01x02 - Painting with Light

[bunniefuu]

This is a dream come true.

I'm actually lighting for Todd Hido.

Move it closer?

I'm using my brake lights.

- Back up half-way.
- Half-way.

I'm using the truck

to bounce a bit of red
on that wall so it'll look good.

Yes, I know.

Can't believe this is happening.

This is unbelievable.

Okay.

Just being in this neighborhood

I got a little bit of anxiety
'cause I'm like...

I wonder if all these people know
that Todd Hido lives here.

Hey, Todd!

Oh, man!

- Nice to meet you, man.
- Man, it's a pleasure

- to meet you too, brother.
- Yeah, yeah.

- Gosh. Your house is beautiful.
- Thank you.

- Beautiful outside.
- Thank you...

- Come on in.
- I'll take the shoes off.

Well, the first time I saw his photos

that was at least


It was just going like, "Who's taking
pictures of my memories?"

"How did this person get in my mind?"

Walking into his place

and seeing those pictures
and those colors

I was just an open heart going,
like...

"Bro, I was blasting
Mana and Aloha and to go, like...

I mean, I... I truly 100%
am moved by your work.

I wanna make my movies like you.
I wanna sh**t like you."

- Here it is!
- Yeah.

Okay. So that is my favorite
painting that you've ever made.

For me, because it just reminded me

exactly the back streets
of where I'm at.

That was like,
that was the first one that I saw.

Jason and I met because he liked
something of mine on Instagram.

And I was like,
"Oh, that's Jason Momoa."

I... I didn't know anything
about his love of photography.

I didn't know much about him
except he was an actor

and I liked what he did.

I don't think I really understood

how much of a true fan
he was of my work

and how much he knew about it.

And so, my best friend

him and I used to get postcards

and we'd put it...
we'd put 'em everywhere.

I'd get your... I'd get two copies
of your book so I could travel

and I could hang them all over.

Hido, Hido, it goes like this, buddy.
It goes...

Tom Waits...

- And there's Todd Hido.
- Oh, man. That's...

- You're f*cking up there, bro.
- That's f*cking awesome.

There might be Martin Parr
going in there, but like

you're... like, there may be

- a filmmaker in there somewhere
- Yeah, absolutely, yeah.

- but you're f*cking top
- Yeah, right there.

I might even say, four.

- Thank you. I appreciate that.
- It's insane, like

because the way
how I feel and how I see

- my god, dude, it's...
- It's like a connection.

All that stuff in film, like,
how does... how that has, like...

You are everything...
Everything you make, man.

I'm not a big photography fan

in the sense of, like,
I collect photography.

I only have Todd.
I only look at this stuff.

And even though he has
all these books that inspire him...

You know what I mean?
Like, it's... it's just him.

It's so simple for me.

- Yeah...
- Thank you.

- This is my birthday present.
- Yeah, that's awesome.

I'm at Todd Hido's house.

And just before, it's "Hi-do."

- "Hi-do."
- Yeah...

- f*cking A.
- Yeah. It's just obviously...

My name is Marina.

My name is Marina Luz.

My name is Marina Luz Hido.

Okay, wait, we gotta start over.

My name is Marina Luz

and I am Todd Hido's wife.

And I try to help him out
by driving him around

so he's free to look at the world.

Based on his artwork

people think he's probably
like a moody, quiet, loner.

He is a talkative goofball.

And I love that.

- f*ck yeah, bro. I got this.
- There we go.

Listen, I don't ride
in the backseat for anyone.

That's the biggest...

It's the biggest compliment
I can give you, sir.

Oh, thank you, sir. I appreciate it.

He reminds me a lot of J
in a lot of ways

like, the way their minds work.

I can just see both of them
just taking in the entire world.

This is gonna be so exciting.

The fog is rolling in,
and it's smoky.

So Todd has never had this before.

So we brought him the luck.

Oh, man.

I just wanna learn from him.

I wanna see his process

just be a fly on the wall
and like, watch him work.

We drove 20 minutes, 30 minutes

and all of a sudden, the fog hits

and then...

There's a freaking
Todd Hido painting.

