Our last resort, was our best resort. Pat Curren.

I spent the past week hanging out with 20 year old, San Clemente, pro surfer, Kevin Schulz before, during, and after his win at the Rip Curl Pro Tofino. For most of the locals in town, this was their first time witnessing Kevin’s light footed style, and for many, that was when they threw in the towel.

Sorry guys, but the #GoldenHour is a hoax. The real secret is to wait for the sunset to disappear. Then you’ve got about 15 minutes of drastically changing, super soft, natural, @Gucci, light that will light your model like an angel. When you combine the race against time and the excitement of a nude body, that’s when the magic happens. But, the real, real secret, is to learn how to shoot in all lighting scenarios...

We pulled over to the side of the road, and hauled our gear through the dense forest that snagged at our clothes. Up a hill and over a field, we walked through the low lying shrubs to the edge of a cliff. There we had a beer and rested. It wasn’t until we stood up and saw the red spots on our clothes, that that we realised we were camping in edible bearberry bushes. #spiltmilk 

Vintage cars and motorcycles are spread throughout the driveway. We get out of the car and I’m welcomed with a firm handshake from Mr and a hug from Mrs. The crows feet beside her eyes scream as she smiles.

Horror corridor. Trans-Alaska pipeline.

Rock Slide

This is probably my favourite piece I've done this year. Our first day in Alaska we went on two hikes including this one were we went skinny dipping in Rabbit Lake. As we were getting in the water we listened to these huge rocks slide down the other side of the ridge. It was pretty moving to say the least.

"The glaciers fed the shivers in her mind.
It popped her spine, and sent a clap of thunder to the sides.
That's when I heard the rocks slide."

This was shot on a 6x7 film camera. That means the negative is 4.5 times larger than that of a 35mm. Its super detailed and can be blown up MASSSIVE!

If anyones interested in buying prints use the code 10PERCENTOFF at checkout.

*Sharing is appreciated! xo.

By now I had stopped what I was doing, grabbed my notepad and replayed the passage Natalie left on my voicemail. "For the first time in human history, we are faced with real, tangible threats to the existence of our planet, our earthly body. We find ourselves asking questions just like the mother of an anorexic: “How could things have gotten so out of control?” How could we have ignored, for so long, the symptoms and cries of this beautiful body? How can we now, after so many wounds and scars and toxins have been dumped into the blood and air and tissue of this earth, turn it around? Is it even possible to change the ingrained beliefs and behaviors from unconscious, destructive, and life threatening conscious, creative, and life affirming? Can we come out of denial and realize that our lives depend on it?" (It’s Not About Food- by  Carol Normandi)

Part of our Running On Empty story.

To Be Her...

Natalie turned to the scrapbook. Here was a picture of Jessica Alba, a Roxy bikini ad, and a Sports Illustrated photo of Olympic runner, Marian Jones. “That was my goal.” She said, “To be her. The strongest least feminine athlete, and pure muscle.” Next to her objective was a poem and a handful of photos of Natalie crossing the finish after winning a number of races. One year after Natalie created her scrapbook, Marian Jones would admit to steroid use and return all 5 Medals to the Olympic committee.

From the "Running On Empty" story.

Running On Empty

“Dear Natalie,

Thank you for coming to meet me in clinic today. This letter will provide us both with the opportunity to review what we discussed together. We talked about the guarana supplements that you tried this summer. Your mother found them and was very upset. You understood this reaction, and felt it was appropriate because as you no know, the dietary supplement, guarana has some significant health risks.“

Before we began taking photos, Natalie led me into her room to show me some important things to help me understand how far she had come. Natalie pulled out a few items, including her old hospital wristbands, dated 15 August 2005 along with a weathered scrapbook, but it was evident she was most interested in the file folder.

Youthless Reserve. Port Renfrew.

Not much was spoken on the ride over and even less when we were dropped off in the middle of town. Three of us had just gotten off a buss in a small town in Ecuador. We bumped into each other, trying not to be seen. Tired, warn down, and anxious, we paid ten bucks each for the second hotel we came across. It was over budget but we felt we wanted a secure environment for little first leg on the road.

Us kids know.

Thanks for the short write up Raen Optics! Check it out below.

http://raen.com/blog/post/people-who-inspire-us-alex-guiry/

Like a ghost gasps for air, you scream for your ashes back. But we're all dressed in black with our heads face down and our chests shut down. I want you back.

Woke up alone.

Ryan Muirhead

Have you ever called up the guy or girl who's several paces ahead of you in your career path in order to gain insight? I met up with one of my favorite photographers Ryan Muirhead Photography and had one of the heaviest draw dropping conversations on life and art and how deeply integrated they are for him. Here's Ryan with his favorite Leica, at home in his backyard in Portland, Oregon.