Self Portraits
Just a couple recent 35mm self portraits I’m diggin.
Four Wheels
Over the last couple months I’ve watched several coming-of-age movies about skaters. The first was Skate Kitchen, which follows Camille, an 18 year old skater from Long Island as she navigates adolescence and finds new friends and connections through an all-girls skateboard collective in the city.
Most recently I watched The Land and the story of a group of boys from Cleveland as they struggle to make ends meet, to break into the sponsored skateboarding world, and find themselves way in over their heads in the end.
What I love about these movies is learning about a new culture. The skateboarding culture feels gritty, loose, and free. From the way they dress to the way they move on their boards, I’m mesmerized by it all. I regularly find myself jealous of people who pour themselves into their craft. Musicians who practice their instruments for hours every day, the teens from these two movies practicing tricks and skills for hours a day. The dedication to their craft and focus is beyond anything I can see myself doing.
Last month I was out for a walk in my new neighborhood when I saw a young man practicing tricks on his board in a parking lot. I’ve been working on building up the courage and confidence to ask strangers I feel drawn to if I can take their portrait. And this guy was gracious enough to let me practice. Thanks, Tony.
I Left My Heart in Paris
Paris was my last stop in my November 2018 travels. It was the only city I was truly nervous about. I had tried learning a little bit of French through an app, or watching a couple French films. But it definitely felt the most foreign to me of places I’d visited. That language barrier was the main source of nerves. I remember thinking on the train from London to Paris that perhaps I had made a mistake in adding on Paris to my trip. I was tired and worn out. My body felt off from the change in my usual diet.
From the moment I stepped out of Gare du Nord and saw the streets of Paris I knew I was in love. The nerves were still there, but even more powerful were the butterflies of excitement. Upon my return from my trip friends and family asked which city was the best, and I truly couldn’t pick one. But I have decided that Paris was the most mesmerizing. Because it is so different than anywhere else I’d traveled, I marveled the most at everything from the architecture to the brasseries to the people moving about around me. I loved it all.
xxo
The Scottish Highlands
The second stop of my November 2018 travels was in the Scottish Highlands. Inverness is such a beautiful place. I was both surprised and not surprised that it was as green as I had imagined it to be. The land was expansive, full of sheep and other wildlife. The history in architecture was so quaint and impressive.
We stayed at Culloden House so that my friend Sarah and the rest of her team could shoot content for Culloden House’s social media and website. It was truly magical. The house was practically empty as we were there during their slow season. I’m not sure how we got so lucky with the weather, but it only barely drizzled the first night we got there, and then it was clear skies for the remainder of the trip. We explored Inverness, Urquhart Castle, the Viaducts, and so much more.
