May 8, 2013

Yellow Magazine | May 2013

Privileged to have shot the cover and spread for the May 2013 issue of Yellow Magazine. Enjoy the photos below and view the online spread at http://www.yellowmags.com/2013_May_flipbook/. Now for some details about the shoot…

From the very beginning, I knew I absolutely wanted to have the best team possible for this shoot. I can’t say thank you enough to my amazing team who made this shoot possible. Big credit to Dennis and Dawn for really coming up with the creative direction for this shoot. Also stoked to present the Houston market to models Meghan Takahashi and Kristin Douglas who are extremely talented and just plain rock.

I decided to call the shoot “The Heist”. This photoshoot took place right before I embarked on some travels to South America and SE Asia for my ‘Romance of the Photograph’ book project. Shot at this pretty shady, crack motel in the Mexican part of town (well I’m Mexican and near my old stomping grounds), I can tell you this. We overcame a LOT of obstacles to make this shoot possible. From motel after motel turning us down, to part of the team having to be hospitalized and needing emergency surgery. But somehow the planets aligned, god looked down on us and made it all possible.

Photography – Jay Marroquin | www.jaymarroquin.com
Creative Direction – Dennis Clendennen & Dawn Ohlsson Bell
Hair – Dennis Clendennen (Lead), Taylor Coleman & Brittany Tedder
Makeup – Terri Clendennen
Wardrobe – All Wardrobe provided by Neiman Marcus
Accessories – Vamp Vintage Wear (Kelly Hardwick)
Lighting/Gaffer – Wesley Reis
Special Thanks – Rebecca Alice Reading, Lyndsey Case & Dana Ranslem
Models : Meghan Takahashi (The Campbell Agency) | Kristin Douglas (BMG Models)

May 9, 2012

Little Black Dress Designer | Editorial Shoot 2012

When Jeff Shell from the Neal Hamil Agency asked me if I would like to shoot the editorial for this years Little Black Dress Designer I was thrilled. I immediately had an idea and inspiration for what I wanted to do. Having just come back from Paris my thought process was all about vintage, roaring 20’s, cafe feel to the photos. Not only that but with a location like Boheme in Houston, I knew this would be perfect.

If you’re not familiar with the The Little Black Dress Designer read below. For the editorial shoot, the Top 10 dresses by some very talented designers were provided and accessories by Charming Charlie. This and a incredible team made for some very beautiful images.

About the Little Black Dress Designert:
www.littleblackdressdesigner.com

The event will showcase the Top Ten Little Black Dresses by upcoming fashion design students who were invited to submit their version of the LBD in March. The Top 5 winning designs are picked by celebrity judges, and awarded $7,500 in scholarships through the Fashion Group Foundation of Houston, Inc. The event is presented by Momentum Porsche, with additional sponsorship from Macy’s, More Than You Can Imagine, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Tootsies.

LBD 2012 Celebrity Judges include Albert Rubio (Saks Fifth Avenue), Chloe Dao (Dao), Christine Goins (Tootsies), Clifford Pugh (CultureMap), Edward Sanchez, Elaine Turner (Elaine Turner Designs), Jody Schmal (Houston Magazine), Joy Sewing (Houston Chronicle), Kate Allen Stukenberg (Papercity Magazine), Lenny Matuszewski (fashion show producer), Roz Pactor, Stacey Swift (Neiman Marcus), Tamara Bonar (fashion show producer).

The Little Black Dress is one of the fashion icons of our time, inspiring designers from the moment it was introduced by Chanel in 1926, through Givenchy’s 1961 creation for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, to the myriad current fashion designers the world over. It is in this sartorial spirit that this contest was created to support young, up-and-coming fashion design students from Texas. More info at www.littleblackdressproject.com.

