When you are walking down the street minding your own photographic business do people ever walk up to you and look over your shoulder and say “what are you taking a picture of ?”

That happens to me all the time. And I don’t really know what to tell them so I end up saying something completely obvious like “this wall” or “this transvestite” or “that ray of light”. I used to be annoyed by it but now its just interesting to note that as photographers, those around you have no idea what you are doing, often times the same goes for the people in front of your lens. Yes, sure they know that they are being photographed but they don’t really know why and definitely have no idea when you are going to click the shutter. Hell, 90% of the time I don’t know when to click it…when it feels good I guess.

I will shoot anything, People, dead rats, empty bottles, umbrellas, flowers, sunsets, skylines, light patterns on the street, ankles, bowls of cereal, fire, water, and anything else you can see. But I shoot in my style and give it my flavor which is definitely going to be different from your zest. So just because you saw that shot before, or your homie did that last week or thats old or it’s been done and featured in Flaunt May 1997 don’t be afraid to shoot it again because you will indubitably do it differently if you embrace the way you shoot, because remember nobody can shoot it like you.

Here are some images…

Los Angeles, Velvia 50

Driving….Velvia 100

I make a point to look for texture in all things, texture in the way light hits a subject, texture in the paint on a wall or in any material. Things can really turn interesting when you juxtapose textures within the frame so you can actually make a scene with all things considered.

Velvia 50

You will see a lot of this little guy… He is my little brother, Kio and we mess around in the yard all the time. I always have my camera ready because you never know what this cat’s gonna do. Here he is during the last moments of light. I’m putting together a couple more images that I made from this day that I’ll post later in the week.

Velvia 50

Candy… I never posted this series on MJR, but I had to just put one shot up because people ask me about this all the time. This is a good example of how different textures can come together to really evoke a mood. The blue stucco, red shirt, black fur, and whimsy blond hair are all distinctly different materials but when thrown together they definitely work.

Velvia 100F

-J