Community Personified

I like to think that every photograph I capture tells a story but some do more than others.  On a recent visit to San Francisco I spent some time in the community of Bayview.  As with many communities I visit across the country the economic downturn has left a mark - a large portion of their commercial storefronts closed, many people looking for jobs, a mirror for much of America.

But what really amazed me here was the sense of community.  Families grilling on the sidewalk, wafting their tasty smoke down the street, a blocked-off street full of gradeschool children dancing to the beat of a live band, a saxophone blowing notes into the air that skirted their way down 3rd Street.

It was truly a pleasure to meet the residents of Bayview.  It may be a community in the midst of economic change but it's a community whose residents haven't forgotten what really makes communities work: neighbors.

This image is all about the details.

Love, Literally

I get asked quite a bit if I shoot weddings.  My answer is: I do.  But I don't necessarily consider myself a "wedding photographer".  The biggest difference between myself and a wedding photographer is that they must give up their weekends during most of the summer for their shoots.  Most of my business takes place in my studio or on-location and mostly during the week.

With that being said, when a couple does book me for a wedding I have an incredibly good time.  Maybe it's because there's always dancing and laughing and smiling faces and that makes me happy.  Or maybe it's because, in my job, I don't often get to capture true love on camera.  And when I do, it takes my breath away.

I was somewhere around the edge of the desert...

It's a rare occurrence for me to have a full week off during the month so when I was contracted to do some filming in Arizona I jumped on the chance to drive myself there instead of fly and take a week photographing the deserts of Nevada on my way down.

Having time to explore I opted to stay off the interstate and take roads that had far fewer people on them, some of them not on my map.  At one point I realized I had traveled for nearly an hour on one stretch of road and hadn't seen another soul.  Well that's not entirely true, I stopped and said hello to a couple cows.  They weren't much into talking.

Below are some photographs taken during the trip.  Shot with a Nikon FE.

Engagement Session: Capitol Campus

With the last vestiges of fall still clinging to the trees we met Travis and Gianna at the Capitol campus in Olympia for their engagement photography session.  The rain held off just long enough for us to capture their looks into each others eyes - their excitement to be together was palpable.  Their wedding is set for next year and we wish them the best of luck during the wedding planning process.  We'll see you next year at the wedding, enjoy your engagement!  (As part of their wedding photography package Travis and Gianna also received an engagement session.)

Wedding: Stacey and Stryker

You couldn't ask for better weather for a wedding, sunny, gorgeous blue sky, beautiful.  One of those days that are so warm and bright that they make you almost forget that winter exists.  And so it was that beautiful day that Stacey and Stryker got married.  It was an Irish affair, right down to the handfasting ribbon at the ceremony and the Irish cornhole bean-bag games.  From my standpoint behind the camera everything went off without a hitch.  Except for the part where two people actually did get hitched.

Never mind the creaks, this is a wedding!

Shotgun weddings are not out of the ordinary.  So when I got a call from a friend asking me if I was free to shoot one that same day I told him I was happy to, I happened to be free that evening and it was for a friend.  But I became more interested when he told me where it was taking place: in a treehouse.

I've been to casual weddings before but this one took the proverbial cake.  I might have chosen to think it was a joke if I hadn't seen the marriage certificate myself.  You know the minister means business when he shows up in a hoody and a stocking cap, looks at the walls and says, "I hope this thing can hold this much weight."

Here, in front of a wall tapestry and underneath a plywood ceiling the bride and groom provide some comic relief mid-ceremony.  Not that we all needed any, nobody was taking themselves too seriously that evening, not even the photographer.  Especially since we all got out alive.

Ever the spectacle, Spring again walks the red carpet

 

As the curtain closes on old man winter's performance spring again takes the stage.  Ever the heroine she again manages to avoid typecasts and deliver much needed comic relief countering the drama that was ever so sullenly woven during the months preceding her arrival.  From the cherry blossoms to the dogwoods everyone dons their theater tailleur to usher in her performance. 

Ever reluctantly the weather is changing and we found ourselves dodging hailstorms between basking in the sunlight on this morning's walk.  Spring is less than three days away but the trees don't pay heed to our calendar, they tick by another clock.  One that is spinning ever faster as winter releases his dark gray cloak and spring begins to recite her lines, much to the delight of the frozen and windblown audience.  I smile when I remember that Nature's theater doesn't have a dress code barring sandals.

16 and 4

 

Does art for the sake of art need a reason to exist?  If it exists solely for the sake of itself is it serving any purpose at all?  Art exists to benefit people in ways that are different for everyone.  It doesn't have to be appreciated, it doesn't have to be hated, it doesn't even have to be seen.  But if it's not seen does it exist?

Olympia rehearsal for V-Day's One Billion Rising

I was asked to shoot the rehearsal for the One Billion Rising dance that will be happening in Olympia on Thursday Feb. 14 and all over the world on Valentine's Day.  The dance is sponsored by V-Day, an organization started by Eve Ensler, who is best known for her play The Vagina Monologues, and is aimed at raising awareness of violence against women and girls across the world.

These Olympia area women (and men) were in great spirits and fired up, eager to learn the moves before the big day. 

The dance will be at Heritage Park next to Capitol Lake in downtown Olympia at 3:30, Feb. 14.
I'll be there at 3pm doing interviews if anyone wants to share why they are rising that day.

 

#1billionrising #vday

Sometimes Photographers Get to Relax Too

We live in a world of immediacy, a hive of distraction where everything comes at us all at once.  While we can choose for ourselves how we respond to this stimulus there still exists a place where we can forget it all, if only for a fleeting moment.  A place where we can live in our own intention, our own aspiration, in our own contentment.  For some that moment manifests itself in a massage. 

A massage is a place in time where we can release anguish and worry and instead focus directly on ourselves and on our own well-being; far from the anguish of our existential life.

For me that moment lasted a full 4 hours and involved no less than 3 models and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  It wasn't actually that hot (I don't carry a thermometer with me on shoots) but the sweat beading off my forehead told me I couldn't have been far off.  

Between thinking to myself "this is taking far too long" and "I should have worn more deodorant" I did my best to portray the moment.  A moment in which the models were experiencing pure bliss in the midst of doing their job and the exact moment where I could say for myself that finally - I was doing the exact same thing.

Thank you Mandy Zabohne, LMP, Olympia, WA