Environmental Portrait of a Traveler and her exquisite companion....

I photographed a few environmental portraits for Haute-Living Magazine, and their Tech heavyweight issue.... Just hit the stands amigos!

Komal Shah and OpenTables' CEO Matt Roberts.......
some BTS/light checks...

A sunrise environmental portrait shoot in San Francisco....

We photographed up and coming beauty 'Ellie' at sunrise with with the sun as my backlight and a profoto head as main.... I love backlight sun!

My Cover shoot of Willis Kirk... Jazz great who played with Charlie Parker!

A little departure from my usual outdoor/adventure work,  but the opportunity to shoot Dr. Willis Kirk, who had played with Charlie Parker in the hey day of Jazz was alluring!

Jazzed magazine gave me a shot to shoot cover and story images for Kirk in SF last month.  The location was changed last minute from his studio to his home, and the shooting space proved to quite small, with a drum kit to boot.

We used an octa high above with a profoto head, along with a couple small flashes to light up his
drum set.  

Dr. Willis Kirk is a great guy, and I loved hearing some of his stories of his days playing jazz in SF during the '40's.....

Q & A with Travel Guide/Leader Tom Anger in San Francisco...

As part of my series on Travel Guides/Leaders, I shot Tom Anger in San Francisco. 

I had the opportunity for a short Q & A about Tom's move into leading small group adventures full-time, his work in radio and some of his travel plans.......

We shot Tom on a beautiful afternoon in Potrero Hill, with a D3, compact 600 Profoto, white beauty dish, couple reflectors and a Profoto BatPac...

 Where are you from originally, and what did you study?

I grew up east of San Francisco in Hayward, CA. I wanted to eventually study film so I started taking TV broadcasting classes at my local high school with ashtrays, AKA community college.

 I hear you were in Radio, for a while, How did that come about, and what was your motivation?

Yeah, I was involved with radio for about 11 years. One of my broadcasting classes was in the same room as the campus radio station. They played absolute crap like Hanson and I was a huge music fan, couldn't let that happen anymore. Ended up programming the music at that station and doing some cool things with it. That grabbed the attention of some folks at Live 105 so they threw me on air nights & weekends. Got to work as a local producer for Stern and Loveline while there as well. 

 How did you come to transition to leading adventure trips, and how long have you been guiding now?

Just wrapped up my 5th season guiding. I think I'm a lifer now. I was always traveling for at least 2 months of the year. Started out just hitting music festivals around the world, then taking tours. I knew I had to figure out how to stay in that lifestyle. After looking at tourism job postings for 3 years I finally did something about it and gave my notice to CBS. I spent all my own money traveling, that was the time to figure out a way to start making money while doing it. 

 Where are some of the places you've traveled that made an impression on you, and where do you hope to get to next? 

I just bought tickets to Australia & Japan in time for New Years. I never had much interest in Asia but finally made it out to the Southeast 2 years ago. The affordability of food, accommodation & flights really make it easy to feel completely free and do what you want when you want. I woke up some mornings not knowing what country I was going to end up in later that day. 

Peru also pulled me in, I spent a couple more weeks there then I had planed. It has such a varied terrain. You have beaches, mountains sand dunes, jungles and a whole lot of history to explore there. 

 Have you always been pulled by the 'road', or did you make a lifestyle decision, and why?

I had overprotective parents so I think travel was my escape from that when I became an adult. I grew up in front of the TV watching shows like Wild On E! so to finally do these things and see the places in real life blew me away. I still chase that surreal movielike feeling today, its my favorite thing about traveling.

 What do you think about adventure tourism these days?  Is it too easy to get anywhere around the world right now in an instant?   or are you more of a romantic, arduous journey kind of guy?

I have seen a big change in adventure tourism over the last 10 years. A lot of the backpacks are turning into suitcases and the companies are following suit to cater to the vacationer who wants a little more excitement. Its getting harder to come across great places that have not submitted to the lure of the tourist dollar. Those looking to get off the beaten path can still find gems that would appeal to them but maybe not the masses. 