Through the windshield
is all the raindrops

and all the mist,
all the fog is there

and I'm like, "Holy sh*t.

I cannot believe what I'm seeing."

I just found
this one neighborhood in Pacifica.

It was like, way back in 1996

and I've been going there
ever since to make pictures.

So, like, I'm sure that I was like...

I was standing, like,
right here somewhere

tripod and stuff and, like

and that... that covered car was,
like, right where that white car is

and this is the light.

The wind was moving enough that
it was like, blowing the car cover.

It's crazy
this is the spot over here.

But yeah, this is it.

So special, man.

You gotta get it in.
Oh, look. My man.

Dude, I'm so stoked.

I'm stoked too, man.

And these lights only get better
'cause everyone's lights...

- Yeah...
- Look at this peach house.

Look at these windows.

Who the f*ck makes...
Look at this house!

A lot of the houses look just like
the houses in the Midwest

because they were
built by the same builder

of the first suburb of America,
which was Levittown.

They built a neighborhood in Pacifica

which is bizarre, but true.

Oh, look at that view, dude!
Check it out!

It's great to meet you, man.
It's really fun.

I'm gonna show you guys
something else, too.

So, that's another window, and then

- Look how they tilled their grass.
- the back of this house.

- If you turn right right here
- Yeah, there's... there were.

- we can park, like, right there
- Yeah.

- where there's no...
- No people?

I revisit places a lot
because it's always, like

if you're panning for gold
and you strike gold

like, you don't go and move
down the river, you know?

You keep... you stick
around that area a little bit

and that's why I revisit places.

I think take a right.

And things have... and I've noticed
things change in so many places.

But also you change,
and your eye changes.

Yeah, it's true.

And the thing, too,
is the environment changes

and that's like

such a huge crucial point
in both of our art forms.

It is that thing of, like, constantly
being aware and being in the moment

and searching and looking

and enlightenment is,
like, being aware.

So, when you're out hunting
in those moments

and you're getting inspired
by all these things

it's like, that's what fuels me.

And to be in the passenger seat

with him, in the c*ck going

"Bro, I can't believe
this is happening."

We just rolled up
to some supermarket.

I'm like, where are we? There's a KFC
and a f*cking Taco Bell.

And then we roll, and he goes behind
the grocery store

and it's like, there's a pink house

there's a beige house,
there's a blue house, there's...

And there...
I'm in his f*cking paintings.

- It's insane.
- No sh*t.

And it's all foggy!
It's foggy with smoke.

And then it just happens to have
water on our windshield right now.

- It's insane, bro. My mind...
- That's... that's just the thing...

That's the f*cking thing,
but I just rolled right in...

We just came from, like, sun.

We were at his house,
and there was sun.

- That's insane.
- It's unbelievable.

Over the years, I've learned that

all the good stuff
is behind something else.

Behind a hotel
or behind a supermarket.

Or, you know, back around the fence.

Or like, that's the part of the world

that people
aren't paying attention to

and that's where the reality is.

- Yeah!
- Yes.

Yeah!

License and registration, sir.

Oh, I leave it at home.
Excuse me, sir.

Oh, Todd Hido.

Okay, sorry. My sorry. My bad, sorry.

- Oh, it's funny...
- It's amazing, yeah, we'll split it.

And also, what's cool about it

like, this car is perfect
'cause it's just non-descript.

- Yeah.
- You know? It's just like

nobody notices you, you know, like...
you know.

That's what I gotta do, bro.
I gotta get more...

You get rid of
that pink Cadillac, man.

Pink Cadillac
and the gigantic earth roamer.

Yeah, a little bit more,
like, a little bit more low key.

Maybe cut the hair
and take off the pink shirt.

- Yeah... yeah. Right... right.
- Look at me! Look at me!

It just makes you wanna hunt,
you know what I mean?

He has it in him.
It's just hunting for...

places and moments
and what the environment holds

and every day is different.

Every day has its little beauty

and you just gotta have
the right set of eyes.

It's all in the back alleyways,
side B.

- It's underneath the table.
- Right.

- I just caught the cyan filter.
- The cyan, yeah.

