Mel Senese reached out for a shoot in anticipation of her single release for her track “Melonade”. She shared some inspiration to help lead the direction on the shoot which led to the above image as the cover for the release. In turn, we also got a heap of other images I am proud to display here for you all to view. These photos are best served with a fresh glass of “Melonade” so give it a stream on your preferred DSP using this link.
traveled this past weekend to visit an uncle i never met before and attend the baptism of his child. it was a pretty solid excuse to get away for three days. since i have a hard time sleeping in hotels - and just sleeping in general - i found myself wide awake just before the sun rise and had the opportunity to walk around the hotel’s neighborhood with my leica. here are the stills i captured.
Back in November of 2019, I had a can’t-miss opportunity to photograph one of my favorite artists of all time, Kid Cudi, after coming off the road to Los Angeles from Chicago. The fact me and my friend Zoe were this close with our camera gear was pure luck. The whole situation was all pretty lucky.
Enjoy the photos!
The women at Lake Shore Dive, Julianne and Katie, asked me to sit down to drink a few beers and discuss a few things. Have fun watching!
Since we’re staying at home until at least the end of April, I realized self-portraits are a good way to pass the time and practice my shooting and editing style. Since I am the subject, I wanted to re-imagine a mundane task I do in my own home into a scene. I know some people are anticipating their next hair cut but I have been shaving my own head for quite awhile and I was in need of a shave. So all I had to do was bring in some lights, a tripod and my camera into the bathroom to make these happen.
Just a head’s up to whoever is reading this: these probably won’t be the last set of self-portraits this month.
A friend once told me my aesthetic is "Ex-convict turned suburban housewife." During this time of quarantine, I decided to run with that and create my own cooking show, Cooking for Crumbs.
Enjoy!
Last summer, my friends Walker OG (@rollingstoned) and ¢el (@centsigncel) flew me out west to shoot some footage for a music video. We traveled from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and between my digital and film setup, I compiled some useful footage for the appropriate time. This song is “Who You Love” and it’s the first track off “The Pursuit Of” EP they released today.
Take a look at the video below and stream their EP by clicking here.
Chicago Fire FC reached out to me a few weeks ago about photographing the Plain White T’s in their secondary kits for a marketing campaign. The organization saw the kits and thought it was a pretty plain white tee so they reached out to the band because the concept was tongue-in-cheek and having a band from the Chicagoland area just seemed right. I’m glad the organization chose Reckless Records for the location because I pretty much grew up patronizing the original location that was right down the street. In between taking shots for the campaign with my Sony a7iii and Mamiya 645, I took these BTS photos on Ilford HP5 in a Contax G2 (lent from Film Objektiv) and on Kodak Portra 400 with my Olympus Stylus mju-ii.
On a recent visit to my parents’ home in the suburbs, I decided to stop into Dads Slot Cars in Des Plaines, Illinois. My parents moved to the suburbs when I left for college and I have always been curious to stop into this establishment to check it out. I have a strong interest in nostalgic Americana culture mostly because I am a first-generation Filipino-American born from immigrant parents who tried their hardest to integrate their brown children into American life.
It was a Tuesday and Reba, the owner, was the only person in attendance. While Reba was repairing a few slot cars, I was able to have a conversation with her. She told me about how her 25+ year old business and how it was named after her late husband. Her kids picked the name and now those kids help their mother run the business. It was lovely to hear about how the business continues to thrive while being the only other slot car business in Illinois (the other being in Rockford, IL). She shared with me the fact that she’s seen people race at her shop as children and grow up in front of her eyes. Reba has this one customer that has grown to share his hobby with his family and now three generations race together pretty frequently.
Between conversation, Reba allowed me the opportunity to photograph her space. Scroll down and enjoy the photos.
First off, thank you to everyone who purchased a Lover Boy tee from me. It is such a great feeling to see folks support an energy I pour into my daily lifestyle. Those initial orders have been sent out today and I decided to stock some inventory in case anyone missed out the first time around.
You can purchase a Lover Boy Tee here.
Enjoy these photos of my friends Sammy, Zoe, and Joey in the tee!
You’re all invited to Fulton Market Kitchen in Chicago for my first group show this Saturday (02/22/20). The show is called “Fresh Perspectives” and it is sponsored by Moab Paper. I’m showcasing my work alongside a bunch of my talented friends and other photographers. All sales are being donated to WIRES, a non-profit that will be dedicating these funds to aid wildlife affected by the bushfires in Australia.
I look forward to seeing you :)
Took some time to build this playlist for Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re in the mood to make love or cry about it, this is a great playlist to put on shuffle while you go about your business today. Enjoy!
all photos were taken by me on a mamiya 645 1000s my buddy sean is lending me while i take a trip to the philippines this month. here are some shots on kodak portra 400 & 800 from the last week of use.
