WHAT’S THE HAPS?
Social Media Galore!!
I've been super busy lately with a bunch of cool projects. I’ve been capturing live events with bands like Wand, Seventies Tuberide, and Gee Tee, and covered the Rhythm and Resin Festival, shooting live video for Wes Chiller and PEARL. I also released a music video with 3LH, documenting their Punk Rock Bowling tour in Vegas.
I've been filming Grant Noble for Futures Fins, Mollusk Surfshop, and Vans. I also got some great shots of a big swell at Newport Point. I'm working on a project with Daydream Surf Shop and recently filmed a surfboard fin talk with Captain Fin Co at Used Surf in San Clemente.
On the personal front, I've been working on an album and setting up new recording equipment. Unfortunately, a wrist injury has slowed down my guitar work, but I’m aiming to release demos alongside action sports content soon.
Looking ahead, I plan to invest in new gear, including a new lens for event and lifestyle work, a shotgun mic, and wireless mics for interviews. I’ve also revamped my file backup system to keep your data safe. Excited for the fall and more great content!
Costa Rica 2024!
I’m back baby! I decided to spend the Holidays out in Costa Rica. It’s such a wonderful place full of wonder and healing. Christmas and New Years are special times on the Guanacaste peninsula. I’ve been spending time out here working with local musicians, businesses, and real estate, capturing content. I’m also creating a digital vacation video for the folks back home, which I’m super excited about. Every time I’m here I come back with tons of content and it’s so creatively inspiring. It’s nice to pick up the camera again and shoot what makes me happy! Pura Vida!
The Position Short Film BTS
The Position Short Film - 2nd 2nd AD
Just wrapped up on a great shoot with director David Barnett who needed some help with his short film “The Position”. I was asked to step into the 2nd 2nd role. We had a great time with this horror piece and I’m happy to report things went very smoothly (I guess as film production goes!). I won’t give too many details but we had some fun prop pieces and wonderful practical SFX work, and it was a real pleasure to work with the team on this one. Will keep people updated on my instagram regarding post production timelines, a release date, and other exciting stuff.
Cade - Paid in Cash
Here’s a cool one. Cade is a local ripper in Huntington Beach. He is such a rad kid and has that stoke for surfing that is so infectious. He’s been on this 90’s kick with paper thin surfboards and crap waves. In a world with squeeky clean surf videos, he stands out in his vintage wetsuits and scorched surfboards. He works for every wave and muscles every turn, scraping the last of the juice out of the waves. It’s so sick.
He runs a youtube channel where he curates 90s surf videos and old contest footage and I’m into it! I wanted to make him something special, something that I don’t really see often in surfing. I dove through the archive and found a rad video of Rob Machado surfing Oceanside Pier in 1992 in the worst waves and just ripping. It was my inspiration. We shot this at HB pier and I spent some time processing it to have a grainy, vhs quality that I think is really convincing. It put my new Macbook Pro Max through it’s paces. I’m really happy with how this one came out. Surf punk is back!
Fish on the Sand
Hey guys! Here is a fun little video from up at Malibu Point. This was shot on the pier at the tables where you would sit if you were eating at the Malibu Farm Restaurant. It might be the best places to watch top level surfing in the world, and the food isn’t bad either! Plenty of shortboarding and longboarding in quality conditions. Also, I spotted a bluefin tuna that was washed up on the sand which is currently going viral on it’s own and up to 500,000 views. What are the chances! This video features a soundtrack made by myself and Darius Ivey, a local musician in Hawthorne. Darius is on bass guitar, and some friends were playing lead and drums.
NAB SHOW 2022 Las Vegas
NAB show 2022 came and went in a blur. I spent time exploring the camera lines of top brands such as Canon, Arri, BlackMagic, Sony, and Panasonic to make clients are getting the right solution at the best price. I learned cutting edge methods for the Adobe suite and Resolve to make sure we produce at maximum efficiency and quality. Integration with FrameiO and cloud solutions mean big collaborative and workflow opportunities ahead. Another mission was developing cost effective lighting solutions, OLED displays, and audio technology for my shoots. Viva Las Vegas!
SUPER BOWL HALF TIME SHOW FIELD TEAM
I am super pumped to have been invited to work the Super Bowl Half Time Show! It was an epic one for the history books and everything went off without a hitch. I got some great experience watching one of the biggest shows on earth with some great people. It was an honor to work with the artists, crew, and stage hands to fulfill their vision. Looking forward to the next adventure!
UNKNOWN VOL. 3 Baybee!
I’ve been lost in the woods writing my third photo book. Zine. Whatever you want to call it. I’m happy to say I have found my way back to the trail. It’s a short board focused book called Peak Performance. It’s directed at serious surfers who put excellent surfing first and gimmicks and fashion last. For the first time I’m going to release as a self published e-Book for your viewing pleasure, free of cost. It has great articles like “How to Score”, “Look Who’s Surfing Now”, and “Battle Scars are Cooler than a Hot Coat”.