- Remove the cyan filter. Perfect.
- Yes, exactly.

sh**ting through the window,
which is something I do

not all the time,
but a lot of the time...

it happened from just like,
you know, I was driving down the road

and it even started to rain...

and there's just all this amazing
stuff happened in front of me

but I couldn't stop the car
'cause I was driving.

So I just took
a few photographs that way

and then they worked.

There was something about, like,
the look that that gave the picture

through the window of the car.

It just has this feeling
that... that works for me.

I think his photographs work
in a lot of the same ways as memories

where your memory
isn't perfectly sharp.

You remember certain things
with perfect clarity

or you think you do

and then other things
are a little fuzzy

and that's the way his images work.

His eye pierces my heart.

Being raised in Iowa

I knew what it was like to go

and sit on the prairies
and drive hours

without seeing anything and...

in that space, I just...

You gotta get creative.

There's this thing in photography
about the decisive moment.

I know for a fact there's decisive
moments out in the landscape

that have to do with light,
the weather, and the place

and you coming together
all at the same time.

A lifetime of honing his craft

has given Todd
a kind of control over his images

that appears effortless.

This is pretty surreal because

we're in a ranch market.

It's like a...
This is a shopping center.

- Cue the rain.
- And he stops right here.

No, it's not raining outside

but because of the condensation...

He waits and he gets...

You can hear it.

All the rain
getting on the windshield.

In this fog, in this town.

Obviously, we're close to the ocean
in northern California.

Ad he gets ready

and you go down this back alleyway.

And this is... I'm gonna turn
this off so you can see.

You see a light come on to the fog
inside one of the houses.

You know how we were
talking about perfect timing?

We were exactly
where we were supposed to be.

And I'm standing
behind Todd and I'm, like

I just wanna capture him.

It's like he's in his own painting
right now

and I'm just sitting there
looking at Todd

and he's in his painting right now.

I'm completely in his world.

- That's a beauty. I like that.
- You see it?

That perspective, and then

- like, how the clouds are
- Yeah.

like, the sky looks purple right now.

It's... it's cool.

It's basically Hido's dreamland.

It really is, like, f*cking cool.

- I love it here.
- Man.

I've been coming here
for 20 years, man.

Look at that. The maestro.

So often, I go out and sh**t

And it's... sometimes I don't get out
of the car to take a picture

because like, "Oh, I'm...
It's not as good as the other...

It's not as good or better than

- my other pictures."
- Yeah.

And that kinda hinders you
a little bit

that thinking, but then...

And then I tell myself, it's like,
you know, like, "No, dumb a*s

you need to get out
of the f*cking car

- You just gotta have fun, man.
- because

how d'you get
all those f*cking pictures

is just by getting outta the car
and doing it with the pictures

and doing it."

And that's like
as good as it gets for me.

This is like, a picture
that I love right now.

Like, look at that glowing window

and the... and the people
came into this other bedroom

and the... the curtains are slit
a little bit.

So we had house lights on,
they turned off.

The neighbors light, turned off.

And I was like, "I'm gonna pull
the truck around, we'll light it."

This is gonna be the one.

The thing about Jason and I
that I figured it out, like

"Why does... why does he like me?
What's he interested in?"

Or "Why does he like my work?"

And then he told me he was from Iowa

and I was like, "Of course

he just loves
the landscapes that I make

because Iowa is just like Ohio."

There's something
about the understanding

of that space in the wintertime

and the openness that living
in a place like that brings.

That is this one thing
that brought us together

which I think is really fascinating.

- Thank you, sir.
- Welcome.

This is nice.

- That one slayed me.
- Oh, I know.

- That f*cking slayed me.
- I love that one.

This one slayed me,
that one slayed me

and the g*dd*mn crosses
in Iceland slayed me.

Oh, yes.
I have them under here. Yes...

g*dd*mn it!

That's awesome.
I'm glad you liked that.

I've been doing photography
in some shape or form

every day since I was like,
you know, 18 years old.

When I was a teenager,
I used to race BMX.

Where I grew up in Kent, Ohio

we had dirt tracks
that we would make in the woods.

You know, just like any kid
with an iPhone and a skateboard

you wanna record what you're doing
and what your friends are doing

and so, I learned
how to take pictures of my friends.

