Time and Space

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This is a combo post between two very fun and unique music festivals: Lightning in A Bottle followed by Out Of The Blue. My summary of these two transformational weekends will be short as I prepare for a much more descriptive entry at the conclusion of festival season (which, for me, is strangely the end of October).

It’s possible you noticed the gallery above doesn’t highlight any stages, musicians, or DJs, but more a collection of moments showing the people and atmosphere surrounding it all. They’re the “real headliners” as event production giant, Insomniac likes to put it. It was as I crept through 35,000 people in what used to be a thriving water-filled habitat at Lightning In A Bottle that I realized the true path I want for this new project of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I love music photos. I take them; they’re in my galleries, but I have a different purpose now.  I have packed and unpacked from five camping trips since March of this year, and three of those have been to the California desert. How this Canadian isn’t burnt to a crisp is a mystery. The good news, though, is that with all the walking (averaging 24k steps per festival day) and sweating, it means I can eat all the pizza I want! That’s how it works, right? Out of The Blue was put on by Eclectic Alchemy - as was Suspended In A Sunbeam from a previous post. This organization embodies the complete opposite characteristics of mainstream festival culture. Even though the festivals themselves are tiny in comparison to the Lightning In A Bottle, I have unfortunately still documented very little of their events, but I plan to do a lot more at Soultruistic in September. I’ll talk more about Eclectic Alchemy and it’s founder, Adam Davis in later posts, but for now: “Simply put, we want to dream it, build it and then play in it. “

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April 10, 2016 - A skier tackles a jump during Bear Mountain's closing day of the winter season. There were dirt patches littering the hills, but that didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the last day on the slopes.

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April 14, 2016 - Los Angeles Kings vs San Jose Sharks in Round One Game One of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Staples Center. I just can’t stay away from hockey! As I mentioned in my 2015 wrap-up post, I’ve spent a lot of time at both Staples Center and Honda Center for the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks as an on-site editor for the team photographers during games. I had always thought this job could lead to shooting, but I was never certain when or how, and I certainly didn’t think it would happen during the playoffs. I got a call early afternoon, and with one sick photographer I was in and on my way to the game with just enough time for a quick shower. I was working for the Sharks with priority to pre-game pictures of players preparing for the playoffs. After wandering the halls for a few minutes, San Jose captain Joe Pavelski emerged from the locker room in gym shorts and a Sharks warm up hoodie grasping his weapon of choice. I followed him to the away team bench where we stood amidst an almost silent rink that would be bustling within the hour. After taking his photograph, he eventually got up, and a light leg tap from his stick as he passed told me is was game time. Let the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin! 

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Suspended In A Sunbeam Music Festival “Thank you for documenting this experience with me.” “I’m excited to see this party through your eyes.” These are just a couple examples of expressions that simply aren’t heard at large mainstream festivals. They are phrases that warm my heart. Late in the festival I left the main stage to take a break just as the last of the sun’s light was peeking over the mountains. That’s when I came across a man named Rusty who was in the middle of building the fire sculpture from the photo above. I shared a moment with Rusty that I feel captures a cardinal theme for these types of events. Upon completion of his sculpture, he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. I sat across from him in the sand, cross-legged with my chin leaning against the top of my camera, also with my eyes closed. We stood slowly and I showed him the photograph I had taken. He proceeded to tell me about the great pleasure he gets from doing something he loves that is then captured by someone who is also doing what they love. And therein lie the special moments that we strive to illustrate as photographers, trying to show, for a quick instant, the true pleasure behind someone else’s eyes. What I stumbled across in Apple Valley was probably the most uniquely satisfying thing I’ve done by myself in a long time. Bouncing my aging Mazda five miles down a narrow dirt road in the middle of the California High Desert packed with a newly purchased REI tent, my trusty DSLRs, and a wide-brimmed SoCal sun hat, I took my first steps to the dry, crunchy sand with instant welcoming handshakes and hugs from my new neighbors who were baring enough hippie garb to make any Woodstock alumnus jealous. This was Suspended in a Sunbeam, and man, that’s certainly what it felt like. I am so happy that I was able to be a part of it, and for less than $80, too! For that price and a quick email confirming no formal camera policy, it was an easy sell. Even though my time in the desert was limited to less than 24 hours it cemented the fact that I will, at some point, deem myself ready for Burning Man. I arrived mid-afternoon Saturday parking my campsite surprisingly close to the second “live band” stage (which was playing some groovy Opiuo glitch-funk to segue between bands). There’s a certain sense of underlying camaraderie upon first arrival that is never felt at most mainstream EDM festivals. This is intimate, and fabulous. It’s free-spirited, and non-conformist. It’s a culture that encourages exploration of body and mind through music, art, and a willingness to open yourself to our fellow humans. While most festivals struggle to keep garbage and litter at bay, transformational festivals focus on the idea of leaving the world a little better than we found it (no trace camping). An event with those values brings the best crowd. “We believe that our collective time on this planet is valuable and our efforts to improve as a species must be preserved through harmony and cooperation. In that spirit, we come together to celebrate the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts: humanity.” This festival brought me to conversations with some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met, and with Electric Forest just around the corner I couldn’t be more excited for what’s coming up, and the people I’ll meet!  

