I was born in Oakland, California in 1979, and I’ve lived in the Bay Area my entire life.
THE EIGHTIES
latchkey kid — a school-aged child of working parents who spends part of the day unsupervised.
I grew up in the 1980s. I spent a lot of time alone, exploring, observing, and getting into trouble.
School was always a struggle for me, and I was often bored or lost in classrooms. But I found myself drawn to music, art, and computers.
THE NINETIES
dropout — a person who leaves school, college, or university before completing a qualification, or a person who lives in an unusual way.
“The Barn” 1999. Photo by Sita Rupe.
In 1996 I took the California Highschool Proficiency Exam and quit high school so I could focus all my energy on 🎵😆🎉🙃🕹️🎸👨🎤🎤🌱🏹🥳💃🕺🎊🍻🎉🤷♂️🥂🤤🎮💿🎧🥴🍾🎲💊🤡💀.
Gilman Street 1995. Photo By Christan Larsen.
The Cost on tour in 1999. Photo by Sita Rupe.
I played in punk bands, recorded music, and toured all over the US and Canada in a smelly old van with my best friends.
Gilman Street 1995. Photo By Christan Larsen.
THE TWO-THOUSANDS
In the early 2000s, I worked in various jobs including Sad Telemarketer, Bored IT Guy, and Bad Graphic Designer.
In between jobs I went on solo adventures like backpacking across France and Spain, and several motorcycle camping trips across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
wanderer — someone who travels from place to place, especially without any clear aim or purpose.
Roswell, NM 2004
Segovia, Spain 2005
Cabazon, CA 2004.
Utah 2004.
kismet — a hypothetical force or personified power that determines the course of the future.
In 2006, I decided to go back to school to study photojournalism and film. This time, school felt like something worth showing up for.
That same year, I met my future wife, Briana Loewinsohn — a brilliant artist and educator.
She instantly became my favorite person in the world, and has been a steady source of inspiration, humor, and perspective ever since.
Jessica Fisher
Ian King
Briana and Stephen Loewinsohn getting dressed up in 2006.
Tim Hainley
Production stills from my student film project, “Campus Cowboy” (2008)
the twenty-tens
That same year, I married Briana, and over the next few years, we welcomed two amazing kids into the world.
I was a new husband, a new dad, and a working photographer. Most days I managed at least two out of three.
photographer — a person who takes photographs, especially as a job.
In 2010, after graduating from San Francisco State University, I fully committed to life as a working photographer — leaving my day job behind and focusing entirely on visual storytelling.
From 2010–2017, I worked as a staff photographer for The East Bay Express, covering politics, music, food, sports, protests, and everyday life in the East Bay.
I photographed everyone from abstract expressionist sculptor Bruce Beasley to Berkeley's legendary "Hate Man" — a homeless philosopher-king who became something of a local celebrity.
It gave me access to people and moments I never would've seen otherwise, and helped me learn how to connect with strangers through the lens.
editorial assignments:
In 2017, I became fascinated with aerial photography. Camera drones had finally gotten small and powerful enough to open up new creative possibilities, and I dove in headfirst.
I captured thousands of photos and hours of footage from all over the Bay Area.
A DJI Mavic 2 Pro hovering above Oakland in 2018
In 2018, I released The Bridge and Tunnel Crowd — a short film told through aerial time-lapse photography and scored with my own music.
The piece explores the hypnotic choreography of Bay Area commuting, turning everyday movement into something meditative, and mesmerizing.
My film caught the attention of a creative director at Recreation, a small but forward-thinking ad agency in San Francisco.
In 2019, they brought me on as a jack-of-all-trades visual storyteller — photographer, drone pilot, cinematographer, and video editor.
Filming a live vascular surgery operation for Recreation in 2019.
It was a chance to work on a wide range of creative projects and sharpen my skills across disciplines, all while collaborating with a team that valued experimentation and originality.
I also started writing about drone technology for Engadget, reviewing the latest gear and sharing what I'd learned about this rapidly evolving field.
the twenty-TWENTIES
breakthrough noun: a sudden, dramatic, and important discovery or development.
In 2020, I was running an Instagram account called @peoplelooklikeants, where I posted photos and videos of the Bay Area. One day, I got a message from the creators of the STARZ series Blindspotting. They'd seen my work and invited me to contribute to the show.
I ended up shooting aerial establishing shots for both seasons of the show — capturing sideshows, landmarks, public spaces, and the soul of Oakland from above.
It was exactly the kind of work I'd always wanted to do — documenting the city I love for a show that really captured its spirit.