Photography really
actually sort of saved me

'cause I was the classic
Midwestern boy

wasn't maybe so sure
what I was doing in life.

Once I started making pictures

and I started realizing
how much I liked it

it changed the way
I looked at everything.

The worst thing for me is, like

it's sunny and everything
is perfect, you know?

Like, I always like that mood
of like, atmosphere and like...

I was wondering that, like,
if you drive out to a place

and you're just kinda depressed
'cause you get...

- Oh, dude, that...
- Where you're just heavily depressed

- because it's a beautiful day.
- Yes.

I have become, you know, really
adept at looking at weather reports

and I secretly, like, harbor a desire
to be an actual storm chaser.

It's like out in Elko, Nevada.

I heard that there's frozen fogs.

I'm like, I went out there
for, like a few days.

- That's what I wanna talk about.
- Yeah.

I was like, he has to...

Do you have to study
weather patterns?

Yeah, I do.
I totally know all about...

I'm like... I'm like
all over that sh*t.

- You're like, tornado watch.
- Yeah, I... I like...

"Bombing tornadoes
'cause I wanna get sh*t."

I would love to be
in a f*cking tornado.

The thing about Jason
that's incredible is

he has a million ideas.

And he's a mile a minute

and I'm actually kinda...
I'm like that, too.

I'm excited to see
who inspires you because

after I got to you, I was really
disappointed with the world.

- Oh really?
- Yeah, I'm like, "Now what?"

He came at a time when like

people weren't out about
doing a bunch of things

and it was amazing to have this

you know, big, lovable man

you know, kind of descend
upon your world

and be in awe of every inch of it.

I'll be your assistant, Mister Hido.

Well, yes you can. Can you type fast?

- Nope.
- Okay. Well, we have a problem.

How do we get into this thing?
You just hit it, right?

It's just nice to have
somebody appreciate...

the... all the little things
that you've created in your world.

I love this one. Like, this is when
I started to realize, like

you know, these are about,
like, relationships.

People are... Two people watching TV

with the lights off at the same time
in different rooms

And I'm like,
"What the f*ck is that?"

It's like, "What are they?
What's the relationship like?"

Like, "Why aren't they together?"
You know?

And I started to realize,
they're like

it's about what happens
in the house, you know?

And it's about showing these things

without actually showing the people
that are involved in it all.

Looking at my books with him,
page by page

that's not something
you get to do with many people.

That's my dad, you know.

Like, my dad at his f*cking
college graduation, like, you know

holding up my brother
and like, the empty keg.

This one is crazy. It's like,
his diploma and my brother.

His like, two accomplishments,
you know?

And my dad was like a...
He was a football player.

He was like... my dad grew up
in this crazy f*cking household, like

it was so bad, him...
him and his brother

would go sleep in the trunk
wrapped in a f*cking rug

you know, sometimes at night.

And... and he grew up, like,
in this crazy household.

So, like, you know, I understand
where he comes from, but like

he raised hell in our house, too,
you know, and...

And there's a lot of that
in my work, you know?

That's kinda where...
that's, like, the thing

that, like, kinda fuels a lot of it.

To personally sit
and go through work with him

I'll always remember that.

It was really something that was...

that was like, wow.

There's a real
true appreciation of my work

and that was really special for me.

- Beautiful.
- Thank you.

After that time with Todd

I was just buzzed with creativity.

I worked to be all over the world.

But Todd and I, we stayed in touch.

It was just the beginning.

What time is it?



- It's 7.45?
- Yeah.

I thought it was 4.00 in the morning.

I just woke up in Todd's studio.

I'm talking with his paintings.

- You are in his paintings.
- I am in his paintings.

We got in super late last night.

But I'm pumped because today
we're going hunting with Todd...

taking out some new cameras
to a place called Eames Ranch.

Something about, like,
things that are destroyed

and that aren't as interesting
as things are that's left.

This is the new me.

The last time that we filmed

I just had a gastric bypass surgery.

And so I was, you know,
the same person

that I had been for probably
most of my adult life.

You know, overweight

and not as healthy as I should be.

My mom did it three years ago

and it worked for her, you know?