Credits:

Hair: Dennis Clendennen and Team (AVEDA/Dionysus)
Makeup: Laura Martinez (Lead), Virginia McConnell, Danielle Tiara and Eliy Bell
Stylist: Rose Tran (Lead) and Katherine Fan
Models provided by Neal Hamil Agency: Phoenix Hamilton, Lacee Teel, Caroline Mathis, Audrye Williams, Briana Whitsett, Amber Castillo, Erin Marquez, Jessika Rodriguez & Kara Pyle
Special thanks: Jeff Shell, Apollo Stackwell, Patty Castillo (Charming Charlie) & Nadira Baker from Boheme

November 21, 2011

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From The Sidewalk to the Catwalk – Dallas

It’s late October and I find myself taking a break in Texas Hill Country. Wimberley, TX to be exact. After a full week of shooting Audi Fashion Houston, Wimberley made for the perfect getaway. I could relax, and also focus on editing all the shots with few distractions. Well that was the plan until the phone rang.

On the other line was Luis of Metrovelvet.com asking me what my schedule looked like on Thursday, Nov 11th. I told him I had a gig the day before and a big shoot the following Friday in Austin, why? “Would you like to go shoot Jean Paul Gaultier in Dallas?” he asked. Without hesitating I said YES. For the next few weeks I was slowly counting the days on my calendar eagerly anticipating Gaultier in Dallas.

November 11th and Luis and I find ourselves at the Dallas Museum of Art. From the moment we pulled into the drive, I knew the exhibit was going to be magical with the big banner that was hanging in front. We arrived a bit early at DMA while last minute touches were still being done. We waited around for a bit and closer to the event time we registered and got our credentials. We then made our way into the auditorium where the speech was going to take place. Slowly people started coming in and taking their seats. I think at that point Luis and myself noticed we didn’t collect our gift bags so had to pay the front desk a visit again, haha. I mean, who doesn’t want a Jean Paul Gaultier gift bag and goodies.

As event got on it’s way I was really looking forward to Jean Paul speaking. We all know how incredible of a designer he is, but I wanted to know more about the man, his inspirations, thoughts about fashion and take on life in general. What one word could I use to describe Jean Paul after hearing him speak? Genuine, yeah, I think that’s perfectly fitting. After all, Jean Paul was one of the first designers to use normal (non-model types) in his fashion shows. His passion and love for real people, real life really showed. It also shows in his designs, sketches and the way he carries himself.

After his speech, we were treated to a tour of the exhibit with Jean Paul himself. I particularly enjoyed him showing us a display which had one of his pieces and also a vintage looking tv show a 40’s French film that inspired him to be a designer. I believe the name of the film is either Fabela or Favela, I’ll have to ask for the correct spelling because I surely want to check it out. Anyway, while he was showing us, he lit up like a kid in a candy store. It was amazing to see how much passion he still has for that movie. He even took the time to sign the two JPG books Luis had been carrying around.

Special thanks to: Oliver Meslaym, Cecilia Bonn, Nathalie Bondil, Lisa Lawrence, Jelka Music, Kevin W. Tucker and the entire staff of DMA.

See the great write-up by Mr. G and photos by me on Metrovelvet.com – Click Here!

May 31, 2011

MotoPhoto Adventure – Day 32 (Oncoming 18-Wheelers & Dust Storms)

I could swear I’ve mentioned something about dust storms somewhere else on this blog. Wait, could have been back in West Texas when we just left on this journey, outside of Vegas or back in West Texas when we arrived a few days ago. Anyway, it’s the day after the Day 32 ride and I find myself relaxing in wonderful Wimberley, TX at Craig and Cindy’s place. Felt so good to sleep in knowing we didn’t have to ride today to get somewhere and I’ve actually been catching up with lots of photo editing which is needed. But anyway, back to updates about Day 31 and 32 and how we made it home, and almost didn’t make it home….

