"Cliff Avril is so dark he make Seal look like Drake." - Michael Bennett
On the night that Black Santa was to get roasted, I think he did the killin'!
Read MoreThe Michael Bennett Roast at Parlor Live
in Events
Test drove the HTC 10 and boy did I like it!
It took me awhile to get used to as I had only shot mobile seriously with an iPhone.
There were others. I really liked the Nokia Lumia 1020 but didn't get enough out of the app ecosystem to stay and plus they discontinued it and so did not get any more updates that were crucial for the camera.
Again I went back to my trusty iPhone.
I played around with the HTC A9 which was my first frolic with the Android system and the camera was underwhelming. Well it was for my style of shooting. It probably sufficed for different genres; landscape, architecture, macro etc, but for street - no bueno.
Again I went back to my trusty iPhone.
Well HTC asked me to be a part of a few photographers around the nation who would try out the new 10 before it got released. It took me a while (2-3 days) to get used to and to find the secrets that the phone kept. Because of the A9, I knew that Adobe LR and Snapseed both were going to be my editors since Android devices shoot in RAW. But was it going to be like the A9? My biggest complaint with the A9 was that the shutter was at least a 1/2 sec to slow. Well the 10 lived up to the hype. The shutter was quicker, the colors crisper, and the details were awesome. It wasn't the "perfect 10" per se, but it was damn close.
HTC is well known for constant updates to their firmware and so I didn't have the same worry I did with the 1020 and truth be told the iPhone.
Well I think I'll write more detail over at About.com this week for a more proper review so for now, here are the sample images I took for HTC using the 10. Click the image to scroll through the images.
What do you all think?
The G Funk Era is Alive and Well
Everyone has heard of Warren G.
If you haven't I promise you've heard his music. The most notable track that killed the airwaves back in the 90s was the GFunk era's best, Regulators.
Well I had the opportunity to shoot his most recent show in Seattle thanks to the homies, Geologic and Grynch, both who are already legends in Seattle hip hop community. The Regulator himself did not disappoint. I was thinking to myself, this cat best smoke a joint up in here, it's now legal for him to do so. Sure enough, he was ready to bless the stage with the green.
Well it wasn't just for the legal reasons. The show itself was a tribute to the late great soulful voice of the GFunk era, Nate Dogg. I must admit I do miss his music. His hooks were on so many tracks back in the day. and although his own albums weren't the chart toppers you'd think they would be, the features he did...90% of them were on the charts. Yea, Nate Dogg was the best.
Rest in Peace Nate Dogg.
Dope to watch you Warren G.
Next time we get that dope interview out onto the mainstream platforms.
The Common Kings (Outtakes)
These are some of the photos and outtakes from the Common Kings interview for Huffington Post and sound check shoot. Big thanks to the Yamadas, the Kings, and especially Pele Bennett for being the 2nd photog. ( If you like her work, please contact me and I can get you in contact with her.)
It was a great way to end 2014 and begin 2015.
All images above are credit to Pele Bennett
All images above are credit to Brad Puet
Los Angeles: One Hour in Melrose
This past weekend I had the opportunity to network and meet some great folks. It was a hectic schedule. It was jampacked with meetings and networking and providing my client with some event coverage. It was really a crazy time. In the middle of it all, I visited the folks over at Izzi as they partnered up with the new Instagram (as a platform, not as the company) curated magazine.
The cool part about meeting those cats organizing all of it, is that they gave a lot of respect to "We Are Juxt." They told me that it was because of that collective that they learned the ropes. They watched us with our hashtag campaigns, showcases, stories, photowalks...they watched and learned and more importantly, built on it to keep it relevant to an age group/demographic that normally doesn't work with the Grryo collective.
Again it was real nice to know that they saw in us what they would like to do. They saw the direction we took and focused on it.
Either way, I had some free time and decided I was going to walk Melrose until I had to be back into meetings and networking. My latest page has been updated with some of the photos I took during that time.
Hip Hop you don't stop!
Melrose - Los Angeles - November 2014
Melrose Rat Rods!
Melrose - Los Angeles - November 2014
The Green: Ways & Means (Unpublished photos)
Unpublished photos from @thegreen808 @jboogmusic #thecollisiontour in Seattle, WA, at the Showbox at the Market.
Read MoreWorld Champion Cheerleader: @jacquelineablao
Meet Jackie Ablao!
I recently had the opportunity to take some portraits of an awesome woman in Seattle. She's a dancer first and secondly she's a cheerleader for the Seattle Seahawks. My fellow creative - awesome photographer and videographer - Rod Habon, came along and joined in on the fun.
Jackie is a true professional as I provided little to no direction during the shoot. Rod and I would get set up and once the grey card got handed over to us, she was ready to go. It was clockwork and even though we ran out of time, Jackie was up for more.
I had a couple lenses in mind for this shoot but stuck with the Fuji 56mm f/1.2 (85mm eq) Non-APD. It worked great. It was responsive and fast. There were a couple times where it lagged a bit. So as far as a rating on the focus speed, it was about a 4.5/5. All the images I shot were between f/1.8-1.2, with the bulk of the images shot wide open. The lens is sharp and the bokeh was awesome - both 5/5. As a portrait shooter, this is my favorite glass in my bag. So do I get the APD version or not? Fuji-heads, thoughts?
Next assignment with Jackie: urban lifestyle/ fashion work? You game, lady?
Big thanks to Jackie and Rod for the opportunity and look forward to the next shoot!
You can see some of my favorite shots by hitting "latest" at the top!
Rebel Souljahz - Jazz Bones, Tacoma
I absolutely love island reggae. Seriously. Although it was an attempt to interview the band (hard to wrangle individuals in a band I guess), it ended well with just being able to watch the guys perform from the stage vantage point. These brothas sure know how to rock a crowd. Big up Souljaz Massive.
Azteca Boxing Club - Renton, WA
Big thanks to the folks over at Azteca Boxing Club. They were open to my interviewing some of their young star boxers for an article I am writing. It was really inspiring to watch the kids train. A lot of them were really proud of the work that they were doing and they all were disciplined enough to self-train with minimal amount of work from the number of adult trainers around. They were all very proud of their gym and took great pride in their gym nestled in old town Renton. Look out for my article featuring some of these kids.