Eva's Hands and the New Paradigm

I haven’t felt much like writing lately. Not since the election. Really not since the inauguration. I think we’re in a pretty dark place right now. A dangerous place. It’s hard to keep up with things, move forward with business as usual. Especially with things that may seem frivolous, trivial, or non necessary. Things like art. Things like beauty. Things like spending a few hours in the darkroom with film and chemistry. Watching an image slowly emerge in the developer. Things like magic.

Ilford HP5 thru a Hasselblad 501c with an 80mm lens, printed on Ilford fiber based, glossy paper.

Most people I know don’t really know what to do right now. In years past, in the early days of Orange Julius Caesar’s reign, we were ripe with outrage and protest. Millions of people took to the streets. There was a feeling of united solidarity against what was happening. This time, not so much. I have a theory, that previously, it felt like we were trying to keep the country from going over a cliff. Now we’re over the edge. We’re in free fall. And really, what can you do when you’re just falling? What control do you have? You can twist and contort your body. You can close your eyes and tell yourself its not happening. You can scream til your voice is raw. Does any of it really matter? Will any of it stop the falling? No.

We can check in on each other. We can keep our actions small and close. We can hold hands with the person or loved one thats plummeting alongside us. We can make each other feel a little better. A little safer. With understanding or commiseration, or love, or art, or beauty. Or darkroom magic. Until it’s time to shut it all the fuck down. Prepare yourselves.

This image is the last of the “Print of The Month” subscription series. It went a year. I enjoyed it, having an assignment. I’ll still be printing images and making them available to collectors, but there will no longer be a subscription based model. They’ll be in the Store, periodically updated. I think this is one of my very favorite images I’ve ever created with traditional materials. Eva Luna, in studio, hand study. Going out to subscribers in a 5x5” format, available soon to purchase in the store, printed on 8x10” in a limited edition.

Thank you for the continued support. Thank you for believing that beauty matters.

A Reckoning

It’s been a week. A long week. A week since the heart break. Things did not go the way I thought they would. Our better angels did not prevail. We’re now sitting in this in between, liminal place, between the old world and the new. I can recognize that enough people are fed up with the way things have been that they’re willing or eager to burn it all down in the hopes for something better. I think its shortsighted. I think its based in an inability to take in the available information and make an informed choice about the path ahead. For whatever reason, here we are. This is Trump’s America. And a huge number of our countrymen have shown us exactly who they are.

I have been pretty deeply engaged in politics since I was able to vote. I voted for Bill Clinton and medicinal marijuana. I have voted for every Democrat running for President since 1993. I believe in compassion, in liberalism, I believe that people should be allowed to be who they are, I believe in art and science and love and openness and honesty and taking care of one another and moving, ever so slowly towards a better tomorrow. I believed that my voice mattered and my opinion was shifting society towards a brighter future. I now believe that I am in the minority.

I believe that society is a very delicate balance, angels dancing on the head of a pin, that the facade of sanity is thin. It won’t take much to push us into fiery chaos.

Fortunately I’m pretty well resourced, here in my California bubble. I have a level of economic means, I’m white, I’m a man. I’ll be fine. I’ll be sipping bourbon and watching it burn from my artist’s loft in a converted cotton mill, built in 1917.

Good luck. I love you.

Please enjoy these photos of Emma Nicole Vaunt. I like them quite a bit.

Bella on the Big Island

Sometimes I’ll just drop a photo here cuz I want it to be able to be seen without the requisite censorship of the social platforms.

One frame from a hand full of rolls of film I shot that day. It’s overexposed and flare-y but I really like it. Ilford HP5 developed in HC110, Dilution B

VOTE!

