Episode 17: Capturing the moment with Alexis Oldham

Local resident Alexis Oldham, also known as ALO Photography, sits down with Izzy and David to discuss her passion for photography, love of the community, and where the two intersect. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Hello and welcome back to Voices of the Ubb Marl. I'm Izzy Kelly Ghost, your host, and this is David Prizer, your other host.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Again.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Again. Today we are going to be talking with local photographer Alexis Oldham. But first, I want to discuss a few things going on. To start off, ECPPS and Elizabeth City State University recently signed a memorandum of understanding that will allow high school students to pursue dual enrollment with ECSU. And that's a huge step. It's not been accessible before.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

ECPPS students have previously Does that mean they have to go to classes twice as often?

SPEAKER_01 0:50

No, I believe the dual enrollment classes typically replace certain high school classes. That's generally how that works. But ECPPS students have been able to do that before.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Wait a minute. It's ECPPS and ECU. It's like ECPPS ECU. ECP P S E C U. Too many letters.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

ECPPS, E C S U, C O S.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Too many letters.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

That's where I'm going with that next.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Letters of memory or memorandum of agreement. M O M O U. M-O-U. Oh my God.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Well, that's why I didn't say M O U. I said memorandum of understanding to simplify it.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

Well, thank you for doing that, but to give you a memorandum of understanding. What's an MOU?

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Memorandum of understanding. Yes. ECPPS students have previously been able to duly enroll with College of the Albemarle, but now we'll have another institution to seek higher education. During the ribbon cutting and signing ceremony, they actually gifted the first Aviation Academy student to be able to duly enroll in the coming school year with a backpack and headset to prepare him. I believe he'll be pursuing a career as a pilot.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

A headset?

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Yes, like the ones that they use in planes.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Oh, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

So he's in the Aviation Academy, which is brand new this year. It's comprised of mostly freshmen and one sophomore, Abel Sutton. Um, he actually gave a speech during the ceremony. He's very well spoken. And and yes, the Aviation Academy is not like those fresh. You are so oh my god. Well, speaking of school news, we're going to be talking now about NEAT. That's the Northeastern Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technology.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

Everything an acronym or I think yes.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

Um, I think we should be called VOTA.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

That's it.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

Voices of the album or vota. That's how I've been referring to it.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

Yeah. You're the one. You're the one. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Yeah, I'm creating all of these acronyms. No. 85 students graduated from NEAT this past Friday, May 22nd. And according to a press release from the school, their 85 seniors earned a whopping $2 million in scholarships combined between all 85 of them. Holy crap. Isn't that crazy? 74 of them already have college credit. They will be going into college with college credit because of dual enrollment. And then 34 of them actually already have associates' degrees from College of the Album War.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

I would have been much happier in another job where I didn't meet all these really high-attaining high school graduates. It just makes me feel so dumb. They know so much more than I do.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Are you smarter than a neat schooler?

SPEAKER_02 3:30

Obviously not.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

E PPS schooler.

SPEAKER_02 3:33

Two million dollars worth of worth of scholarships.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

That's insane. That's an amazing accomplishment.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

I think I got a Big Mac and one of those cardboard crowns at Burger King.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

But also when you went to college, it was two dollars a semester.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Oh shut up.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

I'm serious.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Oh sh yes. I had I had to walk to school uphill both ways.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

So in the snow, in the rain. Okay. And lastly, Jim Henson's creature shop, which was his workshop where he created the Muppets Endless Characters, is opening for tours in Queens, New York. According to an associated press article, the tours are $150 and will take place on Saturdays. The tours are around 80 minutes long, starting in a room specifically designed for the tour, which will hold props and Muppets creations. And that's actually the only room where people are allowed to take photographs because the rest of the tour includes behind-the-scenes looks at Kermit and Miss Piggy. Yes, and other ongoing projects. Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Muppets. Um, I don't know if I've ever mentioned that before, but I love the Muppets. I grew up watching the Muppets, and I would pay twice that amount for a tour. I don't really get it.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Yeah, I didn't I didn't get into that much unless until they had the celebrities on the show. I just I thought that was cool. When you have when you have a real person like that interacting with a puppet, it just reminded me when I was in college and I was doing weird stuff.

unknown 5:01

What?