Day 31 – Farmington, NM to Lubbock, TX

Well Day 31 one has us on the home stretch and couldn’t get on the road soon enough. Farmington was a crappy town and I really wasn’t looking forward to having to go thru another 4 or 5 small towns at a snails pace. Luckily this wasn’t needed. What was needed were some nice long straight stretches of road so that we could make some good time and as things would have it, we were going to be going thru Albuquerque again 🙂 Figured why not stop and have lunch with my friend QiaoQiao and check out her photography studio. I mean, how could we say no when she offered make lunch. So after getting a quick bite to eat, a super fast photoshoot we were back on the road. So to this point we had already put the “Moto” in MotoPhoto and now just added the “Photo” part. What was left of course was the “Adventure” part.

You know, as fate would have it, it would be Day 31 when we’re almost home to have some craziness happen to us. What craziness you’re asking, how about an oncoming 18 wheeler when you’re clicking around 90mph on the speedo. About an hour outside of Albuquerque, NM Craig and myself found ourselves on I-40 headed East. Well I was in the lead and we were setting a pretty decent pace, even with all the Memorial Day Holiday traffic on the road. As I usually do when clicking a decent pace (this means speeding for those of you didn’t get that), I like to look as far ahead as possible and pan for possible smokeys, bandits, black and whites, 5-0’s, whatever word you use for law enforcement is. Well not only this but for safety reasons, etc…

Well while tucked in I noticed a group of darker vehicles approaching us on the other side of the highway which was divided by a grassy median. I was really trying to make out if there were any state troopers in the group when something caught my eye. A 18-wheeler carrying a load of large concrete water pipelines made an abrupt left turn and was now headed straight towards us, went thru the median kicking up grass, dirt and was now coming into our lane, and FAST. I immediately threw up my arm to warn Craig, got on the brakes and changed to the right lane all while trying to line up this truck. I guess years of racing comes in handy and I’m referring to the mental, decision making standpoint. As the truck approached us the things I was trying to figure out where the following and in the exact order:

– Was there going to be a change of direction for the 18 wheeler?
– Would I need to go left if it continued at it’s current trajectory or would I make it on the right side?
– What was the closing speed of the 18-wheeler? Us clicking 90, truck at least 70, means about 160mph closing speed when he first went off.
– Since the median had a bank to it, was the 18-wheeler going to flip and dig in or possibly roll?
– If not, and the 18-wheeler stayed on it’s wheels, would the driver be able to correct and get it slowed down and at least out of our lane?
– Did I pray this morning before heading out (oh yeah, I did, I’m all good)

Well all that thought process above ^^ takes place in about the blink of an eye. Luckily the driver was able to get the 18-wheeler under control and it passed us in the grassy median kicking up dirt, grass, debris and all sort of stuff while we had already got as far over to the right as possible. Now at this point we’ve slowed to a crawl and sitting in the middle of the highway doing like 20 or 30mph. Now I was thinking of oncoming traffic from behind that wouldn’t see us as they approached so I signaled to Mooty that we needed to get moving. Guess my heart rate was pretty high up until we came to a stop a few miles down the road for fuel. So now it’s not even 2pm and we’ve totally added the “adventure” part to MotoPhoto Adventure. Now to make it to Lubbock, TX in one piece.

What you do NOT want to see coming at you….a big 18 wheeler.

I was looking forward to it since we would be staying at my cousin Belinda and Freddy’s place. Never a bad thing seeing family and well Craig could meet some of my family. You know up to this point we had been riding in some pretty windy conditions and I guess the last few days on the motorcycle would have it this way. But as we were approaching Lubbock there was some serious dust storms…I mean come on, give us a break today. Could barely make out the gauges on the bike they were covered in so much dirt. We finally made it to Lubbock and now it was time to rest up. I hung with Richie and Tony mainly as Craig enjoyed the company of Belinda, Rene and friends on the outside patio. Well that and he was seriously missing playing the guitar as was evident when he started playing Richies. If you ever meet Craig, make sure he plays some piano or guitar for you. He’s pretty talented but a total closet musician. I need to get him on video playing and plan too.

