Camino de Santiago, ruta de norte

I'm back in Austin and finally found time to edit through and update my archive with photos from my recent trip to Spain. Four friends and I hiked about 500 miles in 25 days from San Sebastien to Santiago de Compostela in June. We did the Northern route and primitive section of the trail, which is regarded as the most challenging and oldest of all the St. James Way trails.

The weather was up and very down. The first week was perfect, it rained so much the second week that it caused a 100 year flood in Asturias and the last 2 weeks were fairly hot. Overall the trip was a lot of fun and was a good time with friends. We passed through small towns nearly everyday to collect food and indulge in cafe con leche, but maintained a renegade camino by camping in forests or fields half the time. Mostly when it was not raining.

These are some of my favorite photographs from the trip:






You can see whole set of photos from the Camino de Santiago in the archive. There is also a gallery featuring Spanish dogs that warmly welcomed us to the Spanish country side.

As I'm now back in Austin please stay tuned for more regular updates, including a recent trip I took to Tulsa for a new client!

Snaps de Mayo

Since I got back to Austin 10 days ago I've kept myself busy with freelance jobs, editing, archiving and climbing. I've found a lot of photos of no particular theme that I made back in May. Check it out...

Mom with Teddy the cat sporting his lion inspired summer fur cut.


The Texas Capitol's North facing rotunda.


Mom's suburban backyard featuring Teddy in the window.

Vines.

Brandon Wilde of Austin Multimedia Group during a shoot for Active Life at the Dell Foundation in Westlake. I helped Wilde shoot a tv spot for the non profit that promotes fitness through its programs. We used the 5d mk II with an ican screen in the hotshoe, a beachtek audio preamp with boom mics, arri lights, and a teleprompter for the interviewees. Worked fluidly and was a lot of fun to shoot.

The best bbq in Texas from Cooper's in Llano!

Back in the US of A

I returned from a month long, 500 mile walk last Thursday and have a lot of stories and photographs to share. In the meantime, watch these videos...

The first comes from my New York based filmmaker friend Willi Patton, who is seeking support for his next project. His previous film, The Big Fiddle, was a half hour project that made its debut and was very well received in March at the SXSW film festival.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/willipatton/monk-fish

This is a video MAP produced with my photographs for prospective Texas Senator Jose Rodriguez. We shot the photos in January and the video ran for a week locally in El Paso. I thought it was pretty unique to have a television commercial made up of only still photos. The MAP crew was really excited when they saw the photos and came up with the idea for the 30 second spot. Check it out:

http://pictureboxproductions.com/clients/MAP/JR_ENG.html


Stay tuned for more updates with photos of recent work and snaps from el Camino.

Oil Rig Explosion Survivor, Chris Choy

Saturday National Public Radio.org sent me to Houston to photograph Chris Choy with his wife Monica and their attorney Steve Gordon. NPR partnered with PBS Newhour to do an exclusive radio-tv interview with reporter Joe Shapiro. The PBS Newshour video shows Chris and Monica telling their tragic and gripping story.


A few different portraits have accompanied the first and second NPR stories, but I had a few hours to make photos and listen to Choy's story. I felt like it was important for me to put my camera down at times and just listen to what he had to say and try to relate to him as a human, not just a subject to point my camera at. I feel that when a reporter or photographer takes a genuine interest in the people he/she surrounds himself with rather than just doing their job, the work they create with that person will transcend the person's experience. Sacrificing one's own personal interests isn't routine for any body, but I think it proves instrumental in good journalism when trying to tell a story that is difficult to understand and out of a normal person's comprehension.

I hope this commitment to people's stories gives viewers a better understanding of what is taking place around them.

Photographs of the Choys in the archive and a few of my favorite images from the hours I with the Choys:

Clip time

Just got back from a photography shoot I did yesterday in Houston for National Public Radio. One of the survivors from the Gulf oil rig explosion gave an interview to NPR reporter Joe Shapiro and in cooperation with Newshour and their attorneys. More on this story tomorrow...




