From the Archives

Today I was previewing some work for an advertisement and came across some photos in the archives that would interest and amuse many people. I love it when a vision comes to fruition. There is nothing like the final outcome of a vision and project! The gentleman in these photos is a former colleague from the corporate days, Adam. He was known as AL2 because we often used our first and last initials in the office, and he was the 2nd of two. Anyhow, Adam had this demeanor when it came to work in the non-profit energy efficiency sector. A former writer and editor for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington D.C., he was very serious about his work and critical of the outcomes. He could be very amusing with his pouts and whines being dressed in a full suit everyday. Adams tenure was short-lived as he found his calling to return to school and pursue environmental law at UCLA. While colleagues, I proposed a photo shoot without revealing what the actual image of the photos were to be until the day of. It was actually really fun shooting the photo series called the "Human Paper Tree" and it reveals Adams true passion and frustration with the inadequacies in the legal system our country so often faces. In the third photo of the series, I have him standing on the bench holding a classic leather brief and a very important document since I wanted to show that Adam has a much bigger presence in the forum of environmental policy.

Maiden of Sea (spring 09)

On an overcast Saturday morning at the beginning of the summer I was down at Oak Street beach in Laguna hanging out with a group of swimmers getting ready for a “dip” in the Pacific Ocean. These are not your every day pool lap swimmers… instead they are a hearty, affable group of five women that take their swimming and affinity for the ocean quite seriously. The plan was for a leisurely swim up the coast to Main Beach and back.

One of the swimmers in particular, Lynn Kubasek, is a maiden of the sea. She has her sights on long distance swimming and particularly is aiming to swim the Catalina Channel. That is from Catalina Island to Newport Beach, a good 22 miles in low – 60’s degree water.

I’ve known Lynn a good couple of years now and have enjoyed her presence and enthusiasm for life. Whenever one is greeted or re-united with Lynn, her smile and happiness radiates and becomes infectious. When asked how things are going, she tampers on the latest swim or an upcoming one… and how rad her artwork is coming along.

On this morning, I had an opportunity to get her attention before she took to her beloved sea. Whether it’s an overcast day and the water is less inviting to most, or a sunny one and the water is as clear as a fishbowl, this is the Lynn that you will see…

Thomas

A.R.T. & Hands

Montana - Gold

Aaron R. Thomas photo shoots

The past few weeks I have had the opportunity to work on a photo documentary for internationally acclaimed artist Aaron R. Thomas (http://www.aaronrthomas.com/) for his new website. A little history on how I met Aaron… a few years ago I stumbled upon Aarons' original studio in Costa Mesa. It was literally off the beaten path in the back of an industrial warehouse on Bristol and the 55 freeways. With my fascination for furniture and design, I appreciated his design aesthetics and intelligent use of a variety of mediums. I immediately visualized a shoot with Aaron and one of his many infamous painted chairs. That did not happen for two years! And when the opportunity arose, it was an experience to execute a well thought out vision of the master artist and his creation.

Fast forward another two years, and I’ve been reunited with Aaron at his temporary studio in San Juan Capistrano. Just a stone throw away from my new digs here in San Clemente. What I’ve witnessed by working with Aaron is that he is constantly hard at work creating new and diverse pieces of A.R.T. He is extremely talented with a variety of mediums, some of these being: steel, wood, petrified wood, and leather to name a few. My goal is to assist Aaron in documenting the journey he and each one of his pieces go through. Often times, the viewer and eventual owner of the A.R.T. never witness the process. And we both feel that this is an integral part of knowing the journey, where each piece begins, its transformation and ending. This creates an intimate relationship between the artist, their creativity and the viewer. Attached are a few photos from several shoots we’ve had:

Aaron @ Chopsaw