Here’s a nice collaboration between me and my homie, Maya Eslami. She wrote it, I shot it.

16mm Kodak 7219 @250ASA

Looks like a Monday to me.

I think I should just find a way to connect my Instagram to the Peace. Makes sense, right? In the past few months, I’ve shot 2 films and have traveled home to the Bay. Other than that, just a bit of partying, some nice time with the lady, and some damn good food.

ABOUT FACE, AFI Cycle 1, Cinematography by Justin Kane

Puppy love can be a dangerous thing.

Checking in from AFI land to give a special update on my newest cinematography venture. I completed my first AFI Cycle film, titled ABOUT FACE, directed by Daniel Kragh-Jacobsen.

The New World, 2005

A single still image can tell an entire narrative for the thousands that follow.

It’s officially been a month at AFI, and so much has been covered already. This week we will finally call action on our Bootcamp shoots and I think it’s safe to say that all fellows are ready to crush it. So what have we done in the meantime? Lots of administrative orientations, course introductions, and bonding within our disciplines. It’s amazing how close I feel with my fellow cinematographers already. So many different walks of life, yet with a very similar point of interest. One big happy family!

And now back to the post:

One particular exercise that I really enjoy is titled, “Story Within a Frame”. It is what it is: We have a cutline, drawn from a fishbowl, telling an event or emotion in first person. From there we must design and shoot a still that tells as much of that story as possible. We have 3 sessions in the exercise. The first is pairing with our directors, the second with the production designers, and finally one with the screenwriters. So far we have completed the first two. It’s a teamwork exercise. Getting to know one another in the creative zone is the best way to form successful communication and collaborative vision in our cycle films down the road. And it has been great. For me the first round proved to be the most challenging. I won’t go into detail, but my director and I didn’t dig deep enough into our story, and the audience was left questioning it’s point. For the second session I went too literal, and the floodgates opened with great constructive criticism from the group. I’m quite confident that I’ve learned the over/under of the assignment (I’m somewhat rusty with school assignments like this…it’s been a few!) and I know that the third session coming up will be better. I’ll find a nice middle-ground to engage meaning behind my frame.

So…This assignment has inspired me to dig up a few still frames from some great films that do justice to fulfilling a story within a frame. It’s really amazing how much meaning can be packed in to de-mystify (or mystify) these images in context to the films they are taken from. Yet at the same time, they can tell so much on their own, apart from the film. Think about the things you see in the frame. What are they doing? Where are they going? What emotions do we get from it? Is it familiar? What ideologies can we automatically identify? Time to define these moments.

Children of Men, 2006

The Thin Red Line, 1998

Never Let Me Go, 2010

Schindler's List, 1993

La Haine, 1995

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, 2007

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 2008

The Road to Perdition, 2002

2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968

Black Narcissus, 1947

Badlands, 1973

There Will Be Blood, 2007

Solaris, 2002

The Godfather, 1972

The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford, 2007

A vintage mix from the future.

I finally picked up Trentemøller’s Late Night Tales album. I’ve followed various LNT releases over the years and this one is really amazing. It’s truly eclectic in the finest way. Trentemøller is generally known for his electronic surf grunge, but in this mix he gives doses of indie ballads from artists like M. Ward, The Black Angels, and Thee Oh Sees, and then places them beside classics from Velvet Underground, Jacqueline Taieb, and Nick Cave. Don’t worry, he’s also included some chest thumping beats from Chimes & Bells and his own Trentemøller collection.

Of course I brought samples:

Noriko Furunishi

Ori Gersht

Soo Kim

Walter Niedermayr

A Group Show at Angles Gallery.

Took a quick artwalk through Culver City last night and checked out some pieces old and new on exhibition. Each room at Angles Gallery contains selected works by the aforementioned artists above and they fit perfectly within the space…of our living room.

See for yourself until September 3rd.

Angles Gallery

2754 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, California, 90034

Hydrated and Headlamped.

So yeah, like I was saying earlier…I went to REI and scored these 2 very rad items for survival purposes in dark parking lots and many moments parched in the summer heat.

REI Nalgene Bottle

Black Diamond Spot Headlamp

Untouched land is a beautiful thing to capture.

I’ve always been in love with images of crisp trees, canopies, forest landings, fog, dirt roads, snow-capped pines, and the unknown wilderness. It’s only a matter of time before I splice this side of nature into my cinematography. There has always been a clear motif of nature in my work, yet I would like to expand my depth of nature and include more vast landscapes like these into my work. Which reminds me, I think I’m going to stop by REI and get some outdoors goodies. Please click on the photos to check out the source pages for each artist’s work. They’re brilliant.

J. Crew’s Slim Broken-in Pocket tees are essential to my daily nutrition…

So I guess I have a little malnutrition.

Painted antlers and baked mini deer heads galore!

My buddy Haley had an opening at Pop Gallery in Culver City on Friday night. By the time I caught the end of the show there was a flurry of red dots on the walls. Success!

Haley Ann Robinson

A beard is sacred in this house. A combed beard is what keeps the birds out.

Beard Comb by Baxter of California

Need Supply Co.

I picked up Other Lives’ previous album over a year ago and I thought it was pretty good, but when my buddy Jenn gifted me their newest release, I discovered a band more composed, with more variety, and a deeper sound. I’ve yet to go a day without turning a few tunes off Tamer Animals since.

Here are the first 3 songs of the album. Enjoy.

1.Dark Horse

2. As I Lay My Head Down

3. For 12