In the mean time... style:




Last month I met Ashley Chiles and made some photographs of her for the Statesman's Glossy style magazine. Chiles co-founded the Texas Huntress, a tv mini series about 3 women who globetrot, shoot to kill and then have the kill prepared for them by a well known chef.


We had time to do a few different sets with mixed lighting opportunities at Laguna Gloria in Austin. Marques Harper did an outstanding job assisting with the styling and working with Chiles to make the shoe fit. Thanks Marques!


It's ironic how the image we shot on the fly for fun in ambient light go the cover, but perfect for just that reason.


Brad Bourland lives in Lakeway and has compiled a list of nearly 10,000 english language films and ranked them based on public opinion and polling. The Times did a story on him and I shot some photos in front of his sisters home.


Ed Marcotte is starving cells to find links to genes that respond to drugs to cure cancer... capiche? He's really smart and works at the University of Texas with other bio researchers and a lot of graduate students. The Times ran a last minute story on him and the project. They have a secret lab full of frogs that they draw embryos from for their research. Good luck with you're research!

The weekend

On Saturday Maria and I went to an art opening at Thunderbird coffee on Manor rd. featuring my logo designer and friend Maseman. We bought a few pieces of his work, which is awesome and had a great time hanging out with friends. He's been working recently with wood, paint and other mixed media recently that has really taken it beyond a 2 dimensional canvas level. Above are 2 of his 'little men' in our kitchen going on a nature hike.


Guy at the show who looks like Conan O'Brien.


This is my friend since childhood Eric Powell, looking good in some new frames and a healthy polished smile.


An assumed installation of painted high heels hanging on electric wires above Thunderbird Coffee.

Mi novia, Maria, back lit and camera shy.


Flower with sunglasses on table at Maseman's show.


Snap at Rio Rita.

Big thanks to the Drews... First, my web designer, Drew Teiken, above in a self portrait with Blar modifications for making some crucial changes to my photography website and new photoshelter online archive.

Secondly to NYC based photographer Drew Anthony Smith who has been making epic snaps and recently visited Washington for a wedding some cherry pie. I've been watching David Lynch's Twin Peaks tv series to celebrate its recent 20 year anniversary. If you don't know TP is credited for changing prime time dramatic television series that we watch today. Its kind of like a good soap opera, but not.


The Texas State Capitol.

Congress Avenue.


Yesterday, for the first time ever, I gave a private photography lesson to James, a photographer from New York who mostly shoots fine art in a controlled studio. He is trying to diversify his photography abilities and wanted learn about using his flash in different lighting situations for an event he has coming up. We talked and went over switches, dials and numbers for an hour or so and then walked around downtown Austin and made some snaps.


As a result of all the hubbub in DC regarding health care bills I've had many opportunities to shoot health care related stories. Above is a lit portrait I did to illustrate uninsured people who sustain injuries participating in recreational activities. Makes you think twice before you go skateboarding or rock climbing... I had the fortunate opportunity to work with stylist Robert E. Lee to make this image happen. He has a history of working in specialized make up for horror and action films. Pretty realistic stuff huh?

Congrats!

To my friends MJ and Allison who got married earlier this month!

Earth Day

Healthy stories

I shot 2 stories for the NYT health section and they both published recently. The first was an audio slide show for a special online only section about living with autism. I met Ann and her 24 year old son John at their home in Northwest Austin recording a phone interview and shooting all after noon. It was an enriching experience for me and I enjoyed spending time with the Harts. Although it wasn't published my favorite photo from the shoot is above. John was very curious about my camera and continued to touch it as I was taking photographs. You can see the audio slideshow along with others from photographers around the country here.




A few weeks back I photographed Sarah Lynch at her parents home in the Dove Springs neighborhood of Austin. She needs health insurance to afford her medication for her bipolar disorder but was recently dropped under a pre-existing condition clause. Hopefully Obama care will get her back under the umbrella. I spent a lot of time with her listening to her story and askign her questions. I wanted to get away from a standard portrait of a person looking seriously at the camera. So i tried to be a bit more exploratory with her. The light in the backyard took my interest and I tried to work with it. You can read the story here.