Bradley Sills

Check out my loved one's blog, Deer Diary.

Deer Dairy: Oct 11, 2011 (Sounds)

He's pretty prodigal.

Paving the way: updates, contests and finding clarity

Picking up momentum.

Some news; a photo I took at Occupy LA was entered into a Global Photojournalism Photo Contest. Vote for it! I also may have a shot featured in NBC LA's online photo gallery. Stay tuned to find out if I make the cut!

Also very excited for the topic of my next multimedia piece. Next week I'm going to go and spend the night at Occupy LA for a couple nights and do a day-in-the-life and interview some occupiers. I look forward to the conversations and the inevitable inspiration.

I met the editor in chief, Ken from The Daily Sundial today and he invited me to be a contributing photographer for the paper. I think it would be a lot of fun and look forward to the opportunity!

Now, to wax poetic:

I'm slowly feeling more confident of my work than I have in the past. Though I am completely aware that I am pretty darn green. Now is the time to choose a path and carve it out.

There are so many avenues for my passion and I can feel that a niche is on the horizon. I like being multi-faceted, but I think I'm beginning to find my bearings in regards to the environments I want to immerse myself in.

In a nutshell, when it comes to visual content, I feel a strong resonance to a couple themes. One would be finding those colorful people in the world and giving them a platform to be seen and understood. I love getting to know people, period. One of my talents is my ability to make people comfortable and open up. That paired with the way I like to frame things visually I think can create an opportunity to feature the "freaks" of society with dignity. Ever since I was introduced to Diane Arbus I knew we were kindred spirits. Captivating viewers into worlds they may have never felt were accessible.

Another angle I'm finding myself more and more attracted to are those topics the public tries to push out of their minds. More specifically, controversial topics and finding the human story in them.

On a purely aesthetic level I love gritty, "grotesque" subjects (inanimate or otherwise) and making them beautiful. It's ironic because the way people depict me when I'm the subjet is almost diametrically opposed to what my choices are for the work I produce.

Will find a way to make it work.

With love and dissent,
Jewell

29 Palms photoshoot

I decided to go on an impromptu visit to the desert yesterday with Rosie. We ventured out to the Joshua Tree area, 29 Palms to be precise. I went with the intention of taking shots of the abandoned buildings but I ended up getting caught up with Rosie as a subject. She's great. Beautiful head, eyes, amazing bone structure and lips. Enjoy!

To You

Porcelain; alabaster skin, smooth and flawless with just a hint of a five o’clock shadow. Despite unkempt whiskers littering his face, he remains angelic. Kind, wide hazel-green eyes telling to a softer side.

Luscious latissimus dorsi taper in elegantly to a nipped-in waist; juxtaposed. Wide, supportive shoulders; reinforced by provocative trapezius, like butrices, bulging and solemn. A lean, angular frame.

The framework, oh the bones. Clavicles jut out, tempting the onlooker. When lit just right you could swear they’d tear through the confining, albeit appealing, tempting shroud of skin they try so desperately to conceal themselves in. A square, mandible you could cut with a knife.

Always polished and dapper with just a hint of flamboyance, he commands the room when he debuts. A natural.

What’s more is his shrewd wit. With a tilt of his head and an innocent, dismissive laugh the words uttered from his lips send a chill. Not sure how to react. The dichotomy of his nature.

Forever entranced.

Peter Murphy- "See Saw Sway"

Video I recently had the privilege of working on with Peter Murphy from Bauhaus!

OccupyLA & AAA Electra 99 Gallery

Here are some recent photos:

Som of them are from my visit to the AAA Electra 99 Gallery in Anaheim, Calif. and the others are from mt recent visit to OccupyLA

Sweat Lodge

Oh, the familiar ache. Pressure, disappointment, fear, pain, loss, uncertainty, sorrow all accumulating. It's been years since the last time I stepped into that womb. Scalding, my skin feels like it's lifting away from sub-dermal tissues. Separating. The steam, the sweat, the places you go, the things you see. Howling at the moon. It was here where I got my name, "Dances with Shadows." It's time I return.

Occupy LA

So, after dragging m feet for little while I made it down to Occupy LA for the first time yesterday. I can honestly say that in my years of going to various protests and demonstrations that this is the most salient movement I've seen. When I was visiting it wasn't necessarily as impassioned with people marching and chanting, but it is more organized. The grounds were clean with tents designated for different needs. There was even a meditation tent. I appreciated that. I headed down to the media tent where the organizers looked a bit haggard from the days of reporting. I included my name on a list so they could contact me for content. I definitely think it'll b something I'll have to follo up on myself as they seemed stretched thin. I took a handful of picture while I was there. Pictures will follow.