It's something like the first breath you couldn't possibly remember, a dream.

More coming from a recent shoot I had the joy of co-directing with Michael Garcia. It’s not the first time I’ve placed myself in front of the lens, but certainly the most. Eager for you to see but until then…

It's wonderful to feel. 

Pen and Colored Pencil.

Hope In Tomorrow

Hope.

Hope is something that lives within all of us, somewhere; sometimes to be unseen until a moment of surprise or better a moment we've been expecting for a long time. 

Daniel has been one of my closest friends since elementary school and although we've been discussing ideas for a music video since his EP's conception last year, nothing felt more right than what fell together this past month.

The concept for 'Hope In Tomorrow' came from the idea that hope is simple. It's nearly binary: on and off. You can have hope or none at all there lies very little room for space between. So here, is a story of a girl who lost hope from within herself, she is left stranded with no urge to find a direction home. She visualizes the positives in her life, almost like staring at an old photograph; something that once existed but now only holds a hearts beat through the memory. It's clear that the negatives get the best of her, and are carried daily. The stones create this balance in her life but the scale is tipping towards fear of being alone, or remaining misplaced. This day though, ignites a spark to make a change, to only see the positives from here forward, casting her burdens into the ocean.

Hope can be found, obtained, given, created, and shared; even lost. But hope can never be extinguished completely. Only then is the human spirit broken and split into peril. 

We all have decisions to make, every day. We can choose to let the demons within overpower our emotions, or let the beautiful mess that is life unfold and take everything as it comes. Don't let the darkness of night scare you into thinking the sun will not rise come morning. 

Directed by Myself and Michael Garcia, it was a pleasure to create something that could hopefully inspire a peace of mind for those in need. You are not alone I promise you this. 

Director Michael Garcia

Saint Archer Brewing Co.

Saint Archer founders Josh Landan & Mikey Taylor

It's been little over one year since I was graciously invited by filmmaker Josh Landan to join him and his closest friends on a journey that would make any beer drinking man salivate. The objective: visit as many breweries as possible while traveling by van up and through California, our final destination being San Francisco.

I remember getting a phone call from Josh one afternoon; he had an idea. He was starting a brewing company and wanted to make a documentary, or rather document the beginning of something with the potential (he knew very well that the word potential was irrelevant) of being legendary. He asked if I wanted to join them on this adventure, and if nothing came of it then well, we got to share good times over many beers and that was enough for me. I had been in school, and decided to take the week out  knowing that it could very well change my life more than I think I could have imagined, or even than anyone could have predicted. It was the first time that I made a decision to go with the passion of the lens over a text book and lecture. That marked the very beginning of who I drift toward and will become as an artist and my very own, filmaker. I owe a thank you to Mr. Landan for luring me out of class for 5 days in exchange for free booze. 

Below you'll find some of the fondest photographs I have from the trip, and most of which I haven't shared with anybody and few that have been seen by many. But one thing does remain, that this has been testimony to me that if you believe in what you love, and pursue it with a passion that shines then good opportunities will walk your way, but it's up to you to say yes to them when they offer a hand and not shy from the possibility of greatness. They've found theirs and decided not to let go.

I sit here now, while typing these thoughts and reflecting on that experience wondering when that hand might reach down from some unexpected face again, and when it does will it be the right time for me to meet with a firm grip back. 

I couldn't be more happy for the people who began this company and created a dream come true for themselves and the community around that they have constructed. 

Congratulations to a great group of people both individual and united. 

To Saint Archer Brewing Company.

Head brewer Ray Astamendi

Surfer Taylor Knox the first day of our adventure in Carlsbad, CA

All play no work

The Ride

The Cram

Stop One: Meeting the guys 

Josh Landan

Mikey Taylor & Taylor Knox // San Francisco

Mikey Taylor // San Francisco 

04.18.13

Perspective is such a relative thing; you could look in any direction and without thinking see nothing, your eyes wide open tearing from a dry wind or pollen. Images play around us, dusting our subconscious in angles and twirls which we likely send straight to a digital trash can. I dare you to look up, down, sideways backwards, quickly slowly, standing uncomfortably but existing within a thought that makes no sense in the sense of the word "sense". It's at least better than waiting for a change that waits for you.

