Did you know that Los Angeles was originally named: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula [The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels on the Porciúncula River]. I like the original name so much better.
Just got home from another awesome trip to LA. Good times with friends and colleagues.
I love LA so much, there is no other city like it in the world. From the beautiful mountains, to the incredible beach cities. Whenever I return to my ‘city of origin’ – It’s overwhelming. Sensory overload mixed in with a bit of emotional overload. Wherever you look, there are opportunities.
This trip was quite intense, with projects in Hollywood, Venice, Hermosa, Pasadena, San Clemente, Silver Lake, Glendale, Downtown, Lincoln Heights… It was awesome.
As with every trip back to LA, I try to find something new to rave about. A new place to eat, a new artist, a new song…
I had just landed at LAX, picked up my rental car and was making my way to Downtown LA. I was starving! My good friend Jamal recommended a little spot in Echo Park called Sage Vegan Bistro. Knowing I’m a vegetarian, he keeps tabs on the areas healthier restaurants and things.
I highly recommend Sage. As seen in my featured image above, the space is lovely. The windows are incredible, the exposed brick columns offer an authentic feel and it’s just a fun space. They did a great job of renovating.
The food is amazing.

I went with the “Tacos” – Chili seasoned jackfruit in corn tortillas with onion, cilantro, lime and micro greens served with black beans, gazpacho and sliced mango. – $7.95
I wanted to go back for every meal and have these tacos over and over and over and over and over again. They were so amazing.
The staff was friendly and the service was right on.
Other items I wanted to enjoy: Black Bean and Plantain Focaccia, Smoked Soyrizo Burrito, Macaroni and Cheese…
Be sure to go when you’re in the area and let me know what you think.
More info about Sage: www.sageveganbistro.com

To conclude, my trip to LA was fantastic. Thanks to everyone that helped to make it a successful one.
[from - www.duanefernandez.com]

I saw this first thing this morning and I can already see it’s going to cause a media frenzy. Read here: “Why it’s time to say goodbye to free Wi-Fi” I understand that scare tactics are good for press and even for driving traffic to your blog, but please do us all a favor and report all the facts. It’s not that hard. But that wasn’t his mission in writing this “piece.” From a brief look around his site and the ABOUT page, the dude is far from being a journalist or a writer – even though he authored [I use that term loosely]: Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work And Why Your Company Needs Them – WOW, that sounds awful. Any book title with “?!” in it has to be quality.

You have to question any article/blog whose head line is “If you are new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS Feed. Thanks for visiting!” Or take a look at the way he shares his article on facebook: “If what I wrote in my blog this morning (above) scares you, please repost it – And please be careful out there.” Sadly, millions

Have you seen the new Lebron commercial? What do you think?
Nike has a lot of money invested into Lebron James and they are desperately trying to do whatever they can to salvage his brand. Wieden + Kennedy produced this 90

This is a photo taken from an editorial shoot a few weeks back. More on this at a later date. However, the Black Ops photography team is excited to introduce our newest member of the team – the phenom make up artist: Lindsay Hartley. *applause*

Time Management: The ability to quickly process and synthesize information and

I was inspired to jot down these notes after a brief chat with a good friend and after receiving an email from a graphic design student. In both conversations the term “busy” was discussed. What does “busy” mean to you? By definition it means: “Engaged in activity, as work; occupied. Sustaining much activity.” I think busy gets a bad rap. I like being busy. I am

As some of you may have noticed on twitter, I didn’t get to the painting portion of this project until late last night. May have been a little too close for comfort, as the concert is tonight, but I’ve been working on a handful of video projects as of late and didn’t have the time. Anyway,

I spend way too much time coming up with titles for things that I will never create. Movies, songs, books, articles, etc. It’s one of my favorite games to play. I usually play the game while I am bored, or waiting, or talking with

The last set of photos from WoodyFest. Photos of our dude Maurice Baker [from Newcastle], Annie Guthrie, the incredible David Jacobs-Strain [take a look at his tour schedule, if he is coming to a town near you - be there], the wonderful and

I found some time to post a few of my favorite Woody Guthrie Festival photos. As most of you know, since meeting my wife, I have taken to Mr. Guthrie. She introduced me to him and my life hasn’t been the same since. It’s hard for me to think of a

Two antennas got married, the ceremony wasn’t much…
But the reception was excellent!

There is your joke for the day, now go spread some cheer. Other news: Just put the finishing touches on the Michael Buble’ piece and I am running it over to the BOK Center in just a moment. I don’t listen to Buble’ a whole lot, but he’s got an

Photo: 100 Monkeys, I shot this last night at CAINS 2nd Stage
What do you know about the band 100 Monkeys?

photo: Kellie Pickler – I took this photo the other night at the Taylor Swift show.
I’m currently working on an interview with shoe designer Christian Louboutin. I can’t wait.

I wanted to let that Britney Spears post marinate for a little while. I’m still very excited about the whole experience. But in this day and age of instantaneous gratification, I better get on with an update of some sorts.

Friday night I had the privileged to photograph: Lil Wayne, Birdman, Jermih, Pleasure P, Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy and almost every other artist on the Young Money Entertainment label. Although I didn’t get to shoot from the pit like last year, I was still pretty stoked.

