safflare

Some of the faces I shot, met, and collaborated with this swift year.

A July weekend film. An all Asian cast. A swim shoot with Nekisha followed by 30 hours in San Diego. Jet skiing was fun until I noticed they only gave me 30% of fuel to begin with. Oscars’ fish tacos made up for it big time.

Photographer, Jaelynn, Sprays Peppermint Oil on Guests.

Video shot on Sony a9ii, Sony ZV-1, and iPhone 11 Pro.

Shot and Edited by Billy Moon.

Still photos by Jaelynn. @capturedbyjae.peg

Thanks to Monica and Jane.

Four of us flew to the vast, clean place of Calgary, Canada. We rented a gas-fueled SUV and drove to a liquor store. After several minutes of eye-shopping and some actual shopping of liquid truth, we exited the store and instantly noticed the SUV's engine was still on. We laughed.

Eating dinner at a Calgary fusion restaurant may not have been the best call. Especially when you order duck and then teleport to the hotel lobby washroom to violently regret it (lose weight).

It’s nearly midnight on the first day and we didn’t know where the time went. After discussing for a while about commute, parking, and crowd logistics, we agreed to depart the next morning at 3 AM — when it’s still dark. Team leader showered first, passed out first, and then vibrated our dreams. Buying my thick, tight ear muffs from Home Depot is the best protection ever.

After only two hours of sleep, visited the early blue morning of Moraine Lake for a few hours. The ground of infinite rocks, covered by ice and snow that looked like sprinkles of glass. The misty mountains were my favorite sight because they reminded me of Middle Earth. Opposite of the mountains, there were thousands of trees — so green, erect, nearly perfectly shaped as if God sculpted them annually. When we felt like we saw enough and were afraid to lose the day, we mentioned we should drive on. But we looked at the time and it was only 6 AM.

Lake Louise. A widespread, lush small paradise contained massive small crowds of tourists under the everchanging sun and rain clouds. It felt like stepping in the world of The Grand Budapest Hotel for a moment. We hiked up a rigorous trail of snow, mud, and slush -- all for the majestic view of Lake Louise. This was really tough on my right knee. I should’ve worn proper hiking shoes. Seniors and children were hiking upwards and downwards past me like it was nothing.

Now I can’t remember which restaurants we hit. Oh, we also visited Peyto Lake. That location is perfect for photography depth — mountains, lake, trees, clouds. Banff definitely has the best gift stores. After visiting Toronto since then, I’m convinced Canada has the best souvenoir shops than most countries I’ve visited.

Towards the end of the trip, I’ve been feeling more and more isolated and oddly somber. Didn’t know why at the time. Days later it dawned on me. I can’t write it all here. It would take a week. But I was very relieved to return home.

We returned to Los Angeles on June 13, 2022. I finished editing my photos on June 15. I told the boys I’ll send them only after Isaac sends his edited batch. No one mentioned this topic since. Very strange. That’s a wrap!

*End of Canada Talk. Now onto Los Angeles:

It was another, endless reminder that photography is mostly seen as a hobby and not real work. It’s the numerous, similar reactions I’ve gotten from student filmmakers and indie, low-budget filmmakers where they ‘see’ still photographers quite low on the crew list as far as value. I don’t blame them too much because almost everyone now is claiming to be a vertical photographer with their fucking smartphones — smartphones making them dumb or dumber. Granted, with the comfort of them, they don’t have to use their mind or brain as much for new memories. Especially memories that stick. But I digress. What we do, what we shoot, there’s some real meaning and emotion put into it. I made the mistake of assuming that most of my friends desire the photos after a fun, memorable time. So far, there’s very little emotion or no reaction at all when I do deliver meaningful photos — their fucking memories — so it’s an enormous lesson. 2023, it’s time to find more feelers than thinkers. I think everyone desires a little bit of curiosity from others.

Here’s my 2022 model reel I shot in and out of Los Angeles with some surprise guests behind the lens.

Trailer of my Alberta trip in June. Full short film streams this Christmas.

Visited Toronto and Niagara Falls. Cool city. Pleasant people. The wind, not so kind. I’d go back.

Palonia Creative partners up to shoot another wedding film.