And I was like, well damn,
my mom is my inspiration

like, "I'm gonna...
If she did it, I can do this."

This light is amazing, right?

It is the most important thing
I've probably done in my adult life

was to become healthy.

I, like, got to restart my life.

And I'm... it's really amazing
that you guys have been able to

just, like, see the before and after
part of that.

He shared so much with me.

So I wanted to buy him
something special.

Todd shoots medium format
and I love Leica.

Put it together,
you got the Leica S3.

One of my favorite digital cameras.

I don't change equipment
very much because...

You know, I've...
I've known that, like...

how do you get really good
at something

is by having some things be constant

that you know and master.

And then, you know,
the things that change are

what you're bringing to it.

When somebody can
introduce you to something

and you grow from it

that's the best scenario
for everybody.

To be able to be taught by your idol

your master, your teacher, and like,
there will be no one bigger.

And to be able to buy him
this medium format Leica camera

which I believe is...
like, I love Leica, right?

So, I wanted to get him
the medium format

which, they just don't have
that many of them.

And they're expensive.

What better thing to do
is buy your idol this new paintbrush

and go, like,
"Hey, let's go sh**t this together

and I'm gonna learn from you."

It's crazy 'cause there's this house

that's preserved
at the Eames Institute.

And it looks like
it's just out of a Hido painting.

It's so surreal.

Like, you walk in, it's like,
this place is just held in time.

You wish we wouldn't
take these things away.

I almost wanna turn them
into museum pieces

and keep it the way it was
and how history was.

It's like, man,
just not too far back in the '50s

out in Petaluma, it's pretty crazy
that neon green goes with this.

And like, you get to see
what fashion was back then

and how time has passed.

And it never changed,
and it had this dust of time on it.

Once again, I was in one
of those paintings and...

it's phenomenal.

I love this stuff, like, left behind,
like those hangers...

in the closet.

- I know, right?
- Yeah.

Yeah. There we go.

- Like, that's awesome.
- That's...

- Beautiful, right?
- Epic.

Thank you.

Never in a million years
did I ever think I would be sh**ting

side by side with Todd.

I didn't even think
I could be friends

on this level with him.

The thing I'm most attracted to
is like, the light.

I just kinda follow the light around

- a lot of times.
- Okay.

And I kinda sh**t into it
and, like, it gets me started.

So like, I don't want
to blow out those highlights

but this is kind of about
that color and that gold.

Yeah.

When you move your camera,
like, just in incremental ways

- Yep.
- it really slows you down

and shows you what it is
that's possible.

He's more Aloha than I am.

You know, he is...

Truly, wants people to know
there's no great mystery.

It's just putting in the work

and doing it and getting out there

and like, he's... he shares it.

It's not like this...
he takes one picture and like

he really is still searching,
trying to master his craft.

- f*cking great, bro.
- Thank you.

Look at this.

When you start to go into the room,
you realize that, like

"Oh, there's a lot more
than just one picture in this room."

You know? And then, a lot of times,
it's just like

getting, like, in just
a different point of view.

You know, coming over here and then
changing the light with those...

you know, like, with the blinds, like
there is like, perfect light control.

Bro...

That's it.

There's something about the space

like a home and like, the surfaces.

The surfaces tell the story.

My family had a carpet
like this in our house.

It was orange, you know.

We had, like, curtains like that
with that light coming through.

And like,
I just remember that kinda stuff.

There's something about, like

the spaces that you remember
from your childhood are...

they're just embedded
in your memory, I think

and you just respond.

- It's a time capsule. I mean...
- Yeah.

I've never had this much fun
taking pictures in my life.

- Really? That's awesome.
- Like, you just...

When we just walked in,
and you're like, "Oh, my god!"

- And you're absolutely right.
- Right.

Just, like, a little bit of an angle,
a little bit here.

- Inch this way, inch that way.
- Yeah. Right.

A little more ceiling, the shadows
are changing, light is changing.

Like, right now
I'm having kind of an anxiety

'cause we should be
in the other room sh**ting more.

- We'll...
- 'Cause of the lighting.

- But it's... but it's like...
- We got time. Right.

Amazing to be shot by you, and just
be... I've never even seen...