Day 32 – Lubbock, TX to Wimberley, TX

A nice, short, sweet, post. It was time to make the 400 ride home and call this adventure a grand success. Of course it was another windy day, but not hot as hell. Was a multiple 5 Hour Energy type day but we made it. When we arrived in Wimberley (Craigs house) a group of family and friends greeted us which was VERY nice of everyone. A small celebration party was had with great food and company and I called it an early night and got some great sleep.

Look for the summary blog about this great trip in the coming days – 32 days on road, 7000 + miles, 8 National Park & 8 Fashion Shoots

A sweet BMW S 1000 RR we bumped into in New Mexico while fueling in Apache land. The guy was from Nova Scotia and was headed to Alberta, Canada.

Videos

May 28, 2011

MotoPhoto Adventure – Day 30 (Indian Trailer)

Simply going to post what I put as my Facebook status today…

“So we find ourselves in Farmington, NM. To be honest, don’t know much about the town but first impressions suck. Well that and the 4 small towns we had to drive thru to get here. I mean, HOW MANY cops can work the beat in towns of like 2500″.

Well after I posted that my friend Emily’s mom Cyndi posted some funny stuff about Farmington, NM. Basically she confirmed my initial hunch since her and hubby had a short stint here when some work brought them to the area. Then to backup the claim, my buddy and fellow photog Brock Lawson mentioned the town is a dump, since he also did some time here.

Anyway, today we rode from Ogden, UT (right outside of Salt Lake City) thru Colorado and into New Mexico and now in, well the lovely town of Farmington, NM. Total miles ridden today, 475. That and the 520 of yesterday means a 10o0 miles in two days which has me a bit tired. Well that and a few hundred miles in high winds.

Today I would say we put the Moto in MotoPhoto Adventure. I did take a few photos of something that caught my eye in Navajo Nation land, enjoy…

May 27, 2011

MotoPhoto Adventure – Day 29 (Salt Lake City)

Well, that’s where we find ourselves for the night. Left Missoula, MT early this morning and headed South. Originally the plan was to go to Montana and then hit up Yellowstone National Park on the way back. Well, there was one thing Mooty and myself forgot to check, the weather in Yellowstone. We figured Missoula was close enough so should be good to go based on that. Well think again, 22 and snowing the next few days in Yellowstone so Plan B….stay dry and head South out of the cold.

Today we notched 520 miles under our belt and managed to stay completely dry. The whole trip though we could see rain on either side of the mountains we were going between. The highlight of the day was for sure lunch and a killer Cinnamon Roll, hell everything was good. The place was called “Yesterday’s CALF-A” and located in Dell, Montana. Owners of a little fuel stop 90 miles back told us it was the preferred place for truckers and had received various awards, recognitions, etc… Well how can you go wrong when the restaurant is a old school house from 1903.

Anyway, after lunch we made a b line for Salt Lake City and here we are 🙂

Video

May 27, 2011

MotoPhoto Adventure – Day 26, 27 & 28 (From Vancouver to icy cold Montana)

So it’s Day 28 on the road and it’s been a few days since we left Vancouver.

Day 25 we rolled into Vancouver and settled in to a Best Western that was in the downtown area. It was going to be busy night meeting with people so the first thing to do was find a place to eat. A few people we met on the rooftop of the Best Western suggested a place called Earls in the Yaletown district which was about 10-12 blocks away. We walked there and met up with Anastazy (my stylist) to discuss the details of the next days shoot. Later in the evening Rhi (hair stylist) also met up with us. We had some great food a few drinks then it was time to call it a night. While having dinner we chatted up some people, made new friends and even had a few come out to the next days photoshoot.

Day 26 in Vancouver was really an entire day of shooting so not really too many photos I can show. You guys will just have to wait to see the actual photoshoot photos once their online…which if I may say I think turned out pretty damn hot! So hot we’re actually going to call it Radioactive Hot (check the vid, you’ll get it, haha). I will however post a few of the behind the scenes photos and videos. Also had a few newly made friends come along (Hola Luciana 🙂 ) to check out the shoot and good times were had by all. Anyway, once I get the photos online, I’ll make another blog entry solely about the shoots and also the photoshoots from Victoria.

