New York

I love New York! There was a time when I was thinking of living there. After living in LA for five years now I don't think I could handle the seasons. But I would love to live there for the photography, not only can you soot without a permit but you can take power off the street too. I was there for a couple days in June on my way up to Maine. While I was there i saw photo opportunities around every corner. It is the time of the year when the sun lines up with the streets creating amazing light. I was kicking myself for not organizing a shoot. But then I met Silja Ahonen a Finnish Rhythmic Gymnastics champion in New York for a couple of days. Why she trusted me who knows, what matters is that we got some really great shots. We almost missed the sun, but we got there just in time to get the golden light and long shadows. After we lost the sun we went to Times Square where we did some shots in the crowds. Then we went into the center of Times Square, The scene was Insane! Being in times square at 8:30 pm was really intense we had easily 200 people around us in a tight circle and everyone was taking pictures of us or her rather. So my background was pretty limited, I decide to throw on the 70-200 and work with all of the lights that were there. I am really happy with how they turned out. Considering there was a couple wearing duck camouflage hats, cut off flannel shirts and both with a cheek full of tobacco directly behind her.

Urban Lily Yoga

When Elinore of Urban Lily Yoga (www.urbanlilyyoga.com) came to me and said she wanted to shoot her entire roster of teachers I was excited about the opportunity to shoot so much talent at one time. The theme? Flash dance! Awesome! I thought, a bunch of wet yoga teachers. But that idea was scratched, for obvious reasons, and because there was only one iyengar yoga teacher (they use props like chairs).  We went with a little more realistic scenario.

We kept the dramatic lighting, leggings and attitude. I went with a dark background to emphasize the highlights. A wooden floor without mats because the reflections of color were so nice. The clothes were supplied by Chakras by Didi (http://www.chakrasbydidi.com), a local yoga clothing designed. We shot two nights in a row and everyone showed up on time and were amazing. We did three poses per girl for a total of 5-7 minutes per girl so we were shooting pretty fast. We managed to get everyone shot but we were easily staying till 11pm each night. It was so worth it I had a blast and the girls got some great shots.

Alaska Models

 Finding models, or a least people comfortable in front of a camera in Alaska is hard to do. Before heading up there I tried to find modeling agencies (ha) that might have some decent models, Then I tried craigslist (wow) still nothing. Its not like I was looking for a runway model or anything. I was just looking for some good looking people that look comfortable doing outdoors activities. I didn't know that would be so hard. I kept getting 15 year old girls wanting me to make them a star, and middle age women wanting bondage nude shots. Then I went back to a tried and trusted source from college, model mayhem. Ive used them before but only for test shoots. So I tried, and I got some good results for girls. In Alaska I guess modeling for guys isn't a big thing. who would have known? But I managed to find some good girls that looked athletic. And I decided on a girl named Chantal.

Guys on the other hand were proving a little bit more difficult. I had scheduled a shoot for Saturday and it was already Friday and I still needed a guy. I went into Anchorage to meet up with Chantal to get her fitted for some clothes. I was a little early so I decided to get something to eat at a local sandwich shop. As I ordered my meal a guy walks in with the exact look I want. I sat down and waited for my food he sat near me and we start to talk. He is in town for the summer for an internship with the national parks, he is a nice guy. I tried to steer the conversation towards the fact that I was a photographer and the photo shoot that I was doing tomorrow. Eventually we got to the end of our meals and I, trying not to sound to weird ask Mike if he wanted to come be on the photo shoot. He gave me a tentative maybe. That's all I needed. It was a good sign, he wasn't totally freaked out about the prospect of going up into the isolated mountains with  a complete stranger who he had just met 30 min ago. I will admit I did emphasize the beautiful girl that was going to be alongside him to try and sweeten the whole thing a bit. With just a maybe, I left to go get the Chantal fitted. Counting on Mike coming through I picked him up some clothes and we were ready to shoot, as long as we had a male model the next day. Later that night Mike called me and confirmed. Whew. Now I looked back on it I shouldn't have had any doubts, anyone that comes to Alaska on their own without a place to stay other than hostels, and to work for free, has a sense of adventure. And this photo shoot was just another chapter to add to his Alaska experience. The next day we shot and got some really great stuff. It all came together in the end.

