The Ilford disposable camera was on my Amazon wish list for quite some time

It arrives in a black backing with white and red stripes in front under a clear plastic cover

Pre-loaded with XP2 Super 400 Black & White

All these photos were taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, months after infections have finally calmed down and I felt brave enough to go out again

I initially believed it was a reusable disposable type of camera body but I was so wrong

Anyways, it’s your typical point and shoot camera

Point

And shoot

Gauging for minimum focal distance?

Psh, who has the time for that when you can just pray and aim

This camera was great to bring along due to it being so light and lowkey, I could’ve just forgotten it

South Orange County is a congregation of master planned cities for the future

Cookie cutter, pasty beige, manufactured homes - almost like heaven to get away from the craziness placed inside a bubble that’s impossible to get in (because it’s EXPENSIVE AF)

No activity past 9pm except for obnoxious rich kids with loud cars going one direction

Inside Mission Viejo, is a little strip of nature that provides an abundance to explore (the green littered on the map are mostly golf courses)

Hidden behind baseball and soccer fields, is a neat gem

Along the pathway you’ll find displays of local artwork on your feet and at your hip with different mosaic pieces

Navigating yourself on the one way trail, eventually there’ll be a small creek

Quiet, brisk, and fresh air in the middle of the city felt surprising

I didn’t use flash because figuring being at 400 ASA and the sunset gleaming right above us somehow, the contrasts came out nicely

This is the second music video we worked on together and they have always been a great learning experience

This is day 2 of the shoot where we rented a DeLorean to use as a set piece while Tommy borrowed a Jeep Gladiator from his boss at the time as our production truck

I totally would include some photos and videos of our rigging set up but that would kind of break the theme of this journal

Anyways here’s us being bozos in a cramped parking lot at Bolsa Chica Nature Reserve off of PCH

We found some empty spots reserved for buses but since it was the weekend, we figured we had enough cars to fill the space

As people passed by, they were wowed to see a DeLorean replica from the infamous movie trilogy Back to the Future

Tommy and I met at Cypress College back in 2016 - It was my first film production class that I fumbled because I thought I was hot shit so it definitely humbled my ass right away

We haven’t spoken in a long time after that class but we reconnected again and it has been a great blessing

I may have not reciprocated much offers to Tommy but I am grateful to work under Tommy’s direction

ROAD RAGIN’ by LilHotB

(from left to right) Johnson, Ian, Alex, and Tommy getting together after the video has been cleared from post-production to celebrate another project completed

Did you know there are sand dunes in California???

As it should have been an obvious DUH BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A DESERT - I’m still ignorant about most parts of my home state

The sun basically never left its spot in the sky, hovering over us to make sure we stay evenly baked

Winds pick up the sand to throw at our faces as an extra measure of adding salt to our wounds

It was eerily a magical place

Just standing on top of a dune, listening to the wispy wind and dune buggies whizz by in the distance

John planned the trip as part of our work trip but also a fun photoshoot with our friends (Kristy, Viv, and Amy)

A long four hour drive, practically towards the CA-MX border, to a small town of Brawley

The way back was doubly exhausting not just from travelling but being in the sun

Stopped by a Chipotle halfway to avoid some traffic and finally getting something to eat

Foreground: Amy, Viv

Background: John, Kristy

Again with the sun, it pretty much half baked the roll a little bit but did a fantastic job to bring out the striations in the sand dunes

Yo, Chino Hills State Park

is FUCKING HUGE

It sits smack dab in the middle of like six different cities

You pretty much have to drive around the whole ass park on the 57, the 60, the 71, and the 91 to get where you want around the mountain

The first time entering the park, you find yourself going through a narrow twist and turn before getting to the Park Aide’s booth

Then you find yourself on the same twist and turns all the way to the end of the park until you realize there’s parking on the side to pull off to

We took to a random trail along an exposed gas pipeline with a hilly section called ‘The Elevator’

The greenery burns your eyes that you think you’re looking at the Windows XP default screensaver

Burn scars laden in the middle of the green and blues serving as a reminder of what it took to recover

It’s one of the nicest state parks in OC with different variations of hikes and difficulty

We slowly returned

back to the office

This time around, from our cozy Brea office that we once thought 1100 square feet was considered large - we moved into a new place that felt like a playground in Placentia

John and I returned to doing work for AstroAI as full time employees - this time we ventured out to Mt. Baldy to capture some snow content for our new heavy duty tire inflator with its snazzy ruggedness and steel braided hose

Going from March to December, I definitely wished I was able to take some more pictures but oh well

Seeing snow in a long time was delightful sight to see

As we raced up the mountain slowing down to a cruise questioning where the hidden patches of ice will greet us

We arrived wearing the appropriate get up for the snow - boots, double layered pants, tripled layered undershirt, shirt, thick sweater, and a beanie - but of course we somehow forgot the most obvious…. gloves

Hands freezing, the longer we were outside, the less we could feel

A silent, distant surprise

At the local park we used to hang out at a lot, the perfect meet up spot spaced enough for friends to meet without being in a crowded room

We celebrated John’s birthday in a funny ironic way being so far out while we slowly encroached each others’ personal space to be finally together

Developed, scanned, printed by The Photo Lab in Costa Mesa, California