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The Falco is the moniker of my youngest step-brother, Ranier. When my dad remarried, he became part of a family that aleady had grown kids. The best part of the deal for me was becoming a kuya, the filipino word for older male relative. Being an older brother means you need to have all the answers, or at least most of them. It means steering your younger sibling around life’s obvious obstacles and helping them out with the challenging ones. Having long talks with Ranier about food, life, and photography, reminded me of my own childhood and being the source of so much knowledge for my brother Tom. I still have a never-ending curiosity about how the world works, and I really like that trait in both Ranier and Tom.

My brief resurgence as a brother-mentor is pretty much over, and I’m thankful that I had a second go-’round.

Ranier writes two blogs, one about fashion and one about dating – check them out!

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Last weekend I was in downtown with my Crown Graphic. The area was moderately busy but nothing too interesting was going on. I was headed down Powell street, when this guy stops me on the sidewalk. He asked if I could take a picture of him and mail him the photos. Sure, I said, why not.

As I readied the shutter and stepped back, he fell into this pose with his arms crossed with a very serious look. I tripped the shutter. We did one more for good measure, but it wasn’t as intense as this one.

He introduced himself to me as Vonn Arthur Tatum and wrote down his mailing address in my notebook. Born and raised in San Francisco, he told me. We chatted for just a minute before we parted ways. A quick search of his unique named turns up this iTunes Page, showing a single reggae style music album.

San Francisco never disappoints me, introducing me to so many interesting people.

I will be mailing him some prints of this photo this week. I hope he likes them.

This is Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage. I have really been enjoying listening to music on vinyl, so much so that it’s been a great distraction from everything. It’s been an opportunity to discover music that’s new to me. I’ve been listening to some mint condition albums from the 80s that make me feel like I’ve travelled back in time.

To me, playing music in vinyl gives me the same connection to music as film does for photography — it’s a hands-on, interactive experience. It’s a chance to be particular about procedure, to make tweaks in the system, and be more involved with something I really love.

This photo also represents the first darkroom work I’ve done in a while. I’ve been so caught up in everything else that I haven’t had time for my most precious hobby.

HP5+ at ISO 1600, souped in Rodinal 1+25. Taken with a Crown Graphic.

My friend John took this shot of me and my Burke & James camera just before I shot this diptych of John and his wife Betty.

As summer approaches and things settle down (work, health, vacations, house, etc) I hope to do a lot more portraits this year.