During statewide university protests in 2010, UC Santa Cruz graduate students march with their children to protect funding for family student housing. A statement from the provost the next day labeled the protesters as “intimidating and destructive,” which we can see here with mothers and toddlers armed with teddy bears.

The fun doesn't stop when the balloon pops!

This diptych demonstrates effective inter-generational play. Something as simple as a seemingly useless as ripped pieces of rubber become the impetus for creative play, where boundaries are explored in a safe space: the boundaries between "me" and "you," "me" and the rest of the word, trash and treasure, reality and fantasy, "child" and "adult."
 

A re-purposed antique sewing machine provides the perfect workspace for a five-year-old's tools. Here, Kaya shows off a vintage hand drill.

Though in a playful mood at the time of the shoot, this kid is very serious about his work. Since this picture was taken, he has upgraded to an outside workshop, complete with old computer parts, survival gear, and bonafide power tools. He has constructed countless contraptions, many outdoor forts, and will probably end up at NASA.

Though her brother's tools are available to her as well, Mina has always gravitated more towards make up and play food. She finds serving "food" (sand, chalk, toys, air, whatever) an important social function, and the make up is not for the male gaze, but rather for expression. The last make-up we did together was giving her a purple beard. These girlier tools allow Mina to not only imitate, but also elaborate on the rituals she sees the adult women in her life performing.

It's not just adults who clear their heads in the shower. Children are often at ease in warm water with a trusted adult looking over them, and their incessant curiosity has no porcelain barriers. I can't help but wonder, "What is she thinking?"

This photograph is of Flexa near a family home in São Paulo, Brazil. Amidst towering apartment complexes, in a hard cityscape, he finds peace.

I passed through this station most days first as a tourist, then as a traveling English teacher working with businesspeople. Transportation strikes were frequent, and the portenos saw traffic delays as a way of life. You can easily see the European influence on Buenos Aires in the architecture of this central station.

This image was taken while on a three hour bus ride that went through just some of São Paolo's multitude of mountains. It shows just one part  of the many, many dense favelas located within city limits. Transportation within these neighborhoods is on foot, bicycle, or motorbike, as most of the streets are too narrow for cars to pass through. While this creates logistical issues for ambulances, fire trucks, and police vehicles, the density greatly contributes to the feeling of neighborhood-as-home rather than an individual family's dwelling.

Outside of the wealthy areas of Rio, this photo represents the general spread of urban neighborhoods in the city--highways, dense multi-story dwellings (of questionable architectural integrity), power structures, and churches. And trees. This is the rainforest, after all.

Brazil is in the middle of an industrial and economic boom, so construction is constant. With the World Cup and Summer Olympics coming in the next couple of years, this host city is aiming high in its development goals.

For a minute back in 2012, I was the personal photographer of Rebel Bikes, a team of revolutionary bicyclists led by Brian Simmons (crouching on the left) who customize their bikes with creativity, motor power, and stank! The crew often ride together around Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA. See Brian in action here.

The guys had such a wonderful camaraderie that extended beyond business; they were a team, friends making change and making money. It was a joy to photograph such a dynamic crew!

While my main aim for this shoot was to document the crew, I couldn’t leave without taking some close-ups of the righteous wheels. Brian was incredible happy with this shot, as it subtly highlighted his faith and spiritual connection to Oakland.

When I was 19, I was exploring issues of identity, family, and adulthood in this digital photography series called, “Mommy/Daddy.” I wanted to deconstruct and examine the imitation games that children play in learning how to be “grown up,” and how those activities manifest in learning how to be an adult. It was a cheeky undertaking, and one that allowed me to process the death of my grandfather that year. I still have that tie, and remember Roger fondly.

When this photograph was on display UCSC Open Studios, I printed a tag with the following to accompany this image:

“Dress up always was my favorite game! I borrowed my father's suit and grandfather's tie. Dad's shoes didn't fit quite right, but the briefcase I'm sure will come in handy when I grow up.”

Since this photo was take, I’ve learned to iron a backdrop and manipulate lighting to avoid harsh shadows.

My mom (Nana) is clipping the sleeping babe's fingernails after he falls asleep in his mom's arms. My focus here is on the hands of three generations, and the maternal tenderness with which these women care for the first-born son.

This triptych explores a girl's initial introduction to the world of beauty. Girls experience unique tensions surrounding rituals of beauty, and their loving caregivers struggle to conceal life's harsher truths until the appropriate time. How can an aunt, a grandmother, a mother satiate the girl's curiosity without scarring her? I believe we can create a healthy, confident girl by introducing her to these tools of expression, and by not taking the skin-deep beauty too seriously ourselves.

The last time Mina and I played with make up, we gave ourselves purple beards to look like pretty men. Who would want to deprive a four-year-old of that?

I think this is how all parents, grandparents, etc. feel--younger generations effortlessly ascend, while they struggle to keep up, both physically and metaphorically.

The rounded-yet-angular rocks provided an alternative horizon line that makes for a compelling image.

A clear, sunny winter day in Joshua Tree National Park at a preserved Native American structure. Three-year-old Mina collects mysterious detritus to fuel her imaginative play. This desert is no barren wasteland, it is fertile ground for inspiring a lifelong engagement with history, nature, and self.

“Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” reads the tattoo of UCSC Political Science student J. This student protest against tuition hikes to support vanity projects brought students to the streets, even if the streets were just surrounded by forest. This occupation of the West Entrance to the campus was very peaceful, and clearly, fun for many.

Travel photography was one of the original genres of photography that popularized the medium. Photographs of faraway places allowed people to be “armchair travelers,” and ignited a wanderlust unparalleled by reading stories and admiring drawings alone.

This photograph was taken in Santa Barbara, on a beach just one mile away from polluting oil refineries. The wildlife have so far adapted to changes in their environment, but this may not be true the next time I drive through Santa Barbara.