martyn is like a brother to me. his son dylan has keen eyes, a sharp mind and a sensitive soul.  they truly are father and son. guancaste, costa rica.

jeff johnson portrait / hasselblad 503cw / ilford hp5

this week i had opportunity to photograph chris lieto for the cover of the april issue of triathlete magazine. chris is a world class athlete, 3x ironman champion and someone who never gives up. at the ironman world championships in kona hawaii last year chris finished 2nd! he is a force to be reckoned with!

even more, chris is one of my closest friends.  in fact, a number of years ago chris saved my life while we were rock climbing… then later, at another time in life when i had to use a wheel chair for a couple of years and didn’t think i would run, bike, surf again… chris was a brother throughout that time and he played a key role in my recovery and revitalization. needless to say, chris is someone i value, admire and respect very deeply.

the shoot was epic! we had some intense rain but that didn’t stop chris cycling up gibraltar rd (one of lance armstrong’s favorite rides). while chris rode i hung out of the back of a truck snapping pics or sometimes i would jump out and run alongside him to get some shots. the photo above was captured on gibraltar by the photo editor of the magazine nils nilsen,  a top quality photographer and all around cool guy.

we also shot at the beach, up on some rocks, around town and we did some work in the studio (photo below captured by one of my assistants, i’m not sure which… either way thanks a ton mattia, miles and lara!). in sum, we had a ton of fun and i can’t wait to see what photo the editors pick to put on the cover.

in closing, it was unreal to blend many of my passions – friendship, athletics, weather, outdoors and photography. and for me photography has always been about more than the picture. it is about getting more out of life and that is definitely the case anytime i spend time with chris. for more than anyone i know, chris’ words, actions and life remind me of the truth of what he often says, “anyone can accomplish anything if you never give up.”

if you’d like to learn more about chris lieto - click here to view his website or even better click here to watch this recent trek commercial!

on this cold winter day i am sad, quiet and still.
i just got word that photographer, colleague and friend nick dekker passed away.
he was generous, honest and full of life.
time is relentless.

—————–

below is one of nick’s platino type prints. the photograph was made in
north dakota near his parent’s home. it is titled “forgotten dreams”

here’s a photo i took with an old hasselblad of jon swift. he’s an interesting guy, deeper thinker and great musician – click here to learn more.

i apologize for the delay in posting…. i’ve been shooting a ton this last week! here are a few quick pics from last night when rob machado and gang came through to play some music and promote rob’s lastest movie the drifter. it was an epic show and film!

jay maisel is an amazing photographer. in fact he’s one of the best.  his photographs are vibrant and alive. he is a living legend. over the last few years i’ve had a handful of opportunities to hang out with jay and i’ve consistently been impressed and inspired. a few weeks back when we crossed paths i asked jay a handful of questions and recorded his response. as always, jay’s words were honest, insightful, entertaining and thought-provoking.

click on the play button below to listen to 10 min of our conversation. before you begin, grab a pencil and a scratch sheet of paper as you may want to jot down some notes. enjoy!

david duchemin is more than a typical photographer and the more i get to know him the more impressed i am.  as a person david is honest, humble, engaged and fully alive. the poet kay ryan once said, “i like to think of all good poetry as providing more oxygen into the atmosphere; it just makes it easier to breathe.” that’s exactly how i think about david’s work (whether photography, teaching, writing or speaking)… in other words, while viewing or experiencing david’s work i’m awestruck and my breath is taken away… yet after a few moments its as if there’s more oxygen in my lungs.  as result i breath and live more fully and wholly.  if you’re not familiar with his work/books/blog/etc. click here.

as a side note, david and i have been talking about putting together a photographic workshop/retreat sometime next year. it would be a chance to dig deep, to be renewed, revived and of course to have a ton of fun. collectively, we would explore how to create a solid vision and in turn discover how to create more compelling photographs. if you’re interested in offering some suggestions of workshops you’d like to see, or if you’d simply like to sign up to be notified of workshops click here.