SPEAKER_02 5:02

What do you mean?

SPEAKER_01 5:04

What kind of weird stuff were you doing?

SPEAKER_02 5:07

Talking to a puppet wasn't all that unusual.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Okay, actually, um, when I was at College of the Albemarle, I did in fact COA, by the way. COA, yes, thank you. I actually did in fact have to create a puppet for one of my theater classes. No, we made legit puppets.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

A sock puppet's a legit puppet.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Well, yes, but I'm talking a Muppets level puppet, which was fantastic for me, a Muppets lover. But on that really weird note, uh, I think we're gonna switch over to our um interview with the wonderful Alexis Oldham. Welcome again to Voices of the Albemarle, where we're joined by the lovely Alexis Oldham, local photographer. Alexis, thank you so much for joining us today. Hello. I'm so excited to have you on.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

Um she's lovely. What am I?

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Let's not get into that right now. Do we have the time? Let me count thy ways. Anyways, to begin our interviews, I always love to get a little bit of background. So I'm hoping you could give us a glimpse into how you got into photography.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Oh, well. Um, I picked up a camera first in 2016 for a hobby. My dad was like, here, take these photos for like the background of a wedding that it was our family that was getting married. And he just made me take my Nana or my grandma's old Nikon camera. I had no clue how to use it, and the pictures actually came out pretty well. And um, I don't know, I became I thought it was really good though. I was like, this is actually kind of interesting, and they enjoyed my photos so much that I was able to get my own little camera. And I also was very big on church at that time. So I was going to Access Point in Edenton and they're really big with Camp Kale. Oh, right, yes. And I went to Camp Kale 13 years as a camper, and then I was able to do a counselor position. Oh, and the marketing guy over there, his name is Andrew Young, and he let me come out for a week and play with his camera, but his was high-end canon into it. And I think I found my love there, doing it for like the kids, like my person, my personal perspective and stuff like that. And from there, it just became my little hobby. And I moved away for five years. I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina. I went to school for film, and then I realized the film that they were doing was more theatrical, not my style really. So I switched my major to medical administration, which was a whole different ballgame. So I was working for a neurosurgeon out there for about three years until my family opened up kin folk.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Right. And then you moved back here, and now you pursue photography professionally.

SPEAKER_03 7:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

And your photography, which kind of lines up with everything you've just told us, really focuses on people. You focus a lot on you do musicians, families, maternity shoots, proms, you do it all. Graduation, um, senior grad photos, a little bit of everything. What is what is it about people, about your perspective on people that you're so passionate about?

SPEAKER_00 8:23

I think it's the stories, honestly, the memories, the moments. Um, I don't know. If I grew like growing up, even now though, it's hard for me to find a bunch of old photos of me. Like, I mean, we have a good amount of photos of me as a kid, but it doesn't seem like I don't know, moments that should have been captured or even videos that should, you know what I mean? I my point was more of like a home, a homey vibe, like kind of doing it personal. Like the so even like with the concerts, I don't just do it for the view of musicians playing. I like to get their reactions from the crowd and the moments that are intimate and I don't know, it's more of the story for me.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Can I do you think that you've always viewed taking photos like that? Or is that something you've learned through the years as you've seen the results of your photos? You're you're telling a story about the event. Let's say that's I'm gonna put it that way. Not everybody thinks of telling a story about the event. They think, I'm gonna take a picture of the band. Boom, I've got that. And then five years later, they say, you know, that's a big deal. You know, I've seen a lot of pictures. I wanted to get my girlfriend, I wanted to get the the the people behind me, all that kind of stuff. You're seeing that now. Where does that come from?

