I'm in L.A. right now helping out Nick with a shoot on Thurs. We ran around L.A. scouting out a couple of locations and brought along his new Mark III 1Ds to rattle off some frames for fun.

Element of surprise: Although his name was technically Bandit, I kept yelling out Brisket since his name didn't stick with me. Totally unannounced, Brisket attempted to crash our photo-shoot with his infectious and endless energy. We utilized him instead.

Fun Fact: Jenilee absolutely hates dogs...the fur, the fleas, the smell, she can't stand 'em.

My Taiwan journeys are wrapping up as I prepare to fly back to the States in the next few hours. It's been a fantastic, surreal time. Some of the photographs I was able to create and capture will stay with me for as long as I live. Some will live amongst me on walls, in frames and in books on coffee tables. Last night was probably the best night I've had thus far...singing karaoke with my brother and some of his friends until 3AM. What a complete blast and it's an extremely poplar thing to do on the weekends in Taipei.

Walk. Shoot. Sleep...my journeys boiled down to it's simplest form.

Eight months ago I dove into Dashboard Confessional's entire library at once, quite a nice way to experience new music...you get to experience the growth of an artist over 4 or 5 albums within several hours. It's magical...like a diamond mine that's never been tapped. When your iTunes "Play Count" reaches 17 before you know it, you know you've got something good.

Patty Griffin is soul stirring. Her carefully crafted songs and voice move you in a direction that feels close to home. If you EVER get a chance to experience her music LIVE, you've indeed engaged in a rare experience.

The Decemberists. Colin Meloy is a quirky modern folk songwriter and not for everyone. Patty Griffin is though-everyone has a Patty Griffin moment in which they can employ one of her songs as the soundtrack. Back to Colin...I first discovered The Decemberists in an article in Rolling Stone. Currently they are in HEAVY rotation in my iTunes library.
Follow the image links to Amazon MP3 where you can preview and purchase.

Here's to the Lunar New Year (which is just around the corner in February). Cing Mei Jhu Ma!, which is only fitting since one of the few friendships I've carried with me from childhood is with my little brother Enoch. We just got back from watching Cloverfield together, cracking jokes and reminiscing about the last summer we spent here 17 years ago.

* * * * *