Never meet your heroes

More and more I come to realize that our heroes are just people. That person you look up to? They're just that... A person; a human-being. The difference between them and you? Hard freaking work. Hours, days, weeks, months and years of painstaking, back breaking work and at the end of the day, what is it all for? To leave a tiny piece of themselves behind, to make a mark in this life.

I'm at a point where I don't really want to show what else happened on the family roadtrip (but I will; eventually). I am very, very blessed and grateful to have been a part of it, but no-one really cares about that stuff right? You want the inside scoop. The secret to Zack's success? That magic potion he baths in every morning to get to his level of success? The elixir he drinks that give him his powers?
Note: It's Red Hare Brown Ale ;)

There is no trick though. That I can promise you. My reason for choosing - or rather; him allowing me - to intern for Zack was just how genuine he has always seemed online. No bullshit! Honest and open and actually an all around nice guy once you get to know him. They've shared so much with me - him, Meg and the kids. Things that maybe just a few close friends and family know. Who am I? A nobody from South Africa; but to them? I am part of their journey as much as they are part of mine. I've seen them on good days and bad days. I've seen Zack work and on holiday; relaxing and at home with family. I've been with him to Vegas to do a shoot, in studio and on location. I wouldn't say I've seen it all, but in the past two and a half months I've seen more than I ever could've imagined.

I've gotten to shoot for myself on pretty much every shoot thus far. How many pros do you know that would let you step in to shoot some stuff for yourself?

From another shoot where I was given the opportunity to get a shot of my own.

I've met Alton Brown, Vincent Laforet (and attended his workshop), John Keatley (we had BBQ with him and his family), Sara Lando (who broke my brain - thanks Sara :) More on that in another post) and some other close and dear friends of Zack's. To say that I am lucky is an understatement.

Chatting with John Keatley at his home office.

I've sat around dinner tables and listened to stories about GPP in Dubai and other travels. Chris Hurtt telling us about Gregory Heisler pulling over the car - somewhere in the desert - to explain to his assistant in detail, for 45 minutes what a tilt-shift lens does. Zack telling us about David Burnett outrunning him at age 65 with a large format camera to capture the last moment of a sunset in the desert. 15 photographers walking under an archway and only one of them "seeing" an opportunity for a photo. What I am getting at is that; our heroes also miss these things. They miss the shot, the perfect light/expression/moment. And that's okay, coz they are just people. People who know their craft, but people nonetheless :)

Some of Zack's first words to me whilst talking to me on their back deck, were: "I'm just a regular guy, dealing with regular shit". Like changing diapers for instance. He would come home from a job and have to do that? That's not what it's like being a pro photographer right? But that's exactly what it's like. Beyond all the shoots and editing and teaching, he's just a dude who has to take care of his family and pay the bills and clean poop and take the dog for a walk. (Meg, I am not leaving you out of this. I know you do just as much - if not more -  and deserve just as much praise. You are f**ing badass!)
This dude has been - and still is - busting his ass. He's at it every day. I see the process. Some days are easier than others, more laid back, fun, but then there are the days when it's time to get our hands in the dirt and break our nails and get dirt under our skin.

Zack mid sentence, hanging out with Vincent Laforet.. My battery died and I never took his portrait.

Filming a styling video for DEDPXL. Gotta look good for the camera.

Always a pleasure watching Zack work..

There are no hidden agendas. The Arias family have taken me in as one of their own and for that I am forever grateful. I never thought I would feel this welcome. These are some of the kindest and most giving people I have ever met in my life and I hope they come to South Africa so I can in some small way repay them for this. Note: Zack & Meg.. That is a massive hint for you to get your asses to SA ;)

Yes; I came here to learn, but beyond the photography and the gear and the dreams of being a working professional photographer, if being kinder is the only thing I learn from this trip then I am a richer person for it. Give until you can't and then give some more. Be kind. Don't take shit, but give everyone that crosses your path a moment of your time. Even if it's just a friendly hello. I've been given more than just a moment and I am still dumbfounded that a letter changed my life :)

Mr Charles.. One of the many people that Zack has given his time to.

