The Stronghold, Purveyors of Fine Denim

Most of the people, places and things I come across are found on prolific adventures. One of my favorite places to visit is Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice Beach, California. There are all sorts of gems and eclectic things in this little coastal town of California that there is always something new to see and experience with each visit. The Stronghold Building is one of those places of admiration that exudes and preserves a bit of history. First off, the building is of brick and dated from the early 1900’s. There is so much character there that The Stronghold denim parlor really helps blend the history and “vintage-ness” of the building by revealing what true denim is. The place looks and feels incredibly authentic with decor: brick, paisley rugs bordered with hardwood panels, period furniture and antiques. The personality is brought out by the denim company’s expertise of original and true hand dyed and tailored denim jeans which was started in the late 1800’s. Adding to the fine denim, is a variety of additional working wear, shirts, oiled raincoats, leather belts suspenders and boots that accent the fine craftsmanship with a touch of ruggedness. When a place such as The Stronghold and their personal, vibrating with energy of vintage coolness and fine relaxed denim clothing, I could not hesitate for an opportunity to do some photography, I did just that:

William Sack, gm

Lastly, my dream is to do a period shoot of their clothing along with their fine list of customers and friends.

The Venerable Bill Bracey

[ven-er-uh-buhl] - adjective

commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity; worthy of veneration or reverence, as because of high office or noble character

impressive or interesting because of age, antique appearance, etc

I was introduced to Bill Bracey by a good friend and had the opportunity to share a couple of meals with him at Ruby's in Corona Del Mar. After getting to know Bill, it dawned on me how great of a photographic subject he would be as well as become an addition to my portfolio of "distringueshed" images. I approached Bill with the concept of doing a photography shoot with him as the subject in a studio and explained the intention of doing such an exercise, he agreed to a sitting.

After prepping the studio with backdrop, camera gear, lighting and other photo paraphernalia, I added another component to the experience by interviewing Bill. I wanted to get to know him better, so that I could reveal his personality through a photographic image. Bill's background is quite extraordinary and worth detailing:

*  Stationed in Germany by the U.S. military and served 195 days of combat.
*  Employed by a prestigious elevator company and worked in sales offices 
    through out Europe. 
*  Married the love of his life, adopted one daughter and had one son. They  
    were together over 50 years.
*  Was an avid skier in the Swiss and Austrian Alps.
*  An ongoing supporter and contributor to the cancer research and recovery
    program @ HOAG Hospital in Newport Beach, California.
*  Has impeccable attention to detail.

Below are a few of the images of Bill that reveal how "venerable" he is. Simple and stright forward, and subtle. A great way to honor such an individual and their life:



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