Quarantine Shoot

Fall of Icarus Release for Claremont

Video and photos for the release of the Fall of Icarus Shirt .

Faulted Senses

Video Essay for Faulted Senses. A spoken word collaborative.

Directed and Edited by me.

Know Your Enemy

"So Goes the Story" Shoot With Anthony

Here’s a shoot I did with a friend, Anthony Bonilla. Another fellow photographer, he knew exactly what I had in mind for this shoot. He moved freely in front of the lens, and allowed me to capture him in a way that still showed his personality. From the way he danced along to the classic rock in the background, to the outfits he chose to wear, it all flowed effortlessly into the images.

Towel Shoot

Here’s a fun shoot my girlfriend and I did using just towels. We used Mario Testino’s ‘towel series’ as inspiration for our own shoot. She put on some dark eye makeup and then we added some gold jewellery for some extra pop in our photos. I love doing black and white portraits and I real am trying to master it while adding my own signature to it.

Forgetting the Rules

It’s now been a little over a year since I’ve been taking photography seriously. Since before I picked up a new camera to start this venture, I’ve been studying classic photographers and the rules of photography. I go in and out of following the rules or listening to other peoples critics and comments. But now I’ve come to realize that it really doesn’t matter. I want to show the world through my perspective. So when I say forgetting the rules, I don’t mean throwing everything out. I still keep some things in mind, but canceling the noise of what people will think or questioning whether the picture will come out right in the long run. Same goes for my editing process. I really try to communicate a feeling and emotion over a pretty picture or something that follows all the rules and has all the right elements.

Back to the Streets

There’s nothing that I enjoy more than shooting on the streets of New York City. Here I was back on the streets, while Buddy Rich was bumping in my ears. No motive, no theme, just getting out there and creating photos that pleased my eye. A view of the world through my lens.

Working with the Body

Creating tasteful and beautiful nudes is a process that takes more than it looks. Selling sex is always easy, but portraying strength and character is the real task for these shots. There’s a thin line between being sexy with class and going overboard with the sensuality. This line is crossed when you lose the subject’s personality and focus a bit too much on the provocative nature of the photo. Here I let the subject be themselves, didn’t ever overdirect their facial expressions. Let their eyes do the talking. The main focus was depicting the body in a elegant, sophisticated espression, without being too revealing. With this in mind the photos came to life and we were able to contort the body and perspective to achieve what we were going for.

Being able to make it comfortable for the model and for yourself as well is the most important part of the whole shoot. If your subject is not completely comfortable it will come off clearly through the photos. Fortunately my muse for this shoot was my beautiful girlfriend, Aitana. We still made sure we talked about what we were going for, and how to go about it days before. This way, we both had an idea of where to start the day of the shoot before we allowed ourselves to go with the flow. This shoot helped push me into being more comfortable working with minimal props; in this case, just the human body. I look forward to more projects that push me beyond my limits.

John Rivas' Studio

I was given the opportunity to shoot a friend of mine, John Rivas, in his natural habitat: his art studio. He had never been photographed by anyone before, let alone in his studio. I felt really honored to do so, and knew exactly how I wanted to photograph him. A little insight on John, he’s an artist; no longer aspiring because he is one in every sense of the word. He’s starting his Masters of Fine Arts come this fall at Columbia University. And for him, it’s only up from here. When it came time to shoot, I asked to shoot first thing in the morning right when he starts his day. I told him to do his thing, and made myself a fly on the wall. I really wanted to capture him entranced in his work. We did get some posed shots in front of his works, like all artists do, and the rest was him in his natural state.

Building Portfolios

I was recently asked by Dwayne Miele to help build a modeling portfolio. He’s been asked if he’s modeled in the past and I couldn’t agree more. Aside from his particular look and great face structure, he gave a wide variety of feelings through the camera. With a hard exterior presence, he was still able to give me a softer face for some of the shots. With only a couple photoshoots under his belt, I was impressed with how relaxed he was in front of the camera. He definitely had an understanding of the vibe we were trying to accomplish without overthinking it. I could definitely see him working with brands in the future for more editorial looks.

Shooting For Mars

These are some promotional shots I did for rapper Mars and his project Taken For Granted. Days before the shoot I had asked him to send me some of the songs that would be included in the mixtape. I wanted to immerse myself into what this project was about; from the message to the delivery he took to get his point across. I got a feel for his highly ambitious and laid back demeanor. I really wanted to capture his character. We were both happy how these turned out.

"Channel Tres on loop vibes"

Always a good time shooting with this guy right here. @Emmanuel_Popoteur always keeps it cool, calm and collected while giving off an edge. He always takes direction well and understands the vision we’re going for. Always making it real easy to capture the vibe. Here we did a shoot on a tennis court all the while melting in 100 degree weather. The lighting at the location was perfect and the clouds added an extra filter to soften the light. For the outfit, we went for what we called, “the swaggy grandpa” look, which I think we accomplished well while still keeping it modern.

Untitled

This collection of photos are from a project I started in the fall of 2018 and finished at the beginning of 2019. It started with an idea of using over-sized thrifted clothing and styling them into cohesive outfits for my models. This was my first time taking portraits in a controlled environment with a model. Besides concentrating on the clothing, I really wanted to capture something authentic from each and every individuals personality. Something that encapsulated a piece of their essence and energy to share with the world.

A Day on the Highline

There wasn't much to shoot on the Highline, it felt too touristic. I did come across a man elegantly playing the cello and a beautiful scene of a couple cuddling on a bench. Once I got off the Highline, I definitely found more interesting scenes play out before me on my way back up through the Meatpacking District and Chelsea. Also played around with my editing a bit more than I usually do. Still trying to find my style without putting myself into a box.

Letting Go

This was my first time truly feeling like I was letting go of actually thinking too much while I was creating a photo. I let my subconscious mind take over and when I felt as if a certain scene looked right, I just raised my camera to my eye, and shot. Without much thought I let the shutter make that sweet sound of capturing a moment. Before wandering through the city I did stop by an exhibit of one my current favorite photographers, Christopher Anderson. Looking at his work up close and personal, flipped a switch in my mind that day. My process of creating a photo was forever changed going forward.

A Different Persepective

On this day I happened to take one of those double decker bus tours for tourists. I was curious on what shots I would take from up there. It was mid hot summers day, the sun was beaming down, and I was hesitant on the lighting. I still managed to make it work and got some really interesting shots from an angle you don’t typically see from everyday street photography.

Chinatown Adventures

This was my first time deciding to go out and create street photography. I’ve always been attracted to the instantaneous feeling of shooting on the street. Without curation, letting the natural flow of the surroundings curate itself and encapsulating the moment in a piece of art we call a photo.