shot & song - WINTER

I'm a day late on the Photo+Song project... So here is the second photo from Tom.
*Read the post just below this if you have no idea what is going on.*
Tom and I are big fans of taking photos of our kicks in various environments - this is a rad photo Tom.
Looking at this photo I feel alone. It's cold outside. I want to contemplate things now. I'm inspired by the solidarity. The depth. Many songs came to mind and upon listening to those songs some were clearly better than others. But I had to go with the first one:

shot & song - DANCE PARTY

Tom came up with a pretty interesting project yesterday. The premise here was that Tom and I would trade a random photo then post it with an accompanied tune. Tom went on to say, "Getting to look at an assortment of Mr. Fernandez's rarely shared photography, that I then pair with (hopefully) a fitting tune..." That's funny. It's true. They are rarely shared. However, I am working on the AZ road trip photos, among many other fun weekends.
I'm looking forward to this! He'll be doing the same over at his blog with my random shots. The most recent photo is one I took during the Pioneer Days festival down in Okemah this past weekend. I took a photo of a car I wish to own by this time next year: check out the first photo/post of this project.

Tom's first random photo is the one posted above, taken during White Trash Weekend 3 I believe. Those were the days... Here is the song I thought of first when I saw the photo. For numerous reasons....
If you are not familiar with Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele I recommend you download this song, then go pick up the whole album.

(RED) x GIRL

Awareness. As everyone should know by now there are (RED) products that give money to assist in the dire AIDS epidemic in Africa. Girl Skateboards continues to be a partner in this program with their second round of twin skateboards. One of Left Field Project's contributing artists Andy Jenkins and Mike Carroll talk about their involvement in this video:

maestro knows - episode 6

You best understand the Air Yeezy by now. If you don't... There is no helping you.
We caught up with our boy Levi Maestro last week and if you haven't caught the interview it's on the leftfieldproject.com site. Here is his latest episode:

Thanks Levi, I miss California like mad now.

toms shoes

No, not those dirty hippie kicks, these are Tom's shoes:
Tom is my bestest friend and is pretty good about sending random photos. I'm a big fan of the Vans Chukka. Nice. Thanks for sharing.

In further random/shoe news. I just got an email from Casey and apparently the Crocs outlet is having up to 65% off: [Thanks for thinking of me Casey!] Awesome.
Random is fun. Here are some random things from the office today:
Who loves paper? I love paper.
I've got a crazy day so I better get to it. Hope you all are well. Send some random photos please.

the dream job

I was reading an article about one of the founders of "Modern Dog", a design company out of Seattle, and found a quote that was a nice reminder about design:
Strassburger said:
"There is probably a way to make every design project you work on an exciting challenge. Don't just crank out a bunch of designs and wait for the dream job. Any job can be a dream job."
I like reminders.
If you are not familiar with Modern Dog, they have been cranking out impeccable design for over 20 years now and you can see more of their poster art here.

LFP x Levi Maestro

If you haven't had a chance to check out the new LFP site, please do so: www.leftfieldproject.com We are going to be focusing on content and frequency. Made for our viewers pleasure.
Email all your friends and tell them that they need to get in the know. And please tell them to email their friends and tell those friends to get in the know. We got our wings a few weeks ago and things are going to be changing = Starting in May LFP will have new interviews every Monday. We will be catching up with some of our contributors and see what they have been up to. These interviews will focus on the "now", unlike the book's interviews which will focus on the "soul".
Our most recent interview was with our good friend Mr. Levi Maestro:

From leftfieldproject.com:
"LFP has been keeping a watchful eye on Levi Maestro and with the 4th installment of Maestro Knows already airing we thought we better chase him down and catch up with him while we can... Maestro happens to be one of the most passionate and absolutely unique individuals in this project. He is humble, focused and most importantly ambitious."

His most recent episode with Dom Kennedy:


Please share!

lfp in transition

New site and a new front:



Both LFP and Black Ops are going to be going through some big changes over the next few months. Both mentally and physically. We will soon be taking over everything.
Cheers!

jack in the box

Absolutely love the new Jack in the box logo.
Almost as much as I love their tacos.

it is official, hip hop is dead.