Mark of the Widow

I found myself today, while crossing a scaffold to a small parking structure in my school, struck in hysterics. It started with a crack between my lips, my eyes covered by the tint of plastic and a smile emerging, fighting; breaking out. My teeth cracked in full motion as I realized where I exist and how I choose to live within it. It was only in high school 5 years ago that a fantasy like this sprouted and now, even when I can't nor am considered a success I feel this place within the future where I sit content and alive within a dream enjoying the stacks of pride. Recognition exists from perseverance and will never be overseen so long as you stay true to the integrity of your work, the people around high or low, and the family you were born to and create. I hope that when and if you read this you decide to grow with me, and to create something greater than what has been produced already. This is only the beginning and has only ever been intended as the beginning. The mark of the widow began with 2013; see you soon.

_Elinn
Half Widow

I The Mighty // Speak To Me Music Video

It's nearly impossible for me to design a compelling introduction to anything I write, in fact most of the time re-reading my drafts I find that I ambitiously jump into the details without any expression of what the project meant to me, in the end. I feel it right then, for this, to begin when there is nothing left to say and only the remains for you to watch. "Speak To Me", a music video for the most talented musicians in I The Mighty, created by myself, Michael Garcia, and Joe English is the result of 48 hours of production spent in a 40 degree warehouse and a crew of three. The result is nothing less than what was exactly needed; a visual vessel for you to feel the power behind this bands voice.

          

Everything that ever will be seems to begin with a phone call. 

The bands manager (Daniel Rubin) contacted me in late december and at the time (I have to be honest) I had never heard of I the Mighty. It wasn't until I was forwarded the song would I be entranced by the pure energy and raw style that it would deliver and soon inspire myself and creative crew to produce. Working initially with Daniel we had discussed that a room should be changing in appearance over the course of the video. After listening, and with the help from Michael Garcia, we developed the concept that an energy of some magnitude would be tearing it apart. Perhaps this energy was created by the bands presence within the room, maybe it existed from outside of it. Something beautiful to me as a director is that the answer never has to be concrete, even though I have my own interpretation of what is happening. In fact, I'd love to hear everyones own unique experience while watching this video.

Overall, the design was simple visually, with very few items collected on the walls, but still, in my opinion it never lacked character. This room (excuse the pun...) definitely spoke to me about some sort of life that existed within its walls. It's my own visual style and preference to keep things simple but not without interest. In fact, there are a few personal items within that hold some merit to the bands roots such as an old map of the Bay area on one wall, and beneath the deer are various images from my own photo collection. All seem inexplicably cohesive with the song still, and I know that's something we are all very proud of.

And so it began with a sketch, multiple cups of coffee, debate,  re-designing, and finalizing that we felt confident to begin scheduling and bringing it to life. We journeyed to our good friends studio spaces in Corona (The Good Die Young Rehearsal Space) and began constructing our single room set in an empty warehouse space he had. Day one was constructing the walls, and developing the logistics of it's inevitable destruction. The result I couldn't be more proud of and couldn't have asked for better people to create it with, including the band and management. 

This video in itself is the very beginning to a unique creative campaign, being shot in the first month of the new year. I don't believe in stepping backwards, and can only push myself and team to reach the limits of giants, never alone and always in great company. 

_Elinn

LA Space Station 3

Always a good/productive time in LA with Colby Murray. I ventured up to the city this weekend to spend some time downtown and watch an artist I'm very familiar with (and if you follow my work you are too).

I'm looking forward to our future plans of unveiling what's been in the making since our meeting 2 years ago. 

_Elinn

mtvU debut!

It's been a minute or two since I've last posted anything up on here. Well, I think that may just be the sign of a successful start to the new year. I've been working on various projects within and I can't wait to share with you them in the forthcoming months! I'm honored to work with the artists that come my way. BUT, for now, I'd like to mention that a Music Video I produced and Directed along side my brother in arms Michael Garcia has won last weeks mtvU Freshman contest and is now on the video rotation that airs on thousands of televisions across the country. I couldn't be more proud of the boys in Lucky & Wild. Check the video out below and keep an eye out for it on your lazy sundays!

