I was recently in Florida for a photoshoot with a friend, but I flew in a day early to take advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with Annie Cooper, with whom I had the pleasure of working earlier in 2021. Annie is such an incredible athlete and is so active on social media that I find myself bookmarking so much of the useful material she gives as a reference for future training. 

Life rarely changes in a positive way without an increase in responsibility. That can mean taking ownership of your health or committing to a relationship or starting a business. Whatever it is, if you want the trajectory to change, the amount of responsibility usually has to change.

It's impossible to envision how this reality does not relate to some aspect of our lives in this very moment.We all have personal goals and objectives that we want to reach, but it's important to consider how whatever action you're likely to take to attain them will almost certainly need you to take on more responsibility, no matter how appealing it is to simply stay in the shade. In terms of my photography, there's a lot of newness going on behind the scenes, including increased risk and responsibility, but I can't keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. It's the way the world works.

I recollect the news of Anthony Bourdain's death vividly back in 2018 and the way it destroyed everyone's day with unexpectedly widespread impact. To me, he was more than just an author and a host, above all, he was a guide. 

He taught you how to communicate with people regardless of their native language. He taught you how to savor different cuisines without being afraid of them, something that we have the liberty and endless option to do living here in New York. Even if you didn't have the financial means or the will to go on these journeys, Bourdain taught you to perceive the world as a large and intriguing menu to be savored in good company. 

I recently finished reading a book entitled In the Weeds by Tom Vitale who was Bourdain's long time director and producer. In it, he “takes readers behind the scenes to reveal the insanity of filming television in some of the most volatile places in the world and what it was like to work with a legend.” Clinging to every word, every tale in the book was a true thrill since, aside from his show and documentary on Tony's life, it's the closest thing to understanding who he was as a person when the cameras were off. 

Despite all of the shared experiences throughout the book, I can't help but return to this phrase, which, strangely enough, occurs at the end of a chapter in which Tom muses on Tony's death:

“After Tony died, one of the first thing people ask is if he left a note. I was horrified when I realized that I’ve been unwittingly helping him make one for 16 years.”

There's just too much good stuff here, so take your time reading it. You'll need it, not because of the list's length, but because of its depth. Here’s some of my favorite:

• “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. At your funeral people will not recall what you did; they will only remember how you made them feel.”
• “Don’t create things to make money; make money so you can create things. The reward for good work is more work.”
• “Train employees well enough they could get another job, but treat them well enough so they never want to.”
  
• “Your passion in life should fit you exactly; but your purpose in life should exceed you. Work for something much larger than yourself.”
  
• “Bad things can happen fast, but almost all good things happen slowly.”
  

Given everything we've been through in the last year as a result of COVID, our experience of what it means to go on vacation may be colored differently but that doesn't mean we can't still enjoy traveling. I get it. Everything feels different because there’s more loops to navigate than ever before, but they’re all preventative measures that benefit everyone so we can recapture the joy of what it feels like to going somewhere new or revisiting old spots that mesmerized us the first time. 

For the past three years, my wife and I have set aside four days in the Fall to visit a location that meets 4 criteria: it’s logistically easy to get to, has gorgeous beaches, wonderful food, and provides enough downtime for us to enjoy each other's company without the kids.

We've previously visited Cartagena, Colombia with our full family and had a fantastic time, but traveling with a large family and with children changes the dynamic in comparison to how quickly a party of 2 can move from point A to point B, so for that very reason we returned but this time just the 2 of us and I wanted to share some photo of our experience. 

In no particular order, here's a few of our favorites places in which the food was absolutely delicious:

Eateries: Buena Vida Marisqueria Rooftop, Rosa Mezcal Taqueria, Pezetarian, Pascal, La Brioche, DKP Restaurant Bar

Lodging: NH Cartagena Urban Royal

Colombia is one of those places where you don't just see the sights, but also feel them, and while you might be inclined to spend your time exploring the culture and people on a bright sunny day, you'll be surprised at how equally charming the town is once the sun has set.

My wife and I went out to dinner one night, and to really appreciate the fact that we had an entire 4-days to ourselves without the kids, we toured the streets of Cartagena at night, avoiding any guilt we would have felt if the kids had been with us.

We are not responsible for whether or not anyone can afford us. We are only responsible for the service/product/value we bring to that client. Don't be afraid to be expensive.

It took me a bit to figure out this one. I used to think that if a potential client contacted you to inquire about your service and decided the price was too high during the conversation, it meant we'd automatically not be booked for nothing else. Lowering your prices seemed to be the answer but eventually I realize that regardless of how great your work may be, you have to be content with knowing that your service will not be for everyone and it's up to you to respect that by not devaluing what you already offer.

Whether we like to admit it or not, we sometimes enjoy making the simplest task more difficult because it's easier to blame the many loops it would have taken to finish it if we don't succeed. I'm guilty of this, and I'm reminded of it whenever I feel overwhelmed by the want to do too much of what's eventually important for me to advance my photography business. When this does occur, I'm reminded of this by Brad Stulberg:

"You can’t hide behind simplicity. You have to show up—day in, day out—and pound the stone. Do the work. Rest. Progressively make it harder. Tweak as needed. Repeat. Nothing complex about it. It is as simple and as hard as that."

Few portraits I managed to capture of Aimee as she was visiting New York over the Summer. We tried several times to align our schedules, but the process of preparing everything became too hard, so one day on a whim, without much planning, we decided to just meet at her apartment without having to deal with a lot of the things that were preventing us from meeting.

Hijas del Mar was born at the beginning of 2018, as a non-profit initiative that seeks to unify and empower women and girls who practice surfing in El Salvador. I had been communicating with founder Suri prior to my visit to El Salvador this year and I had the pleasure to attend one of their practice session at Puro Surf Academy in El Zonte, La Libertad.

View the rest of the photos of my evening spent photographing such an amazing mission.

To make a difference, we need the practical empathy to realize that the other person doesn’t know what you know, doesn’t believe what you believe and might not want what you want. We have to move from where we are and momentarily understand where they are.

If there's one thing I've learned from working in retail for more than ten years and meeting so many people thanks to my camera, it's that understanding is the final thread that binds us all together. There is no harmony without comprehension, and without harmony, your ability to appreciate individuals is severely limited.

Seth Godin always has the remarkable ability to put into few words the most thought-provoking thoughts.

I’ve known of Alex for quite some time before I actually had the opportunity to meet her at a fitness event I was hired to shoot in Union Square, New York more than 4 years ago.

When you Follow individuals online, it’s easy to imagine that what you see is all they do but like anything in life, there’s a lot of balance going on beyond the screen that we don’t often see and it’s the opportunity to chat about that as we collaborate together that I rejoice in because I learn more about myself by learning about other people’s experience. 

Working in retail has taught me a lot about social interactions because I can tell you that the photos stem from that and not the other way around.

In between family vacations in El Salvador, I was able to arrange a meeting with Salvadoran stylist René Valdivieso. He's become one of the most prominent social media celebrities, so it was a true honor for me to meet someone who is always generous, amusing, and straightforward in everything he does, which explains his appeal.

We happened to be staying at a neighboring hotel in San Salvador near his hair salon, which made it even easier for us to meet. I'd want to emphasize that strangers are simply friends we haven't met yet, and you often don't realize the influence meeting new people may have on your life until you realize that they are guests in our story, just as we are in theirs.