On Stage w/ The Dead Weather

Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, The XX, Hot Chip, MGMT, Muse... and then I lost my whole group. It was my fault, stopped to chat, turned around and gone. Spent 15 minutes looking for them and then decided it was time for a solo adventure... On Stage with The Dead Weather. They were amazing, Jack White can do no wrong, it doesn't seem to matter what he's playing.





For all Coachella 2010 pix: http://marcobollinger.com/coachella2010

Coachella Day 1

Flew in from NYC and went straight from LAX into the concert at 7pm for Passion Pit ...who killed it. So fired up about this band. Ran around like maniacs the way everyone does on the first day, saw Them Crooked Vultures, LCD Soundsystem, La Roux, Little Dragon, Vampire Weekend and Jay Z to close. Bang! Lovin' Coachella.







For all Coachella 2010 pix: http://marcobollinger.com/coachella2010

Beyoncé Baby!

Back from blog hiatus with a vengeance. The Beyoncé editorial I shot for JJ Magazine in Japan finally came out. Gotta say she was amazingly easy to shoot, such a pro. She had several other shoots that same day and it was the day before her two big concerts at the Tokyo Dome. I knew shen was going to have had a long day before I got her at 4:30pm so I made this all-Basement Jaxx play list hoping that if I was bouncy, it'd be infectious.

She was running late and her manager could only promise me 20 minutes with her. I handed my assistant my iphone in stopwatch mode, "You have to make me change the shot every 5 minutes."

Miss B showed up all smiles and energy. I put the play list on anyway and we spent twenty minutes jumping up and down with the camera in my hand--amazing. "I'm supposed to drag myself to the gym at 5am when I'm on tour, I need this, send it to me." Even more amazing.

A Thursday Night of Great Music

I've been missing live music the last couple months. Having just moved out to NYC, I haven't really known where to go, but after a little word of mouth research I headed to the the National Underground on the Lower East, owned by Joey and Gavin Degraw.

I had only meant to stay a little while to check it out, but Julia Haltigan The Hooligans killed it. Julia was in full sultry character through every song, selling every note not to mention every drink in the bar.

Later I headed over to Ella to catch a set by Ford model/DJ Cassie Stevens. The XX, Gossip, Heavy Cross, great dance music and nothing boring, plus such a sweetheart. Would definitely go see her again. Made her promise to make the mix for my next photo shoot ...If she has time between shooting Carolina Herrera and DJing every night.

Foto Relief Art Auction @ Milk Studios

Stopped by at the FOTORELIEF art auction not really knowing what to expect considering there hasn't been one in a while, but damn, nice work John Gettings. The work selling was hot and relevant. A lot of photography work I recognized including two new favorites, Christophe Kutner and Jean François Campos, both of the new 435 Hudson Management (435hudsonmanagement.com). Also ran into IMG model Nicole Trunfio--stunning. A gorgeous photo of her was being auctioned for relief which she let me snap a pic of her with.

Debauchery on My Bday

Went out with Producer Tim Schneider and the girls to a little pub in Soho called Puffy's Tavern for my birthday and thanks to free vodka all night the little dive turned into a crazy party mess. At least the Jackson Pollock on the sidewalk wasn't mine.

Watts - A Better L.A. by Five Four

About six weeks ago, I was given the chance to shoot one day in the lives of some people that make up A Better LA, a Los Angeles based charity founded by USC Coach Pete Carroll.

This project, a collaboration with L.A. based clothing company Five Four, aims to bring awareness to the greater L.A community about the dire situation in its own backyard - In violence ridden South Los Angeles, a greater percentage of children and teens suffer from PTSD than the current military numbers for returning US war veterans.

A Better LA's mission is to stop senseless violence and build under-served communities into healthy places where kids and families can safely play, succeed at school or work, and follow their dreams. Andres and I started our journey at 5am, arrived at the location in South Los Angeles around 6am, and started shooting upon arrival. The day was filled with many ups, downs, and never before seen experiences. We encountered hundreds of people throughout the day, all that have been touched in a positive way by A Better LA, or one of the other non-profit organizations that they help fund such as CURE.

7AM - Reynaldo prepares for Safe Passage, the before and after-school program aims to provide security for Henry Clay Junior High students as they go to and from school every day.



"Five people have been killed in the last six days [in the Jordan Downs Projects], there's a war going on in there with bounty hunters." - Shonda Robinson, Co-founder CURE, was raised in the Watts Jordan Downs Projects.



A city of Watts community space



3PM - Afternoon Safe Passage, Renee Reaser (ex-gang member born and raised in the greater Watts area), consoles a troubled student. Many of the students at Henry Clay don't feel comfortable talking to their teachers or counselors looking instead to the CURE (a non-profit mostly funded by A Better L.A.) staff because they feel more connected to them.




As tension builds in a gang conflict between rivals adjacent Hellen Keller Park, Wiz and Reynaldo make their rounds trying to understand the facts of the conflict in attempt to stay ahead of it and hopefully diffuse the situation through mediation before a war breaks out in their community.



7:30 PM - Gary runs basketball practice at Helen Keller Park. "When the king Football League lost its funding in the 70's, the number of kids joining gangs sky-rocketed. That's why we wanted to clean up Helen Keller Park and start a sports program, so the kids had something else to do other than just joining a gang."



Helen Keller Park used to be a place that you couldn't go to at night, it was only for drug deals and gangs. Now we have after-school football and basketball programs almost every day. "We're trying to get funding to start using the pool too." - Gary, who founded the Cowboys football program, which now has 6 teams in various age groups from 4-14 years old.




The impact that CURE & A Better LA has had on the community thus far is quite substantial, and has helped not only give hope to members of the community, but a better place to live. With education being the equalizer to many people, whether rich or poor, they aim for all students to have an equal opportunity to be able to learn the tools that they need, in order to go on to college and beyond. The simple action of arriving to school in a safe manner, which is taken for granted by most people, at least around me, is a big obstacle in this community. CURE & A Better LA have aimed to not make this a problem, in their local junior high, Henry Clay Middle School. Along with after school programs that provide tutoring, recreational activities that involve sports, job training and resume building, and much much more, A Better LA is helping many hard shipped communities make LA a better place.

A photo exhibit of these images will be on display at Five Four Clothing stores in Los Angeles and at the A Better L.A. fund raising gala event.

To see more images from the project and their related captions visit:
http://www.fivefourclothing.com/blog/blog?editorial_page=2