The nail in the coffin:
Shame on you Asher Roth.

the lake show starts tomorrow.... are you ready?

speakin ain't easy

So last night was the lecture...
I was working on my presentation til about 5:15. Threw it on an external harddrive and made my way down to the Tulsa Little Theater. Aside from not being able to read my notes, (because I don't know how to use Keynote aparently), I think it well. I was anxious. I remember at some point in my life I had taken a public speaking course, but all those tools have long been replaced. A few hours before the event I started wondering why I had agreed to do this...
Well, I am now sitting comfortably in my office listening to Outkast on vinyl and I am stoked. It wasn't that bad. I liked it. Rather, I enjoyed it. The process of it all.
I remember when I originally started LFP I had visions of one day sharing what I have learned from these great individuals. In hopes of inspiring at least one person. If one person is inspired by sharing the love and undying passion of those involved with LFP = All is a success.
I'd like to thank everyone that came out to support me last night. I really apreciate it more than I can express to you here. I am so fortunate to have such an amazing circle of friends and family. Thank you.
Also, it was fun to do some autogrpahs and meet some new faces:
*Darshan and Carla, the posters came out perfect! You guys rock!
thank you thank you thank you.

If you are interested

If you are in town this Thursday I will be speaking at the ADCT [Art Directors Club of Tulsa] event at the Tulsa Little Theater and I would love for you to be there. I'm going to be talking about design, inspiration and why you should love what you do - maybe a few other things. More information on this event:

This event is free and open to the public so please forward this to anyone that may be interested. I would like to think that what I have to say might be interesting for anyone in any career. I also encourage you to go to the ADCT website to learn more about what it is that we do and why you might want to get involved. Thank you!

weekend in review [photo diary]

Starts with a little work and ends with a little fun. (Shooting the Nickelback show - which was really good - I know... right?)
AND BTW, if you haven't been to a Tulsa Talons game, you are missing out!

Propagate

I'm a big fan of the word Propagate..
Propagate
Main Entry: prop·a·gate
Pronunciation: \ˈprä-pə-ˌgāt\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): prop·a·gat·ed; prop·a·gat·ing
Etymology: Latin propagatus, past participle of propagare to set slips, propagate, from propages slip, offspring, from pro- before + pangere to fasten — more at pro-, pact
Date: circa 1570
transitive verb1: to cause to continue or increase by sexual or asexual reproduction2: to pass along to offspring3 a: to cause to spread out and affect a greater number or greater area : extend b: to foster growing knowledge of, familiarity with, or acceptance of (as an idea or belief) : publicize c: to transmit (as sound or light) through a mediumintransitive verb1: to multiply sexually or asexually2: increase , extend3: to travel through space or a material —used of wave energy (as light, sound, or radio waves)

Where was I a year ago? here
Twitter is incredible. Whether you are waiting for your lady to get ready or getting ready for a photoshoot, there just happens to be tons of entertaining stuff on there. Two of my favorites: Lilly Allen and John Mayer. Lily is cute and funny. John could be a complete jackass in real life, but his comments are often interesting. These handful of comments over the last few days have made me smile:

lilyroseallen Can one get an overnight train from atlanta to new york city ?
**Silly foreigners, the states aren't that cool...
lilyroseallen I've just been on wikipedia and still can't figure it out... What is a mormon ?
johnmayer 1. Take the fear. 2. Ask it why it would be so terrible if it were true 3. Ask it "and THEN what?" Chances are your fear has no answer.
johnmayer So let's go people, if you're so inclined. Let's possibly go out there and make today happen. Live your dreams if that's what you're into.

Do you ever feel like you need more calcium? I do.
Full moon kids, sh*ts about to get crazy.
PLUS, crazy storm heading our way. Grab your umbrella.

fell in love with a girl

Taking a late night break to flip through some of my favorite magazines. I've been a huge fan of Michel Gondry for a while now. He initially rocked my mind when he did the "Lucas with the Lid Off" video back in 1994 (and if you didn't know, he did that entire music video in camera) - THEN Beck's "Deadweight" in 97... He officially became one of my favorite directors when he co-wrote and directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - One of my all time favorite movies. But it was the White Stripes "Fell In Love With a Girl" which made my heart explode with cinematic curiosity:


It's absolutely incredible and when you read this, you will appreciate it much more.. He says:
"I really like the basic-ness of the music - one voice, one guitar and one drum. I like this concept, and I thought it was very close to the primary color of the Lego blocks. We shot a very basic video of the band, we edited it and then we had a program that pixelized the video, roughly the size of Lego blocks and then we printed each frame [25 frames per second] on paper. Then we had an animation team building up Lego blocks to match each frame. Then we reshot each of those frames on a film camera. We didn't have enough Legos to do more than five frames at a time, so after five frames were shot [the Legos] were demolished to build the next five frames."

Amazing and brilliant. I sometimes forget that Rome wasn't built in a day. That it takes time for the incredible things to develop.
Take your time and pretty things will follow - don't give up.

