Saigon Punk Chronicles: The Metal Edition

Not really a hardcore or punk show per se, but this show still had a lot of overlap in the crowd. The bill consisted of Orca from the Philippines, Diarsia off their brand new release, Method, Obsess, and the Korean shred machine Oathean. I grabbed the Fuji x100v and an old speedlight and rolled the dice. These shows give me a chance to experiment with different set ups - multiple cameras, light set ups, techniques…No pressure if I shit the bed and they turn out awful, but at least I learned something, right?. That said, I don’t think I’ve run into any insurmountable challenges, and different tools yield different results. I wanted to shoot a bit more abstract images to bridge over from the usual dragged shutter and speedlight combo and I think they turned out interesting. Tried a bit of multiple exposure shenanigans. Essentially played around and threw everything at the wall to see what stuck. Maybe a bit artsy even..

The Week in Photos: Volume 5

We’ve wrapped up a few commercial projects and had a few days before preproduction started on a couple of others, so I wanted to go out and shoot some images for myself a few days this week. Technically some of these are from the week before, so this is the week(ish) in photos. I’ll get better about the scheduling of this whole thing, but it’s been hectic lately so this will have to do until I get it together on the schedule.

Looking at what I’ve shot recently, I’ve noticed how I’ve gradually been shooting more and more at night. I think this probably has to do with a smaller camera that I can take with me on social outings and snap some images along the way, but also I think I’ve just become more and more intrigued with how pools of light and their contrasting shadow makes for such dramatic moody images. If you’ve been to Saigon, you’ll know how frenetic it is and how there’s never any shortage of energy when you’re walking around the city. Similarly, its easy to have very busy compositions and I’m a minimalist at heart. Using shadows to hide distractions and isolate my subjects is always going to be my first approach. So here’s the last week and a half in photos.

Recent Work: Kashew Cheese

A few weeks ago we got a call from the folks over at Kashew Cheese requesting a meeting to discuss shooting their new dishes and specifically their new pizzas. For those of you in Saigon, Kashew Cheese makes plant based alternatives to lots of your favourite dairy products and oh man I wish they were around when I was Vegan in the early 00’s. Atlanta was super vegan friendly, but even as a pretty adventurous omnivore, I happily eat Kashew Cheese’s offerings on a regular basis. The little kid in me destroys their chocolate cashew milk. Anyway, the conversation about the project quickly evolved into a chat about art, life and design. My type of meeting and I knew this was going to be a fun one. Aesthetically, they loved the way the sun peaked through the trees at one of their locations and wanted to showcase that light in the work. While I love natural light, I don’t like waiting around for it and then it disappearing minutes later. In travel photography, I don’t mind it because its the journey not the destination…. or something like that. But when there’s work to be done and a limited timeframe to get it done, the need for consistency and controlling variables are super important. So, naturally I responded, “Oh we’ll just make our own sunlight and play God.” With a chuckle and a raised eyebrow, they gave us some leeway and off we went creating some really fun images. All of these were lit using my studio strobes and we had such a good time making some interesting lighting setups. We wanted an inviting casual feel and opted for pretty minimalist styling to let these dishes sing without any distractions.

We’ve opened up the books for more food projects in July, so reach out and let’s tell some stories!

The Week in Photos: Vol. 2

Busy with commercial work this week, I’ve not had too much time to come up for air. That said, in the downtimes, I’ve made an effort to find some time for myself at least once a day to disengage and walk around so I can keep a clear headspace. Even if I’m not managing to make it far, I’m trying to see things I’ve seen countless times with new eyes. Shoot places multiple times in different light, different parts of the day, different angles… dig a little deeper and slow down a little more to really look at things rather than merely strolling by. Finding beauty in the mundane.

