there is this one time i remember very clearly. it was when i was on a cruise with my family in the middle of the caribbean. I was out on the deck late at night walking around with my brother and i had stopped and leaned against the rail and hung over the rail and just stared. i typically don't get scared of anything, and I don't mean the type of scare where someone with a mask pops out at you and makes you jump. I am talking about fear. I don't typically feel fear. But at that moment, i did and it was frightening. the fact that you're hundreds of miles away from shore, without a light in sight. i think that complete darkness is what scared me most, i think that's probably the closest feeling to what death would be like.. utter darkness. the irony is that the ocean has always been so fascinating to me, yet it instills fear. maybe that's why i find it so interesting. this shot was at pacifica pier, and i was so stuck on how crazy these waves were. they would come crashing in, pounding the piers pillars. some vicious waves i tell you. i stood there, staring at them, roaring through, as i snap this photo. man, the ocean is something else.
i can't believe christmas is 4 days away. time could not have gotten by any faster than it already has. there's just been so much going on this month and i haven't even gotten to chance to really sit and think about christmas, a shame. christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays, typical. which is why i am disappointed in myself that i had not given much thought to the idea of christmas and preparing for christmas as i would have liked to. i mean, we went out and got a tree, decorated it and all but i still feel like the spirit isn't there. i hadn't even gotten anybody gifts yet until today. Saturday. The Saturday right before Christmas. The worst day to shop. How could I be so stupid to have even considered going out to shop for gifts on the saturday before christmas?! it was the most stressful thing ever sharing the road with holiday shoppers. it was crazy, too crazy. but at the end of the day, once I got a couple of gifts tucked away and hidden, i instantly feel a little bit better, like the christmas spirit is slowly making its way.
these past couple of weeks, the weather definitely took a sharp left turn. it was nice and sunny for a while, not too cold and still felt nice out while in a hoodie. then the storm came and dumped mad water on us and put us in a fridge. I'm not complaining though, i enjoy the cold, a lot. definitely just a sudden change. what's crazy is is that last week, they declared a rain day across most of all Bay Area schools.. in my 26 years of living, i have never heard of a rain day. I've had plenty of snow days back in the midwest, but never ever a rain day. never thought that existed and definitely never thought i was live to witness one. i was honestly kind of excited to witness a rain day.. i was expecting flooding everywhere but it was wack. the downpour wasn't even serious, i didn't even get to see huge puddles or streams or anything. last night was a different story. we got caught in the downpour in san francisco right at 5pm so it took us a good 2 hours to get back home. felt like god kept dumping buckets of water on top of our car. it was crazy though cause you see huge puddles and streams of water in the streets. even the treasure island tunnel was looking pretty sketch with the water build up. lets flood out the drought.
this was my first time actually getting to the point bonita lighthouse. i've only ever attempted going here once with my fiancé but unfortunately it was closed. we walked all the down to the tunnel to find it closed off, a total bummer. this was forever ago and for some reason, just never decided to go back and try it again until this past weekend. the explore meet was held at rodeo beach, which was only about 10 minutes or less from point bonita so we decided to go try out luck once more since we had some time to kill. the lighthouse was a lot smaller than i had imagined but nonetheless, still a beauty. lighthouses have always fascinated me. in a way that they actually exist. it seems like the only times you really see lighthouses are in movies, and its usually on some trippy shit. remember the movie shutter island? that's what I think of when i see lighthouses. i kind of want to go on a lighthouse hunt now.. hmm...
yesterday we held the second Mighty Killers explore meet at rodeo beach in sausalito. i don't think I will ever not be shocked or not be amazed at the amount of people that show up. especially with how cold and windy it was, and the sun didn't even want to peek out once the entire meet, everyone stuck around and chilled with us and explored with us. the amount of gratitude i have for the people who came out, the hosts and this community is on another level. so many people came up to me or wrote me, "thank you for putting together this meet" and i'm just like.. blown away. it's all of you that I need to thank for continually inspiring me and motivating me and my team to push. without y'all, there aint no MKEXPLORE. i am so blessed to have such a strong group of creatives supporting this meet. i can not wait until we start preparing for the next meet. sign up for our newsletter at Mighty Killers website to be notified any news about the next meet when we have it. cheers
mighty killers fw003 lookbook will release on 12/12. definitely excited to release the preview for this because i really was blown away at the end results of this lookbook set. we teamed up with our friend nolis again in creating this killer set. in fw003, you will get to preview the next mighty killers release and the fine work of chicago native, nolis.
somestimes moments like these never exist if you never capture them. some people wonder why i always have a camera with me and why i am always taking photos of everything. isn't it pretty self explanatory? taking photos is a way of freezing time. basically capturing a moment in time and creating a memory that lasts a long as the photo exists. some say they rather just keep a memory of a moment in their head but we all know that there are so many moments and memories you thought you would cherish forever simply fade away with age. i used to think that i had a great memory but as time went on, i started to forget a lot of things. sometimes, even something that happened a couple days ago which led me to start wanting to archive my life through photography. i have witnessed what seems an endless amount of breath-taking views in my life that i never got a chance to capture and i regret that. you have a faint memory of them but as far as the details, it just doesn't exist. i've used photography as a way to go back in time and relive a minute-specific point in time in my life. i encourage you all to do the same, your family and your kids will appreciate it.
as long as i have lived here in the bay area, i have never walked onto the golden gate bridge. i think's it funny that majority of the people who live in san francisco haven't done any of the shit that all the tourists fly across the world to see. don't really know why? i'm assuming it's because they don't want to deal with the tourists and the crowds which is totally understandable. i tend to get pretty frustrated and annoyed with tourists being in my way but then that's only because i live here now. i'm pretty sure i am the annoying tourist every time i skip to a new town so it's all good. it's nice to kind of just fit in with a crowd of aliens and take a photos along side them, it's definitely a challenge because more than likely, you will have a tourist photobombing your photo.