SPEAKER_00 9:42

I uh I think it's because I don't know, I got into events are just a big deal to me, anyways. I um like even with the Captain Bob's when it was burning down. I live about 20 minutes from Captain Bob's, and I got a text saying, Oh my gosh, Captain Bob's is burning down right now. And my first thought was, should I go take my camera off? And my second thought was, how insensitive does that sound? Um, but it was more of not just me doing it for, you know, the photo or the the moment at itself, but it was also like a concerned neighbor, a concerned person that actually was involved in the community. And I showed up and it was emotional. It was like that was a staple in Hertford that you know everybody was losing. It was more than just a building. And I didn't, I don't know, the story behind it was more. And I think I'm also really good at writing. I I enjoy writing, I enjoy being able to express emotions. So I think I brought both of them together. I was just telling Nicole that um I believe I look at myself the way in the 50s, you know, you would see that one um person with their camera, but they were also like a newspaper person at the same time. Right. That's me. I want to be able to do both. I want to tell the story, I want to tell the story, but I also want to capture the emotions behind it.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

And and that is, I mean, I think there's something really powerful in that. I actually, this was a little bit later down in my line of questioning, but I want to go ahead and hop to it since we're there. When the Theravada monks from Texas did their walk of peace, you actually went to DC um when they arrived and you got to take these amazing photographs. And that is that's a huge deal. Uh photography is a really important part of journalism and a crucial part of historiography. And I just you are part of like a really crucial event in history. Um, it was a huge deal, and you got to be there. And I want to know what that experience was like for you.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

Look, I had kept I had kept up with the monks and I'd seen, I'd seen things about them, of course. And I won't even take credit for that trip because if it weren't for KB Butler, um he actually pushed me towards that. He was like, I honestly think this would be a good opportunity for you. And at first I was kind of skeptical because traveling that far, you know what I mean? You never know if it's gonna be worth it in the end. But it truly was. It was an eye-opening experience, and I had never been to DC. So that was my first time going to DC, which was breathtaking. I want that's more of a weekend trip though, for sure. Yeah. Um, but we got up that morning, I think like 4 a.m. and we made it to DC. And then we left that night as soon as we're done. But it was it was beautiful, the different perspectives, the different walks of life. You know what I mean? It was everybody in one place. There was no arguing. There was, it wasn't about the world politics. It was more of just peace and humanity, and it was beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

And for those who haven't seen those photographs, they really are. They you capture the moment. You definitely capture just a wonderful perspective, the way that you photograph them. You know, a lot of people would try and photograph them like, oh, hey, can we get together? We're gonna do a head-on photo, but you capture them interacting with people, you capture almost their perspective. Right. And I think that was that was really important.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

Um can I something else?

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Um you you mentioned um uh you talk about uh reporters or journalists, maybe not journalists, but reporters, writing a story and taking pictures. Um, there was a uh a gentleman who ran a company called uh Media News Group, who owns the Denver Post and a bunch of other lists, um, and he he absorbed a another media company. And he decided that he was gonna give all the all the reporters. This is back in the day when newspapers were scurrying to do whatever they could to become more digital, whether they have or not, that's something totally different. But he gave all the reporters this this um handy-dandy phone-like camera. Um, and I'm not gonna get into the quality of the camera right now, but but assuming that all the phot photographer, all the writers, all the reporters could take photos of what they're doing. Um, is there a problem with that necessarily? I'm not saying it's a wrong thing, but can everyone who writes a story take photographs worth worth looking at?

SPEAKER_00 14:17

I mean, I think everyone I think everyone could take pictures, yes. They can 100%. Anybody can pick up a camera and take a photo. That no problem. Um, can they tell the story correctly? Who knows? Okay. And the picture, the picture itself should just looking at it should show more emotion that ties into the story. So it all should be one big thing, but I mean, not everybody can have all as one. I mean, everybody can take a picture, everybody can write a story, but do they tie into it like to each other?

