Juliana

Months and months and months ago.

Although it was her first time, she wasn't nervous (I was, I always am). We took to the streets of Long Beach and found a nice spot. I squinted against the late afternoon sun embossing everything with an angelic halo and she stepped in front of the lens. Everything was magic. Working with Juliana was pure and simple. A lot of the so called "professionals" I work with aren't as fun to work with either. Maybe it's because of her background as a classical dancer, who knows, but shooting that day couldn't have been any more easy. It's people like this that make photography a worth while endeavor. Expect more from this one in the future.

Closing summer with Amy Roiland - @afashionnerd

I can't believe it's already September and I'm squeezing the last bit of summer out of the air. In just a few short months I've gained so much, but lost a lot too. If you follow me on facebook, you'd know that someone took the life of my beloved cat. At the same time, I put together an amazing computer with my own hands (which I recommend everyone to do), and have been happily shooting all kinds of things. As a result, here's some tidbits of an impromptu shoot I did with fashion blogger Amy Roiland. Honestly, I can't stress enough how AMAZING Amy is and hanging out with her is nonstop laughs, and sometimes dog bites. 

I will post the set once I get through them. Below you can see Amy sport a jumpsuit from BIBANDTUCK.com and a jacket from Skinny Bitch Apparel.  

Images from Palm Springs

Here's a series of black and whites that I took in Palm Springs.

Air Base

What many of you don't know is that one of my many jobs when I'm not shooting is working on contract with the US Forestry, loading planes with the retardant that stops wildfires. It's hot, loud, sticky and I enjoy it. For the most part it's just dumb physical labor but sometimes that's good to have. As a visual artist I spend more time then I should lost in concepts, puzzles, and ideas. Having that physicality brings me back to the here and now. Even Leonardo da Vinci knew the importance of being in shape physically and was renown as being one of the most able bodied men in the land. Artists, don't neglect your bodies.

There's also an added nostalgia being around the airplanes many of which are modified World War II submarine hunters. These pictures feature a P2-V which was used for that in particular. Watching them taxi across the runway, I can only imagine what they were like as weapons of war and how they were a sign of hope for some, and brought terror for others. There's a palpable melancholy and grace that surrounds them leaving you in awe. On the other hand, we have a modified DC-10 that lacks that majestic feeling of the P2-Vs. It has no history behind it, other then being a massive commercial jet. Hopefully I can grab a few pictures of it once it's stationed at our base.