On Monday I flew to Vegas in order to shoot some pictures of a conference. I took some photos with my phone for May’s MPA and will dwell on my impressions of the city further once I post them, but, meanwhile, here are three snaps from my ‘real’ camera.

Just after I came back from Hawaii (literally, just as I got off the plane) I was scheduled to shoot SXSW for a Spanish magazine called Calle 20. They wanted to write an article about the festival and how it had transformed Austin, so they asked me to take pictures of anything that caught my eye. Unfortunately, due to the economical crisis that is crippling the arts (and many other things) in Spain, Calle 20 has decided to stop printing its magazine and will only be putting out digital content from now on. This means that the article I took the pictures for won’t be printed, so I decided to share the photographs I took here.

What can I say about SXSW? It would be impossible for me not to be biased: I had just stepped out from one of the most wonderful and relaxed places I have ever been to and was walked into all the things I don’t like: noise, crowds, drunk people, standing in line for hours, small cramped places, etc. On top of that, I was extremely exhausted from my shoot in Hawaii but tried my best to chin up, keep up to speed and remain cheerful.  It was shocking to see how much life SXSW brought into the streets that usually remain desserted on weekdays: there were things happening everywhere, you could find a party in every corner and everyone was trying to draw attention to themselves. But, somehow, I felt that SXSW was not a music festival designed for music lovers but for people who just wanted to make business out of music.

So, here are the pictures I took during SXSW.

Friendly punk that we met outside the convention center. We kept on seeing his mohawk at different concerts.

Firemen watching the crowds walk by.

6th St.

Concert at 6th St.

 This girl was giving out flyers for a party.

I spotted Jared Leto walking down the street. I started snapping pictures and following him (some girls actually asked me if I was a paparazzi!). Then some fans asked him if they could take a picture.

These two girls who had flown in from NY were my favourite. They didn’t really know who Jared Leto was but they asked him for a picture because “he was famous”. Then they posed for me and asked me to caption this picture with “too cool for SXSW”. <3

I caught this policeman eating a hot dog. He laughed.

Hector, the journalist I was working for, asked me to take pictures of some concerts. Here is Kendrick Lamar.

Kendrick.

This is one of the few concerts I actually wanted to see: Mike Scott and Steve Wickham from the Waterboys. It was so good.

A homeless man.

Improv concert on Congress Ave.

There was a Rookie event at Urban Outfitters. On my way there I saw these two girls in front of me and I knew they were Rookies. <3

Beautiful Rookies.

I loved this shy Rookie, so as I was watching her I witnessed something so cool: other girls noticed that she was shy, so they walked up to her and just asked her “do you want to hang out with us?”. It was great. Go rookies, you will rule the world!

They were doing some crafts (shy rookie in the background).

Concert at UO.

This little girl was so angry. I don’t know why.

Cowboy.

The most coveted thing at the convention center were sockets. People would just hang around them.

Fashionistas waiting for Devendra Banhart.

Devendra.

Man sleeping at the back of the Devendra concert.

There was a room in the convention center where everyone was trying to sell you something.6th St.This man played the violin while wearing a wolf mask. Lots of people were taking his pictures and interviewing him, so I took his picture too.

Pretty girls from some rapper’s entourage.

The rapper himself, hugging a groupie.

Pretty entourage girl. Amelia Foxtrot who is a gramophone DJ and owns a vegan ice cream shop.

Man doing screen prints. I liked his t-shirt.

Rusty Traps, who very kindly showed us his house and told us lots about Austin’s history.

The Crayolas.

Best Coast.Teenage boys.

Cat t-shirt.

Jack Sparrow skater girl.Some teenagers REALLY liked big rappers.

More girls advertising parties.

Pajaro.

The Flaming lips.

The Flaming Lips.

The Flaming’s lips fans.

People queuing to get food at the Flaming Lips’ concert.

Cowgirl boots.

I think that I won’t even apologize about being super late with March’s MPA because they are so packed with adventures that, hopefully, it will have been worth the wait.

March was an incredible and exhausting month. Teeth, the short film I am working on, finally started to move forward and we held auditions for the lead actresses, I also shot a music video for a local band and got to cover SXSW but, above all, I got to go to Hawaii! I went there to work but I can’t complain because it was the best kind of work (filming!). For years I have looked at pictures of Hawaii and longed to go there, so actually getting to visit it, just by chance, was mind blowing. I kept on thinking what I would have said last year if someone had told me I would be living in Texas and would also be running all over Maui. It made me think about something I wrote when I first visited Texas in 2007…

Being a freelance film maker is sometimes nerve wrecking, mainly because I do not know what work will come my way and how things will play out in the near future but, I cannot help but feel tremendously optimistic and grateful when life just opens up and offers me all that I know it can be.

