maple leaves

It's a cold, cloudy, drizzly day in London.  Here's to remembering sunnier times.

 In November, maple leaves carpet the landscape at the Ryōan-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. There was something really beautiful about baskets full of leaves.  I wanted to take one home with me.  

sleeping

This is one of my favorite photos from Christmas...Ben, cherubic and peaceful, my dad, a true Gallo, napping whilst balancing a glass of wine...taking this photo was like capturing the eye of the Christmas storm.  Later I will revisit Japan and post something from Seoul, but in the meantime, I offer a bit of serenity (and that's so rare these days).

hats in mexico

Just to confuse the timeline of my blog even further, I'm going back to our days in Mexico from September 2012...I'll get caught up chronologically someday.  This one's theme is hats.

 Remember the two hour canal ride we took to the Island of the Dolls?  No? Well anyway, this was a shot from that boat ride.

 Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, outside of Mexico city.  It dates to around 100-200 BC (except the orange stuff).

 Our tour guide.

At the restaurant La Gruta, which is built into a cave.  A fun and unique eating experience.  This picture has no hats but I threw it in there anyway.  3 out of 4 ain't bad.

Here With Me

Two photos to represent the Here With Me music video I photographed in November.  It was grimy, dark light but the combination of my Mark III and Lightroom does wonders.

This is our friend Sabrina, the three handed ticket master, waiting while they light her.  I thought she and all of her hands performed brilliantly.

This is our friend, Santa-turned executioner, between takes, resting on the Torture Chair.   Hooray Glen, for your chilling performance :)  

Trip to Kyoto

Kinkaku-ji - Temple of the Golden Pavilion - Zen-Buddhist Temple in Kyoto, Japan One of the 1600 Buddhist temples in Kyoto (in addition to 400 Shinto Shrines). The history of this temple dates to the 1300's, though the building pictured was burned by a crazy monk in the 1950's, so has since been rebuilt. The gold helps purify negative thoughts (although apparently not that particular monk's). The little islands in the water represent land masses, the largest  signifying Japan.  Visually striking, to say the least!

fractured

self portrait

Blog, I have not forgotten you. I've been traveling a lot. Hopefully this means I'll be updating you retroactively. Here is a self portrait at a Tokyo press conference. I know it's cluttered and I'm obscured, and it's hard to know where to settle the eye, but that invokes the feeling of what these press conferences are like for me. Manic, innumerable people, trying hard not to have my vision completely obscured by the 100's of photographers more determined and ruthless to get a shot than I've ever been. Of course, you're not really seeing the other photogs and reporters in this picture, mostly just the extra people. I don't really know what all of these extra people do. I'm sure they're important, as the majority have clipboards and iphones, and stay busy seeming.  There are always a ton of extra people at every such event in Tokyo. It certainly makes said events crowded and chaotic...but what fun would it be any other way?