The reason I was invited to have a one-man show in the Tyler Rollins Gallery in Chelsea, New York entitled "12 Below" was because of this image.
Art collector and businessman Marcel Crespo had purchased this photograph from my "Frozen" exhibit in Manila. Later that year, gallery owner Tyler Rollins saw this image in Marcel's home after which he invited me to have a show in NYC.
It all happened so quick. One minute I was out for a friendly jog and I happened to look down at my favorite Adidas running shoes and noticed what seemed to be a break down in my laces. It was hard to determine if it was fatigue or if they had succumbed to tongue damage. Whatever the case may be, I realized that it was a life or death situation. I knew it would be tough to lose such a close pair of shoes so time was of the essence. I raced to the nearest emergency room as fast as my feet could carry me. The doctors worked like a well polish team but the shoes were losing bodily fluids fast. At one point I, thought they would have to use the paddles but if not for the quick work of the doctors, I'm sure these shoes were destined for the bin.
This was shot as an Ad pictorial for Adidas. I had no art direction and was given total creative freedom.
I honestly believe that one day my son will find himself behind the wheel of either a Ferarri or Lamborghini. Dylan just loves going fast, whether he's running, on his scooter or driving his pedal car, he wants to go fast. "Cars" is his all time favorite film and when he's online he usually searching for anything that is related to speed.
Dylan: Where are you going dad ?
Me: To pick up your sister from school. Do you want to go?
Dylan: Sure! Are you going to go fast and drift?
Me: Yup, real fast and we will drift all the way to her school.
Dylan: Dad why are you going so slow? C'mon! Dad you promised.
Me: It's called traffic, get used to it.
I was fortunate to have photographed Mika Immonen, a Finnish professional pool player and WPA World Nine-ball Champion, for a fashion shoot. We got along from the get go. He seemed like a pretty cool dude so I asked him if he would be willing to come back to the studio for a personal sitting. He agreed and was eager to participate.
I have been asked numerous times how I was able to get this look on his face. After explaining to Mika what I wanted him to do with his hands and body, my only other direction was for him to give me his best primeval scream. This image was part of my exhibition called "One Light" held at the Ayala Museum.
I thought it might be fun to take my son Dylan for a walk with his favorite toy truck down Ayala Ave on New Year's Eve. This is the only time of the year when they close down the street. It could almost pass for a Hollywood set. The fearless Finnster takes on Makati City.
I made these images when I was living in Australia. This was shot at a local foundry somewhere in Sydney. These guys were so accommodating and just great to photograph. Their only request was if they could wash up before the shoot. I convinced them not to do so to keep the look as real as possible. The best part of the shoot was they invited me to join them for tea and bickies afterwards (Bickies is Oz speak for biscuit, aka cookie.)
This was shot with available light on a overcast day on a Mamiya RB 67 camera with a 90mm lens on Kodak Tri-X.
I say never let a raining day stop you from making images, in fact, I look forward to the opportunities they bring. This was just a 5 minute walk from the house, Ayala Triangle Garden photographed in the late afternoon.
