The World's Shame

A year ago I read a story about an ocean clean-up, organized every year, by the Ocean Conservancy. I was impressed with their project and appalled to hear that the largest amount of pollution in our oceans was cigarette butts. I knew I wanted to do something. Well ...cut to this year's ocean clean-up and I have now partnered up the Ocean Conservancy and my agency Aurora. We have 23 photographers, around the world, documenting the clean-up to create an amazing document of the project. I am excited to shoot at the Oregon Coast and to edit images from photographers in Brazil, Singapore, The Philippines, India and many locations in the US among others.

Here is an image from a beach in the Dominican Republic as it stands today before we document its' clean-up on Saturday. Think about this beach before you throw your cigarette butt in the gutter or don't recycle your plastic.

There is still time to find a local clean-up and volunteer to help!!

Burley shoot

Had a magical weekend photographing the new branding campaign for Burley Trailers. The sun punched thru at exactly the right times and the "real" models were a pleasure. Great working crew! Great sushi on the car hood at the end of the shoot washed down with Kirin Ichiban in a can. What is better than kids, dogs and bikes!?!

Class

I taught a class in "street photography" last weekend at Newspace Center for Photography.

It really helped ME learn more about the history and styles of street photography. To look at work by street photographers around the world was quite a didactic journey. A video of NY photographer Jeff Mermelstein was a big hit in the class. The students were amazing and the work they produced, under less than optimal conditions, was inspiring. As the teacher, I may have learned more than anyone. I learned that street photography is often about attitude, how you present yourself, how you embrace an event and how open you are to new experiences and people. I wish I had some of the work by the class to show... but alas, only a few images of mine.

Thanks class!