Chris Nitz Photography

I Am the Uninvited Darkness: I Will Not Be Washed Away

Thu, 04 Feb 2016 12:30:21 -0600

You think you can wash me away, but I am the dirt you cannot scrub hard enough to clean off your skin. I cling to your mind like grease and oil stick to your fingers. I am all consuming. Just when you think you can simply wash me away, I return and pollute your river of happiness with my toxic waste.

As you sit there and cower with warm water washing over you, I am corrupting your mind. The water won’t hide the tears streaming down your face. That water is but a ruse. That water will do nothing to dull the pain that I bring.

They tell you to light some candles. They tell you to play some soothing music. They tell you to enjoy a warm bath. But we both know that you’d rather drown in your bath than try to enjoy it. You see the clean water and want to paint it crimson with your life force. By the end, you will salt that bath water with your tears.

I am the Uninvited Darkness, and I will not be washed away.

Team Yota

Tue, 21 Jul 2015 10:39:02 -0500

I’ve recently returned from one heck of a killer trip to Colorado. The trip started out as an invite to be an assistant for a wedding that Rick Louie was working. During the planning stages, we decided that it would be fun to head into the mountains to do some exploring and give his new 4 Runner a try on some trails. Before we knew it, the trip had turned into a camping trip which would include Justin Balog and Armando Martinez as well. This would go down as one hell of a great time. You can get full expedition details over at The Photo Frontier, thanks to Justin.

One thing that I notice seems to get over looked is that navigating the trails can require two people. A spotter and a driver. Rick was ultimately the driver and I was the spotter. It was my job to help guide Rick through some of the more difficult obstacles while keeping both his rig and the occupants safe. I was the spotter as I have more off-roading experience and was there to help teach Rick how to find good lines through the difficult terrain. It’s not a glorious job, but one I take seriously as breaking down on the trail is not something anyone wants.

So, Rick and I worked on our communication skills. I’d get out, run ahead, assess the trail, find a good line, and then guide Rick through. At one point, this led to me helping a new Wheeler as well as they were pretty green and took on a trail that was a bit above their skill level. That ultimately ended with me jumping in their FJ Cruiser and getting them turned around, with some help from Justin to tell me how far I was from the edge of the cliff, so they could head back down the trail.

I’m really looking forward to taking Serenity (my Ford F-250) on some of the trails during the Colorado Fall Color Tour in September. Good times….so many good times! With that, here is the chariot that Team Yota will be rolling in this fall. It’s a solid rig, even if it is a Toyota.

Enjoy!

Tattoo Time

Fri, 05 Jun 2015 07:48:56 -0500

A few weeks ago I was doing some research for the Uninvited Darkness series. During that research I ran across a video of a guy talking about fighting depression. Over the course of the video he kept repeating the phrase “this too shall pass.” It was something that really stuck with me.

Over the next few days, I just couldn’t shake that phrase out of my head. It was like a song I just couldn’t shake. I started looking up poems with that phrase in it. I started hunting down fonts. I knew this was my next tattoo.

As it turns out, it is finally warm enough that I’m not wearing a hoodie every day. This was the moment I was waiting for as I have been wanting to touch up two tattoos that I got last year. Logic would say just go in for the two existing tattoos and be done. Yet, I figured that I’m already there and so I should just go on ahead and get a new tattoo as well.

I had a month to figure out the font I wanted to use. I went back and forth on what I liked best. I checked with a good friend that everything was spelled correctly and it was grammatically correct. I finally settled on a Celtic style font as it’ll match with another tattoo I plan to get down the road.

Well, the time has passed and I now carry a shiny new tattoo. I wanted to do this for the May #WE35 project, but I could only snag one image. It’s hard to take photos with one hand while the other hand is getting repeatedly stabbed.

The question now is, why get “THIS TOO SHALL PASS” permanently etched into my arm. To me, this phrase is a reminder. When the good times are happening, they too will pass. Thus, enjoy every moment of that greatness. Put the phone down. Focus and bask in those magnificent moments. The reverse is also true. When the bad times plaque me, those too shall pass. Bad times are but a blip in time. While the bad times might suck, they will pass and make way for the good times. It’s a balance of enjoying the good while handling the bad.

With that, I’ll leave you one last thing. No matter what is happening right now, good or bad, this too shall pass.

Enjoy!

I Am the Uninvited Darkness: I Shall Destroy You with Words

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 09:10:47 -0500

As a kid, I remember being taught the following nursery rhyme:

Sticks and stones may break my bones
But words will never hurt me.

