partial felling from the swing seat.

To all fellow swing hogs: go find a swing for me and go swinging again. :)