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…

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.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved music. And now at 43 years of age, I finally started recording some of my favorite music. You can click the photo to read more or you can click here to listen.

I was honored to be a part of Light Chasers Live last night. Thanks to Bryan Fittin and Jason Miller of Red Barn Studio for having me.

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. 

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

It’s been a whirlwind past couple of weeks. We’ve been shooting much more than we’ve been editing or blogging. And that’s a good thing. C’mon. Who wouldn’t rather be outside during this beautiful time of year? There will be lots of catching up on the blog in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we’ll see you outside.  

Today, I'm posting a few excerpts from a talk I gave to some university graphic design / photography students last week. To be quite honest, I'm posting these as much for myself as I am for any readers that happen to stumble upon the blog. Here's to hoping these thoughts inspire you in school, in work and in life. Cheers.