Tell them
To the many photographers i know out there from Mumbai India to DOM France , from Tokyo Japan to The Netherlands and those from right here in the U.S.A reppin grounds from Philly to Kentucky , Texas to Colorado right back to the boogie down Bronx , i wanted to give my thanks to all ya'll for not only supporting me and my passion but , inspiring me with your art as well.
All of our work is so unique in every way and that's what makes us all so unique as photographers and how we capture our world.
I hope that no matter what may happen in our lives the love of the capture never fades and we all continue to inspire and motivate each other for many days to come.
We are all so blessed
sleep well
much love,
-j
Barefoot
"We are only as good as the people that we associate ourselves with"- jjc
that might have been said by someone else more prolific than john coyne and thats ok cause i have no record of it comming from some book or great speech or Nobel peace prize winner, either way i believe it to be true and am thankful that tonight i have decided to spend some time with the best company i could ask for....myself!
I have been working very hard this past week and studied even harder and even though i have eliminated alcohol from my diet very recently, Tonight i mos definitely deserve a bottle of my favorite peenot greegeo along side some terrific pasta and beats by Nicolay.
i'll leave you all tonight with a few snaps taken more than 2 years ago when everything in the bay was so new to me and love was something only in my dreams.
Don't ever let fear get in your way of your dreams...as long as you believe you can do anything!
till then
love,
-j
Talent
I wanted to post up something i should have a awhile ago after attending the Hotel De Arts show in San Francisco the 17th of this month. I went to pay homage to an incredibly talented AZ based artist that goes by DS3K Disposable Hero.
I met him back in 06' when i first moved out to the bay area and haven't had the chance to link back up with him since he invited me to the show last week.His art defines ill and i'm a huge fan of the talent and skill he brings to the table, He kills it every time he comes to the bay and he's great people to be around cause of his sense of whats important and his sense of humor as well.
The show that night was incredible to say the least...5 floors of wall to wall artists and photographers that had my mind goin crazy.
I also met a cat named Mark Wasyl who i had to buy a print from cause his pieces were so sick!
Very dope spot , very dope people and very blessed to be a part of it all!
Above is a Gift from Disposable hero
And below is the piece i picked up from Mark Wasyl
The weekends here!
Make the best of it and stay strong!
gbless
-j
Word up
I had the honor of meeting this dope cat who goes by word up at the dream/verse block party in oakland a few weeks ago and took some clicks of him performing in store that night but, said that we would link up again and we this just that yesterday.He's a down to earth true to the game east Oakland hip hop artist and i got much respect for him.
Many more opportunities ahead yo.
-j
Fall defines change
2 cups of high powered coffee, 1 english muffin ( with the strawberry jam), 1/2 cup of determination and a tablespoon of willpower.
Fall of 08' will be the most monumental time in my life. Big progressions ahead, let nothing stand in my way.
these things i want in life i have always told others that i want but, constantly something has discouraged me or fear has gotten in my way.
so, this time it's not gonna be the same old start and stop..
i have the green light on dreams now and i'm going for it
-j
Change the channel
Some west oakland heaters from about a year ago presented in Technicolor!
peace
-j
Ain't the same
So i say a little morning prayer before i get out of bed which is normally saved for evenings and before i eat. Today was an Oakland Sunday by any means and it's something that isn't easy and isn't as fun while doing it all stag but, i digress...
And there i am eating my cinnamon french toast with the scrambled eggs and coffee near the lake at rolling dunes. I finish up as quickly as possible cause it felt like they were trying to get me out since i was at a table for 2 and there was a line to sit and eat. The sun was begging me to get to the laney flea market and so i did and spent about 3 hours there stopping to enjoy some fresh fruit and picking up a new pair of socks all the find out i parked in a no parking zone which landed me a $50 ticket courtesy of the city of Oakland!
But, what once would have made me mad this time around didn't seem to bother me much so, i hopped in my car and decided to cut across town and return some stuff i got at the rock ridge mall in pleasanton and ran into E-40 signing autographs at the t-mobile stand which i thought was funny. After that i came home and decided on hopping on bart and riding my bike down telegraph for some pizza and beer at lanesplitters , it was so nice of them to give me the coldest slice in the place and the tip reflected my gratitude!...jerks!
then i rode down to the vibe lounge to see the owner about hanging my work there as she offered me to do so weeks ago.
and now here i am about to go to bed and all i have is this lousy photo of the mac aurthur bart to show for it!
enjoy ,
good night, good morning & godbless
Ebb and flow
Today while shooting i found myself watching people instead of the usual abstract things i tend to.I don't know if i will ever figure out people and why they do what they do.I watched people holding hands,hugging each other,kissing,smiling and laughing.
I also watched people arguing,waving their hands at each other,yelling,cursing and even heard a man say to a woman that he hated her before crossing the street into a taxi cab (see photo below). Life is a lesson and it hurts like hell , we say things we don't mean, we don't always appriciate how precious we are to each other and at the end of the day as long as we admit our faults and know the love we have for each other is stronger than our misunderstandings than the sky is the limit.
Sometimes people will not understand what you value and i know this through experiance but, i don't give up easily and neither should any of you. Love is the most incredible force in the universe and i will never let it go.
I had a bit of a breakdown on the bart ride home while watching a deaf couple sign to each other because even though i don't know sign language, i understood.By the time they got off in west oakland they had worked everything out and were going home happy and just as in love as they have always been.
