I don’t have hot water, so fuck showering today.
It’s cold and cloudy out anyway.
I just came back from a long walk. It was fruitless.
Yesterday I walked for a long ass time as well. It was good. I did some drone photography and printed my most popular picture as of yet, the Tormenta en Tijuana pic:
I printed 20×25 at my local printing shop for around $17. It looks fantastic. My goal is to sell it for $50 (or at least $40). I need to find cheaper printing options so I can sell it for less… but as of now… I like this option.
Today I walked for fucking ever to find out that both places that were recommended for framing my pictures, were closed. It’s a Mexican holiday: “Día de la Constitución.” No one really celebrates that shit, is just a day off. Bars and restaurants are open (those allowed during the pandemic which is most now). But regular businesses are closed.
Tijuana is fucking crazy.
My stroll started with a random dude yelling his lungs out “ERES UNA PUTA” to absolutely no one. On the next corner, I was greeted with a woman in boxer shorts and a small shirt dancing like a stripper with headphones on. No. Not an attractive woman. It was like a younger Maguana. She had a shaved head but with a small bowl cut. Weird shit. And the weird shit continued.
The walk took me near the hospital where my mom died.
I fucking hate going by that place. And it’s in such an important corner of Tijuana… It’s hard not to go by that place.
I cried myself to sleep yesterday. That sounds so emo. But I haven’t cried about losing my mom in a while. I feel better now. Though mentioning it always makes me cry again.
I’m highly caffeinated. I still haven’t showered. I shall workout, get gross, and then shower. Cold fucking shower. Why?
I’m running low on money and I hate the phone. I have to call the gas company for them to bring me a “minita” so I can shower. Fuck the phone. They also always take forever.
I rather force myself to workout and then cold shower.
Before going to bed, I did a photo shoot of my own picture to sell prints.
PRINTS FOR SALE!!!
Here it is in my Instagram:
Oh yeah.
My Patreon has officially been activated!!
I already have some supporters. You can support it by going here:
Special shoutouts to my supporters!!!
Kevin, thanks man! I feel sort of guilty that you do, but you have been supportive of my work forever. I will try to get more math-rock going because of your support.
Dylan, DUDE! Thanks for buying my nudes. I’m not selling them anymore. That was a joke that sort of wasn’t a joke that worked. I’ll fly above your house soon and we’ll have some beers with our husband.
Shelly… I’m talking to you right now. I’m talking to you all the time. You still haven’t written a review for my books, but you already signed up for my Patreon. I don’t understand it, but you know I’m grateful for more than just your support.
Primo Joe! Another one that has been supporting my work for a while and you know I admire the fuck out of you. Family as a patron sort of doesn’t count it but I still appreciate the fuck out of it.
And finally, Roberto Perez. I have no idea who you are. But thanks. My cats appreciated it. I’m not sure if that tier will stay. It promises a short video of my cats eating snacks… But I’m not sure how to pay that back.
Speaking of tiers…
I’ll be changing around the tiers. I’m still very new to Patreon so I know I need to have way better incentives.
The editor of the magazine just emailed me if I saw my cover last week. And of course I did. I have over 50 copies of it in the trunk of Donatella (my car). I plan to leave them with Tony under the stairs, a brewery or two, and give them to some curious shop workers who love the Reader.
Here is the cover in the magazine.
María and her family loved it as well. ‘Natalia’ told me she preferred the original title, and so did I. But I understand why it was called Bad Trip and the tagline. It makes it sounds so much more sinister, as if she got kidnapped, or killed. And people are morbid fuckers.
Photographs and text are mine.
Some of my favorite pictures. One of my favorite stories. It was one of my favorite trips. She was one of my favorite girls… More pics here:
It wasn’t the hit I thought it would be. It even received some hate in some Facebook forums. Not like I care, sometimes hate is how you measure success.
I’ve been waiting for it forever. And now that it is out, I feel liberated. It happens all the time. I wait to get published to start writing again. I’m not sure what to write anymore. I am too excited about the prospect of printing my pictures and selling them.
It feels like I finally hit it. And it wasn’t what I expected. I realize now that there aren’t many Tijuana photographers offering landscape prints of the city. There are A LOT of amazing shooters in Tijuana and in the area. Many are way better than me. But like Chad says, I think I found my niche. It’s a bit of a cliche (pronounce it kleesh so it can rhyme).
Here are other pics I took just this week:
I went to print my picture in that mall… and why not, I took my flying camera with me. Luminar sky replacement options are growing thin, so I might have to download another package. Or I might have to actually learn how to Photoshop (hey, if this shit is selling, why not continue).
After my long pointless walk, I went to “big lots savings” to look for a frame. Instead of getting it framed properly, I was impatient and bought a shitty beaten up frame with a shitty flower picture for 250 pesos. I took it apart and found it was going to be tougher than I thought. I simply glued my picture on top of that. The frame has ugly marks. My work left glue marks and a tiny hair inside the frame. That picture is my sample. Is the one I’ll keep. It’s the original first print.
As for the rest…
Again…
Subscribe to my Patreon to get access to the full size of my pictures and print them anywhere in the world you want how many times you fucking want.
If you want one by me, hit me up and I’ll print and sign it and frame it (all optional).
I’ll be investigating print shops around town to see which is the best quality and price. I’ll be doing the same for framing. And I know there are a lot of online options… but I want to support local. My experience with Amazon printing on acrylic was bad, so I rather not do it again (they refunded me and I kept the frame which was awesome… but it’s still a bad print).
Last Instagram post:
And OH YEAH!
New drinking beer with Matingas. There will be a new one every Saturday (if allowed). New blog posts every Tuesday (today). And I will try to do more depending on my patrons and what not.
Thanks for your support.
I finally opened my Patreon.
Matingas 