visiting the golden gate bridge

I found these images I shot in art school a while back. I was doing a project on the golden gate bridge and the magnetic effect it has on people. What is it about having your picture taken somewhere that deepens your experience of that place? Is it a confirmation that you were there, or an affirmation of a life well lived?

If you don't record the experience with a photograph, and then forget about it, did it really even happen?

Beijing World Park

People in China don't really travel, mostly because it's difficult for them to get visas to go abroad. Many of the people we met had never been outside their home provinces. It's hard to imagine living in Beijing, and not ever going to Shanghai, let alone the next closest city, a short drive away.

China's answer to this is the Beijing World Park. A place where you can travel the world in just a few hours. Miniature replicas of all the top tourist destinations of the world, crammed into a theme park complete with little electric cars to get around in.

I was totally entertained and terrified by this place. Do these crappy replicas, with their shoddy construction and puny scale shape the way that the Chinese view the rest of the world?

hang gliding launch sites

There is something interesting about these places where people leave the earth to be in the sky. What is it that makes people want to fly? We've been at it for a while, trying to figure out how to free ourselves from gravity.

Why would someone connect themselves to a giant nylon and carbon fiber wing, then leap off a cliff? Is it way to get closer to death, or more connected to life? Or both?

Are people that fly more alive than the rest of us?

Composite for ESPN Magazine

Client: ESPN Magazine
Photo Editor: Jim Surber
Assistant: Damien Andrews
Retoucher: Ethan Izzarelli

The story was about three NCAA Quarterbacks who are vying for top NFL draft spots. The image they wanted was of the three of them sitting in an office waiting room as if they're being interviewed for a job.

The tricky part was that they were located in Louisiana, Kentucky, and California. I had to travel with a mini set to each of them, shoot them in hotel conference rooms and put them into a background that I created from parts I gathered along the way. The door and plant in the final image are from Lexington, the wall is from Baton Rouge, and the clock is from LA. We traveled with the carpet and one chair. Needless to say, there was a fair amount of flying, careful measuring, and retouching involved.

Monster Jam Parking Lot

This is a little film I put together at the Monster Jam in Santa Rosa. The music started as a nice Yngwie Malmsteen number, but it was too much of a match. I'm not sure what was better -- watching the event or watching the scene around it.