Made a trip to Eel River with the homie Emilio and friends. I had never been swimming this far north in California before. The campsite was right on the river and made for some great day hikes to different swimming holes. Awesome trip, highly recommend. – Tim
photos by Tim Gatto
Two weeks ago, a group of us headed down the coast to dive Big Sur, Ca. I typically dive up North for Abalone, but since the season hasn't started and since it's been ridiculously nice weather, I thought this was a chance to check out what the Central Coast had to offer.
After reading up on Big Sur's famous coastline, it didn't take long to find out about Jade Cove. Divers and rock collectors have been going there since the 70's in hunt for the precious stone, so we thought we'd take a stab at it and become filthy rich rock collectors.
The diving conditions were perfect. 12 ft visability and almost no swell, made it easy to do some exploring. Once I entered the water, I instantly saw a giant ling cod, and decided to change from rock hunting to spearfishing. I didn't get anything but I did follow Eric around, who got a nice Rock fish that we grilled that afternoon. No Jade was found underwater, but we all grabbed a few small pieces on shore.
I shot my little sea and sea camera underwater and my mamiya 7 on land. Here are the black and whites, a few colors to come. Check out George's blog for his photos and a more detailed tale of the trip. -Tim
photos by Tim Gatto
Last November 25th, like a lot of frustrated Americans, I headed to my downtown to show support for Michael Brown and other young black men that have recently lost their lives at the hands of the police. In the weeks to come, protests escalated and of course there were looters just looking to get into a crowd, but the overall environment that I witnessed was extremely peaceful. I was very proud to walk with the city of Oakland that night and am glad that many people showed up to demonstrate rather than to sit silent. – Tim
photos by Tim Gatto
Early this summer, I trekked out to North Yosemite with friends and backpacked the many small lakes of Tuolumne meadows. It was my first time back to Yosemite in a decade, and it was just as amazing as I remember it. A flash thunderstorm had us rushing to the destination on the first day, but the next day the weather cleared and we had a lake to swim and fish all weekend. Another set of photos soon. – Tim Gatto
photos by Tim Gatto
Made it up to the coast this month to do some Abalone Diving in Mendocino. Possibly my favorite thing to do in the world. We drove the highway until we found the perfect spot, and got some abalone, urchin and some perch with the spears after about 3 hours of diving. I brought along an underwater film camera I bought. The visibility was too poor for any actual underwater shots, but got some pics none the less. —Tim
photos by Tim Gatto
Finally getting to the photos I've neglected this year. Starting with New Years Day in Oakland Chinatown. This guy really wanted to show the white boy what they had behind the counter. A bunch more photos to come. –Tim
photo by Tim Gatto
Tomorrow morning at 500 I'm headed out to Yosemite for the first time in 10 years. The last time I was there was right when I started college and it was such an incredible trip. Really felt like yesterday. On that note, it's time for a brief, but long overdue update about BIT BY ZEUS.This past year had some major life changes (for the good) and as a result, I was not able to post as much as I'd want, which doesn't mean I'm not shooting a ton. I've been shooting a ton. Basically, long story short. BIT BY ZEUS is not dead. I plan to keep featuring and collaborating with the photographers that I keep meeting, and am working on a couple of "zines". But, one thing I am planning on changing is my approach to photo. The photos on this site, that Brian Z and I created, have basically been about 1/ Life in the city 2/ Escaping the city 3/ The strange balance between the two. I want to dial in these themes and really want to start challenging myself to make more interesting photography. Anyways, here's some photos that I made on my last trip to Yosemite in 2004. Here's to coming back from this trip with way, way better photos. Thanks to all the of the talented people that I've met since creating this site. Meeting and working with so many great photographers is the reason I want to keep sharing and collaborating on BBZ. –Tim
Some photos from the last couple of months; Tahoe, Oakland, Art Murmur, and SF. On a technical note, I picked up a Ricoh GR for everyday stuff and have been totally loving it. I needed a digital camera, and chose the GR for some of its quickness and because it could fit in my pocket. It's been pretty great, and have been bringing out my medium format camera with it as a result. That's all — Tim
made it away to the "snow"
Saying goodbye to my Grandmothers house in St. Helena. It was a fantastic place to grow up.
A postcard written to my Grandfather
smudge pots
RIP GOLD DUST
made it to Pallet Space
Owner, Purdy, in front of pallet space's rotating wall
definitely worth a trip, lots of interesting stuff inside
irot
Johnny Manente selling shirts at Art Murmur
had to stop and support bar Dogwood after a car crashed through their front window just days before
RIP Kim's backyard
This past October, a group of us headed up to the Lost Coast, Northern California. We arrived late at night and took a shuttle two hours north to the trailhead. We didn't get there until 1am, but decided to hike the first few miles at night.
hiking at night ended up being one of the coolest parts of the trip.
Crashed the first night at this light house
Then headed down the coast. The terrain changed here and there, but it's all coast for 26 miles.
Any trip to the Lost Coast has to be planned around the tides to avoid being trapped in, "impassable at high tide" sections. Here's what it looks like trying to get around the tide.
Sat here after the long first day and watched whales breaching. No hip outdoorsy wear here, just wore my old shit, sorry.
George over-did-it on the hike and spent some time throwing up on this scenic bluff.
The last time we came to the Lost Coast, the weather was much different. Battling storms, waves and allowing for some more interesting photography. This trip felt like a vacation at the beach by comparison.
Light fog on the last morning out. Really happy all I had left was Black and white. Great Trip.
Photos by Tim Gatto
Just about every year, we find ourselves heading up to Sonoma for this guys birthday. It always seems to be a good one. Special thanks to Walgreens and my washer/dryer for making a few of these photos extra moody. Some photos from one of the best days this summer.
photos by Tim Gatto
photos from around Oakland
no cars in front of my favorite house
and one from Sonoma.
photos by Tim Gatto
Two Instax taken in the Santa Cruz Gardens
photos by Tim Gatto
photos by Tim Gatto
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to see a mural going up on a big wall in the parking lot on 15th & Harrison in downtown Oakland. I stopped by throughout the day and snapped some photos of the progress. The mural is a collaboration by Chicago based artists, Clam Nation, Nice One, Lady Lucx, and Espir. It looks great, stop by and check it out.
photos by Tim Gatto
After about 5 years of never fixing my mostly not-working polaroid camera, I decided to pick up a Fujifilm instax instant camera. I like the wide format, and that the film is somewhat affordable and readily available. Right away, it's been really nice having the instant feedback again and I think it will help me decide what to shoot. Here are some photos that I took at the coast this weekend with my first pack of film.
photos by Tim Gatto
Other photos from Oakland over the last couple of weeks. A day late.
Oakland crew
Cannon Dill mural downtown
beautiful lake Merritt
fog
photos by Tim Gatto