So, here are March’s MPA!

Our first day of auditions for Teeth.

Getting my suitcase ready for my trip to Hawaii.

I had to wake up at 3am to catch my plane. I was extremely sleepy on the flight but kept on trying to keep myself awake so I wouldn’t miss the moment when we flew over the Grand Canyon. I don’t know how but I dozed off and after a while I woke up alarmed thinking that I had missed it. Then I looked out of the window and saw it there, lit up by the sunrise. I must admit that I cried a teeny bit.

The flight attendant was Dolly Parton’s dark twin sister.

Many many hours later, I landed in Kahalui.

This is the first thing I saw when I got out of the airport. The ocean breeze was fresh and strong. I could tell I was in paradise.

Tanner, Travaasa‘s Marketing director, had rented a red jeep for the shoot and he came to pick me up at the airport. We were both really excited (I spent the next two days begging so he would let me drive it).

I hadn’t eaten for over 12 hours so when Tanner took me to a restaurant and they put this in front of me, I almost cried.

This was the view from the restaurant in Lahaina. This part of Maui was more touristy and it somehow reminded me of my hometown.

We then drove to Hana. To get there you have on the most amazing winding road  to drive for two hours. On one side of the road there were gigantic cliffs that faced the ocean and on the other side there were jungle covered mountains.

You know that kid in Summer Camp who was always so excited about everything that she always woke up first and then woke everybody up? Well, that’s me. We had arrived at Travaasa at night so when the first rays of light hit my window I immediately got up and went to look at the view. The palm trees were swaying…

I filmed the sunrise while I ate some delicious banana bread.

I then went to explore the property while I waited for Tanner to wake up. They had these two chairs at the edge of a cliff.

The view from the chairs.

I then went to wake Tanner up (it was still like 7.30 am.). This was the view from his door. The building on the left was my room. Amazing!

As we walked to get breakfast I saw this giant spider. I got really close to take a picture of it and as I stepped back I realized that there were like a 100 smaller spiders just where my legs had been.

This is was I ate for breakfast every day (plus strawberries).

I loved the rainbow license plates in Hawaii.

We went location scouting and I finally found the perfect spot for my ranch.

In the afternoon we went to Hamoa beach. There were some people surfing.

Hamoa to the right.

Hamoa to the left.

We had finished location scouting for the day so I took the chance to swim in the Pacific Ocean for the first time ever. The water was clear and warm but the currents were really strong.

On the way back to the hotel Tanner let me drive the jeep : D My hair and skin were covered in sea salt and the sun was setting.

It was perfect.

There are few places where I have been that I have said “that’s it, this is my place”. I must admit that Hana was amongst them.

The next day I rode some horses (!) and also went on a glider with an incredible Dutch man named Hans. I don’t have pictures to prove it because I started shooting video and I don’t usually take photos with my phone when I am shooting.

The actors arrived and we were invited to one of the local’s houses to have dinner. They had a giant garden which faced the mountains and in it they had 9 cats, 3 dogs and a jackson…

The jackson was named Michael.

I just sat on this hammock to take this picture but as soon as I took it, I fell off of it.

Travaasa’s amazing pool.

Another of my favourite things about Hana was that all the furniture was really simple because people just decorated everything with fresh flowers.

Tanner & I patented the jeep cam (picture taken by Michael Chad).

We filmed the actors jumping off a cliff. I ended up jumping too and then watched how this girl gathered the courage to jump.

We hiked up the National Park in order to film the Bamboo Forest and it led up to this amazing waterfall.

Ululani (she makes leis with the hotel’s guests) and Jazmin.

We went to Clay Oven Pizza aka “Hippie Pizza” to have dinner. There were these cute surfer kids making their own dough and if you wanted to take the pizza home they would wrap it in a banana leaf.

Jazmin was in charge of securing the bikes to the jeep.

Shooting the bike scene.

When I got to Hawaii I had a LOT of questions that people couldn’t answer, like “How did people get here?” or “How did the seeds for all these plants get here?” and “How many years has the volcano been dormant?”. Fortunately Andrew could answer all of them and more. He told me lot of things about Hawaii’s history, he also told me that he goes fishing at night and often sees sharks. Then we all had ice cream together.

Surf board inside a car.

Jazmin climbed up a tree on our last morning in Hana.

I saw this Winnie the poo doing a shaka painting at the airport (it was just by the security control?). Another reason to love Hawaii.

