The process for this photo is actually quite simple, I went to Santa Monica with the purpose of shooting some documentary style photos. Be in the moment and capture the softer side of Santa Monica and the pier. The tourist environment of the pier can be very overwhelming at times, but there are a lot of real human moments that happen within all the chaos. That is what I wanted to find and capture.

Last summer, I lost about 20 rolls of film on my way back from LA. Among those 20 were 4 rolls of film I shot on the pier that I knew were going to be some of my favorite photos of all time. Capturing real human moments along the pier, through all the chaos. So when I was in LA in September, the only thing that was on my mind was going back to the pier and trying to recreate that feeling with the photos that I took. Out of all the photos I took, this is the one that most accurately replicated that feeling for me. Just a real moment, two people admiring the incredible view together.

I really value friendship and experiencing things with people I care about which is why I chose to title this photo, ‘Better With You’. Special moments in life can most definitely happen when you are by yourself, but having someone to share that moment with and remember it with years down the road is so special. I spent my evening on the pier with one of my best friends, Octavio. He really wanted to do the whole tourist on the pier thing this evening and I begrudgingly agreed to ride the ferris wheel and the roller coaster with him. I am so so glad that we did, I have so many fun and special memories with him from this evening and because of this also got to capture one of my favorite moments of the whole year.

We said it was a ‘date night’ as a joke, however I honestly do think that going on dates with your close friends is important. On the surface it seems silly to call it that since we usually reserve ‘dates’ for people we are romantically interested in, but spending quality time with friends is equally if not more important than dates with a romantic partner. My time spent on the pier was better because I spent it with Octavio, so in a way this is dedicated to our date and the time we spent together. Go on dates with your friends, cherish the moments you spend with the people that are special to you, and make it a priority. Life is better this way. Memories are sweeter this way.

I will be releasing this photo as an edition of 10 on October 14th. I was tempted to release it as a 1/1, but doing editions felt right given the meaning of the photo. Thanks for taking the time to read a little bit about the piece and what it means to me. I truly love writing about my work in this way, so if you have taken the time to understand my work better it means a lot to me.

The process for this photo is actually quite simple, I went to Santa Monica with the purpose of shooting some documentary style photos. Be in the moment and capture the softer side of Santa Monica and the pier. The tourist environment of the pier can be very overwhelming at times, but there are a lot of real human moments that happen within all the chaos. That is what I wanted to find and capture.

Last summer, I lost about 20 rolls of film on my way back from LA. Among those 20 were 4 rolls of film I shot on the pier that I knew were going to be some of my favorite photos of all time. Capturing real human moments along the pier, through all the chaos. So when I was in LA in September, the only thing that was on my mind was going back to the pier and trying to recreate that feeling with the photos that I took. Out of all the photos I took, this is the one that most accurately replicated that feeling for me. Just a real moment, two people admiring the incredible view together.

I really value friendship and experiencing things with people I care about which is why I chose to title this photo, ‘Better With You’. Special moments in life can most definitely happen when you are by yourself, but having someone to share that moment with and remember it with years down the road is so special. I spent my evening on the pier with one of my best friends, Octavio. He really wanted to do the whole tourist on the pier thing this evening and I begrudgingly agreed to ride the ferris wheel and the roller coaster with him. I am so so glad that we did, I have so many fun and special memories with him from this evening and because of this also got to capture one of my favorite moments of the whole year.

We said it was a ‘date night’ as a joke, however I honestly do think that going on dates with your close friends is important. On the surface it seems silly to call it that since we usually reserve ‘dates’ for people we are romantically interested in, but spending quality time with friends is equally if not more important than dates with a romantic partner. My time spent on the pier was better because I spent it with Octavio, so in a way this is dedicated to our date and the time we spent together. Go on dates with your friends, cherish the moments you spend with the people that are special to you, and make it a priority. Life is better this way. Memories are sweeter this way.

I will be releasing this photo as an edition of 10 on October 14th. I was tempted to release it as a 1/1, but doing editions felt right given the meaning of the photo. Thanks for taking the time to read a little bit about the piece and what it means to me. I truly love writing about my work in this way, so if you have taken the time to understand my work better it means a lot to me.