Lightning strikes in the distance and gray clouds hang over the city as a storm surrounds Patterson Park, but never manages to touch down on the tennis court where Autumn Provenzano is teaching about 10 people how to play pickleball. Most of them have never played the sport before—and many had never even heard of it. But Provenzano knew she could help the sport find a new home in Baltimore.

When high school graduation was approaching, I was eager to get as far away from my hometown as possible. So much so that I paid for my own application fee to the University of Alabama, hitched a ride with my friend down south to check out the campus, fell in love with it, came home to an acceptance letter, and was ready to pack my bags. My parents quickly reminded me that I’d forgotten one thing—I was a 17-year-old with no money and very little direction about what I actually wanted to do.

I participated in a protest following the Baltimore uprisings in response to Freddy Gray's death and contributed images numbered 1-20 & 41-61 to this Baltimore City Paper photo gallery.

Note: I conducted this interview while working for MZed, whose blog is currently down. This entire piece is my original work, only sponsored and shared via Ogy Stoilov. Alex Buono is a dedicated cinematographer with incredibly unique experience best known for his work as Director of Photography for the Saturday Night Live film unit since 1999. “Quite frankly, when I began there (SNL) I really had no business shooting a television show,” Buono admits in a conversation with me. “I was 25 years old and looking back on it, I can see that I was truly a real rookie. But the show gave me this incredible platform to really learn my craft.”

"Shoes off!" and "I need you to lift up your hair so I can see behind your ears" are two things I have rarely, if ever, heard when going through a security check to enter a festival. Additionally, sealed water bottles had to be emptied but were permitted to be refilled inside. It is with good reason that staff security at Moonrise Festival, held Aug. 9-10 at Pimlico Race Course, was enforcing extra measures, in light of the two deaths and several hospitalizations that stemmed from the recent Mad Decent Block Party at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

As Pride of Baltimore II motors out of the Inner Harbor to set sail near Fort McHenry, Captain Jamie Trost jokes, “If we abandon ship today, you can keep your Pride of Baltimore II lifejacket as a souvenir.” Passengers sitting on the shining hardwood deck laugh. The smell of hot wood, suntan lotion, and mucky water lingers in the air as Trost talks about the role of tall ships in Baltimore during the War of 1812.

Ryan Grizzell, a 41-year-old Army veteran, is blowing a glass pipe, his blue eyes hidden behind protective eyewear as a soft, warm glow from a flame reflects on his face. Various glass rods are strewn about Shockers Smoke Shop, scattered among two kilns, a blowtorch, and a foot pedal. The small workstation sits by a window looking out on Harford Road; the smoke shop is nestled between an African hair-braiding salon and a business whose sign is hardly decipherable but reads something about garage-door services. The hands of the clock on the wall tick and change, but each of the 12 numbers is the same-4:20.

I am not a runner. I never have been. In fact, the last time I was forced to run a mile was freshman year of high school and I ran three of the four laps around the track then sat down in protest, insisting that I was going to be sick. But when you get a chance to run the streets of Baltimore in your underwear and get praised for it instead of getting arrested, you don't pass the opportunity up. Cupid's Undie Run is 1-1.5 mile run that takes place Valentine's Day weekend and benefits The Childr