Yeah, that rhyme is shit. Complete bullshit. The words on the screen in this photo are things that I will always carry with me. These are things that have been said to me by various people over the years. While I’m not going to dive into my past in detail, these words cut deeper than any razor blade could. They destroyed me more than any stick or stone ever will.

I Am the Uninvited Darkness: I Shall Destroy You with Words

I am a phrase. I am a carefully constructed set of words. I am a verbal knife that will cut so deeply into you, you will carry my scars the rest of your life. I am the Uninvited Darkness and I will destroy you with words.

When you least expect it, I will climb out of the dark recesses of your mind to haunt you. I will wield those words as my weapon of destruction. Remember when your friends said just go outside, yet I wouldn’t let you break the chains that shackled you to your bed? Remember when that bully called you an ugly fucker because you cut your arm up with a razor blade? Remember when you thought you were having a good day because you finally managed the strength to get dressed and then your mother called you a worthless piece of shit? You tried to brush these comments off. You told yourself they are just words. However, I am the Uninvited Darkness and these are my weapons.

You cannot hide from my daggers. Not even your beloved Internet is a safe haven. My talons will come at you from every corner of the World Wide Web. Go ahead, get on Facebook and see what your colleagues have said. Login to Twitter and see just how violent I can be. Forums are where I breed my army of vile spewing minions. My minions will bring forth my hatred thanks to the greatness that is anonymity. You may try and delete this evil from your history, but the words have already done their damage once you have seen them on the screen. You cannot remove these cookies from your psyche. I am the Uninvited Darkness and these virtual words are my weapons.

I am the Uninvited Darkness and I care nothing for you, and I will yell it loudly into your ears. I will take something so simple to others and I will crush you with it. While people/friends/family/acquaintances may never understand the devastation their words can cause, even if these words are not uttered in malice, I will show you their full power. Just when you think you have battled one demonic phrase, I will bring another. I can do this until the end of time. I am the Uninvited Darkness, and words are my weapons.

Peep Death: #WE35 Edition

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 09:09:49 -0500

The March #WE35 assignment was to take two photos in the spirit of a day/night setup. I decided to go with my day being the disgusting marshmallow bird still being alive. My night photo would be of it’s demise. That was fun.

Day:

Night:

Peep Death 2015: Grooted

Wed, 04 Mar 2015 07:05:31 -0600

Yup, it is that time of year again. That wonderful time when those little marshmallow chicks covered in sugar meet their untimely demise. What better way to start Peep hunting season than with good guy Groot!

February WE35 Observations

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 09:44:53 -0600

The February WE35 project was a throwback to the film days.We were allowed 36 continuous clicks to document our lives. We were not allowed to change our camera settings once we snagged the first image. I decided I would embrace my love of black and white, and so I set my X100s to monochrome, dropped the shadows by one, upped the highlights by one, increased sharpness by one, and set the ISO to 400. I then set out to document Ames, Iowa, and parts of what fills my day-to-day life.

The experience of this project was a ton of fun, and challenging at times. There were a few images I really wish I could have shot in color. It felt so wrong to just turn over 36 image jpegs and not have even touched them in post process other than to attach some metadata. I had one memory card go bad between excursions, so I was left counting frames to make sure I didn’t exceed my quota. It also forced me to slow down more. I had to depend that my light meter and histogram were where I wanted them, and that each shot would count. I loved this challenge.

With all that said, here is my contact sheet of images for this project. I tried to snag a few things that I felt defined Ames, Iowa, and my daily life. I’m so looking forward to starting on the March project now!

Enjoy!

I Am the Uninvited Darkness: The Death of Self

Wed, 11 Feb 2015 08:08:00 -0600

I debated long and hard as to where this image should appear in this series. I picked the beginning as I wanted to convey the death of ones sense of self. For some, depression is a long slide down a dark tunnel to which they cannot stop the descent into darkness. For others, depression is a hellish demon that arrives with no warning and crushes them under an unexpected brute force blow to the back of the head. The end results are still the same: depression takes over with no care about you.

So for this entry, we see the Uninvited Darkness killing the sense of self. From here, the Uninvited Darkness has control. It is now a fight for life. It is now a battle to regain a sense of worth. The struggle to find happiness in a sea of sorrow commences. Now the real fight begins.

