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HAY!!!
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Barn door's open...
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Have you lost your gourd?
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Golden Ratio Anyone?
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marc jacobs girls
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it's been more than a couple of months... i'm ashamed! haha. i was doing so well too. well anyway, life is grander than ever. i'll elaborate when i have the time, but i just wanted to let you all know for now that there's a new book! it's in the mail to me right now. if you'd like to buy a copy, let me know... also any prints you think you'd like, i'd love to oblige... and or course, if you'd like to gander at a digital copy... check out


hey... and if you wanna do me a huge favor, just copy the link (right click and hit copy link location, or send link in email) and send it out in an email to anyone you think might be interested! or to your whole contact list.... word of mouth is what gets these things off the ground, and i'm relying on you guys, as my loving and fantastic friends, family, etc.... to help me take flight! thanks all.
ciao,
jm

  So I suppose I should be paying attention in class right now, but I'm obviously not. Anyway, it's been altogether too long since I've updated. I had a shoot this past Thursday with Vangel. I think it went quite well, but it made me realize something... I have no idea how to use studio lights yet. I'm not even sure the location was appropriate to have the lights in, but... nonetheless it was comically terrible attempting to get a good shot with the strobes. So I did it without them! Got the shot(s) I needed... which is a huge sigh of relief; nonetheless... I've invested in a product that I'm sure can help my photographic endeavors, I just don't know what to do with it!
  If you know something about how to use photo lighting... or a website where I might get some valuable information about it... Please please please let me know asap. In the meantime, I've got a site for you. ProPhotoLife. It's a wonderful site with all kinds of information about photography. It's good for honing your chops on a camera.
  So life... yes. Well I'm a working man now. I guess I should cross that off my list! I'm that guy who comes to your door and hooks you up with good internet, tv, and phone. Ya. I'm the guy that knocks during dinner and ticks you off... Until you realize I can save you money. I'm feeling alright with it so far, but I'm not 100% yet. Maybe that first check will help me out. I sure hope so. In the meantime, I'm still trying to do a million other things. Going to class (I've already skipped a few, and we're only in the third week... bad Justin), working out (I'm really in the best shape of my life right now... I've been trying to hit the gym at least every other day, and I've been biking as often as possible... walking as much as I can... doing yoga...), staying in touch with friends, etc. I've decided I have to find balance... I can't be too terribly absorbed in any one thing. I feel like I'm living a full life right now.
  I've also learned something about life that I think I can impart to you all... Don't worry... Just don't. It's fine to dedicate yourself to a task and make sure with great patience and attention that it gets done, but there is just no need to worry frivolously about things. Things will work out... One way or another... They will all be completed in due time, or they will pass and you won't need to worry about them anyway. So that's that. I'm gonna try to pay some attention now.
Ciao.
JM

P.S. I added a few photos to the most recent album. Nothing I'm too crazy about, but they're not too bad. And thanks again to everyone who keeps encouraging me!

  So I've found, as of late, that writing is a fantastic way of purging my brain. I'll explain. I've always loved to write, but when the stress level of my life goes up, I find three things happen in relation to that drive. A. I get less time to write, because I have more things I need to get done. B. I have more of a need to write because I have more things to purge. And C. I get more stressed because I write less, because I have less time to write. Did you follow all that?
 
  So I made a sort of understood pact with myself that I would write... just to write if need be. It helps me maintain a mental homeostasis. So last night I was hanging out with Randi and Jessi (I apparently like girls who have sex-ambiguous names that end in "i"). Ironically my middle name is Randall [the male version] and I was almost named Jesse... How odd. I digress. I was hanging out with them, and I got the drive to do some freestyle poetry... But with the three of us. Anyway, I started out with a line, and then Randi would say one, and then Jessi. It got interesting. When I write "quick" poetry, I tend to go more for the way things sound/the way it feels to say them, than for the actual content. So the following is our poem... Which I suppose will be titled "Baby Monkey" for practicality's sake. I wrote the first line, Jessi the second, Randi the third, I the fourth... ad nauseum. Here goes:

  So it's been a few days since I've caught everyone up on me... I'm sure you're all just devastated at that.  Anyway, I went to NIN last night at the Scottrade center. Wow. What a show. It was an astonishing amalgamation of rocking music, and a brilliantly devised light show. In short, it rocked hard.
 
  I'm in St. Louis tonight, and I just realized that I left my cameras back in Columbia. That makes me feel a bit naked. I won't lie. I realize I'm writing like a 9 year old right now, but it's just because "How it's Made" is on Discovery right now... I'm an absolute sucker for that show. I guess it's my childlike curiosity that drives me to watch it with an absolutely furious devotion whenever it's on. I'm half-writing and 3/4ths watching... I know that's more than a full allotment, but that's just how I operate. I have a backup hard-drive in my brain.
 
