Newsletter Issue 21

A mural downtown SD

I have a "reacting" type of art creation... for those who know me a bit, you'll know I am not exactly the planning type. Generally speaking, that s**t give me anxiety. But it's something I admire in others. Like Thao, for example. 

My friend called and told me she wanted to be photographed in front of a mural she had just completed on the back of Hotel Z downtown SD. When she called me to hire me for this shoot, I immediately knew how I wanted to do this. I respect her art quite a bit, for the simple reason that -as stated above- my mind is not wired to think creatively the way she does; using a canvas on this large a scale, and in using these techniques. Creating something by drawing or painting is something I am incapable of doing. And frankly, I find it intimidating. I love the simplicity of how I shoot. 

I wanted to feature the grandiose scale and the feeling the mural was giving me and use the artist , Thao, as a scale reference for the viewer to understand what an accomplishment it was. I am also including some other shots we took that day to provide different POVs.

I hope you love the images as much as I loved taking them.

#StopAsianHate campaign a few months back

Well, I am just realizing now as I type this that this is a Thao French centric email... let's get into it.

A few months back, Thao asked me to be part of the #StopAsianHate fundraiser she was putting together. I obviously accepted. Duh. 
My contribution was that if you donated to one of the organizations part of this fundraiser and brought me the receipt, I would choose someone at random and that person would get their own photoshoot.

Let's meet our winner: Dr. Ashley Madden of Madden Chiropractic. Dr. Ashley is a friend and also the best damn chiropractor in SD. I will hear no argument otherwise. Go see her.