When I was at the Experimental Photo Festival in Barcelona last summer, I participated in a group film swap: shoot a roll of your own and swap it for another’s roll. We all dropped our film into a bucket and randomly drew a roll to then shoot ourselves. This is the basic premise of shooting blind double exposures—shoot through a roll, then run it through your camera again and shoot anew, all without knowing exactly what you had shot on each frame. In this film swap, we were entirely blind to what the other photographer had photographed!

I received a roll of Kodak Gold 200 from Pablo Giori, who happened to label where he had shot his film—a desert called San Juan Ischigualasto in Argentina. I knew I wanted to shoot palm trees, so I brought the film with me to San Diego and did just that. And of course, I souped the roll, because why not?!

Once I developed and scanned the film, I realized something was amiss with the images. The first exposure, Pablo’s images, were barely visible through my second exposures. Some of it is likely due to the souping process, but it turns out I wasn’t thinking when I was shooting and ended up overexposing my images (which I tend to lean towards doing on purpose). Oops! That’s why my images dominate, though you can still see layers of the first exposures, which I feel add to the texture of the images. Combined with the film soup, I actually really like the subtlety that resulted.

This was my first film swap and I’d like to do more as a way to collaborate with other photographers. You each bring your own style and subjects to it, which can make for some pretty interesting and cool art. Plus, it’s fun embracing the unknown and the possibilities that creates.

For reference, I used my Pentax K1000 and souped the film in bath salts, ginger ale and champagne vinegar.

I remember being so in awe of all the vintage VW Beetles I kept spotting when I visited Mexico City for the first time. And I didn’t realize a photo of an old blue one “squished” between two larger cars against an orange yellow wall that I shot during that trip would become one of my favorite photos of all time.

When I returned to Mexico City several years later, I saw Beetles EVERYWHERE. Once you spot one bug, that’s all you see. There’s one…and another…and another! I would go out not just wandering, but “bug hunting” to try to find different colors and cars parked against interesting backgrounds. I remember photographing a red VW van against a pink building daily, finding different angles and using different films and cameras to capture it.

My visit to Oaxaca last year was just as fruitful for “bug hunting” as the country’s capital had been, maybe even more so. Once again, I found a favorite car to return to over the next several days of my trip (it was also red but with a yellow top). I even found one decked out with The Beatles—Paul, John, Ringo and George’s faces lining the windows.

There’s something nostalgic about the classic VW Beetle, a reminder of a time when cars were small, colorful and fun. A symbol of free spirit and free love. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to photographing them.

This post is inspired by an article I read in The New York Times about a northern Mexico City neighborhood, Cuautapec, aka Volcholandia, whose residents are keeping the spirit of the VW Beetle alive.

Here is a collection of my own photos of VWs spotted in Mexico City and Oaxaca.

The original, full shot of my “El Carro” print.

A very tight squeeze to get into these!

I named this shot “Love Bugs” because they are snuggled up against each other.

The Beatles Beetle—I took this photo for my dad!

Kodak Gold, Kodak Ektar, Expired film, iPhone…I shot this van many, many times during my time in Mexico City.

Barcelona holds special memories for me, as it was one of the destinations I visited when traveling in Europe for the first time over 10 years ago. It was a whirlwind two days of sightseeing, eating, drinking and dancing—a bit different than my visit in the summer of 2023 for the Experimental Photo Festival. But the similarity that still held true was photography: on my first visit, I was discovering my interest in photography; on my second, I was exploring ways to grow in my photography over a decade later. While the festival took up the majority of my time, I managed to squeeze in opportunities to see and photograph the city—especially the many palm trees and Gaudi’s famous masterpieces (sometimes, both together!). Of course, I decided to soup most of the rolls of film I shot. Here’s a look at Barcelona—in technicolor souped glory.

That’s me! In front of my work!

What an honor and a thrill to have been part of the art exhibition, Aura, at Kai Lin Art this fall! From the show’s opening to the artist mixers to an evening of music, I can’t explain how it felt to share my work like this—big & bold—in a gallery setting in front of so many people. I enjoyed participating in the events and getting the opportunity to meet some really talented artists and to elevate my photography with a new audience.

You can view more photos here and read a review of the show with all participating artists here.

Interested in one of my pieces? Please reach out to me for availability!

Gallery owner Yu-Kai Lin on my show pieces.

I had the opportunity to talk about my work at a private event mixer during the show’s run.

Emory Chamber Music Society’s string quartet performing in front of my work during An Evening of Music and Art at Kai Lin Art.

I HAVE MADE IT IN ATLANTA!!! Well, at least onto WABE’s City Lights with Lois Reitzes which is the same thing, right!?! Back in June, I was approached by a producer on the show to be part of their "Speaking of Art" segment to share about my work...that interview has aired throughout the Atlanta metro area! You can listen to it here and hear me talk more about my process and my journey into photography.