So I was having a pretty bad morning. It all started the previous day, when I had eaten a super burrito way too fast and had too much red sauce.. I had the burrito around 5pm, chilled at home, went to Target with my sister.. but when I got home, things weren't feeling right. I pooped and it wasn't anything too crazy but when I got the urge to puke.. that's when I knew it was going to be a long night. Don't worry, you'll learn about these people soon.
I played some cards with my sister before having to go back to the bathroom. I threw up 6 different times and had diarrhea. I really have to work on portion control, but that's a different blog post. I was in bed early but I couldn't sleep because I kept going back to the bathroom. After I finally fell asleep, I got up to go to the bathroom at 1,3, and 7am. It was tiring and I just wanted it to end. I drank some tea and took some imodium, I rested and finally, I was feeling a bit better. I took a shower and went out to take some pictures.
Before I took photos, I went to Best Buy to check out some new cameras. I was shocked to not feel excited at all when I was holding what I thought was the camera of my dreams, the Canon 5d Mark IV. I left and felt meh, my stomach still kinda hurt and I was hesitant to take pictures, but I did anyway. I was taking pictures of Los Feliz in the middle of the street and when I crossed the road, 3 men approached me. I honestly was kind of afraid because I had my camera and there were three of them and one of me. To my surprise, they were really nice people.
The one that talked first was Sham. He asked if I take photos of people and not just landscapes and we exchanged information. He was with his manager Nick, who I later learned the brother of Sven Thomas. He produced songs for Drake, Rihanna, Travis Scott, Khalid, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and The Carters. I was really shocked at the names I was hearing they were associated with. They asked me if I was free the rest of the day and I realized, I was.
We took some photos on the street, then I drove them back to their condo just down the street. This was the first time I have ever let strangers in my car that I had just met five minutes prior but I felt like I was in zero danger. The condo they were at was on of the newest ones in Los Feliz, The Griffith. It was pretty fancy in there and the photos I took looked magazine quality, to me at least. While shooting some pool in the lounge area, another artist came in and started talking to everyone. He's 18, from the UK, and is @mackenzisol. He has a respectable following on instagram and other social media platforms. The best thing about him was that he acted like a regular kid. He was very modest and made it clear that he was eager to make new music and forever create art. It was inspiring to be around him.
I met a couple more of Sham's friends and I took pictures for all of them. Nick actually asked me if I wanted to get something to eat but I explained to him that my stomach wasn't feeling too well. He left the room when I was taking pictures of Sham and returned with some hot lemon honey tea, it was a really kind gesture. Did I mention these guys are from Canada? They fit the stereotype of being really nice, and it was genuine, not that fake nice that's really annoying. I was really happy being with people that can help me with my network and it all felt surreal.
They mentioned that if we had met just a couple days earlier, we would have gotten some crazy photos. These guys were just at the Gammy's on Sunday and went to Smokey Robinson's house that following Tuesday. They expressed their gratitude when I sent them the photos and even called and invited me for some late night drinks down in West Hollywood but I felt like I was falling asleep already so I respectfully declined. I do hope to be in contact with them in the near future and if I do, you will definitely be hearing about it.
It seems that the best moment usually happen right after things seem like they can't get any worse. We all go through moments that keep us thinking "damn, so this is really happening right now" but I promise that if you just have patience, things will turn around, they always do. If I wasn't patient and decided to not take pictures, I probably would have some boring blog post. Luckily, I followed my gut and did the right thing.. But now, I get to wonder if this night would have been different if I decided to go to West Hollywood.. Oh well, til next time <3