The Blackhouse Gym is the private training ground to some of the best fighters in MMA. I went along with the Fight video crew to document Nogueria and Anderson hanging out and talking. Neither fighter was training so the atmosphere was loose and fun. These are two incredibly talented and tough fighters, but they are also full of laughter and joy for living. Nogueria shared his story about being run over by a truck when he was a boy and almost dying. It is amazing that he survived, nevermind went on to become a top athlete. My favorite shots of the day are of Anderson and Rodrigo laughing and hugging together. These guys are great friends and it is a pleasure to be around them. Thanks as always to Ed, George and Derek who make it all possible!

I shot Gavin’s Dad Tom Atencio for Fight! Magazine. He had just had a new baby and asked me to shoot photos of him with his baby.  Gavin was 6 weeks old and the sweetest little baby. What was immediately clear was the special bond already between father and son.  The whole time Tom held Gavin he either slept at total peace, or smiled. You can see Tom transformed into this amazing loving person before your eyes when Gavin is near. The magic that a child works on our lives never ceases to amaze me. I was so honored to have been asked to take these photos.

http://www.commarts.com/annuals/2009-Photography

I am so proud to be featured in the Communication Arts Annual Photography Issue. The company I am keeping is extraordinary. The image selected is one of my favorite images of Randy Couture. It really shows who he is on so many levels. Thank you to Randy for his generosity and to Comm Arts for selecting me. I am blessed!

Cheick Kongo looks pretty intimidating. He is 6′4″ of MMA Heavyweight muscle.  But with his black glasses, and huge smile, there is so much more to this French fighter. His body looks like it is carved out of granite, but he is shy and needed to be asked nicely to take off his t-shirt. He is the kind of fighter that gets under my skin and intrigues me because you see those layers. That he is tough and strong, is obvious….but he is funny, charming and smart. I love the incredible friendship that exists between he and Gilles. Cheick splits his time between his home in Paris and Los Angeles.

I met Gilles when I offered to shoot a charity poker tournament. While the women were swooning over how gorgeous he was, I was watching his genuine warmth and grace. When he was on Dancing With The Stars, I noticed his best friends Cheick Kongo and Donal Logue all there front row cheering for him. These three seemingly different men intrigued me that they love and support each other all the time. Gilles and Donal are also front row at Cheick’s MMA fights.  I think it is incredible how three very successful men are there for each other and their families.  I set up a shoot with them for Fight! Magazine. We shot at The Nine MMA Gym, which is a great location. Gilles and Cheick were both charming and fun, as well as the obvious…gorgeous.  When we wrapped I expected them to rush off to their busy schedules. Gilles was just starting on ABC’s Brothers and Sisters and is excited about his new venture. Instead they stayed and talked with the staff of the gym and signed the ring. Many thanks to Casidee and Don the incredible owners of The Nine, who made our shoot feel like we were home.

I love being surprised by the people I shoot. I spent an incredibly hot afternoon in Temecula to shoot Brian Deegan and the Metal Mulisha. I have seen them before at X Games, and can’t believe what they do. They defy gravity and all good sense with the height and moves they do on their motocross bikes. I was with my son Cash two years ago at X Games when Ronnie Faisst crashed and couldn’t believe he was ok. Without a doubt these guys are tough, but Ronnie has layers to him. There is a kindness in his eyes. My job constantly reminds me that people are so much more than what they appear to be on the outside. I love my portraits of Ronnie. We couldn’t shoot the guys jumping because the wind was up, but it was so worth it! I hope they end up on the box at the X Games next week.

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.