SPEAKER_02 14:48

I I would I would agree with that. Um and to that end, I I'm I'm much older than everybody in this room together, I think. I don't know about it. I worked in Chicago, um from Chicago at uh large metro at the time, Chicago Sun Times, and we had a we had a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer. His name was John White. Um, and he uh he took pictures of of uh things Malcolm X and not just pictures, but he told the story about and that was what he won the Pulitzer by uh uh on. It was a series of photos. It wasn't one right there. He was the first first uh photographer to win for his series of photos, telling a story. And I had I would talk with him every once in a while, and that became very that stuck in my mind that he was he we had reporters who were writing things. And John White was telling a story without writing. Now, somebody could have written captions for him, but he was telling the story through pictures, and it was and it was recognized. It was back in the 80s, you know, so it was it was recognized back then, but a lot of photographers weren't doing it, especially in newspapers. They weren't, they were still taking taking the the one photo. So I I I would agree with that. I don't think you can necessarily give all great reporters a uh a phone and have them tell the story with it. It's may and sometimes they can't even take the right picture, but that's just because people are people, not everybody has the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Are you talking about me?

SPEAKER_02 16:16

I'm not I'm not. I think you're do you do a I think I think you do a very good job uh with everything that you've everything you touch. I'm very highly complimentary.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Oh my gosh. Wow, okay, wait, let's shift gears before I start talking about myself. No, I'm just kidding. Um, but I do want to shift gears just a little bit because photojournalism is a is a huge integral part of of society. It is, it is, it's just point blank period. But like you were talking about, the moments, um, family moments and and moments of people living their lives, it's not always journalism, but it's still so important, which is why you have a pay what you can policy. You you have standard pricing, but you have a policy where people can come and talk to you, tell you what's going on, and you can work with them. And I just want to know what the thought behind that is. You don't see that every day. There are not a lot of photographers that do that.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

I actually don't ask questions. So if somebody were to tell me, hey, I can't afford this, I believe you. Um, mine is I I get why photographers charge the way they do. Um it's expense, it's an expensive hobby. You know what I mean? Like my camera set up by itself costs more than my car. Yeah. Um, so and then one SD card that holds all your memories that I'm capturing is like a $200 now. Like they're it's an expensive trait, honestly. Um and then there's the editing software. And then there's the time. Exactly. But I um I think more I looked at this, I didn't start this to make money. I I'm not in it for them. I'm still not in it for the money fully, honestly. I I enjoy the reactions from people when they see the photos that I took. I enjoy the feedback. Um, I truly believe now that I've created my own look. You can look at my picture and know without my watermark that it's mine. Um, so it was never about me making money from it. And then I realized um quickly that when I did give my prices to people, um, it sometimes it just didn't work out. And then I kind of felt bad. I was like, well, I mean, everyone deserves good pictures, like good quality photos. So I came up with, or I can't even say I came up with it. I'm sure I saw it online. I don't want to take credit for it. Um, but I saw like this pay what you can thing, and I was like, well, that sounds really good for photos. So I've been paid in fruit, I have been paid in gift cards. Um, I got paid in flowers, you know what I mean? Like I've taken, I'll take it all. I I don't care what it is. Um, but it was just never about the photos, and I think everyone just deserves memories to be captured.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

I think that's such a beautiful philosophy. Bartering and trading is kind of coming back in our generation a little bit. You're not the only person I've seen tattoo artists do that, uh bakers do that now. That is that's becoming really popular, and I think that's really unique. And I think it's not something you see in this area.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

Which is crazy to me because this this area is filled with so much talent, like hidden talent that I mean, people should do service for service more often just so that they can get their name out there. I don't agree. There is so much hidden talent in this little city, and someone just needs the push to be seen, you know what I mean? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

Alexis, um today we can take our phones and snap tons of pictures, and I have too many photos on my my phones, uh, and I download them occasionally. But has the proliferation, do you think the proliferation of people being able to take photos has improved our appreciation for uh graphics, or has it diminished it, is it cheapened it, is it has it made us more uh more uh open to it, uh attentive to it, uh sensitive to it? What do you think?