Buy the shirt here

I have a theory about the collective consciousness of the country, the planet. I believe that human beings, especially creative human beings, are very susceptible to the current climate. The vibes. Artist are observant. Artists are sensitive. Artists are aware of the safety of their surroundings. I’m using the term artist very loosely, meaning anyone who is creative, who’s open, who’s generative. I’ve been feeling like there is a cultural recession happening. There is less being made, created. Photographers are struggling. Artists are struggling. The art markets are in the shitter. Social media is in decline (for many reasons) For the first time in over a decade, Burning Man hasn’t sold out. There’s been this feeling for the last eight years, this anticipation of doom. The country is so divided. There is so much anger and hate in the air. We’ve lived under a criminal as a president and through a global pandemic. There are brutal conflicts happening around the planet. And we are connected now in a way that we never have been. The 24hr news cycle, instant global communication. We are more aware of the moments at hand than ever before. We’re fucking tired.

Thinking back to when things felt good, hopeful, positive. For me and many of the people I know it was the Obama years. I have a distinct memory of watching the inauguration in the kitchen of the ranch house I was living in, on a thirteen inch TV. Tears of relief and gratitude streaming down my face. It felt like forward momentum. That good could triumph over evil, that progress was possible, beating back regression. That we as a country could at least begin to look at the roots of oppression and inequality that have plagued us since our inception. Things really felt like they were on the upswing. The vibes were good. Creating from a place of positivity and optimism is very different than creating from a place of desperation and fear.

There’s been a lot of recognition in the past years about the subtle differences and acceptance of human beings. Someone might be on the spectrum or non gender conforming, or neurodivergent. We’re waking up to these nuances that are still kinda stigmatized, but what if our subtle differences are what make us modern humans? Creative individuals may fall in these categories or may be categories all their own. Creativity, artistry, ingenuity are the engines that drive society. That push us forward. They’re the minds that ask, what if? When we feel oppressed, we don’t create freely. When we don’t feel safe, we don’t stick out our necks. I firmly believe this downturn we’re experiencing is a direct outcome of the politics we’ve been living under.

And now, sitting here, with a sense of quiet optimism. The momentum of Kamala Harris feels familiar. It feels like a cool breeze in a stifling room. I don’t know if an elected administration is enough to shift the tracks we’re on but I’m super eager to find out. My hope is that the sensible and intelligent turn out, in force in November. A loud voice, a singular voice, a diverse voice in defiance of the oppressive, regressive, fearful policies of a morally bankrupt right wing in this country. Not just for the commander in chief, but all the way down the ballot. Taking the house and increasing our representation in the senate. A super majority. Taking this country back. If we can, and if we do, I believe we’ll usher in a new era of growth and prosperity.

I wanted to do something more than be loud online and donate money to obscure campaigns in winnable districts after consuming a few Manhattans. So I decided to take on a little art project and taught myself how to silk screen. I’m making these shirts. All by hand. I’ve launched a web store. I’m donating all the profits to Swing Left. An org dedicated specifically to strategically boosting dem campaigns across the country. Available in common sizes in crop tops and unisex styles. (of course I made it sexy. . .) Super soft and comfortable. I didn’t want to make something super partisan, even though it is, subtly, I just want people to turn out. Nearly 40% of eligible voters in this country don’t bother to show up. When we show up we win. When we fight, we win. Do you understand the assignment?

If you’re a creator, an artist, photographer or model, give me a shout and I’ll get you a shirt if you agree to promote it and get out the vote.

Miss Nicole Emma Vaunt.

I’m sure I first became aware of Vaunt in the late Aughts/early 2010’s, during the heyday of Tumblr and Instagram. Zivity was a fun off shoot for a while. That period in time felt like a flood of creativity, eroticism, exploration and expression. Personally and professionally.

Before SESTA and FOSTA neutered platforms. Photographers and models were making amazing work together. It felt like this churning cauldron with so many characters and personalities spanning the country. Vaunt and her partner Corwin Prescott were living in Philadelphia at the time. Corwin is an exceptional photographer of the female form. Prolific and committed. A number of very large anthologies published that are a pleasure to thumb through. The work out of the east coast during that time had a specific flavor. A kind of darkness and moody sexuality. A weight. Brick and pine. It was almost anti L.A.

