okpebbs
okpebbs
world's okayest photographer... among other things
Santa Monica, CA
www.okpebbs.com
instagram @okpebbs
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I like to bill myself as the world’s okayest: line-cook / photographer / front-end-guy / knife-sharpener / grip / designer.”
With a few of those billings, I like to think I'm on the further side of the bell-curve, entering into the "mad-decent-zone." Still, I'm not a fan of tooting my own horn (there are both figurative and literal interpretations of this that are equally accurate, but that's a laater discussion.)
Recently though, I've been spending a lot more time on my photography and have been working on going "pro."
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I've been working in kitchens since I turned 18. Despite having always assumed that I wasn't a "creative-person," I'd tinker away my free-time in the Adobe Creative Suite, playing with HTML/CSS or just reading about color, design, art, and everything in-between.
I spent my twenties sleeping on couches/floors in different cities, all across the US, working 1-3 jobs until I finally arrived in Los Angeles. It's been a journey. Happy to have made it out, only losing 3-teeth! It's no big deal (and it wasn't meth/drugs: hit+run on a bicycle--I like to tell everyone I lost a fight... but they had a 4-ton advantage!)
How do you stand out in your field?
In a word: Throughput. You could probably chalk it up to being on the aspie spectrum. Throughput is nearly the only metric that I find interesting/entertaining. I'm a true-blue-workaholic. If I don't have an upcoming shoot/deadline, it feels like I'm treading water. I rely entirely on huge-workloads to keep me going. Secondly, I charge beans compared to other photographers. On the one hand, I don't want to devalue photography and/or other photographers' art. On the other, I'm always craving more work, refining my workflows, or opening myself to new types of photography or mediums.
Also, there's Variety. I'm soo indecisive in terms of style that I end up with a ridiculous amount of variants, mostly harkening back to the film-era. Film-Emulations are how I butter my bread.
I'm like "street-food" vs. a "fancy-restaurant." Quick / Cheap/ Fufilling. I'd prefer to find myself turning a family get-together of hot-dogs / hamburgers / paper-plates into a full-scale-production-shoot vs. shooting a "Beverly-hills-pool-party."
I'm the type of photographer that likes photographing / interviewing the "weird/goofy" in-laws/relatives at weddings.
Formally, the Belbin Plant type or out-of-the-box-thinker as my teachers like to call me. I'm still on the fence as to that being a "good-thing."
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
The better question is: "What am I not working on?" I sharpened knives for Gordon Ramsay recently, and he thought I did a good job. It was/is nice to get some validation.
I'm helping all my local food-industry friends build their small-businesses. In the form of cheap marketing materials, content strategies, simple websites, and being their #1 fan in general.
On top of that, I'm working on building a local-park-pet-portrait-popup, curating/editing a library of 50,000+ raw photos and working on some YouTube concepts involving food/knives but focusing on individual cook's characters. I started streaming my edits recently; very dull, but hoping to get some interesting people on the other end of the line to do some interviews.
I was planning a giant outreach/content program at the beginning of the year, then covid happened. It's been alright, but I've had to restrategize completely. It's given me time to reeeaaallly work on my workflows and discover who I am as a creative/human-bean.
Then there are the yellow legal pads scrawled with book chapters, sewing plans, app ideas, woodworking projects, menus, and pretty much anything else you can imagine.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
I Luv me them Renaissance vibes, but I kinda use Keanu Reaves movies as my meter-stick. Like, maybe it looks like a still from The Matrix/Constantine or Bill&Ted's Excellent Adventure. Anything/Everything goes bruh.
Who says line-cooks can't be models? I want to do a full-calendar at some point, but finding volunteers to wear speedos and aprons has been an endeavor. I got some fantastic maternity-style shots from my buddy--and now I tell him regularly, that he should model. Just proofs, but you get the idea. He has such wonderful expression and range!
