LAE.

These shots are from the photoshoot I did with my friend Lae. He's an Oakland hip-hop musician, and he needed some shots for his promo and press pieces. I'm pretty stoked with how they turned out. I attempted to do a bright high contrast shot at a playground prior to this, but I found that these embody my style and the softer quality of light I like to achieve in my portraits more.

I don't have a lot going on this week. I surfed yesterday with Kimmy, and had a blast, despite the waves being small and the tide low. I'm more afraid these days. Last week when I hurt my face I scared myself a lot. Seeing that amount of blood come out of your face is scary. It made me realize that the biggest hazard out there really is my board and others' as well.

Other then that, I've got promotion on the brain. If I wanted to keep my apartment, I have to be aggressive about getting higher paying work. It's a good push for me to get over my fears and shop my portfolio to magazines immediately. Hopefully, I'll find a match. Someone that thinks I've got something going on that they'd like to use, style wise. I do have a style don't I?

Sweet Briar.

I took on two excellent personal shoots this weekend, all part of the plan to stay motivated. Both went tremendously well, and I felt creative, inspired and proud of what came out of them. Below is the first in a series of shots I did for Sweet Briar, which is the music project of my friends Louisa and James. They were looking for something 60s psychedlic, so Tilden park was the perfect spot. Both of them are extremely good looking and photogenic, and more then willing to play up the mood for the camera. My plan is to make a small mailer out of this series, and also include a selection of other images to group them with. I'll be sure to add more over the next couple days.

I'd love to photo credit this but I have no clue who took it. This is a similar stance to my successful noseride the other day, teehee. Though I doubt I looked this good. Enjoy!

Ouch

Had a wonderful session with Jeannie yesterday. I got my first noseride. It was fantastic. I have to admit I didn't hang 10, but I had both feet planted firmly on the nose of the board, one was hanging off (hanging 5, I guess) and the other was about three inches back. It was like walking on water. The lightest, most carefree feeling in the world. After I rode the wave all the way to shore, I'm pretty sure I yipped out loud in excitement. The conditions were excellent, 1-3 feet and peeling. It was so warm I surfed without a suit, again.
Everything would have been perfect minus the killer headache that came on towards the end. I started to get tired, a little nauseated and my head was pounding. As I turned to catch a wave in I thought I'd try to get that feeling one more time. This time I drove the nose into the water, falling, and sending the board flipping through the air. From the water I looked up to see Stewy flying, his tail about to land on my head. I managed to throw my arms over me just in time. The tail landed straight on my elbow, which broke the blow to my face. Luckily, the fin was pointed up. But my god it hurt. Something about smashing your elbow head-on just really aches. Especially when we are talking about a 30 pound board. The board received a hefty crunch and a slightly smashed tail. I'm hoping to repair it but may have to suck it up and have it in the shop.
Anyways, I'm off to a shoot today. I'll have photos to post soon.

Big Sur 2006

Why do most surfers complain about the surf in the summer in Norcal? I think I actually prefer it. Well most of the time. Sure, the wind picks up and the waves turn to mush, but that happens in the winter too. At least in the summer it isn't 7-10 feet and closing out. I love how humbled I get by the ocean. Sometimes I humble myself by performing like a total idiot...clumsy, stumbling, goofy, and sometimes the ocean's power just takes over.

Big Sur this weekend was one of those times. Surf in Norcal was awesome all last week. Three days of wetsuit free perfection. It was sunny, warm and LM was 3-4 feet and peeling every day. I had a magical sunset session one night and several daytime sessions to follow. Plenty of curl, plenty of trimming, plenty of attempting ( and failing) to ride the nose. So that's why Big Sur was an extra disappointment. In addition to the stress of not finding a campsite and having to jockey for position in line for one...the waves were CRAP. Dave and I arrived at Sand dollar early Friday morning. He was intending to have some quiet time on the beach, while I was dreaming of perfect waves and some stress relief in the water. What I discovered was 5-6 feet and closed out. Sets coming in 30s, breaking with no consistency and failing to even reform on the inside. There was a current in action much like Ocean Beach...within five minutes your were halfway down the beach from where you started. I discovered this after I attempted to paddle Stewy out into it. I ended up having a small panic attack on the shore later. Thanks Dave, for your patience and understanding. For someone who doesn't get the disappointment when the waves let you down, you sure were a trooper all weekend.

Everything got better when the crew arrived and after Dave and I went to a classy restaurant (yes I know, we are weak campers) and sampled some Humbolt Squid and drank some beer on an outdoor patio. Gina is the camping goddess with her homemade cookies and macaroni salad, and everyone else's good spirits, despite the foggy weather and crappy surf (it was worse the following day) really helped me decompress. The highlight of the weekend was definitely the waterfall Dave convinced us to hike to. Something about feeling the cold pounding water on your skin and looking up to 100 feet of it pouring down moss covered rocks was truly magical.

There is something that draws me to Big Sur. The open rugged coastline and the clear water. It can be an eerie place, but I feel like there is still something perfect and undisturbed there. I think it brings out both the best and the worst in me...the part of me that can't be in control in a place like that. There are no consistent surf reports to monitor, parking lots to pull up to the break at, warm showers to follow the session. It's just luck, and I think regardless of the letdown, I love it.



This is the campsite that dave and I were lucky to stay at the first night. This rock that looks like a face was our view from the site. I fell asleep to the sound the the waves on the shore and the crackling fire that night. It was perfect.



Here's Miss Krystal looking like a beautiful beach goddess. Check out the shitty surf in the background.