I Am the Uninvited Darkness: The Death of Self

I have arrived at the door of my next victim and this paltry being thinks they are strong enough to fight me, yet they will soon learn the true terror of the Uninvited Darkness. With a single shot, I shall destroy all that this person knows and feels. I shall rule this body and mind with an unrelenting grip. I shall bring a darkness so dark, a black hole will envy me.

With this single death of self, this being is mine and mine alone. Try as they might to fight me with drugs, family, religion, sunshine, booze, or therapy, I am in control here. I am the Uninvited Darkness, and I am about to make life unbearable.

January Beers of the Month

Thu, 29 Jan 2015 06:09:12 -0600

Some people might remember my older projects known as Beer Label Friday and/or The Weekend Relaxer. I am bringing those back, but with a new twist. This year I plan on suggesting a beer I found quite tasty and also posting up the beer label that I found most intriguing for that month. These posts will arrive at the end of each month. While not nearly as fun as a weekly post on adult beverages, I do get to share the greatness that I discovered that month! Let’s get on with it.

My label of the month goes to Cabin Fever from New Holland Brewing. Maybe it is that I currently long to be in a cabin in the woods with a nice crackling fire keeping me warm as I sip on a beer. It could also be this weird bit of warm weather we are having in Iowa is making me want to do more stuff outside. Whatever the reason, this label resonated with me.

My beer of the month is Ten Fidy Imperial Stout by Oskar Blues Brewery. This is a majorly dark and thick stout. I mean, you pretty much can’t even see through it in your glass and it pours as though it were almost sludge. Well, maybe not sludge, but this will fill you up! The flavor was something of a shock to me. When I first poured it, the blast of roasted malts rocked my taste buds. However, as the beer began to warm, the flavors changed. Coffee, chocolate, a bit of smokiness, and some sugary sweetness all became more prevalent. This was so good, I had to buy a second four pack just to enjoy the experience even more. Do take caution though. This is an easy drinking beer that brings a 10.5% ABV, and that’ll sneak up on ya!

Enjoy!

The Country Church

Wed, 21 Jan 2015 07:11:59 -0600

Welcome to another #WE35 log entry (#2 for those counting). One morning, I decided I would go for a drive and just see what I could find. You see, this #WE35 project has inspired me to travel around Iowa and find things to take photos of. Ever since moving to this state, I’ve always found it boring thanks to its never ending fields of corn. Thanks to this new project, I’m trying to see Iowa with a different eye. This happens to be one of those finds that showed me just what I might stumble upon with a bit of mud on the tires and a new perspective on things.

I originally saw this church from a few fields over. What caught my eye is that the rain had broken just long enough for the sun to come out and shine down on this house of worship. Being limited to the 35mm focal length, I had to make my way over to the church.

When I arrived here, it met everything I had running through my mind when it comes to a country church. I had to drive by three cornfields. I travelled on plenty of gravel roads, and I even got to get Serenity (my F-250) a bit muddy. There is no real parking for this church, just a small path that makes the driveway and a large yard. I could tell people parked in the yard as there were clear signs that someone plowed the lawn so worshipers had a place to park. It was quiet here, with nothing more than the birds singing and a small breeze to fill my ears with. It was grounding and meditative!

So thank you, #WE35 project! You have invigorated me to see Iowa in a new light. 2015….the year I find interesting things in countless acres of farmland!

Enjoy!

I Am The Uninvited Darkness

Wed, 14 Jan 2015 08:22:45 -0600

Welcome to what is probably the most personal photo series I have done, or will do. This essay will span all of 2015. I have several photos already planned out and several blog posts written. So what is this series? Well, it’s a look at what it is like to fight depression. I’ve sat at the very edge of this illness and managed to fight my way back. While I still fight this battle on occasion, I have gained a great number of tools to aid in keeping me balanced. I know some will blow this off as a cry for attention/help, but it is a dangerous illness that has claimed too many lives. Those that have dealt with it, know it is no joke.

Some of the images that are planned for this series are going to be dark. Some might even be hard to deal with, and that is all by design. PLEASE, DON’T SEND HELP! This is just my way of sharing my experience in dealing with depression. I’m really not going to end my life, even if an image/post might indicate otherwise.

At the end of all this, I hope the images and writings will at the very least make you think. This is a hard thing for me to do, but it is something I feel is necessary. Please note that I am changing the blogging format for this series. The image will appear first, with the writing following. With that, I give you the intro to the Uninvited Darkness.