  I think people deny themselves the opportunity to be a child too often. It's as though we're all trying to grow up as quickly as possible, and that means we stop believing we have anything to learn after a point. I suggest we all act as children again. Let your curiosity get the best of you. Jump when you feel like jumping... Dance without caring what people think about the way you look... Sing out loud about nothing, just because you felt the need to sing. Ask the difficult questions that you used to get "because" as an answer to. Find those answers. I believe children are the most fervently student-like people on the planet because they want to know the answers. We get to school and then people start telling us what we should want to know... I say we just learn for the sake of learning again! Just go out today... everyone. Just find one thing you really want to know... and learn it. You'll be glad you did. Ok computer's dying and I have to go. Love you all...
Ciao.
JM

So I went to the UPS store today... Picked up a couple of packages... One from Shutterfly, one from Newegg. Check that site out. It's fantastic. Anyway the Newegg package contained my 500G external hard-drive. Pricewise, it came out to about $1 for every 7 gigs. In 1981, a magazine called Creative Computing said, "The cost for 128 kilobytes of memory will fall below U$100 in the near future." Assuming it was at precisely $100, my hard-drive would have cost $416,666,665 back then. I realize that whole calculation and story was utterly pointless, but hey... I'm weird like that. Sweet.

Well anywho, now I have a place to dump all of my pictures that have been eating up the memory on my computer. Trust me when I say that's exciting news for me. The Shutterfly package contained my photobooks. I had two of the photobooks printed (it's the book in my photobook section of this webpage). I'm going to put them somewhere in Columbia. Where, I'm not sure. If you have any ideas, pitch them at me. I'm thinking Uprise and Lakota, but if you can think of a better place, then let me know.

In health... So I've been sick the past few days or so. That's always a bummer, and it was pretty bad two days ago... Now, my throat still hurts, but my 102 degree fever has broken, so that's wonderful. Also, my body feels much better. No more of that odd sensation where you feel like you're sunburned even though you know you're not... and anytime something touches you it feels like you're trying to move a muscle that's fallen asleep. For some reason I've always associated that feeling (of wiggling a foot that's trying to wake up) with aliens crawling through my bloodstream. Like tiny little capillary-sized greys swimming and emanating some kind of odd electrical current. Right... So I'm not feeling perfect, mind you, but leaps and bounds above what it was a few days ago. Something to be thankful for!

In other news, my good friend Laura McNamara was on the radio in KC this morning. I listened to the interview on the website... Very cool. Laura is a professional blogger and her site is called Giramonda you should check it out. It's fantastic! She's an agricultural journalist (amongst many other things) with an ebullient personality, a compassionate heart, and a fervent desire for the manifestation of truth. You'd like her. I promise.

Ok. I feel like I've gone on long enough. I put up some new pictures today! I met the female model, Rebecka,  at a bar... She was there partying hard with her boyfriend's mom, Joan. Matthew is her boyfriend, and is in one of the photos. We shot down at Creve Coeur Lake in St. Louis.

I love this thunder! OK. God bless!

Ciao.

jm

 

Well yes... I did have one today. Rebecka and Matthew... They're a couple, the female of which I met at a bar with Joan, Matthew's mom... Bizarre, yes I know... But, they're both quite beautiful people. I'm excited for the shots as I think a few of them will be nothing short of spectacular... In all humility of course. ;) Well here's the bad news... I've felt like hammered death all day today. I'm not sure what it is, but I have an immensely penetrative headache, my entire body feels like it's been sun-poisoned (it's just that feeling though... it's certainly not from the sun, and there's no sunburn), and my throat is quite sore... I really don't know what's going on. I'm attempting to detox however... Perhaps that has something to do with it. I'm eating almost nothing but good food; fruits, vegetables, wheat stuff, etc. And I haven't had anything to drink in a few days... Could have something to do with it. My body feels like it's pushing through a filmy layer of weakness to burst into a higher plane of strength.

So I pick up the sis and pops on wednesday. That should be fun. I'm tired of gas prices... Frankly I'm tired of gas... Our transit system (or lack thereof)... The fact that electric cars are being rationed more or less to keep the market where it is... The apathy towards our environment's demise... The ignorance of the problems at hand... But, I'm still a gas consumer, and I don't really do that much to help the problems, so I guess I should just shut up... Haha. Moving on...

