Sometimes on shoots something funny happens...that seems to happen a lot when you work with awesome people.
And sometimes, you just have to make some photoshop goodness. [thumbs up/thumbs up/fire/fire/fist emoji]
UCF vs FIU
Photographing President Obama
I never thought I'd be in the same room with any sitting president, let alone have the opportunity to photograph one. This post is not about politics, not about right or left, just about an ambitious kid (at heart) who wants to share dope photos of probably a once in a lifetime event.
I do not know her name but I know she's big on the youtube. Shoutout to her cuz she seemed cool and took plenty of selfies with her fans.
Carlos Guillermo Smith started off the night with a powerful speech.
This is Danny. Danny is from the UK & has a cool accent.
This is the Nard-Dog's signature look. It is copy written, so don't steal it.
Game recognizes game. I couldn't tell if that Drake's dad or Uncle Denzel, but shoutout to you, sir!
I saw this kid about 2 minutes before President Obama took the stage. I knew he was entering the stage from that side so I was hoping he would get a handshake from the president...
And he did!!!
There was a crowd of just under 10k people!!
Thanks, Obama
Fresko Fadez Barbershop
I finally made it back to Sarasota to check out the new Fresko Fadez Barbershop. Manny "Fresko" Lopez has been cutting my hair for about 15 years now, maybe even longer than that.. **Full disclosure: he's my cousin** But cousin or not, Fresko is truly at the top of his craft and a great entrepreneur. If you are friends with me on facebook I am sure you have seen one of many posts about the shop.
I have seen Fresko's growth as a barber from the very beginning. Starting out cutting in his parents garage, to a small 300 sq ft studio space, to now one of the largest & busiest shops in Sarasota. The shop is filled with talented barbers, comfortable leather chairs, & great vibes. I could go on and on but I'd rather show you what a day in the shop looks like...
Fresko.
Dre.
Blessed.
Wicho.
T-Snow.
Fresko is a real inspiration to me, so it is great to be able to see him living out his dream. Congrats on the new shop, Fresko!
If you haven't been to the new shop check them out at:
463 North Lime Ave. Sarasota, FL
941-552-6067
PFL All Star Showcase
Soooooo, the Summer of 2016 has been pleasantly busy! I've put a lot of miles on the Lancer, but it's all been worth it.
A couple weeks ago, I had an opportunity to work with the great people over at the Professional Futsal League to photograph their All Star Showcase at ESPN Wide World of Sports . This event included the 6x world player of the year, Falcão and 2x world player of the year, Ricardinho.
Here are some of my favorite shots from the night of the big game.
Pre-game Dab
Falcão greeting fans
Pre-game warmup & Periscoping,
Selfies for days!
Orlando City SC midfielder and Brazilian soccer icon, Kakà stopped in to visit his countryman, Falcão.
Orlando City's, Júlio Baptista was also there to support his friend Falcão.
At the end of the match the final score was: Team Falcão: 9, Team Ricardinho: 8 . But the real winners were the fans! It was a thrill to see (& photograph) all of the players interacting with the fans, taking more selfies than can be counted, and just having fun.
I would personally like to thank everyone at the PFL for being great hosts and I can't wait for the inaugural season!
#ORLANDOUNITED
I have been lucky enough to call Orlando my home for over 3 years and on June 12, 2016, Orlando was attacked. Pulse, a gay nightclub was the focus of this attack. This cowardice act of hate ended 49 lives too early, and changed more lives than can be counted.
Almost immediately blood banks around the city were having donation lines for blocks. People and local businesses were donating food and water to those who were standing in line to donate. It was a beautiful sight to see this community come together as one in its time of need.
First donation at the UCF Student Union blood drive.
And the donations kept coming all day...
There have been blood drives and vigils throughout the city, including a massive vigil outside the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center. (please google the images are amazing!) On June 14, there was a vigil scheduled for Memory Mall at the University of Central Florida. (large grassy field on UCF campus) Right before the start time a thunderstorm was about to hit, so it got postponed for 15-20 minutes. Realizing the storm was likely to stick around the decision was made to move the vigil into the UCF Student Union. There were many speakers at the vigil including President of UCF, Dr. John C. Hitt, Transgender Inclusion Director of Equality Florida Gina Duncan, and LGBT activist Joe Saunders.
After every storm, the sun shines bright.
This is such a tough thing for me to blog because it is such a heavy topic. But I felt I had to share these photos, i want to show how strong the city beautiful truly is. If these photos can make one of the victims loved one's smile, I feel my job is complete.
WE ARE ORLANDO. WE WILL NOT SPREAD HATE. #ORLANDOUNITED
Do you even blog, bro
So, I have feel like I haven't done good enough job of sharing exactly what I do. That is going to change. I am starting this blog as a portal to share my work, photography tips, and most importantly, to tell stories. If you are a grammar nerd this might not the place for you. I can not promise punctuation, spelling or proper sentence structure. BUT I can promise dope photos of some pretty cool stuff. Deal?
FFC 24 - Daytona Beach, FL
So this past weekend I shot my first ever MMA/kickboxing event, FFC 24. The FFC invited me out to shoot there weigh in on Thursday and also their fights on Friday. I have always been a fan of combat sports so photographing this event was amazing. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the event.
Focus.
Danillo Villefort getting his hands wrapped before he warms up.
Leo Bercier displayed the heart of a champion. Although he lost his fight to Chris Curtis via unanimous decision, he won the hearts and respect of everyone in the building.
Roberto Neves celebrates after he landed a vicious highkick to his oppnent, Valdir Araujo, in the first round of their fight.
In the MMA main event, Danillo Villefort stopped Thiago Rela in the 3rd round.
FFC Heavyweight champion Mladen Brestovac successfully defended his title against Steven Banks with a high kick in round 2.
And that wraps up my first blog ever! FFC 24 was an amazing event and I am glad I could be a part of the FFC's first event in the US. There will be more dopeness coming soon! Thanks for checking out the blog!
I don't really know how to end a blog post soooo....bye?