A few frames - 12.21.2020

December 21, 2020 in A few frames

Hello again! It has been awhile since my last entry. The last couple months have been one hell of a rollercoaster. With that said, I have been photographing a lot but developing less and I’ve been trying to wrap up a project that I have been working on since the beginning of the pandemic (more on that in a future entry) which explains the lack of content for these entries.

This entry is dedicated to disembodied faces. What I mean by this is; faces are visible, yet they do not appear or are attached to the body or bodies in frame. I tend to “fire from the hip” and zone focus a lot when I’m out in the street. This results in 10% semi well composed happy accidents and 90% missed or uninteresting photographs. Not all of these are “from the hip”, some are composed solely based on the subject manner and what is present in the frame. These photographs were made with the intent of composition practice, which is something that I have been working on and wanting to improve for the past couple of months. After seeing these results, I feel a bit more confident in my “from the hip” compositions as well as choosing what to show in the frame.

Shot on Kodak Tri-X 400 with a Leica M-A and a 35mm Summicron.

A few frames - 09.16.2020

September 16, 2020 in A few frames

This entry is about photographs that are visual time stamps of an era.

The inspiration for this post mainly has to do with looking at photo books that are period specific (ie: photographed in earlier decades of the 20th century). The photographers of that time lived through the reality of what they were photographing and as a result, they were able to share and showcase what they’ve experienced to others. Some notable photographers are: Fred Lyon who photographed SF throughout the 1940’s until current day. Vivian Maier photographed her day to day in Chicago during the late 1950’s until the late 1990’s. And lastly, Gordon Parks documented a large part of the civil rights movement and showcased segregation through his eyes during the late 1950’s. This fascinated me because not only did they photograph important events of their time but also the quiet moments of their day to day. I got to see glimpses of different eras in a more intimate manner. This led me to rethink the way I want to photograph my own life and experiences.

Ever since I started commuting to work again, I’ve noticed how this pandemic and the fight to end systemic racism has been reshaping San Francisco. This has been a time of great change. In such a short amount of time we’ve undergone changes in business practices and social etiquette, an increased sense of empathy, and for the most part, some level of collective action to stay safe and healthy. These photographs for me, are a reflection of what’s going on in the mid to later half of 2020. With 3 months left in the year and 2 months left until the election, the rest of 2020 and the years that follow will be one to remember.

Shot on Kodak Tri-X 400 with a Leica M-A and a 40mm Summicron.

From the archives - 08.19.2020

August 19, 2020 in From the archives

This entry is dedicated to one of the most intimidating aspects of street photography: street portraits.

I’m naturally a shy person so street portraits have always been difficult for me. The act of walking up to a complete stranger and asking them for their portrait was completely out of my comfort zone. There have been countless times when I encountered people on the street and felt compelled to take their photo, but would stop myself by making up excuses in my head (ie: “they would probably say no” or “they would probably think I’m weird or creepy” or “I wouldn’t even know what to say”). After the moment of opportunity passes, the thought of “why didn’t I just talk to them?” would linger in the back of my mind and this frustrated me.

Instead of letting myself get discouraged, I decided to challenge myself by slowly engaging more with my surroundings. My goal was to build up my confidence so that I could approach strangers and ask them for their photo. I first started by asking friends of friends in social settings. This allowed me to learn how to talk to someone I wasn’t familiar with, but who also wasn’t a complete stranger. Then I started to gain the confidence to ask strangers. Without the crutch of familiarity, I applied what I had learned from my previous interactions in order to push myself to talk to strangers. There were definitely a lot of no’s but equally as many yes’s.

Over the years, I’ve found that a simple compliment or even being completely transparent with your intentions can go a long way with most people. It makes them feel at ease and they’re more open to the idea of a stranger taking their photo. Sometimes my subjects will let me take their photo and be on their way or sometimes they’ll get excited and will let me direct them. Those experiences usually yield the best portraits. I’ve also learned (if possible) it’s important to give your subjects a copy of their portrait via email or even a physical print. Sharing your work with them gives you the chance to broaden your audience outside of social media/your normal sharing outlets and it makes for a nice gift. The photos below are some of my favorite street portraits and they’re in no particular order.

Shot on various film stocks and various cameras.

A few frames - 08.04.2020

August 04, 2020 in A few frames

This entry was inspired by a conversation I had the other day with a homie that I ran into at the skate park. We chopped it up; talked skating, how things are going, and photo stuff. It was during that part of our conversation, he showed me a photo he took of a packed muni bus (or train I kind of forgot) and it got me thinking about how a photo like that seems like it’s from an entirely different time period.

These photographs span late 2017 to early 2020 and they represent a time when you would navigate crowds, try to squish into a packed train during rush hour, or even touch things in public without a second thought.

It’s really crazy to think as of March 2020, we would plunge head first in whole new way of living.

Stay safe, wash your hands, and wear a mask.

Shot on various film stocks and various cameras.