Blake Myers & Ben Kilpatrick
BLAKE MYERS IS A DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY LIVING IN LOS ANGELES. HIS EVOCATIVE PERSONAL AND COMMERCIAL WORK EFFORTLESSLY RIDES THE LINE BETWEEN CASUAL AND CURATED, DREAMY AND CONCRETE, TENDER AND BOLD.
Onscreen figures—surfers, skaters, runners, and a host of others—drift through frames bursting with bold colors and natural or found light. Often shooting on film, Blake’s results are energetic and authentic—they feel lived in. Both with big brands and without, much of his work explores the engagement and potential of sustainability, environmentalism, and marginalized communities. For the past year Blake and his friend, photographer Ben Kilpatrick, have been shooting a personal project documenting vaquero culture (Spanish for “cowboy” or “cattle driver”) in LA. As evidenced in these video stills, through Blake’s lens we are given the same stunning treatment of place and subject, while also grounding the images in the deep mythology and gravitas of the Mexican-American West. It’s a project Blake and Ben will continue to work on during lockdown, and so TSUKI asked them both about “Vaquero”, and also about Blake’s process during the last couple of weeks.
HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT AND BECOME INTERESTED IN THIS PROJECT?
BLAKE: Ben was riding up the river bike paths and noticed people out riding horses. We had spoken about collaborating on a passion project a few months prior, so we started going out there with cameras and met a few of the riders, who are now friends.
BEN: Yeah, exactly. I had been riding past these men on horseback and their makeshift backyard stables, and I was fascinated with the area—I had no idea this existed here in LA. One day we approached Sean who was along the fence line outside his stable and asked he and his son Anthony about their horses, and if we could take some pictures.
WHAT DRAWS YOU TO THIS PROJECT?
BLAKE: Personally it’s so hard for me to imagine what LA used to look like before the growth of the city. It happened so quickly in the early 1900’s. Before the urban sprawl many areas in South Central and East LA areas were still farms and ranches. So it was interesting to see it still exists, with current generations carrying on the craft from their families and ancestors.
BEN: The most intriguing thing to me is the contrast of this microcosm compared to the rest of the bike path. It just pops up out of nowhere and you are instantly inundated with the smell of horse manure, hay, neighing, little bugs hitting your face—and then it just ends. Then the LA you know begins again. It's a whole other world, and at 20 mph it lasts less than a minute. I wanted to see more.
WHAT HAS THE PROCESS BEEN LIKE?
BLAKE: We’ve been patient with it. Some days we go out and meet new faces that are interested in the project; other days we come back with nothing. It’s been a fun project to work on over the last year.
BEN: It's been pretty loose. We gave it a few hard goes, but these people have lives and the last thing they are thinking about is us and our project. I'm not sure the people we have met throughout the process really know the scope of what we are trying to accomplish. Initially, I just started showing up out of the blue and tried to make new friends.
BLAKE, HAS THIS SITUATION ENCOURAGED OR EVEN DEMANDED
YOU TO TRY SOMETHING NEW?
BLAKE: I’m appreciating the downtime to focus on personal projects. Also I am watching a lot more films and reading more. The book I’m finishing is called "Les Parisians" which is stories of women and families in Paris during the German occupation in WWII, and I'm about to start "The Road to Los Angeles” by John Fante. I’ve also been tuning in to live Instagram chats with directors, DP’s and musicians.
DO YOU HAVE A NEW OR DIFFERENT WAY OF STAYING INTERESTED, INSPIRED, OR MOTIVATED?
BLAKE: I avoid reading too much news. I try to wake up early and exercise, do yoga at home since I can’t go surfing. My wife and I have been cooking a lot and it’s been nice eating well. All pretty basic things.
I HAD BEEN RIDING PAST THESE MEN ON HORSEBACK AND THEIR MAKESHIFT BACKYARD STABLES, AND I WAS FASCINATED WITH THE AREA—I HAD NO IDEA THIS EXISTED HERE IN LA.
IS THERE ANYTHING POSITIVE (OR NEGATIVE) THAT YOU CAN SEE COMING
OUT OF THIS SITUATION?
I think both positive and negative impacts will come out of this situation. I would think production companies or clients won’t have the budgets like they had before. I see it being smaller crews on set but the creativity and collaboration will be same.
WHO ELSE'S WORK MIGHT YOU WANT TO SEE FEATURED ON TSUKI?
Jake Magee, a friend who is a great cinematographer.