Monday, April 11, 2022

The Hunt For Glory: Tournament of Champions 25, Pt. 2.

Fighters tangle up in the 2022 Tournament of Champions in Denver, CO.
Competitors tangle up at the 2022 Tournament of Champions. Denver, Co.

Dropping another stack of photos from this tournament. Sometimes the lighting is awful at these things and everything looks too warm and yellow. Thankfully converting said images to black & white often saves some otherwise gross looking photographs. There is only so much post work one can do on an image lol. Enjoy!


Stay Creative,
BLUE731.


Peek-a-boo!

Face-off.

One of my favorite chokes.

The ever-popular D'Arce.

Side control.

Locking it up.

Thursday, April 7, 2022

Capturing Jiu Jitsu In The Mountains: Tournament of Champions 25, Pt. 1.

 

Colorado Tournament of Champions 25.
Fighters at Colorado Tournament of Championships 25. Denver, CO.

It's been a few months since I have been photographing jiu jitsu and what better return than in my new home of Denver, CO. Between injuries and a couple of relocations from Austin, I was beyond stoked to finally begin settling into things. One thing I have surely been missing is jiu jitsu! F2W was in town hosting the Colorado Tournament of Champions 25, so it was a no-brainer to grab my camera and hit the mats. The day was full of new faces as well as some familiar ones from the gyms I've been rolling at here. From the dominating young girls beating all the boys, to the up and coming adult fighters looking to make a name for themselves, the day was filled with some pretty amazing jiu jitsu and I was able to capture some amazing action. I saw more submissions than I did decisions which always makes fights more exciting. All in all it was a fantastic afternoon and I was incredibly grateful to be back doing what I love. I'm stoked to see where these next few months take me and I'm looking forward to sharing it with yo all.


Stay Creative,
BLUE731.

Sinking in a tight submission.

Fighters compete at the Colorado Tournament of Champions 25.

The D'Arce is becoming an incredibly popular sub.

Stephanie Cline (Colorado BJJ Satori) patiently waits her moment to attack.

Stephanie is a beast!
Stephanie Cline attacking the neck of her opponent.

Flying armbar!

Violence!
Today we choose violence.

Saw a few of these the entire day.

Intense matchup.

Wrestling!

JaCobi Jones with a nasty collar tie.
Cobi Jones absolutely dominated every match.

Another dub for JaCobi Jones.




Monday, April 4, 2022

Finding Forgotten Gems of The Sweet Sexy Savage Kehlani.

Kehlani performing live at Emo's in Austin, TX.
Kehlani performs live at Emo's. Austin, TX.

Life can get pretty hectic. So much so that you can forget about sets of photos you remember shooting yet never posted. I had the opportunity to make photographs of Kehlani, her dancers, and NOODLES, her opening DJ back in 2017 and embarrassingly enough, I never shared them. While I could be bummed out that I overlooked these, I'm actually pretty stoked to have a pleasant revisit to the past. It's a great flashback to an incredible show. Kehlani is an amazing performer with a fantastic vocal range and the ability to dance her ass off too.


Stay Creative,
BLUE731.

NOODLES holding it down.
NOODLES setting the tone for the night with her opening set.

Kehlani connecting with the crowd.

I'm jealous of Kehlani's abs.
Kehlani putting all of our abs to shame.

Dope setup at the merch booth.

Kehlani performs with so much personality.

Kehlani's dancers were impeccable.

Kehlani performing at Emo's in Austin, TX.

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

The Gang Goes On Tour.

Portugal. The Man live at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, CO.
Portugal. The Man performs like at the 1st Bank Center. Broomfield, CO.

In the words of Frank Costanza, "I'm back babyyyy!"

It's been a little over two years since I last photographed a concert and I have been itching to be back in a photo pit so intensely. Having just moved to Colorado late last year, it's been a slow process of finding some normalcy and creating a new routine for myself while exploring this foreign territory I now call home. Couple this with extreme mandates and requirements just to attend a show, I figured the universe was intentionally giving me a break from the creative hustle. While it's been nice to take some time off from things, I was incredibly stoked when I received the approval to photograph Portugal. The Man, currently touring the U.S. with Alt-J and Cherry Glazer. P.TM has become one of my favorite acts to catch live, camera or not. Their stage presence has an almost tangible feeling to it that brings with it an inexplicable sonic energy which you can feel in your spiritual core. Yes, it gets that intense. The percussion, the vocal melodies, the vibrations--it all felt so amazing to be back in such energy after such a long hiatus. What I wasn't expecting was the incredibly tall stage that made it nearly impossible to get great images from the pit floor. However we all got creative, stood on speakers and barricades for as long as security would allow, and gave it our best. In the end I walked away with plenty of images I am happy with and I hope you enjoy viewing them as I did making them.

My home
Is a girl with eyes like wishing wells

I'm not alone
But I'm still lone, lonely


Stay Creative,
BLUE731.

