nyc: make-do

Spent two days in NYC to support friends and fellow photographers in the opening night gallery show for Luceo & MJR titled "Make-Do." The show was amazing, the turnout was huge, and more than anything else it was great to see old, familiar faces. But there's nothing more lonely than going home after being around so much love. One of the hardest parts of this career path I've had to come to terms with is balancing the unsettling yet necessary solitude with the most tight-knit family of vagabonds I've ever had the pleasure of crossing paths with. The difference day-to-day is stark, but I can't say I'd trade it for anything in the world.

storm.

nothing like howling winds in the middle of the night to make you feel alone and alive.

goodbye 2009.

2009 was a year of introspection i think. one year ago i was just getting re-settled into california, starting on a new foot in sacramento. i was insecure, completely startled by how uncertain life could be and frightened by the prospect of an unclear future.

i'm not one to make resolutions. but if i were to go that way this year, i'd say this time around, it's time to get out of my head a little. it's time to live life a little more. it's time to put my heart full-force into my photographs and my relationships, because at the end of the year i want to look back and remember just how good it was, not how good it could have been.

so here's a slideshow of my favorite photos from 2009. some are from assignments, most are from life in general, but they are all special to me in their own way. so here's to the end of a good year, and the beginning of a better one.

hard girls.

In the last few months, I've managed to get back in touch with some old friends from San Jose. I drove out there last weekend to check out some of these kids in their latest musical incarnation - Hard Girls. Morgan, Max and Mike all come from other bands (Pteradon and Shinobu, among others), and also play with frontman Jesse Michaels (of Operation Ivy fame) in another project called Classics of Love. 

I was stoked to see these guys play again, even if it meant waiting in line for a couple of hours outside a small San Jose art gallery. They opened for punk legends (and sell-outs?) Against Me!, which brought a huge crowd of psyched kids and reminiscent adults. It was an awesome show, and great to see some old faces. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the night.

Hard Girls:

Against Me:

Bob holding up the speakers against the crowd:

Also, if you want to hear some songs by Hard Girls, check out Quote Unquote Records, where you can download their EP on a donation-only basis. So if you dig it, throw down a little cash, but if you can't afford it you can still enjoy the awesome.

thriller.

Tonight, I got to shoot something I'd never thought would come my way... Friday night football! Um, wait, that's almost every Friday. This week, my regular assignment for my old paper, the Stockton Record, was better than I could have hoped - Halloween meets Homecoming game! The kids at Chavez High School in Stockton went all-out for their second-ever homecoming, with probably about 100 kids taking the field during halftime to perform a dance to "Thriller" as the marching band played the MJ hit. So rad! Who knew that song could sound so epic through tubas and flutes.

This kid was my favorite - he spelled out his name for me between drum beats:
Zombie cheerleaders, zombie band members, zombie choir... it was a lovely preface to Halloween.To top it off, I was stoked to finally be able to stay at a game long enough to shoot the homecoming procession! Unfortunately the court weren't dressed-up like the rest of their school, but it was pretty sweet all the same. We never did the big homecoming thing at my high school (would have helped to have a football team...), so it was exciting for me to see what all the fuss was about. And I have to say, the homecoming King really took the cake.
Sometimes I really love high school. Happy Halloween.