“This is about one of those journeys that sometimes brings surprises that you don’t expect to encounter.”
- Robert Plant, 1977

I shot this in my room yesterday afternoon; My street was turning into a river, and my house was leaking.  This was shot with available window light on an ISO 100 4X5 Polaroid- the exposure was 2 seconds @ F5.6.  Stone faced (pretty boy) Tindale.

I also went back to Burger Records the day before yesterday to pick up that Zeppelin bootleg I was talking about the other day- it was eating me alive with curiosity about that No Quarter that was too long to fit on a single side.  And I was wrong- it’s 6 songs, not 5.  The No Quarter alone made the entire album worth the purchase- not to mention the brain bending Out on the Tiles > Moby Dick featuring Keith Moon/John Bonham.  I sat indoors for the remainder of the day after shooting the above shot of David, and marinated in my thoughts and on that No Quarter- hard.  This is what the cover looks like…

David shaped himself a new board recently; It’s 5ft 5in and it is one weird looking little beast.  I know this photo does not do the board justice whatsoever, as it’s hard to see any contours/dimensions/intriguing aspects due to the crumpled paper.  David calls this board “The Whoop-De-Doo” – I call it the “Bitch Nugget“.  I personally like my name for the board much better.

Cam Oden came over with David to my place in Costa Mesa around a week before Christmas, to get a few shots of me sorting through a batch of new negatives I had picked up fifteen minutes prior- for a new project that David & the Almond crew are currently working on.  I really liked these two..

I also finally found Live/Dead at a more than reasonable price on vinyl a week or so ago.  It blew my brains out when I put it on; especially the St. Stephen > The Eleven transition- It just sounded sooo much better compared to CD or MP3…obviously.

Last but not least- here’s some “art” for you that I shot out my window last night…

I just got back to my house yesterday afternoon, after spending about two weeks at my parents place inland.  Between my two recent surgeries in Fullerton, Christmas at my parents, and my moms birthday- there was no need to hurry back to my place.  It was so refreshing getting away for a bit, taking late night drives with my brother or friends and reminiscing about old times growing up together.  There is something about Christmas that brings a certain feeling out through the air- so crisp and pure.  That feeling, combined with my favorite time (3:43a) was just plain mesmerizing.  Driving through old neighborhoods, on new streets, and taking it all in was one of the best Christmas presents I was fortunate enough to receive this year.  God is good, life is good.
I shot the below photo at the end of a roll, burning frames.  CT, Robson, and myself were out exploring the canyon and this was just as the sun was setting.  The other shots are of me being a mcjaben-tot after I woke up the day after Christmas.  I wish it was Christmas year round..

I shot this portrait of myself last night, as my day had come to an end and I was fixating on “When the Circus Comes to Town” off Live Phish 8 : Camden, NJ.  I just can’t imagine what it would be like to capture a guitar tone into tangible form, like in writing or in a photo…I just don’t think it’s possible- especially when it comes to Trey and the tone he continues to produce.  It’s such a passionate, and rather intense vibe that captivates my soul each and every time.  Thank you Lord for music.

Mitch was kind enough to ask me to whip up a couple t-shirt designs for Captain Fin Co. the other day, and I was very happy to help out.  These are what I came up with.  I personally like the butt/baby graphic best, but it isn’t up to me to decide which one will be wearable in the months to come…

Ventured to El Segundo yesterday with Scott Stopnik Sr. & Jr. – lots of photos on the way, here’s six to start out…

So between going to Baja, going to see Phish, looking for a new place of living, and seeking out more work- I’ve been a bit busy as of lately.  Before I left to go to Indio, I managed to squeeze in a session with Mitch, JJ, and Scotty on a nice offshore day at Church.  Crowds were minimal, waves were plentiful, and the lighting was straight horrible.  I opted to shoot some slide film and figured if it came out crappy- I’d just flip them into BW post production.  I was kinda pleased with the results and just went with it.  I pulled out some of the cardboard slide mounts I purchased a while back, and proceeded to cut out the best frames of the day.  I had to get out the iron to seal them and had to make sure to be incredibly accurate and not melt the positives.  I wrote and typed on each mount just because I remember looking through the legends contact sheets and just loving the aesthetics that they had pulled off without even trying.  Here are three of my favorite slides from the day, you can see three more here- and at a much higher resolution..

**Also, Danimal sent me an encouraging email yesterday entitled “Hot off the Presses..” – KLxVans tees are in!  check this out!

Seahorse and I had a great trip to Punta Rosarito & Alejandros.  We left OC around 2p and got to Soccorro around 9p (due to border traffic, and the head on collision in the mountains around dusk [see below]), where we decided to sleep in the car until morning when we could drive the remainder in full sunlight.  We got stuck in some super soft dirt the second we pulled off the main highway (see below) until we jammed a series of rocks underneath each tire- and Seahorse successfully got out the Akoora (Acura in spanish).  The swell was a bit mixed up on the first two days at the wall (we surfed, and it was well over head- just a bit sloppy), so we drove the third morning up to Alejandros.  We scored head high, uncrowded, glassiness for a few hours until the tide killed it.  We then drove back to the wall (about an hour and a 1/2), packed up camp, and headed back to Alejandros before dark so we could set up camp and score in the morning.  The swell left faster than it had come.  It backed off to about waist to shoulder high, but there was still no one out.  Warm water, good times, safety, and some more perspective gained- a very successful trip all in all.

Making the best of less than sub-par lighting conditions; Truly frustrating and not very rewarding, but it’s been nice meeting/shooting with new friends none-the-less.  These are all from Monday night, besides the shot of JJ- taken last Friday afternoon.  Special thanks to Mitch, for setting everything up and having the patience with planning out a successful session.

I was in the middle of watching the Youth Brigade/Social Distortion 1982 tour documentary, Another State of Mind last evening, and I paused it to go out to the backyard and shoot this image.  If you haven’t seen the film, I highly recommend it- even if you’re not a fan of punk or music history in general.  Gaining perspective is always inspiring and motivating, especially when I can translate it through imagery.

(pictured left : the positive // pictured right : the neg. I let the emulsion dry which gave it that weird scaled look.)