Carlos in Alaska

One of the reasons if not the main reason I am a photographer is because it affords me the opportunity to meet interesting people from all walks of life. As a photographer I get to follow these people and document them and who they are. I am given a glimpse of something or someone that I would never have come across if I had another profession.

In my search for athletic models in Alaska I cam across some very interesting people. one of the most interesting I came across was Carlos Owens. Carlos is a young guy that builds Mechas. A Mecha is a 12ft tall mechanical suit controlled by a pilot inside the body. His Mecha is bipedal with a shoulder mounted nail launcher, and arms mounted with a flame throwers, and hands capable of grasping objects. Carlos spent over 10,000 dollars building his creation. He built  it in his spare time outside  in the dead cold of Alaska winter.

How I found out about Carlos was a total luck. While I was in Wasillia I was reading some articles on the internet when I came across an article on Carlos it was written for an online magazine. It was a short article that talked about Carlos and his activities as a part time inventor. But what struck me the most (besides the fact that he builds giant suits of metal, the article mentioned that Carlos lived in Wasilla Alaska. I am not one to let opportunity and luck pass me by so I did some research and eventually found Carlos' web site. I contacted him expressing my interest to photograph him. After a few hours he called me back and later that day we met up.

I got to see his creations in person, and all I can say is the article hardly did them justice. It was quite a site to see. Carlos showed me his Mechas and his other creations. Besides his mechas he also is in the process of making hoover bikes. Carlos is a man driven by passion he doesn't do the things he does  for money, the only reason he does them is to pursue his own passions.  I only got to spend a couple of hours with Carlos but the time I did spend reminded me of why I love photography. It is a great way to meet people that inspire and remind me why I do photography, not for the money, but for my own passion.

Tarifa Kite Surfing

I was going to Tarifa with my friend Andreas www.andreasholm.com to try and catch some surf. Little did I know surf in that part of the world doesn't get going till the winter. The day started out really rainy and nasty, so I was a little worried that its was going to be the same in Tarifa.  After several hours of driving, or rather being a passenger, Andreas drove the whole way.  We got to Tarifa and the weather was still nasty and gloomy, but the clouds were starting to break up. We struggled finding a hostel for a second (our first choices were full) but then found one in the center of town. That is when we heard the news, surf was out wind was in. Normally this kills me to hear this because it leaves you with nothing to do. Well Tarifa happens to be the kite surfing capital of the world. I did not know this. Upon hearing this we decided to check it out.  There was a little spot just down the road where there is some killer kite surfing. We got directions and started to make our way to lagoon. It didn't take us long to figure out where we were going. In the distance you could see multicolored kites weaving in and out. It was insane that people weren't running into each other. I later learned, the kind of control that is needed just to stay on the surface of the water is incredible, so navigating your kite in the sky is child's' play by the time you can actually kite surf. We arrived at the lagoon which was just a big section of beach that floods at high tide and is protected by a big sand bar, so the water is 2 ft deep and calm with really strong winds, like I said kite surfing capital of the world. The clouds had broken up at this point so the sun was starting to shine. It was a site to see, all the kites weaving in and out dipping and diving and kite boarders getting lifted into the air ten feet doing really forced twists and turns before landing with a hard splash in the water. We got there pretty late, evening was fast approaching and the tide was going out the winds were dieing  and the light was fading, People started to leave but there were a select few that stayed. Their efforts were not in vain we did our best to capture that evening in Tarifa, these were just a few of the pictures that I shot.

Lauren at El Matador

This shot was taken at El Matador Beach near Malibu California. We shot on a Tuesday to avoid crowds and gawkers. The original concept was a shipwreck. We had several different looks using netting and seaweed and large pieces of fabric. For this shot were were going to make the fabric into a full dress and make it look like the sail of a ship.

When my stylist Freya was wrapping up Lauren a section go away and started flapping in the winds that were starting to pick up. I loved the way it looked. So Lauren was re-wrapped and so that there was a long section of fabric trailing behind her. We tried a few shots but the wind was becoming difficult and making the fabric twist and bunch, not very flattering. So I had my assistant, James hold onto the fabric and on my signal he was going to let it go. The wind was supposed to pick it up and it would have a very flowy clean feel. I was getting ready to shout the cue (which is when I snapped this shot), and half a second later it happened.

