Caroline D’Amore is a model, actress and DJ. She has a new movie coming out in September called Sorority Row, that is a thriller with other young Hollywood hotties like Rumor Willis.
We did a shoot right before she was off to Japan for the MTV DJ awards.
I recently did photos of a Dad about to ship out to Iraq for the next 14 months. His ex-wife was the one who hired me, which is incredibly special. They have two young sons who are going to miss their Dad so much. If anything happened to him, she wanted them to have special photos of them together. How wonderful is that? These boys love their Dad so much, I can’t imagine them not seeing him for over a year. Our kids change so much in that short time. I was honored to be able to spend time with such a great family and capture the love they all have for each other. I put the images up on a web gallery so the Dad can see them anytime while he is away. I am sending out a big wish that he comes home safe and early to his boys!
I spent a few days shooting Amir at the Wild Card. He is so grounded it is hard to believe how young he is. He already has that incredible focus. Freddie believes in him. He thinks he is his next big fighter coming up, and Freddie knows fighters. The first day I watched him spar his sparring partner was on the mat looking stunned in the second frame I shot. He had no idea what had hit him and how he had gotten there so fast. 
Amir has no ego, it is work and fun. I love watching these guys smiling through their training, enjoying the process. Amir’s next big fight is in the UK June 27th. A big thank you to Freddie, Amir and his Dad Shah for letting me hang out and photograph him.
I am not sure why, but I love to watch some ones hands being wrapped. I am not sure if it is the intimacy of it, or the zen moment, but it fascinates me. Watching Freddie Roach get his tape ready and the care that he takes with each hand is a pleasure. Watching MMA guys wrap is a different process, there is no gauze. Everyone has their own colours and tape, in their unique ritual. Some boxers use gaffer tape or electric tape. How do you decide how you will have your hands wrapped? One trainer who boxed for years told me the story of how he was late to arrive at a boxing match so they wrapped his hands in a hurry and badly. During the match he felt his hands breaking, but kept fighting through the pain. By the end he couldn’t even feel his hands striking. He won, but both hands were broken. He only tried to fight one time after they had healed. The bad wrapping ended his career. So the ritual, is incredibly important.
Ok, I am smitten. Smitten by the Wild Card Boxing Gym and the people who inhabit it. The international boxing talent that train in this small gym in the middle of Hollywood is amazing. I was there two days this week shooting English boxer Amir Khan. While I was there Andrei Arlovski was there sparring in preparation for his next MMA fight. There were boxers from Scotland, Kenya, you name it. Freddie Roach is the quiet presence that every one flocks to. He is somehow still grounded and ego free. He just went to Vegas to accept his giant Trainer of the Year award and trophy. Since he hates trophies..he left it on the bus, and they will mail it to him. His assistant trainer heavy weight champion Michael Moorer is working with Arlovski while Freddie concentrates on Amir who is amazing already at only 18 years old. The first day I was there his sparring partner was on the mat looking stunned after the first two minutes, trying to figure out how he got there. There is a quiet intensity to everyone in the Wild Card. 
The Wild Card parking lot and being yelled at by the woman who runs the laundry downstairs is considered a rite of passage. I had some amazing conversations with trainers who have given me such great insight into boxing and boxers. Pictured Scottish Boxer Gary Young.
You spend enough time in pro MMA gyms and you find out that they all have a vibe. It seems to come from the Fighter that heads the gym. Xtreme Couture, with the leave your ego at the door, motto is pure Randy. There is great camaraderie there, but every one is going Hard. Cung in the middle of shooting with me, had one eye on the guys he is training, yelling at them to go harder. Urijah’s gym, is the California Kid kick back fun gym. What a great life for a guy. They are super chill and hang out together, train all day, eat lunch in the sun outside the gym and party together when it’s time. The first gym I went to was Joe Stevenson’s. The guys did not know what to do with me, so decided to try and gross me out. They tried hard…I told them it was going to be impossible to gross me out…I live with a 15 year old boy. By lunch time they declared me cool, and a girl who can hang with the guys.
I saw Babalu at the Strikeforce Press conference and was intrigued. He is another fighter who seems full of contradictions. I love these men with layers to them. I wasn’t sure what I would get the day of the shoot. We met at Babalu’s Dojo in Cerritos. He was a little sleepy and down to earth. He grabbed some coffee and started working out with his great group of Brazilian fighters who meet at his gym. There were several black belt Jui-
champions there. They train at such a great level it was really fun to watch. They push each other to try new things, devise new moves to escape and laugh, smile and slap each other on the backs. One of the fighters came in with his new baby and everyone rushed to hug him and shower congratulations on him. Warmth and love raining down from these fighters. I love Babalus’s portraits. They have such a gamut of emotions in them. Super tough guy, laughing, a hint of trouble….it is all there wrapped up in a very cool guy.
No ones hands should move this fast. No ones arms should be able to hit the bag like that, for as long as he does. Manny Pacquiao is at the top of his game. I was lucky enough to be able to shoot Manny and Freddie training together in preperation for the big Hatton fight. These two men who train at such an elite level, truly love what they do. Freddie puts on his gear and his eyes sparkle. Manny smiles as he is going beyond what seems humanly possible to do. They play with each other in the ring, while pushing to extreme levels. I knew he would beat Ricky Hatton in the fight. No one could match his speed and striking right now. I was granted a portrait session with Manny after he was done training. I was so grateful to Manny, Freddie, Michael and Rob who all made it happen.
We had a seriously fun trip up North to Urijah Fabers’ gym. Urijah and his gym have an super kick back vibe but still manage to be killer at the same time. Some one was sleeping on the sofa through driving disco music, and everyone brings in their dogs to hang out. Urijah has a whole posse of friends that all live and train with him and you can tell how tight they all are. There is no ego or attitude with any of these guys and they could be surfers as easily as top MMA fighters. After a morning work out everyone headed outside to the parking lot and ate and laughed in the sun, then back to training in the afternoon. We ended up staying an extra night to visit Urijah at home with the guys. Don’t miss Urijah’s next big fight in June, he is amazing to watch.
Cung Le is a marvel who defies gravity. He comes from the Martial Arts world and has crossed over into Mixed Martial Arts where he is undefeated. I knew he was famous for breaking legs with his kick, so asked him to kick the bag for a shot. I asked how much room he needed to run into the bag? None. How many steps? None. He just lifted directly in the air and kicked, and he kept jumping effortlessly and airborne. Cung has crossed over into movies and has four movies coming out this year. He was a pleasure to work with. He is kind and professional and fully game for anything. It was raining in San Jose and we went outside and had him walking the railroad tracks. No problem.