the last time david and i met up i asked him a few questions and you can listen to our conversation by clicking the play button below – enjoy!

i just received my copy of ralph clevenger’s book, “photographing nature” and i am so excited to finally have the book in my hands (thanks to greg lawler for snapping the photo above and below). the book is phenomenal!!!

as many of you know, ralph is one of my colleagues/on the faculty at brooks, one of my photographic mentors and a great friend. as you can imagine i had high hopes and expectations for the book. i’m incredibly pleased to say the the book exceeds even my extremely high and outlandish expectations!

i’ll post a full review once i’ve read it completely, yet for now you can view
more info about his book by clicking here.

chris jordan’s photography is haunting and thought provoking. he recently released a set of photographs of albatross chicks that were made on midway atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the north pacific. the nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. on this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

the images are difficult, yet if you haven’t seen his work click here

lynda weinman (above) is someone i greatly admire. in fact one of my life’s greatest privileges is creating training for her and her husband’s company lynda.com. today i was finishing up some new lightroom 3 beta training and  lynda stopped by to say hello. i seized the moment and snapped a few pics.

if you’re not familiar with lynda.com be sure to click here to check it out

on another note, last night at dinner lynda was showing deke (another author) and myself that the entire lynda.com training library can be accessed and viewed on the iphone – yeeehoo!

yesterday i had the privilege of meeting and photographing one of surfing’s greatest legends – mark richards (click on the photo above for a larger view). mark is a super cool, approachable and down-to-earth guy. if you’re not familiar with mark click here to learn more. mr is the man!

as many of you know jack johnson is one of my all time favorite artists and people. last night at the arlington (pic of the crowd below) was the world premiere of the movie titled “jack johnson en concert.”

the movie was epic. as a surprise jack introduced the film and then afterwards played for about 45min. it was an unreal acoustic show! for more info about the film click here.

channel islands surfboards just posted a few photos and an interview that i did with one of the world’s greatest surfers – tom curren. his style and approach to surfing is unreal. yet even more, tom is a thoughtful, soulful, humble and down-to-earth person who i admire. he is much more than a great surfer.

>> click here to listen to our conversation

joe walking along the goleta pier

tim mantoani has been working on an amazing project titled, ”behind the photographs.” he is a brooks institute grad and was having a show at brooks institute (where i teach). the show is absolutely stunning. if you live anywhere near santa barbara you have to check it out! to the left is a photo that i snapped of tim while he was setting up the show.

click on the link below to listen to a conversation we had while walking through the brooks cota gallery. you will find his words intriguing, enlightening and inspiring – enjoy!

click here to view more of tim’s work

here’s a closer look at the kelly slater photo published in the surfer big issue (click the image above for a larger view).

channel islands surfboards just posted a few of my photos of kelly slater + an interview. to listen to the interview on the channel islands site click here 

also be sure to click on the image above for a larger view – yeeehoooo!

Here’s a pic of a recent pic of me photographing Kelly Slater (photo credit: Travis Lee). Not only is Kelly a 9x World Champion surfer, he’s a super cool and down-to-earth guy. I wish I could show you some of my photos from the shoot – they are insane!! Once they’ve been published, I’ll post some here. For now, click on the image above for a larger view.

i recently photographed world champion and legend shaun tomson for surfer magazine. we met at sunrise and made some unreal photographs. the above image is an out take from the shoot. while it wasn’t one of the photos i selected in the final edit, i still like it because you of the light and shadows. (click on the image above for a larger view)

as we walked back to our cars, i asked shaun a few questions. you can listen in below:

to view more of her work (like the image below): click here

rob machado is an unreal person who is full of soul and his surfing style is unbelievable.
check out a video portrait i made of rob: click here

andy davis is one of my all time favorite artists. to check out his work: click here. surfline posted a interview/feature on andy – yeehoo! in the feature he selected one of my photos that i had taken of his family. to check out the feature and to listen to the interview: click here