James was really holding on tight because the winds were already strong.  Suddenly a huge gust of wind came up.  The wind was so strong that James started to get pulled then Lauren started to get pulled, then to spin, and then she looked like a roll of toilet paper unrolling. And all of s sudden there was Lauren totally naked on the beach. With a huge white banner flapping in the wind attracting everyone's attention. Freya acting quickly wrapped Lauren a silver reflector.

Lauren was a good sport about the whole thing and we got some really great shots. I'm not sure why Lauren wasn't wearing underwear maybe we were concerned about pantie lines or something. But as much as I like this shot, I like the one I took one second later.

Malcom

This shot was taken in Denver Colorado at a bar called the Skylark. I was friends with the owner and he let me shoot there on a Wednesday when it was slow. It was about 8 at night and we were just setting up getting ready to shoot. Malcolm, an actor at heart was trying to get into character, (which was a down trodden business man). To make things more believable I ordered him a drink. Now Malcolm was not much of a drinker, so while waiting for him I ordered myself one as well. While we were sitting there discussing why Malcolm's characters girlfriend had left him. A man walked in the front door. Normally I wouldn't have paid him much attention, but when he walked in he had the look and feel of someone who had or was about to do something bad. I instinctively reached for my camera case to make sure he wouldn't just dash with it.  Everybody in the bar was watching this guy, he looked that suspicious. He walked straight in the front door and made a direct line around the bar to the back door. As he reached the back door a young woman came in the front door. Her clothes were ripped and a looked a shaky and scared. She scanned the bar and saw the man leaving out the back door. With one arm holding up her bra and torn shirt she pointed with her other at the man. Then she yelled, "STOP THAT BASTARD HE TRIED TO RAPE ME!" Malcolm and I without a second thought jumped off our stools and raced after the man, who, upon hearing the girl was now running. I caught up to the guy in the parking lot of the bar. I grabbed the guy by the collar of his shirt, which was made of polyester so it didn't tear even after the struggle that he put up. After a few attempts of trying to get away. The guy changed tactics and tried to convince us of his innocence, claiming the "bitch was lying". I still held on to his shirt. Malcolm was there standing by, if the guy decided to run. out the back door of the bar. As she was approaching she was holding something low and shaking it vigorously. The man was still claiming his innocence loudly to anyone that would listen. When all of a sudden the girl was upon him still shaking the mystery object. To late did I figure out it was mace. She started to spray the man in the face, with me still holding on, all the while still shaking the mace. He started to try and get away which pulled me into the expanding cloud of burning gas. With me still holding on to this guys collar and him trying to get away we started to spin around in a circle. By this time a crowd of people had surrounded us, we must of looked a little like a strange dance duo performing. As were spinning, I'm coughing trying to use my jacket as a filter to get a clean breath of air. I can see through watery eyes that there is a group of people surrounding us and that this guy isn't going anywhere. I let go and move to the perimeter of the cloud. This guy is writhing in pain but is still trying to profess his innocence, all the time the girl is yelling back at him his guilt. A few choice word were exchanged and things start to calm down.

Someone says they've called the police. Upon hearing this the guy makes a run for it. Breaking through the ring of people, he makes an Olympic sprint for freedom.  Everyone is chasing him but he is pulling away. He runs out the gate of the lot which is surrounded by an eight foot chain-link fence.  He is out, and making a mad dash for freedom. Malcolm is running to head the guy off but the problem is that there is a chain-link fence between the two. This doesn't seem to concern Malcolm. Malcolm reaches the fence, and without breaking his stride is on top of the fence in two "steps". From the top Malcolm pulls a signature wrestler move, jumps, landing on top of the guy, tackling him to the ground. Malcolm pins the guy to the pavement by putting his knee in the back of the guys neck and holding his arm behind his back. And that is where the guy stayed, until the police showed up and arrested him. After things calmed down, and everybody left, Malcolm and I went back into the bar and finished our photo shoot. Except he was no longer in the character of downtrodden businessman, so I shot him in his new one... a bad ass.