recent rolls blog
blog featuring eclectic film photography; vibrant landscape and travel imagery plus portraiture
Park and National Palace of Pena – Sintra on 35mm film
Park and National Palace of Pena – Sintra on 35mm film I booked a microdose adventure in Sintra and this is how it went…. I arrived to Sintra at 9:30AM on a misty morning to meet up with my guide for the hike. After we all got acquainted at a nearby coffee shop, Martin, our…
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Funchal Madeira Island, Portugal
Funchal Madeira Island, Portugal on 35mm film During my stint in Portugal, I opted for a quick flight to Madeira Island. This tiny island off the northern coast of Africa is much warmer than the rest of Portugal and the beaches here are gorgeous! Great getaway from the city life of Lisbon. I shot a…
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PRESS: News on 6 Interview
PRESS: News on 6 Interview This month I was featured on News on 6 discussing the past year in Tulsa and my photographic journey. TULSA, Oklahoma – The Tulsa Remote program brings in people from all across the country to work remotely here in our city. Many of them have chosen to remain in Tulsa and have gotten…
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Debut Solo Show Opening Reception
Debut Solo Show Opening Reception Catch my first ever solo showFriday, May 6th from 6-9PMClean Hands 629 W 1st St The exhibition will also run during the month of May every Saturday from 1-5PM <- Back to the Blog <- Online Shop
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Our Print Shop is Committed to Customer Service
Our Print Shop is Committed to Customer Service When I first started TOMSHOTTA.com I didn’t have many resources, just vision and determination. Along the way, I taught myself plenty of things and learned from even more mistakes, but one of the major takeaways is that ownership is everything; especially in the creative development process. This…
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recent roll: Tulsa, OK; Philbrook Museum of Art
recent roll: Tulsa, OK; Philbrook Museum of Art Spent the day browsing the immaculate Villa of the Philbrook Museum of Art with a fellow artist. We spent some time in their extensive grounds, exploring the gardens, ponds and cabin in the far reaches of the estate. Definitely a must-do if you’re in the Tulsa, OK…
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Print Shop Relaunch Coming Soon
Print Shop Relaunch Coming Soon Ownership is super important to me, and since launching TOMSHOTTA.com I’ve worked hard to have my hands in every part of the process. I’ll spare you the long story, however I will say how proud I am to finally be announcing this; since day one, I’ve wanted to provide high-quality,…
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recent roll: Sutter Creek, CA; Gold Country for the Holidays
recent roll: Sutter Creek, CA; Gold Country for the Holidays Tucked away in the foothills of Northern California are the small towns that sustained California’s Gold Rush and now host thriving communities. This year during the holidays my family and I took a day trip to Sutter Creek, CA. While in town we planned to…
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recent roll: Tulsa, OK; Orpha’s Lounge w/ Carmen
recent roll: Tulsa, OK; Orpha’s Lounge w/ Carmen I was finally able to link with the lovely Carmen here in Tulsa, she’s a decorated model and talented musical artist. For our shoot, we warmed up with a few test shots in the natural light studio and then headed over to one of my favorite local…
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recent roll: Tulsa, OK; Britt’s Plant Room
recent roll: Tulsa, OK; Britt’s Plant Room Linked up with my friend and fellow entrepreneur, Britt, to do a quick shoot in her breathtaking pad! The west facing windows in her apartment capture the sun perfectly, filling the room with gorgeous soft light and as you’ll see from the images, her plant collection is absolutely…
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recent roll: Tulsa, OK; Downtown Tulsa on B&W film
recent roll: Tulsa, OK; Downtown Tulsa on B&W film Over the course of the past 6 months I’ve taken many strolls around the beautiful streets of Tulsa. Something about the classic feel of the city truly lends itself to the polarizing qualities of black and white film. Enjoy my collection of black and white images…
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recent roll: Altamont, TN; Falls Creek Falls State Park on film
recent roll: Altamont, TN; Falls Creek Falls State Park on film This past month I was able to getaway and explore some of rural Tennessee; East of Nashville near McMinnville lie gorgeous mountains, waterfall ridden state parks and some great country cabins. As you see from the photos, Falls Creek Falls State Park was a…
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recent roll: Oklahoma; The 13 Black Towns of Oklahoma
recent roll: Oklahoma; The 13 Black Towns of Oklahoma Late last year with the pandemic not letting up, I decided to ditch the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area for something a bit slower… so I came to Tulsa! The network of Tulsa Remote members was instrumental in helping me get settled here and they were…
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Framebridge X TOMSHOTTA: The Black Artists Print Shop