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Um I really think it just depends on your personal perspective of things. I think it's opened it in my opinion. I mean, I even use Chat GPT often, you know what I mean? And I know that's a big that's a big thing for people. Um I don't necessarily feel like the AI and the graphic, it gets it takes away from the originality of your thought. You know what I mean? It just it just widens it. It just widens the perspective, really. Kind of like it's hard a lot of a lot of people, it's hard for them just to speak on what they want or speak on how they do, so they have to write it out and then it brings it back to it. Like it brings chat brings your entire idea of how you're trying to speak or how you're trying to get it across. So I I don't I I I think it just depends personally on what you've been through with taking pictures and graphics and whatnot. I wouldn't say it takes it away from it though, it doesn't diminish it, but I guess it could for some people.

SPEAKER_02 20:56

When you use uh AI, do you feel compelled to make a statement that you've used it?

SPEAKER_00 21:05

Um that so I don't use AI for my pictures specifically. Um if I use AI, it's more of like my cartoon graphics made of me. You know what I mean? Oh, so on your lips. Yeah, so um like for cornhole specifically, because I'm really big into cornhole. I play too and I travel for it. So with that, I make a I made or Kateem actually made me this little character. And then I use that character each time I travel. I just use chat to make me a new background for it, basically.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

A business partner of mine just yesterday sent one out on Facebook and I just asked her today, where'd you well who did that?

SPEAKER_00 21:46

Okay, so never gonna which I I mean I'm all for chat, but I think I mean I think now though it it's starting to take the originality from a lot of people because they're all starting to look the exact same. So I think a lot of people need to focus on more of what they want. Because if you specifically say exactly what you're looking for into Chat GPT, they're gonna make it how you want it. But if you're just typing like, hey, make me a a random page like this, it's gonna create it to their most normal, most wanted graphic, which everybody is doing. They're not putting more detail into what they want. So it's not giving chat more of a more room to be creative.

SPEAKER_02 22:24

I have a caricature drawn of me when I was back in college. And I had the most luxurious hair. You were you had hair at one point? Yes, yes, yes. But I guess you're saying that we we had this charcoal artist and at a at at a bar and uh and drew drawing drawing these characters. But today you could just whack one out really quickly with with Chat GPT, just tell them what what I want. Yeah, so I can do it again. I could give myself hair. Oh I can do it with a mullet.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

Technically you could, but that's not the mullet. We're not talking about that again. We've had this conversation before. Spiritually, he has a mullet, he says. That's in his soul, he has a mullet. Um but we're gonna move past that. I don't want to bring that back up again. I think there is something to be said about man-made art though.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

And oh, definitely the time that you put behind it, you know. I mean the the person itself. I mean, that's years of something that they were taught. You know what I mean? So I guess it really depends. Like you could use someone for their specific talents, and it's gonna mean more, it's more meaning and down the road. I mean, it's gonna last longer, you know what I mean? I guess it all depends on the how quick you need something done too. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 23:39

But I speaking of that and kind of jumping back to what you said about your own artwork, you said you kind of have a signature style now. A lot of photographers develop their own style, and and not every photographer is going to fit the vision of what every client wants, right? Which is why, from my perspective, I have seen that you are very adamant about uplifting other photographers in the area, which again is not something that you see from a lot of photographers. But I see you on social media all the time giving a shout-out or even recommending other photographers for people who are looking for a specific style. And what inspires you to have such an open platform? You're running a business. So, like I said, not every photographer is gonna do that. But what inspires you to have this platform where you want to uplift other photographers and promote them, even though you're trying to sell a similar product?

SPEAKER_00 24:31

Right. I think I mean again, it's about the community for me. I um I I grew up in this town. Yes. I am known from I wasn't always the happiest kid. I was an angry teenager, you know what I mean? I went through you and me both. Right. Went through those things growing up, wasn't always the what most well liked. And then I moved away for five years to a brand new city by myself. And it opened my perspective. I came from a small-minded town, mind you, and I just still believe that Elizabeth City is a little small-minded, but you know, um and I think I don't know, moving away, it opened my perspective to different things. So and I don't know, it's like seeing coming back here thinking that people grew too, you know, everything grew around it wasn't the case. It was more of like there's a lot of work that could be done in this city. Um, as far as the community itself, um, you know, COVID and the stuff back then, like it it it tore the town, kind of it um politics, my goodness, that is a big thing too. But for some reason, we can't put a put that aside. You can't put aside the feelings of people, and it's hard to know exactly what people go through.