I know, like, you know,
we're both from the Midwest

but I've never seen carpet like this

and I've never seen
a chair like this.

Right. It's something about,
like, this...

this era that I think this really...
it just tells a story.

How do you find
that thing that you do

that groove that you're making
for yourself?

That comes from time.

You don't even know enough
to even look for that when you start

but as you go on into it

you start to navigate your way into

making pictures that become
more distinctly yours.

I wanna train my eye like that

and really understand
the technology the way he does

and the craft that he does, so...

it was huge for me.

Oh, you f*cking guy.

- Like, pretty f*cking nice, right?
- Jesus.

Bro.

Is this what my heaven looks like?
A f*cking...

This is like... I'm seriously...

Can we do this
for the rest of my life?

- Yeah, totally.
- Yeah!

- Like, I'm down.
- I'm like...

- This is it, bro.
- f*ck yeah. This is fun.

I wear my heart on my sleeve

and it couldn't be more passion
coming outta this guy

'cause this is it,
this is the top for me.

It's really cool to have
Todd and his wife Marina be like...

We're totally pumped
because it's a little rejuvenation.

They've been doing it for...

I don't know,


It's just like a nice feeling to go

"Man, this guy is really, really
stoked on me and what I've done."

There's a lot of overlap
between him and J.

They never stop learning.
They never want to stop learning.

They think everything
is interesting and...

And that's exhilarating
to stand next to and be part of.

And I just... I feel so lucky
to be along for the ride with him.

Jason and I have been
communicating back and forth often.

When he comes into your life, like,
he's in your life, in his large way.

And that's a wonderful thing.

He's so damn excited about things,
which is awesome, you know?

Like, it's like, there's not many
people in the world

that have that exuberance.

I really appreciate, like

the willingness
you guys have to learn.

And... and the questions
that you asking.

You guys draw
all this stuff outta me that...

that reminds me of, like, me being
a teacher

like, you know, 20 years ago.

A lot of times, like, the students
these days are not so engaged.

- But you guys are hungry for info.
- Yeah.

And, like, that's a gift,
and I... I like it.

- That's awesome.
- There's... Those are amazing.

That's amazing. And... and look at
what happens with the fog.

It makes the whole
entire picture lighter

because, like, what happens
is it suspends itself in the air

- Yeah.
- and that catches the light

that you don't even know is there.

I love these ones of me and you.

- That's a really great...
- Isn't that great?

That's f*cking great, man. I love it.

Look at that. Oh, man!

I mean, like, look at that.
You've gotta send me that.

- That's amazing.
- Like...

Who would ever think
that we were twinsies?

So, J...

I know you don't really
usually get hand-me-downs

but...

Dude, I love your hand-me-downs,
are you kidding me?

I'm gonna hand this down to you.

And this is like...
this is like your rig.

And this thing is, like,
a f*cking monster...

That thing is massive.

It's weird because people get excited

they see me, and they're like,
"I won't you sign your trident

and sign this and..."

You know, it's like,
"Oh, yeah, of course."

And it's... it's beautiful.
You do it for kids, and...

And now I understand it,
like, it's literally his tripod.

It's crazy. It's just the most
fan, weird thing that I have

but it means the world to me
that he cared enough

and he could see that
I was passionate enough

to deserve something like that.

- I love it.
- They made a tripod

- this is definitely the tripod, bro.
- It's f*cking meant for you, right?

- I love it.
- I love it, too.

And from you, it means everything.

Thank you. Thank you.
I'm so happy that you like it, so...

I never had the opportunity
to see Todd's work in a museum.

I've only experienced it
through books.

So it was a pretty big honor to go
see it for the first time with him.

This is, I would say,
one of the best photography museums

in the entire world.

Yeah, and that's the Bay Bridge.

When I was kid, I don't think
I had ever been to a museum.

The culture was not, like,
my parents' cup of tea, you know?

And, you know,
'cause they were busy working.

My mom was a cashier at a drug store,
and my dad was a plumber and...

they worked all the time.

And so they didn't have time
to know about that stuff.

Gotta do that right.

- I'll do it.
- Yeah.

Okay. All right, so...

