Meet Ashlyn. Your extraordinary 6-foot-4.5-inches high school senior. Nothing is average about this girl. She's outgoing, spontaneous, adventurous, creative, and successful. As an outspoken and budding photographer (she has taken my class since her sophomore year of high school and soon heading to Savannah College of Art and Design), she's told me from the beginning I'd be shooting her senior portraits. I've watched her grow and become her own person throughout her high school years, so I had an idea about how to make her senior portraits represent her free-spirit and goofy demeanor. We explored everything that makes the Dirty Durham the best city ever: climbing through a deserted castle, having deep conversations with Geoffrey the Giraffe (Northern High School's unofficial school mascot that Ashlyn based her AP Art portfolio on), hanging out on Ninth Street, and the best local coffee shop, Cocoa Cinnamon, and shooting some awesome portraits in stunning light. I also shot some film and I believe her face was more excited when I developed her film then her face the first time she ever saw her first roll of developed film. I got some memorable photos with her Mom and Dad, then she flipped through some records in hopes of finding Jack White, and drank enough hot cocoa to make her forget how chilly it was outside. It's been quite a journey with this girl and she's got quite a journey ahead of her! Ashlyn, don't be afraid to be yourself and let your spirit run free as you conquer this big world in front of you! (with your sidekick, Geoffrey, of course!)

This past thursday I was honored to hold the RDU Baton again! On my birthday in May, I held the baton for the first time and after meeting the lovely, Susannah Brinkley, at UNC's journalism camp this summer, she asked me to hold it again! I had such a blast with it on my first go-round, I took her up on the challenge! For those new to this, the RDU Baton is a collaborative Instagram project started by Susannah Brinkley & Brittany Iery that showcases the people, lives, and unique spots around North Carolina's Triangle! This day was a very busy one but came out awesome!

Sorry for the late morning post! I’m so honored to hold the baton for a 2nd time! Today is freshman orientation at Northern High School in The Bull City, where I teach photography & it’s been a crazy morning! Although I have lived in Chapel Hill for almost 6 years & am a proud Tar Heel myself, Durham is quickly finding a place in my heart! This is a picture of our school giraffe, Geoffrey! Stolen from an old putt-putt place as a senior prank, NHS bought Geoffrey and made his home the school courtyard. Art club paints him different every year so they went surreal with a Salvador Dalí mustache & zebra stripes. Photo by @viedfinder #durham #school

I stopped today to pick up film from my recent trip to London & Ireland at my favorite camera shop, Southeastern. Tucked away by the farmer’s market in Carrboro, Southeastern is a “dinosaur” store that still offers a large variety of film, photo paper, vintage (and digital!) cameras, and they do specialty developing. The manager, Chris, runs a fantastic shop where photographers, beginning and professional, from all over the Triangle flock to for supplies. I started coming here in undergrad and still go today because of the friendly service, quick turnaround, and for the sake of supporting local businesses! #buylocal #carrboro #camera @SEC_Carrboro photo by @viedfinder

My favorite coffee shop in the triangle is Cocoa Cinnamon in downtown Durham. Their coffee is delectable, their hot chocolate decadent, & their menu offers a huge array of hot and cold coffees! They also partner up with local bakeries to get the best sweet treats, like this chocolate lavender cheesecake! My brand new food & art blog, @treatswelovenc, was born here with the lovely @katiehatfield. Be on the lookout for some new upcoming posts, which have been postponed because of travel! @cocoacinnamon #coffee #durham photo by @viedfinder

I recently took up the JV and assistant competition cheerleading coaching job & I love it! Our team is full of strong, beautiful, and intelligent young ladies & we are pumped for the 2013 football season. Catch us at our next home game next Friday at the Durham County Stadium! #goknights #northerncheer #durham photo by @viedfinder

A student of mine introduced me to Pelican’s Sno-Cones last week on Roxboro Road, and so naturally, today’s hot weather just *forced* me to go grab a kiddie cone. My favorite flavor is the sugar-free sweet cherry (I know, I know, I’m one on those no-sugar-when-I-can-help-it people) but they have a huge menu of flavors! Some of which they claim to be “as dreamy as Zach Efron!” Haha, oh, Durham, you’re great! #durham photo by @viedfinder

I figured I’d give y’all a preview of my scanned film. Its the first time in a while I’ve shot color film & the magic is still there. I chose a shameless selfie for this one but at least it has a shallow depth-of-field and pretty bokeh right?! If y’all want to see the rest you’ll have to check out my blog, viedfinder.com, to see the rest of this photographic adventure in England & Ireland! #shameless #selfie #chapelhill. Photo by @viedfinder

Usually my evenings & weekends are the only time I have to work on my photography business. I recently finished a personal project, which was a short documentary about a dance camp for underprivileged Hispanic girls. Currently, I’m working on scanning film and editing digital photos from my recent trip to Ireland. And then at a certain point, my dog, Eloise, whines enough for me to go cuddle her to sleep. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventures of @jtmoore3! Peace, y’all! #adventuresofeloise #chapelhill photo by @viedfinder

I hope you enjoyed my day! If you want, RDU Baton is always looking for people to hold the account! Go sign up here!