My independent book is entirely focused on giving you knowledge that I’ve spent 15 years acquiring. More than ever I want to share what I know with beginners and experienced surfers alike. This book is the culmination of that positive, collaborative spirit and hopefully it inspires others to be more excellent in the lineup so we can all enjoy the ocean together and achieve “Peak Performance”, weather that means an 8 foot punt or your first nice cutback.
Golden Days zine coming in hot!!!
Lately I’ve been getting fired up on art and making physical media again. I went through my archive and found my favorite art pieces for a zine I dubbed “Golden Days”. It’s an entirely DIY handmade collection of ink, wax pencil, colored pencil, and charcoal. It features a few drawings from good friends T-Rex, Joshua Oceguera, and Shane Hammer as well.
Print copies available now! Each limited edition print comes signed and with serial.
New page with art goodies!
One thing I’ve always loved to do is take some of my favorite photographs and use them as reference photos for my artwork. It gives me a lot of satisfaction to add a personal touch each one comes out one of a kind. They all end up custom framed and archived with UV protective coatings to preserve colors. I’ve scanned some of them to share online as well! Enjoy at the link below!
Director / DP / Editor
XCEL WETSUITS PRODUCT VIDEOS
Xcel Wetsuits prides itself on being a core surf brand that caters to serious watermen, like the Hawaiian water patrol. They wanted raw, no nonsense product videos. Kojasta Media delivered! We set up the shoot, nailed it, and processed everything in time for the holiday season. We kept shakes in the camera for a raw vibe and went with a minimalist studio to make product the focus. We made sure to frame it for both web and social media output. Double Prizes!
Onset photo from episode “Desperate Measures”
9-1-1 S5, 20th TELEVISION
I’m thrilled to have been brought on to 20th Television’s hugely successful Ryan Murphy television series 9-1-1 S5. Police procedurals are always tricky, and covid has escalated those challenges. Every day on set was a test. We had some key situations on set like an earthquake, heat waves, injuries on top of the challenges of filming television. I was even given some screen time during the episode “Desperate Measures”, giving cues and adding some background flavor.
Director / DP / Editor
BUMMER SUMMER
Katin Surf Shop is an OG institution in the surf world. We were honored when they approached us about a video. We created a 15 minute short film for them. Scheduling a team of surfers can be a lot like herding cats but we made sure they got great waves. We decided to back off the direct branding, opting for a product placement style in collaboration with Xcel Wetsuits. We also produced a marketing campaign with trailer for social media. I think we created a fantastic video that shows the character of the team and the shop.
Not pictured: incoming thunderstorms, pounding rain, and a very fun quad ride
COSTA RICA CONTENT TRIP
Man, do I love Costa Rica. This year I took a trip there to gather content and put real estate roots down. It was a learning experience navigating customs and making sure that my equipment was covered by insurance out of the country. I captured some beautiful images of the Guanacaste Peninsula. It feels good to be confident in taking my gear anywhere in the world and getting content home!
1st AD / DMX OP / Editor
RUUT FILMS - PROJECT MANAGER
I had the pleasure of working with Jon Bennet at Ruut Films. Jon was going through a transition relocating his business. It was a lot to manage so he contracted me as a Project Manager and Post Supervisor. It was a fantastic learning experience overseeing projects from start to finish. Jon is a RED camera expert and production guru. Their director Connor Griffith is an inspired creative. It was a pleasure to learn from and work with them to achieve their goals. Projects were delivered ahead of schedule and clients were stoked. Best of luck to Jon and his wife. I am sure their production company will continue to impress.
Director / DP / Editor
ROUND UP AT THE COBBLESTONES
Hot on the heels of my hour long surf feature Dance In The Rain, I headed back to Lower Trestles. This time I was blessed with an appearance by Mick Fanning and Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore, among others, absolutely destroying. Shooting Lowers is always a challenge. First you have the hike down dirt trails in the morning rains with your equipment. You and your gear need to be adventure ready. Then it‘s a grueling day of staring at the lineup watching surfers a hundred yards out in the glare of the sun and hoping you don’t miss a perfect wave. I didn’t!
PUBLISHED IN THRASHER MAGAZINE
It’s been a dream to get involved with Thrasher. I was shooting Travis Harrison and Jake Braun often and the images I captured were stunning! I was approached by Doubles LTD and Garage Skate Shop, the skate division of legendary Jacks Surf Shop in HB, who were interested in running them as a full pagers. For me it’s a lifetime achievement. As a bonus, more of the images I shot were featured in Krux truck’s online marketing campaign. Seeing my images being used to help a brand was a great feeling, and an even better was supporting my friends doing what they love. Win, win!