We all know how spot on the Weather app is. It's honestly the most reliable forecast prediction there is that exists. OT! (Borat Voice) So we planned a trip out to Muir Woods for the day and was told by Weather app that it was going to be a clear and sunny day. So much for that, we got rained out and none of us were prepared for rain. Luckily, the rain passed and it left us with magical looking mist throughout the woods with sun rays beaming in, only thing that was missing was a unicorn from a distance. This goes back to one of my old posts, you never know what to expect when you head out for an adventure. that's half the fun, not knowing what you're getting yourself into. although i hate being caught in the rain, i can't complain too much because photos in the rain, or after the rain always turn out.
you know those times when you're driving and you see these amazing views that you know would be an awesome photo but you just don't feel like stopping or you're not the driver so you end up with just a memory and the thought of, "dammit, i should've stopped." well when i go shoot with some of the guys, we stop every single time any of us see something that we want to photograph. it definitely makes our trips a lot longer but i felt it was always dope to document by taking photos along the way to your destination. from point a to point b, there is always something amazing to capture but a lot of people over look it because they are so focused on getting to point b. this shot was taken on our drive up to mt. tam when we all decided to pull over to soak in this view. for some reason, this photo really speaks to me. it really captured the moment and the feeling i cherish most about adventures, don't really know how to explain it. maybe one day i can figure out how to word it and share with you guys. till then, try and imagine.
wishing her a very happy birthday. i've been through so much with this woman right here and we have shared so many birthdays together. funny because last night during dinner, we got a bit lost as to what we did on what birthday. guess that just means we're getting old. it's always crazy to think back and see how much we change as people. within a 6 year span, i've changed so much in every aspect and honestly, i have no one more to thank than her. i am most grateful for her and sticking with me for so many years and putting up with my shit. she deserves it all. I plotted out an entire day with her yesterday. with so much pressure and time winding down, i pulled the most rookie move and forgot my camera battery at home. luckily, she brought hers. this was taken on our way to alcatraz as we started off the morning.
murked hoodies sold out.
stoked to show you guys what i've been working on lately. this is a small preview of the fw002 lookbook that i shot as part of our next campaign. it features two of our next releases in the following weeks. it was dope putting this together cause it really posed a challenge. it is sometimes tough to create something original when we are constantly exposed to other peoples work. even if your intentions are not there, you sometimes find yourself unconsciously inspiring from some other work or style. i did my very best to stray away from everything and do little to no planning at all for this shoot. we woke up at 7 in the morning, met up with my boy and started our way into a small hike. it was fresh, it was original. it was early so that helped to really have a clean slate creatively. it allowed me to really observe and take in my surroundings and see what worked and what didn't. in the end, i am super happy with the final product. head on over to mighty killers website and check the full set lookbook for yourself. cheers
shit like this is like a jungle gym for big kids. and i say big kids because i feel like you have to still have that kid mentality to really enjoy and have fun doing this shit. i mean, think about.. when you were a kid and you had a huge jungle gym in front of you, you wasn't scared of it. you never thought that you could fall off the side and bust your head open on wood chips and bleed out and die. you never thought that you could dislocate your shoulder from the monkey bars and tear your arm off and fall to your death. you never thought that you could get stuck somewhere too high off the ground and pee your pants. same concept, kinda. don't be scared. you just go through with it and have the fuckin time of your life. I'm not a little kid any more, i have a lot more to risk and a lot more to lose, but i can't help that this type of shit still excites me.
it's crazy how photos have allowed me to meet so many people. some have became really good friends of mine, some became people i shoot with frequent, and some are just annoying and i don't ever want to see again in my life. regardless, it's dope to meet new people and see their work, and how they work. it's always interesting to me to see someones feed on instagram and then meet them in person and shoot alongside them. you learn a lot. you see their consistency in with the shots on their feed, but then now you see the effort they put in to getting those shots, sometimes not. couple weeks back, i met up with these two gunners, wayne and spencer. better known as potatounit and spencercotton. real dudes and definitely about their work. we posted near rodeo beach and climbed around the cliffs and caught a crazy sunset.
the opportunity is always there. we're surrounded by an endless supply of it. it's up to you to take it. i try and update as much as possible so i am always on the look out for content. which means i try to carry my camera with me everywhere i go because you never know what you come across. one of the worst feelings is stumbling across something dope and you just don't have your camera with you. yea, you got your phone but let's be honest, it isn't the same. i'm not sure if anyone else is like this but my eyes have become more than just eyes. it's my built-in viewfinder. i'm constantly stopping in my footsteps to dial in the view and see if it's a good time and place to snap a shot. sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. but at least i have my camera with me if it is. i took this photo at the jack london amtrak station in oakland one night. i had 10 minutes or so before my fiance came to pick me up so i decided to run off and wander and i found this. 10 minutes, and this. what's your excuse?
one of the challenges these days is trying to not only trying to get a good shot, but to get a good shot that is unique and that isn't like the rest. with the huge growing numbers of people with cameras these days, we see a lot of the same photos, from the same locations, with the same angles... it's bound to happen. these are challenges that makes going out, exploring and shooting fun. getting to different vantage points for a different views, a different perspective. it gets old seeing the same shit over and over again, but i get it. as someone new to the spot, you want to take a good photo. what better photo than an already established good photo, right? wrong. challenge yourself to not repeat, challenge yourself to create something new and of your own. i've been to quite a few popular spots that are often visited but i do my best to try and share my perspective with you all. here is nikk, the fearless. the perfect subject for my photo, for this post.
