PAID DUES 2011 | RECAP

I feel sorry for all the poor blokes that missed out on Guerilla Union's 6th Annual Paid Dues Festival this year. A great day of Hip-Hop and breezy Southern California weather, and after it all, I just had two words to say - BLACK STAR.

The crowd during Binary Star.

My homie MC Futuristic stays on the grind. Check out his music. It's fresh.

Mistah FAB wearing a Hiero tee, representing for Oakland and the whole Bay Area.

Hyphy.

This is my good friend Mondo from the one and only Matt and Mondo's Punk Rock Power Hour. We talked about girls and Pokemon. I'm serious.

I like this picture a lot. Visionaries onstage.

P.O.S. is not a piece of shit at all. He's actually a really nice guy and is great at what he does. One of my favorites for sure.

Met this dude with a cool Supreme cap and I snapped a pic.

Security guards and Scarub (Living Legends/Afro Classics).

I ate here. The food wasn't great, but the stand looked cool.

Rawth (Asher Roth and Nottz) on the main stage with this sunset. Until next time.

FILM IS FUN

I developed my first two rolls of film from my Minolta earlier this week. I think the shots came out pretty good. The last time I shot film was probably sophomore year of high school, and I was using a disposable camera. I like film.

Here are some of my favorite shots. I'll be posting more of my pictures on my Tumblr blog. Follow me!

PATIENCE AND A 35MM

A lot of things have been happening in my life that have really been testing my patience. Some situations I can control, and some I can't. It's how you deal with these situations that build you up and help you become a stronger person. I could have just sat back and complained about everything going wrong, but I got up and did something about it instead. Keeping a positive outlook on life is not always easy, but the fact that you are sitting here right now reading this is a blessing. I'm not trying to preach or get religious, but we are very fortunate to have the things we have. Our sight, hearing, and all these opportunities before us are overlooked far too often. Every once in a while we have to step back and reflect on life. Not only to be thankful and to stay grounded, but to stop taking things for granted. I've been getting better at this over the past year, but I'm still learning.

How does a 35mm camera tie into this? I bought this Minolta from a thrift shop in Pomona earlier this week. I've been used to shooting digital and all other forms of technology that give us instant gratification. It's not like that with an analog camera. You have to wait and be patient until your film is processed to see the results of your work. Funny, it wasn't until after I purchased the camera that I realized how it connected with everything going on.

Be patient and enjoy life.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

I haven't been updating this blog as much as I'd like. To say the least, things have been pretty crazy lately. If you keep up with my blog, you already know I started writing for Aster Magazine. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this.

This past weekend I did my first interview for Aster with designer, Victor Wilde. I think it went pretty well for my first interview. The full story will be up soon.

Besides all that, I've been getting more into photography. I'm trying to get some ends together to pick up a new and better camera. For now, I'm posting some of my work on this Tumblr blog. IF YOU LOVE PUPPIES, YOU'LL FOLLOW ME. Who knows where this will take me. I just love taking pictures.

Click here to see more of my work.

PS. New ETRNLST is on the way. 

NIKE STADIUM NY PRESENTS: MAKE SOMETHING!! WITH ARI MARCOPOULOS

The power to positively inspire and motivate another person is an amazing thing. I watched this video over and over, all day, and I still found myself smiling everytime. It's a hard feeling to explain, but this two minute video is very special to me.

With the help of Vice Magazine photo editor Lele Saveri, legendary photographer and film maker Ari Marcopoulos teaches a group of kids in New York City the basics of photography and putting together a zine. Ari, Lele, and most importantly, the kids, get it done, all while keeping a strong D.I.Y. mentality.

The message in this and every other video in the Make Something!! series is obvious... MAKE SOMETHING! The only person that can hold you back is yourself, so if there's something you want, go get it!

WHERE IS DUMA?: NYC TOUR (PART 3)

Not much writing to do here, just a few shots I got walking around Brooklyn and Manhattan. See you soon NY!

ETRNLST OG (PHOTO SHOOT)

I plan on doing a photo shoot for every design ETRNLST releases this Summer. Last week my friend Yauchi took some pictures of my old friend Anica wearing a few different colors of the OG logo tee. The shots came out great! It was Anica's first time doing anything like this. I think she's a natural! Here are some of my favorite shots.

FAT BEATS INSTORE

Aside from yesterday's Mother's Day festivities, MC Prototype and DJ Nickyboi performed at Fat Beats in LA with our friends CookBook and UNO Mas of LA Symphony. These guys are quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite hip-hop duos. I HIGHLY recommend picking up their album, C&U Music Factory.

Lex and Kray-Z even got a chance to perform a couple Alpha de Omega songs too. These kids have a real unique and fresh style.

All in all, it was a good time with good friends. Next stop on the mini-instore tour is GCS in Santa Ana on Saturday, May 15. See you there.

HISTORY IN FOCUS: 13thWitness

A picture's worth a thousand words; for that reason I'll keep this brief and let the following images speak for themselves. 13thWitness is a young, highly skilled, and accomplished Photographer and Videographer. Although a majority of his catalog consists of digital still photographs, he is no stranger to capturing motion through the lens. In the past he has worked with none other than Nike and Japanese Hip-Hop group, Nitro Microphone Underground. What more can I say, this cat is gonna be HUGE! If you like what you see, support 13thWitness by following his amazing shots month-to-month in his limited 2010 calendar, which can be purchased here.

13thWitness Website
13thWitness on Twitter
13thWitness Blog on Hypebeast

"The best photo I ever took, was the one I never took."

 - 13thWitness

(ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEO BY 13thWitness)