#MAYDAY

PUERTO RICO, MAY 1ST, 2017

For those who may not have heard, Puerto Rico has been facing a debt crisis for the past several years.  This has lead to rising tensions on the island as the United States has turned control of Puerto Rico's finances to a Federal Oversight Board, who arguably may not have the best interests of the island's suffering people in mind.  I'll leave my opinions out of this for now...

I visited Puerto Rico last week to complete some research on a screenwriting assignment and happened to catch one of the largest protests the island has seen, as people took to the streets to demand a citizen's audit of the proposed "solution" to the debt crisis, one that threatens to privatize many of the island's public services, potentially leaving many people deprived of their jobs, pensions, and wages.

Here are just a few snapshots from the beginning of the protest, taken just before I had to board my plane home, and just before the teargas canisters began to fly.

If you'd like to learn more about the history of Puerto Rico's economic crisis, might I recommend John Oliver's take on the scenario. 

Brianna: A Dreamscape

Part Three: The Dream

Explore your fantasy...

Missing something?  Follow the whole story below:

THE DREAMSCAPE

• Prologue
• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

Two Year Anniversary and Print Sale!

I can't believe it's only been two years since I've been shooting film exclusively, because it certainly feels like it's been a lot longer when you start adding up receipts...  But anyway, in celebration of this anniversary, I'm happy to introduce a new and more affordable digital printing method for those of you interested in purchasing prints at a lower price point.  And I mean significantly lower!

We'll begin with a limited run (only 10 of each size) print series of my favorite photos from my first ever roll of black & white film, developed exactly two years ago today. I've selected the following six images from my first time exploring Venice, CA to feature in this promotion.

Prints are available in sizes up to 13"x19" at pricing starting as low as $25. As an added bonus, anyone who purchases a Gelatin Silver or Chromogenic darkroom print, or anyone who has purchased one since the site launched is eligible for a FREE numbered print from this series!  

If this sale goes well, I'll be adding this printing method permanently as an option for almost all of my photos available for printing.

Visit the Print Store today to order!

Brianna: A Dreamscape (Prologue)

Blending Realities

The subjects of my screenplays and the subjects of my photography don't often intersect as much as I thought they would, considering that it was screenwriting that reignited my love for photography to begin with.  I suppose going into photography with no real goal other than to photograph whatever I wanted at the time might have something to do with that, yet one medium will still often act as a catalyst for the other in some way.  This time however, I found a rare crossroads between the two, which came in the form of interaction with one's own subconscious explored thematically throughout the narrative.

This came about after reflecting on many of the scripts I'd written in the past, trying to find unintentional common themes between them as a way of better understanding my own narrative voice.  What I found was that just about everything I'd written was some form of introspective personal drama, with elements of the inner-consciousness of characters manifesting as physical elements of the story in some way.  In To Police, we watch the aftermath of a police shooting unfold by exploring the lead character's own memory.  In the upcoming Shine, the lead character has a conversation with his own subconscious which has manifested in the form of his father.  This idea kept appearing in my work, so the next logical phase was to embrace it and find a way to bring it into my photography as well.  "How?" you might ask.  Well, with lingerie of course.

In my second collaboration with the lovely Brianna, we decided to try something new and come up with a way to blend a traditional lingerie shoot with this concept of personal introspection.  So what did we come up with?  Two distinct narratives being explored via two distinct types of film.  The first narrative is told in Colour, and follows the story of a young woman who returns to her hotel room and enters into a hyper-realistic lucid dream.  The second narrative is told in Black & White, and is the dream itself, where the character's thoughts and emotions begin to take on a physical form as she explores the depths of her fantasy.  

This was such a fun concept to shoot, and has given me a lot to think about in exploring similar themes with my photography in the future.  As always, Brianna was wonderful to work with and did an excellent job as the lead character in this play of pictures.  

For the full series, see below...

THE DREAMSCAPE

• Prologue
• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three

Two Happy Customers

Meet Adam and Alex, the lovely couple you may remember from Barany & Burnett last year:

They recently became the proud owners of two new prints from the print store, selecting some city-level street shots from my NY series to compliment the cityscape currently hanging on their wall.  Their selection included La Fonda and a one of a kind printing of Message from my 2014 series.  Thanks for the order guys, I hope you enjoy the art!