_Elinn

Lucky & Wild: Maniacs

As a self-establishing freelance director, it's nearly impossible to come across clients that let you run wild with creative control and style, much less bring seemingly insane ideas to life. 

*NOTE TO SELF: Avian puppets attacking a group of men swerving down an apocalyptic Pacific Coast Highway sounds infinitely less cool stated out loud than in my head.

I met the gentlemen in Lucky & Wild over the summer of 2012, in preparation to work on the groups first music video for their at the time single Adult Life. We immediately clicked, hatching ideas for a love-induced-nostalgia based music video. We shared over beers, and for my partner Michael Garcia, water. The wiser of men. We wrapped production within that month, and the video was released in June. Immediately after we began brainstorming for Maniacs.

"The song is generally about letting [other people's perceptions] drive you insane, so we had to work with that. Then we came up with the idea to play organized criminals in the video," the band explains. "We combined those two ideas to form the plot and finished product. We can't give away the plot but we can tell you that it involves lying, cheating, stealing, killing, and driving." -Lucky & Wild//Purevolume.com

Our initial idea had begun with a car, and we decided to let the car be the set for our story, and more specifically the backseat the stage. The animal masks had made an appearance in the Adult Life video, and seem to be developing a bit of iconography although having different meanings in each story. Here, they are literally masks to conceal an identity but in turn still reveal more about the creatures within; a lion and a rat. Unlikely duo but based on basic intuition we can create identities for these two, especially when a gun is revealed. 

*As a discretion, I'd like to make a quick statement here. In film, or at least the film I love, there is nothing done without direction, meaning: everything has purpose deeper than visual aesthetic. I think a lot of amateur filmmakers have abandoned this idea and consequently desensitized our ability to recognize an actual idea, or meaning in most of the work we see. Cinematography is a language. 

Onward.

With that established, I can say that we wanted to pack this video dense in symbolism, but in a subtle way by rubber banding simple elements from Shakespearean tragedies, to greek mythology, to basic visual effects used in old film like projecting video of a road behind the car to simulate the sense of motion, but not hyper realistically. We wanted this initial sense that you were on a movie set, watching a story unfold; we wanted there to be zero sense of reality by playing with these different planes of existence: movie set to acting to story to finally real life at the end. It's a journey I think we all take when watching and it's hardly noticeable until brought up. 

In layman's terms this is a story of death, and betrayal; remorse and realization. Our protagonist driving doesn't understand what's happening, he's confused and lost more in character the further he drives. He only acknowledges the woman without realizing that she is death; his death. 

I feel it's still important for me to not break down every element of my work, like an illusionist I enjoy the reaction to tricks. That's not to say I won't answer questions involving the ideas or production behind any of my work so please, ask away!

Maniacs has been the most exciting project I've had the pleasure to co-direct with Michael Garcia, and it's safe to say that we are only on our way up to create more on an even grander scale. 

Stay infected.

_Elinn

Dirty Thoughts

Ever catch yourself staring blankly into every morsel of god knows what stuck to your bathroom mirror; jaw tense from the thought of how reckless you must be with a toothbrush. Lethal most likely, thank God no one is near you when you do that. Right? Then you stop, and start thinking about how ludicrous it is of you to think that it's dangerous to brush your teeth next to someone. We've all done it, the only danger is digging into every gum in fear of your partner rating your hygiene far below average. It comes down to a baking soda paste; 2 minutes? or did my parents tell me to stand in front of the sink for 5 minutes; now she'll start judging my childhood. My parents were good parents though I will mutter without her asking. "What?" She pauses, lips foamed. Never mind. 

Still alone, standing in front of this dirty, dirty mirror.

Elinn_

Untitled

Sometimes I need to find comfort in small places, even when nothing is terribly wrong at all. I grabbed my camera no more than an hour ago and locked myself in the bathroom, lights turned off. My roommate watched from the couch in the next room; his thoughts of the scenario can only be imagined. The result is unknown, really. Almost a type of digital scribble or code that makes sense intuitionally but not rationally. I'm fond of that sort of thing though. The, "I can't always make up what I think you need to hear" sort of thing. 

Lit by a tiny LED panel (constant) fixed to the flash mount.

Also yes, Sally Mann is an influence here. 