The bay area has been very kind to me and i love it like back home but, if i were to leave would anything pull me back because of the person i am or would i be let go cause of the person i have been?
-j
We
By now you all have noticed that i have been using this site to not only showcase my passion of photography but, my thoughts as well.I always had the intention of using it for that ....because i could be "professional" and just show my work but, my work is my life and my life consist of experiences and thoughts too.
Most who visit don't pay much attention to my words and strictly focus on my photos which is fine because i tend to write in a encryptic way that leaves key personal info out so not many understand what it is exactly I'm talking about. I can't apologize for that for the reason being that it's my site to do what i want with and i'll write what ever it is that is on my mind!
Na, but for real i wanted to write about last weekend and the people that i spent time with. I met up with Matt Walsh and his buddy Trevor for some beers and laughs in Dolores park in San Francisco. I also met with a couple that he stays with and their little baby girl cali and was asked to take some photos of them.
I thought it to be funny at first cause i've never really shot a baby on a swing before... and after a few clicks it struck a chord in my heart because it was another reminder of how much i want one of my own to push on the swings and make silly faces at.
-j
Nneka
I just had to post this!
And i hate when i'm late in the game discovering and artist so talented as this person right here, i feel like i've been missing out.
but, as long as i'm hip to her now that's all that matters..i'm an instant fan for life!
you can find her bio here
and just search her out on the normal mediums of myspace and you tube to get more of a feel of why i am so excited about her work.
It's nice when i don't post up all the dramatic spilling my guts heart & soul type stuff that i usually do.
So, for a change of pace
Nneka
Mixed thoughts, Mixed memories
East Oakland,Santa Monica & Downtown Oakland from a 4,000 dollar canon to a 5 dollar disposable to a 100 dollar lomo lc-a
it really doesn't matter what you shoot with as long as you shoot with your heart.
Side note
And if i hadn't promoted it enough yet the first volume of my book of out and available for purchase!
I did go a little over board by making it 60 pages but, i wanted to come out big at first. I have already finished two other volumes that are smaller and more reasonably priced but, i won't publish them until i see how the first one goes.
check it out by clicking the image below
Protection
An early night tonight...i really hate when i hype up a situation i'm truly excited about and it turns out all sour.
Hit a new mexican spot round 6:00 then realized i was flying solo after i hung up the phone and it was over to telegraph to fight the murmur crowd near rock paper scissors. I don't think that all the dramatic hipster extreme art crazies ever really bothered me but, tonight they made me wish i had a 9mm instead of my 5D. I think because it was my first time going stag and usually i'm so happy with my company that none of that seems to phase me. I mean you can't even look at any of the art cause it's like a sweaty overpacked rave in every gallery and there is a ton of oaklanders that don't bathe so it makes for a intresting symphony for the nose!
Either way i made the best of it and headed down to west grand and sat in the medium in between traffic and watched projected indie clips on the side of a building for about 45 mins..checked out a few more sweatshop galleries and then headed down to the museum to catch the rest of runners high at the sunset cinema.
Sometimes i think it would be great if i was this incredibly good looking guy and everyone wanted to be a friend so i would have people to share my company with but, as soon as i think about it those are exactly the people i don't want to be around.
cause there only in my company cause of the outs and not whats in. If they only new how great i am!
but, for now ..no more art murmurs for me!
Rarely any photographers showing work there anyways..sometimes i don't think oakland has love for us photogs
there always tommorrow!
love,
-j
Blame
On the real, life's lessons hit deep and leave scars that will last longer than time itself. now, I am a dramatic person .. and i am an emotional cat because of my scorpio blueprint that's permently imbedded in me.There are ups and downs to everyones values and personalities and sometimes we just can't make that other person quite understand just "who we are".
to make a long story short i refreshed my memory on the background of my zodiac sign just now.
and for relationships and friendships it's a trip being born under my sign.
"Relationships with Scorpio are always complicated, just like the person, their relationships are a series of extremes, they can even be downright moody for no apparent reason. Scorpios are known for their possessiveness and jealousy but on the other hand, they are extremely loyal. Scorpios have an excellent memory and combined with an inability to let things go, they can hold a grudge against someone who did them harm forever, in fact a Scorpio rarely if never forgives and forgets. They will even go as far as get vengeance on the person. On the other hand, they will always remember a kind gesture forever and repay it. Any kind selfless gesture done to a Scorpio will gain trust and respect which is extremely important to them in any relationship, either romantic or not. The best advice is to be honest with a Scorpio friend and in return, you will gain an amazing friend you will never forget and who will be loyal to you and never make false promises. Their truthful and shocking sense of humor if different than that of any other zodiac sign and the Scorpio makes an amazing, powerful interesting friend that can be trusted."
and about the image...it was taken at the art & soul fest as well.
little man didn't hear one word his mother was saying , his eyes just lay on this pretty little girl with his jaw hanging in the breeze.
I was like "i know the feeling"
gnight
-j
The Basics
I released the first of three volumes i have been working on tonight.
It can be previewed and purchased here!
http://www.blurb.com/user/jjcphoto
Email me or comment me and let me know what you think
thank you all so much for supporting me and my passion
much love,
-jjc
Domino effect
Never do you find me quoting others because i find it better to make my own quotes but, after watching domino again the other night the quote she used seemed so appropriate for life right now.
" I decided to never invest too much emotion in one thing. It's always a set-up to the pain of losing them."
no nonsense no complication very real simple and plain quote..and thats what i like about it.
now on to some of the clicks from this incredible past weekend.