There was something about these models of that time. Alt Models, a term possibly made popular by Suicide Girls which dominated the scene. These models weren’t just objects or vessels to be photographed. You couldn’t book them through an agency. They were artists and creatives in their own right. With a perspective, a point of view, an aesthetic, an attitude. They were collaborators. Co creators. In my experience, working with someone, the dance the exchange of ideas and concepts and what came out of it. That was the good shit. Thats what really makes it fun. I fell in love with one. A story for another time.

So when I saw that Vaunt was available for shoots in the Bay Area I jumped at the chance to book some hours. Tintypes, film, digital. Having a window of time with a model on the road isn’t exactly the same as having an ongoing relationship. You’ve got to cram the getting to know you and the creating a bunch of work in to a very short time frame. But I think we did alright. I tried not to fanboy too much.

It isn’t lost on me that this period of time for which I’m so nostalgic were also the Obama years. There was a feeling of possibility and opportunity in the air. I think everyone that thinks and feels like me, liberal, progressive, love above all, was breathing a little easier. It felt like we could be ourselves with less fear of oppression. The internet was a vast stage that we could spill out on to.  The last eight years has not felt that way. The country’s turn toward authoritarianism and the abandonment of rationality has been brutal to endure. Conservatives don’t make anything of value. They don’t create, they are not generative. Art, technology, science, progress, is the wheelhouse of the liberal. The open minded. Conservatives seek to contract, to go back, to retreat, to “make America great again.” Whenever the fuck that was.

I’ve said it before, but I really do feel that we’re in the middle of a cultural recession. Or hopefully the end. . . I am emboldened by the democratic party’s embrace of Kamala Harris. Not that any one political leader can fix things or make it all better, but it sure sets a tone. An intelligent, reasoned, woman of color leading this nation sure feels a hell of a lot better than the alternative. Here’s to hoping we’re turning back towards the light. Here’s to Hope.

Join members only to see this whole set. Its free. You won’t regret it.

Print of the Month Out the Door

This month’s print is out the door and it’s a special one. For the first time, a genuine, hand made, in the darkroom, silver gelatin print is being sent to members. 5x7 very limited edition. Archival materials and process. There’s till time to sign up and receive this one. Join Here. Fifteen bucks a month or $150/year. Hell of a deal. Get Brett in you mailbox. There’s nothing quite like holding a real print in your hand.

Members Only, Now Free Fiddy!

This week’s photo set is with Anneke. Lots more in the now free, members only section. Join here.

I’ve been running this little experiment of a site now for a few years. Tremendous thanks to all the members and visitors. After lots of deliberation, I’ve decided to drop the paywall to the members only galleries. For a number of reasons. I think the primary one being the self imposed pressure I feel to keep updating things at a pace that may not suite my life and schedule. I have a fairly demanding day job shooting for a large apparel and footwear brand, a number of side hustles, tintype shoots, personal work, personal life, etc, etc. I feel a twinge of guilt every week that goes by that I haven’t updated. I think its acceptable to expect something you pay for to be updated weekly. Sometimes I’m lucky to hit monthly. I also feel this push to publish the kind of images that people want to pay for, heavy on the T&A, yet not so much T&A that will piss off the hosting overlords. And not just publish, I feel this expectation creep into the shoots that I’m producing and the work in general. . . Really trying to embrace creating for myself first and just letting the chips fall where they may.

The income that I derive from this is nice, but is in no way supportive of materials of model fees or hosting costs, etc, etc. So, maybe there’s more to be gained by making it free. I’ve never really been comfortable with the hard core self promotion needed to drive people here. Always been a kind of, take it or leave it situation.

Additionally, Squarespace has a fairly liberal policy on artistic nudity, but the payment processor, does not. I’ve come close to having the site shut down because of that and losing access to that payment portal’s services across the board would be detrimental to my other businesses. Their reach is vast. So this move is in part, self preservation. It really does feel like we’re in a puritanical time online with a handful of gate keepers. SESTA and FOSTA really did a number on the expression of nudity and sexuality.

You’ll still need to be a member, but now its free to sign up. If you’re paid for an annual membership and are upset about it, drop me a line and I’ll happily refund the remainder of your membership.

