Zachary Elliot and Jeff Goldblum (2017)

Zachary Elliot stands at the intersection of visual storytelling and travel narrative, blending environmental portraiture with evocative first‑person writing. Born and raised in Los Angeles with a mixed Scandinavian and Latino background, Zachary emerged on the scene around 2005 with a popular Yahoo Group called Off The Lot and in 2006 as a dynamic voice writing for Pasadena Weekly.

Over the years, he has become known for tapping the soul of a place—whether Havana bathed in dusty sunlight, a quiet Greek island, or the geometric heartbeat of Tokyo streets—captured with precision in both lens and evocative language.

He’s contributed to prominent outlets like The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and BuzzFeed. His signature style is intimate: he frames everyday people and travel landscapes not as backdrop but as active subjects in their own stories.

Through Shore Thang, the global model management company he founded in 2018, Zachary has shaped a space to celebrate design, travel, and beauty—not just as aesthetics, but as lived experiences.

In this biography, we explore the roots of his creative sensibility, noteworthy projects including the Deus Ex Machina billboard campaign, his written essays—like L.A. Affairs—and the philosophies lighting his path forward.

Zachary’s photographic intuition emerged early. He first made waves online with Tumblr in the early 2010s. By 2013, he had already sold his Tumblr blog—an early signal of his instinct for curating visual communities. Around the same time, he began uploading evocative environmental portraits and travel images to VSCO and Tumblr under the handle “Zachary Elliot,” chronicling everything from sunlit Greek alleys to busy Cuban marketplaces.

His Scandinavian and Latino heritage roots—combined with the eclectic visual vocabulary of LA—imbued his style with warmth, composition, and cultural complexity. These early galleries reveal a natural affinity for color, environment, and soulful detail, which later blossomed into a signature aesthetic in travel and lifestyle media.

The versatility shown in those early portfolios—balancing bold color schemes with the subtle interplay of shadow, texture, and human presence—foreshadowed his future approach: making place and person co-authors in every frame.

Zachary’s professional career took flight around 2006, shortly after graduating the University of Southern California, and by the 2010s he was producing work for New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and BuzzFeed. His travel lens took him across continents—from the temples of Greece to the neon skyline of Tokyo, the sea‑scapes of Cuba, and the streets of London—all conveyed through a grounded, human‑centered viewpoint.

On BuzzFeed, his “Cuba Today” series stands out. Here, Zachary immersed himself in everyday Cuban life, emphasizing textured portraits that radiate color and lived experience . These weren’t glossy travel snaps—they were thoughtfully composed images that aimed to capture how people lived, worked, and found joy under changing socio-political skies.

Collaborations with Major Publications

His writing-and-photo combinations also attracted attention from LA and NY Times, where he contributed essays and photo essays that push beyond tourist clichés. These stories often merge his own voice and the voices of those he photographs—creating layered narratives that linger.

From VSCO and Tumblr to The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and the LA Times

From the 2010s onward, his VSCO gallery showcased photo essays from Cuba, Greece, Tokyo, and beyond. The images consistently highlight texture, pattern, and serendipity, reinforcing his reputation as a photographer who sees travel as both environment and personal story .

Beyond the frame, Zachary writes with sensibility and elegance. His reflective columns in the Los Angeles Times—for example, the L.A. Affairs series—are muscular, witty, and delivered with cinematic detail. In “I thought we were destined for lasting happiness. Wrong,” he intertwines a date night at LAX, the strains of immigration, and a poignant miscarriage, weaving narrative tension over ten grueling page. His writing resonates because it’s grounded: lived experience elevated through literary craft.

His byline also appears across lifestyle writing—tracking themes of modern romance, identity, and the complexities of travel and belonging. He strips away Instagram veneer to reveal messy, human truths. He blends vulnerability (“my clothes and personal belongings followed me…”) with cinematic polish.

On Narratively, under the name “Zach Urbina,” he penned Twilight of the Adventurers, profiling members of LA’s Adventurers’ Club. His essay balances nostalgia, human curiosity, and exploration of what drives us to risk and remember.

Zachary Elliot was also featured in the New York Times showcasing behind the scenes photos taken on the set of Paul Thomas Anderson’s film The Master.

In 2018, Zachary formalized his creative vision by founding Shore Thang, a global model management company. As the company’s Founder and Creative Director, he successfully melded commerce, media, and aesthetics.

