There is a spot where the Indian and Atlantic ocean come together
and you stand there, and there is a feeling like the world is flat
and you are at the edge of the map. South Africa has beautiful,
surreal coastlines that make you feel like you are in another world.

The family we stayed with I owe so much gratitude. They were incredibly
hospitable and treated me like family.

I learned so much on this trip. More on that with the next batch of photos.

In these photos:
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Merebank, Durban
Paper mill, Merebank
Downtown Durban
North Beach
Umhlanga Rocks
CPT Airport
Capetown
Robben Island
Cape Flats
Hout Bay
Chapman’s Peak Drive
Hluhluwe

It is with excitement that I share that I was picked by PDN as one of the
rising stars in wedding photography. I am grateful to all of the people who
have shown trust and kindness in working with me, I could not ask for better.

See Part 1 of this wedding here.

These two are great people with great hearts. I wish I could be around them more.
More of this wedding tomorrow. Photographed at the beautiful Gorge Crest Farms.

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Above, all photos credit Kyle Johnson.
This is a visual study on a collaboration with photographer Kyle Johnson.
Together, Kyle shot Hasselblad and I shot digital, documenting a wedding
last year. It is fascinating to compare two perspectives of the same event.
Props to Kyle for shooting a Hasselblad p.j. style. A big thanks to Anna
and Stephen for inviting both Kyle and I to document.
Below, all photos credit Ben Blood.
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Lower Lights Burning are releasing their long-awaited album on Saturday.
Above are a few photos I did with LLB back in the Spring, and I’m very happy
I could collaborate with them. Today they released a beautiful video by our friend
Christian Sorensen Hansen. The show is at the Columbia City Theater at 9pm.

Two dear people.

Portland, Oregon

Kaylee Cole is a dear friend and wonderful musician out of Seattle.
These are some press photos for her upcoming album release.
She’s playing tomorrow (8/31) at the Doug Fir in Portland
as well as here in Seattle at Bumbershoot this weekend!
Here’s a video of Kaylee singing Paranoid Android with the Seattle Rock Orchestra.

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mua – Elisabeth Prehn
hair – Loufel Estayo
wardrobe – Sara Fisher

Olympic Peninsula, Washington State.
How fortunate I am to live nearby these places.

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Laura and Allen invited me to join them on an adventure along the coast,
just west the Olympic Mountains. It’s about a three hour drive from Seattle
to the coast and I decided to take the scenic route (I got lost).

Laura and Allen were so gracious when I arrived after dark, too late to take photos.
They had dinner prepared for me and a bed in their cabin for me to sleep. We talked
until early morning, then woke up at dawn and there was a blanket of fog that made
everything surreal. Sometimes our troubles are blessings in disguise.

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Allen proposed to Laura on their trip two days before we took these photos!
Laura is a photographer living in LA. Check her stuff out!

“What can you do to use your gift to give to people who have never been paid attention to, who have never been noticed. It’s not about photography, it’s just about using your tool… reach out, find people in need, and give back.” – Jeremy Cowart

Ahhh, these people are so good to me. Roald and Lauren are some of my
closest friends here in Seattle. Roald and I have played music together
for over 10 years. Roald and his family are from Durban, South Africa
and so they had their wedding with all of their family back home.
It was really special being there with some of my closest friends
and seeing a part of their history that I had never seen before.
All of the family was incredibly warm and welcoming and it was hard
leaving them (I miss all you!).

You both are a blessing to me. Love you guys.

Dear friends, dear people.

My friend Christian Hansen is a wonderful videographer. In his work there is a
sense of adventure, surrealism and nuance. The first film I saw of his was of
musician Bryan John Appleby (see video below). I really identified with his work
and for the first time I felt like I needed a video camera in my hands (I am still
making use of my 5D Mk1).

Christian is working on a feature film with Bobby, David, and a few others
and had me do their portraits. Take a look at the work he has done recently
for for Kaylee Cole, The Head and The Heart, Campfire Ok, and Cataldo.

Christian Sorensen Hansen’s work can be found at International Filing Systems

These two are so precious. Michele is a good friend from Spokane, WA
and I can’t tell you how many clients she has referred to me. This was the
first day that I met Jonathan. Can you tell how happy they are? I was so
bummed that I couldn’t shoot their wedding. Kristen Marie has their wedding
photos and hopefully she will share :)

This is Adriana Monsalve. She is a documentary photographer out of Washington DC.
A few weeks ago I was staying with her family and she shared some incredible
stories of what she has been photographing. Her stories encouraged me so
much and helped me realize that I have become too comfortable with photography.

I have shared this before on twitter, but I am really inspired by her portraits
and Ethiopia images. She has a sense for the real and grit of life. Take a look.
Adriana Monsalve portfolio | twitter | tumblr

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A while back I watched a film about architectural photographer Julius Shulman
called Visual Acoustics. What I took away from the film was how much he brought
light to other artists. Here in Seattle, this same movement is happening.
Artists are giving! Photographers’ Kyle Johnson Portrait’s of Seattle and
Dylan Priest Artist at Home series. The Le Grand Cru and Sound on the Sound blogs,
just to name a few.

I usually do not write this much, but maybe this post will remind me
how I can use my craft to help others.

Some wonderful friends of mine opened their home to me while
I was working in LA. The light in California is different than Seattle,
and I had to grab my camera and walk around their neighborhood.

Malachi is a cartoonist.
Keiko runs A Small Adventure (etsy and blog).
It was wonderful to see these two.

TWO MONTHS EARLIER