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.3 - Rainy Season's Arrival

It looks like rainy season has decided to make an entrance. Cue thunderstorms, unexpected downpours, and slight inconveniences in travel - read ridiculous traffic. While most lament the rain, photographically I’m loving it. The light right after a storm, drama in the skies, reflections… its a new season and it’s nice to have something different to photograph. While I don’t have the seasonal changes like I did in my upbringing, I love having the demarkation of time through different weather. I’ll take what I can get. No waxing on poetically this week, just the images of the week. Complete with the obligatory reflection shots, and they ain’t stopping any time soon…so get used to it until the rains cease in around 6 months. There are some randoms from the day to day sprinkled in as well for good measure.

Most of these were taken on the Fuji x100v, but I snuck in a couple from my Sony kit too. Can you tell which ones they are? Put your guesses in the comments! Also, everything edited in Capture One or is straight out of the camera with most of the Fuji shots.

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.

New Work: Cameron Foggo Design

The folks over at Cameron Foggo Design contacted us a while back to create some images of their new line. Immediately after seeing their pieces, I got excited. Modern, yet still retaining a sense of comfort and all I could do is imagine my house filled with these pieces. We wanted to create some directional light to show the shapes and let shadows play to give a sense of morning light peaking through the window. Really happy with how these came out and what a fantastic team to work with. It’s always so good to work with a team when there’s a sense of collaboration and a complete lack of ego. The best work always comes out of these situations. Trusting the process and knowing that bright minds are in the room just makes for the best shoots.

Travel Diary: Amed, Indonesia

Right off the heels of my Hanoi trip for work and what has seemed like a whirlwind since the Tet break, I headed back to Amed on the northern coast of Bali for a bit of a disconnect and some diving. If you’re in the area, check out Dream Divers Bali, they’re tops. I haven’t yet taken up underwater photography - diving, for me at least, is about completely not thinking about anything but whats in front of me. I’m afraid if I take a camera underwater, it’s going to start turning into work. With the thousands of dollars that I’d likely spend on strobes, housings, ports, etc etc, I think there would be a nagging feeling in the back of my head that I need to recoup those costs. And I really don’t want diving to turn into work. It’s my zen place…. but maybe I should just let go of the idea that I need to get a return on investment….I’m not there quite yet, so no underwater photography shenanigans.

Anyway, between dives, I had my new toy, the Fuji x100v. I wandered through the small paths and streets around the dive shop snapping away like a tourist. I think I’m confident in now saying I’m happy never taking anything other than a fixed lens camera on my personal travel trips if it’s as capable as the little Fuji is. I didn’t miss my usual kit at all. The smaller camera allows me to have it on me all the time and it’s just so fun to shoot with. Normally, I’d never take the camera out in the airport, but I had some nice light and my camera was actually in my pocket, so grabbing it and taking a few shots was a breeze. Not to mention the in-camera multiple exposure feature which has me a bit excited. That said, I have zero clue what I’m doing in that whole regard, so down the rabbit hole of trying to figure it out I go. Scroll down to the last image to see the first little experiment in that whole kettle of fish. These are just some of the images from the short few days I had in one of my favourite places. For more of these types of images, head on over to IG and give it a follow!

Travel Diary: Hanoi with the Fuji x100v

I popped up to Hanoi recently for a short couple of days and while in between obligations, I tested out my new toy - the Fuji x100v. If you’ve read any of my other blog posts, you’d have read that I’d been using the x100s on a few trips to see if I could mentally cope with the FOMO of not taking my Sony kit. It’s been fun, but wow, I realise now that I was merely dipping my toes into the world of shooting with Fuji system. The x100v is the x100s turned up to 11. Completely different in such a good way. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Sony kit, and will use it whenever its work related, but when I’m traveling for leisure, the x100v is going to be, without a doubt, my camera of choice. Having a fixed lens camera that fits in a tiny little bag doesn’t feel like I’m packing all the kit for a work assignment…. In fact, it feels the exact opposite. I’m not worrying about which lens to bring, how many lenses to bring, which lens I want to use for certain situations…none of that. One lens, one camera.. it simplifies things to put it lightly. Not having to think all of that, it has freed up so much of my headspace and allows me to just shoot for the pure joy of shooting. If I’m being honest, the final image is probably secondary to the actual act of shooting. The process has become some sort of therapy and allows me to be present in the moment. I hope the images reflect that weight of casting off the technical “noise” in simpler more compelling compositions. But even if it doesn’t, that’s quite alright. I’ve had so much fun in this whole process and that’s what matters.

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….