1/8/24
Acapulco was an interesting experience for me. I became a Mexican citizen in September and felt incredibly compelled to help document the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Otis. Part of me wanted to make my grandfather proud. Part of me wanted to pay a debt to a country that I never lived in but that has somehow been so good to me and a large inspiration for who I have become as an adult. I was shooting a project in Leon for my dear friend @goodpeoples & her company @protocollective when I heard news of Hurricane Otis and I am thankful that she gave me some time to pause our project so that I could do my part to tell the story of what happened in Acapulco.
Acapulco was destroyed in more ways than one. Peoples’ homes were flattened and their lives were scattered across various parts of the city. The citizens went days without food as well as power, water, or cell service - all vital utilities to a city as large as Acapulco. I cannot begin to describe the details of what I saw or the stories I was told other than to say that despite all of the sadness and destruction, I witnessed the best in people across all walks of life. I received so much love and care from the people I was supposed to love and care for. I along with my colleagues at @wckitchen donated tons of Maseca to tortillarias, handed out thousands of bottles of water and thousands of meals per day only to be hugged and fed by the same people as a show of respect and gratitude. I had some small cries along the way and suspect a solid big cry is not far. I also had some giant laughs and met some amazing people.
Acapulco I love you.
If you want to help please consider donating to WCK.ORG I can vouch for the work being done on the ground in Acapulco.
Thomas, Fatima, Jason, Marko, Mario, Mauro, Anthony, Bryan, Alessia, Marybel, Chefs Jose Andres, Ivan Escobar, Jamie McDonald, Carlos gaytan - you guys are the truth out there. Thanks for letting me document the great things you do.
10/10/23
On occasion I get asked “What exactly do you do?”
I shoot photos and video but to me it’s a little more than that.
I help people and brands tell their stories. In this example, I shot video of Finca Pastoreo in Puerto Rico. They received funding from World Central Kitchen via the Food Producer Network grant and were able to make upgrades to their farm and in the process get one step closer to a self reliant food system for the island.
It's important for brands big and small to get their stories out there and I am here to help.
9/28/23
One aspect of my job that often goes unnoticed by people outside of disaster relief is the swift turnaround for photos from the field.
Disasters occur frequently, and the news cycle moves swiftly. Just because a disaster fades from the headlines a few days after it happens doesn't mean the problems have been resolved; they may persist for years. These photos can help my clients raise awareness, secure funding, attract volunteers, and more. It's absolutely crucial for me to deliver these assets to my clients as quickly as possible. This ensures they don't miss the narrow window of opportunity to garner support for their efforts in the wake of a catastrophic event. I will edit my photos in the passenger seat of a vehicle and late into the night from my hotel because waiting until I return home to begin sorting through hundreds of photos is simply not an option when people's lives are at stake.
9/22/23
I’ve always been fascinated by cameras, photos, and videos. I bought a camcorder right after high school and recorded a ton of never to be rediscovered footage of my friends and I doing a lot of dumb shit.
Fast forward some years and I found myself in a position where I was more or less broke and waiting to hear back from graduate schools. I decided to take the small pile of money that I had earned from my tech recruiting job and adventure through Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia as living in hostels and eating street foods was way cheaper and far more enticing than couch surfing in LA. The day before I left LA my brother pulled me aside at a family function and gifted me an inexpensive point and shoot camera. I documented my adventures through South America. I wasn’t sure what I was doing and only knew that I wanted to show my friends and family what the southern half of the world looked like.
I didn’t feel like a photographer. I felt like a child, curious about everything. The daily destinations didn’t matter. I just wanted to shoot photos of every detail around me as I explored random places because I knew that I might never be back and one day I might forget what the sunrise over Recoleta looks like. I was scared I’d forget the details of peoples faces in Bolivian markets.
The first time I felt like photography might be the thing I want to do with my life happened in 2015 while I was on a train in Mexico City. I was heading back into Centro from Xochimilco and shot a photo of a family on the train. One of the boys had an expression on his face that I still can’t explain but I captured it. The adults with him weren’t paying attention to what I saw but I saw it. Later on that same trip I snapped a photo of a child hanging off of a barrier while facing a giant prop Catrina skull which was used in the James Bond movie “Spectre.” This child’s body language seemed to speak volumes to me. I’ve seen grown men do the same type of thing in defeat or exhaustion and something about a child doing that seemed unusual to me.
The first time I ever made money from photography was in 2015 or so. I shot some photos around Downtown LA and my dear friend FR bought one of my prints. When FR offered to buy this photo I didn’t even want to sell it to him but he insisted. At the time, like many new photographers, I hung my photos in cafes so that I could get critiques from people. I saw all the flaws in the photo FR wanted to buy: the angle wasn’t quite right, the settings weren’t perfect, hell I may have even shot it as an HDR which would have been a mistake in hindsight. FR didn’t care. He talked to me a lot about this in the short years leading up to his death. He was one of the louder voices telling me to focus on photography. A good number of people around me have been supportive but FR was the one person who was yelling about photography as only he could while others politely whispered.
I still get nervous when people, brands, companies whoever offer me money to shoot photos. Doesn’t really matter how much money or how big the job is, I still get nervous. I have this routine the night before a shoot: I light a joint, put my headphones on, I play everything from Miles Davis to Vicente Fernandez, and I walk around my neighborhood. I go through the reasons why I am a good fit for the client no matter who it is. I remind myself that I enjoy this and the most important thing no matter what is to show up early and well rested, be a professional, be personable, and above all else have fun. Sometimes on these walks I have imaginary conversations with FR or my Grandpa Dino. We talk about the shot list or why I am a good fit for the gig. I’ve teared up a lot on these walks over the years. I start every morning with a pour over coffee but on shoot days I always use my Superman mug. FR gave that to me and it reminds me that he was the loudest voice telling me to go out there and do this one thing to the best of my abilities.
I’ve been shooting full-time since December 2019 and still think back to those early moments often. I think about how I still haven’t lost the curiosity to explore a place and take a picture of whatever I encounter no matter how exciting or unexciting it may be. I’ve wandered through some interesting neighborhoods in Los Angeles and elsewhere led only by my curiosity. I still want to show my friends and family all of the places I’ve been to and the faces of all the people I’ve met along the way. Photography has given me a lot over the years. I have met some of the most interesting and diverse people on Earth because of photography. I’ve fallen in love because of photography and have worked through breakups via photography. Photography has been therapeutic for me. I’ve battled depression and insecurities while behind my camera. I used to hang my photos in coffee shops and now some of them are hanging in LA City Hall. I printed my own magazine as a way to make some extra money and a few weeks later I found out that a couple of my client images were included in a New York Times Bestselling Cookbook featuring world renowned chefs and celebrities. I could never be this happy in my profession if I were still crunching data. The richness of the experiences I’ve had isn’t measurable and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