One of the things Mooty and myself were commenting on was, that there couldn’t possibly be a better time to be in the Vancouver area. I mean, the Canucks are in the playoffs and the same day we’re in Vancouver, they win Game 5 to head to the Stanley Cup Finals. Heck the other day in Victoria the score was 0-0 in game 4. As soon as we walked into this pub/restaurant the Canucks scored 3 straight goals in about 5 minutes. I have to think the Texas boys are pretty good luck for the Canucks so we should get some Stanley Cup Final tickets comped. After my shoots on Tuesday, I hit the street with a few of the models and team for a quick bite to eat. We thought we had missed the game but it had actually just went in to the 1st overtime period. I grabbed some pizza, took some quick vid of the street action on Grandville (think of Austin’s 6th street, just twice as big and 10x crazier) and then made my way back to the hotel. We were leaving first thing in the morning so didn’t want to be out too late. I commenced to watch the rest of the game, now in it’s 2nd overtime back in the room. The Canucks then scored, won the game and are now headed to the Finals. Our hotel was situated about 2 blocks from all the action and right on Grandville St so it was cool seeing the town erupt. Around that same time Rhi sent me a message to see if I wanted to hang and possible shoot since she models as well. Who was I to say no…next thing you know I have Mooty working a reflector at like 1 in the morning. Those photos will be on Rhi’s post 🙂

Day 27’s post should be short and sweet and you’ll just have to see the Wet and Cold vid – Basically, we rode from Vancouver to Ellensville, Washington and the weather SUCKED. Partially thru the ride we had to stop and wait for some highway construction while getting fully drenched. Now you can ride cold or wet, but not both. We finally decided to call it a day when we got to Ellensville and I was pretty happy. My inner Betty White was totally out. Actually the first hotel we arrived at had no power so back on the bikes, wet and cold to the exit down the highway. Alright, enough about crappy day 27. From hot models in Canada to horrid conditions, ugghh…

Day 28, yay I’m actually here writing a blog entry on the actual day. Well today’s ride was definitely a cold one but luckily not a wet one. We had a bit of rain, snow, or sleet, still not sure but not too much. Happened right as we came into Montana at Lookout pass which is up in the mountains. Got down to 35 degrees and the roads were quite wet. I took the lead and was basically traveling at a snails pace to be on the safe side. Once we came down the mountain I opened up the wick again. Oh yeah, talking about opening the wick, remember to check for planes when clocking at triple digits across Washington. Guess the miserable Day 27 weather was behind us and we had some nice open roads and didn’t realize how fast we were going 😉 Got a nice souvenir and made a new friend in the way of a Washington State Trooper. He was actually a very nice guy, wrote us up for 85 in a 70 and we were on our way. When I told him we were going to blog about this he asked for the address of the blog because his kids would be impressed. We continued on our way thru Idaho into Montana. About 30 miles outside of Missoula we pulled into a rest stop. While there some guy asked for some assistance with his Ford Explorer. Some grinding noise was coming out of the rear drivers side wheel and he mentioned he had performed a break job a few hundred miles back. First thing I noticed was that the wheel lugs weren’t really too tight. We took the wheel off (Mooty and myself, guy didn’t even offer to help), gave it a once over and didn’t find anything wrong. With the deeper thud noise it was making I really think it was something with the driveshaft or related. Anyway, there wasn’t much else we could do so put the wheel back on and suggested the guy call his AAA or drive it way slow. The rain (snow/sleet) we had actually gone thru a few miles back was actually catching up to us so it was time to go. Back on the highway and here we are in the Hotel room now.

Alright, it’s time for bed. Seems like it’s going to be a rather cold day riding tomorrow so we need to figure out a plan. Oh yeah, this blog post will have a TON of videos at the bottom so make sure to check them out.

