Kongo Rikishi, one of two wrathful Guardian Kings of Buddha, plays a unique role in Buddhist tradition. Often seen standing at the entrance of temples 🏯, baring their teeth and wielding a club, these intimidating figures are thought to deter thieves and evil spirits. Despite the generally pacifist tradition of Buddhism, the stories of these guardians justify the use of physical force to protect cherished values and beliefs against evil.

The second statue pictured portrays the Kannon Bosatsu, a deity of compassion and mercy. Unlike Buddha, Kannon is considered a Bodhisattva, a being who has the ability to achieve Nirvana but chooses to delay doing so out of compassion for suffering beings.

As I wandered through the Japanese friendship garden 🌸 🌳, the contrast between these two figures struck me. Together, they embody the duality of strength and compassion that lies at the heart of Buddhist philosophy and within us all.

The Japanese Friendship Garden, located in San Diego’s Balboa Park, symbolizes the bond of friendship between San Diego and its sister city, Yokohama.

🌸 Japanese Friendship Garden

Playing with lens distortion as a stylistic choice. 

Beemers at Sunset

The One Moto Show which occurs once a year in Portland, Oregon's Zidell Yards.

The One Motorcycle Show 2025

Basswitch 7 was the summoning of the water witch. A visceral and fluid experience 🌊

Basswitch 7 was the summoning of the water witch. A visceral and fluid experience 

Basswitch 7

The 14th edition of my favorite car meet did not disappoint.

🍩 Donuts and Drip 14 💦

Basswitch is a collaborative music & arts production based in Portland, Oregon 🌙✨🔊

Basswitch 6

I've been going to the Oregon Country Fair 🍑 for 20 years now, and this year I consciously tried to capture the magic through my lens. I also made a deliberate choice to focus more on portraits rather than candids or wide shots. I love how portraits hack into our brain's natural response to seeing faces and bringing out emotion.

Too scared to get my R5 C super dusty, I brought a DSLR hand-me-down Nikon that I got from my sister instead. This camera was my first interchangeable lens camera, and it opened this whole world to me. I also brought my trusty FM2 35mm film camera. The DSLR did not disappoint—I forgot how much battery life you got with those early models. I set it to aperture priority and wandered off into the Eight.

To add a twist to shooting on film, I bought a bag of expired film from a local antique store. I was especially excited to shoot a roll of 1000 ISO Kodak color 35mm film I found, which is no longer made.

Bubbles at dawn is one of my favorite parts of the fair. I shot a whole roll of film at the sunrise congregation of diehards, lofty sparkle ponies, cat girls, and psychonauts. 🌞 A huge shoutout to my homies for making it so much fun, and also to the crew that brought out fresh oysters 🦪 and champagne to pop bottles during sunrise! 🍾 💫 

Oregon Country Fair 2024 shot on film & digital. 

Oregon Country Fair 🍑 2024

Mixtape was the mashup we needed...

[Avants Event Page](https://www.avants.com/events/2025/2-1/mixtape)




A curated collection of rad cars, bikes and boards along with cool demos by BMX riders and skateboarders, all inside Avant-Garde Collection's huge warehouse.

Mixtape Meetup

What if the truth didn’t hurt—after all, the truth is all there is, and yet the world remains a beautiful place if you choose to see it that way, silky in its refinement yet truthful enough to be uncomfortable.

Silky light drapes the world in delicate, exotic threads, luxurious to the eye yet secretly strong, so smooth and lustrous that even the hard edges of truth begin to soften. In that glimmer, the genuine and authentic emerge. An irreplaceable shimmer that feels soothing on the surface yet substantive at its core, ultimately liberating us to see beauty without closing our eyes.