/// Shooting With Christian ///

My friend Christian Yeager visited me in Laguna Beach yesterday. We explored sandstone caves in Laguna Canyon in the morning and surfed the afternoon away at a secluded spot nearby. Christian, a Hawaiian surfer and model, is known for rocking Christmas sweaters year-round. I finally convinced him to ditch the festive knitwear for our shoot. Our wardrobe, featuring pieces from Levi's Vintage Clothing, Filson, Danner, and Lightening Bolt, along with some of Christian’s own vintage finds, turned out surprisingly cohesive.

/// Day In The Life ///

A well spent Saturday at home with family in Laguna Beach. Photographed by Andrew Southam.

/// Rooted ///

Spending a couple hours strolling through the massive, massive redwood trees jam packed into Armstrong Woods reminded me how important staying connected to my tribe is for support during the those inevitable difficult times that like it or not, go hand in hand with being a member of the human race.

Being part of a community is something I think we all crave deep down inside. I know I'm much better off in every way when I'm living in close connection with my circle of loved ones of kindred spirit.

After our peaceful stroll through the forest, I was inspired to do a little research about redwood trees. Turns out they have very shallow root systems that extend over one hundred feet from their base, intertwining with the roots of other redwoods. This increases their stability during strong winds and floods.

A single redwood tree, on it’s own with no other trees around may grow tall and seemingly strong with time, but without a solid support network of other healthy trees around it, one good storm could easily knock it over.

Here’s to sticking close to our nearest and dearest.

/// Endless Summer of Love ///

What would you bring on a time travelling trip back to 1972? Here’s what I brought along:

1972 Volkswagen Camper Bus
Agfaflex 35mm film camera
50mm lens
2 rolls BW film
1 roll color film
My wife, Sierra
Our 3 year-old son

Getting back to 1972 required driving up the coast to a private ranch deep in Topanga Canyon. That’s where a music festival called Party In Your Pants was taking place that was designed to re-create 1972 with the sights (tie-dyed tents, Mexican blankets, lots-o-flowers) the sounds (Rolling Stones cover tunes by Chevy Metal with Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters) the flavors (barbecue, beer, lemonade, whiskey) and all the groovy groovyness that goes along with being part of a counter cultural gathering of hippies, rebels and revolutionaries. Levi’s Vintage Clothing put the happening together to celebrate the launch of their new Orange Tab collection, which is all made in the USA, exactly as it was when it was first introduced, ‘round about the year 1972. I committed to shooting this event entirely on film and left all my digital camera gear at home. This meant I ran out of film before the late night pool party and spontaneous overnight campout, but here are a handful of 35mm negative scans I selected to share from our experience.

/// Video: We Went Hiking. Sort of... ///

Just edited a fun video from our hiking adventure earlier this year. Here is the one minute cut:

Song: "Come On Let's Go" Performed by Little & Ashley Available on Thousand Falling Stars Copyright (P) A. Little M. Ashley Used by permission www.littleandashley.com

/// Oktoberfest ///

My son's preschool here in Laguna Beach was founded in 1968 by a German woman named Anneliese Schimmelpfennig. Her belief is that all children are capable learners who need to be challenged by their school to learn-and to be confident enough to take risks. My wife and I resonate with the school's goal to bring out the very special talents of each child and to allow him or her to realize their highest potential. We also like how they embrace international language and culture. Stopped by the school's annual Oktoberfest celebration over the weekend.

Kickin' it old school on the whirly-go-round.

Loom life. All pedal power, all the time. No electricity or batteries needed.

/// I'm a Good Dad ///

Sometimes just getting a three-year-old dressed and out the front door can be a major accomplishment in itself. So when my good friend Joel and I made plans to spend a recent Sunday together outside with just our three-year-old boys (read: no mommies, no sisters and no women folk) riding bikes all morning and surfing all afternoon, I knew we were being somewhat ambitious.