I Am The Uninvited Darkness

I am The Uninvited Darkness. I care not about your race, or your age, or your gender, or your station in life. My grasp strikes without care of who you are, or where you live. I have crushed millions of souls, and I will destroy millions more. I am unseen. I am not understood. I am evil. I am paralyzing. I am unforgiving. I am The Uninvited Darkness.

I am The Uninvited Darkness. When I show up, I can crush you. I can force you to stay in bed for uncountable days. I will make you cry. I will make you sad beyond your wildest dreams. I care not for what you want to do, who you want to chill with, or who you love. I will make you question the very existence that is your pathetic life. I am The Uninvited Darkness.

I am The Uninvited Darkness. Some try to get rid of me with drugs. Some will resort to talking with medical professionals to drive me from their heads. Others will give up and resort to various addictions to silence me. However, I am unrelenting in my holds on the human sanity. Some will prevail in driving me out. Yet, I will prevail on others, forcing them to depart this world, often leaving behind questions of why. I am the Uninvited Darkness.

I am The Uninvited Darkness. I am blown off by some. I am misunderstood by others. Some think I am just some bullshit term made up by doctors to milk money from citizens. I am often chalked up as a bad day. When I plague someone, often they are told to “suck it up”, “go outside and get some sun”, “just smile, it’ll make you feel better”, or “why don’t you stop being so sad.” Those that I infect, know my true power. Those that I pass by will never fully comprehend my ability to crush a human soul. I am brutal. I am an invisible evil tormentor. I am a taker of life. I am uncaring. I am unloving. I am the Uninvited Darkness.

#WE35 Log Entry 1

Tue, 06 Jan 2015 14:44:54 -0600

We just had our fist real snow of the winter, and it was a healthy amount of that fluffy white stuff. We are also dealing with temps well below zero, and the windchill drives those temps even further south. As I’m not venturing out into the fields of Iowa out of fear of gelling fuel, I snagged some images from around the house.

Here is my #WE35 Log Entry #1. To find out more about this project, please head over to The Photo Frontier to learn more!

Farewell 2014

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 11:08:15 -0600

I figure now is as good of time as any to reflect on 2014. These articles always feel so cliché to me, yet I love them as it reminds me of just how grateful I am for what the year provided me. 2014 started out rough, but by the end, I am thankful for the experiences it offered up.

This year started out with me stuck in Arizona. My truck decided it was time to just blow up. We knew it was eventually going to happen, sadly it happened on its terms and not ours. I enjoyed spending the time with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and the warmer weather was nice. It did allow me a few winter photos in the mountains. Eventually the truck was repaired and I was able to make my way home.

I attended a good friend’s wedding in Oklahoma. I also went to Oregon with several friends to see one of our crew get hitched. I dunno what it was, but I guess this was the year to get married.

I had another great year at Gen Con. I met some wonderful people. I had friends working my booth with me, and they taught me some sales techniques that I had never thought of. The compliments from customers made my weekend. By the end, I was glad I did the art show again, but I’m also looking forward to a free year to do as I please in 2015.

I also ventured forth on one of my biggest trips this year. I went from Colorado to New York City to Acadia National Park. I spent two weeks traveling with Rick Louie and Len Saltiel. It was nothing short of crazy awesome. While I might not have taken as many photos as I had hoped, the friendships that were strengthened were what made those trips. I have some great friends.

Quite possibly the biggest item of 2014 was that I formed a new business. My camera straps are now setting foot on several countries. I formed an LLC. This whole ordeal started out as a weekend project, but thanks to the encouragement of friends, it turned into a full business. The things that just randomly happen!

Now we have this moment. I’m finalizing my 2015 projects. I look forward to a new year and what new adventures it will have for me. One thing I know for sure, I plan to have fun every step of the way. I hope you all had a great 2014 and I wish you a great 2015.

Enjoy!

WE35

Wed, 10 Dec 2014 11:38:43 -0600

I am now part of the #WE35 research crew. The objective here is to see the world at the 35mm focal length. I’m part of a crazy skilled group of “scientists” that are using a wide variety of camera setups for this project. It should make for a fun 2015, and I’m thankful that the cool dudes at The Photo Frontier let me join in on this project.

As for the image, this is from my recent trip to Colorado. I decided to channel my inner Balog and so I spent a day shooting only my Fuji X100s. To compliment this image, I used some Photo Frontier Lightroom presets. During my day of using only the X100s, I was met with both joy and frustration. I loved only dealing with one camera and one lens. There was no debate over what setup would be better as I didn’t have a choice. I was frustrated as there were times I knew I could do something better with my X-T1. I also didn’t have a tripod bracket for my X100s at the time, but this has since been rectified.