Elinn_

I met up with some good friends of mine to shoot Christmas portraits for their family. We met in La Jolla, coincidentally the same day as their Holiday Parade. Fighting off traffic we luckily found parking only three cars distance from one another and began heading towards the coast. My initial intentions had been to shoot with the sun directly behind the two as it set, giving a really nice orange glow to the image. However, with conditions of grey marine layer that wasn't possible. I still shot with the sun behind as the ocean is almost always a nice aesthetic (especially to cards intended to be mailed inland where the sea is a treasure). Being comfortable with your subjects is the most important part about being a photographer in most cases, at least I think so, and since I know these two it was easy for them to be "themselves" around my camera in particular. Taking into consideration the weather I was given I couldn't be happier with the results I got from this session.

Elinn_

Dayseeker: What It Means To Be Defeated

I knew immediately after hearing Dayseeker's new single that the video had to be equally as vicious and attacking as the song itself sounded.

It was the fragile charm of the piano that had left me thinking of a broken home, held together only by the ones who chose to keep it living whether they dwell there or not, and our location could not have mirrored that vision more perfectly. 

It's always interesting that by combining two mediums of expression, one visual and the other audible, we're still able to maintain a common theme even if the intentions of both are slightly different. That's why I love music videos, because they have this ability to weave together two perspectives into one. 

Stylistically, it needed to be felt as strong in nature while seemingly on the brink of falling apart, like the environment surrounding: unstable and ready to collapse from the sheer energy that came from within. 

Even though simplicity is a driving force in this video, there still seems to be a plot keeping pace with the song. 

Entirely shot alone with no crew, one tripod, and the California sun 5 hours prior to setting. 

Part of my style, I think is the ability to take a situation I have no control over and make it look as high production as possible. There were no previous location scouts before the day we shot, and I had no idea the condition of the house since I'd last been there a year before. When we arrived at the location (besides the relief that it still stood) I started thinking of where to place each member. I had never been upstairs, and couldn't have been happier with what I found. A long hall, uneven and walls swaying apart from each other leading to a brightly lit room that overlooked the front yard, where the video begins, and ends. It was the perfect spot for Rory to record his vocals. I wanted this distance from the frontman, as if he were untouchable but still, have close up shots to emphasize the aggression and compassion in his words. 

As for the rest of the band we scattered them throughout, in all reality no more then 10 feet away from one another but shot separately. It gave a sense that they all filled the space during different times but we're participating in the same thing, in this case performing this song. 

Overall, it's an eerie video; painfully simple fundamentally but not without a sense of execution. I look forward to see where these boys take off too, because they are more than deserving of solid recognition and hope to work with them again in the future!

You can learn more about the band here at facebook.com/Dayseeker

Elinn_

One Chair to Rule Them All

I think there's something in human desire to want to recreate themselves. We see self portraits more than ever today with social media outlets such as Instagram, rooting back to Myspace etc. So with that, I've been interested in their nature most recently. This is actually more or less of an homage to a photograph of Heath Ledger that I stumbled across while researching for a class project last night. I'm tired, and to be frank I'm always tired, people and materials exhaust me. 

Self expression through self portrait. 

Elinn_

(Inspired by Bryce Duffy)

Widow Brothers

I work with a few different visual artists when it comes to video work, and most recently I've been teaming up with, all things gloom and doom, director/photographer Michael R. Garcia (DNR Media). 

We met up for talks and burger lounging last night and as all photographers should, both had our cameras. Naturally we began shooting portraits of one another. It only took an abnormally bright desk lamp and at most 10 snaps of the shutter to come up with what we hadn't been searching for at all. Two images that encompass a deeper slice into our character and that seem to peel back a curtain and explain the chemistry between us as artists. Sometimes a spur of the moment shoot can leave more impressive results than a carefully executed one; this being no exception.

Elinn_  

CREDIT: MICHAEL R. GARCIA

Photoscape

The adventure of conversation will nearly always supersede any type of work or business I undertake and most often turn up better products. These are a series of digital photographs shot when I met up with a good friend of mine a couple weeks back. The time in which we see each other is usually thin and stretched, which leaves us this advantage: the ability to catch up while on our own photo-excursions creating a unique freedom in each capture. 

Shot in a span of 20 minutes near dusk in San Diego, CA

Elinn_