stepping back

lauren putting on makeup. santa fe, new mexico.
© kevin t vu

having a photographic vision is definitely something that i am consistently thinking of. and as i reflect more on it, i realize that my photographic vision comes from who i am as a person, and not who i am as a photographer.

by taking a step back, i am better able to look at myself comprehensively. the decisions on who i surround myself with, what foods i enjoy eating, what clothes i wear, what type of art i’m interested in, etc. all have an impact on who i am. and i ask myself, why do i wear those clothes, why do i hang out w/ those people, why do i eat what i eat, why do i like that genre of art? my answers define the quality of life that i live and in turn define the quality of imagery that i put out.

the food that i enjoy eating elicit an emotion from me. when i plow into a good bowl of soulful chicken soup, i’m instantly taken home. the clothes that i wear are clean, simple and classic, i try not to follow the short-term cultural trends.  i love the visceral despair, ecstasy and drama of a caravaggio painting.  my close friends are amazingly loyal, trustworthy and deeply passionate about life.  (the words in bold are parameters for my vision and my brand)

you have to take the step back and see what you are saying with your life, only then can you really say anything with your photography.  this is where i want my vision to be.  my vision is a record of how i live my life.  i only hope that i can refine my vision enough to run parallel w/ how i live life and vice versa.

“I remember one of my friends saying to me ‘oh yeah, you just went to ny, you got lucky right?  you just got lucky?’  and he’s a photographer too and that comment gets me! There’s no such thing as luck for a start, you create your own. i just thought, well, you could look at it that way, but it wasn’t and you should try it and see…  You gotta be passionate about what you do, you really do.  Cause people notice it.. and they respect it. Its a very powerful drive to have.  It makes you sleep well at night if you do stuff you’re happy with that you’re making and achieving.”

- ben watts

heading out

summer in california. © kevin t vu

it’s summer and the 4th of july is this saturday. so i’m heading out. gonna drive to santa fe to visit some friends, do some odd jobs and celebrate the 4th. then i’m not sure where i’m heading next. might just drive back home or just keep going east.

i’ve switched back to film and will be shooting it on this trip. i have no idea what story i’ll be shooting, but i head out early tomorrow morning and all i have in mind is a photographic journal of my trip. i’m excited to be shooting on film again! it’s been a while. we’ll see how it turns out.

getting a move on…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lauren driving.  santa fe, new mexico.

 

things have been busy this past week and last.  i’ve been working/assisting and working on some personal projects.  i’m hoping to get more steady work as I stay in one place more consistently.  i’m also able to update my blog more often, as you can see in the last couple of days.  i’ve also made up my mind, with paige’s prodding, to put up a website by the end of this next month.  its been a long time coming, but i need to just put one up.  i just dont want to dilute my work with filler pictures.  it needs to be a solid website that has a cohesive body of work.  i want it to have direction.

stagnant

lauren waking up. santa fe, new mexico.
© kevin t vu

elliot in his temporary housing while working at the workshops. santa fe, new mexico.
© kevin t vu

i’ve been back in orange county now for about a week and a half. i’ve been doing some assisting here to survive. hopefully, it’ll get more consistent as i stay in one place longer. as of right now, i’m trying to build my community here in southern california. there’s a huge photographic community from LA that i would love to be a part of. i have some people i truly respect and admire here, ie art streiber and frank ockenfels. so i’m trying to see if they can use some free labor in this economy. frank replied and is gonna try to get me on something and art has been a tremendous help by giving me his time to review my portfolio. the problem is w/ guys like these, they have their own crew they have been working w/ for years. so i’m trying to break into a very tight club. i guess that’s just how it is in the photography world.

on another note, i recently was able to meet up w/ some old friends from london, Hubert Kang and Claudia Leisinger. they both came to LA for work so i was luckily back in town to meet up w/ them. it was so great to see them! we caught up and talked about life and photography. my life has been about building a community wherever i am, and i have been fortunate to have these guys in it. they are smart, talented and help me to move forward in my own work. and so, i am trying to build something more local in southern california.

i will be staying put for a little bit so that i can save up some money to do some projects that i have in mind. i am also trying to build up my portrait portfolio since that can be a great and consistent source of income.

i also am trying to buy the new canon 5d. so i will be selling a NIKON D3 for $4,000 if anyone is interested. i also have a 50 mm 1.4 lens that i would give at a good deal as well. i’ve had the camera for a bit more than 6 months. its in pristine condition. i’m moving back to canon because of the new video offering in the 5d. contact me if you guys are interested at all.

family

lauren and alyssa at the railyard restaurant. santa fe, new mexico.

mignon in her kitchen. el dorado, new mexico.

renie in her home office. arroyo hondo, new mexico.

nerissa at the cowgirl bar. santa fe, new mexico.
© kevin t vu

these unbelievable women have been my family for the last month that i was in santa fe. they were kind in so many ways. they opened their homes to me, fed me, found me work, gotten me in contact w/ amazing photographers/editors, and pushed me to be a better person and photographer. their strength, confidence and warmth have been an inspiration for me!!! i only hope they know how much love and respect i have for them all!!

it has been quite a hectic couple of weeks, and it seemed to come at me all at once. i left santa fe last wed. I came home and went to an assisting gig for O’neill w/ Embry Rucker. A day later, I had to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to do a shoot for a buddy of mine.

I will be going to the nyc on wed. to go get my portfolio reviewed w/ Stephen Mayes, who is the new managing director for vii. I have no expectations, all i hope is stephen will endow me with some great advice so i can make millions and millions of dollars! haha!

i also got in contact w/ brenna britton, who’s the deputy photo editor of people magazine, to see some of my new work as well. she’s from california and i met her at the workshops. she’s an absolute professional and i know i’ll get some great feedback!

i’ll be in nyc for 2 weeks and fly back to santa fe, where i’ll be taking a workshop w/ Gillian Laub and Kira Pollack, who is the deputy photo editor for the ny times magazine.

so its gonna be quite a hectic month for me, but i am breathing every second of it in.