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Shaun White’s Air + Style | Los Angeles 2016 February 20, 2016 - A few images from Day 1 of Shaun White’s Air + Style snowboard competition and music festival held at Expo Park at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.

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No Pants Subway Ride Los Angeles January 10, 2016 - Time Out has acquired a reputation for sending me the absolute weirdest collection of assignments. Certainly weirder than anything the Register would send my way (or even publish). For years I had been hearing rumors of the No Pants Subway Ride in cities like New York and Chicago, but never had I witnessed the spectacle first-hand. Nor was I fully prepared the day I ventured to North Hollywood. I was, for one, wearing pants. After finding an awkward group of people standing outside the Metro station I joined them and got through small talk as I waited for the de-pantsing. Soon enough, one by one they dropped their trousers. Some more nervous than others, but everyone sporting their own individual style. I rode the Metro with a sea of bare legs to Union station, and I don’t think anyone was surprised when a dance party materialized.  Gallery at Time Out LA: http://www.timeout.com/chicago/things-to-do/no-pants-subway-ride-photos-2016

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Best of 2015 2015 was a year of discovery. I discovered it's hard to live in California making less than minimum wage. I discovered an even deeper passion for music and a new passion for music festivals. I discovered that maybe my career won't consist of 100% sports after all, and contrary to my previous 24 years on this planet I discovered that I do, in fact, love the beach! 2015 started only four months after being laid off from my wonderful sports job at The Orange County Register. I had been thrown into freelance life for the first time, and it was scary. I spent the summer trying to work the handful of contacts I had in the Los Angeles area knowing full well that the summer is a slow time for most in this business. I was met with enthusiasm for hiring me, but without a breadth of assignments on their end my phone stayed silent. I am, however, lucky to be a naturally positive person. I knew I had to find ways to make money away from the world of sports. I’d like to thank my good friend Lauren Spinelli, and Time Out New York for giving me the opportunity to finally shoot my first music festival by flying me to the opposite corner of the country for GovernorsBall in NYC. With tens of thousands of people frolicking about these events become a sweaty, chaotic mess, but there are real moments in that colorful confusion, and I know I've only just scratched the surface. I used to get criticized by professors for only paying attention to the “on-field action” and ignoring everything else that goes on around the game. It’s ironic, then, that I don’t feel the need to focus on the performers/DJs at these festivals. It’s the culture and emotion and energy that the attendees bring that really intrigues me. "It's not about dance music and lasers...it's about love." "When you get a big group like this together there's always animosity. Always, but not here." "It's a burden off your mind once you feel that accepted." I am going to sound somewhat cliche here, but Electric Forest Festival changed my life. The love and community in that forest is unlike any other place I’ve been or even heard of. The entire venue glows with positivity, art, magic and performers who make you feel like you’re living in a fairytale. It’s a very special place, and while I wasn't able to legitimately photograph those four incredible days camping under the tall, ever-swaying trees of Michigan's coast, I certainly will in the coming years. That weekend gave me new light to not only the kind of photographer I want to be, but also the kind of person I want to be. There’s a lot more I would like to say on this topic, but I can’t seem to put it all in to words just yet. Stay tuned, though, for I have already bought my ticket for this year’s fest! Something happened during the last half of 2015 that surprised me: a decent percentage of my income came from not taking pictures. Rather, assisting others taking pictures. To continue my outward growth from sports I started assisting celebrity photographers in Hollywood, and again, it was a whole new world. While my RIT education in advertising prepared me for the technical side of the job it couldn't prepare me for actually working with celebrities. Although, they’re just people like you and me, right? After Time Out NY connected me with the incredibly talented Robyn Von Swank (who has just returned from a very cool trip to Southeast Asia. Check out her photos on Instagram: @vonswank) I found myself dropping confetti on comedian Sarah Silverman, choking Whitney Cummings (a fun and interesting story), and I even shook hands with three guys coming out of Chipotle who I was later told were members of the band, Weezer. “You didn’t know that was Weezer, did you?” I couldn’t stay away from sports for too long, though, as the other way I’ve been making money from other people’s photographs has been from working as an on-site editor for the Anaheim Ducks (and more recently with the LA Kings as well). When I say I couldn’t stay away from sports, I really just meant hockey! As an editor I take the team photographer’s images after each period and edit down to a group of selects. Then tone in Photoshop, give them all a neat caption, and quickly send them off to gettyimages.com where they get posted instantly. It has been a very cool way for me to get my name in the heads of LA’s best sports photographers once again. I continue to take freelance assignments from the Orange County Register that range from the LA Angels and Friday Night Lights football games to Veteran's Day events and local 5k races. Sometimes not the most exciting assignments, but those are the times when I say to myself, "I'm here to make the best picture I can, so let's find it!" These are my favorite photos from the year that I believe also display the range of subjects that wandering in front of my camera. Happy 2016!