Model turned photographer, Jaelynn, shoots stills of a Children’s Hospital graduation event. Shooting gallery photos is really challenging.

Wedding Coordinator: Ashlyn Rudy
Ceremony Part 1 vimeo.com/725075467
Ceremony Part 2 vimeo.com/725118998
Rehearsal Night vimeo.com/722022868
Aerial Video by Absalon Andalo
Videography by Palonia Ølson www.paloniacreative.com

My friend, Palonia, and I shot a wedding in Palm Springs in 95-degree, sunny Kempa Villa. It was surprisingly fun. Shot on the Sony a7iii and Sony a7R3.

A montage of all the models I shot this year. Shot on the Sony a7iii. Edited in Premiere. I do not own the music copyrights.

Starring Abbe, Anela, Aika, Angelica, Angeleyh, Bella, Cora, Dakøta, Georgia, Hudson, Jaelynn, Julianna, Keagan, Kira, Lexus, Malia, Michaela, Mollie, Mylina, Noelle, Palonia, Quynn, Sage, Zandria, Isabel, Isaac, & Robert Ryu.

(True) Photographers: Isaac Yi, Palonia Ølson, Robert Ryu, Isabel Latimer.

Thanks to Ford Models, Nous Models, Wilhelmina LA, Renew Artists, Lipps LA, Willow Models, Nomad Models, and...I hope I didn't miss.

Here’s the trailer to my 2021 model reel. Shot on the Sony a7iii and edited on Premiere Pro.

First video I edited on the new M1 iMac. Here’s a subjective point of view travel film from October 2020 when I visited Mammoth with some friends.

Here is a video montage of all the professional models I photographed this year. What a year.

Part 2 of our Mammoth getaway. It was a blast. Shot and edited by Billy Moon. Part 3 arrives in December.

Photographed autumn in Mammoth with some friends. Next thing you know, made a movie trilogy. This is part one.

Photographed and edited model & actor, Molly Connors, in downtown L.A. This was a great exercise to practice pre-conceptual shots for black & white and avoiding the LA look.

My beautiful daughter, Sasha, went to Heaven on June 4, 2019. This is a memorial video I shot and edited for our family.

My trip to Portland was planned ahead of time but on May 15, 2019, we found out my daughter, Sasha, was terminally sick with a large mass and several tumors. I wanted to cancel my trip to be with her. The strength and love of family is everything. So this is my travel film and a love letter to Sasha.

Goodbye, 2019. Here’s a highlights reel of the different models I shot.

Written, Edited, and Directed by Billy Moon

Shot on the Sony a7iii.

Model: Ionia
Agency: Bounty Models
Photographer: Daniel In
Hair: Rebecca Graves

Video shot and edited by Billy Moon

A Leaf Anew (2017)

IMDb | Behind the Scenes | Stills

A resentful young woman searches for her missing mother while she struggles to find the culprit behind an illicit package - all the while suspecting her ex-boyfriend who works for her mother.

Cast:
Melissa - January Lim
Zack - Cameron Fay
Briony - Diep Tran
Connor - Y.J. Gold
Melissa's Mother - Vana Kim
Lana Carter - Stephanie Haney
Detective - David Marroquin
Party Guests - Alexah S. Kim, Karen Lee, Jonathan Lew, Taylor Jew, Diego Figueroa, Robert L. Walker
Hospital Visitors - Karen Lee, James Kim

Directed, Edited by Billy Moon
Written by Alexah S. Kim and Billy Moon
Story by Alexah S. Kim
Director of Photography - Daniel In
Music Composer, Boom Operator - Mark Concuan
Unit Photographers - Wonho Frank Lee, Alexah S. Kim
Grip - Diego Figueroa
Makeup Artists - Moung Hui Park, Saori Yazaki
Aerial Photography - Bob Cronk
Location Managers - Chris Spearman, Sabrina Simmons, Leopold Keber
Special Thanks - Alexah S. Kim, Andrew Oh, Jocelyn Tran, Ara Ko, The Loft, Photo Film Stage, Sooz & Son Cleaners.

Had I Not (2016)

IMDb | Stills

Shot in Iceland. An abstract journey on dreams, time, love, and wonder.

Written, edited, and directed by Billy Moon
Shot by Brian Kim and Billy Moon