On the plane back to Austin. It was REALLY cold.

Back in Austin.

Since I liked the license plates so much, Tanner bought this one for me.

I shot lots of pictures of SXSW for Calle 20.

On my way to SXSW I saw this squirrel that was licking a wall…

…and this awesome Joan Jett graffiti.

We held some more auditions for Teeth.

And on my free day I went for a walk with Juan. We bumped into Honk! TX just by chance and I saw this incredible dog named “Smokey”. His owner was wearing two pair of sunglasses.

I saw this little girl trying to climb up a tree. I waved at her and then she looked back at me.

Musicians at Honk! TX.

Little girl dressed as a cat.

END RACCOON TYRANNY! (or the best street poster I have ever seen).

Exploring the bamboo ‘forests’ in my neighbourhood.

Blue velvet on the way to the grocery store.

Kick ass girl working the camera at KVRX.

You thought I wasn’t going to post any pictures of cats this month? HA! Here’s Rings.

Dapper looking fellow at the university campus.

A couple of weeks ago I flew to Hawaii in order to film a video commissioned by Travaasa, a resort that focuses on making their hotels an original and dynamic travelling experience instead of just a destination.

The client’s aim was to capture all the adventures and experiences you can live whilst staying at their quiet and luxurious hotel in Hana, Maui and, at the same time, they wanted make a video that captured their 5 pillars.

I felt so lucky to have the chance to visit a place like Hana. I woke up at around 6 am every day, sometimes because we had to shoot but other times because I just wanted to have more time to spend awake in that paradisiac place: everywhere I looked I just saw something amazing and completely overwhelming in its beauty. I tried to capture this sense of constant awe in the video I made for them, hoping that people would fall in love with Hana just as I did.

In the three days that took to shoot the video I rode horses, kayaks, went up on a glider, stood on open roofed jeeps, snorkeled, admired the locals, adopted pet geckos and had lots of fun while filming it all. I am sure I will talk more about it in this month’s MPAs but, for now, here’s the video!

Cast: Jazmin Repollo & Michael Gringerich.
Producer: Tanner Powell.
Client: travaasa.com

Jazmin practicing her handstands in Hamoa Beach.

Standing in the small space designated for photographers, the one that always lays between the stage and the metal fence to which audiences cling to. My body is sandwiched between a giant speaker that makes me feel queasy and the other photographers who move quickly trying to catch the perfect image. Meanwhile, the lead singer of the Flaming Lips kisses a plastic baby as if it was his own son or daughter.

The lights, the sound and the vibrations become too much after 3 songs and I turn around to leave, it is then that I see this girl standing completely still while everybody dances and screams around her. She behaves as if the group was playing their songs just for her, as if she was alone with their music.

I know that last month’s MPA are long overdue but, believe me when I say that I have been trying to get them together for a couple of weeks: I edited the photos on a plane, I wrote some of the captions before collapsing in bed one night and I am now taking advantage of a couple of free hours I have before shooting some photos at a concert to finish them off.

February started slow but then, unexpectedly, got insanely busy. The problem is that March has already been so incredibly exciting and hectic that it is hard for me to sum up February without being biased. So, here are February’s MPA!

Adam & Eve gardening poster. 100% Austin.

I met up with some of my teenagers at the beginning of the month. I saw this sign while walking to one of their houses.

I was walking to the grocery store and saw these objects under a bridge. I had to inspect them because they reminded me of Brick or some kind of mystery.

On my way back home from the store I saw this girl with a duck umbrella and a Patrick Swayze badge that read “no one puts baby in a corner”. <3

Cooked the yoga pot. It was delicious.

After a couple of months of incessantly talking about how great bird feeders are and how much I needed a bird feeder, Juan bought me one. I was so excited and envisioned myself befriending the local birds and squirrels… (more on this subject later.)

University student.

Went to Austin High to take some photos of the cheerleaders for my Teenage project.

This poster I saw at Austin High = Epic Fail.

After taking pictures, I walked back home and on the way I saw some teenagers playing baseball.

Slowly, all kinds of amazing birds started to flock towards the bird feeder: I saw cardinals, blue jays, tits, chickadees and even laughed at how the squirrels tried to steal the food. However, this joyful time came to an abrupt end when the pigeons discovered the bird feeder and even though I tried to shoo them away, I couldn’t keep them off it. One morning I woke up and found 5 pigeons on the bird feeder and 30 of them underneath it. Juan and I decided that it was best to take the bird feeder down if we didn’t want to die of beaky leprosy.

