BABY JAY

B.J. Penn "THE PRODIGY"

Jun 11, 2009 - RVCA Headquarters, Costa Mesa, CA

I meet B.J. at the RVCA Headquarters in Costa Mesa and he was in a great mood. He was preparing to fight Kenny Florian at UFC 101, so his training camp was in full swing. We started with some pretty standard portraits, a few fight poses and I really wanted B.J. to cut loose a little and move around.

Pat Tenore the owner of RVCA, brought me a selection of clothing and B.J. picked the polo and jeans look. I took him into the parking lot and asked him to shadow box and move around a bit. He was having so much fun he started talking shit to the camera as if I was Kenny Florian,

He says, “This is how I’m gonna beat you Kenny. First I’m gonna soften your body up, soften up your fece, probably break that nose of yours, and while you’re trying to figure out where the punches are coming from, BAAAAMM, it’s gonna be over. I might knock you out or I’m going to bless you with a choke. Either way, I’m winning and the belt is staying in Hawaii.”

We had two more looks to shoot but there comes a moment in a photo shoot where the energy is so perfect, you gotta call the shoot or you risk burning the talent out.

I knew we couldn’t top the energy he was giving me, because he was having so much fun, so I ended the shoot after this shot.

This is quintessential B.J. Penn.

This is a Limited Edition Giclée on cotton fiber paper. /  Edition Size is limited to 72 pieces.

The image Size is "16x20" / Approximate framed size “24 x 28”

Artwork will be signed by photographer Eric Williams.