Framebridge X TOMSHOTTA:The Black Artists Print Shop This year I had the pleasure of working with the Framebridge team as a part of The Black Artists Print Shop. This robust collection features artists from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. Head on over to the Framebridge website to read more each of the 9 other…
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recent roll: Bay Area, CA; Bay Area Day Trip
recent roll: Bay Area, CA; Bay Area Day Trip During my stay in Northern California I made it a point to get out to the Bay so I could visit some locations that had been on my shot list for years. Check out some of the beautiful Northern California coast and a few portraits I…
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recent roll: Hopkins, SC; Congaree National Park w/ Niqueisa
recent roll: Hopkins, SC; Congaree National Park w/ Niqueisa During my previous trip to South Carolina I missed out on shooting with an old friend, so this time around Niqueisa and I had to meet up. I picked Congaree National Park for the location and brought some Portra 400 35mm film and a few old…
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recent roll: Orangeburg, SC; Big D’s Carwash w/ Sean
recent roll: Orangeburg, SC; Big D’s Carwash w/ Sean While passing thru Orangeburg, SC the other week, I got a chance to link with my good friend Sean. We met up at Big D’s Carwash to catch up and snap a few portraits on 35mm… Sean is busy as hell! Between running a successful clothing…
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recent roll: Alexandria, VA; Old Town on 35mm film
recent roll: Alexandria, VA; Old Town on 35mm film Since moving to Alexandria, VA I hadn’t taken any photos in Old Town… until a few weeks back! I took advantage of what seemed to be the last days of Fall’s 70-degree weather to wander the cobblestone streets shooting a bunch of film. Old town has…
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Tips for receiving your print
Tips for receiving your first fine art print Here are a few housekeeping tips for receiving your fine art print from TOMSHOTTA.COM: Size & Viewing Distance:Viewing a print from a distance shorter than intended can expose natural artifacts created by 35mm film such as grain. However, at an appropriate viewing distance, none of these artifacts are…
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recent roll: Denver, CO; Wild Basin Trail/ Tom’s B-Day Retreat
recent roll: Denver, CO; Wild Basin Trail This year for my Birthday we took a trip to Denver, CO. All the photos featured here were all taken during our day trip out to Rocky Mountain National Park. Initially we planned to visit the more popular trails like Dream Lake, Emerald Lake, etc, however due to…
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now available: Billboard Tee Pre-Order
Billboard Tee Pre-Order Description:Traditional advertising kinda sucks, so I made the Billboard tee because we support small black businesses 24/7. Scanning the QR code with any smartphone camera will send the user to TOMSHOTTA.COM . Pre-Order runs from until 10/15. Item will ship after pre-order closes. After pre-order closes, allow 10-15 business days for processing…
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recent roll: Ocean City, MD; Ocean City Beach & Assateague National Seashore
recent roll: Ocean City, MD; Ocean City Beach & Assateague National Seashore In celebration of a yearly sales goal we hopped up and went to Ocean City, Maryland. A quick getaway for DC residents 3HRS outside the city. Ocean City is apart of Fenwick Island, a huge barrier island off the coasts of Delaware and…
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recent roll: New York, NY; shooting with Leica & Mark de Paola
recent roll: New York, NY; shooting with Leica & Mark de Paola This past April right before the pandemic got bad I had the opportunity to attend a Leica workshop led by photographer Mark de Paola. Not only did he speak on the state of photography in lieu of COVID-19, but also about his general…
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recent roll: Kill Devil Hills, NC; Doing Tourist Shit
recent roll: Kill Devil Hills, NC; Doing Tourist Shit Tourist shit in Kill Devil Hills, NC the “Birthplace of Modern Aviation” about 10 minutes from Nags Head, NC (where Jockey’s Ridge State Park is located). The Airbnb was packed with gear for damn near every water-sport and to top it off, was less than a…
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recent rolls: Moyock, NC; My new friend Butch & his whip
recent rolls: Moyock, NC; My new friend Butch & his whip Shot these during a tater-tot stop @ Sonic in Moyock, NC (right outside the Outer Banks). I was recovering from a vicious hangover and somehow started chatting with this cheery looking man after I noticed him looking at my camera. Turns out his name…
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now booking: July 10 – 14th; Columbia, SC
now booking: July 10 – 14th; Columbia, SC Catch me in Columbia, South Carolina July 10 – 14th! I’ll be continuing my #freeportraitseries, booking mini sessions, and out enjoying the American South. Orangeburg and Charleston are on the list too, so pull up in your city. Be on the lookout for some South Carolina prints…
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recent rolls: Nags Head, NC; Jockey’s Ridge State Park