The older I get, the more I feel like boredom is more and more my own fault. Focusing on the details around me and paying more attention by slowing down, I find beauty and interest in what I’ve glossed over a million times. When I first moved overseas, like many, I went through an existential crisis and had to make sense of this new reality I had chosen for myself. I wasn’t really all that happy and I couldn’t figure out what the deal was… I was living on a tropical island, I was chasing my passion of becoming a photographer, life was relatively good… on paper. What was I to be unhappy about?? But, I was often bored, I wasn’t inspired, motivation was fleeting. Something was missing. I was always thinking about what was next and it was kind of a grass is always greener type situation. Nothing was good enough. One afternoon I was complaining to a friend of mine and he casually said, “you alone are responsible for your own happiness” Cue the record skipping as I tried to make sense of this short and to the point sentiment. I’m not sure if he was saying it off the cuff, or was repeating his own personal opinion, but it’s stuck with me after all these years. That phrase can be interpreted in myriad ways, and I think about this mindset in varying ways when it comes to the different areas of my life. But as it pertains to the day to day, I often look back on this encounter and realise there are rarely times that boredom is inevitable, but rather it’s my perspective that isn’t right. Maybe I’ve needed to step back, or forward, or maybe sideways, to look at things in new light (pun intended). Maybe I needed to choose to see the beauty and appreciate my immediate surroundings. To take note of the present, appreciate the moment in time, notice my breath, feel the wind move, listen to the bugs… and more often than not, for me at least, take pictures of the little things that make up my life.

I realise I’ve written about this sentiment in the past, but I think its important to reflect back. On work, on life, on the little and the big things. In the past, while I’ve more or less felt this way in general, the execution or following through with it was often forced rather than a part of an every day routine. I’d have to remind myself to do these things and it was often after weeks of grinding out job after job and it was the eject cord to keep myself from burning out. I’d get my fix and then right back into it…and the cycle repeated…work work work, realise things were going pear shaped, stop and smell the roses, love life, and then right back into the fire… It took me far too long to understand that it wasn’t a “thing to do” to keep from burning out, but rather a way of looking at the world in general that maintains balance. Instead of always looking forward to the next big thing, finding these moments of beauty every day is tantamount to having smooth seas rather than trying to right the ship in the midst of a shit storm.

Okay, enough of all that. These were the moments, downtimes, and photographic evidence that have nothing to do with my work. Just happy snaps from the day to day.

The Week in Photos: Vol. 1

Now that I’ve got a camera on me all the time, I’m faced with the fact that I have all these images I’ve taken mostly just for the sheer enjoyment of walking around and shooting. I mentioned before how the final image is probably secondary at this point to the process and being present when I’m shooting. I guess it’s a sort of mindfulness… mine is just with a camera instead of a mantra or a pair of yoga pants. That being said, I want to be able to archive these too, but they’re not from some epic trip or incredible assignment. It’s just my life. I suppose I could put these on a hard drive and just come back to them, but I’ve got this platform, so why not share? So here’s the birth of “The Week in Photos.” This is Volume 1.

Staying Inspired by Playing tourist in my Own City

Photographers get bored. Something new and shiny grabs our attention, foreign destinations dangle in front of us like carrots. Our cameras sit on shelves when we’re home and not on the road or in the studio. It happens when you live in places people love to shoot, too.….…Or, maybe its me and not photographers in general. But I’d guess this happens to a lot of people. You’ve seen something a million times, the shine isn’t as bright as it used to be despite still being endlessly photogenic to so many others…it becomes the mundane. And, then you have a friend come in town and you get to see your city as a tourist all over again and all of a sudden its shiny again. This time, my good friend, Nev and his partner Jacky, dropped me a line that they were going to be in Saigon for a few days and they’d love to go out shooting like we did 8 years ago the last time he was in Saigon. So of course, I said yes and got excited to play tour guide and act like a tourist in my own town. Every time I step outside of my routine and go shoot in Saigon just for the pleasure of shooting, it’s always a good time. Seeing places with new eyes and all that, right?

On a side note, if you’re not familiar with Nev’s work, he’s one of the most talented people I know. Incredible artist and a damn good photographer too. He’s on his way up to Danang this week to paint a piece up there, so if you’re in the Danang area go check out Nam Jam Mural Festival, say hello and show him where all the good food is.

We went out a couple of afternoons/evenings happily snapping away and catching up on life. As he chatted about Saigon the last time he was here, the sheer change of the city became more obvious than I realized seeing as I’ve only seen the incremental change (albiet more rapid than most places) over the past years. The skyline is vastly different and the city has a bit of a different vibe these days. Looking at some of the images we took last time and going back to the same places was eye opening to see the differences. It was fun hearing an outside perspective and think about the city I live in from a new angle. Nev lives in NYC some of the year and left Atlanta a year before I did, so we waxed on about playing tour guides in our new adopted cities. It’s a fun exercise to get out there, find the beauty in what has become mundane or normal and have an amazing time with old friends. Enough waxing on poetic….