So it came as no surprise, when soon after hitting the trail, the younger cyclists among us were ready to ditch their balance bikes and take turns riding in the child's seat on the back of Joel's bike.

The tandem trend continued later on at the beach when we took the boys out for rides on our boards. We capped off this epic day with an evening beach fire.

No, Joel's wetsuit was not designed with a kid pouch on the back. But yes, once again, necessity proves to be the mother of invention, with Joel pushing the boundaries of DIY innovation for the sake of fun-ction.

Rite of passage. Initiation. Whatever you want to call it, that's what we did. On purpose, as often as possible, throughout the day.

Brace yourself for what comes next:

I'm a good dad.

You read that right. I just bragged on the internet about being a good dad.

I'm not a perfect dad. I'm a good dad.

Joel is a good dad.

Given the trend that seems to be gaining momentum in our culture lately, where men and dads are routinely being portrayed as inept doofuses, I know I'm going against the grain here. But here's the thing: I'm not ashamed in the least.

I'm a good dad. Could I be a better dad? Of course, there's always room for improvement here.

But, did I mention that I'm a good dad?

Moment of initiation. Welcome to the tribe, little Emmet.

Father and son, bound by love. And neoprene.

Male bonding at its most primal: communal fire building. — Male bonding at its most primal: communal fire building.

/// Clear with a Chance of Pumpkins ///

In addition to the plethora of pumpkins available for picking out at Tanaka Farms in Irvine, CA around this time of year, they also have a pumpkin canon. Every 15 minutes or so, the contraption launches a 5-inch diameter pumpkin into a perfect arc over the farm's air space before exploding on impact into the adjacent hillside.

Favorite subject. Favorite time of day. Golden child. Golden hour.

Turns out, this is the perfect size pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie. Turns out, I'm the only one in our family who likes eating pumpkin pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Good thing we know where to get more pumpkins.

Looking at this particular frame makes me feel emotional. In a good way. His true essence comes through in this photograph. I'm so proud of my son. I love him so much.

Photographing children is fun, yet challenging because they rarely stop moving. Kids aren't known for taking direction very well either. With my three-year-old, I've learned to be patient and wait for the decisive moment and be ready when it occurs.

This flag pole marks the center of the corn labyrinth. AKA corn maze. AKA maize maze. — This flag pole marks the center of the corn labyrinth. AKA corn maze. AKA maize maze.

As fun as it is to get up-close and personal with tame sheep and other friendly, furry critters, I do have mixed feelings about petting zoos in small, confined spaces. Something tells me this goat might share my sentiment.

One way to get a halfway decent group photo of kids is to put them in a wheel barrow and have daddy run back and forth about 12 times.

/// Camping Spree with Mr. Lijee ///

Tandem bodyboarding, frying bacon on the Coleman camp stove and dragonfly watching. Just a few of many indelible moments while camping with my three-year-old son over Labor Day Weekend. Note to self: do whatever it takes to spend more time outside adventuring with this little guy. In the big picture, what else could possibly be more important?

Found a great spot for two nights of camping, or possibly three.

Story time in the child's cot with the ubiquitous Go, Dog. Go!

Morning face. Still waking up. Not amused.

Sticks and dirt. Just add imagination for hours of playtime fun.

/// 29 Palms Inn ///

Spontaneous road trip to 29 Palms over the weekend. Very hot. The pool helped.

Toys are overrated. Pebbles are where it's at.

Since I'm usually always behind the camera, those classic 'keeper' shots with my son and I together tend to be a rarity. Super grateful that my wife was able to capture this moment of he and I getting our soak on.

Playing with the tripod, long exposure and high ISO.

/// Danner ///

While visiting the Danner Boots factory in Portland, I was especially impressed with their Boot Recrafting program. To me, nothing beats the concept of buying high quality, well designed boots, made in the USA that you can break in over time, then get them recrafted once they wear out. What is recrafting? Basically, they take your old boots and bring them back to life. How far you want to go is up to you, but it starts basic and goes all the way up to supreme.