Over the last two years, I have picked up a pretty interesting hobby. I have always had an appreciation for toys, and the vinyl toy scene has gotten huge over the last 5 years or so. I have always been curious about everything, but never really had that urge to purchase anything, save for pieces done by some of my favorite painters, in a collaboration with a toy company. I have always had a pretty strong love for Transformers, but that never quite materialized into much of a collection. And then I found 3A toys by Ashley Wood and everything clicked. Giant, weathered, dirty robots with awesome graphic design elements, and complex storylines in an alternate reality where Earth and Mars are at war. Pretty much the nerd in me's ultimate fantasy. Ashley Wood is an extremely talented fine artist, and has done a lot of work for comic books and graphic novels, which is yet another hobby that has piqued my interest but I just don't even have the time for.

Two years later, and I have a pretty ridiculous collection that occupies a large amount of our home office. I even was a winner of a design contest judged by Ashley Wood himself, and won a really rare figure that is one of the gems of my collection. But what has been even cooler is the community. Just about everyone involved is insanely talented and creative, and strangely just really nice. And this weekend was a custom show put on by someone who is just a fan of the toys. He kept pushing harder and harder, and the show turned into a huge event, with some big name artists contributing pieces in addition to fans who were customizing their own 3A toys. Artists were given a blank robot head to do whatever they wanted with it, and it was awesome seeing the wild variety of ideas, and how different they all ended up being. And it was great to meet up with a bunch of people I've chatted with but never met. Someone even flew in from Singapore just for 2 days!

For more information on the show and all the artists involved, visit www.1amsf.com

And in other totally unrelated news, my friend and I were able to get tickets for the American Nightmare/Give Up The Ghost reunion show in Los Angeles on New Years Eve. I don't know if I ever have been this excited for a concert, and I was not expecting to be able to get tickets for it. It sold out while the website was crashing, but somehow he managed to get some as I failed. I haven't been able to take or edit many photos lately, but I really would like to, so hopefully I can share some soon.

Nothing too big going on with me as of late. Went and saw Deafheaven again last night. Allergies had the best of my girlfriend so I brought my camera instead. As expected, it was another very intense show. It also ended with me giving one of the most awkward high-fives of my life. Regardless of my awkwardness, they are one of the most interesting new/current bands going right now. I also don't know how you can play the drums that fast for that long.

My friends Weekend, another relatively new San Francisco band have been killing it lately. They just released a new EP, Red, and I would definitely recommend giving it a listen. You can preview a song here - http://slumberlandrecords.com/catalog/show/185. They also are going to be playing at The Treasure Island Music Festival. It is definitely well deserved success they are getting now.

As for personal stuff, I've updated my photography sections. It's now broken down by category, though I need to get some more images up. Burger and Destroy is going well, getting more and more reviews up and getting some positive feedback from people who have just found the site randomly. In work related stuff, the Fall Look Book for Men's Wearhouse just launched. It has been one of my bigger projects as of late, and it's been cool getting to use jquery more at work. I've got an extended weekend back in San Luis Obispo, so hopefully I'll come back with a few good photos. And hockey season is almost here! I can't wait!

Haven't done a whole lot of shooting lately, but I had made plans to meet up with an old friend at the Ferry Building and took advantage of that. I went early for the sunset, and though I wasn't able to get any angles on that, the San Francisco fog gave me quite a show. Had a lot of fun shooting, and for once my hands weren't freezing at night! Also, a year ago was the last time I had seen this friend when Monica sent me a text saying she heard about an awesome job for me. A year later I still love my job and everyone I work with, even though Monica's last day there was that same day. Anyone looking for a designer who's especially good at layout and print, check out monicayamamoto.com

And in a strange turn of events, I've slowly found myself taking pictures of people more. Mostly kids though, because they are more fun (and its much harder to make them look bad). We'll see how that goes I guess. Only two of those for now though.

One last thing I am pretty excited about is a project I am cooking up (oh god) for Burger and Destroy. Burgers + Shirts + Charities. Just gotta figure out a few details, and haven't quite had the time to put into it.

View these photos on flickr

I have been keeping pretty busy the past month or two. I did some freelance work building html emails, since I don't do that enough during my 9-5. And I've been putting a ton of time into Burger and Destroy. It is almost totally ready to go, and I am pretty happy about it. I'll save that for another post though.

Last weekend it was my birthday, and I just spent it with friends and family. A bunch of us went bowling, and came back to my parents and just hung out. It had been stormy all week, and finally let up that evening, which led to some pretty amazing photo opportunities. I hadn't gotten to shoot much lately so it was nice to get some pictures I was happy with. Colby and I were messing around with some long exposures, and it's fun having someone to test out ridiculous shots. It also just helps to have talented friends.

Ah, I forgot much time was lost due to hockey. I have started playing again, and the Sharks again had a deep run in the playoffs, cut just short. My dad and I got seats right on the ice during the first series, and though the Sharks lost that game we still had a lot of fun. We also visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and that means I have to post the obligatory jellyfish with super vibrant blue water picture.

I am off to Seattle for the weekend. I hope to get a few nice pictures, and eat a few good burgers!

View these photos on flickr