Bud & A Lady Bug

West Coast Weekends Pt1 - Venice Beach

Happy Summer! And thanks for checking out the blog! Although today is the "official first day of Summer", I got a head start and made last weekend my un-offical start of Summer. And what better way to start Summer than with a trip to the beach, right? Truthfully, I'm not a big fan of the beach. But I got an invitation to my friend Angela's birthday. And it just so happened to be at Venice Beach...

As expected, Venice was packed! From the freeways to the backstreets, to the boardwalk, traffic was crazy! I got lucky, though... I found a place to park on the street, near Abbot Kinney, and just walked to the beach. I took the camera and shot a few pics, along the way, too. The invite I got just said the party would be "on the beach between the pier and tennis courts." So it took me a while to find the party... After walking from the tennis courts to the pier and back, I couldn't find the party. I actually walked past it twice. But, when I did, I didn't see Angela or anyone I recognized and kept walking. It turned out that I only knew one other person besides Angela at the party, when I finally figured out where the party was. But, I did find it, after getting lost for a bit. I didn't mind being a little lost, since I had my camera, though. I'd been wanting to shoot the skaters at the skate park, for a while, too. So, while I was lost, I took some time to walk over and get some shots of the skaters that were at the park. A few of the guys there were really sick and ripped! But shooting them was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I still got some shots worth sharing. But it took a minute to figure out the settings to use and how to time the shots. Definitely something I want to do a lot more of, though...

After the party, it was time to head back to the Valley to go to the Van Nuys Blvd. cruise night to check out the lowriders...

Vasquez Rocks

I updated Bsombin.com earlier this week. After thinking it over for a while, I decided to remove the watermark from all the images on the site. I want the images to be able to make their full impact on the viewer, without anything taking attention away from the content of the images. I just don't want my viewers being distracted by a logo anymore. So no more logos on the site images. The same goes for the images on this blog. I stopped adding watermarks to images a few posts back. The logo will basically be for marketing and merchandising, moving forward. I got out some pictures I took at Vasquez Rocks a few years back, while fixing the images on the site. It's Thursday (the day for throwbacks). So I figured it'd be a good day to share some of them.

My brother Jefroe and I got up early one morning to go catch the sunrise at the rocks. It's a beautiful park and nature area with some amazing rock formations. It's located about 45 minutes north of downtown Los Angeles and has been used in several commercials, TV shows, and movies. It got it's name in the late 1800 from one of California's most notorious bandits named Tiburcio Vasquez, after he used the rocks to avoid being captured be law enforcement. It's a great place to visit, if you enjoy hiking and the outdoors. And the scenery makes for some great photos...

Waiting On 1st Street

Thanks for checkin' out the blog! I've been working on re-designing my website, recently, and have been focusing my time on getting that done. But I don't want to much time to go by between posts here. So for the time being, I will be posting 1 or 2 picture posts, while I finish up with my site. As, soon as the site is revised, I will begin to share my stories and adventures again. For now, however, I'll just leave you with a long exposure light trail picture of a train going into downtown L.A...

Thanks again for checkin' the blog and please check back soon for more Bsombin'!

Another Aerial Shot...

Up and running again!!

It's been way too long since my last post... Not gonna waste time explaining my absence. Instead, I'm just going to get back to it and posts as much(and as often as I can, starting now. So, with no further delay, back to Bsombin"!

I'll be sharing more work than ever through the rest of this year and through out the new year. So, please, check back soon for more Bsombin' photography, art, poetry, music, and more!

D.T.L.A. with A.L.L.

Thanks for checkin' out the Bsombin' blog! My good friend Jeff is the owner of At Last League. It is his apparel company that he's been working on for a couple-few years. He's recently released a new batch of designs that are definitely worth checking out!

 I've know my brother Jefroe for over 25 years. We were introduced through mutual friends, as kids, and became good friends through skateboarding. Over the years we grew out of skating and got into graffiti together (which eventually lead us both to the world or art and design). At one point, we even worked together. We have been through a lot together and have seen one another through some of the best and worst times of our lives. From boys on skateboards to men with computers & cameras, we have had a great friendship and been on a lot of crazy adventures together over the years. Maybe it's because we are both crazy and inspired to create, that our friendship has endured so long. Or maybe it has something to do with the way we motivate and inspire one another. But we are definitely kindred spirits that see eye to eye. I am thankful to have a friend like Jeff. It's always a good to see my brother. With that said, it should come as no surprise that Jefroe is one of my favorite people to go and shoot with. So, when homie hits me up to shoot, I'm almost always down to go. Last April, Froe hit me up one night and wanted to shoot. I had some spots he hadn't been to before, so we climbed in my truck and headed out to downtown...

 

Buds & Bandos

Thanks for checking out the Bsombin' blog! As I mentioned in my last "A Weekend In Guatemala" post, flying back into Los Angeles, and seeing the city lights from the sky, made me want to explore and shoot my city more than ever! So, when my brother Jefroe called and asked if I wanted to go shoot in the hood, I was quick to say yes!

Being that it was 420, my brotha-from-anotha-motha wanted to stop and get some prize winning medication to celebrate the "holiday". So, after meeting up with my bro, we were on our way out to the spot... We ended up somewhere south of DTLA and drove around the area exploring for a while before getting to the dispensary. It was a long wait for the crowned cannabis, but it was worth the wait. Once we were stocked and ready to roll, we made tracks to a "bando" Jefroe knew was close by.

It was an old abandoned logistics company's shipping office and docks which had become home to some of the areas homeless. You could see that people had been living in the building and there were several make-shift tents and enclosures surrounding the building. Not gonna lie to you, at first, I was a little nervous. The place was not the kind of place where you can relax and let down your guard. But after being there for a little while and meeting some of the homeless tenants, I calmed down and was able to focus more on shooting. It was interesting shooting a bando for the first time. It really made me think a lot about a lot. The combination of the homeless people, the abandoned building, all the trash and graffiti everywhere, the tents, the traffic, and the surrounding area being so modern and industrial, made being there feel very surreal and disturbing. It just goes to show how much of a mess our society really is. And how fragile and unstable it is too. Being in a major metropolis and sitting in an abandoned make-shift homeless shelter / street art gallery, had me thinking and feeling all kinds of things. Mostly, though, it brought about feelings of sadness for the homeless, and a greater appreciation for the things in life that I am blessed with. After about 20 minutes of shooting, we decided to vacate and head home.

Along the way, Jefroe encouraged me to do some "drive by shooting", since I was sitting shotgun. He took the long way home so I could get some shots of the city from the freeway. Afterwards we went back to Froe's and celebrated the "holiday" with some more friends. Good times with good friends and great ganja... Great end to a very thought provoking 420. Thanks again for checkin' out the blog! Check back soon for more Bsombin' and for more adventures in the City of Angels.