Monocle now open

If you haven't picked up an issue of Monocle yet - please do so. It's a fantastic magazine.
"Complimenting their initial foray into the retail scene in London, The Monocle Shop LA recently opened its doors in Los Angeles’ Brentwood location. The magazine’s store now offers another brick and mortar point of retail for not only the magazine’s print issues but also some of its collaborative ventures with the likes of Porter, COMME des GARCONS and various fashion-related items. Forthcoming, expect a third store to join the ranks, potentially in Japan."
www.monocle.com

The Monocle Shop LA*
225 26th St., 19b
Santa Monica
p: 310.395.4180
Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m
Sunday: 12:00 pm - 5 p.m.

* I can't wait to visit.

For the Record

Article on LFP & Black OPs in the Journal Record Here.

working on a dream

I was wrapping up the Bruce Springsteen project and pulling off the last stencil when I stumbled upon this photo opp:
I like working on stencils of this scale. It's fun. I'm usually cutting super large stencils and I found working on these ultra small pieces require a stupid amount of concentrating.
A lot of work goes into such a small piece. It's cool.

Thank you!

I'd like to thank everyone for making it out to the show Friday night, we had lots of friends drive in from out of town and we truly appreciate it! We're fortunate to have good friends and great fans. Thanks to you it was a success. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We could not have done it without you. If you missed the show, art will be up til the end of the month. I didn't do a great job of documenting the event, but here are a few pictures:

"Sexton" tonight at LFP

Please come out and join us for the opening reception of "Sexton", a collection of works by abstract artist Mike Sexton. This is an incredible body of work which features a handful of large scale pieces. Watch this video to learn more about the artist. The opening reception for the show is tonight:

LFP Gallery
819 E. 3rd Street
Tulsa OK 74120
Door opens @ 7PM

AND if you didn't hear, LFP's very own Phrizz will be preforming tonight with his band! I just asked him what his band name is and I guess they are called "Something Ridiculous"...
I'm rather excited about it. You should be to. Here are some photos I snapped at one of their band practices last summer:
Tonight is going to be awesome - see you soon AND tell all your friends.

Our show this Friday = "sexton"

Last week I had a post titled "so much already accomplished today" which had some stills I had shot while I was on location. We were there to do an on camera interview with Mike Sexton, but I couldn't help but take a few shots of his environment - it was incredible. Jason Burks was my DP, Joel was our grip and we set up in Mike's little studio above his garage.
A few weeks prior to this event I came up with an idea to do a trailer for our next art show. No posters, no postcards - just a raw look into the artist's mind and life. Most people go to art shows and never know what the artist is like, what their voice sounds like or what they look like. It's a shame, because that is almost more important than the forms they paint or capture - understanding the creator makes the work that much more powerful. At least it does for me.
We shot about 30 minutes worth of footage.
My trusty Assistant Editor Rebecca and I cut and deleted and trashed and added and subtracted and a few hours later we arrived at something we both agreed on was "perfect".
I love this piece.
And I hope you all do as well.
Enjoy:

I'd like to thank Jason Burks for being a fantastic DP. You're awesome dude. I'd like to thank Rebecca for her patience and for her help on this, I couldn't have done it without you... I'd like to thank Mike for being Mike. It's just as I thought it would be. I'm lucky to be surrounded by people that can help me take something that lives somewhere in my brain, find it, cultivate it and reproduce it in this world - just as I saw it in it's infancy. I'm fortunate, thank you.

The show is on Friday. Hope to see you all there. Please cruise out to support and meet Mike.

Urban Tulsa Weekly - Eye of the Beholder

I was super excited when Holly Wall contacted me for a cover story she was working on. It just hit the news stands today so go out and pick one up! [or if you are out of town - download it here]
Katie Sullivan and Holly Wall have always been extremely supportive of all our projects/events - Thank you! It was an honor to be part of the story... Thank you so much.

Friend/photographer/creative director/designer: Jeremy Charles was the dude behind my photo and I'd like to give him all sorts of props for coming in here on an early/rainy Friday morning and knocking this out - you're awesome dude.

a busy week = understatement

dang, where do I begin?
I'd like to apologize to everyone for being a bit behind on my correspondences. This frenzy I have been in started last week and forecasters say it should should continue on through middle of next week, so please be patient. Busy is good and I'm stoked. Trying to find a balance: mentally, physically, geographically, creatively and socially. It is awesome.
First, like I mentioned on Monday, we had a press conference here in the studio on Monday to announce the new Lawyers for the Arts Program here in Tulsa.

[L-R: Our incredible / honorable Mayor Kathy Taylor, the President and CEO of the Tulsa Metro Chamber Mike Neal, ME(!) and the champion behind this new program Chad Burris.]

Here is one of the articles from the press conference: Read

A few more things to say, so I am going to break them up into unique posts! See you in a few!