entry 13 - April 1, 2022

San Antonio, Texas

camera: Leica SL 35mm Summicron

Mexico City, Mexico

camera: Leica SL 35mm Summicron

Undisclosed Location

camera: Leica SL 35mm Summicron

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello!

Thanks so much for taking out some time to visit my photo journal. I’m genuinely grateful and humbled that you took your time and attention to make it here. Thank you Thank you! 🙏 words can’t describe my gratitude.

I don’t have much of a knack for words so I’ve been just posting random photos from the piles of unscanned film rolls that I’ve accumulated over the years.

But since I’m currently in México City, I’m unable to scan any film to share and I just wanted to stay consistent with a promise I made to myself to share photographs every 1st and 15th of every month here...soooo instead of film scans, I’m sharing random snap shots from the digital camera I’m currently carrying with me.

Lately, I haven’t been ‘shooting’ except to just exercise the act of shooting using a camera with ZERO objectives except just to shoot...much in the way like when I was an oblivious kid that knew nothing about ‘photography’. I’m exercising a care-free take on photography and welcoming ignorance and eliminating expectations while taking a similar approach to shooting with film...selectively one frame at a time...slow and deliberate.

As someone that dislikes explaining my photographs unless asked...the photographs from this entry are virtually straight out of camera with minor adjustments using the Squarespace photo editing feature which is fucking awful, but sometimes it’s important to just work with what you have and just get the work out unfazed by what anyone might think. I’m not trying to be a Magnum photographer.

Cameras, Pictures, Process and Learning.

In recent days, particularly during this stretch of travel...I’ve been thinking a lot more about just enjoying the time I have...’fuck photography and fuck my cameras’...investing more energy, time and thought with family in Texas and México...investing more energy and time into the moments.

Grateful for time with family and myself, nature and life.

Thank you for viewing and reading!

entry 9 - february 1, 2022

 
 
 

santa susana/Barcelona 2019

camera: contax t3

film : fujifilm natura 1600

 

new york, new york

camera: nikon F3

film: kodak tri-x 400

 

new york, new york

camera: contax t3

film: fujifilm natura 1600

 

new jersey

camera: contax t3

film: fujifilm natura 1600

glass appeal photographic journal

 
 
 
 
 

entry 7 - april 1, 2020

 
 

Reserva de la Biósfera Santuario Mariposa Monarca - feb ruary 2, 2019

camera: Leica SL 601 + 35mm summicron

glass appeal photographic journal

 
 
 
 

entry 5 - march 1st, 2020

 
 

new york city - nov 2019-feb 2020

camera: leica SL601

leica M 35mm summicron + leica R 50mm summicron

glass appeal photographic journal



 
 
 
 
 

entry 4 - february 1st, 2020

 
 

barclays center- brookyln, new york city - november 6, 2015

film: ilford delta 400 shot at 1600 developed 2 stops pushed

camera: leica M6 .85/35mm leica summicron

video: dji osmo pocket

glass appeal photographic journal

i was on my way home on the F train after a long day of work.

i knew that the lakers were in town to play the nets and i was procrastinating all day trying to decide on whether or not i should just go to the game. i had a strong suspicion that this could be my last opportunity to see Kobe live one last time.

i had seen the lakers play twice before at Madison Square Garden against the knicks.

the first time was on march 19, 2000 when shaq put up 43 points and was ultimately the year the lakers won their first of 3 championships during a 3 year run in 2000, 2001, 2002. it was also Kobe’s breakout year.

the second time was on february 2, 2009 (just one day short of being exactly 11 years ago), when Kobe put on a clinic scoring a historic 61 points at the garden that night.

the game was already about to start while i was on the brooklyn bound train from midtown. i searched for decent tickets on my phone hoping for a decent price and luckily i found one and purchased it just before making it to the last stop i needed to switch trains that would get me to barclays center in brooklyn.

i hopped off the train at west 4th street and jumped on the B figuring i would make it for at least the start of the 2nd quarter.

i arrived at barclays, grabbed a beer and a hot dog and took my seat.

i didnt think it was worth taking any pictures because all i had was a 35mm prime lens with me and despite having a decent seat...it was still too far for a decent photo.

but i took just this one frame.

kobe bk.jpg

weeks later, on nov 29th, kobe announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2015 season which would confirm my previous fear of seeing him play live for the very last time and i was so happy i was able to see him when i had the chance.

i was with a regular physical therapy client on the sunday afternoon of january 26th, and like we do nearly every session, we talk about sports...particularly boxing, american football and basketball.

i had just seen a few video highlights of kobe’s daughter gianna playing and i glowingly talked about how good she is and how much she resembles her dad and how crazy and cool it was to see another video of kobe teaching x’s and o’s and defensive schemes to a group of 13 year old girls as if they were seasoned pros….’a little difficult to understand but you guys are smart’, kobe says in a matter of fact way.

i was dying laughing.

i went so far as to say that ‘she could be the first female to play in the NBA’ and that i would be the first in line to buy her jersey.

i thought about how exciting it was to watch her develop and evolve into another kobe and excited for what the future might hold for the both of them as a team. such a small sample but so insanely beautiful to watch the two of them in this capacity...just really beautiful!