New Work: American Comfort Food at The Wagon Wheel.

The guys at The Wagon Wheel recently tapped us to shoot their menu, and were we excited to create something awesome. As a southern boy at heart, this felt like a warm hug and a welcome homecoming. I recently had to cancel my trip back to the States given the Covid-19 situation, so this couldn’t have come at a better time! All this hits showed up - chicken fried steak, chicken and waffles, deviled eggs, and even a funnel cake to cap it off. We tried to keep it playful by shooting images before and after the first bite (or three). It took immense willpower not to devour everything on the plate before we got the shot! These guys are doing it right, and it’s exactly what we needed.

If you live in Saigon, you can definitely get involved while social distancing. They’re offering delivery here.

Saigon Punk Chronicles : We’re Loud Fest: Vietnam

Last weekend Slovenly Records’ We’re Loud Fest descended into Saigon featuring acts from all over the globe. From local hardcore heroes, District 105, to Switzerland’s The Monsters, We’re Loud Fest spanned 4 days and multiple venues in Saigon. Unfortunately, I only got to attend the Saturday matinee, but having an international punk fest come to Saigon is super rad to say the least.

That said, curiously absent from the crowd was the local Vietnamese scene I’ve seen grow over the past couple of years. Yes, a few local bands played, but the faces dominating the crowd weren’t Vietnamese. Saigon definitely has the scene to support this type of event and it would be stellar to see more of the local scene show up and represent. Moreso, a local promoter organizing something like this in the future in addition to supporting touring festivals would be incredible. And before anyone mentions the “fest” few years ago, a Jagermeister sponsored event with PR girls selling energy drinks doesn’t quite cut it. The DIY scene here is more than capable of putting on these types of events without big corporate sponsors.

Anyway, enough of my soapbox and back to regularly scheduled programming. On Saturday afternoon, I showed up around 3pm as Saigon’s District 105 was doing their sound check. Having seen these guys on multiple occasions, it’s always fun times with moshy breakdowns and finger-pointing singalongs. D105’s crowd seemed to be just waking up, and it took a few songs to get people nodding their heads and getting involved. Then again, it was 3pm on a Saturday. The boys still played a solid set and showed everyone what Saigon has to offer in the form of home-grown talent.

Up next was the Saigon-based American/South African duo of Timekiller. Their blend of power-violence and doom was enough to peel the paint off the walls. Sadly, this was their last show in Saigon as their singer, Garrett, is moving back to the States. Boo! They do have a new record coming the early part of next year, so silver linings, right?

Gutara Kyo out of Japan took over after Timekiller and from the very first note, jaws dropped and a chorus of “holy shit” rumbled through the crowd. These guys absolutely destroyed and laid waste to everything in their path. With the urgency of a meth’d up troupe of rodeo clowns, Gutara Kyo’s garage punk on steroids came to get the party started. Overheard was quite possibly the quote of the year - “I heard their singer say if their show is good, he shits his pants.” Thankfully the ghost of GG Allin’s past didn’t make an appearance and the venue remained turd free. If we’re going to talk about ghosts, It felt more like the ghost of Los Crudos in the form of Gutara Kyo's epic set.

Switzerland’s The Monsters took the stage following Gutara Kyo. I’d never listened to The Monsters before Saturday, so as these middle aged red suit-clad gentlemen set up their gear while easy-listening tunes played in the background, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Yeah, the first chords threw any notions of yacht rock out the window. Thrashy garage punk rock ‘n roll blasted through the sound system and everyone finally found their dancing shoes. Such a fun show.

I had to leave right after The Monsters, so I missed Hanoi’s Cut Lon, but I’m sure the Pokemon dressed outfit did justice to rounding out the matinee. If you’re not familiar, go check this post from the last time they played Saigon. All in all, definitely a good time and I can’t wait to see more shows like this. Saigon, stand up!

District 105

Timekiller

Gutara Kyo

The Monsters

Since you made it this far, feel free to share this to social, comment, send good vibes or gifts and I’ll see you at the next show.