Excited to announce that I will be showing some of my recent street work this coming February 9th at the Hatakeyama Gallery during the LA Art Walk.

The exhibit will also feature work from talented Los Angeles based street photographers Chris Camargo, Joel Sheiner, David Valera, Elizabeth Wang-Lee, Erin Xavier as well as photographs from international street photographer Eric Kim.

Click here for more information on the Downtown LA Art Walk

The point is that I am always sabotaging myself from going out to do what I love…shooting in the street!

So my contrary action this past month was to go out and shoot for a short two hour period before date night with my wife.  So with a camera and two rolls of film in my pocket, I roamed the streets of downtown LA for two hours. To my amazement, it did the trick! And I was home in time to get ready for an evening out!

Oh, and my wife tells me that I am more present and attentive after I return from a day in the street…lol

An example of this occured just the other week. I was following two interesting subjects, one towing the other with a motorized wheelchair. I got a few decent shots, nothing great, just couldn’t keep up with them on foot, so I went about my day photographing in the city. About an hour goes by and low and behold the two are headed back in my direction, I check the settings, prefocus, compose the frame…waiting…waiting.  The gentlemen in the motorized wheelchair who is pulling the other stops to throw away a banana peel in the trash dispensor, and as it begins to leave his fingertips mine engages the shutter…and nothing…no click…I ran of film.

I guess it’s time to put the 35mm camera on craiglist and stick to my digital tools…right?

That might have been a consideration a couple of years ago, but not anymore. Today my response is simple, just shoot more, more often. Your hear these words echoed over and over, but it’s so true.

The last two weeks are a prime example for me, I think I shot a total of only 4 rolls of film on the streets, some decent images but nothing spectacular. But the images don’t always speak to what I am learning about myself, my work, and the world around me. For example, while shooting with friend and photographer  Ibarionex Perello, I got a crash course in what it’s like being harrassed by Security Guard’s in public spaces. (Read more here on Ibarionex’s blog)

So while I may not have a portfolio of 5 star images to show you from the last few weeks, I can share that I have been enjoying the experience of just roaming the streets with a camera around my neck.

Returning to the streets: Images wheat-pasted to wall in the Arts District,  San Francisco, CA

Got a chance to go back and edit some more images from our wanderings last month in Los Angeles. Was an amazing experience, can’t wait to to see the collaborative efforts of the San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Guadalajara photographers/writers/etc.

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Of course I was a little hesitant to sign up at first, considering the nature of the subject matter. As a photographer, approaching people on the street has never been a real strength of mine, however, I am consistently reminded that we must learn to walk through our fears if we want to grow! Black Boots Ink traveling project-based workshop had it’s beginnings in Guadalaja

ra, Mexico last month, traveled north to San Francisco this past week, and will come to Los Angeles later this week. A public exhibition of prints from each venue will follow the LA workshop on Sunday January 31st!