Zoe Manville and John Gourley.

The Gang Starts A Band. Eric Howk, Zoe Manville, and John Gourley.

Ultra baddass percussionist Jason Sechrist.

Day Man and Night Man, Kyle O'Quin and Eric Howk.

Eric Howk always brings the heat!

Oo-ooo, La-La-La-La-La let's live in the moment!

The Gang Expands Their Set Design.

Stage was as high as I was.

Portugal. The Man.
I love a good silhouette!

The Gang Plays In Bloom By Nirvana.


Thursday, November 18, 2021

Monday, September 6, 2021

Preparing For Battle in San Antonio.

Ohana West. San Antonio, TX.
Art from Ohana Academy West helping a teammate prepare at Grappling Industries. San Antonio, TX.

Making photographs at competitions is providing me with some of my favorite images of jiu jitsu. I am particularly finding a new passion for photographing warm-ups and moments in the venues that are outside of the competition itself. During my recent session at Grappling Industries in San Antonio, I took a break from the fights to photograph competitors warming up on the sidelines before their respective matches. These moments are proving to be very satisfying for me in that the fighters are usually flowing and moving slower or yielding some candid moments that are much more relaxed. Through these competitions, events, and through rolling I am finding a deeper love for the art itself as well as for capturing the various sides of it all through my glass.

In this set of images I happened to recognize fighters from two gyms, V.O.W. BJJ in Austin, TX and Ohana Academy West in San Antonio, TX. V.O.W. is a dope joint that I used to live nearby that I had attended once before leaving Austin while my school had been closed for maintenance. I picked up some great info on takedowns that afternoon and also put myself up against a bunch of strangers to see where I stood outside of my own classmates. Cross training is something I really love about jiu jitsu because of that very idea as well as the opportunities to meet new people I may not have otherwise met. V.O.W. BJJ cultivates a really welcoming community, especially towards women (including a women's only open mat). A visit for class or open mat at V.O.W. is highly suggested. Ohana Academy West is also a nice place to train if you find yourself in Far West San Antonio. Upon a family visit earlier this year I made it a point to stop by Ohana for an open mat session. While there were not many people training that day (and no other fighters in nogi), I still managed to pick up some new tools through rolls and the environment is pretty rad with plenty of open space.

Until the next set of images I would like to extend my thanks to all the competitors who have found their way in front of my lenses. You help me understand jiu jitsu more deeply and help me create some pleasing art for myself and others. I am always available for personal shoots or coverage, just hit me up through IG (@indigoso) and we can make it happen.


Stay Creative,
BLUE731.

Flow rolls.

Drilling technique.

Each one teach one.

Thursday, September 2, 2021

The Alamo City welcomes battles from Grappling Industries.

 

Competitors at Grappling Industries. San Antonio, TX.V.O.W. BJJ competitor takes hold of her opponent at Grappling Industries. San Antonio, TX.

While I am in the process of moving yet again, I wanted to take some time to spend with family just outside of San Antonio. And while the layover is taking a bit longer than expected, luckily a competition opportunity popped up to photograph another Grappling Industries event nearby. I made the drive out to the San Antonio Factory of Champions for another afternoon of jiu jitsu. I have been off the mats myself due to injury, so this was a pleasant treat to be back in the gym environment surrounded by fellow practitioners. In an ironic twist upon arrival, I recognized the signage that I laid out and printed at a previous employer and my first full-time design job. It's always cool seeing your work in the wild, this one was particularly cool given that it had been about ten years since we made these signs and they're still hanging strong.

On top of that cool twist, I was stoked af to see the inside--NO WOOD PANELED WALLS! They were all a neutral grey with great lighting throughout. Every GI event I have attended has been in gyms that have wood paneling everywhere making all the photos extremely yellow and warm. Yuck. The mats at FOC were mostly white with orange trim which was another blessing given that over half the competitors usually wear black and all the GI events I have attended previously were on black mats making photographs extremely difficult. It was like a smile from the gods.

I spent a few hours photographing the remaining gi matches and then the nogi matches that followed. I was pumped to see so many competitors really going for it and giving their all on the mats. I was extremely excited to see how fierce the female competition was too. Every women's match I watched was entertaining and most ended in subs. I walked away with some great images and may have picked up some pointers watching the fights. That is something I really enjoy about photographing jiu jitsu--I get to learn while I work. I snapped some sideline photos as well that I will get up here by next week. Take a look at the remaining images below and I will see you on the mats real soon.


Stay Creative,
BLUE731.


Fierce competition in all brackets.

Nancy Ramirez brought the heat to all her matches.

Mia Moi straight beasting the competition!

Another one locks onto my glass.

This fight was aggressive af.

How it started...

...how it ended.

Pass and control.

Arm candy hits different.

Dude was pumped after the armbar snag.

Many arms were taken this afternoon.