So I'm wanting to start incorporating props into my photography. I use a lot of nature, and I wouldn't say it's getting boring, but it's getting a little boring... Oh I guess I would say that... I've seen some amazing work, and I need some cool locations/props/etc. I feel like I always just have people standing there. I want more interaction between people... More interaction between people and animals perhaps... People and objects... People and other people... People and the elements... We'll just have to see. If you guys have ideas, I really am open to hearing them. You can shoot them in the comment box over there ---------------> or you can email me at jrm2nd@mizzou.edu . I'd love to hear from you.

Ok well thank you all for keeping up with me and taking an interest in what I do. I love you!
Ciao.
jm
 

  So... The music is done! Dianne liked it enough to put it in her documentary. I'm flattered, but I'm also encouraged. I can write music that people like enough to put into movies. How awesome is that? In my opinion (and not at all to toot my own horn... rather because I find it uplifting... and want to share), that's pretty awesome. So my mom gave me the most fortification today that I think I've ever gotten from her. She asked me "So why don't you do something real... like music... instead of doing all this photography?" It was a double-edged sword, but so is everything else. Even a single-edged sword is a double-edged sword. One side... you can cut something with... but the other side... it's uh... it's kind of flat. It doesn't cut well... (thanks Louis CK). But I appreciated it immensely nonetheless. I have a talent. She acknowledged it... And she gave it a practical implementation all at once. That's huge!
 
Anyway, it made me realize that the voice of God is seldom heard directly, though it's ever-present. Weird statement right? Well I see it like this. I believe creativity is synonymous with divinity... and so I think that art... be it visual (design, photography, painting, drawing, etc.), aural (choral music, orchestras, bands, etc.), tactile (sculpture, dance... etc. etc. etc. <-- King and I style), whatever... is a God-given medium for communication beyond verbal language. I'd be willing to bet there are more styles of dance than there are languages in the world. Why? Because they're a means of expressing something that cannot be "said". Don't you ever find yourself looking for a word, but there's not one solitary word that will adequately convey the feelings you're going through at that given point in time? Then you throw your hands up and do an odd conducting measure, cutting deftly through the air in such a manner that you've conveyed something you could have never spoken. Even the classic "i-dunno" noise... The shoulder shrug accompanied by the 1-5-3 verbal ejaculation. It says something in a voice... in a mannerism that's unspeakable.
 
There are a lot of ways to express oneself without speaking necessarily. And I believe it's when our minds fail to construct words; when we're rendered speechless, that we put our ideas and feelings into creative means. I believe the closest we come to speaking God's language is to be intentionally creative. After all, art was never a means of survival. It's always been a supernatural form of communication that spans all generations and all cultures.
 
 So maybe my photography seems fruitless to a caring mother that doesn't wish to see me end up on the streets eating film because I have no money for food... Understandable; but at the same time... I cannot cease.

  So if you've ever wondered to yourself why I take photographs, it's because I'm speaking in a language I cannot put into words. I'm attempting to freeze-frame (literally) an instance of God speaking. I feel that sometimes there's a blatant "Hey! Look at this!" in my photographs that I'm incapable of verbalizing (which if you know me... is an oddity). Sometimes they're just pretty and it's something that may make you think twice about an object you see every day... But sometimes... On those rare moments when the sun hits a face just right... when an animal that's not supposed to be there, is... When an action is captured at its nascence; In these moments, I thank God that I have a camera in my hands, and I'm capable of speaking a language of still-frames to the eyes of people who may never hear my voice. And for the blind, I have music. And for the blind and deaf.... Come dance with me! Ciao.

Love you all,

JM
 

  So... It's day two, and oh how the time flies. First things first, if you're a member at Shutterfly.com, my name in the community is JustinRMayfield. Original eh? But get on and friend me... If that's possible. I think it is. If you're not a member however, I would strongly recommend it. It's a great website with a lot of possibilities. This site I'm writing on right now is a part of it, and it's completely free. So if you've been thinking of starting a photo site, or a blog or something of that nature, check it out. And no... They're not paying me to say this. ;) Haha. I just feel strongly about it.

So what am I doing?

  Well I'm working on this script still for the SPC. As you can see, the check mark in my tasks hasn't yet been ticked... So it's still in progress. Tomorrow I'm going back to St. Louis to finish up the Burma music, and hopefully get it all recorded and polished for Dianne. Speaking of, you should check her out! http://www.diannebecker.com . Great website, wonderful causes, fantastic woman. I also found Christopher Titus today on youtube.com whilst looking for a different video... which I can now no longer recall. You should check him out though. He's like the new Bill Hicks in my opinion. Very funny, very caustic politically, and extremely motivated to shake things up a bit. He used to have that show "Titus" on Fox. You may or may not remember it. Anyway... I digress. I've been thinking about life a lot and wondering where mine's taking me, and how the journey is going to turn out. I don't care to know the end results, but rather am immensely enjoying the means. God has a way of setting us up on a path.
 
