It has been a while since I last posted on my blog, so I need to catch up on all the great shoots and travels I’ve been on, over the past month. This shoot with Dana and Joni took place in late March. They are a great couple, and have an electrifying chemistry between the two of them. The shoot took place a bit after 5pm in downtown San Francisco, with very little sunlight left. I had my lovely assistant, Olya, help me with the lights, which are mandatory for shooting after dark. We strolled down Grant Street, through China Town, to North Beach, coming back to Belden Place. We even managed to make our way into an apartment building in China Town for a cool balcony shot. Unfortunately, the conditions of the fire escape made it dangerous to get outside, so we kept going. We got to photograph underneath one of my favorite art installations in the city, “Language of Birds“, by Brian Goggins and Dorka Keen.
My friends in Cabrera, Dominican Republic are raising money to keep their school open. The Academia Internacional de Cabrera provides quality education for dozens of students of various grade levels. The tuition is made to be affordable, and the fees alone do not cover the operating costs of the school. For this reason, the school depends on donations and support from the community. Dominican Republic has one of the worst education systems in the world, and less than 2% of the GDP goes to education. Cabrera is a small rural community and needs help keeping schools like AIC going.
If you donate over $100, I am offering a complimentary 1 hour photo session. It can be head shots, family shoot, or engagement portraits. This is a great deal, and you will truly be making a difference in kids futures. Please contact me for more info. Follow this link to donate via PayPal: http://www.friendsofcabrera.org/donate/
AIC website: http://www.aicabrera.com/
Had a great shoot with Sheena and William last week. They are high school sweethearts that have been in love since they first met. For this shoot we picked the Mission District in San Francisco for its vibrant street art and urban feel. I haven’t done too many shoots in this neighborhood, and I love the experience of getting to know a new neighborhood from behind the lens. The shoot ended with some great Ethiopian food. After the shoot I got a heart warming email from the couple, here is an excerpt:
“…For our engagement shoot, you took us to the city. It was cold, and we have never been there before. We walked around, and you would stop and see something that my fiance and I didn’t quite see. I look at the photos you have sent us, and it took my breath away. The moment you captured, what you saw, how you saw us! It was far more beautiful than what we thought we were doing. Looking at your photos you made us realize how much we love one another, and how it really shows.” -Sheena and William
Last week I along with the band Alma Desnuda, held an intimate event at my studio, exhibiting photos and videos from the tour. Alma Desnuda along with some friends gave a very special story telling performance, singing their top hits and sharing stories from the trip. We pulled this event in less than two weeks after getting back from tour in gorgeous Bali and Australia. This event allowed our friends and family to take a glance at our amazing journey. I am grateful for this unique experience the work I was able to produce in the 3 weeks on tour. I’ve always felt that my travel photography was always behind my other work, and this trip really solidified my skill-set, demonstrating that I can capture quality content, no matter what situations I am thrown in. In addition to doing the photos, I ended up having a crash course in video just a day before this trip. The videos and photos that I captured on tour are on the band’s website and blog. If you’d like to check them out, follow the link to Alma Desnuda Tour Blog. Enjoy the video from the event. Special thanks to the talented cinematographer, Tim Kay (Timkayfilms.com) for lending his skills to capture this special event.
This January I went on tour with the San Francisco band Alma Desnuda, for their first international tour through Bali, Indonesia and various parts of Western Australia. I flew out on New Year’s day, a week after the band had already been performing at the Ayana Resort’s Rock Bar. When I got to the resort I learned that Paul, the guitarist and vocals for the band, proposed to his girlfriend Carla. Paul had the chance to ask for Carla’s hand in marriage from her father, who passed away a few months ago back in Spain. Its a very touching story that shows the type of person that Paul is. He waited until the tour for the right moment in Jimbaran Bay, Bali to ask the question. For around 3 weeks that I toured with the band, Paul and Carla took photos with me at various locations making this the longest engagement shoot I have ever done. I am very happy for them and it feels good knowing how much these photos mean to them. For anyone interested in checking out the band and footage from the tour, the link is: http://almadesnudalive.tumblr.com/
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My friends in Cabrera, Dominican Republic are raising money to keep their school open. The Academia Internacional de Cabrera provides quality education for dozens of students of various grade levels. The tuition is made to be affordable, and the fees alone do not cover the operating costs of the school. For this reason, the school depends on donations and support from the community. Dominican Republic has one of the worst education systems in the world, and less than 2% of the GDP goes to education. Cabrera is a small rural community and needs help keeping schools like AIC going.
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