2015 is shaping up to be one crazy busy and fun year. I hope you’re ready to join me on this journey. For now, consider this my first official research project for the #WE35 project!

Enjoy!

Groot Goes Unicorn Hunting

Thu, 06 Nov 2014 05:27:48 -0600

If you followed my adventures in Acadia a few weeks ago, you might have noticed that the NxNW crew started including the hashtag #ChasingUnicorns to our social media updates. I’ve now had a couple people ask what is up with this sudden unicorn fascination. Well, this photo is what #ChasingUnicorns is all about.

You see, the “unicorn” is that single image that makes an entire trip. It’s is that moment that you compose your photo, click that shutter button, check the LCD and immediately know that you could never take another photo during your trip and be completely happy with what you have. This is my unicorn image.

The reason this is that one image that made a trip is because I was hunting for this unicorn since I arrived in Colorado the week prior to my Acadia trip. I was frustrated with myself for doing the same stuff with toys. Nothing was working for me. I focused more on my landscape work and my toys pretty much sat in my camera bag for much of the Colorado Fall Color Tour. Acadia, however, sparked some much needed creativity and I finally nailed that unicorn. I also believe there were other factors at work here, but that is a story for another time.

Enjoy!

The Burban That Could

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 07:25:02 -0600

I want to introduce you to the trusty steed known as The Burban. This was our chariot for the 2014 Colorado Fall Color Tour. When Rick and I picked this up from Enterprise, it had just over 500 miles on it. It was so new that it still had that new car smell. It almost felt shameful to take this out onto dirt roads and beat it up.

While the Burban was bigger than we had really wanted, it held up well during our time exploring the Telluride area. The street tires made for some fun travel on muddy roads, and they didn’t help with some of the rock crawling we had to do. Yet, it got us to where we wanted to go, and it did it pretty comfortably. I kinda miss this beast.

Enjoy!

Conquering Ophir Pass

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 07:50:24 -0500

I was once again able to attend the Fall Color Tour that Rick Louie hosts every year in Colorado. It’s an absolute blast and I hope to attend it again in the future. It’s a perfect blend of trail riding, magical views, plenty of mountains, and wonderful company. Seriously, it gets harder and harder to leave Colorado whenever I am there for a visit.

This year I got to assist Rick with some of the country road driving. He had rented a 2015 Suburban, which I quickly named The Burban. When we picked it up, it still had that new car smell, all of 500 miles on the odometer, and not a spot of mud on her. By the time we finished this trip, we had rolled almost 2,000 miles in four days, beat the bejesus out of the suspension, covered it in mud, and filled it with memories.

One of those memories happens to be tackling Ophir Pass. This is a one lane pass with one hell of a view. The pass itself is not all that technical or difficult. It has some tight turns and there are places where there is barely enough room to accommodate something as wide as The Burban. Anyone with a smaller rig can easily tackle this route.

What made Ophir Pass interesting was that moment when we were in a location not very wide and noticed a second Suburban coming at us. This led to me playing parking spotter and helping Rick get our vehicle as close to the edge as possible so that the other vehicle could pass. It’s a nerve-racking task when one slip and all kinds of havoc could be unleashed in a very short period of time. Thankfully, with all of an inch to spare between vehicles, nothing tragic happened and both parties were able to enjoy the rest of the day with vehicles and humans intact.

We found a nice spot to park and yet allow other vehicles to safely pass us by. Safety considerations taken care of, we enjoyed this view. Colorado, you did not disappoint this year. In fact, you were damn sexy!

Enjoy!

*SIDE NOTE* I’m still trying to raise money for my Extra Life for Kids fundraiser. You can find out more about this event and what I am doing right here. If you can donate, or even spread the word about this event, it would be greatly appreciated. Any help we can provide sick kids stuck in boring hospitals is a win for us all!

Nubble Lighthouse

Mon, 13 Oct 2014 07:08:00 -0500

I’m back from a crazy two weeks of travel and boy do I have a lot of images to work through. I’ve shared a few on Facebook already, but this is the first to have an actual blog post with it. The photo I’m sharing today is of the Nubble Lighthouse. This was the first stop on the NXNW 2014 Acadia trip, of which I chased unicorns with nine other photographers.

This trip started out all misty, windy, and rainy. However, that did not deter us from snagging images and kicking-ass along the coast! I very much enjoyed this setting as it made for some pretty great monochrome images. The weather did mean I had to clean filters every few minutes, and when I thought I had removed all the water, I was proven wrong. The amount of dust spot removal in this picture is crazy proof that Ma Nature is a meanie with the water spots.