This path, this career has never been about the money for me. Of course everyone needs to be able to support themselves. Long ago I decided I’d never be a starving artist. I would also never compromise on what I wanted to be doing just to make more money. I’m a commercial artist and I’m extraordinarily lucky to be able to earn a comfortable living with my craft, doing what I love, doing what I’m good at.

So, how can you continue to support this work you may ask? And thank you for asking! The print of the month club is still available at $15/month. There is physical work for sale in the Store and more on the way. I am looking at some kind of tip jar, that could be fun.

In the immortal words of Joe Walsh, “I can’t complain but sometimes I still do. Life’s been good to me so far.” Lets see where we go from here.

-Cheers!

Verronica Again

Just a quick update this week.
Life has been a whirlwind lately. Caught the eclipse with a big group of friends in Texas. Highly recommend. If you have the chance to see a total solar eclipse, take it. You’ll never experience anything on this planet like it. There are no images or words to adequately describe it. It’s the only time I've tangibly felt the vast mechanics of our universe in action. The interplay of gears and pendulums swinging through the vastness of space, aligning for such a brief moment, in such a precise and delicate way to create a spectacle that boggles the human mind. . . The next one will happen in 2026 and will be visible, notably, in Iceland, Portugal and Spain. Plan accordingly.

2024 Total Solar Eclipse as seen from Lampasas, Texas.

From there I went straight to a shoot in Utah, flying into Salt Lake City and driving out to the Bonneville Salt Flats. My crew had flown in a couple days before as I lagged behind for the Eclipse. Photographer extraordinaire, Will Saunders shot action on day one, and I shot fashion on day two. It certainly felt weird dropping into this other worldly landscape, just on the heels of a celestial event. The shoot felt great. The day flew by. It was weird being on vacation with 8 friends, super social for days on end, then being flung into work mode. I was looking forward to it. I like being busy. I like being on set. I like being productive.

The Salt Flats as seen from highway 80 heading west.

Last week was spent in L.A. shooting a casting for a new crop of potential models for the coming seasons. Some really excellent prospects. L.A. is a whole vibe. It’s easy to shit on, but honestly, I really liked the feel. It felt vibrant and alive. Lots of people out, lots of energy. Very much a contrast to Oakland where it seems like a new restaurant closes every week. Not much of a social scene in the Town. L.A. has its issues for sure, but I didn’t feel on edge like I do here. Something to think about. I chose to drive down. Sometimes I would rather spend some hours on the road, listening to music and pod casts and my own thoughts than deal with airports and all the bullshit. Feels more free. Came back on 101 thru Santa Barbara. Lunch at La Super-Rica, swung by one of the old Brooks Institute of Photography campuses (RIP) which is now a middle school. All kinds of feels. Beautiful as ever.
Back at home in Oakland, the darkroom in the new studio is progressing nicely. I’ve gotten better at soldering copper plumbing. Today was spent scouting locations for our next shoot up north. I almost stepped on a new born fawn bedded down in the tall grass.

Gorgeous day. Fried chicken sandwich and a beer for lunch. Zero complaints.

This week’s photo set is another slice of the shoot with Verronica. There are very few images that are safe for work so you’ll have to click thru to see the bulk. Here’s a taste.
Thanks for reading. Thanks even more for subscribing.

A Good Thing Happened on the Internet

With Alex.

A good thing that happened on the Internet. This week’s photo set is of a friend, Alex. We met online and wound up shooting together a fair bit. An online friend became a real friend and community. I’ve met many people in her life that are important to her, spent time with them, worked with them, laughed with them. Thats the promise of the internet I want. One like or message can change the path of your life. There’s something incredibly beautiful about that. This week Alex posted some older photos she and I took together with some really wonderful words. The first time we really hung out. And she almost didn’t show up! That morning was a struggle! What amazing thing that one small choice can lead to so much. So much good. That post reminded me I’ve never really shared the bulk of the work. So here it is. May the force be with you. And if it weren’t crystal clear, members get access to 50+ images from this shoot. They’re worth it. Sign up.