i wrapped up with my client, left the apartment and jumped into the elevator.

as soon as i entered the elevator, my client that i had just left called me on my phone...i was worried something had happened or maybe i had forgotten something, so i answered the call and said ‘what’s up?’. my client said firmly ‘bro, kobe’s dead’.

the elevator doors closed and i immediately hung up the phone. a little confused and in disbelief thinking that it was most likely a stupid rumor...i started googling ‘kobe bryant’ on my phone as soon as i got out of the elevator and saw all the headlines.

my knees went totally weak and buckled as i hunched over my phone staring at the reports. it was a fairly active apartment complex lobby and people saw me fall to the floor while the doorman rushed to help me up asking me if i was okay and all i could say is that ‘kobe is dead’…i got up and rushed home.

over the summer, i saw recent videos of Kobe often wearing a particular pair of his signature sneakers and thought about getting them. months later, i saw a video of his daughter GiGi and her team wearing them during a game they played and i immediately went to nike.com and tried to buy them, but were already sold out, so i scoured the internet trying to find them at the regular price and finally did, luckily.

when i received them in the mail, i excitedly opened the box and tried them on. i wore them around my apartment and thought to myself...'i really love them but i dont need another pair of sneakers'.

i missed the return window procrastinating on whether i should keep them or not, so i held on to them for awhile and eventually listed them for sale on a popular sneaker buying/selling platform called stockx. they were sold for less than i paid for them, but i packaged it up and sent them out.

a few weeks or so later, they were sent back to me without explanation, so i emailed the company asking for an explanation and they told me the sneakers didn't meet the standards of 'brand new'...mind you, i only tried them on around the apartment.

months later (december), i re-listed them and they eventually sold. i sent them out on new years eve and again, they were sent back to me around the 3rd week of January...the week of my 42nd birthday.

i thought to myself...
'well...the Sneaker Gods must want me to have them for some reason.' but i simply put the unopened box aside in a corner and thought nothing of it being content with having them.

a week later, when i got the tragic news that sunday afternoon...i rushed home, i cried, i wept, i watched a ton of reports and reactions and like i do almost every other day...started watching my favorite Kobe videos on youtube.

i felt so compelled to play basketball after a few hours of non-stop crying, so i pumped up my basketball, already draped in nike gear...remembering i have a new pair of Kobe's, i opened the box and it was almost as if the sneakers were glowing. i tagged them up with a black sharpie... 'rip kobe', 'mambacita' 'mamba mentality' (i could care less if they are now 'worthless' after writing on them)...and went out in the dark bitter cold and played for 3 hours with just a bit of light kissing the court from a street lamp that barely lit up the left 3rd of the court and basket.

i must have played basketball a total of 10 times in the last 10 years or so...let alone play outside at night and in the freezing cold...something i probably haven't done since high school but something i always used to do when i felt sad or angry.

i, like so many others have so much i want to share about how much Kobe impacted my life...something i never really shared with anyone out of embarrassment...particularly because everyone practically hated him and people would always call him the 'rapist'...blah blah blah. but i always defended him and admired him in private so as to not let the negativity affect my admiration for him.

7 days in, i still wake up in disbelief...7 days in, i’m still crying and know that it’s probably not going to stop for awhile.

if you followed kobe like i did for 24 years...you would see what a beautiful human being he was outside of sports...he was far from perfect, but what made him so great and so inspiring...for me...was his discipline, his determination, his drive and the belief he had in himself in anything and everything he did.

kobe once said...

"the most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do." 

and that is something i’ve been trying to do as long as i can remember and is something i still try and continue to do everyday...

 
 
 
 
 

entry 3 - january 15th, 2020

 
 

plaza garibaldi, mexico city - november, 2019

film: kodak tmax 400 shot at 800 developed 1 stop pushed

camera: arca swiss 4x5 f-field /210mm rodenstock sironar-s

glass appeal photographic journal

garibaldi 4x5bw-2.jpg
garibaldi 4x5bw-4.jpg
garibaldi 4x5bw-3.jpg
garibaldi 4x5bw.jpg



 
 
 
 
 

entry 2 - january 1st, 2020

 
 

coney island, brooklyn, ny- january 1, 2015

film: kodak portra 400 shot at 200 developed normal

camera: hasselblad 501cm/80mm

glass appeal photographic journal

coney island nye 2015-1.jpg
coney island nye 2015-2.jpg
coney island nye 2015-3.jpg
coney island nye 2015-4.jpg
coney island nye 2015-5.jpg
coney island nye 2015-6.jpg
 
 
 
 
 

entry 1 - december 15th, 2019

 
 

plaza garibaldi, mexico city - october 19, 2019

film: kodak portra 800 pushed to 1600

camera: hasselblad 501cm/80mm

glass appeal photographic journal

garibaldi night-7.jpg
garibaldi night-5.jpg
garibaldi night-6.jpg
garibaldi night-8.jpg
garibaldi night-9.jpg
garibaldi night-3.jpg
garibaldi 2019-3.jpg
garibaldi 2019-2.jpg
garibaldi 2019.jpg