as seen by

me, through the eyes (and lens) of my brother. I'm forever thankful for it, don't even really have any words for it except I wish we could have seen into the future when we were kids. wish we could have seen who we are now, what we do, what we make. I wonder what we would have thought of all this. I like to think about things like that.

and then there's this:



I'm amazed by the work my brother makes. I really am. and I'm honored to see little bits and pieces of projects we've worked on together in this reel. I'm excited about the future. friends, if you want to fall down a beautiful, beautiful rabbit hole, head on over here. get lost in nate's work. it's easy to do.

p.s. if that first film has you jonesin for polaroid fun times, stay tuned. instant magic workshops (two!) are happening. announcements= right around the corner.

tinfoil crowns

newest one from propaganda, shot and directed by my brother, nathan corrona. in love with every last second of it (eyes and ears both) but at exactly 1:06, my heart seized and by 1:27, I was crying out Lord Jesus yes.

this is real hip hop, friends. it still exists. lest there be doubters, naysayers.

p.s. I am maybe just a little bit excited about the particular location of this video and if you can tell me where this was shot (city and state) and if you are speedy about it, if you are the first one, I will probably send you a leetle prize.

shout who you are

(an oldie but a goodie)

glaciers

something new, something I really really love. listener's newest video directed by my brother nate.

p.s. no small feat, freezing a vintage typewriter in an enormous block of ice. harder than you might think. but worth it, I think. absolutely worth it.

wooden heart

Listener "Wooden Heart" from Nathan Corrona on Vimeo.

brilliant beautiful work from that guy listener (who you might also recognize from here or here) and directed by that guy nate (who you might also recognize as my brother). watch it big. watch it big if you can.

hello ghost town

a little bit more from the shoot with my brother. details: ray, an australian horse hauler plus downtown cairo, illinois plus PX 600 silver shade UV+ film.

he is

one of my favorite people to photograph. that friend of mine, that dan smith.

last week found me on a shoot with my brother-- first to atlanta to an abandoned trainyard off dekalb avenue and then to the outer edges of a crumbly ghostly town in southern illinois. I love my job. even though it occasionally takes me away from my family, I love my job. I love the brainstorming of ideas, the researching of locations. I love the styling, the working out of the details, the finessing of story lines. but mostly, I love working with my brother.

so anyway, dan was at the trainyard in atlanta with us and there was a little bit of 600 polaroid film (such a sad little bit) and a smidge of magic light and if nothing else ever even came out of the shoot but this polaroid, well then I'd still be happy. because polaroid portraits like these make my world go round and round and round.

I do have more to share, so much more.

well, you are

what happened in cincinnati (besides a little collaborating with my brother on a music video shoot for the band seabird) is that I had more fun with stencils, stickers, paint chips and spray paint than is perhaps humanly possible. the street artist inside me had a little coming out party, she surely did.

my sunlight

'know this' by remnant featuring scar, directed by nathan corrona

he does good work, that brother of mine. I'm so proud I could cry. and I did, actually. in the middle of the stupid coffee shop the other day when I first watched this. while people were eating their eggs and drinking their coffee and tap tap tapping away on their computers. you should know, I do not cry easily.

it's a love letter to color and light and I can't stop watching it. and I'm thankful that my kids are growing up with this kind of hip hop. I'm thankful when words and music and pictures come together like this, I'm so very thankful.

and I've got a brand new song to add to the list.

the art of boombastic

maker of the video: nate, my brother and the same one I collaborated with back in february

maker of the beats: also nate

people in the video: deepspace5, a hip hop collective my brother is a part of

you might also recognize: dan the listener

shot with: a super 8 film camera scored off ebay, same one he used to shoot the video will not be sold

marginally relevant detail: the end of the video is not the end of the video but the beginning of another and I promise I'm not talking in metaphors. it's something that hasn't been edited out yet but I couldn't wait any longer to post this (not one second longer) so consider this version the uncut one.

how I feel every time I watch this: incredibly extremely ridiculously proud


p.s. I knew that orange labeler would come in handy. I knew it.

part two

part one

to get on a plane and fly south, to step out of the car and onto the beach, to smell/taste/touch familiar air, so sticky and sweet. oh gulf, I have missed you. to blow through six packs of polaroid film in two days, to wear sandals, to work with shiny people, to drink mexican coca cola, to work with my brother. these are luxuries. I know this to be true.

p.s. there's a nice story behind how we found the orange VW bus.

thursday love

this is making me really happy today. couldn't stop playing it yesterday, can't stop playing it today. can't decide if it's the music or the video I'm so bananas over, though I suspect it's a hearty mix of both.

and I promise it's not just because my brother produced the track (laid down that sick beat too), not just because he shot the entire video himself (on super 8mm film with a camera he snagged on ebay), directed and edited it all on his own. well, maybe there's a little bias involved here but I think I can honestly say that if I heard this/saw this someplace else and didn't have any idea who it was, who produced or directed it, I would still love it. and the MC is pretty alright too. poems is officially on my list of People I Like. nate's been at the top of that list since the early seventies, way before he could do stuff like this. way back when he followed me around and called me 'ahr'-- couldn't really pronounce 'andrea' so he called me 'ahr'. something like a nasal version of 'air' and this charms me to no end when I think back on it. naturally, he has earned a spot on the People I LOVE list.

will not be sold is officially my new favorite song and my thursday love for like, the next 77 thursdays. this is what real hip hop is. or
what hip hop should be, folks. and dang it if all that video footage doesn't make me miss atlanta somethin awful.