I went for a walk one evening and saw this sign in a garden. <3

It was mid February when I took this picture and Spring had already arrived to Texas.

I met a new teenager and she took me to an amazing antique mall…

…that was next to a skate center.

Crazy lamp at the mall.

Cute plastic squirrel.

Defaced antique pictures.

I made these healthy-sugar free chocolate truffles for a dinner party. Most people weren’t very excited about the healthy part.

Alison and I had a meeting to discuss a plan for my new short film. She is going to produce it.

Rings letting a dog know what he thought about him.

Watching the sunset with the neighbourhood cats.

Girl with yellow wellies outside an aerobic class at the gym.

We had amazing Spring sunsets every day.

Two promising dates (still haven’t had time to watch them…)

Saturday morning, practicing with the steadicam.

I was invited to a WxWC backyard concert. There were people standing on the roof of the house and everything looked like the Smashing Pumpkins video I had longed to live in as a teenager.

However, I must admit that I enjoyed walking back home on my own after the concert more than the party.

Our apartment is finally getting cozy.

I was asked to do a one day shoot in San Antonio. My assistant took me to this cafe to have lunch.

Remember the Alamo!

Vanessa, my assistant for the day, and my camera.

I was working on the computer and this sneaky cat snuck by the window…

… and sat there for a while.

Austin <3.

Miracles on 34rd St.

I saw this pick up truck parked outside Austin High. I wondered if the owner’s girlfriend had written this on his window…

…and in the back there was this sleeping puppy.

As I walked home I decided to pop into Austin Pets Alive! and spend some time with the animals. I fell in love with these two cats (Cheetoe & Chapman).

I participated in a very tedious scientific experiment at the university.

Fire, walk with me. : )

If I look at the pictures I am about to post it seems like all I did in January was hang out with cats but, on the other hand, if I listen to my brain, it seems like all I did was sit in front of the computer for hours and hours while working on my new website and editing videos. If I take a step back and try not to view the month as a whole, I realize that I also worked on a shoot and hung out with my teens quite a bit (both are situations where I take ‘real’ pictures with my camera and usually forget about my phone). I guess that, somehow, I felt like most of my time was bookended by all the things I needed to get done.

Here are January’s MPA.

Xmas was over.

Self eating ice-cream drawn on a toy store’s window.

Dog driver.

I thought that there weren’t any cats near our new apartment. I was wrong, there are MILLIONS. This is the first one I met, I gave him some food because I thought he was a stray but it turns out he lives right next door (seven dinner cat).

Practicing for when I have my ranch.

Sunrise at Travaasa, just before shooting.

On my way to the gym I met these two. I’m a very punctual person but if I am ever late know that it is because I have been intercepted by CATS.

I went for a very long walk with Juan. We ended inside the capitol.

Another day we went for another walk and I saw this truck with a skull on it…

…and lots of dolls’ heads on its antenna. <3

We passed Home.

And found this cool mural that I wanted to use on my website but in the end I didn’t.

On our way back home we stopped by Amy’s, which is all I want to eat forever. They have a guess the movie quote game and if you guess it they give you free toppings. When I walked in they had a quote from Ghost World (“You give them a Big Mac and a pair of Nikes and they’re happy. I can’t relate to ninety-nine percent of humanity.”) and I guessed it immediately. I was really excited because the game and situation itself was a meta-reference to Ghost World.

Magic light and my dress hung to dry.

Juan & I have taken up playing racketball. We don’t call it racketball though because we don’t know the rules to racketball and we play an invented game that I call like to call Poison Ball™.

Girl’s boots.

I saw this baby opossum walking down the street. It was sooo cute.

Okay…

Fraternity (yes, they exist in real life!).

Waiting for the bus in order to go and take pictures of some new teens.

The new teens took me to Pet Co. We watched the dogs getting groomed for a while.

Then they took me to best buy. Apparently teens hang out in these stores and take ‘selfies’ of themselves on the phones. I looked through most of them and this was the best picture I found.

On another walk we saw this amazing house that had a vegetable patch and a chicken coop.

Necklaces.

This is Rings. He is my favourite cat of all the ones that live in my neighbourhood.

Cat chalk drawings on the sidewalk.

I was on my way to meet somebody when and I saw these two animals in a garden. At first I thought they were two dogs but then I realized that one of them was a little pig!

He behaved like a dog though. Super cute.

Someone gave me this great booklet near the university.

Me & my crew.

I’m working on the new Dearjennifer website, it will hopefully be ready sometime next week. Meanwhile, here is one of the new pictures that’s going to be on it.