This is the first time
I'm also seeing this work framed

which is something that was made

for... this is my body of work,
Bright Black World.

It's not been seen in...
in this context like this.

And the... and the pandemic
slowed everything down

and... so this was on hold.

And I haven't even seen,
like, these framed

- which I'm blown away by, like...
- Bro!

- Right? Thank you, man.
- They're amazing.

Thank you.

I never ever would have imagined

that my work would be
collected by a museum

that somebody thinks enough
of what you do

that they wanna save it
and show it to somebody else

like, I mean, that's about
as good as it gets in life.

Working with Todd inspired me

to learn more about the tools
that we use to make pictures.

It showed me how much I didn't know

and how much I wanted to know.

- This looks like an old Macintosh.
- That is massive.

Why isn't my Facetime working?



You made all my lenses, bro.

You son of a b*tch.

To have an invitation
to be able to go to Leica

It was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.

Bro.

Yeah! Keep it up!

So I had this chance
to pick up some historic cameras.

So, of course, I invited Todd
to take a look at what I got.

Look what I got today.

It's incredible.

Being on this journey with Todd
has introduced me to other artists.

Apocalypse Now is my favorite movie
in the world.

This came out the year I was born.

Oh, my god, bro. look at that.

It's all the photos
that the set photographer took of...

Ten of 30, look at that.

- These are all the photos he took
- Oh, my god.

on set Apocalypse Now.

- Hopper was wearing these, bro!
- Amazing, man. I mean, that's...

These are his...
this is the f*cking set, man.

Where's the bag?

This is the bag.

I can't believe you have...
That's Walker Evans' camera.

That's incredible.

Walker Evans was
a depression era photographer.

He took pictures of the mundane

and made the ordinary into art.

- I'm blown away.
- I am too.

I remember learning about this
in the history of photography

like, Walker Evans: Many Are Called

and it's all these candid photographs

of, you know, people on the subway

that, in order to achieve this level

of like, not being aware
of the camera

like, what Walker Evans did was,
you know

he blacked out the camera

and he painted the camera black

and he put it in his coat

and he had a little,
like, a cable release

not a little one, a long one

it was up his sleeve

and he could take the photographs,
and that's why...

That's how these people,
these pictures are so...

- Inconspicuous.
- Inconspicuous, exactly.

- That's exactly what they are.
- How amazing was that?

I mean, it's amazing
and I... I mean, I'm...

This... I can't believe this is...
was Walker Evans' camera.

It's like... it's incredible.

I'm very, very interested
in the history of photography.

You know, I live in a house
that has 7,000 books of photographs.

That's just the number one thing
that you can do

just sort of advance
yourself visually

is just to take in a lot of things.

I never understood people
that were afraid of being influenced.

That's what you want.

This is the
first release.

The first
commercial Leica.

- I mean, it's a piece of history.
- Yeah.

Like the Walker Evans camera, this...

this invention has changed
the way we see the world

because they were able
to travel the world.

So, without having to carry
a wooden camera and glass plates.

When we speak about
these kind of things

we are not the owners

we are only the people
that transport them in time

for someone else to come after us.

And I think
this is the secret of Leica

and of a lot of other things
that people love in life.

- We transport them.
- We transport them.

First off...

- welcome to my home.
- Thank you.

It's my dream come true
to have like a little blues shack.

With little bulb lights in.

- Nat's here.
- This gentlemen.

This gentlemen is here.

Well, last time we were together,
we were in Germany.

- Right?
- Yeah.

I got, like, the Apocal... Come here.
Come over here.

- I got the Apocalypse Now cameras.
- Yeah, he was like...

"Does Jason even know
what the f*ck these cameras are?"

I said, "Does he even know
what the f*ck these cameras are?"

He knew because I told him.

Seriously, I'm like, "What the f*ck?"

I know what they are,
but I... what I didn't know

- is I didn't know Robert Walker.
- No, no, Walker Evans.

- Walker Evans.
- Yeah.

- Robert Walker is a nobody.
- Yeah...

Robert Johnson and Johnny Walker,
they're buddies.

- Walker Evans, like I was saying...
- Yeah.

So this is his camera.