  I was talking to Jessi yesterday? and she said something that made me think about how life is. We were talking about white water rafting, and she made the comment that she became terrified at a given moment in her rafting excursion. It was when she realized that you really could flip over and fall in that she thought to herself... "Oh wow... I'm not on a ride at Disney World. There's no track on this thing!" (a rough paraphrase). I thought it was a clever notion, and that it also reflected life so well. Often times we find ourselves incapable of determining the outcome of our actions, or even the path that we're on. We feel as if there's supposed to be a track we need to be on in order to get... well somewhere (often times we don't even know where that somewhere is).
 
  But then I realized... Well the river doesn't really ever end. It just finds its way to the ocean... which is an even more vast expanse of possibilities and an even less "track-like" journey. So I see it this way. If you're in harmony with God, and you're doing things for the sake of eternal betterment... be it spiritual, emotional, physical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, etc. God will find a way to set things in motion in the right direction. Sometimes we still feel there's not a definite path, but we can always see the definition in the direction. So strings of clichés could be put in here... "go with the flow... don't try to paddle upstream... etc" but I'll let you take your own out of it.
 
  Anyway, that's all I've got for right now, so thanks for reading. Let me know what you want to hear, and I'll happily cover it. I'm not trying to play "Dear Abby," but I did get into psychology for a reason, and it's because I'm fascinated with the issues that arise in our lives, and how to deal with them. So if you have a problem, or a praise, a question, or an answer, don't hesitate to let me know. Take care.
Peace,
JM
 

Hey everyone. Firstly, grazie mille for coming to visit my site. I know a million of these pop up every day, but you found your way here, and I appreciate that immensely. Take a look around, get acquainted, and feel free to comment here, or to send me an email at jrm2nd@mizzou.edu if you see anything you like, dislike, want to change, etc. I'll take everything into consideration. After all, if you're giving me your time, I should be considerate and do likewise right? ;)  I hope to start blogging a bit on here, and also adding photos as I go. If you have ideas for a shoot you'd like to see, or want to help (do makeup, model, be a prop, lend an awesome setting in which to shoot, give ideas for how to get a better XYZ whatever that may be...), please don't hesitate to tell me about it! Thanks again everyone. Much love, justin mayfield

7/26/2009 2:10:45 AM - 000074469281
Haven't seen you around in awhile and hope all is well.
See u around soon.
Joey

4/23/2009 7:34:48 PM - 001076975951
Hi Justin, Found your site through Joey's site. Hope it is okay that I am stopping by. O see that you haven't added any new additions since November. But I'll be back to see if there is any new photos for you to share. take care.

1/17/2009 7:46:22 PM - 000074469281
Hey Justin, Just wanted to  tell you of the photobook challenge. There's a link on my site, or there's info on the Featured Home Page of the Gallery.

1/16/2009 5:03:44 PM - 000074469281
Hey Justin! Hope all is well in your photography world. Wishing you a great 2009 and hope to see more books soon! Joey

12/9/2008 2:42:26 PM - 001087896398
I just popped in to see all the awesome updates.  I also wanted to wish you a wonderful holiday season!

11/11/2008 4:54:52 AM - 000031826072

Hi Justin - I saw a link to your site on Joey's site, so I came over to take a peek - very cool site!  Love the blog and your header pics are awesome.  Stop by my place and say hello some time:

http://julie323.shutterfly.com - oh and enjoy the new job!!!!!!

10/21/2008 2:57:57 PM - 001087896398

You Rock ~ I see Bob made the list!

8/14/2008 9:47:02 AM - 002023784226

“If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”--Thoreau Right on.

8/10/2008 5:44:36 PM - 001087896398

I loved your book on Shutterfly!  I must say that being from OH I was suprised not to see Bob Evans in your Sausage Links section.

Oh, well...next time.  I look forward to you next book!

8/5/2008 6:37:12 PM - 000074469281

Great site Justin! I added your book to my site and will add your share site too. It's really cool and you've done a great job. Love the bike in motion in your header. Come check my site out. It's still a work in progress. joeyssite.site.shutterfly.com

Keep up the great work. You have such talent!!

Joanna

8/3/2008 1:58:07 AM - 002019468703
I'm not sure what this little box is for... But you can write in it I believe. You can tell me anything that's on your mind! It's virtual magic...