I’ve never been much of a soccer player; having peaked at age 12 and turned to the more compelling worlds of art and music. Despite my best efforts, I’ve never really connected with the sport. While living in South America, it was painfully obvious that I was a gringo not meant for futbol. None the less, it is a World Cup summer this year and the world is tuned in to soccer, and who doesn’t love the international drama taking place in South Africa?
I recently had the opportunity to shoot local Hip Hop artist, Paris London, in our Oakland studio. Paris’s music is a very cool blend of influences. He’s an Oakland rapper, but uses samples and beats that often draw on other genres, especially, to my ear, jazz. I thought we’d set up a shot that depicted visually what his music sounds like to me, a blend of smooth hip hop and jazz. Read the rest of this entry »
I recently had another chance to shoot with Kelly Armstrong, University of Arkansas football player and NFL hopeful. I’d always wanted to incorporate flames into a portrait and had a blast working on this one. We set up for the first shoot, without flames, on Alameda’s abandoned military base. The open space and runway was intended to give the shot the feel of travel or change, which doesn’t really read like I’d like. None the less, once giant fireballs are on the set, it’s important to pick a relatively remote and non-flammable location. Read the rest of this entry »