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Beach Goth Music Festival 2015 October 24, 2015 - For one day I put aside my conventional music tastes and dove into something a little different. I later described Beach Goth as the grunge version of smaller electronic festivals that I usually attend with black replacing the neon rainbows I’m used to. I had never experienced surf rock until I moved to California, and here in Orange County I’ve hit the heart of the scene. Grunge rock, surf rock, and even some Swedish metal (to the tune of Ghost which I ended up liking a lot more than expected). As with any large event that surrounds Halloween, costumes and creative outfits filled the Santa Ana Observatory grounds and brought a festive vibe to the dingy scene. The Growlers, an Orange County staple, headlined the night sporting full skeleton attire.

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Los Angeles Santa Con 2015 24 hours before the Facebook event says to meet, the location changes from TBA to Olvera Street, Los Angeles, California and hundreds of Santas start to prepare for their journey. I arrive in slight confusion, but after finding somewhere to park I caught a small stream of Santas leading me to the spot. The crowd grows from 20 to 120 and soon the swarm of red and white is off headed to the Metro with casual onlookers waving and honking. I knew I could only follow the parade for a couple stops before heading back because later that night I had to get all the way down to Laguna Hills for a high school football state semi-final game. This led to the most stressful day of the year, but it was worth it for these photos! The first stop was surprisingly non-alcoholic, but still filled with joy. Grand Park with City Hall as the backdrop had been transformed to a palm tree-filled North Pole fit with reindeer games including Santa pyramids, a Wreath Toss, and Hungry Hungry Santas. What was interesting was simply the sheer variety of Santa costumes and how well each person worked to add their own personal flare to their outfit. Once the Santas had had enough fun I started hearing the familiar phrase, “Ok, I’m ready for a drink!” With that, the pack was off again. The second stop certainly included alcohol which easily gave each Santa their infamous rosy cheeks. I stayed for a couple rounds, snapped some photos and chatted with the crowd before beelining it back to Orange County (injesting photos from my passenger seat as I drove).

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December 19, 2015 - Saddleback Valley Christian vs St. Bernard’s of Eureka in the CIF Division V-A State championship at Laguna Hills High School. SVC lost to St. Bernard’s 21-28 to end their undefeated season. It was the first big rain of El Nino season, and without proper rain gear for my cameras I was forced to spend three quarters of the game under a small tent by the bench. It led to a few cool feature shots though.

