I was going to throw up another update today but it seems rather unimportant after hearing the news of the passing of Mr. Jae Bueno. Jae was a highly-respected photographer all over the country but became well-known for his efforts in exploring Southern California car culture, with Lowriders and the lifestyle of Lowrider enthusiasts at the forefront. He was a freelance photographer and writer much like myself and I’m proud to say that I got a chance to meet him through The Chronicles. He started out his younger years in the Honda community and though he moved onto Lowrider culture, he never forgot about his life of Hondas and imports and he always did his best to keep up with what was current in our community. If you guys know about Lowriders, then you know Jae Bueno. Not only was he a phenomenal photographer, he was also an incredible human being. I met him back in 2009 when he introduced himself to me via the comments section here on The Chronicles and eventually had the opportunity to meet him in person maybe a year or so later. He was always very generous in passing along a kind word and though I didn’t know him that well, I always appreciate and respected what he said because he had been doing this for a very long time now while I was just a scrub just barely starting out. Jae always had great stories to tell and his experience in the industry shows. What I liked about Jae was that he always came off very humble, and treated everyone as if they were dear friends of his. My heart sank yesterday after I heard of his passing and I felt horrible because I had lost touch with him and did not even know of his cancer. The last time I saw him was back at SEMA 2013 in Las Vegas and we were both so busy that we didn’t really get a chance to really chat. From what I hear, his cancer came swiftly and took him from us much too soon. I read from a public posting on his wife’s Instagram account that he passed away peacefully with his wife and kids at his side. Cancer has mercy on anyone but at least we can know that he was peaceful and had his loved ones with him as he left this Earth. What I’ve learned from family and friends who have had cancer themselves or have had to deal with their own fight with cancer is that it is all about the quality of life. Jae leaves us with an unbelievably fulfilling life where he did very well for himself, for his family, and for his efforts in exploring car culture and showing his life through his eyes on his own blog as well as the multiple publications that he shot for alongside his wife. We lost a good one today but he will continue to inspire us everyday with his work that he leaves behind…

Thank you for all that you did, thank you for being an inspiration, thank you for being you. Rest In Paradise Jae Bueno.

The Hundreds is actually putting on a charity benefit for Jae and his family tonight, where you get an opportunity to see some of Jae’s best photography work. It was planned before his passing but it’ll mean that much more now for you to be there.

Here’s a post by Bobby from The Hundreds telling you his own personal experiences with Jae and his wife Steph, posted on the day of their 25th anniversary just two weeks ago…CLICK HERE…

A moment of silence for a fellow car enthusiast…