A Day As An MC

Helicopter Combat Squadron 21, the “Blackjacks”, pictured from left to right, Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class Kevin Watson, Lt. Cmdr. Kimberly Ernst and Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class Gabriel Martin; background, Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class Jack Delbridge.

Back in 2008, Derek Sanchez, a friend and colleague of mine, put together this video of a portrait shoot I organized on the flight deck of USNS Mercy while anchored in the Federated States of Micronesia. I used a single SB-800 with a LumiQuest Mini Softbox attached to light the foreground.

Mercy was the primary platform for Pacific Partnership 2008, a humanitarian and civic assistance mission to the Pacific and Southeast Asia. The ship is a fully functional hospital, one of only two in the United States. When deployed, the vessel becomes fully staffed with military and civilian medical professionals from every branch of service from all over the world.

Special thanks to legendary Chief Photographer's Mate Jon Gesch,

Dethkills Collective

I met Chris Wolford a little over a year ago, at about the same time I was discovering graffiti culture, Banksy’s legendary stencils and this whole “new” concept of street art (which until now I hadn’t been exposed to all that much.) Chris leads a local Los Angeles based art collective called Dethkills with his best friend Bobby Alderman, and the art they create together puts an entirely new spin on things.

The collective consists of anywhere from 10 to 20 local artists at any given time, and together they’ve created a signature style using a combination of graffiti art and traditional painting techniques. They do absolutely everything themselves, from hammering together the panels they’ll be painting on, to screen printing their own Dethkills brand T-shirt designs.  It’s a process they’ve learned to do quickly, and when they perform live painting installations, it takes the concept of fine art and totally rockifies it. They’re like visual troubadours, approaching virtually any venue as if they were performing live music. The group will band together on stage and create an entire painting from scratch over the course of a night, allowing the audience to witness their collaborative process from start to finish.

It’s a new kind of art – more communal, more of a reflection of the world we live in, and they’re really paying it forward. Their passion and creativity have helped inspire me since the day I met them, and I hope they come to inspire you the same way. I’m currently in the process of putting together a short documentary on these guys, so check back again soon. www.dethkills.com

See the shots as they happen in this Dethkills Collective video made entirely of still images.

The L.A. Times Printing Press

Chris Okula and I got to see first hand how one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the country meets its deadline every day. Working with Chris has been absolutely great, and this little adventure of ours turned out to be one of the most enjoyable shoots I've ever experienced.

Class: Introduction to Documentary / Karin Stellwagen.

Riding High in San Diego

I don’t know which part catches the eye more: the odd geometric shape, the bright primary colors, or just seeing someone pedaling by at 11 feet in the air, but there’s no denying that Jon’s tall bike deserves – and almost always gets – a second look. Shot with an Olympus E-P 2 and GoPro sports camera. Nikon glass was attached to the Olympus during filming via a Fotodiox lens mount adapter.

Urban Playground: Los Angeles

Every year on April 2nd citizens in major cities all over the world gather to take part in International Pillow Fight Day. Jon Lake – my friend and fellow photographer – invited me to go with him, and I put together this short video about the fun and carefree day we had shooting it.

The idea for this came right out of War Photographer, a documentary film by Christian Frei. The film follows the legendary photojournalist James Nachtwey while on assignment, and makes intrepid use of a custom camera attachment that gives viewers a 1st person perspective from Nachtwey’s lens. I thought it’d be fun to recreate that perspective for this riotous scene in LA’s Pershing Square. To do it, I built a camera mount of my own using some metal brackets and a GoPro sports camera, which managed to hold up despite the crudeness of my assembly.

SLR mounted GoPro. Photo by Jon Lake.

Chris Wolford & Bobby Alderman

Chris Wolford, and Bobby Alderman, artists and leaders of the Dethkills art collective, at their studio garage in Los Angeles, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2011. Dethkills is active in the Los Angeles art scene. In addition to taking part in collaborative as well as solo gallery shows, Dethkills also perform live painting for “Invisible Children,” a nonprofit organization addressing violence in Uganda. (Photo by Josh Valcarcel/Brooks Institute ©2011)

www.dethkills.com

Class: Photojournalism / Greg Cooper.

Omar Jasseh & Bryan de la Fuente

Omar Jasseh of the San Jose Earthquakes steps on Bryan de la Fuente of Chivas USA during a Major League Soccer preseason scrimmage at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., Monday, Feb. 07, 2011. Chivas USA won the game with only one goal. (Photo by Josh Valcarcel/Brooks Institute ©2011)

Class: Photojournalism / Greg Cooper.

Tony Hello & Jackie Nico

View fullsize

Tony Hello “Prince Tony” surprised the cast and audience of “A Faery Hunt” with an unscripted, real-life proposal to his girlfriend Jackie Nico “Boon” at Corriganville Park in Simi Valley, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011. “A Faery Hunt” is a weekly children’s interactive theater event performed at several locations around Los Angeles. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous on stage with my band as I was in front of all those kids asking the woman I love to marry me,” said Hello. (Photo by Josh Valcarcel/Brooks Institute ©2011)

This was a really cool moment to photograph. It was totally coincidental that I happened to be there when Tony chose to propose. I’m really glad I was.

Class: Photojournalism / Greg Cooper.

Guests of “A Faery Hunt,” dressed as fairies themselves, look for treasures and other trinkets laid out for them to find before the show.

Audio Portrait: Ryan Clement

When the assignment came down to record and produce a sound portrait of a performing artist, I immediately thought of my buddy Ryan.

Class: Audio Storytelling / Paul Myers.

Chris Wolford: Dethkills Part 2

Chris Wolford skates in the pool of an abandoned apartment complex in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Joshua Valcarcel/Brooks Institute ©2010)

Class: Lighting for Visual Journalists / Anacleto Rapping.