got to wake up, look like my name

manu was the last person we filled for the poetry video we're working on. his room was full of some of the purest, most beautiful white light -- might have had something to do with the start white walls. but i really loved a lot of the footage that we collected that day.

in the darkness comes another

this is sully, another person who agreed to let us film their morning routine.

i can hear the earth in orbit

as much as i like making photos and videos, i don't have much patience for editing. that's at least part of the reason that the poem//video project i'm working is taking so long. that said, just last week i made sort of a mental "i will finish this -- and soon" breakthrough. to help motivate myself, i went through some of the stills from the shots casey and i did of the last three people featured.

this would be luc, one of the best, most sincere people i have ever had the pleasure of knowing. (the other two will come over the next couple days.)

nothing left of all my gold

casey, katie and i went out to sauvie island last week to make a video and a few pictures. there's something about an autumn sun, the way it cuts through the atmosphere at just the right angle, that seems to set everything on fire, all honey-hued and burning. but there's also something about the way a camera sees that makes it near impossible to take a picture of all that gold. still, i tried.

gonna show you where it's dark

dang. it's been a while. i have a flash that i hardly ever use. one night recently, though, i went for a walk while some friends hit the streets on their blades and boards. these are some of the photos i took. also, here's a recent mix tape called 'nite vizionz.' seemed to fit the theme. enjoy + more soon.

cold and crystal

i always wind up taking the same photo with a couple different cameras. alex was not into the many shutter clicks it took to make these two images, but she put up with me well enough. the top one is from my 5d mark ii and the bottom one was taken on portra film with my ae-1.

this is the last dance

 

(as always, click to enlarge.)

these are pictures of my very talented friend lucy yim rehearsing her latest dance project, lightnoise. i made them just before she took the show down to austin. she's working with jesse mejia, a light and sound artist. i'm actually pretty happy with the way they turned out -- but, honestly, they don't do justice to the sight of the projection running along lucy's body as she moves. very, very neat stuff.

on the brink of something close

we shot another person for the video today. this is what she looked like.

in the morning i get out of bed

for the past few weeks i've been working with casey and sarah on making a visual representation (sorta-not-really) of matthew dickman's poem "trouble." we had been working on the project for a while when i figured it might be worth asking matthew to narrate for us. he agreed and yesterday we went to his se portland apartment to listen to him read aloud a poem i've only ever heard in my head. (he and casey are in the next photograph.)

the more time i put into this project the more excited about it i get. having him as the narrator has definitely helped, too. these are just a few stills of the project and the folks in it so far. we're still about a month away from wrapping up, but stay tuned for more updates.

time is moving, times get rough

i mentioned earlier that i'd rented a ring flash for a shoot -- well here's what i wound up with. these photos were the brain child of sarah baker, a very cool stylist working out of portland. it feels a little weird to look at them, only because i'm so used to more candid photography. that said, i had a lot of fun with the process and especially with the postproduction -- i usually don't do much with the photos once i've shot them.

all you can see is me

a couple weeks ago i rented a ring flash. i had (and still have) no idea what i was doing with it. still fun though. this is a test shot -- i'll post some images from the actual shoot soon.

and when i find myself alone/ i feel like i am blind

i used to spend too much time looking at the ground.

your face pressed up against the glass

pictures from los angeles are coming, slowly but almost certainly. today, a few images from the los angeles county museum of art, which was hosting a show on women surrealists painters from mexico and the united states. there was almost too much on display, i felt constantly pulled along, distracted from one manic work by another. it was one of the most amazing collections i've ever seen.