Snails in Portugal

The funniest childhood memory I have is from Portugal - my parents wanted to spend family day at the beach.
It turned out to be a nude beach.

The snails were DELICIOUS.

I am not a photographer

But my friend Cliff is. He dropped by today and I had a chance to view his portfolio, it inspired me to go back and look into mine. It's important to surround yourself around artistic minds, maintain the creative momentum.

These are some black & white prints I shot with my Dad's 30+ yr old 35mm.
I developed these about 4 years ago, and have not been in a darkroom since. The process is rather involved but there is something supremely therapeutic about developing your own film, finding your way through the chemicals and watching your images comes to life. Magic. 

Past shots by Cliff, me in black & white.

Semana Santa en Guatemala

Semana Santa, Holy Week, is taking place right now in my beloved old home of two years. I found old photos of my family's trip to Lake Atitlan in '95. We went on a week-long mission to the Lake with the Pan Divers organization to help clean up the pollution in the water and all over the surrounding areas.

My brother and I in our Pan Divers tees

The religious festivities there are well known for their remarkable carpets made of dyed sawdust, alfombras de aserrí­n, which are created on the streets along processional routes. They are offered as a sacrifice for the holy processions that will tread on and destroy these fantastic creations. Once a procession has gone by, the remains are cleaned and almost immediately residents may begin to build yet another carpet in anticipation of the next procession. It is amazing to watch the collective creative effort and dedication of a community in making something so beautiful yet so temporary.

Chichicastenango market with Doña Nora & locals

Sisters

BBQ in our backyard with family & friends, me in blue ;)

Lac Rose

Suddenly reminded of Lac Rose, also known as Lake Retba. My mother took my brothers and I here when we used to live in Dakar. It is a true natural phenomenon.  The lake has a stunning pink-purple color, due to it's incredibly high cyanobacteria & salt content, which changes depending on the time of day and position of the sun in the sky. Mother Nature is flawless.

18x24 Gouache

Through His Lens

Everything he does, he loves.

NOLA Colors

A stunning palette.