FedUp Photography

Check out some outfits by a new player in the fashion world Do Denim!

Do Denim was born in 2004; It is currently sold around the US at better stores. Int’l Distribution was started in 2007 in several countries around the World. Do Denim is a lifestyle apparel concept that brings together global fashion trends and product value, without compromising top quality, materials and finishes. Unlike most market participants, Do Denim introduces a wide assortment of styles in its Tops and Jeans throughout the year. Do Denim retailers can refresh their stocks frequently, thus showing new fashion looks to their consumers on a consistent basis. It is our pledge to supply the marketplace with trendy garments that have top quality and unsurpasses value.

I certainly was not shopping at 3am in the Union Square district of San Francisco. However, I thought it best to wait on driving since the bartender was extra nice that night. Here is what I saw as I sobered up on the streets of SF.

B*TCH! SH*T! F*CK! and etc. You can count on them when you’re feeling blue, red, or even green! MOTHERF***ER! See… Now lets try it together. Say it with me now, MOTHERF***ERS!! Ah. It’s a bit of a release ain’t it? And tonight is likely to be the first time I’ve gotten to release all year long. This benefit concert is filled to the brim with an exciting mix of world traveled and local talent such as Insolence and Tribal Disco Noise. I’m looking forward to capturing this concert on film as well as enjoying the very beautiful sounds of **** and **** being screamed into a mic. click the flyer for info!

Taneka Jo is unexplainable. At times serious and moments later, playful. Focused and yet somehow constantly distracted. One thing is for certain, Taneka enjoys being photographed (and it shows). There are a few more samples from our recent shoot in the Models gallery. We’ve collectively over 50 more photos to share and will post them soon! Feel free to bug her for more of her photos on Twitter =)

I was surprised to receive this last minute call on a Sunday night. I was even more surprised when I took the gig. Well, it was Sunday afterall and I do have a nine-to-five. Plus, these club “headliners” or, stars rarely ever show up. No worries, I’m in.

I headed directly from a wedding reception in San Jose CA to Club Mist in San Francisco CA to meet with the folks at Bay Area Boss Entertainment. I arrived at 9:30pm. 10pm comes and goes and 11 o’clock was fast approaching when I realized the Club was still rather empty. Little had I known ALL the sidewalks surrounding the club entrance were packed with people spilling out into the streets. Donald Harper (my boss for the event) had promised a sell-out show and sold out it was! The club, the people, the entire atmosphere wreaked of fun and excitement. Having Trey Songz actually show up and share his liquor was just icing on the cake.

Thumbs up to Club Mist and Bay Area Boss Entertainment for inviting me to take these pics.

You’ll see plenty of photos from this years Halloween shenanigans.  Children running about dressed as their favorite mythical creatures and murderers… There’s even the occasional big kid buzzing about in a very cool but equally creepy Ernie costume, but this Halloween lacked the luster of yesteryear.

This weekend I traveled from Sacramento California to Los Banos. From Los Banos to San Jose and from San Jose to San Francisco and back again. I noticed small communities and large cities alike displayed very little interest in this years festivities. Homes that used to be spackled with orange and black decor we’re few and far between. I won’t say that I didn’t enjoy myself this holiday but there was without a doubt a drop in cooperation. However, my daughters elementary school festivities (pics below) never seems to fall flat during this fizzling tradition.  There was also plenty of extra candy to go around, so I won’t complain.

Animal Kingdom - Tin Man
A few days ago I had an epiphany. It had dawned on me after about 20,000 RAW files that, well… that’s a lot of data. Since I’m not always shooting in RAW I also know that I’ve actually taken well over 50,000 or so pictures. More importantly, I’m living out one of my life long passions… and if you’re thinking “photography” then you’re absolutely right. I’ll admit, the never ending pursuit of happiness continues =p I’m always looking for that perfect shot, the perfect ray of light or that gust of wind that comes along at just the right moment. It all keeps me on edge. Anticipating the sound of the shutter and guessing what light the next sunrise or sunset will bring. Yes, this is happiness.