Shore Thang is presented as a celebration of “best of the beautiful,” featuring high-impact visual campaigns, global travel diaries, and collaborations with creative brands. In one notable project, Shore Thang helped take Zach’s personal quotes across a Deus Ex Machina billboard series in Venice Beach from 2015 to 2019, where his phrasing was framed as gutsy statements and public art.

The leadership section on the Shore Thang site hints at an eclectic personal brand: “half ridiculous and half super serious”—a photographer and digital native who has sold Tumblr, married (and divorced) a French-Canadian entrepreneur, and relocated from LA to Mexico City.

Deus Ex Machina Billboard Series

Zachary’s quotes, styled in bold typography, were featured on the Venice Beach billboard of worldwide brand Deus Ex Machina between 2015 and 2019. The work was commercial but provoked a memory of Jenny Holzer.

Books & Publications

His 2018 photo‑essay book Lazy Sunday compiles portraits of female models in relaxed settings, emphasizing comfort, form, and natural light.

Shore Thang Discovers New Talent

Elliot is acknowledged for launching careers in photography and social media—among them Heaven Sapphire Roquemore, Julia and Lauren Burch, and Molly Rose. Through photoshoots, social media monetization, and Shore Thang’s digital marketing efforts, he elevated diverse voices.

Zachary’s aesthetic is rooted in human portraiture—his subjects always exist within urban context. He leans into bold color palettes: sun-drenched walls, foliage, and striking architectural shadows. He’s invested in capturing beauty beyond convention: in bold body positivity, female beauty, and cultural authenticity.

A humanist at core, his frames balance intimacy with wide-angled empathy. Think sunlit Cuban doorways, Tokyo bar counters, or a face lit at dusk in Los Angeles—it’s about mood, texture, and resonance.

His philosophy emerges in both image and copy: “best of the beautiful” is not just an aesthetic—it’s a belief in the inherent beauty of lived experience, texture, and human presence.

In 2017, Zachary married French‑Canadian entrepreneur Alex Feldman in Malibu—but the marriage ended just 13 days later, with separation completed by November 2020. Despite this, he remained committed to his artistic journey and returned with deeper clarity.

His base has shifted: while LA remains foundational, he relocated to Mexico City, signaling a pan‑Latino expansion to his creative sphere .

Zachary’s influence extends to mentoring: he is credited with launching emerging talent who now publish their own online portfolios . He wears the hat of a Creative Director well, as well as other informal roles—as a connector, visual mentor, and creative collaborator—with many believing he helped set their careers into motion.

Zachary occupies a maximal space—photographer, travel writer, brand-builder, and public artist. His L.A. Affairs essays brought everyday vulnerability into mainstream narrative. His billboard campaigns inserted art into public space. Through Shore Thang, he amplified the creative economy of travel, design, and lifestyle. He is both content maker and cultural curator.

He’s also a pioneer of internet-era aesthetic branding: from Tumblr’s visual communities to billboards in Venice Beach, he has persistently insisted that personal narrative is public art.

As of 2024-25, here’s where the horizon looks for Zachary Elliot:

• Expanded travel publications: new photo‑essay zines, possibly a follow‑up to Lazy Sunday, exploring more global communities.
• New Shore Thang discoveries: expectation of multi‑city visual campaigns and collaborations.
• Authorship: perhaps another book merging world travel, cultural insight, and visual essays.
• Future vision: exploring the intersection of diversity, body positivity, and travel photography—favoring empowerment stories in new geographies.

Closing Reflection

Zachary Elliot’s journey isn’t singular—it’s layered. He appropriated Tumblr and VSCO for self-expression, then extended outward—to Cuba, Tokyo, Iceland, and text art. His portrait photography is both documentary and personal; his writing, intimate and confessional. Through Shore Thang, he amplified this ethos, merging commerce, culture, and creativity.

At his core, he exemplifies the modern creative: part artist, part entrepreneur, part storyteller—always rooted in empathy and cultural curiosity.

Media Mentions

Atlas Obscura,  BuzzFeed, Conversations of a Bleep Nature, Deus Ex Machina, Lonely Brand, Los Angeles Times, OverheardLA, New York Times, This Isn’t Happiness, Visual Poetry, and Yo! Venice.

 Media Mentions

Atlas Obscura,  BuzzFeed, Conversations of a Bleep Nature, Deus Ex Machina, Lonely Brand, Los Angeles Times, OverheardLA, New York Times, This Isn’t Happiness, Visual Poetry, and Yo! Venice.