SPEAKER_02 25:41

So when you moved away, you're talking about Wilmington, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:44

Yeah, yeah. So moving away and seeing different perspectives, meeting different people from all different walks of life. I think just coming home and it's it's it's not a competition.

SPEAKER_02 25:53

I I would agree with that. It's it's almost it's almost like I I call it I did the same thing, I'm not comparing it, but I I know exactly how you feel. I I call it like inbreeding.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

You know, I was told I was an embred like this year when I went to Edenton. I literally was told, yeah, you're an embred. I'm like, I've never heard that. What is the context? What do we do? It's not nothing wrong with it. You just weren't born and raised there.

SPEAKER_02 26:18

But you can see things from a totally different perspective when you you went to Wilmington, and I'm not saying Wilmington is the world, but it's different. So you're seeing things from a different perspective. And then it's very clarifying. I mean, it's it's it's nice because you can make not a judgment, you can you can detect you know what you like because you know you've seen the other side, and so uh you can't just say, Well, I think I would like that. It's like never having to go out to New York before and say, Oh, I think I love the New York. Well, maybe you wouldn't like New York.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

It kind of like, yeah, those experiences kind of humble you, honestly. It kind of opens your I mean, it's like in a small town like this, it's like you're protected, kind of. Your absolutely your image, your your thought of how real world works is protected from how we move here. And then leaving and without my family, without like running to my mom down the road or calling my sister or calling my dad. It's like I was forced to go through things, even bad moments in Wilmington, because I had them, like bad jobs, bad. I had to f it opened me to have to do it on my own. So then I moved back home and I still, I mean, I still can do things on my own. It's different with your family around, you know what I mean? But I think I think moving away from your town for a little bit to get different experiences is beneficial.

SPEAKER_02 27:35

Okay, that's personal growth.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

How does that get reflected in your creativity?

SPEAKER_00 27:40

Um, I think it changed me completely. I um again, I was before I moved out of here, I was I mean, I'm still emotional. I'm still an emotional little girl, I promise. Um, I was angry though. I didn't know how to release how I felt about things. Um and I think moving away, it it just opened my perspective on how to to treat humans, really. And then I think that also ties into my work because I view all, I mean, I view everything as growth, truly. Like your freakouts, your your major accomplishments, everything has a story behind it. And 10 years from now, like none of that's gonna I mean it's not gonna matter to the outside world, you know. But what you did from where you were to where you are now, that is such a big accomplishment that people don't see. Like they don't know what it took for me to get to where I'm at right now. If I hit this microphone, that's okay. Cole can end those out of that.

SPEAKER_02 28:37

You do it one more time, we're gonna dictate your own.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

And I think that is that's a really important perspective to have is is understanding that everything that you're gonna go through is gonna change you one way or another. And I wanna know just I I feel like this is a simple question. Um, but I'm sure I already know the answer. I feel like I've gathered it through context clues, but do you feel like moving away, having to do things on your own, experiencing that personal growth? Do you feel like that is what led you when you came back here to seek out more community?

SPEAKER_00 29:11

I I do, I do. I think um I was lost when I moved back home. I had just gotten out of a seven-year relationship and didn't have a house, you know what I mean? I I was on my own for so long in Wilmington, and then I moved back home and it was like a major shock. No clue what my next moves were. Um, and then my Nana, when she was a part of Ken Folk, she has always been big on community too. So when she became a part of Kenfolk with my uncle and my aunt, um you could just see her, like how happy she was. She would be sitting behind that bar, and the first person that would walk in, she's just so excited to see you. And the more I saw how she worked and how the way she moved and how everyone loved her, it just made me like well, why like why can't I be like that? You know what I mean? So and now I believe I I I honestly am. I I am well known and I think I believe I'm well loved now. I think that everybody like I mean, you see how I am when I'm downtown taking photos for Halloween or whatever. It's like everybody's excited for my pictures now, and it became I don't know, it's a very I'm telling you from where I started to where I'm at now, it's like a whole 360, man. It's it's different, it's overwhelming, but I'm honestly so thankful.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