So it’s Day 28 on the road and it’s been a few days since we left Vancouver.

Day 25 we rolled into Vancouver and settled in to a Best Western that was in the downtown area. It was going to be busy night meeting with people so the first thing to do was find a place to eat. A few people we met on the rooftop of the Best Western suggested a place called Earls in the Yaletown district which was about 10-12 blocks away. We walked there and met up with Anastazy (my stylist) to discuss the details of the next days shoot. Later in the evening Rhi (hair stylist) also met up with us. We had some great food a few drinks then it was time to call it a night. While having dinner we chatted up some people, made new friends and even had a few come out to the next days photoshoot.

Day 26 in Vancouver was really an entire day of shooting so not really too many photos I can show. You guys will just have to wait to see the actual photoshoot photos once their online…which if I may say I think turned out pretty damn hot! So hot we’re actually going to call it Radioactive Hot (check the vid, you’ll get it, haha). I will however post a few of the behind the scenes photos and videos. Also had a few newly made friends come along (Hola Luciana 🙂 ) to check out the shoot and good times were had by all. Anyway, once I get the photos online, I’ll make another blog entry solely about the shoots and also the photoshoots from Victoria.

One of the things Mooty and myself were commenting on was, that there couldn’t possibly be a better time to be in the Vancouver area. I mean, the Canucks are in the playoffs and the same day we’re in Vancouver, they win Game 5 to head to the Stanley Cup Finals. Heck the other day in Victoria the score was 0-0 in game 4. As soon as we walked into this pub/restaurant the Canucks scored 3 straight goals in about 5 minutes. I have to think the Texas boys are pretty good luck for the Canucks so we should get some Stanley Cup Final tickets comped. After my shoots on Tuesday, I hit the street with a few of the models and team for a quick bite to eat. We thought we had missed the game but it had actually just went in to the 1st overtime period. I grabbed some pizza, took some quick vid of the street action on Grandville (think of Austin’s 6th street, just twice as big and 10x crazier) and then made my way back to the hotel. We were leaving first thing in the morning so didn’t want to be out too late. I commenced to watch the rest of the game, now in it’s 2nd overtime back in the room. The Canucks then scored, won the game and are now headed to the Finals. Our hotel was situated about 2 blocks from all the action and right on Grandville St so it was cool seeing the town erupt. Around that same time Rhi sent me a message to see if I wanted to hang and possible shoot since she models as well. Who was I to say no…next thing you know I have Mooty working a reflector at like 1 in the morning. Those photos will be on Rhi’s post 🙂

Day 27’s post should be short and sweet and you’ll just have to see the Wet and Cold vid – Basically, we rode from Vancouver to Ellensville, Washington and the weather SUCKED. Partially thru the ride we had to stop and wait for some highway construction while getting fully drenched. Now you can ride cold or wet, but not both. We finally decided to call it a day when we got to Ellensville and I was pretty happy. My inner Betty White was totally out. Actually the first hotel we arrived at had no power so back on the bikes, wet and cold to the exit down the highway. Alright, enough about crappy day 27. From hot models in Canada to horrid conditions, ugghh…

Day 28, yay I’m actually here writing a blog entry on the actual day. Well today’s ride was definitely a cold one but luckily not a wet one. We had a bit of rain, snow, or sleet, still not sure but not too much. Happened right as we came into Montana at Lookout pass which is up in the mountains. Got down to 35 degrees and the roads were quite wet. I took the lead and was basically traveling at a snails pace to be on the safe side. Once we came down the mountain I opened up the wick again. Oh yeah, talking about opening the wick, remember to check for planes when clocking at triple digits across Washington. Guess the miserable Day 27 weather was behind us and we had some nice open roads and didn’t realize how fast we were going 😉 Got a nice souvenir and made a new friend in the way of a Washington State Trooper. He was actually a very nice guy, wrote us up for 85 in a 70 and we were on our way. When I told him we were going to blog about this he asked for the address of the blog because his kids would be impressed.