Here is a photo of the Paul McCartney piece. Just delivered it and I hope he loves it.
It was tough deciding on which photo to use. It’s Paul McCartney! There are a lot of photos and a lot of eras

I’m trying to wrap up the Paul McCartney piece.
Paul McCartney dude. That is crazy….
It’s been a busy weekend. A lot of golf this weekend. A lot. I need more golf in my life.
I must get back to working on these pieces.
I will share photos once they are finished.
I get to meet PAUL McCARTNEY!!!
Crazy.

The Aerosmith project has turned out to be a lot of work… 5 boxes for one event.
Trying to sketch out all the faces was a task. Especially since Tom, one of the bandmates, has been

Woody fest was perfect.
This year we spent a lot of time enjoying the music.
People watching was incredible.
We ate lots of good food.

Getting ready for the Jamie Foxx concert tonight!
Here is the box I painted for Mr. Foxx.

Every season my best friend Mr. pageOne makes a mix. Every season he puts together an incredible blend of awesomeness and dang. You can learn more about him here. Every mix I ask him to throw together a few words to describe the mix and you can read those words here:

I just received the PASTE summer festival guide and all I have to say is I wish All Points West was in Oklahoma. Aside from having ONE cohesive marketing campaign [My biggest problem with most “festivals” are their terrible marketing campaigns –

First of all this mix is too good for the masses and I really don’t even want to post it. Hmmmm.
A handful of my very favorite songs are on here and you don’t deserve them! I’m just sayin..
You don’t.
Your ears are not worthy.

So I just got back to the studio from the Slipknot concert..
Um. WOW.
I’ve been fortunate to have photographed a handful of amazing “rock” bands in the last year = Papa Roach, Seether, Staind, AC/DC, Metallica, NIN… BUT NONE of them have ANYTHING on Slipknot. Definitely one of the craziest things I have ever seen. Being situated between eagerly awaiting fans, held back by a 4 foot tall barricade, and the stage made for a tense situation. (Was that an Oxford comma?) There was about 6 feet between the stage and the wall of humans. (Chanting “6-6-6-Slipknot” By the way.) It was intermission and the fans couldn’t wait for the red curtain to drop. Honestly, I couldn’t either. It was a total rush. I didn’t know what to expect. Crowd surfers were being dropped over the barricade inches away from me. People were throwing clothes, shoes, coins, beer towards the stage. I held my position an inch away from the center mic and waited. The lights went out and everyone went insane. At that moment I thought I should grab a flick. I turned, dropped my shutter, cranked up my ISO and took one photo to hopefully document my very first Slipknot show – seen above.

All I can say is that they were incredible. I was totally surprised by my experience and I’m so grateful for it. I’d recommend all of you venture out, break out of your norm and see them perform. Because they truly did. Passion is a crazy thing. I’m always surprised when I stumble over it.

1. Tulsa was hit by another ice storm. Luckily we didn’t lose any power this time around. It was actually quite nice to settle down for a couple days. Maybe it’s natures way of calming us down. Some quiet time with our family and friends. Slow down for a moment.

It’ 2:00 am. I’ve been trying to fall asleep, but it’ not happening… My ears are ringing and my eyes are burning. Started the day with an early photo shoot and ended it with a photo shoot / concert. How rad is this: I got to hang out with AC/DC in their dressing room for just a moment. It was rather surreal…..

I’m rather stoked about this!
A few months ago Tom asked if I would be down to put one of his mixes on my blog.
Of course, I would be honored to! This is going to be a seasonal thing, so enjoy… The mix arrived this morning accompanied with this note:

Going through old pictures while sorting new ones and came across this one. Read more about it here. Courtney (existereo) is one talented cat. Our crew in Hollywood was tight and insanely talented, at an early age (like 12 years old) we were doing some big things. I’m not sure how we did it,

I often get emails asking me to go out and vote for a friends logo that is in some contest, some painting that is on such and such, a website that is up for a blah blah blah, a tee shirt that is on threadless… etc. You get my point. Well, rarely ever am I stoked about what that person is doing. Rarely do I FEEL it….

I didn’t know a whole lot about Woody Guthrie a year ago, but it’s amazing what can transpire in such a short amount of time. As you have probably figured out by now, I’m fascinated with some obscure things. So when Woody Guthrie was brought to my attention sometime last year, I couldn’t help but to explore. This past weekend was the Woody Guthrie Festival in Okemah, OK.

Belkin’s TuneStudio for iPod 5th generation (video) is the first 4-channel audio mixer that lets you create high-quality digital recordings directly onto your iPod. This mixer allows the input of up to four different instruments or audio sources, and records the audio onto your iPod for instant playback. AND all that for $250. I want one. I need one.

Currently sitting in the living room cutting a new stencil for an art benefit in March, also watching the Grammys and listening to my itunes. Ludacris just won for best hip hop album or something. He has great pronunciation and articulation. He is also rather funny – at the very end of his “thank you” speech, he thanked Oprah and Bill O’Reilly. Luda funny….