For the last 20 years, we've called Downtown Rogers home. And during that time, we've seen restaurants come and go. The current lineup in DTR remains diverse and of a caliber that would likely straighten out Jame's Beard. But when all is said and done, the tried and true unsung culinary hero of the Downtown Rogers community has to be…

Like most people, I enjoy traveling for work. I think that the change in routine, combined with a little stress and some distance from an ongoing “to do” list does wonders for one’s mind, body and soul. The sad reality though, is that I don’t often have a lot of downtime to get out and explore the areas where I travel. So I do what I can, which is usually snap photos from a moving vehicle. Photographing from a moving vehicle is challenging and also, very efficient. You can really see a lot of interesting things in a short amount of time in a vehicle. And if you’re not tasked with driving, you can completely focus on the world moving by your window. The following photos were taken late last year and early this year during work trips to Philadelphia and New York.

In almost 20 years of shooting full time Commercial Photography with Novo Studio, I have traveled quite a bit. But for the life of me, I cannot remember a time when I’ve traveled so consecutively for work. For the last 8 weeks, I’ve been gone in some capacity. This does not make me a professional traveler, but I feel compelled to share a bit about my experiences and lessons learned regardless. Since I’m not a professional traveler, I’ll keep my stories, my tips and my tricks short and sweet.

But first, Coffee.

Happy May Everyone.

This month is already proving to be an extremely busy one for us at the studio. And basically what that means, is that we’re really not in the studio that much except to charge batteries and switch out gear. However, our friends at Black Apple Hard Cider mentioned that they were going to be doing a special Star Wars themed cider release and they requested some promotional content to help advertise it.

Of course, we decided to do something quirky and fun. What originally began as a simple stop motion project turned into the writing of a short story, the addition of silly voiceovers and sound effects (courtesy of the aforementioned new audio recording gear in the previous blog post), and one big excuse to dig out the old childhood Star Wars toys from the attic.

During the production, we spilled absolutely zero cider, somewhat of a first for us. We did however break a cider glass. This however, was done on purpose and in a controlled environment (aka, plastic shopping bag). Little projects like this, while intimidating in the midst of a busy schedule, can prove to be some of the most rewarding and of course, the most humorous.

For more information on Black Apple’s May 4th Cider, visit their website, instagram or Facebook page.

And as always, May The 4th Be With You.

One of our favorite things about this line of work are the jobs that seemingly come out of nowhere. Case in point: Jacksonville Florida. Although we’re sworn to secrecy about what we actually worked on there ( Best Paste, Apollo Scrubs, Asmbly Agency), we did take our trusty little travel cameras with us with the intent of somewhat documenting our adventure. And document, we did. So today, we’re sharing a few of our favorite travel images. Enjoy.

Today on the blog: Recent editorial photography for Arkansas Wild Magazine featuring getaway adventures for couples and groups looking to spend some quality time in the great outdoors. In this issue, the magazine details adventurous outings offered by the Five Oaks Lodge, 37 North Expeditions, and Ouachita Wilde Luxury Tents. Pickup the issue wherever you find Arkansas Times Publications and whatever you do, always opt outside.

Happy #throwbackthursday. Today on the blog, a visit back in time to 2010 where an entire day as spent exploring and photographing the ghost town of Picher, Oklahoma. Enjoy.

In the midst of a hectic travel schedule, I somehow found the time to slow down and enjoy the journey. Here's a few images from my recent travels. Enjoy.

For years, I've had the idea in my head to make a video for Novo Studio. The idea for the video was inspired by a voicemail message I created years ago that, in my mind, accurately describes why I would not be answering my phone. And to have a video that started from the voicemail message and then, journeyed into my life as a photographer and as a person seemed to make sense. Plus, I could put some music to it and avoid the awkward challenge of talking about myself and my business. 

But of course, life happened and with an incredibly busy season and twins, my idea remained an idea until I decided to take a creative sabbatical. When writing out my sabbatical bucket list, the creation of this video went right to the top and with the help of my dear friends and creative colleagues and my wife, I am happy to (FINALLY) share this video with you. Many thanks to Bryan Fittin, Jason Miller, Murray Williams and Kristen Thomas for making this whole thing possible. Enjoy. 

Say hello (and goodbye) to this awesome pair of Merrell boots. This Throwback Thursday post is a tribute to the years and the miles that they faithfully served me.

After incredibly busy Spring, Summer and Fall seasons of work and life, I am starting 2017 by taking a self-imposed "Creative Sabbatical." This simply means that for the first 2 months of the year, I will be accepting work on a limited basis with the intention of using the rest of my time to decompress, recharge, learn some things and rework some aspects of Novo Studio. I will also be taking more time to focus on creating personal photographs. (Translation... more driving, exploring and trespassing). I will be posting a few updates here on the blog and on social media. As for my personal work, you can feel free to follow along on my website, on my Flickr page and on my Instagram page. Cheers to a New Year, see you soon. 

Philip Thomas // Novo Studio

Lately, I've been dreaming of a photography road trip to some abandoned destinations. My recent schedule has afforded me many bike rides but no real time to travel and shoot. And while I plan to remedy that in the next few weeks, nothing I find will probably compare to the town of Picher Oklahoma. I shared some of my images here on the blog a few years back but this week, I happened to be revisiting them and I decided to make a quick little slideshow with some of my favorite images. Enjoy. 

Today on the blog, I'm excited to share some behind the scenes images from this year. The following are a collection of personal memories and work-related images, most of which were captured with my trusty iPhone. Enjoy!

I was inspired to make this post after reading a recent issue of Kinfolk Magazine. For those of you who are photography or design (or both) nerds, you've probably already heard of this magazine and if not, you should do yourself a favor and check it out. Kinfolk as a publication is focuses on creating content that encourages its readers to embrace a simplified and slow-paced lifestyle. Their latest issue is titled "The Entrepreneurs Issue" and the following quotes are taken from a recent Saturday morning that I spent reading it. The images that follow the quotes are both my interpretation of the quotes from the article and also, ways in which I myself am attempting to practice a more simplified and slow-paced lifestyle. I hope that these quotes inspire you as they have me. Enjoy. 

There's a lot I could say in a Thanksgiving Day blog post. But I know there's food to eat, football to watch and hopefully, good weather to enjoy wherever you are so I'll keep this short...

It's been a crazy couple of weeks here at the studio. And as it relates to blogging frequency, that can mean one of two things. Either we blog a lot or we hardly blog at all. Lately, it's been the latter. We have been out and about a little bit, doing some photography work. But a majority of our time has been spent shooting video, editing video, working on a few graphic design projects and continuing our game of catch up on wedding related stuff. So we decided to share some "behind the scenes" images from the last couple of weeks. Happy Monday! 

As many of you know, we are currently living a life-in-limbo. For the past few weeks, we have called Fort Smith Arkansas and the Mercy Hospital here, home. We've slept on hospital cots, hospital beds, a few different hotel beds and finally, a more permanent (and comfortable) bed at the Candlewood Suites. Our hotel is about a 2 minute drive from the hospital where our kiddos are currently living. We have settled into a bit of a daily routine and today by way of images, we thought it appropriate to walk you through a typical day and also, give you an update. Off we go.