I frequently find myself thinking and writing about the state of social media today. Lamenting the bygone days of building a strong following and community. For a while it felt like a god send. I got mildly popular on Flickr, then Tumblr and grew a modest following on Instagram. Every photographer was pouring energy and imagery into Instagram, and were getting real jobs because of it. Not as influencers, but by being discovered by art and creative directors at ad agencies that used it as a discovery tool. Before the phenomenon of TikTok and Instagram reels. This slide towards goofy, inane content, meant solely to keep you on your device longer, making you consume more ads and earning the platforms more money. I’ve mentioned before, the article by Dr. Cory Doctorow, TikTok’s Enshittification

Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.

It’s a brilliant piece and it’s happening all around us. I thought that possibly I was almost alone in the recognition of this, and how it’s shaping our current world. Maybe I was just getting old, and failing to jump on the newer, better bandwagon. Failing to create engaging content with flashy video and posting five times a day. But no. There really is something happening here. In recent days and weeks, my awareness and consciousness has been inundated with similar voices. Threads if rife with complaints about instagram and how they’re changing. Adam Mosseri, Insta’s CEO has been fairly vocal in the opinion that followers no longer matter, that the engagement of your content is king. And it really is, for THEM. The more insane crap that gets posted, the longer people mindlessly scroll and suck up paid ads. Meta reported over $40 BILLION in profit last year. Instagram doesn’t give a shit about our little still photographs. And thats a damn shame.

So, while we’re treading water, looking, watching, waiting, I’m seeing more and more signs of other people waking up and trying to break down what’s happening. Its reassuring to find similar points of view and influential people pondering the same things. I stumbled across this talk last week with Jack Conte, CEO of Patreon from SXSW titled Death of the Follower and the Future of Creativity on the Web. Adam digs into this concept, and the big take away is that as a creative, as a maker, the old platforms are quickly becoming useless. Especially with the rise of Ai, they’re going to be absolutely flooded with shit. Ai generated content that will ultimately break the internet as we know it, making these tools like Instagram, that used to be so useful, nearly useless for real artists. The signal to noise ratio is going to get absolutely wrecked. Conte goes on to say that platforms like Patreon and Kajabi, and SquareSpace and Substack, places where creators can post freely and monetize their work, are the future. The concept that all you need are 1000 true fans. First put forth by Kevin Kelly (https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/ ) Fans that will subscribe and purchase art, and pay a monthly fee to support what you’re doing. Many artists and writers, photographers are able to make a living doing what they love because of platforms like these.

But what will become of the discovery aspect? The top of the funnel, that directs eyeballs to your work? Its become nearly impossible to be seen on Instagram let alone build a following. Where will that discovery happen? I believe there will be a place for a new, (or old?) type of social network that eschews algorithms and data mining. That respects the individual and their journey of discovery. I remember going down deep rabbit holes of finding a piece of art I liked, looking at everything else the artist made, finding their web page, checking out the stuff THEY liked and who their biggest fans were, interacting with them. A very different experience than just mindlessly swiping on what the app thinks I want to see. Its become so incredibly toxic.

I’m participating in the beta for FotoApp and so far it looks promising. An actual place for photography. No algorithm, no selling of data, no advertising. Fingers crossed.

Which brings me to Rick Rubin.
I thought I was going to get through a blog post without mentioning Rick Rubin, but alas... I just listened to his recent episode with Chris Dixon. Chris has a new book out and it (and the podcast) beautifully illustrates all this. The history, present state, and possible future of the internet. Really hit the nail on the head. The crux being, that everything is currently owned and gate kept by five big tech behemoths. That the early promise of a free and egalitarian internet has been squashed and coopted by these massive corporations that do what corporations do best, put their profits above everything else. I highly recommend his book, Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet  Wherein, Chris describes how block chain technology and open source, decentralized networks, could get us back to the promise that the net held in the early days. Where no one owns our voice, no one can simply shut it down with the flick of a switch. Where we own our own content and our own path. Past as prologue. And yet another reason to be optimistic about the future.
Though its hard to imagine that anything that comes to the fore today will have the same kind of gravity that Instagram had. I think people are burned out and kind of shut down. The photo world is in a slump, the vibrant scene of art models and photographers has fallen off a cliff. Many of my friends just aren’t creating right now. We’re tired. Maybe something good will come along soon to wake us up.
Anyway, thats enough rambling.
I’m really curious to see what the future brings. Until then, keep making shit. Make it for yourself. Make the art you want to see. Show it to people who care. Whether its 30 or 30,000.

