From the Archives - Alexia Rae Castillo for Arsenic

Model: Alexia Rae Castillo | @alexiaraecastillo

Shot for Arsenic

Where Is My Mind?

Here's a video I threw together with footage I took using my GoPro Hero 3+ last week while snorkeling in La Jolla, CA.

Snorkeling in La Jolla Cove while messing around with a GoPro

10 Habits Of People Who Follow Their Dreams

1. They see challenges as opportunities
Most people interpret fears as obstacles and tend to run away from them. People who live their purpose successfully have developed the capacity to see fear as a sign of what they really need to go for and put all their courage and energy into it.

2. They see life as a game.
Having this vision of life opens up space for playfulness and creativity instead of limitation. This also cultivates qualities of resilience, problem solving and confidence that helps them take risks to get to the next big place.

3. Living the life they want is the only option.
They’re so committed to making their dreams a reality that they banish any possibility of a backup plan whatsoever from their mind. They don’t think things like, “If it doesn’t work, I’ll just go get a job.”

4. They always speak their truth.
They’re able to speak it because they make a conscious effort to connect to their truest desires, their inner voice, and their spirituality without fear of judgment. This connection is typically fostered through meditation, journaling, being mentored and being surrounded by like minded-people.

Through The Glass with Alyssa Julya Smith

A few selections from a shoot I did with Alyssa Julya Smith last year for Arsenic Magazine.

10 Things That The People Who Love Their Lives Are Doing Differently

This is a great article my sister posted on Facebook. It's written by Paul Hudson for elitedaily.com, but upon reading it, it sounds exactly like what I tell people when they ask me how I live my life.

Surprise, surprise… happy people live their lives differently. They don’t have different lives. They just do a better job at living them than those who are unhappy.

Happiness is the result of subjective interpretation of perception. Of course, what we perceive isn’t always done so by choice — life does throw things our way.

However, most of the time, we find ourselves in the situations we are in because of actions we took and decisions we made. It’s the way that you live your life that largely decides whether or not you will live happily.

They don’t bother trying to make others like them — mainly because they don’t care if they’re liked.

They like themselves and they are the only people they ever answer to. You could like them. You could hate them. You could pay them no mind whatsoever — doesn’t make a difference to them.

They do what they do because they decided to do it. They aren’t trying to gain your approval or acceptance. They don’t want to be part of your team — they’re a team of their own. They live their lives the way they see fit and if you like them for it, great. If not… then so be it.

They do things because they want to do them, not because they believe they have to do them.

They don’t believe they have to do anything. Other than pay taxes and die of course — everything else is a decision followed by deliberate action. If they are doing something, going somewhere, participating in something, it’s because that is exactly what it is that they want to be doing.

No one coerced them or tricked them into doing it because they value their opinion above everyone else’s. They do what they believe is right and don’t bother to ask for permission — they just do it.

They love their friends but don’t rely on them.

Friends are tricky because they aren’t really yours, are they? You don’t own them. They are their own people who have their own wants and needs — people who will always put themselves ahead of you and your goals. Friends are great to have, but relying on them too heavily will leave you disappointed.

Those who live happy lives have very close friends, but they keep their independence in order to avoid those moments. It’s the lack of independence and over-reliance that often comes to ruin friendships — all relationships for that matter.

When you ask them what they do, they don’t give you a job title.

They tell you about the things they are doing with their lives — the places they have visited and are planning on visiting. The projects they are starting or part of. The problems they are working towards solving and the communities they are working with to get those problems solved.

When you ask them what they do, they respond with what they do in their lives, not what work they do in order to pay for the lives they want to one day be living. The real trick is that these individuals know better than to wait to live the lives they want to live. You live life whether you accept or ignore the fact, how you live it in the moment determines how happy you are.

When you ask them where they live, they say, “At the moment…”

Happy people tend to move around a bit. Maybe it’s because traveling does the soul good. Maybe it’s because the stagnancy of staying in one place their whole lives bores them.