Taking on the task of being the “guy with the camera” hasn’t been an easy one. Sure I love to take pictures! I get to spend more time outdoors and on the road meeting new people, friends and even fans! With my camera in hand I’m able to capture those quickly fleeting moments for everyone to reflect on for a lifetime. Just realize when I go from outdoors to indoors it takes a moment to prep my Canon. It is not a point-and-shoot ya know. There’s also the curse. The one where anyone who’s ever known you automatically pencils you in as the guy that’s going to take all of their photos, forever, for free.  There’s also the hours spent back inside and at my desk processing what I hope will eventually be considered art. And even with all of this I’ve found that as long as I have my camera I’m able to tolerate most anything.

Before photography there was music. I lived a life dedicated to making music and being able to share it with others. I spent countless days inside hot smokey studios and countless nights in dark and sticky dive bars recording and performing. The entire time I was involved in music I found myself searching for something. Friends and fans alike seemed to be very responsive to nearly every song I’d made, nearly =p Even singing and sometimes yelling my lyrics back at me while I stumbled around stage half drunk with my eyes shut tightly. Swaying, then steady. Slowly opening my eyes and staring out past the spotlight blindly into the crowd, searching.

I can say that I’m very happy with the transition from musician to photographer. I’ve traveled more in the last few years than I’ve done in all my years before. I do work very hard daily but all the while enjoying myself. That is the American Dream, isn’t it? And yet, after visiting new lands, meeting new people and 20,000 digital negatives later, I’ve come to the startling realization that there is STILL something missing.

Albert Einstein was struck as a young child by being given a compass, and realizing that some unseen force in space was making it move. He had the sudden realization or comprehension of the (larger) essence or meaning of something. And I should know. A song, a photo or even a pat on the back. Any of these things could lead to an epiphany. I can tell you it wasn’t the song I chose for this post nor the picture at the top that gave me that brief but euphoric sensation of “I got it…”. Once I realized I “had it” the work began, and continues…

I’ll admit. It was disappointing to find out Jamie Foxx wouldn’t be appearing at the Motif Lounge (afterall). AND, finding out 15 minutes before closing time didn’t help. BUT, I got some cool pics and met some awesome people =)

Preparation is Key

SD Cards, Check. Batteries, Check. Flash… Check.
Trust me, it’s always good to make a list when you’re getting ready for a big event like this one. The last thing you’ll want to do is show up somewhere excited only to learn you’ve forgotten that ONE single “bit” that makes ALL the difference (again). I’m a HUGE fan of Jamie Foxx (check out the song I made under the flyer) and am looking forward to the chance to photograph both him and his fans at the Motif Lounge this Saturday.

I’ll consider the opportunity my birthday gift =) Which btw will be on October 7th. Also, a quick thanks to Christina for the recommendation and free tix. I love free

Boy o’ boy. Where to begin…

How about the part where I nearly passed out? Or when the Centaur plowed through the crowd almost knocking my camera from my hands? For the few hours I spent at LovEvolution there seemed to be an “event” every 5 minutes or so. So where to start? I know… lets start at the beginning.

A trip…

I had known about the Love Fest for quite some time but have never gone to one. After I heard some friends talking about going THIS weekend I decided to investigate, ok, I Googled it. Like I mentioned in my previous post, Google didn’t have much information as to what I could expect once I had gotten to San Francisco. And I was definitely not prepared.

It wasn’t long after leaving Sacramento that I came across a group of girls and a dog just off the Highway. It looked to me that they were also heading to the LovEvolution so I offered them a ride. Turns out they were on their way to Oakland but decided to make a stop in San Francisco too.

Nat, Casper, Onion the dog and I made it to Santa Clara just under a hour and a half later where we met up with some friends and plotted our next moves; buy beer, stuff it in bags, drive to Fremont and take a train to San Francisco. Now, beer on a train? Yes! The train operator came over the loud speaker and let us know “THERE IS NO DRINKING ON THE TRAIN BUT WE KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO DRINK ANYWAY, SO PLEASE PICK UP YOUR TRASH.” The doors shut and we were on our way =)

I made it!