The End of Zeitgeist.

zeit·geist
/ˈzītˌɡīst/noun: zeitgeist
The defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.

This week’s (months?) photo set is another of Brett. (@goblingoddesss) There are not many that are safe for work so go take a look and sign up if you haven't. Really, you spend more on coffee in a couple days than you would here.

I was having dinner with friends last night and one of them quipped, “There is no more zeitgeist.” Immediately caught my attention. Perfectly encapsulated this shift I’ve been feeling and have been having such a hard time putting into words. I think he’s exactly right. There used to be this, collective consciousness, that was driven by media and pop culture. There were the albums that everyone was listening to, the books that everyone was reading. Fashion, music, art, trends that would tend to start at the coasts and make their way inward towards the center of the country. There were taste makers and trend setters. New York Fashion Week was an eagerly anticipated global event. And W magazine would write about it. The world was smaller. Creators were fewer. The rest of us waited for them to show us what was cool. Music would percolate up from Brooklyn or Compton or London. And Rolling Stone magazine would write about it. Photographers would emerge with a specific and unique vision and PDN magazine would write about it.

Things have changed. In hindsight, it’s probably a gradual slope, but then all at once. . . Covid had something to do with it. And the internet, and social media. The dice have been rattled and cast upon the table and I’m not sure if up is up and down is down. We’re all living in realities of our own making. Self curated silos. And its a brave new world. For a while, social media added to the Zeitgeist. Trends traveled faster. Then somehow along the way, they became irrelevant. Culture went from waves to a vibration. Its all about the vibes man.

So, how do you make a name for yourself or make a living, in a world where everyone is their own curator? Being an artist in a capitalistic society, if you want to eat, you have to make things that people want to consume. But how do you know what to feed them? When everything is moving and shifting as much as it is. Rudderless. . . Or maybe the rudder is a new type of consciousness that I can’t possibly wrap my brain around in this minute.

I hear people like Rick Rubin, (big fan) saying things like, “create purely for yourself” Divorce yourself from any anticipation or desire for external validation. Don’t make what you think your audience wants, but make for yourself. Thats a hard Jelly Belly to swallow for someone like myself that set out on a path to be a commercial image maker. Operative word being commerce. The intersection of art and commerce. How do you align yourself, how do you present yourself as someone who sees and feels things? What do you capture and create and hold up so that the decision makers feel that you’re the person they will choose to hold the camera? I’m not sure exactly what is happening, but it is happening, and it is profound. And its pretty damn fascinating to watch.

I ran into an acquaintance in a coffee shop today and we got to talking about creative matters and makers and community. That now may be a good time to be building. Traditionally, in economic downturns, it was a good time to start something new. Start laying the foundation and the brickwork so that when things picked up, you were positioned to take advantage. For all the talk of a recession or a downturn, it hasn’t materialized. But maybe we’re in a cultural recession. It sure feels like it. I’ve never felt tings as on edge or as divided as we are now. In this election year.

Politics, social issues, health issues. Every single issue that comes up, there’s someone with an opinion different than yours and fuck you and the horse you rode in on. Things that once unified us are now wedges that push us apart. Maybe this is a cycle and they’ll calm down. Maybe after this November, there will be some return to normality, and sanity. Or maybe not. Maybe this is the new normal. Maybe we’re really meant to follow our own personal truth, whatever that may be. Make the music you want to hear. Make the food you want to eat. Make the art you want to look at.

So yeah, here’s to making the pictures you want to see. Or at least trying to. This week’s (months?) photo set is another of Brett. (@goblingoddesss) There are not many that are safe for work so go take a look and sign up if you haven't. Really, you spend more on coffee in a couple days than you would here.