What a great way to start one of the more epic trips I’ve had this year.

Enjoy!

Groot Off

Fri, 29 Aug 2014 08:24:31 -0500

This whole Groot Off thing started when I found out that friend, and fellow photographer, Gevon Servo was also a member of the Loot Crate service. This month, our crates contained a Funko Groot Bobblehead. When we realized we both were looters and our crates contained this fun toy, he challenged me to a bit of a competition using the figure. Now, I’m not one to turn down a toy photography competition. I mean, it helps keep me on my toes and forces me to get even more creative, and so I accepted.

To be fair, we asked Scott Kivowitz to come up with rules, because a third party making up the regulations is a great idea! Anyway, the rules that were agreed upon are as follows:

1 - No humans can be in the photos
2 - Groot must be in the photos
3 - Use of artificial light is encouraged
4 - Use of textures is encouraged
5 - HDR forfeits you automatically
6 - If you get Star Wars somehow cleverly in the photo you may win
7 - Legos are encouraged
8 - Three photos required
9 - One week to shoot the three images

With the rules in place, I set off to do what I enjoy the most. I ROCKED my Groot Off photos. I started off easy and with what I know. I went all low-key on Groot. As Gevon was posting a few low-key photos to Instagram, I figured I should take him to school on how you rock that style with a toy. My first image:

For my second image, I ventured outside. We have a small mushroom growing just outside our front door, and it happens to be in a place with plenty of pine needles and twigs. From a toy perspective, it looks exactly like the woods, and a perfect setting for a Groot Shroomin image. My second image:

My last photo took some thinking and a lot of roaming around the house contemplating setups and execution. I debated on a special Beer Label Friday image, but the Star Wars toys I wanted to use were not cooperating. I then debated a Batman/Groot mashup, but I wasn’t feeling any of the comps I was trying. Then it hit me. Today (August 29, 2014) sees the re-release of the 1984 Ghostbusters movie to theaters for the 30^th Anniversary celebration. I have the LEGO ECTO-1 sitting right on my fireplace mantle, and Ghostbusters is on Netflix. I then knew I wanted to do a small drive-in movie theater setup in celebration of the greatness that is the ghost brawlers.

I’m not fully happy with how this turned out and will ultimately re-shoot it once the weather decides it is a good time to stop raining. However, I wanted to get this out today in honor of the movie coming out. With that, my third image:

There ya have it, my Groot Off images. I want to thank Gevon for the challenge. In all honesty, this wasn’t about winning, but having fun while forcing the creativity to grow. I know I had a great time with this challenge and I hope to get challenged again in the future. Until then, go see Ghostbusters in the theaters! Oh, and never grow up!

2014 Extra Life for Kids

Mon, 25 Aug 2014 07:25:11 -0500

I am once again participating in the Extra Life for Kids event on October 25, 2014. I have participated in this event the last two years, and I love doing it. This year I am working with three friends, of which one of them is even flying in from Texas to game with us. The plan at the moment is to stream the entire event so that people may watch us belittle one another, suck down copious amounts of coffee, and just have fun. Working together should help keep us all awake while providing some good laughs for all involved! There is even the possibility of watching two of us get gaming tattoos.

Now this is where you come in. I am trying to raise $500 for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. A small amount I know, but anything is better than nothing. I aim to play games for the bulk of this time, which once was a simple task, but now I’m in bed by 10PM on most nights and so this will be a fun experiment in returning to my 20s. Adding to this struggle, fresh tattoos are sure to add to the challenge of keeping my eyes open beyond 2AM. So I play games, get tattooed, you donate money, and children benefit from us working together. It’s a damn sweet deal!

However, that is not all I am going to do. I’ve donated a limited edition print to the children’s hospital the last two times, but I wanted to sweeten the pot a bit more this year. I still plan to do the limited edition print donation, of which you get to help me make. However, I’m also going to add in a Nitz Strap (wrist strap) to this. This means that if you donate $25, or more, you are also entered to win a limited edition print and a Nitz Strap!

Now what I need from you, besides a donation, is to share this post. The only way I can raise money is with awareness of what I’m doing, and the only way that happens is by word of mouth. Any shares on Facebook, retweets on Twitter, and link passing of this post help me out a lot.

I thank you for helping me help children who could use some happiness as they battle for health!

Donate here:

http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=98597