The month started out pretty fast-paced, including getting a few frames of my first St. Louis Cardinals game. The month continued with a heatwave over the Midwest and a streak of marching activties before the craziness of band camp next month. I had the opportunity to hang out with Legends Drum and Bugle Corps as they practiced and performed their way through the St. Louis area. I also photographed The Big Picture project's Myanamar exhibition to support the nonprofit, Sundara, at dotZACK this month, which was super exciting.

The Big Picture Project was started by two dear friends and colleagues, Roger and Karin Doolin. They take simple-to-operate, point-and-shoot cameras to areas that charity organizations are already serving, joining forces with them to further their objectives and goals. The organizations select individuals to participate in learning basic camera and photography concepts, enabling them to then take the cameras into their environment and document their daily lives. Then the cameras are retrieved and images captured are sold as prints. All of the proceeds go to the various organizations The Big Picture Project partners with, empowering the individuals who participated in the project and creating positive change for them and their communities. Fortunately, I will be getting to travel to with them very soon and will be helping document some truly amazing stories.

I rounded off the month with photographing an alumni football game at my alma mater and my first ever washers tournament! July as been hectic, terrific and challenging all at the same time. Learning to view life and light in a new way has been pushing me and I hope it continues to. August – bring it on.