Congrats to San Diego Football Club and their intense, welcoming, passionate fans, Frontera SD. Their inaugural season was one for the ages. First place in the MLS Western Conference. Now on to the playoffs and the chase for the MLS Cup. Good luck boys, knowing your fans will be there with you every step of the way.
Portraits of the SDFC Ultras
Reuben
Cirillo
Rodrigo
Jasmine
Eric
Dee
Reefah
Jasmine
Robert
Abby
Amado
Hector
Have you ever had one of those neighbors? Not the one that makes your life miserable, but the other – the one that enriches your life. That was Adam and Taylor. Adam and Taylor were dream neighbors – quiet, respectful, super interesting. Even our dog Duke and their dog Soul were besties. Life is good when you have awesome neighbors. During their time living in the granny flat Adam bought a vintage Italian Vespa. I would occasionally see the 2 of them come and go on the scooter. I loved this romantic vignette of youth. Before they moved, I shot a short video and some portraits to capture their spirit. We miss them already.
Soul, with Adam and Taylor
One of the benefits of being a commercial photographer is the access it affords. I don’t mean political or celebrity, rather access to situations most people never want to venture into. For me, that means access to industrial work spaces. Blue collar work is endlessly fascinating to me. I find it so true and honest. I’ve always loved seeing (and photographing) how things are built and repaired. I especially love meeting (and photographing) the people that do that work. Industrial workplaces are exciting. They tend to be be very loud and often dirty, at least while the work is being done. I’ve photographed lots of industrial workers over the years. Some of my favorites are in the aviation and maritime industries. I guess you could say anything to do with transportation is pretty exciting. As a commercial photographer I am usually commissioned to document the work that’s being done – show the process. This involves photographing people using a fly on the wall approach. I am there, but unseen. Pete Souza used this approach to great success while shooting the Reagan and Obama White Houses. Totally different subject I know, but the same approach. The idea being the subject is so comfortable with you being there they go about their business as though you aren’t there. They get to the point where they don’t even notice you. That is my goal when documenting blue collar work.
Then there are the portraits. Inevitably there are workers and spaces that visually demand to be photographed as a portrait. This is not Fly on the Wall stuff. Their unique look, or their particular environment, sometimes both, beckon for a traditional portrait. I always seem to come away from these projects with strong portraits. I’ve built a trust at this point. My goal as a portrait photographer is to present these workers as heroic, as I see them, in the environment that I have so much respect for.
I’ve shot number of jobs for Bio-IT World over the years. They’ve always been great to work with. Good ideas, great creativity, an always a lot of freedom to create great work. This was shot for the Nov/Dec ’09 Cover. It was a fun collaborative effort from AD Mark’s very cool idea. And to make it even better, the subject, Steve Philpott, is the CIO at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, one of my favorite clients here in San Diego.