Serious

Week Thirteen – SeriousThe 13th photo entry for my weekly Self Portrait Journal.  A 52 week glimpse into the attributes of James Olmos.

The journey is life.  I’ve embraced my life’s journey and I’ve found that it’s truly about the walk. The end result “is what it is” but the brilliance of lessons learned is what shapes the heart.  I can write a song or paint acrylic on canvass; I can write one-hundred poems, photograph light in the darkness and bake a million cupcakes.  The fruit of my labor is not what defines me.  It’s the journey.

This self portrait is serious.  I take life and my journey seriously.  My passions consume the essence of surrender.  I’m defined by love.  And in love I find no boundaries . . . in contrast, I find a complete surrendering to now . . . to the journey.

http://ift.tt/1XySo6Q

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Athletic: Stretch

Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet. ~ Jeremy Bentham

Week Twelve – Athletic:  StretchThe 12th photo entry for my weekly Self Portrait Journal.  A 52 week glimpse into the attributes of James Olmos.

There’s a few sub attributes in my Athletic category.  I thought it would be appropriate to begin with “Stretch”.

To lay our bodies close to the ground – upon the earth, cement, dirt, carpet or gym floor creates a connection to basics.  We find ourselves humbled as we bow, bend and find belief in the basics of presence.

As for me, I find myself, eyes closed, breath calmed and concentration focused on the moment . . . the stretch.

Rant and Side Note:
This photo should post under my “humor” category” since it looks like I have midget legs!  This is the result of my creative process as I learn how to enjoy the different pixel abusing techniques.  Don’t judge – I’ll get there soon enough

Life isn’t about reaching goals it’s about finding peace during the journey.  I put my shit out there whether it’s good or bad because I’m at peace with my creative moments.  Let it all go and love yourself today.

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And this is love . . .

 

At the end of the day all that really maters is love.

We come and go. We dine and cheer. We give and receive.

Did we love? This is what carries over . . . love.

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The Dissonant Key

At times we can feel dissonant like a single, out-of-tune piano key.  We struggle to resonate in brilliance and to bring a presence of value back into our lives.

Maybe we’ve been played too hard or have been abused by a hand that once moved gently but has since turned harsh.  Or maybe the maestro has passed, leaving only the coldness of ivory as we long for his passionate touch to dance over us again.

Regardless, even being slightly out-of-focus or mildly out-of-tune is enough to make us mute our melody,  because we hear the false perfection of the other piano keys dancing and bouncing rhythmically.  We judge ourselves in the light of their song.

While our song sounds sad . . . always.

What if we embraced our dissonant sound?  What if we turned up the volume of what we perceive as imperfect?

Our song is valuable and the dissonant key resonates regardless of judgment.  Be differently beautiful . . . be your own song.

This is a photo I took of an old piano that was bound by a chain in a park in Washington State.  You can view more of my photography on Flickr.

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Workout Athlean WK Zero

The Athlean-X workout routine seems legit!

They have a lot of workout programs designed for your specific training goal.  And I’m excited to get started.

I’m starting with the AX-1 routine and then will graduate to the AX-2 routine.  If you want to learn more about the workouts they offer then visit Athlean Online.

This blog post is about my introduction to getting back into working out and getting back into shape.  I’ve taken a year off from any form of resistance training and now I’m ready to get back into the game!  (I tried coming back earlier this year, cause I was getting antsy, but I injured myself.)

I will try and post weekly updates with photos and video to update you on my journey.  I’ll include meal prep and share how the workout went for that week.  Just cataloging the journey for myself as you peek in.

You can watch a short video I made that briefly shares my reasoning for the break and how I plan to get back in shape.

Follow my health journey as I lose fat and gain muscle during this program.

5AM isn’t too early if passion drives your goals!

Current – Oct. 2016 (150 lbs.)

Previous – Oct. 2015 (Body Goal)

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Let Love Reign

You “think” you’re doing the right thing. But the heart is deceiving. You think that you’re supporting a cause and that you’ve chosen a side . . . but you were chosen before the beginning of time. Love is confused because it’s undefined by the counter punch of the lie. Death is a phantom – a movie – because love has been overshadowed.

 

There is an answer. Humility. Let love reign.

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Judgemental Portrait

The cool air carried the smell of alcohol over the crowded sidewalks.  Laughter, release and the midday breeze embraced the streets like a song from an 80’s sitcom . . . where everybody knows your name.

I can judge the moment or  . . . trace the light with my lens.

We choose to surrender to this earth and to our inhibitions when it’s convenient and when it’s politically correct.  We think we are our own, unique and set apart.  Fool.

Adam wore skin.