Alright, it’s time for bed. Seems like it’s going to be a rather cold day riding tomorrow so we need to figure out a plan. Oh yeah, this blog post will have a TON of videos at the bottom so make sure to check them out.

How do you stay warm and dry in 38 degree, sleeting rain? 7 layers up top, 3 on the bottom and 2 pairs of socks. Oh yeah and electric heating pants and vest pictured with wires.

Me with the team (Photo courtesy of Craig Mooty)

Videos

May 25, 2011

MotoPhoto Adventure – Day 26 (Canada Eh?)

Day 26 is wrapping up and what a way to say goodbye to Vancouver and Canada. The Canucks just won game 6 and are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals. That basically means the city streets just blew up and are crazy. If you haven’t been to Canada, just imagine 6th street in Austin but like twice as big and 10 times as crazy…GO CANUCKS!

Earlier today an amazing team consisting of 4 models, a makeup artist, hair stylist, stylist and photographer assistant (that would be Craig) rocked the Yaletown area capturing some amazing images. Really looking forward to editing these photos and seeing what magic we created. Check the short teaser video below and will make sure to look for the blog about Vancouver in the next few days. Heck, it’s been like 4 or 5 days since my last blog post but it’s been pretty non-stop since we arrived in Canada, Victoria to be exact on Saturday, May 21st.

Talking about Victoria, BC…I love that town. The people are way cool and damn, there are just a ton of hot women. Yes, there are also some cool cats roaming the streets for the ladies. Anyway, all of the photos on this blog post will be from Victoria, BC. We spent 2 days there arriving on Saturday via a Black Ball ferry we took out of Port Angeles. Well while waiting for the ferry we met a group of Canadian motorcyclist (the non-pirate type) who were way cool. Even though Craig and myself had already had 2 breakfast (yes 2 and I’m blaming Craig) we were invited to join the Canucks while they grabbed some food. They actually arrived just as we finished our breakfast and had just got back to where we parked our motos and that’s where we met them. Anyway, we joined them for breakfast and then sat with them during the hour and a half ferry ride to Vancouver Island and Victoria.

Arriving to Victoria, Craig and myself really didn’t have any concrete plans. We knew we were going to be in Vancouver in the next few days but nothing in regards to Victoria. I hadn’t initially planned on doing any fashion shoots in Victoria but with a very large response to a casting call in Vancouver, I decided to test the Victoria water. Sure enough, I lined up a few shots for day 2. Anyway, back to Day 1. Day 1 in Victoria was pretty chill. We found a hotel right near in the Inner Harbor area which was cool because a ton of stuff was within walking distance. Most of the day was spent walking around the town and I met with a few models to discuss the next days shoots. It was also a holiday weekend in Canada (Victoria Day) which had a ton of stuff going on around town. The hotel we stayed at happened to be next to the parliament building which was the focus of most of the celebrations. There had to be a good bakers dozen or so high school bands performing there because it was an endless parade of tubas, horns and drums on the sidewalks.

Day 2 comes around and I woke early to meet up with Anni, a Scandinavian girl with piercing blue eyes who I was looking forward to shooting. We shot for a few hours before she had to go to work. Later in the day while leaving a camera shop I noticed a group of girls, one particularly caught my attention as she was smoking and I thought it would make an excellent black and white photograph. I approached them and engaged in some small talk. One of the girls happened to be a model who recently came back from working abroad and specifically in Hong Kong. Her name was Ashley and she had a striking look. I managed to fit her in for a shoot but still had a scheduled shoot to knock out for the lovely Senora which has a very beautiful natural look. Before Ashley’s shoot, Craig and myself had lunch at a pretty sweet place and arrived while the Canucks were playing game 5. The score was 0-0 when we arrived and in 20 minutes, the Canucks scored 3 goals in a row. I’m going to go ahead and say that the two Texas banditos brought some good luck vibes to the Canucks…Well Day 2 turned out to be a really long day with me waking early (around 7am which is early for me) then going to sleep around 2am.

