Originally this story was to mainly be about David “Judah 1” and his work as an inspector…but I couldn’t tell you all of that without introducing his background from my perspective…So, here it goes…
I met Judah about 11 years ago during my days working at Yard House Restaurant, back when full yard glasses of beer were available to drink. I remember the shifts of being an expo/ food runner with him. On the days that I worked with him, we would constantly cross each other’s paths in the restaurant. He would always be rehearsing out loud one of his spoken word poems or rap verses. At that time, I had never been to a spoken word event, so I was intrigued to see him perform outside of work when he invited me to one of his first Lionlike Mindstate events, held in Chino.
As his Lionlike Mindstate brand began to evolve, his name and poems became well-known all around Southern Cali, especially in Pomona, CA. This is where he opened up his own store, Machine Pomona Art Gallery, which was a multi-purpose building for local artists and the surrounding communities to gather and express Art on all platforms. From clothing merchandise to musical performances to poetry slams and art galleries, it was the place to become and/or remain a thriving artist.
Judah’s life journey of accomplishments does not end there: This year he became the first poet laureate for Pomona, the first ever in this city; a city that also has many roots of history tied to his life. Becoming a poet laureate also gravitated him to revisit both new and old poems for future publications.
To top that off, he is now engaged to his love, Courtney, and will tie the knot September 2021. They have only known each other for a short period, but mutually knew that they belonged together.
Wow....Are you still with me? Let me sip on coffee real quick as I catch my breath for a second...
I have known this guy as restaurant worker, a poet, a family man, brand and store owner, and now an inspector. The reason I wanted to photograph a day of him working is to present to you his life in full circle. He has unknowingly motivated me to work hard in my own life and has also pushed me to be the best version of myself as an artist in photography.
I also wanted to step out of my comfort zone by photo journaling someone’s day in their work life, so I thought David would be a perfect fit because he is already comfortable being in front of the lens and we already had a good connection with what I wanted to accomplish that day as his photographer. This was the first time that I’ve chosen to photo journal someone’s life, so it was quite casual but still enjoyable in doing.
Fast forward to present time, David is a senior deputy soils inspector during the weekday and drives all throughout Southern Cali to make sure certain foundations and regulations are approved before any type of cement is added. Whether it’s in LA, the Inland Empire, or close to San Diego, he drives where he is needed, and doesn’t know where he’s headed to until the day before from his dispatcher.
So, on the that day of the shoot: Judah 1 arrived at my house at 4:50am. He and I were also meeting during “peak” season for my job at Target. Luckily, I was able to move some days around so I can rest and prepare the day before and still meet him the following morning. Due to the pandemic, it’s already been about a year since we last met- During that time, I photographed 2 of his Lionlike Mindstate Poetry events, which was really fun for me to shoot, since Spoken Word is something I’ve always enjoyed attending.
The first thing we do is buy a cup of coffee at the gas station as we head on the 57 freeway south, towards San Diego. As soon as we get back inside the car, he dumps the new coffee in to his canister. I told him, “Why don’t you just bring that inside? Coffee refills with your own canister is cheaper.” He replied, “I would...but they don’t do that anymore...because of the coronavirus.” “That makes sense,” I reply silently to myself. Another pit stop we had to do was head over to his office, where he fills up his gas tank for the day and also packs his nuclear gage for radioactive testing. We’re all set! And off we go....
Having known each other for so long, you can’t help but talk about the good ol’ days of working together (Big shoutout to the old Yard House crew in Rancho Cucamonga)...throw that in the mix with how are lives are today and you can’t help but feel blessed and thankful that we’ve both persevered throughout this unforeseen year of events. I even told him that I enjoy listening to his morning “Peace to the God” poem and tell him that I say it out loud to myself on a regular basis. I didn’t present it back to him as good as he does, but he still gave me props for doing it!
As he played a few tracks of his own music that he’s worked on with his homie, Ces One, we also talk about what to expect when we got to the construction site and the story behind the project. The assignment was to build a large water tank (10 million gallons to be exact) at Aliso Canyon Water Plant, and will be used to serve the local residents.
First thing we do is get our vest, helmet, and boots on. I’m camera strapped and ready to go. Since he got approval by the supervisor on duty that I can shoot all of the areas freely, I began following Inspector Judah like a “fly on the wall.” Minding my steps from the random wood pieces and uneven dirt pavements, Judah directed me where I can safely stand as I’m snapping away with my camera.
As he continued to ask the supervisor questions, they both look down at the carefully groomed dirt floor below to see if the contractor is finished working on his machine. Once the contractor is done, Judah climbs down the ladder and hammers in his nuclear gage device into the dirt below for testing. Turns out that the contractors completed much sooner than expected and gets approved by Inspector Judah shortly after....So, what was supposed to be a full day of us being there turned out to be only 2 hours. I myself took all of the photos I needed, so I was happy with leaving early too!
“That’s just how it is sometimes,” Judah tells me, as he’s finishing writing down his daily report in the car. But it’s win-win for him: He still gets paid, is leaving work early, and has extra time to spend with his fiancé and daughter back at home. On the car ride back, he gets one last phone call from another inspector at another job site. Notice in the photo how balanced his phone is on his driving arm? Well done, Sir.
Afterwards, we caught up a little more with our lives, including success, present and future ideas, all while circulating back to being thankful to be working hard and thriving during an eventful 2020. Before leaving, I snapped a quick photo with him.
Peace to you, your family, and friends.
-JT
***Bonus feature if you’ve made it this far: Here’s Judah 1’s daily morning poem***
Ayo, peace to the God, good morning
I hope all things are well with you
That all things are in alignment
That all crooked paths are being made straight
That our goals and intentions are clear and executable and that we’re being faithful to them
Let’s get it
Let’s be our most true and radiant self in the name of the 1- Peace.