Maybe it’s because they love meeting new people and having new experiences. Maybe it’s because they haven’t found the right place to settle down just yet. You see, these individuals see the world as their home — no single country or city. If you ask them where they live, then they’d answer “earth” if they wouldn’t come off sounding highfalutin.

They have their own philosophies, their own religion they created and live by.

You don’t need a book to tell you how you ought to live your life. You can live your life by whatever philosophy you wish — as long as you found truths that satisfy you. They have a strong grasp of right and wrong and are their own judges.

They embrace their impermanence.

They know they’re only mortal — having this knowledge and accepting it fuels their every step. You will do. Why? Because it is inevitable. There is no way of avoiding it, only dealing with the fact.

The happiest of people don’t fear death. They don’t do their best to avoid it. They see it as the inevitability that it is in and live their lives by their terms. They may not be able to control death, but they know they sure as hell can control their own personal lives.

They see the world as their playhouse and their mind as the conductor.

They don’t believe there is a single way that the world is — a single reality that exists. Instead, they believe themselves to be the originators of their reality.

They believe they have full control over how they interpret what they perceive. They see the world the way they choose to see it because they understand the power such a skill has. We all live in a reality of our own construction. Some of us just construct our realities better than others.

They live in the moment, but dream in the future.

Happy people have hopes, dreams and goals. They have wants and aspirations, but they don’t allow themselves to get caught up and lost in them. There isn’t so much a time and place for dreaming as there is a maximum allotted amount recommended.

You can’t live life doing nothing more than looking towards the future because you’ll miss the only time that things actually matter or exist: the present. The present, the immediate moment is the only moment that you can actually live in. The rest is only an illusion.

They don’t bother changing others, but instead learn how to deal with them appropriately.

Devoting your energy to changing other people is a waste of it. People do change, but they only do so on their own accord. They have to decide to change themselves and that only happens in time — you can’t push and force because it doesn’t work.

On the contrary, it often does the opposite of what is intended. Instead of wasting time and energy trying to do the impossible, why not do the next best thing? Learn to deal with people as they are in order to get the result you desire. If you can’t change them, then guide them to do as you wish. Otherwise, let them go.

Source: http://elitedaily.com/life/10-things-that-...

Shooting with Cynthia Chavez

Sunset in Santa Monica

Here's random sunset shot from the other day when I was hanging out in Santa Monica.

New Projects with Gabriella

I was in LA the past two weekends to meet up with my good friend Gabriella who was visiting from Hungary. She and I have known each other for a few years and try to meet up whenever she's in LA. We've shot together a few times in the past and from our first meeting we've thrown around the idea of doing some sort of road trip project together in Europe. Recently I've been talking to a friend of mine at a production house based in Silverlake and we've been trying to develop this idea a bit more. This past Friday the three of us were able to meet while Gaby was in town and he gave us a homework assignment which was for us to shoot a bit of random content of ourselves that can be used to help put the pitch together. Since we didn't have a whole lot of time to do something cool before Gaby left town we decided to throw a GoPro in the car while driving around LA to show us interacting with one another. I'll shoot some more content of myself over the next month that will show some behind the scenes stuff at a photo shoot, content of an ammo project in Nevada and South Africa, and a wine project I'm working on up in Santa Barbara County. Gabriella will shoot a bit of content back home in Budapest and then we'll throw together a little 3 minute reel.

In West Hollywood on our way to Urth Caffé for some boba.

Wearing eyewear provided by our good friends at William Painter.

Chanon Finley

Model: Chanon Rosefelt-Finley
Photographer: Steven Williams
Client: Arsenic Magazine
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Arsenic Magazine

I finally have a bit of free time to go through images from my most recent photo shoot with Arsenic Magazine which took place on January 2, 2014 in Los Angeles, CA. I'll post more shots later.

Crescent Moon Over California

I was just going through some old photos that I had taken during a camping trip two summers ago with my buddy Jozias and stumbled upon this shot which I took while driving around Big Bear. We were camping up in the San Gorgonio Wilderness for a few days and then spent a a night or two in Big Bear.