I'm split 50/50 on my travels. I break it up into segments of planed and unplanned so I'm free to go with the flow of who I meet or hit up the places I heard about of word of mouth. I try not to learn too much about any one place I'm going, not having expectations decreases disappointment. I like to check into a hostel and talk to people about what they have done. Not everything worth seeing & eating can make it into the guide books. Doing something just because its popular does not always make it right for me. 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start or switch careers, and delve into the adventure industry?

If you are a backpacker and you have the passion you can make the jump easily. Your used to not seeing your friends, pets and family for extended periods of time, late nights and early hungover mornings. This industry has a way of sucking you away from your old life, not everyone can handle it. I've seen many who thought it would be cool, took some guiding classes or just just applied with only relaxing vacations under their belt. Some shake at the end of the day looking like they have just seen a ghost when they realize how ass kicking it can be (if your doing it right). No matter what your background is, you have to make the most of your life and just go for what you want. You can't go back in time but you can always go back to your old life if its not for you. 

Simple, clean portraits are so fun....

I photographed Federico, owner/director of an Actor's Troupe in San Francisco.  I love a simple, clean image thats honest and telling.  He was easy to photograph and very willing to open up to the lense, which is always a great way to shoot someone.  I used one profoto head and an octabox,  with a speedlight against a grey backdrop.

Yoga, Skate and Travel with SF's Lexi B.....

Lexi B. works for an Adventure/Travel company in San Francisco that I do some work for,  and after a few beautiful coffees in the early morning, we shot her doing some yoga up on a hill overlooking the city.

She is quite the traveler and has studied yoga in India, kicked around South America, braved the roads of Baja, and can also play the hell out of an Oboe.







Here is a short Q & A with Lexi....

Where are you from originally and how did you make it to SF?

-I'm originally a 'Michigander'.  I grew up in a small town of only 2000 people in the wilderness of Northern Michigan.  I knew I needed to see the world outside my town as soon as possible, and I moved out to LA while working with a performing arts group called ' The Young Americans'.  I spent my early youth in LA and San Diego soaking up California and all the implied culture!  I explored acting, music and learned a lot about myself in those years...  A few people told me I would fit in great in San Francisco, so I came up here to finish a Journalism degree and make it my home base for a while...

How does San Francisco fit into your lifestyle?

I fell in love the 'community' feel and all the creative influences in SF.  The balance of nature and urban pursuits are like no other place I've known!  I love that I can escape to the mountains, beach, snow in a heartbeat and I can meet so many like minded people with such varied interests.
The liberal, compassionate vibe in SF is so refreshing an never ceases to inspire me.  I feel very fortunate to be living here...

How did you get into Yoga?

At first Yoga was just another form of exercise for me, along with running, biking and swimming.   I have also dabbled in Karate and Tai Chi, with a great emphasis on general movement as part of my lifestyle.
I soon learned more about Yoga, and how it represents much more than just exercise; it made me more aware of my body, my mind and really changed how I viewed the world.    I traveled to India and took courses to be an instructor and hopefully teach in a meaningful way one day.  I am still practicing and think I want to gain some more experience in general before I begin teaching Yoga..

How long have you been skating longboards and what has been your gnarliest crash?

Yeeaaahhhh,  I've ridden skateboards since I was a kid in Michigan, where the roads are flat!  Last year a friend gave me a skateboard and learning to ride hills has been a whole new world for me, and I love it!
I am still a bit sketched out sometimes and not totally confident in crazy speed, but I am hooked and love riding hills now.
I've recently paid some dues with a crash near Baker Beach.  I was bombing down the long grade at a good clip, and near the end, I felt some wobbly set in and I knew it wasn't going to be pretty!  The board shot out from under me and I tried to land on my feet and run it off, but I was going way to fast, and I ate it on the pavement hard.  I jammed three fingers on my right on my hand and had a lot of scrapes!

What are some of your recent travels and where are you hoping to get to next?

I love traveling and have done a lot since college.  I've trekked through Peru, road tripped through Mexico, meditated in India, explored Alaska via British Columbia and can't get enough of different cultures and people from around the world.  I love the beauty of India and hope to get there again soon, and to stop off in Africa too is in the plan.

I figure I have this whole planet, its' people, animals, art and history at my fingertips so I better go see it, learn about it and live it.
I think this may very well be one of the huge goals in my life!

Ty Blair dropped by for a sitting. It was an honest one...