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The Thomas Fire

Sometime around Nov 28th I began seeing forecast estimates of a high velocity wind event for Central and So Cal. Taking a cursory look at the Unified Forecast Analysis did not particularly indicate that this would occur. That telltale high pressure which would first be seen just above Washington or over E Oregon was not on the weather map. I recall thinking: “that’s odd”. But I had been watching an old familiar pattern develop over the Western US, that of a ridge of high pressure. I knew that this meant wind and fire risk. We have massive pepper trees behind

What Matters

It was five years ago today when Donna von Hoesslin and I, along with an incredible throng of our friends, met at Refugio beach on the Gaviota Coast. People came from all over. Our purpose had been clear from the start, to stand with our friends and combine lives and families under the presence of God, in the place where I grew up, and became a child of the sea. Pretty simple, now that I look back on it. Tom and Anne Stone along with their son Kawika and brother Pake Ah Mow came over from Oahu, to

Authentic Activism

The text a few lines below is from a conversation in one of the groups I am in, which is populated by some highly educated people who I have seen to possess fairly valiant hearts. Each wants to contribute to making our planet healthier, and Humanity happier. Our conversations frequently examine activism. This most recent one had me thinking about all the different voices in the world using Causes to drive Companies, rather than Companies to drive change within Culture. Healthy change will always come down to an embrace of Authenticity and Honesty. Here is my response in our conversation

Art and the Peaceful Warrior

This week I wound up shooting a motion picture project for my son’s martial arts company gym Puu Muay Thai here in Ventura. My wife Donna and I, also had a visit from our close friend, internationally acclaimed fine artist Edem Elesh and his 15 year old son Griffen, who I had not seen in over a decade when he was a teensy little guy playing with Donna’s hair as we visited Edem in his Hollywood digs. Simultaneously, my colleague and friend Robb Havassy, let the world know that Surf Story Vol 2 was headed to print after nearly 6

Taking Up the Slack

Compromise in our personal standards is seldom a result of one big, clearly defined, decisive moment. Typically the path which leads to a position of weakness in our lives arrives as a subtle whisper and as a result of laziness, or merely inattention due to the preponderance of distractions in our digitally enhanced culture. The Moby video in my prior blogpost said a lot about being lost in a lost world. Personally I have never wanted to be “that guy”. So I study a lot, train regularly, and try to prepare myself and life systems in order to always be

East Bali Poverty Project: Field Notes

The February 1963 to January 1964 eruption of Gunung Agung, Indonesia’s largest and most devastating eruption of the twentieth century, was a multi-phase explosive and effusive event that produced both basaltic andesite tephra and andesite lava. A rather unusual eruption sequence with an early lava flow followed by two explosive phases. (Research Gate) Imagine living in a jungle on the slopes of a massive mountain. Your village is composed of several small huts nestled within densely vegetated terrain. Life flows in the tempo of your mountain culture, and is different from that of the people who live far below you,

Production Field Notes: Bali 2016

It has been a little over year since I began using the Samsung NX1 system for the bulk of my imaging projects in motion and in stills. The inexpensive little camera which Samsung has apparently discontinued, resides in triplicate in my camera kit. It continues to surprise me with it’s dynamic range and versatility while here on Bali. It is without a doubt the single most versatile and bullet proof little camera I have used, especially since I collect time lapse sequences in full 27 MP raw file format at up to 3000 frames per day average while shooting on

World Oceans Day

Just in the door from a wonderful watery trip to Costa Rica, I found myself in a meeting at City Hall here in Ventura yesterday, with City Engineers, a smart Engineering firm from SF, reps from the California Coastal Commission, Army Corps of Engineers and some members of the Surf Community who volunteered to delve into a solution for an ongoing erosion problem at our town’s main point break, Surfers Point. As I looked around the room, it hit me how significant our people can be. We bring to the table an informed love for the watery world we live

International Manifesto: A Child’s Game

Marin Havassy is the 6 YO daughter of two talented artists-creatives. Growing up in a world surrounded by art, nature, water, and an increasing immersion in Costa Rican culture, she emotionally and cognitively illustrates a point made to me by Jean-Michel Cousteau awhile ago: “If you want to change the world, begin with a conversation regarding the welfare of our children. Everyone cares about that. This is a conversation which I really want to have with the leaders of the world” This is a thread running through a dialog held in common we experienced, while visiting our ocean ohana this

Bali: Dispatch 2

When I land in a country, my modus typically consists of a calculated scramble to develop and capture content. It is rare to know in advance whether what one experiences right off the jet, is going to be a non repeatable event. So typically, I throw myself 100 percent into work immediately. Such was the case here this time on Bali. Indeed the featured image was shot within my first 20 minutes swimming a reef break off the coast of East Bali. I had not even met the surfer yet, but have since become friends with 18 year old Lempog

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