Next day it was on to Vancouver where a big shoot was scheduled for today and where we’re going to leave off on this blog. Next post will be about Vancouver and the craziness 🙂 Enjoy the photos and vids from Victoria BC, Canada.

Videos

May 20, 2011

MotoPhoto Adventure – Day 22 (Along the Oregon Coast up to Port Angeles)

Day 22 | 4141 Total Miles to Date | 9 States | Tomorrow it’ll be 2 Countries

Day 21 and 22 didn’t have us doing much shooting but more of getting with the traveling program. We made it all the way up the Oregon coastline and into Washington tonight. Here at Port Angeles and will take the ferry into Canada tomorrow. Canada eh? 🙂

Anyway, a few photos from the past two days and one thing that was cool was this little black sand beach in Oregon. It was a cold day but if you sunk your hands into the sand it was nice and warm and had a cool relaxing feel to it. Oh yeah, today we drove thru Olympic National Park and like all the other ones it totally rocked. Different as it’s a rain forest and you could tell as soon as you got nearby. The air was light, crisp and cool. We had lunch at a place called The Roosevelt Room which was a very nice looking place and used to host FDR, pretty cool 🙂

Fact:

In the fall of 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Lake Quinault Lodge during a fact-finding trip and enjoyed lunch in the later-named Roosevelt Dining Room. Nine months later, Roosevelt signed a bill creating Olympic National Park.

May 18, 2011

MotoPhoto Adventure – Day 19 (The Lost Coast and Redwoods)

It’s Day 21 on the road and a few days since leaving Fairfield, CA. People all along the way keep asking us where we’re going and we say Vancouver, Canada but starting this morning we just say “don’t know, wherever we go I suppose”. I think it’s easier that way.

Ron joined us for the first 2 days out of Fairfield, all the way up to Eureka, CA. He had to head back Wed morning but glad he joined us for the short time because he showed us some really sweet roads. Just when you think you can’t possibly see nicer roads or more scenic views you’re amazed by something. The weather on Day 18 (rainy and cold) was definitely not the weather of preference but hey, this is a MotoPhoto ADVENTURE 🙂 There wasn’t much picture taking on Day 18. It was more of one of those “stay on the road and try not to freeze” type of riding days. Stopped at a place called The Peg for a hot coffee and then back on the road. We made it from Fairfield to Ft. Bragg, CA. FYI, when finding a cab via Google and you type in Ft. Bragg, make sure you put “CA or California”. Don’t think a cab in North Carolina is too happy with me.

So on to day 19. A day with changing conditions, a drive to the Lost Coast with some of the most technical roads I’ve been on (way twisty and crazy elevation changes) and not only that but how about going up into a cloud so thick you couldn’t see the road 10 feet in front of you and raining. Anyway, glad Ron was leading the way because let’s just say, I was being cautious 🙂 We finally emerged to a small town and hung out for a bit. Only took a few shots since the weather was still pretty poor. Well no point in hanging out so it was time to head back to civilization, get some lunch and then check out some Redwoods. Ron took us down The Avenue of the Giants which was amazing so Craig and myself found a spot to pull over and finally take some shots. Ride ended in Eureka, CA and it was now time for some dinner and much needed rest. I did manage to stay a lot drier on Day 19 which was nice. I was a cold, soaking mess on Day 18.

Day 2o saw us saying goodbye to our good friend Ron and continuing on to and thru the Oregon border. The riding conditions couldn’t have been any better so of course this means photo ops. This is pretty much where the writing stops and the photos start so enjoy. We hit up Redwood National Park in northern California which was another incredible National Park. I thought the Redwoods along the Avenue of the Giants were big, well there’s a reason this is a National Park after all. After Redwood National Park we continued our journey North towards the Oregon border where we stopped for some beautiful shots of the Pacific.

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