- A little lens for it.
- His camera?

It's the exact camera
that Walker Evans used.

And I wanted to open it with Todd
'cause I'm like, dude...

He's a huge inspiration of mine.

Like, Walker Evans is one
of my favorite photographers.

These cameras and machines
that we, like, use...

like these bikes that you all make

all these things
have a history to them

and it's really important,
that lineage I think is curious.

And... and I... it means a lot to me.

Finally.

I got something that Todd Hido wants.

'Cause he doesn't want...
he doesn't want old rusty cars

he doesn't want dirty clothes

he doesn't want Harleys,
he doesn't want guitars.

He just wants cameras, and I'm...
and I'm like, "What am I gonna do?"

And he's one of my... He's my new...
my new... my best bro, and my idol.

So I'm like...

"I'm gonna buy
this f*cking camera for him."

- Yeah.
- And that I did not know

when you were bidding on it.

- I'm gonna buy his f*cking camera.
- I did not know that

when you...
I was not encouraging any...

- I was just telling him how...
- He was just, kinda...

- I was, just, like, literally...
- Serious, brother.

Oh, my god!

So, this kinda
came to fruition because...

I travel with all of Todd's paintings

and put them in my houses
around the world.

I just, like, wanna travel
with my favorite stuff

reminds my kids of home.

We're trying to make it a little bit
more portable and vagabond style.

So we thought about...
we wanna make something together.

This is the portfolio box
that my agent used in New York City

for, like, 20 years.

And of course, this is designed
so you can f*ck it up a little bit.

- Yeah.
- This is like, library cloth.

This is dead stock library cloth.

Marina designed this.

It's amazing.

Oh, sh*t, dude! It's...

Jeremiah!

Look at this.
I'm blasting through on the Brough.

I'm in a f*cking Hido painting, bro!

You are in it. Hell yeah.

That is so cool, man.

- Dude...
- I made a rubber stamp.

And this collection will grow.

Beautiful.

And, and some of these are pictures
that are new

that I haven't, like... I haven't
even shared with anybody.

- But I love this one.
- It's amazing.

I wasn't even gonna... I... Oh, bro.

But like, so this...
And this is my Leica

- S3, you helped me...
- Yup.

You... that clarity, man.

- That's... that's the S3?
- Yeah...

Yeah. And then that's... that camera

- and the FL2, those are the ones...
- I got chicken skin, man.

- What the hell?
- I got rid of all the other cameras.

We've been there, bro.

- And... and look at the colors.
- It's so good.

Right?

Oh, I love this one so much.

f*ck! I'm sorry, beep!

Look at that. Look at that.
We... Bro, I was there.

- Oh, my god. It's so good, Todd.
- Isn't it amazing? Thank you.

This is that camera that you gave me.

I love that, like

you asked me to, like,
make something for you.

And it's like,
everything keeps evolving going like

"This will be our shots."

- I'm all... the time together.
- Right. It's like...

- And then go...
- It's our freaking diary, man

- of like, what we're gonna do.
- Yeah, so cool.

And I am... I am so up for all this

and I am so excited,
and it, like, makes me so happy.

- I love you.
- I love you, man.

- Oh, god. Thank you so much, J.
- Thank you.

Being an artist, you give up a lot.

It's not for everybody.

A young woman wrote on the Internet

"Todd Hido is making pictures
of my memories

but we've never met."

That's it right there.
That is what it is.

That's what you hope for.

That somebody is able to, like,
understand you

or have a better understanding
of another person

through an image.

That's the kinda thing that you...

you trade for a nine-to-five job.

I wouldn't trade
all the uncertainty that I've had

for anything.

In life I think each one door
opens another...

And if you really, truly
put it out there, you're gonna...

meet those people
that are your inspirations

that are gonna
inspire you even further.

And if you do it right,
you're gonna inspire them.

Round one. Know your mark
and know your lines, bro.

Okay. Oh, that's right.
I gotta learn.

- Ready? One, two, three.
- Okay.

Ready? And... action.

That was the best one we got.

I know, but you stuttered.

Oh, man!

Gotta get a f*cking
pro actor in there, man.

I'm just letting you know, son.