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Friday Night Lights Week 8: Corona del Mar vs University  Corona del Mar High School remained undefeated in the Pacific Coast League by beating University High School 42-21 on October 23, 2015.

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Rave on Wheels Roller Disco “Hug with your heart; smile like it’s a gift; laugh out loud so others laugh with you; play as much as possible; & tell your “critic” to shove it.” Want to photograph a Roller Disco Rave on Wheels? Absolutely! My roommate was skeptical when I adamantly told him I would strap on skates to go around shooting, but I knew it was the only way I was going to get the shots the event deserved. I will admit the derby skates took a minute to get used to compared to ice hockey skates, but it was certainly a fun way to work! Hollywood's iconic Circus Disco club was transformed into an Amsterdam-themed skating party with dancers ranging from seasoned regulars who had all the moves to newbies who could barely stand up. The event happens once a month with a different theme each time.  I found my lenses searching for focus a lot in these low-light situations. So, manual focus to the rescue...maybe...it’s something I need to work on and practice. I ruined a lot of moments because of missed focus, but I would not complain about going back to try again!

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Sundown Music Festival Another hot summer day and the blisters on my feet were proof. This was a festival I had pitched to the paper instead of them giving me the assignment, and it was right in town and relatively small, which was a nice change of pace from the 65,000 person HARD fest.  4 stages, 30 artists, a zip line, huge water slides, and about 15,000 people at a fenced off, security guarded spot at Huntington City Beach. Popular guest star of Orange Is The New Black and newly famous DJ Ruby Rose was supposed to take her turn on stage, but had to back out last-minute. I knew the crowd wouldn’t necessarily fulfill my optimal festival scenario, but it was a music festival on the beach! Which is unique in itself. Some things that were suboptimal: sand, 3:00pm deadline, and more sand. Sand and cameras do not mix. Thankfully, I was careful enough to not run into any issues. I finally got shooting around 12:30 and had to hustle to grab decent pictures I could submit for the print deadline. Granted, it started at 10am, but who goes to a music festival at 10am? After de-stressing with the AC in my car I allowed the temperatures to drop a little, and the dancers to get a little more drunk before heading out to what was a surprisingly great end to a hectic morning. 

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Japanese Bamboo Art A fun little assignment at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana about a new exhibit on bamboo art called "Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art." It was fun to walk around the small room and examine the nine pieces that were being written about and try to capture what made each special while still looking at light.

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AVP Championships Huntington Beach The AVP Championships were coming to Huntington Beach for the final stop of the tour, and they decided to come on one of the hottest weekends of the summer. It’s always great to wear flip flops to work, though! I only shot the first round Friday morning and the finals on Sunday, but these are my favorite shots from the two days. While I don’t know a lot about professional beach volleyball, it was pretty cool to be able to photograph three-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor as she came out of retirement to play with fellow Long Beach State alum Brittany Hochevar. Unfortunately, the pair lost in the first round and even though they fought through the Contender’s Bracket, ended up losing in the semifinals. As a footnote, sand sucks and makes dealing with a lot of camera gear cumbersome and frustrating. Thankfully no sand granules crept their way in to my focus rings this time! 

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Ms. America Pageant 2015 On assignment at the Ms. America Pageant (not to be confused with the Miss America Pageant), and the paper wanted me to shoot feature-y behind-the-scenes, “life of the pageant” type of photos as opposed to the normal on-stage theatrics. “Well...they’re all down there getting changed...” the chief executive and 2007 crown holder Susan Jeske told me with a questionable look. After a loud introduction to the dressing room I was given five minutes with the women before the show started. Then, I chose one seat in the audience, and had to stay there for the duration. I was lucky to be down in the dressing room for a great moment when two of the contestants realized they brought the same gown. ‘Gasp!’ Without a talent or bikini portion, the show was more geared toward the causes these women were working for. I had posted on Facebook after the event that while it was fun and full of smiles, it was pretty boring to photograph, and I actually want to retract that statement as I found myself up until 3AM editing these shots. I think I was able to get decent coverage despite my time and location limitations. I also had the confetti gods in my favor for the final frame (can you spot the confetti heart)?