#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 (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

Renae

For Colored Girls

The beautiful, talented, and beautifully talented Renae is a painter and model in North Hollywood, so it was only fitting that our collaboration feature paint.  I've been wanting to try a concept like this for quite some time, and Renae turned out to be the perfect canvas.

For Colored Girls, 2015 - Pentax 67

This photo won me /r/analog's Photographer of the Week, so I already knew we were off to a good start!

There will certainly be more to come between Renae and I, stay tuned for 2016...

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...

Summer Travels, pt. I

New York

It's rare that I get to travel as much as I would like to.  Fortunately, I get to make up for it this month.  Having successfully completed my short film To Police, I'm off to Barcelona, New York, and Puerto Rico, in that order.  I guess you can say I kinda like Spanish food...

Anyway, Barcelona marks my first time ever setting foot in Europe, so naturally I shot a LOT of rolls there.  I'll be saving those for last.  New York was up next, and was actually a research trip for a new script I'll be writing so most of time was occupied with that, rather than photography.  But I did manage to get off a few quick shots here and there.

Up next...

Puerto Rico

This was my second time visiting Puerto Rico, and I gotta say, I love this island more and more with each visit.  This was the first time I was able to explore a little bit with a film camera in hand, and spent the majority of my time in Old San Juan.

To be continued...

Braelynn

No Housewives Here

Braelynn, 2015, Pentax 67

Keeping the shoots coming strong in 2015 with my latest collaborator, Braelynn Taylor!  Another Instagram connect made this happen.  We got together in Central LA this weekend so I could put a few more miles on my new favorite beast, the Pentax 67. 

Canon AE-1:

Pentax 67:

Easy to tell how it quickly became my favorite camera.

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...

The Road Home

Taking the Long Way

On the way back from Vegas I decided to take my time and explore a bit of the scenery with what was quickly becoming my favorite color film stock, Ektar 100.  In was on this drive that I discovered what I hope to one day turn into a type of signature shot of mine, the Portrait Landscape.

"Tranquility" - Somewhere between Vegas and LA, 2014

Something about leaving so much room for the sky in a landscape photo really puts our existence here into perspective.  We all like to think we're larger than life, but just look up at the sky next time you need a reminder of exactly what life is.  The effect is humbling to say the least.  And don't you just love that natural blue gradient?  Ektar is an incredible film.

This was a peaceful drive, a nice way to unwind from the crazy birthday weekend at Life is Beautiful and prime myself for getting back into the hustle when I got home.  The year's winding down, and 2015 is starting to look particularly promising...

Damn I love that Ektar blue.