Pop Trunk and Portraits

"I'm posted up in the parkin' lot, my trunk wavin'

The candy gloss is immaculate, simply amazing

Them elbows pokin' wide on that candy 'Lac

Trunk open, screens on, neon's lit with fifth relaxed"

- Paul Wall on Kanye West's 'Drive Slow'

A couple of weeks ago, I heard about a Houston Slab Fest that was going to take place at MacGregor Park on the south side of the city. Yesterday, I showed up and there they all were. Houston is known for (along with hundreds of other things) these beautiful machines called 'Slabs'. These slabs are covered in shiny candy paint, equipped with rims that stick out 2 feet from their tires, trunks that open and close like they're nodding in agreement and adorned with neon lights displaying a short message. I found all of these features in all different candy colors as I weaved through crowds of people instagraming their favorite vehicles and local rappers shooting music videos. I also took the opportunity to photograph some of the owners of the cars who put a lot of work and money into their classics. 

The slab is part of a Houston culture that I'm sure will always remain in the city but hopefully the Houston Slab Fest will continue year after year so you can go somewhere on a Sunday afternoon and see them all at once! I'll leave you with this freestyle from ESG, the legendary Houston rapper, who pretty much summed up the day. 

Obligatory homage to DJ Screw

HBU Football for Houston Press

This year marks the first year in the history of Houston Baptist University that a Husky-branded football team will take the field. Thanks to the good folks over at Houston Press (ahem, Monica) I was able to take my camera and explore a little bit of what that was like. They practiced early, early in the morning during preseason and then again in the heat of the day. The HBU Football is a team filled with freshmen and sophomore talent and if you ask any football coach, you need upperclassmen to win. I can tell you that they worked extremely hard, only to come into contact with Sam Houston State coming off back to back appearances in the FCS National Championship game. Unfortunately, the Huskies very first game of record was a 74-0 loss in Huntsville. I was extremely honored to have gotten the assignment and very excited to be doing what I think I do best. If you live in Houston, pick up a copy of the magazine and check out the article (and the pictures). If you don't live here, read it anyway! Shout out to first year anythings...you gotta start somewhere on your way to the top.

Check out a gallery of more outtakes HERE!

Pearland Linebacker Justin Phillips for the Houston Chronicle

Last month, the Houston Chronicle put together a high school football preview and Justin Phillips was one of the many standout players featured. The middle linebacker for the Pearland Oilers (great name) is a senior and has already committed to playing football next fall at Oklahoma State University. I was tasked with photographing Mr. Phillips for the preview and here are a few outtakes from the shoot. Shoutout to Justin and the Pearland Oilers who have dreams of winning a state title and are currently 3-0.

Elijah's Light Test

Elijah aka Eli is my 15-year-old nephew who has made a few appearances on the blog in his younger days. Last month, he kindly volunteered his services as a model for a test shoot of mine. I needed to see what the light was going to look like at 11a for a shoot I had later in the week. So I took Eli to the local school hoops court where he claims to regularly dominate and shot a few pictures. The natural light wasn't great and of course it was sweltering but we had fun. Shout out to Wiz Khalifa for putting blonde streaks in the hair of Black male teens across America.

Brad Davis of the Houston Dynamo for Houstonia Magazine

I photographed mid-fielder Brad Davis of the Houston Dynamo a few weeks ago for Houstonia Magazine. An MLS-watching friend of mine said he had the best left footed cross in the whole league. But what's more interesting is that at 31 (which is considered old-ish in athlete years), he's still battling for a roster spot on USA's 2014 World Cup team. You can read all about it at Houstonia. And if you're so inclined, you can check it out in print at your local magazine vendor. Shout out to the Dynamo aka Orange Crush aka La Naranja aka Die Oranje.

The Twins

Numerous Facebook posts over the past week or so have led me to believe that we're right around the first day of school. A good number of my social media friends have grade school aged children. So I've seen lots of first day photos of colorful backpacks and ear to ear grins, sans a few teeth. Now I don't have any children of my own to partake in the annual ritual but I do have nieces and a nephew. Two of my nieces, aka The Twins, have recently graduated from high school and just last week started classes at San Jacinto College. I don't have those first day of school pictures because that would make me the embarrassing uncle. But I did take some pictures of them after their high school graduation. Shout out to Keita and Keisha and good luck this semester! Well all of your semesters actually...but one step at a time.