Mexico

Spring

It was a very long winter. Then something called a heat dome, which I don’t pretend to understand, descended on the west and for a week I had every door and window open and every fan in the house running 24 hours a day, while the temperature broke 90 degrees several times. Unheard of in The CIty, even in the dead of summer.

Almost as if the climate is… changing?

Nonsense…

No. #0973_18A - Golden Gate Park, San Franicsco, December of 2025.

Seems the world is on fire, literally and figuratively. I miss my dog and and miss my friend and I can’t seem to find the time to photograph or print or write the way I used to and it weighs on me. Nothing new. Never enough time.

No. #0977_24 Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, April of 2026.

We were in Mexico for a spell with my side of the family at some all inclusive compound in Puerto Vallarta that I can’t actually describe with any clarity. It was a target rich environment for people watching and poor behavior and yet I found myself reluctant to pick up the camera. The weather was lovely and the ocean was beautiful but it all felt tired and sterile and over sanitized and the drinks were watered down. That may have been the most offensive aspect of the entire affair.

No. #0979_16A-17A Dismantling Vaillancourt Fountain, San Francisco, Ca. May of 2026

They’ve started tearing down Vaillancourt Fountain in The City. The artist, very much alive and well, is decidedly pissed. The installation has been non-functional as a fountain for several years and was recently declared an “imminent threat to public safety” by San Francisco Rec and Park, largely due to deterioration, asbestos, and lead. Progress waits for no one, not even Brutalist sculpture. It was ugly and weird and I’ll miss it.

Prints available upon request.

Things I’ve been reading lately…

Rich People Didn’t Look Like This Before
If you spend enough time around the very rich these days, it’s clear. People didn’t look like this before because people naturally can’t look like this.

The End Of Elsewhere
The Endangered Species of the Global Citizen

The Chilling Role of ChatGPT in Mass Shootings
Several attacks involving OpenAI’s chatbot—including Tumbler Ridge and FSU—raise urgent questions about the technology.

What's Real. What Isn't. Why Does It Matter?

We spent a bit of time last January in Puerto Vallarta with some close friends. Traveling with a 6 year old is not for the faint of heart. As such, we travel heavy, and we travel well. By well, I mean airbnb’s, housing swaps and bougie rentals. By heavy, I mean we travel with a lot of Legos, children’s books and action figures. Certainly not the low budget shoe string travels of my youth…

No. 0936_04A-05A Yelapa, Mexico. January of 2025.

No. 0935_16A Thomas with Legos, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. January of 2025.

Where we stayed in Puerto Vallarta is basically the Castro district in San Francisco with cobblestones and worse parking. In fact, we ran into several people over the course of the week that we knew from the City. We had a grand time, eating too much and consuming wildly too many margaritas. The last night of the trip one of our traveling companions stated “this has been fun, but it’s not the real Mexico.”

I laughed it off at the time and completely forgot about the comment until I started looking through the film I’d exposed while we were there. It begged the question, what is the real Mexico? It certainly looks real enough in the negatives. I’d imagine the people that live in Puerto Vallarta feel like it’s pretty real. What’s the real San Francisco? Does it include Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 and the rest of the tourist traps? Or do we exclude those places and experiences from the common definition of what constitutes the “real” in the City? For the record I absolutely abhor Pier 39 but love a bread bowl of clam chowder from a street vendor in Fisherman’s Wharf.

No. 0941_34A Mahi Mahi Fish. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. January of 2025

No. 0941_34A Fisherman. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. January of 2025

The guy I found unloading giant Mahi Mahi fish in the back of his pickup looked and sounded pretty real. I asked if I could get a pic and he said ‘sure Cabrón’ and held one up for the camera. This question of authenticity really escapes me if I’m honest. The fog over Banderas Bay and the young men fishing off the pier at sunset and the dudes walking around in t-shirts emblazoned with “MEXICAN VIAGRA” all seem real. At the very least they existed. I have it on film. Does that not imply some semblance of authenticity?

No. 0939_22-23 Banderas Bay. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. January of 2025

No. 0941_20A Fisherman, Playa Los Muertos Pier. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. January of 2025

No. 0942_25A ‘Mexican Viagra’ Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. January of 2025

Anyhow we took a water taxi and saw whales and ate tacos. We got drunk and hung around the beach at sunset and my kid lost his first tooth. My wife came home with a shot glass from the drag bar in her purse and no recollection of how it got there. It all felt pretty real and authentic and it was in Mexico, so there’s that. I guess we’ll go looking for the real Mexico next time.

No. 0940_02A Sunset, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. January of 2025

Things I’ve been reading lately…

The Rise of End Times Fascism
The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them.

You Should Hire A GenX-er With An Art Degree Before It's Too Late
There's been a radical shift, you're going to need a special set of skills.

Nothing To Say
Somewhere along the way, I decided I have nothing to say. This happened gradually, imperceptibly, much like aging happens


Unwritten Notes, Baja California

We came South down the coast, Los Angeles, East to Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, The Salton Sea, on our way to Baja California. We got “randomly” searched by border patrol at a check point somewhere outside San Diego, didn’t like the look of us I guess. Kept asking “where’s the marijuana?” After they were done running ID’s he threw them back at us and walked away, saying nothing. That was a long time ago. Can’t imagine things are anymore pleasant today. Either way, we crossed the border into Mexico that evening.

No. 0254_00 - The Grapevine, Southern California 2013

We stayed at this place near Ensenada, some retired ex-pat from San Jose had this compound on the coast she was renting out. We arrive and she says “you should meet the dogs if you’re going to be around for the weekend.” Turns out she’s got about 9 dogs in her place, six of which were hers, the rest are up for adoption from the makeshift rescue she’s running out of her place with a couple friends. At that point this goofy Chihuahua-Terrier mutt walks up and instantly latches on to Joanna. We’re told the dog is looking for a home and we can borrow her for the weekend if we want while I’m thinking in the back of my head please stop talking I don’t wan’t to end up with a Mexican beach dog.

No. 0251_28A - Baja California, Mexico 2013

Anyhow, we ended up borrowing the dog. She followed us around the beach for 3 days, no leash, no collar, we could’t leave her. So that’s how we ended up smuggling a Mexican beach dog across the border, which is infinitely easier than you’d imagine. She was less than a year old when we found her. That was almost 13 years ago now. We named her Frida.

Excerpts from the series “Unwritten Notes” - Photographs Made Elsewhere.

Comprised of work spanning nearly 15 years, the series is largely autobiographical and draws entirely from images made on the road, away from home...

Prints available upon request.

No. 0280_32 - Frida Fur Pants. San Francisco, California 2014