Have you made a purchase from the Print Store?  Send in a photo of how you've displayed the print for a feature here on the blog!

Summer Travels, pt. II

Barcelona

I need to live here.  Plain and simple, I need to live here.  The climate, the culture, the quality of life, Barcelona is my kind of city.  After the first day I was convinced that I was no longer looking at this place as a travel destination, but as a future place of residence.

I mean hey, Kubrick moved to London right?  Barcelona it is...

One of my -and likely anyone else who visits- favorite places to shoot was definitely the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, or simply...

La Boqueria

And it's easy to see why.

I don't know how yet, but I need to make Barcelona an annual trip.  Hmm, I hear they have a pretty nice film festival...

Anninka, pt. II

The Return of the Reluctant Muse

Although I will admit, after falling in love with the results from our first shoot, it was much easier to talk Anninka into shooting again.  And of course, once again, I shot some of my favorite pictures to date.  

She's quickly becoming a fan favorite among my followers on Instagram as well, and it's easy to see why.  Our collaborations give off such a fresh Los Angeles vibe, it's always a welcome contrast to my more NYC-like street sets.

Barany & Burnett

Wedding Season

In the magic hour of February 15, 2015, Alexandra Barany and Adam Burnett took each other's hand in marriage after a wonderful Valentine's weekend of love, friendship, family, and beer. Lots of beer.  I was honored to be able to bring analogue photography to their wedding, shooting a wide range of film and Polaroid formats.

But first, a little backstory...

It was January of 2013.  I had recently quit my job, sold my car, packed up my apartment, and moved to the opposite end of the country to begin the New Year in search of a life of fulfillment.  And so began an odyssey that would soon be filled with new inspirations, new opportunities, new friendships, and let’s be honest… a lot of beer. 

It was along this journey that I inevitably crossed paths with Adam Burnett and Alexandra Barany, two of the first people I would get to know in the city of Los Angeles.  Two of the most wonderful, sincere, and kind people I would get to know in the city of Los Angeles. 

I was soon to be invited into their home where I would meet who would become a wonderful group of new friends.  Together we’ve shared countless outings, birthday celebrations, holiday potlucks, Adam’s delicious homebrews, and Alex’s unbelievable baking skills, which by the way make Porto’s Bakery look like an Easy Bake playset.

After two years of such a great friendship, I was honored to be in attendance for the union of Adam and Alex, meet their lovely families, and photograph this wonderful occasion of love, friendship, family, and let’s be honest… a lot of beer.  

The event took place over Valentine's day weekend, spanning a total of four days of fun, culminating with a beautiful ceremony at the Stone Brewery in Liberty Station, San Diego.  Here are some of the highlights of the weekend....

Thursday - The Yacht

Friday - The Brewery Tour

Saturday - The Day Party

Sunday - Wedding Day 

Sunday - The Ceremony

Rainer Maria Rilke once said that a good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of their soul.  If that’s true, then a great marriage is that in which each appoints the other a glass of 2004 Stone Old Guardian.  

Cheers and congratulations Adam and Alex! 

The full photo book of the Barany & Burnett Wedding can be purchased here.

JAE

Smokin' Hot

Something about the way smoke looks on film is just so fascinating to me, so naturally I was intrigued when Jaelen brought her vaporizer along to our shoot.

Jaelen, 2014

It was also a good day to break out the Bronica ETRS.  As much as I love this camera, it's not the easiest to shoot with when time is a factor as is common lately.  But luckily I was able to take my time here and really get some use out of it.  And what an immaculate image it captures...

DTLA Rooftops

Brianna On Film

This week model Brianna Michaela and I had some fun exploring the Downtown LA Rooftops in her first ever shoot on film.  I'm really starting to enjoy introducing film shoots to those who are unfamiliar with it.  The entire process of the shoot becomes much more freeing and relaxing.  Instead of constantly worrying about how they look in camera and wanting to see previews, the models are just able to relax and be themselves, which makes it that much easier for me to really capture their true, natural beauty, and not the overproduced, oversexualized glamour prevalent in the industry today. 

Brianna, Abstract - Downtown LA 2014, Bronica ETRS