And you are just like a ray of sunshine every time you are downtown. And you don't just photograph downtown. Like you said, you photographed like the Halloween party in that alley every year. You've taken pictures of me, and and you are everywhere. You are everywhere all of these events, including sports, which I didn't really talk about, but you touched on briefly, so I want to circle back to that. Um, you have photographed sports, so you photograph softball games, baseball games, basketball games, probably just about every sport, but especially cornhole, and you talked about that a minute ago. And I think that also ties back into kinfolk. Um, because you're also a player, and I just want to know was kinfolk the main reason you got involved in cornhole? How did you end up doing that and and photographing just about every player in the area? How did that come about?

SPEAKER_00 31:14

I grew up playing, well, I didn't play cornhole, my dad did, and that was a very, you know, backyard drinking with your buddies. Right. Um, as long as I can remember, honestly, the potato festival had been holding a cornhole tournament. Um, because I can remember my dad playing, and that was when it was one street. Yeah. Um and I mean I knew about the game, but I never knew how big it was. And then I was living in Wilmington at the time. It was a rock autism autism festival here, and kinfolk decided to hold a cornhole tournament there. And then I was supposed to play with my dad, and he bailed on me. Um, so I pulled my cousin in to play with me, had not played core. Like, I mean, I haven't played in years. The only reason I was doing it was because kin folk had offered to do it and I wanted to be there for my family.

SPEAKER_03 31:57

Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

So I showed up and I did really good. And it was so fun to see these guys and their like reaction, like, holy crap, who are you? And then it was even funner to be like, well, I'm like, I'm their granddaughter. I'm Kenfolk, you know, it was just so fun. And then I went back home or home, Wilmington at the time, and there was a cornhole league or a corn a place to play cornhole up there, and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is like big. So I started playing up there, and I for a girl, honestly, like I was really good. And then um one weekend I had still hadn't moved home yet, but they held the rookie of the year tournament. So these are all brand new players. If you hadn't played in the last year, you got to sign up. It was singles, um, double elimination. I lost one game and then I battled my way through and I ended up getting second.

SPEAKER_03 32:46

What?

SPEAKER_00 32:47

Yeah, I lost to great his name's Gravy, but they call him um Jermaine Liverman. But uh I lost to him, and after that, I was like, well, this is actually really fun to compete and be a good female in a male-dominating sport. So it it kind of gave me a boost. So ever since then, um I played. I KB has, you know, he started the league here. And now he's a pro player. Yes, yes. But that was a long time, and the thing is that he did that and it was all natural. And it's like he didn't have to prove himself, he just played his game and it was good enough, you know what I mean? And because of him and learning the behind the scenes at it, the big, the big tournaments, the it just got really exciting. And I took my camera one day and I was like, well, um, let's just try this. Let me just take a few photos. And back then, if you look at these pictures, they look like crap. The editing is terrible, the discoloration in the faces, but they thought it was perfect. They thought these were the best photos ever. And since I had such a good reaction, I took my camera to every single event that I could when we traveled. And now my editing has become top tier so much better, all of the same color. Um, and the American Cornhole League finally reached out to me because I mean I kept I made my own name in it. Like it's like I wasn't going anywhere, you're gonna see me. But I have a bunch of different other friends too that I've created that are also doing videography and photography for the American Cornhole League. So it also, and these are all from different states. So it's like you're it's given me such a big opportunity to grow. It's absolutely insane.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

And for those who don't know, KB is Katim Butler, who, like you said, started the Cornhole League here with Jake McDaniels and Tyler Chappell, too. So River City Baggers. And I actually did an article on him, and you took the photographs for it. And they are great photographs. You do a very good job at capturing the fun of that sport, I think.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

I think so too.

SPEAKER_01 34:46

And we've talked a lot about growth. We talked a lot about growth personally and in your photography, and it does seem like you've come so far. So I just want to know where do you hope your photography takes you?

