bent.in.san.francisco

The iPhone Art

 

I arrived in San Francisco on the the heels of a 6-day hitchhike from Cannon Beach, Oregon. I was exhausted but in good spirits. I was glad to meet up with my photographer friend Joe Azure who put me up in his beautiful Victorian flat located in the Castro District. That night as I laid to rest I thought of the juxtaposition of where I had just been and where I was that night. It was an interesting and entirely new line of thought which followed me to sleep. 

The next day would be my only full day in San Francisco as I planned to press on the next. It was an early morning of coffee and donuts and a trip up to Hawk Hill to watch the sunrise over the Golden Gate Bridge. Bellissimo! We arrived back mid-morning, which gave me time to gear up and head out for the day. I made it several blocks before I found myself in the Castro Starbucks contemplating a game plan for the day. The plan I devised was simple enough, get drunk, head to Chinatown, and shoot along the way. 

Looking back on the few hours I spent walking down Market St. and into Chinatown drinking and shooting I think about quite a few different things. I think about my photographer alter-ego livinlush, who is responsible for all the images below, and where his place should be in my ethos. I think about the style I used that day which was uncaring and undaunted by anyone or anything, willing to point my iPhone directly down a face and press on, never looking back. In fact, later when I finally sat down to review the images I found a photograph of a woman flipping me off. You can see it below. I think about the street photographer vs. the street-artist photographer, that photographer who satiates his artistic appetite by combining street and art elements into a photograph. But what sticks in my mind the most are the all the images of these streets I'm not taking. There's something about the city streets of San Francisco that inspire me like no other. I can't say the same for the Anchorage.

At the tail end of this set which, self-admittedly, isn't that good I shot the image I'd been searching for. The highlighted image at the top of this set represents, to me, a combination of street photography and art photography. The primal drama which exudes from the frame has come to represent my own self-destructive nature, a constant battle within myself, a need to stand still met by my need to fly away while the chaos of such a nature erupts around me. 

But this is who I am. This is what I do. And this is what I love. 

Friday Night Divas

A few weeks back I paid a visit to the Anchorage Press' quaint little headquarters located on the outskirts of Downtown. I went looking for an assignment and I ended up chatting with the Editor for a while about a few ideas, photography and gonzo-journalism. It was a good talk which left me saturated with interesting thoughts. Several weeks went by until I was contacted with an assignment. The assignment; provide photos for the Press' cover story on Mad Myrna's Friday night drag show. How could I refuse, right? 

You can read Daniella Cortez's entire story and view more photos here Friday Night Divas

Onward

In the past several months I haven't contributed much to this blog, for this I apologize. It's just that during these past months a large part of me feels as if I've been standing still ... unsure of what to do or where to go, waiting for some sort of inspiration.

So, with this said I am ecstatic to announce that I have decided on my next destination in life. On September 7th 2012, I will embark on a year long journey which will put me in all 50 states. And to top that off, I'll be hitchhiking the whole way. Crazy ... I know!

It's just that I feel as if I have something significant to contribute to my medium. And while I have no idea what awaits me on this long journey,  I know in my heart this is part of what I was meant to do. I cannot stand still. There is a story and a visual epic which is America, it's out there, and I'm going to go find it and share it with you the best way I know how, through my words and my photography.

The preparations are already underway, and I look forward to sharing my journey with you!

doug.&.robyn

'true love isn't finding the perfect person. true love is loving the imperfect person, perfectly.'

In early August of last year I gladly escaped the city streets of Seattle to venture down to Hood River, Oregon to be a part of Doug and Robyn Reynolds wedding. I originally met Doug and his now wife in late 2009. And while the circumstances of mine and Doug's meeting were rather inauspicious, our passion for all things photography sealed the deal on our friendship.

I was not commissioned as a photographer for Doug & Robyn's wedding. Thankfully! Weddings can be quite the stressful ordeal for a photographer of any caliber to endure, let alone for one who's never photographed one. With this said, this set is incomplete, akin to any other of the guests who took random images throughout the wedding.

I only post this now because if I do not Robyn is literally going to kill me. That's right, I've held on to these images for the past 8 months unable to do much with them after my computer went on the fritz during my journey.

It is with extreme gratitude that I have had the privilege of knowing both Doug & Robyn who are about the most beautiful, kindest and most awesome people anyone could know.

from.the.brick

Self admittedly, I ruined this roll of film. A fifth of Vodka ruins a lot of things. Nevertheless, with homemade Screwdrivers in my bag and Death Cab for Cutie in my ears it was an amazing, almost surreal experience to drift aimlessly amongst the grandeur and pace of San Franscicos' city streets. 

Granted, a couple of these images made the roll, albeit from different cities.

This being said, these images are, for me, a resounding proof that my passion for Street Photography is lost in this city. The city streets of San Francisco move in much the same manner my body and mind do. An abundance of juxtapositions and compositions are offered on every city street. I can see them. I can feel them.

The atrophied dog unwilling or unable to peek at the curious stranger taking his masters photo, the observance of those in the external connected to the internal via mobile devices, the man peeking back at the Asian girls bum, the compositions which exude juxtapositions which portray social disparity ... it's all there.

My only regret is having so little time.

I guess I shall have to remedy this..

:)