I was in a bind and needed to source a 107” backdrop so I could start shooting Youtube content. The 53” paper roll that I use for product shots wasn’t cutting it and I needed to figure out where I could get a neutral grey seamless without having to order one online and wait for delivery or drive all the way to Samy’s in WeHo. I remembered there was a local camera store that I bought my first camera at twelve years ago. I wondered if they were still business so I did a quick google search and gave them a call. What do you know, they answered. I couldn’t believe it and even more of a miracle, they had the color and size that I was looking for. A huge thank you to Hooper Camera in Thousand Oaks and to the super nice dudes that took care of me. They even gave me a great price and put the backdrop in the car for me. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be purchasing any more studio goods online. The fact that this place is still in business during the era of overnight delivery is a testament to how much the community still wants to touch and see and play with items in person. Especially when photography is such a huge part of our lives. And for all of my local analog shooters, they sell film cameras, all types of films and even offer a processing and developing service.
The flea market wasn’t as packed with vendors this time around but I did manage to stop by a few booths and find a couple of gems. My camera guy was kind enough to put aside a box of stuff for me to look through when I got there. I grabbed some cameras from him then stumbled upon a super sick pair of vintage Bollé® shades a few booths over. The seller was asking $15 for these neon relics from the 1980’s. I offered him $5 but he declined. I walked away and then ten minutes later went back and offered him $7 after I seen him make a sale. Knowing my chances were good while he was on a sellers high, he said, “you’re killing me” as he took my money. Score! All in all I spent around $50 for everything but had a great time haggling with the usual suspects. It’s kind of funny how we are getting on a first name basis.
If you remember my blog post from July, I talked about how I took my first pottery class and was excited to go back to glaze what I made. I finally went a couple of weeks ago for the glazing process. It was cool and scary at the same time because with certain colors you never know how the pigments are going to react in the kiln. After a couple more weeks of waiting, the good people over at Firestick Pottery called and said the pieces were ready to pick up. So, here they are. My first handmade pottery pieces that I could not be happier with. The process and the experience was amazing. Seeing the transformation from raw overlooked materials to objects that can be used in a daily application is truly inspiring. The wheels start turning dreaming up what I’ll make next every time I put my jewelry in my artisan dish.
We took a mini road trip over the weekend to the Palm Springs adjacent Desert Hills premium shopping outlets, or simply better known as Cabazon. I haven’t been there in my adult years but always hear about the infamous Gucci outlet. Unlike the Camarillo outlet counterpart where you can only find 10-15 past season products in the store on a good day, here you can find a full selection of complete seasons at a crazy discounted price. Sounded too good to be true so I had to check it out for myself. Without doing any research upon our arrival I was mostly excited to hit the double ‘G’ adorned store but then walking through the layout I discovered that this outlet has EVERYTHING. Pretty much any high-end designer has a store there and even those somewhat under-the-radar brands such as James perse (who I aesthetically love) is nestled right next to Sandro. I couldn’t believe it. Then walking up to the Gooch my eyes shifted to the logo beside it that read, Saint Laurent. I didn’t even have to bother, I knew exactly where I was going first and I’m sure glad I did. Walking in, the sweetest girl, Ashley, took care of me and helped me find my new favorite pants. These striped wool pajama vibe lightweight jogger trouser things (originally $1,290 down to $350) were a must and the last pair in stock. Ashley got me a few pairs of denim that didn’t fit quite right so she went back to see what her little magical hands could find and appeared with the last pair of faded black DO2’s in a size 30 (Originally $750 down to $200). I tried them on and told Ashley that if we weren’t amidst a pandemic I would hug her. She told me to save it and that she’ll collect when it’s over. We hit a few others stores where my card took a beating but we ironically never even ended up going into Gucci. It’s okay, I think this is going to a be a frequent adventure.
My package from Adorama got delivered this morning and boy oh boy am I excited to start creating with the Sony ZV-1. I just took it for a little spin and I’m already in love with it for those good, but not quite cinematic, but still really good videos. I think the only thing I’m going to change out is the mini Rode mic and get their wireless GO version as the wind muff is a bit much for my liking. Plus it’s a little flimsy and I just want to be able to throw this setup in a bag and head out the door.
I didn’t get a chance to thrift last week so I decided to hit my favorite flea market on Sunday. With how crazy things are right now I try to be in and out super fast and only stop by the sellers that I’ve been building relationships with to avoid walking through the crowds. Overall I think it was a success considering I only spent maybe an hour there and about $60 in total. A lot of people always ask me how I go about finding things of value to sell, what to look for, where to go and most importantly.. how to photograph the products so they’re sure to sell for top dollar. I decided to order a vlogging camera so I can start bringing you with me to show you how I do it and what has always worked for me.
I’ve been going down a cinematic rabbit hole over the last couple of days and stumbled upon one of the most beautiful movie breakdowns I have ever seen. I don’t know why I have this innate desire to create stories lately but I hope to one day capture and express one as good as Richard Linklater did in his Before Trilogy .
I finally got my hands on a pair of 032C x Adidas tactical boots. I don’t know why these were so hard to find in my size (10.5) but they’re finally here and I can’t wait to style them.
I’ll be recording a Q+A episode for SS/OUNDWAVES® this week so please DM or email any questions you have. No topic is off the table. I look forward to reading and taking my time to thoroughly answer them in depth opposed to only being able to write a few lines when I do this through my IG stories.
