New Year, New Goals

2014 was a very fruitful year for me as an artist. Here are a few of my favorite documentary moments that have only been shared on Instagram until now:

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A climber reclines on a 100ft slack line in Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, AR

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A local points out changes to a former resident of the Bronx's Castle Hill neighborhood. New York, NY.

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An alternative youth rests against the Stars and Stripes at a house-held punk concert mostly attended by homeless teenagers and young adults. Little Rock, AR.

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A parade participant and bystander embrace during Pride Fest in Little Rock, AR

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Amtrak conductor checking passengers' tickets and luggage on a snowing morning. Poughkeepsie, NY.

Also, some recent fine art photos.

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August, 2014

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January, 2015

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September, 2014

Goals for this year:

-Get a photo essay published

-Get a photo published to a nationally circulating magazine

-Get fine art photos published

-Study figure/pose

-Photograph more models

As for the last goal: if any of you reading this would like to meet up and be photographed (regardless of any level of skill or experience), please contact me!

A Portrait of Hell

Well, that's Alex Honnold. He's a personal hero of mine and the most famous climber in the world (for good reason). I got to take photos of him and many other cool people two weeks ago at 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell.

24HHH was possibly the most fun event I've shot. Last year I made a little video of it. However, doing stills liberated me of crew and equipment and allowed me to cover more ground, find more stories, and feel more relaxed all the while. You can check my gallery of images from 24HHH here.

But for all the shots of people crushing that I worked for, it's this portrait I took of my friend Aaron Baka shortly after the end of the competition that I'm perhaps most proud of.

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It was a chance encounter. I was walking down the road towards my campsite after photographing people turning in their scorecards when I happened upon Aaron resting in the shade on the tailgate of a truck. As we talked I noticed the elements one by one: how haggard my friend look, the quality of the diffused light on him, and his eyes catching some direct light.

I asked if I could take his portrait and he was kind enough to consent. As I framed the shot I began seeing more elements: his blue shirt, the red truck, and the blown-out grass making a sort of pale yellow rounded out a primary color scheme. The punch of green in the top-left of the image complimenting the red while being analogous to the yellow and blue worked out better than I had anticipated. What's more, Aaron required no direction to give me a face that conveys everything he was feeling at that moment. The moment I captured this particular frame, I knew I had something I'd be very happy with, and I'd say it's firmly among my favorite portraits to have taken.

By the time you're reading this I'll be in Washington State. Is there anything there you fine readers think I should try to capture? Places I'll visit include Seattle, Olympia, and Stehekin (North Cascades National Park).

The People's Climate March and Media Censorship

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A winged messenger.

A couple weeks ago I was talking to a friend at my regular coffee shop who told me about the People's Climate March. I expressed my interest in documenting it, contacts were made, and I was given the the opportunity to take photos at the demonstration on Sunday. I never before had the chance to capture such a large event, so I was game to give it a go despite the 50-hour round-trip bus ride.

Reports came my way that 100,000+ people were to gather to demonstrate prior to the U.N. climate summit. The purpose of their gathering was to get the attention of U.N. leaders and deliver the message that the public wants renewable energy resources and wants to cut dependence on fossil fuels. Though I was sympathetic to the cause, I wasn't quite sure if I would have demonstrated had I not been there to document.

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Demonstrators lift a parachute that resembles a giant sunflower.

What I witnessed was truly surprising. Not only was the demonstration of 1960's proportion, 3-4 times larger than predicted, but it was perhaps the most diverse event I have ever been too. It was impressive to me that so many people groups represented in unprecedented numbers spanning age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, religious and political affiliation, and nationality could all ban together for the cause of conservation. There was a constituency of every imaginable type.

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Latino-Americans parading with "Madre Tierra."

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The Hare Krishnas chanting and having the most fun of anyone.

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There were advocates for honeybees.

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I was told the name of this constituency is "Boobies Against Fracking."

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Clad in veggie armor, this small group of food advocates showed solidarity.

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Dancers on stilts accompanied a second line band.

The March was a melting pot unlike anything I had seen before. There were Christians, Muslims, Jews, Atheist; Republicans, Democrats, Anarchists, Communists; elderly, youth, disabled, abled.  According to the all messages I was given as a child in America, it was a perfect example of all the good things about this country.

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There were many instruments showcased at the March, including these bagpipes and rams horn.

From the indigenous peoples to the feminists, this ever-eclectic group seemed to share a sense of urgency for the matter they were all concerned over: the fate of our planet. It's no wonder, either. As I traveled with a group from Little Rock to the March, we made a stop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory: one of the Department of Energy's largest research facilities. There we listened to several lectures from leading climate researchers who gave a grim report, which, in short, showed that major change is taking place in the Earth's oceans and weather systems. They also informed us that it will require considerable and immediate change in mankind's fossil fuel habit for there to be any hope to slowing such changes.

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Remember when the Tea Party took off? Their rallies would range in attendance from several hundred to a few thousand, and they were everywhere in the media. Considering this, it seems strange that 300,000-400,000 people could peacefully unite for a common cause and major media sources barely mention it. No reporters on the ground. No man-on-the-street interviews. No exposés.

What more can really be expected, though? Big media requires big money, and that big money is sourced from big businesses– most of which rely on the same carbon-heavy practices the activists at the People's Climate March wish to see abolished. It seems unlikely that major media sources will ever find it in their interest to give such a movement the coverage it deserves given its relevance.

In its infancy, the Tea Party was just a group of far right extremist, and that gave them a polarizing quality that could be used to the advantage of conservative media or liberal media. It was all in the spin a given source put to a story. The People's Climate March saw too diverse a group galvanized on too universal an issue to be spun to the advantage of the Left or the Right. So, kind of awkwardly, major media sources merely recognized that there was a large march about climate change, and that was it.

I would encourage everyone to remain informed about climate change and what world leaders are doing about it. With the internet, we not only have access to such information, but we also have a mechanism to voice our concern on the matter and implore our leaders to take it seriously. This was an enlightening trip, and I now believe this demonstration and others like it to be crucial to provoking real change in our approach to ecological issues.