The blog

since im such a hardcore professional and decided to move purely to film now, i figured i gotta look cool right, i mean nothing screams “love me women” like a man with a rangefinder swung over his shoulder. not only that, but since im so hardcore and my pants are so hipster-ey tight, i need a place to hold all that film that i burn through taking photos of the president and wars and stuff like that.

enter the “store your canister”…you’re very own DIY project to hold your film…all you need is a rangefinder, preferably Leica, but Voigtlander will do, a domke strap…only domke please (we’re professionals here), some elastic bands torn from your high school shins guards from your JV soccer team you only played 2 games for, and a thread and needle…and a girl to do the sewing since youre too busy taking pictures of the president and wars and stuff like that

orders start at $1000 dollars

Ok i just had my portfolio exit review at the Tribune, and i guess Ill post something now, since im tender haha. Boy this internship has been crazyyy, in a good way. I counted, some 125 assignments over the course of 4 months, tens of thousands of photos, im estimating at least 40,000, so so so many new people ive met and new friends ive made. Over the course of this internship, I was tested, very hard. And I learned a lot. here are some of those lessons.

…..
-If you like to dress nice, always have a set of street clothes on hand. if you’re going to take pictures of the rougher parts of oakland, you want to at least look like you belong. Plus its a respect thing…no one is higher or mightier than anyone else, so dont go in looking like you are.

-Photography is all about the details, the small decisions you make that matter the most. If you are taking pictures of a place where you generally don’t belong, pay special attention to where you stand, to who you talk to, how you talk to them, how you move, who you look at, how often you take photos, its important to let people become acclimated to you…to the point where they may refuse photos at first, but encourage them in the end.

-If you’re going into an event or an assignment and you don’t know anyone, ALWAYS talk to a few people first then take a random shot of them. Then you instantly have a few people who are used to you and will let you follow them around for photos. Very helpful.

-As a secondary, always talk to people, half the job is about how you interact with folks. Be friendly, be honest, be yourself.

-Always arrive 10min early and stay 10min extra. Of all the good photos i’ve taken, most have been a result of either coming early or staying extra.

-Get out of your comfort zone. If you’re in your comfort zone, you’re not taking good photographs. By far the best shots i’ve taken were the ones where i was telling myself “i feel so stupid for being here, i don’t even belong.”

-Care about your subjects, and try to represent them to the best of your abilities. After all, up to 500,000 are going to see the essence of that person based on your photograph.

-Don’t walk on International at night.

-But DO walk on International at sunset, the light is magical.

-Shoot first, ask later. 90% of the random people i took photographs of were happy about being photographed, so don’t worry about sticking your camera into someones face.

-Also, if someone is crying or its a sensitive situation, be polite, but get the shot, after all, it happened.…and that’s your job.

-Crop tighter

-Switch up your lenses. Dropping and breaking my 17-35 was a godsend.

-Look at other peoples photographs. Both in the paper and outside. Study Study Study. Listen to podcasts. Consider the actual photo taking as a supplement to the amount you should be seeing, reading and listening too. My style automatically shifted after I started to saturate myself, heavily with photographers that I liked. So important.

-Always get names, ages and where people are from. I sucked at captions, so it was good to do that. Plus you make connections that way.

-Have a bag system you are used to and stick with it. Mine was a Domke that held two lenses and my camera, but looked inconspicuous when closed.

-Crop tighter

-And crop tighter
……

In the end, i think i finally developed a style I can call my own…or at least im getting there. Im going transition to film now, slow down a little and allow myself to saturate the shot rather than crank it out with digital. Itll be good, especially if i get the chance to do some good long term assignments.

To close, photography really is a special thing…you get to experience the world in a way that most people never will. Never mind the ridiculous access you get to have, its about the connections you make with people. You meet people from all, and I mean ALL walks of life, and get to share their experiences as if its your own. Whether its talking to the lady who invented Rice-a-Roni or the first african american police captain in the Bay Area, speaking to a homeless man who is addicted to drugs, attending the funeral of a family who lost their father in an act of senseless violence, interacting with cops, or musicians, or artists, or blue-collar workers, or collectors, or doctors, or athletes, or refugees, or students, or prostitutes, or murderers, or attorneys, or judges, or catholics, or muslims, or protestors, or volunteers, or philanthropists, or military folk, or whatever. its a remarkably complex world we live in, and photography always gave me the chance to at least try and understand it, and for that i am forever thankful.

Thank you to the Oakland Tribune for giving me this opportunity

i had an assignment covering the East Bay Refugee Forum on Oakland today. The funnest for me, lots of people to talk to, free food (!) and a fun environment. Diverse like none other…Nepalese, Congolese, Thai, Eritrean, Cambodian, Burmese, Egyptian, Chinese, Afghani, Indian, Pakistani, Mexican, Cuban and Laotian…all kickin it at a park.

article and slideshow for the story
http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_18302833

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.

I was walking in downtown and i finally found a newsstand with my front page on it…been waiting for that for a while for some reason.

anyway, my internship is soon ending, this saturday so a long awaited post will be coming.

I had an assignment earlier tonight that is something worth mentioning. It was a graduation ceremony for Oakland International High School. This is a pretty run down high school off of Broadway, just walking to the school i saw a few things i shouldnt have seen, rough neighborhood, but the school is really something else. Its not called “international” for nothing…this years graduating class had 40 members, of those 40, there was a collective languages spoken of 18 ranging from 16 different ethnicities. In the 3 hours i was there, i met people from Mexico, China, Nepal, Congo, Senegal and Ghana, just off the top of my head. And im not talking about second or third generation students, these kids immigrated here from their respective countries as little as last year, none spoke english before they enrolled. Thats what the school was set up for, is to bring in international immigrants, who speak no english, and offer them high school courses to graduate on time. I mean how cool is that.
The more and more I dive into Oakland, the more i realize what a gem the city really is. Despite all the violence, I cant think of a place as beautifully diverse as Oaktown.

really like this photo, dont know why. just got a lot of faces in it really. also i reallllly need to stop shooting digital…film where are you?