recent rolls: Nags Head, NC; Jockey’s Ridge State Park Enjoy the visuals!Location and technical details can be found at the bottom of this post. All images were taken on a Canon EOS 3 / Sureshot Zoom 85 shot on Kodak Portra 400 Location: Nags Head, NC Join our mailing list Email Address Full Name Address…
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recent roll: Richmond, VA; Robert E. Lee Memorial
recent roll: Richmond, VA; Robert E. Lee Memorial These photos were taken the day after the Robert E. Lee memorial in Richmond, VA was bombed with graffiti. It was beautiful witnessing the community re-purpose this memorial to serve as a site for #BLM vigils, rally points, and demonstrations. The community came out to set up…
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June’s Sticker Club Drop
June’s Sticker Club Drop June’s sticker design pays homage to Juneteenth, an unsung American holiday celebrating the liberation of African Americans. Join #TomsStickerClub right now to get limited edition stickers like the ones pictured delivered directly to your door every few months for free! Also, continue on to learn more about Cel-Liberation Day. What is…
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Momma’s Day Giveaway
Momma’s Day Giveaway In honor of Mothers Day, I’ll be shipping out 10 packs of stickers to the first 10 people to submit the form below. Good luck and Happy Mother Day! Submit the form below to be entered. Shop Bestsellers
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recent roll: Columbia, SC; Statehouse
recent roll: Columbia, SC; Statehouse Here’s a recap of my incredibly quick trip to Columbia, SC. I only got to shoot around downtown for an hour or so during this trip which is why I only have a few of photos. I will definitely be returning sometime in 2020 so I can shoot get a…
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First Batch of Stickers are in!
Between COVID-19 sweeping the globe and my job having gone fully remote, I’ve found myself with much more time to work on tomshotta.com With that being said, I’m happy to announce the first batch of vinyl stickers are in, and will be going out with all future orders! Enjoy 🙂
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A Film Photographers Guide to Staying Sane During Quarantine
A Film Photographers Guide to Staying Sane During Quarantine Since COVID-19 has officially taken over the world, everything is now on pause and many of us are finding ourselves with way too much idle time.In an effort to distract myself from the eternally grim news stations, I’ve come up with this brief list of the…
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How to Frame Your Print
How to Frame Your Print You’ve received your print in the mail! Now what?! Don’t trip, here are some guidelines to help you get the most out of your TOMSHOTTA print :)First things first, when you receive your poster it will need some time to flatten out. Lay it down on a clean table, gently…
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recent roll: Pocono Mountains, PA; Tom’s B-Day Retreat
Here’s a quick recap of our the trip to the Pocono Mountains in PA. No surprise but once again we booked the cabin through AIRBNB, and it did not disappoint! It was a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of DC, sadly we didn’t get the chance to….
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recent roll: Sebastopol, CA; Vineyard Estate
This years Thankgiving took place in Sebastopol, a small town nestled in California’s famous Sonoma Valley. The beautiful scenery at the AIRBNB estate kept us in awe, not to mention six acres of land to explore and a STACKED organic garden! As you see we took full advantage of the property, waking up early to…
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recent roll: Cuba; airbnb excursions and explorations
recent roll: Cuba; airbnb excursions and explorations During my Cuban expedition we got to visit Havana, Vinales Valley, and Veradero! We had the pleasure of booking AIRBNB’s in two different neighborhoods throughout our stay in Havana. In Old Havana we were directly behind El Capitolio, smack dab in the “crumbles”. It was an incredibly authentic…
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recent roll: Virginia Beach, VA; Something in the Water Festival 2019
recent roll: Virginia Beach, VA; Something in the Water Festival 2019 This year we made it to Pharrell William’s inaugural “Something in the Water Festival”. The lineup was crazy for this multi-day festival. Peep the vibes. < BACK TO TOMSHOTTA.COM – SHOP LATEST POSTERS –
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recent roll: Delaware; Rehoboth Beach day trip
recent roll: Delaware; Rehoboth Beach day trip Quick day trip to Rehoboth Beach before summer ends here in the East. Soak in the sun. Shot on Kodak Portra. < BACK TO TOMSHOTTA.COM – SHOP LATEST POSTERS –
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recent roll: NYC; Governors Island + BTS photos from “A SIS, AS IS”
recent roll: NYC; Governors Island + BTS photos from “A SIS, AS IS” Shot on Fujifilm Superia and Kodak Portra
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recent roll: Donner, CA; Shooting Off-Road on 35mm Film
recent roll: Donner, CA; Shooting Off-Road on 35mm Film I have a good friend who works for an off-road vehicle air systems company, and every so often when I’m back in town he invites me along on a business trip. I always make it a point to bring a camera with me cause I never…
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