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Gabriel Studer-Randall

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LaMonte Ford, a resident and leader of the Wood Street encampment in West Oakland, drags on a cigarette while driving his RV on April 24, 2023. The Spark is a documentary film about the story of LaMonte and Wood Street.

Multidisciplinary artist Patrick Barnes hangs from a chain under the Interstate 880 overpass in Oakland on March 25, 2023. Patrick has brought his performance series Lost in the Woods to unhoused communities around the Bay Area.

A boat lies partially sunken on Richardson Bay, on March 9, 2024. <em>The Zone of Anarchy</em> is a documentary project that aims to visually describe the visceral reality of the Anchor-Outs, a group of fiercely independent bohemians who live in boats on the San Francisco Bay. Although they face many hardships on the water, the Anchor-Outs take pride in living far from the norms of conventional society and close to the terrifying strength and beauty of nature.

David steers his skiff towards the sailboat where he lives on Richardson Bay, on March 9, 2024. His boat is named “Penelope” after the character in Homer’s Odyssey, the queen of Ithaca and the wife of Odysseus.

An anchored-out boat on Richardson Bay on March 9, 2024.

Multidisciplinary artist Patrick Barnes performing Lost in the Woods at the M0xy artist space in Oakland on October 29, 2023.

Underneath the unfinished bleachers of the Oakland Baller's new field in Raimondi Park in West Oakland on May 10, 2024. For use of the field, the Ballers have agreed to spend $1.6 million on improving the park.

Actor Kenneth Caston between takes on <em>Hail Mary</em> a San Francisco State University thesis film in Oakland on November 18, 2023.

Sanaa Leigh poses for a portrait in her bedroom in San Francisco on December 5, 2023. Her San Francisco State University thesis film, <em>See It Through</em>, is a coming-of-age drama that follows a 22-year-old painter (portrayed by Leigh) as she struggles to find her footing after the death of her sister.

Ben Friedman-Hibbs poses for a portrait at Danehill Manor, an Airbnb in Nicasio, CA, which served as a central location for his thesis film, <em>The Katan Valley</em> on November 22, 2023. Inspired by true events, this drama set in the 1970s tells the story of a small-town mayor who must defend his community from state-driven plans to transform it into a reservoir. The narrative unfolds through the eyes of his teenage daughter, who witnesses her father's descent into madness.

Springer Chorpash poses for a portrait in her apartment in San Francisco, CA on November 26, 2023. Her San Francisco State University thesis film, <em>The Animals They Ate</em> is a Southern drama set in Mississippi in the 1800s. The story explores the tension between a married couple as the husband rises to fame, becoming a prolific and deeply admired figure in their town while neglecting his wife at home.

LaMonte Ford, a resident and leader of the Wood Street encampment in West Oakland, serves food to residents and advocates at a community party on February 19, 2023.

LaMonte For wearing dress shoes at the Wood Street encampment in West Oakland on February 19, 2023.

From 2013 to 2023, residents of the Wood Street encampment occupied a sprawling settlement on a seemingly uninhabitable plot of land near the Interstate 880 in West Oakland. At its peak, Wood Street was home to some 300 residents, making it one of the largest encampments in Northern California. Photographed on April 5, 2023.

Starting in the Fall of 2022, a large section of Wood Street encampment on land owned by Caltrans was evicted and destroyed. During a second eviction in the Spring of 2023, the City of Oakland removed the remaining residents to make room for a 170 unit “affordable” housing development. Photographed on May 15, 2023.

Cinematographer Phil Elleston, actor Josh Han, and boom operator Cheyanne Bachmeyer on location near Mori Point in Pacifica while filming Yakuza Ondo, a short film directed by Ethan Okamoto on January 12, 2024.

Yakuza Ondo director Ethan Okamoto (left), and actors Hunter Komuro (top) and Josh Han (right) on location near Mori Point in Pacifica on January 12, 2024.

View of Paris from Basilique du Sacré-Cœur on June 12, 2024.

Youth protest at Place de la République, Paris on June 12, 2024.

A woman walks past a supermarket in the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona, Spain on July 7, 2024.

Actress Sabrina Faizi between takes on the set of Sorry, Again on August 20, 2023.

Producer Jackson Gravagno speaks into a walkie talkie on the set of Butterflies on May 12, 2023.

William To, Paul Bisesi, Chase Altendorf, and Martha Roche on the set of Butterflies on May 12, 2023.

Actress Marguerite Williamson in Birds of Paradise on January 4, 2024. Set in 1930s Hollywood, Birds of Paradise depicts a gay female director's efforts to preserve the queerness in her film despite censorship from the Motion Picture Production Code.

Actress Daisy Stock in Birds of Paradise on January 4, 2024. Set in 1930s Hollywood, Birds of Paradise depicts a gay female director's efforts to preserve the queerness in her film despite censorship from the Motion Picture Production Code.

A pipeline near a geothermal power station in Iceland.

The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa in Iceland.

Entrance to an apartment building in Reykjavík, Iceland.

A bird flies through a canyon in Iceland.

© 2025 Gabriel Studer-Randall