After a 2 hour drive, 8 train stops, 4 Coors Lights, 2 hitch hikers and a dog later… I had finally made it. My new friends Nat, Casper and their extremely patient and well behaved dog went their separate ways while several other of my friends seemed to vanish into thin air! And we hadn’t even made it inside yet! The 4 beers I had on the train had started having an affect well before I entered inside the gates so I knew it was going to be an interesting next couple of hours.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the people I had came with to dissipate as well. Shortly after arriving I found myself alone in a sea of pink tights, red hair and bellows of smoke. For as far as the eyes could see there were humans.  Alcohol, drugs and intense rhythmic bass blaring from every street corner transformed the Capitol area of San Francisco into the largest daytime night club in the world, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Except for me.

It was impossible to get away from the smoke. It lingered over the crowd like LA smog and even as the wind picked up the temperature remained the same, hot and stuffy. It’s 4pm now and I must have forgotten to eat because at 4:01 I only had the 4 beers I drank on the train to throw up!

After that 5 minute intermission I felt brand new. I figured by this time I should eat since beer alone didn’t seem to do the trick.  The food at the LovEvolution was like the food you’d fine at your local Art and Wine Festival. Corn on the Cob, Chicken Teriyaki sticks, Garlic Fries, Frozen Lemonade, BBQ, Beer etc. I grabbed a Coke, Chicken on a stick and some Garlic Fries. That set me back about 14 bucks. Not too bad given the portions.

Music and very little mayhem

The music being played at the LovEvolution was distorted and loud. Very, very loud. With way too much bass that seemed to drive out any of the song lyrics. Assuming you had been on the phone with me then this is what you would have heard: iPhone Recording

Horrible right? Well it certainly was. This thunderous, heavy pounding noise carried on until about 6:30 or so, which is when the stage shows began. Front and center was a large LCD screen, moving cameras, belly dancers, fire balls and of all things, a violinist. The melodic rhythm of drum and bass coupled with the sounds of the violin could be considered a musical description of the environment at LovEvolution. Fast and gentle.

The crowd seemed to double in size by now as well. And even with this large group of people packed into a space much too small for this large group of people… spirits remained positive and upbeat. Lots of commotion, dancing and smoke but very little mayhem. Other than the Centaur that had plowed through a crowd earlier in the day, most everyone seemed to be either dancing, or struggling to get from one place to the other.

Photography ended up on the back burner (even though I had went to take pictures). Instead I found myself walking aimlessly, listening to music, avoiding drunken butterfly girls and making my way through the several thousand “mini groups” that had formed throughout the day. Whenever the thought did occur I took out my camera, snapped a pic and quickly put it back into its bag. After all, my camera doesn’t like smoke either and I would have really hated for it to puke its pics out all over the grass.

Photos after the jump: (go) [...]

Which is exactly what I would like to know.

This will be my first year attending the event which is probably better known as the Love Fest so I’m excited and hungry! (Well, it’s lunch time). Wiki told me the 2008 parade drew over 120,000 people! That’s a lot of photo op! My problem is I’m only mentally prepared for tomorrows shenanigans. Oh, and I have lots of batteries for my cameras, memory cards and Red Bull.  But I’m still clueless about, well, everything else. I found some informative links on Google but it’s mostly about the heritage and how to volunteer for the event and stuff. All good things, but I need some insider advice. Like,

Where should I park!? Should I even drive? What’s the cost of admission? Can you have alcohol on the streets? Can I bring a photon laser? etc.

Although I did find out it’s only $10 bucks and “ends” at 8pm, obviously excluding the after parties, which I’m also completely clueless about… (this is where you chime in =) So if you’ve ever been to a Love Fest and can actually remember going, or you just spent more than an hour (like me) finding out, deciding to go and then blogging about it… then please, help a brotha out.

Hopefully not. But that is the name of a very melodic tune performed by Helvetia. I stumbled across this song while listening to the ever popular Pandora Radio (visit my profile after the jump). I’d only heard this song once before hopping over to iTunes and quickly spending a buck to add it to my collection. Its mellow dramatic draw seems to help me ignore the clock and continue to bang away at the keyboard. It’s on repeat =)

Keeping up with the Jones’ wasn’t as tough as I thought it’d be. That is of course until the little guy wakes up =) I was able to spend a few hours with the Jones’ and casually discuss photography while snapping pics throughout. I played a lot with the lighting on this leisurely visit and because of this I didn’t have as many tack sharp images as I would have liked. Luckily I was able to develop a report with the Jones’ and plan on re-shooting with the entire family soon.