Blog

The L.A. Times Printing Press

Chris Okula and I got to see first hand how one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the country meets its deadline every day. Working with Chris has been absolutely great, and this little adventure of ours turned out to be one of the most enjoyable shoots I've ever experienced.

Class: Introduction to Documentary / Karin Stellwagen.

Riding High in San Diego

I don’t know which part catches the eye more: the odd geometric shape, the bright primary colors, or just seeing someone pedaling by at 11 feet in the air, but there’s no denying that Jon’s tall bike deserves – and almost always gets – a second look. Shot with an Olympus E-P 2 and GoPro sports camera. Nikon glass was attached to the Olympus during filming via a Fotodiox lens mount adapter.

Urban Playground: Los Angeles

Every year on April 2nd citizens in major cities all over the world gather to take part in International Pillow Fight Day. Jon Lake – my friend and fellow photographer – invited me to go with him, and I put together this short video about the fun and carefree day we had shooting it.

The idea for this came right out of War Photographer, a documentary film by Christian Frei. The film follows the legendary photojournalist James Nachtwey while on assignment, and makes intrepid use of a custom camera attachment that gives viewers a 1st person perspective from Nachtwey’s lens. I thought it’d be fun to recreate that perspective for this riotous scene in LA’s Pershing Square. To do it, I built a camera mount of my own using some metal brackets and a GoPro sports camera, which managed to hold up despite the crudeness of my assembly.

SLR mounted GoPro. Photo by Jon Lake.

SLR mounted GoPro. Photo by Jon Lake.

Chris Wolford & Bobby Alderman

Chris Wolford, and Bobby Alderman, artists and leaders of the Dethkills art collective, at their studio garage in Los Angeles, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2011. Dethkills is active in the Los Angeles art scene. In addition to taking part in collaborative as well as solo gallery shows, Dethkills also perform live painting for “Invisible Children,” a nonprofit organization addressing violence in Uganda. (Photo by Josh Valcarcel/Brooks Institute ©2011)

www.dethkills.com

Class: Photojournalism / Greg Cooper.

Omar Jasseh & Bryan de la Fuente

Omar Jasseh of the San Jose Earthquakes steps on Bryan de la Fuente of Chivas USA during a Major League Soccer preseason scrimmage at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., Monday, Feb. 07, 2011. Chivas USA won the game with only one goal. (Photo by Josh Valcarcel/Brooks Institute ©2011)

Class: Photojournalism / Greg Cooper.

Tony Hello & Jackie Nico

Tony Hello “Prince Tony” surprised the cast and audience of “A Faery Hunt” with an unscripted, real-life proposal to his girlfriend Jackie Nico “Boon” at Corriganville Park in Simi Valley, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011. “A Faery Hunt” is a weekly children’s interactive theater event performed at several locations around Los Angeles. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous on stage with my band as I was in front of all those kids asking the woman I love to marry me,” said Hello. (Photo by Josh Valcarcel/Brooks Institute ©2011)

This was a really cool moment to photograph. It was totally coincidental that I happened to be there when Tony chose to propose. I’m really glad I was.

Class: Photojournalism / Greg Cooper.

Guests of “A Faery Hunt,” dressed as fairies themselves, look for treasures and other trinkets laid out for them to find before the show.

Guests of “A Faery Hunt,” dressed as fairies themselves, look for treasures and other trinkets laid out for them to find before the show.

Audio Portrait: Ryan Clement

When the assignment came down to record and produce a sound portrait of a performing artist, I immediately thought of my buddy Ryan.

Class: Audio Storytelling / Paul Myers.

Chris Wolford: Dethkills Part 2

Chris Wolford skates in the pool of an abandoned apartment complex in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Joshua Valcarcel/Brooks Institute ©2010)

Class: Lighting for Visual Journalists / Anacleto Rapping.

Chris Wolford: Dethkills Part 1

I’ve seen this type of lighting many times in recent years and always wanted to recreate it. Shooting this portrait required me to build a special light source, which I made out of two four-foot daylight fluorescent bulbs, a piece of plywood, and a 2×4. The idea was to create a “cat eye” effect using the elongated catch lights it creates. It also seemed to produce a strangely soft front light. I created this light specifically for Chris, in order to bring attention to the color and character of his eyes.

www.dethkills.com

Class: Lighting for Visual Journalists / Anacleto Rapping.

Daryl McGee

Daryl McGee, Surfer’s Point at Seaside Park in Ventura, Calif., Monday, April 12, 2010. (Photo by Joshua Valcarcel/Brooks Institute ©2010)

Class: Introduction to Photography / Greg Cooper.