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
Photography/Videography/Content-creation. They're a great-mashup and outlet for my nerd-faculties 🤓
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
Social-media / Monetization / SEO / Proprietary-software.
I have, as I write this (20201231-00:48:54), 45,2937 photo-views this month, alone, on my website. That's a huge number, but mostly useless as far as I can tell. Also, I get the whole need to have analytics/tracking/SEO and all that jazz, but I'm not particularly keen on grabbing user data. I want to respect people's privacy, but I'm also working on "putting-myself-out-there.tar.gz" #!/bin/bash sudo echo Hello World I've used practically every photo-editing/raw-processing software available. I could harbor a fully-open-source-workflow with relative ease but have become dependant on "industry-standards" for the sake of time, support-base and cooperation. Everyone and their brother keeps telling me that I need to be on Instagram. I get it—the photography version of Reader's Digest. But it's such an insular platform, the resolution blows, and nobody responds to messages apart from "other" endeavors. I feel like such a boomer when I explain that I tailor my stuff for large-scale prints, 40"x60"s. "Prints dead, Fred." Thusly, I'm okay with being unrecognized. Maybe I'll be famous when I'm dead.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
Easy. They'd handle my social media and help curate my work. There's 68,099 photos on my site from which to choose. Pick a few out here and there, add an EXIF frame, throw on some hashtags/captions and schedule a post.
It's one of those things I keep putting on the "planning" stage of my Kaban Boards. It's not that important to me, as I work with the people, subjects, and brands closest to me already. But clout helps with all-of-the -things.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
"Don't worry about your teeth; you're going to lose them anyways." [Whilst laughing hysterically.]
We only have to go back 5 years, to when I was working at Maple Block Meat Co. Comedy is divine. And it's probably the best joke I could ever tell myself.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
Why does Eddie Murphy's girl want to "Party All the Time?" Seriously though, most of the experts I've come across are cut from a different cloth. While we have mutually beneficial beliefs: them believing they're right, and me believing I'm wrong--I have a lot of reservations asking them about anything. "I'll take 'Machine Learning' for $1000, Alex."
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
fun-stuff/vibes.md
I primarily want to operate in the "Theatre of the Absurd"--basically where I am anyway, with my pricepoints. Absurd clients, making absurd demands, with absurd expectations--I love it, truly.
So just more, but of the same. Nothing more.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
I'm trynna get this Gochujang sponsorship going. My buddy didn't rub Chung Jung One© on his nipples for nothing.
Who is a creative that has helped you elevate your work?
GEMMY WOUD-BINNENDIJK I love her work and her vision. I bought a course of hers.
Jingna Zhang I also find her work, moving.
And Hatnim Lee. One of the first photographers I ever followed/came across. I've followed her work since the good-ol-days of RSS and blogger.
Danny Santos
One of the first male photographers I came across that upon further inspection, didn't turn out to be a #metoo antagonist.
Peter McKinnon When I was first getting back into photography, I couldn't search for anything photography related without having to stop and watch one of his videos. His passion, humility, and "Sorries" taught me a lot.
PiXimperfect What photographer alive today hasn't seen one of his videos??! An amazing straight to the point, content creator with a wealth of knowledge and techniques who gives it all away for free. My photography has evolved a bit to be less heavy on style and post-process, but I've learned so much just from watching him work.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
On the first full-moon of the month, leave a can of Chicken of the Sea Albacore Tuna in water and a jar of chunky, no-sugar/no-hydrogenated-oil peanut butter (any brand) on your doorstep; when it is gone, look for signs, in three.
Or you can just email-me/call-me/text-me. I'm pretty decent with text and email correspondence. I'm not the ghosting 👻 type. Nor the clingy/creepy type, though. Aro/Ace for one (remember the horn-tooting reference? 😉), and I move leads to "dead" after 24-hours of non-response.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
I do not fear death / but mediocrity, yes, / there is only now.
This member profile was originally published in January 2021.