Eve reached.

Movement speaks in every direction and there is nothing you can do to stop the momentum of your life.  Nothing.

Have your opinions.  Wear your skin. Move in a direction.

Don’t judge the portrait.

He wore a bandana and he smiled . . . sometimes.

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Discover The Portrait

It was cold and my fingers were numb.  Though, the sunlight was beautiful.

I traced the light with my lens.

I heard the fall leaves crackle under my feet as I walked across the faded green lawn.  I would pause and let the sun kiss my face.

The American flag clapped and whirled as it hung proudly on the side of a darkly aged brown barn.  Remember.

I’m still in the beginnings of tracing light, molding and shaping shadows.  Though something in me is reflecting outward.  It causes pause.

The portrait is always a portrait.  I don’t create it.  The image has spoken and continues to speak, with or without me.

My eye does not see, it discovers.

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Portrait Shows Truth

Some things are not always what they seem.  Yet change is a direction worth understanding and light does not lie.

I came here to find an outlet and I discovered a reason.  No reason should be left uncovered because it can lead to deeper truth.

It dawned on me that I needed to shift to the left, but I didn’t understand the reason.  So I remained where I stood.  Who knew.

Reaching for knowledge isn’t like reaching for flower.  Or is it?  When’s the last time you went hunting for knowledge after being startled awake from your dream?

A poem does not press well in a book.  It needs breath.  A tongue shall release knowledge like a poem.  And a portrait will eventually show truth.

As my lens traces light . . . knowledge will become known.

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Her Portrait Stands

Hard work takes you to the moment you’ve been dreaming about.  Seek every opportunity, without hesitation and release any anchors.

She had purpose and her focus was set on her intentions.  The only thing she abandoned was her fear.

The day was over but the sun was still hot.  The smell of the dirt, as it settled to the ground, was familiar and soft.

She knew she was loved.

She knew she loved.

It wasn’t a physical strength that empowered her, it was the passion in her heart.

You can be captivated or you can capture.  Chin high, leading with your gut.

The portrait stands.  It’s forever.  Because I traced the light with my lens.

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Brutal Truth

truth noun ˈtrüth

Something which would probably upset a great many of people if it were known and made public . . . Truth.

Urban Dictionary ~

How would you define truth?  Brutal honesty:  You look fat in those jeans!

I’ve been processing the value of brutal honesty for awhile.  As a songwriter I always craved brutal honesty and I never found myself feeling offended by someone’s opinion.  I’d rather receive critical feedback over sympathetic lies. But that’s me.

People will ask my opinion about their looks or ideas, songs, blogs, photos or poems . . . and my typical reply is, “Do you want me to answer or answer honestly?”  Most respond with, “Just answer.”

My question is this:

Would more harm or good come from brutal honesty?

Would marriages last longer?  Would parents respect their children more?  Would prospective employers be more apt to hire you?  Would your grandmother disown you? (Thanks for the pink Snuggies, gammy!)

We don’t need to be cruel with our response, but we can practice respectful honesty.

I was approached last year by a team who wanted to collaborate on a song I wrote. I agreed, and when they submitted the production to me I shared my thoughts.  I felt they completely missed the essence of the song.  It was a very professional recording with brilliant musicianship . . . but there were aspects of the composition that did not sit nicely with the intention of the song.

The musicians seemed so upset at my remarks that they never continued corresponding. I even shared my encouragement to continue the collaborative journey.  They abandoned the project.

Do you value brutal honesty in your relationships? What would your knee-jerk reaction be and how would you process the answer?

I seek truth most of the time but sometimes the truth hurts me. The closer I draw to the light of truth in my life, the more I realize my lies, pains and spiritual distance. I need to force myself to take personal inventory and remove the negative aspects from my life. Truth removes the negative when you accept the pains of the lie.

Do the right thing and enjoy truth in Life’s Moments ~

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Color Me Portrait

Her joy led me in as her smile captivated my soul.  She was a colorful light and my lens discovered freedom once again.

Run with me again. Sprint to this finish line with zeal upon your heart for life’s race has many colors. Colors that you’ve never realized.

Not because your eyes were closed. Not because your heart was poor. You’re not bound unless you allow yourself to be bound.  So let light and color discover you.

She reached down and traced her finger in the dust before deciding to animate it. Her decision created life.  Motion is a good thing.

So I traced her light with my lens.  A portrait of motion.

Her action was not distracting, it was invigorating because of her smile, because of her heart’s intention.

My intention?  This day?  You.

The color of grace is boundless.

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Child Portrait

The child.

Resting humbly, not from exhaustion but from smiling, dreaming and living.

