Lehigh Valley Photographer — Nilo Hodge Photo-Nilo Hodge Photo Blog

Cautionary Tales 2

Happy Halloween!

I had a few people ask me if I planned on doing a continuation to my Cautionary Tales series from last year. I was considering not doing it since this October has been very busy. Inevitably, my desire to create took over and I started writing ideas out and started to figure out how I wanted to execute them, no pun intended. For the people that didn’t see last year’s series, this is a horror photo series showcasing distraction and what could happen when you are. With no further delay, I present Cautionary Tales 2.

Blues, Brews and BBQ 2019 Allentown, PA

I spent Saturday afternoon in Allentown hanging out at Blues, Brews and BBQ. I’ve been to it years in the past, but this was the first time I spent a significant amount of time there watching various artists perform. My friend Pentley was playing on the stage outside of Queen City BBQ. The Allentown Arts Walk provided a great backdrop for the stage. For the most part, Pentley plays alone, but he was backed by a group of great local musicians which provided a different feel to his set. Here’s a few photos from his performance.

Passions: Pentley Holmes

Life can be strange sometimes. Peoples’ lives cross in unexpected ways. When we were kids, Pentley Holmes and I shared a bus stop at the half point between our houses. Then he moved to P’burg and I didn't see him for a long time. Around high school, I started to ride BMX and I started to see Pentley around again since he also rode at the time. After a few years, he started music and really immersed himself in playing and learning music. It was a rarity when I would catch him out somewhere. Back when I started photography around 6 years ago, he was one of the first people I did some photos and videos for while he performed in a little basement venue. This past Saturday, I met him at the State Theatre in Easton, PA and shot photos and videos for him in the nicest venue in town. He’s had an awesome journey in music thus far and I thought he’d be a perfect person to talk with.

Bodie Ghost Town

When I think of ghost towns, I think of the movie There Will Be Blood. I imagine the wood houses, the serenity, the prominent church and an oil well or gold mine. You can see the small tight knit community working towards a common goal, to get rich. When my friend Ron and I were planning on our trip to California, I knew this would be an amazing place to check out.

Passions: Melissa Eick

Now that I'm in my 30's, I've been really thinking about what goes into having a child. The nurturing, the teaching, the patience and most importantly, being selfless. That's where I get hung up. I like to think that I'm compassionate toward others and try to be there for people. But do I have that trait to be completely selfless with my own child? I recently went to the home of Melissa Eick to experience true selflessness. Melissa is a dedicated and devoted mother to her daughter Maura. She was born with more complications than any child deserves and has been through more in her 2 years than most adults have in their whole lives. During my visit, Melissa showed me the process of mixing Maura's sustaining medicines and their applications. It was humbling to talk with someone so devoted to their child and I want to thank her and Maura for having me.

Passions: Gabriel Franklin

After my first Passions post, I had a pretty good response. So I've been motivated to do another. I know so many people with interesting passions in their lives and Gabe is one of them. I met Gabe through work a few years back around the time I started photography. He came to help us with a few of our big plaster jobs and he has a really interesting view of the world and is also a fan of photography. Him and his wife Megan run a company called The Art of Plaster. You can check out more of their work at www.theartofplaster.com.