James Bernal

Colombian-American photographer born in the era of the VCR. Currently based out of Los Angeles.

[jamesbernal]

Always amazed by the power of skateboarding to bring people together. Some photos of new friends in Cuba, each one talented in their own way but brought together by a mutual love of skateboarding.

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Cuba, in verticals.

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A year ago, I turned 30, and began documenting each day of my 30th trip around the sun. It was a year where we said goodbye to our old home in Chicago and drove across the country to our new one in Los Angeles, attended plenty of weddings, traveled to Cuba, Iceland, the Dominican Republic, Ireland, rescued two (2!) baby hummingbirds, saw Devendra Banhart (twice!), broke into my own house, sang Purple Rain with thousands of strangers, hiked on a glacier, ate hundreds of tacos, temporarily worked my first 9-5 job, started baking bread, drove to Mexico for a day, made a ton of new friends, and reconnected with a bunch of old ones. It's a real challenge trying to cram a day into a second, and I often found myself filming the least interesting part of many days, but seeing this all played back now is a reminder to me not just about how quickly life moves, but  how much living you can pack into the short time we're here.

This was mostly shot on a Canon 5D Mark II, with some iPhone and GoPro in the mix.

Music: War On Drugs - Under the Pressure

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While walking around Silverlake, we found a baby hummingbird that had fallen out of her nest. Because we couldn't find her nest, we decided to take her in for the night. We named her Effie, after the street we found her on, and after a few days of feeding her with a straw, I dropped her off at a hummingbird rescue out in The Valley. We recently got word that Effie was ready to take off and was released out into the wild. Hummingbirds are migratory and many return to where they were born so I like to think she's out buzzing around our neighborhood above us when we we're out walking.

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Maria, at home. Los Angeles, CA

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Maria, somewhere in the land of Oz.

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Another test roll shot on Rollei’s funky Infrared film which captures vegetation as ghostly white.

© James Bernal

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Maria in Hollywood. Shot on infrared film.

© James Bernal

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Maria overlooking the cliffs at Montaña de Oro, CA. Shot on Rollei’s funny infrared film.

© James Bernal

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With all the news about immigration today, I thought to share this photo taken a few weeks ago during a spontaneous drive to Mexico. This portion of the border wall separating the US and Mexico looks ominous, but I was surprised by how much life there was on the southern side of the border. Men were fishing, young women were jogging with dogs, and even a few dolphins surfaced to say órale.

A message written on the rusty iron fence read "También de este lado hay sueños" - On this side we also have dreams.

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LA a couple weekends ago.

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Los Angeles, yesterday.

© James Bernal

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Think Good Thoughts, Silverlake, CA.

© James Bernal

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Maria, lately. 

© James Bernal

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Christmas Eve in Malibu.

© James Bernal

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Andy turned 31 yesterday, so we showed up to his house at 4am, told him to grab his passport, and drove to a vineyard in Baja California for the day. It rained nonstop, but we didn't let it stop us from eating plenty of tacos.

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Brit, wearing my hat, in southern Iceland.