Right Place, Right Time...

So, I was having a cigar Friday night downtown, when I heard it. Sirens. To some, it's a symbol of fear, but for the photojournalist, it causes us to jump into action. I chased the screaming fire engines for 6 blocks into the heart of the tenderloin to bring you these pictures, so enjoy...

Called Out Highlights

Alright. You asked for it, so here it is... I've compiled some of the images that stood out to me... As I stated before, there were some really great fights, from Jay Silva's bloody TKO of Ray Lizama to the crazy antics of former pro-wrestler-turned MMA star Daniel Puder, Called out Fights was very entertaining. So much so that I am already looking forward to the November bout. Hope to see you all there...

The day after...

Well, another one is in the books... We had some great fights this past Saturday, but after six hours of holding a camera to my eye (not to mention the afterparty...) I was beat yesterday. I had to take a day off and relax, so today I've been sifting through so many pictures that I'm going cross-eyed. So to tide you over until I finish scouring the image bank, here are some highlights from the first bout, where Francisco Rivera managed to eek out a split decision victory against Aaron Arana. Enjoy...

The sweat from a hundred toiling bodies baked the room to tropic levels as I walked through the doors of Millennia gym in Rancho Cucamonga. Millennia serves as a home base to many of the finest MMA fighters in the game, including a couple of guys (and girl) fighting on Called Out Fights' card on August 15. I wanted to make most of my time in Southern California, so last night I took a trip over to the gym to meet with Ray Lizama (7-5-0), who is preparing for a battle with up-and-coming stud Jay Silva (4-0-0). Lizama has a lot of experience and is coming off two wins in the last year. Do I think he will win? I think there is only one man who can answer that...

Hello Southern California!

The heat radiates from the tarmac as I step down from my sky carriage at the Long Beach airport. The sun starts eating at my eyes as the try to adjust. I don't remember Southern California being so bright... but I wouldn't have it any other way. As much as I love San Francisco, this is my home! Where else can you go in the US in the midst of summer and wear shorts and a t-shirt all day and night (and not sweat through your clothes)?? I am here to visit my family and shoot Called Out Fights August 15! Stay tuned...

Filmore Jazz Festival

One of my biggest joys in San Francisco thus far has been the Filmore Jazz Festival. What started out as a mediocre representation of the genre suddenly exploded with the talent of Sam Reider's large ensemble. Wow... what a treat. I was violently shoving my Nikons into my camera bag after a disappointing day of counterfeit jazz and then I heard the angels calling from the California Street stage by way of a Thelonious Munk tune... Upon approaching the stage I encountered a group of young musicians, no older than myself, who obviously were in the midst of a love affair with my beloved genre of music. Jazz. You can't beat it. Sam Reider is the one on the piano. I would recommend that everyone check out his website at http://www.samreidermusic.com/live/

It's always great to see fellow young people with an affinity to the music that shaped all american music...

Hey! Get out of my shot!! I guess when you have a $10,000 camera setup, you don't need to bother with the petty students...

Photographing Castro.

Not the communist leader. As interesting as that would be, I think the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco tops all. Known for being basically the premier gay and lesbian neighborhood in the world, the Castro district is interesting to say the least. Earlier this semester I was given the assignment to photograph the, uh, colorful neighborhood and was challenged to really try and capture the real Castro-- The castro through my eyes. I spent the next two days walking the streets of Castro and trying to get an essence of the hood.

DAY ONE

If I have a couple of days to shoot an assignment, I will usually just walk and observe the first day and sort of shoot what I see. My focus on these assignments is never to get the shots on the first day.

It's not all that difficult to know when you've entered the neighborhood. Rainbow flags adorn every lamp post, window sill, car bumper, etc. There were long stretches of wall covered in colorful murals of the leaders of the gay rights movement thoughout the years, and it seemed as if every storefront had some sort of homoerotic paraphernalia adorning their displays.

But the interesting thing, to me, was the vast amount of homeless people there. Everywhere I turned there was a trashbag clad shopping cart being toted around by these dingy, big bearded men in tattered clothes. After day one, I decided that I would return in the morning and do some "environmental portraits" of some of the street keepers of the Castro.

DAY TWO

I woke up at 6:30 the following morning to track down some of the characters that I had come across the previous day. The plan was to take a journalistic approach to the whole shoot, and try to take some really hard-hitting photos that would make my class weap and run to sign up to volunteer at the nearest soup kitchen.
I arrived at Castro and Market at 7:30 and noticed that there wasn't a soul on the streets. Great. I thought I had caught them all when they were sleeping so I decided to find the nearest coffee shop and wait until I saw some sort of activity in these vacant streets. As I turned the corner into the coffee shop, I hear this raspy voice to my left. "uh, you know, uh... I wouldn't be terribly offended if you asked to take my picture...". As I turned around, I saw the man behind the voice.

I kindly obliged and raised my Nikon. As soon as my eyes disappeared behind the viewfinder, he started to sing, "A yo ho ho and a bottle of rum" over, and over, and over again with his eyes closed. But oddly enough, I think the picture here works. the squinting eyes and puckered lips make for a very interesting portrait.

As the day progressed I realized that not everybody was as friendly as this man here... I was followed for 4 blocks, yelled at, hit on... but none of these were from the 'vagrants'. Any and all opposition to me being there with my camera, trying to make a neighborhood look beautiful and appealing was from the fa... inhabitants of the said neighborhood. Anyway, enough with the mini-rant. enjoy the pictures.