This pause is framed in poetic assurance that the playful past will repeat.  I sing.

I traced her with my lens.  I covered her in darkness, then in folded rest she brought forth light.

Her shadows are not dark; contrarily, her shadows are softened light.  Don’t judge.

A portrait?

Did I take a photo or did I respond to her dream with a reverent click.

She whispered into the face of a dragon.  She drew her sword while standing on the back of a caterpillar.

This child.  This pose.  This resting place of light.

Come to this place without reaching and without action but with intention to be filled again in order to dream bigger.

A prayer or a pose?  You choose.

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She’s Ballanced

I looked at her as she stood there.  Her majesty, her destiny.

Like a poem she moved across the sky, standing still.  As still as words in a child’s book.

I was jealous of her grip.  She was strong and I was weak.  Weak but not frail because I have knowledge.

Her knowledge, her story, her whisper sends chills through my soul.  She doesn’t haunt me . . . she just is . . .

Do you recognize decay?  Do you feel growing pains?  Or do you exist to express your soul?

I turned.

I found her in my sight.  She was not a portrait, she was more.  So, I traced her light with my lens.

I pondered as she wooed me into the very stillness of her thought.  Though I was not fooled!

I am my own.

Am I doing what’s good for my soul?

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Headshot 101

It doesn’t take much effort to listen while working.  And listening doesn’t have to be work.

I saw a duffel bag filled with musician’s tools . . . a little midi keyboard, headphones, a small microphone and a notepad.

They were far from props.  They expressed a connection to his heart and led the path to his dreams.  Use them.

I didn’t ask questions because his movements were the answer.  The synergy expressed itself through ideas birthed through freedom.

“How about we put this next to me.  I’ll put the headphones on.”  Dance, I told him.

The headshot lives and breathes in the eyes.

I’ll capture sound . . . movement . . . career choice.

I trace light with my lens.  I listened to his words while sweating in the hot sun.  The sun was only secondary.

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Tracing light with my lens

She modeled before; you could tell by the way she moved. She touched her fingertips to her face instead of pressing her hand into it.

I wasn’t upset when she arrived without her second outfit. She just hopped into her old VW Bug and zoomed off back home to quickly fetch it.

The sunlight wasn’t perfect and neither was my finger when it pressed down on the shutter. This was my first “real” client photo session.

She made some confessions to me and I kept mine to myself.

I know a portrait session can be mixed with turning, reaching and smiling but it’s the fragrance in the air that I try to capture.

Can I smell the grass? Can I hear the kids playing on the slide when I look back at this pictures . . . this captured moment?

I want to trace light with my lens.

I’m going to give more than I take.

James Olmos Photography

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Fitness Motivators

I’m changing my fitness motivators!

It’s time to change my fitness motivators in time for summer and bring heat to my workouts to lose body fat while gaining muscle and strength to crush my fitness goals.

I’m constantly changing my routines and fitness motivators.  I’ve endured many Spartan races, Tough Mudder’s and a few Half Marathons over the years and now it’s time for change.

I get bored quickly and repetition is NOT my motivator.  My boredom is not tied to just to fitness.  I’ll change from writing songs to music production, photo shoots to video editing . . . rinse and repeat!

I even change my diet and nutrition often . . . curiosity is my muse.  I have a blog draft on this subject of curiosity. Coming soon!

I ran the Spartan World Championship (15 miles of high altitude & brutal obstacles) six months ago and since then, I haven’t been working out with weights.  The main reason is due to shoulder and elbow injuries.

Since then I “trained” for the San Diego Half Marathon & Temecula Half Marathon.  But I didn’t train too much for the SD Half due to lots of air travel and a heavy workload.  I averaged 9 miles a WEEK over 14 weeks!  Can you believe it . . . I ran my best race ever with a PR time of 1:56:59.

One thing I’ve noticed while only running longer distances vs. adding fitness exercises like HITT training and weight resistance, is that I’ve gained weight.  And since I haven’t been lifting weights I have not gained muscle; I’ve gained 10 pounds of fat!  You need well-rounded training and fitness routines to see improvements in your health goals.

As a reminder, fish is my only non plant-based protein.

So what will change?

I’m going back to a 5×5 weight training routine.

I challenged myself in 2014 to gain some muscle mass while maintaining a lean physique.  And I did it!  Read about it here and see a photo.

My motivator will be physical change and not a PR or a 10 foot wall to leap over.  I have 90 days to see any change in my body’s shape . . . fat to fit!

I’ll try to write a couple of blog posts about the transformation while posting updates on my Facebook Fitness Page.

In the meantime, here is a short video I made after yesterday’s HITT training session.  Please comment if you have questions.

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