So, get out there, make mistakes, be kind, give and share and one day it will come back, but don't go looking to get it back, coz you just might miss it.

Thanks for reading

Arias Road trip 2014 (Part 1: San Francisco)

Man; what a two weeks it has been.

The #AriasRoadtrip2014 (check it out on Instagram) is almost over and I am so privileged to have been a part of it, with Zack, Meg and the kids. That being said. It's been tiring and trying at some points as you can imagine.

Seven people stuck together in a car for hours on end moving to the next location where they will be stuck together in a house for hours on end. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? :) It has been though. It has been a ton of fun. A lot of laughs, driving, listening to comedy albums, good music, some not so good music, crazy kids driving everyone up the wall and also making everyone laugh at their antics. It's been great.

San Francisco to Seattle in two weeks. So many things have been seen and experienced. We've traveled through 3 states, each with their own charm. From big cities to small coastal towns. Where do I even begin? San Francisco, I suppose :)

July 2nd; (A popular quote incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain is "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco"). It was cold though. Very cold.

I wanted to start with this quote, but after some more research I see that there is no proof that Twain said this. Damn it! Moving on.

We hop on the plane in Atlanta and 5 hours later we are in SF. It's cold, but beautiful. I get to experience some sort of "wintery weather" (which I do love). We take a taxi to where we will be for the next two nights. A beautiful loft in an old warehouse space.

The awesome loft. Not much privacy though and no shelter from the 7am wake-up calls from the little ones :)

Then we get our rental car and go in search of food. The drive to Pier 39 is beautiful. This city is lovely. We're all loving the colder weather. After the lunch/dinner it's back to the loft for some rest.

Dave Earl at the Pier. There are tons of artists and weirdos on this stretch of road. Which also means, tons of cool photo opportunities. Of which I utilized very view :/

July 3rd;

We take our time waking up and getting ready. It's going to be a busy day. We go to find out where we can buy day passes for the Muni (San Francisco's public transportation system). Hop on one of the the cable cars and head toward the Pier again. Get off at the station, buy our day passes and we're off on foot toward the Exploratorium. This place is awesome. When you walk in it seems like it might be kinda lame, but the further you move in the cooler things become. To get more of an idea of what I mean, go here. It'd take me a whole blog post to explain it.

After that we walk to the cable car platform and travel up and down San Francisco's hills. It's so awesome that they are still using these things and have been for many, many years. It's a cool way to get around. We meet up with a family friend Luanne Dietz (she's won two Emmy's) and she takes us to a little hidden gem of a restaurant on the other side of town, called "The Mission" (I think), but not before showing us this:

Cityscape of San Francisco..

We all just stand there in awe of this view. Hawke needs to pee. " 'There are porta potties just down there Hawke; can you hold? 'I weally need to go'. 'Quickly, go to that tree over there' ". Josh and I stand around him to shield him from passersby :)

We walk for what feels like forever to get to the little restaurant nestled away between buildings that are undergoing some gentrification. Happy to have finally reached our destination and to stuff our faces with some good food. A Mariachi singer starts strumming his guitar and playing some music for everyone. Zack requests a song: Volver, Volver. We all listen. It's awesome.

In the one image below you can see his admiration for this guy. He really loves what they're doing, because as he explains: They've sung these songs over and over, time and again in one night, but every time it is done with so much passion, like they are playing it for the first time.

After dinner Zack grabbed the Mariachi and shot a few portraits of him. Then it was time for us to take the bus and cable cars home. We had to wait in the freezing cold for about 30 minutes for the cable car. It sucked, but getting back home was awesome. It had been a good day.

The following day it was time to leave for our next stop; Gualala (the "G" is silent). We packed the car the following morning, drove down Lombard street (yes, that windy street) hit up In & Out Burger; a favourite of Meg's and then drove over the Golden Gate, stopped there to wish it and SF a final farewell and I must admit, it is pretty magnificent :)

To be continued...

Thanks for reading