From the Archives - Eufrat

I was just browsing through some old photos, this is a shot of czech model Jana Potyšová, better known by her porn name Eufrat. She was the second model I ever shot and have since shot with her numerous times. She's a great model, an extremely cool girl and an awesome friend.

Sailing

Here's another old shot from the archives. This was also taken with my old Nikon D5000. I saw these sailboats and took this shot from the end of Point Loma (San Diego, CA) overlooking the Pacific Ocean just before sunset.

Dug Up Some Old Photos

I was just digging through an old external drive and found a few old photos I had taken with my Nikon D5000 a few years ago. These shots were taken from Point Loma facing toward downtown San Diego and Coronado. Seeing the mountains in the background would make you think it was a different part of the country.

View of downtown San Diego shot from Point Loma

Shooting Italia for William Painter

Here's one of the shots from the William Painter shoot I did earlier today with Italia Faith.

From the Archives - 01.27.2013

Here's another shot of the beautiful Eufrat that was taken in late 2011. This was edited by my good friends at Tuco Studio in Argentina.

Homeward Bound - Buenos Aires > Santiago > Los Angeles > San Diego

I'm finally heading back to San Diego from Argentina, I'm a week late and not that excited about going home, but it's time. I've been sitting here at the airport in Santiago, Chile for 7 hours already and have almost 2 hours left before being able to board the flight from here to LA where a friend of mine will pick me up at 6:40AM to drive me back to San Diego. 10 hour flight ahead . . . I have shoots lined up in LA just after the New Years and then I'll be working with my band while putting together a plan to go back to Argentina.

Photographer Spotlight - Jorge Aragon

I've been hanging out in Argentina for about 2 weeks now and even though this is my fifth time here I've been discovering and experiencing a lot of new things that I hadn't in previous trips. Each time I come here I stay for a few weeks to a month. During this particular trip I've been exploring the photography and fashion elements of this amazing city. So far since I've been here I've befriended some amazing photographers, producers and stylists and have had the good fortune of meeting and hanging out with Jorge Aragon. Jorge is a Colombian born, Argentina based photographer that I've been following for quite awhile and have been friends with on Facebook for a year or two. Prior to this trip we had never met in person, but yesterday we were finally able to get together and he's been introducing me to a number of great contacts in the industry here, I hope to repay the gesture next time he's in LA. He and the models have all been so cool and receptive and I really appreciate the kindness and willingness to help me get acquainted with the key players in the Buenos Aires photography and fashion scene. Jorge is a very versatile shooting everything from products to high fashion. I find his work inspiring and he's definitely one of my favorite photographers in Buenos Aires which is why I want to include him in my Photographer Spotlight series.

Jorge Aragon
www.jorgearagonphoto.com
www.facebook.com/JorgeAragonPhoto

JORGE ARAGON PHOTO™ / All Rights Reserved ® 2000-2014

From the Archives - Danielle Trixie

I haven't posted anything on the blog in awhile so here's an old shot from the archives of Playboy/Penthouse/Hustler model Danielle Trixie. I did a quick shoot with her at her place in Dallas, TX a few years ago when I was passing through town. This was probably the fourth or fifth photo shoot I had ever done. This photo is far from those you'd find in Penthouse or Hustler and as usual there are no touchups.

A Deeper Kind of Sex

Back in August of this year I was up in Venice Beach working on a project with Arsenic Magazine which they've titled "A Deeper Kind of Sex." I was shooting stills for the project while Director/Writer Scott Burns (Bourne Ultimatum, Contagion, The Informant) directed the video. The video features models Tatiana Dietemen, Alyssa Smith, and Shay Maria.

From the original post on the Arsenic Magazine site:

The objectification of women: can't live with it, and can't sell billions of dollars of material items without it. It has warped a generation of men in all sorts of diabolical ways and has turned young women against food, each other and themselves. And yet here we are, confronted daily with our own appetites for youth and beauty and sex with access to an infinite internet receding into the darkest and most fascinating places. Sam Shepherd once said,