throwin in some fun assignment stories.

i was supposed to shoot the Pandora office building today becuase of the big IPO they had. The assignment was an outside shot of the building, but I figured Id try my best to get some access inside. So i walk into the office unanounced and ask if I can take shots. Pandora had just recently put a no press freeze, denying all local and national access becuase of the IPO. i just explained them my story and after about 45min of waiting and phone calls back and forth from Oakland to NY, they said no. So i said whatever and walked down stairs to the lobby and started taking the shots I was supposed too. A rent a cop comes over and yells at me and tells me to stop. I wasnt really sure what my rights were since I was in a building lobby, so i played the smart ass role and said I can legally take photos inside, since its a public lobby. (afterwards I learned i was wrong) The cop starts yelling, telling me I have to talk to management before i want to take photos blah blah blah. I say “ok no big deal, i have another assignment to shoot anyways, so im just gonna go shoot the building from the outside.” Then the cop again says im not allowed to do that. Now THAT i am allowed to do…its outdoors and its a public area, first ammendement baby. The cop says that she will call the FBI (who have offices in the building) if he sees me taking shots outside. I said “you can call the President of the United States if you wanted, not even he can stop me from doing this.” I think that worked because we all just became quiet and went on our merry ways. Oh then as I was walking outside to take my photos, the Pandora guy tracks me down, apologizes for their rude behavior and asks me to come up to take photos…weird. I then go up and talk to the HR lady who works in New York and she apologizes about 30 times for being so difficult to work with (i was like whoaa, cool) and I went and took the shots. Nothing spectacular, just a fun little story.

And theeeen, I had a graduation assignment in Oakland, at the paramount theater. this time, they had a no press clearance. I said, “no no my name is on the list, i know it is!” It wasnt, haha. and I couldn’t talk my way into access. First time for everything. So i left after shooting for about 10 minutes since the graduates walked inside. Easy assignment i guess. Either way, here are two photos from that. Just fun. Also in between these two assignments, my photo staff took me out to lunch cause my internship is ending. They mentioned that I was one of the few interns, and an intern for a long while, that has his own style. To those that know me and my ambitions very closely, thats something ive been trying to achieve since I started shooting. Honestly, developing a style takes a lifetime of practice, so i know im not there yet, but the fact that they brought it up really meant a lot.