SPEAKER_00 35:00

Um, I can't honestly, I'm in the moments I prayed for already. So it's hard, you know what I mean? It's hard. I I wanted to be full-time, so it which is so funny because it's like I was so eager to get to where I'm at right now years ago, which I'm so glad it took this this amount of time because I had a lot of growing to do. Um, but I quit my job last March and I've been doing this full-time since. And this last year of being on my own um has been a lot, but it um I think it helped me grow a lot, and I'm more excited because I'm this year, I can already see it's a lot better. I think in the long run, I just want to be again, I just want to be known for who I am, the reason behind what I do, and again, it's just that's not about the money or anything, it's just about the memories and the moments, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 35:52

So I asked you just the one question and maybe a follow-up. Ten years ago, did you ever see yourself as being on your own, making your own name, making your own way?

SPEAKER_00 36:04

I did not. I I did not. I would have never expected to be where I'm sitting right now, ten years ago, whatsoever, at a podcast with the Daily Advance. In my hometown, in my in town. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 36:16

So what you but what you thought is a great deal of of again, personal growth, yes, which is great. Um I can sense it, I can feel it, I can see it, I can hear it. Um and it really, I just I just want to compliment you because people who go out on their own, that takes a lot of courage. It's not easy, and you gotta have something inside you, and whatever is inside you has grown through your experience, and it made you uh pretty strong. So that's I can sense it. So my hat's off to you. I I can I can recognize that.

SPEAKER_00 36:59

I appreciate it. I think it all um the good times, the bad times, I think it all, it all just made me into who I am today. All the experiences, you know, and I take it all with a grain of salt, and I know that I just try to be better than what I was yesterday.

SPEAKER_02 37:12

That is really I can sense that too. That's very important. You're not you're not you you're not full of yourself. You appreciate yourself, but you know that you gotta check yourself.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Oh 100%. I know, I know my um flaws. I know what I have to work on. Um, I'm very stubborn, uh, but I'm also an open book where I will literally answer any question with straight honesty, no matter the discomfort behind it, which is what we love in a podcast, yes. Too bad I didn't think of anything crazy.

SPEAKER_02 37:41

I know my flaw.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

What is your flaw, David?

SPEAKER_02 37:43

I'm not gonna tell you to pick on me.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Darn it. Oh well. Well, I do think that's something that really resonates what you said about growing and being able to come back here and find community. I think that's something that resonates with a lot of people around our age, um, whether they left and came back or have not gone anywhere. Um, and I think that that's really great that you're sharing that and being so open about it, because there is something to be said about either returning to or staying in your hometown and and making it a better place. And it seems like you absolutely are. And I'm so, so glad that you came on our podcast today. Glad to spread the joy.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

Yeah, I'm glad. I love, I truly do. I love um, I might complain about this little town sometimes, you know what I mean? Don't we all? But I genuinely love it. I love the people that surround it now. Um, I love how I mean, even the chamber and you know what I mean, Nicole, Jay and Co. I love how everyone's trying to create like a safe space. Like, you know what I mean? I just I genuinely enjoy it. And I think I don't if people stopped looking at everything as a competition and genuinely enjoyed the moments that they're end and how to get, you know what I mean? I think it would be so much better. But until then, I will continue capturing the town at its best and its worst.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

And here you are. I think you have the potential to bring the community together through photography and through your wonderful attitude. So catch me on a good day though, please. Again, thank you so much for coming on our podcast. For everyone that does not know, Alexis's official business is ALO photography. That is three letters. A L-O photography, not aloe, just so everybody's clear. You said it. I'm so glad.

SPEAKER_00 39:25

It's like you knew. I love that. Three letters common misconception. ALO photography. Literally my own fault. I never did anything to separate the letters first off, and I honestly didn't think anybody would think anything else of it, being that it's my initials. Right. So I don't know. But now you guys know, coming from the source herself, A L F.

SPEAKER_01 39:45

Thank you so much. I hope to see you around town with your camera soon. And you will. I will. And thank you again to all of our listeners for tuning in for another episode. Please stay tuned. We will have you back with another great interview soon.