S. Cole Kiburz

Easter bunny 🐣

The 2016 trend has me deep in nostalgia. That year was a quiet turning point in my life and career. It was a year when things started to flow and my world felt alive with possibility. Looking back, so many of my favorite memories from that time orbit around music; shoots, shows, festivals and friendships. I’ll probably share more from that time, but this carousel felt like it needed to be dedicated to the musical moments that shaped the year and, in a lot of ways, shaped me. 1.) my first time meeting and shooting with @chloexhalle in New Orleans for @therecordingacademy . It’s been so fun to watch their careers blossom over the years. They are so sweet and deserving of their success! 2.) Shooting @charlieputh for the cover of @localwolves magazine. 3.) Directing the music video for “Am I Pretty” for @themaineband BTS by my bro @adamsimons 4.) A night I’ll never forget—shooting with the late, great John Prine and Sturgill Simpson at the Grammy Museum. 5.) @macdememe.co shooting Polaroids 6.) Front and center for @kendricklamar at Essence Festival 7.) Backstage with @conoroberst and @pearlcharles after a show. Forever grateful to Pearl for introducing me to one of my all time favorite musicians 🤍 8.) Trailer for @beachweather “Swoon” music video I shot with my brother @ryannealcordwell 9.) @bornsmusic at School Night (iykyk) 10.) @common from a @grammys interview I shot with my boys @danmendo @natehertweck 11.) @feliciathegoat taking photos backstage at @campfloggnaw 12.) @tameimpala when I thought boomerangs were the vibe 13.) A note to me on a napkin from one of my all time favs @gregoryalanisakov 🤍 14.) My friend @mackandgold and I playing at @natehertweck ’s John Lennon night 15.) @chancetherapper up close 16.) Shooting @anderson._paak for @grammys Cont in comments…

This year had some of the usual shenanigans; shoots, travels, creating with friends, hikes, hangs, good food, etc. But it wasn’t like any other year… 2025 came with a few plot twists that asked me to confront just about everything in me. It asked me to let go of an identity and a story I’d been building for years and to begin holding space for something bigger than myself. It asked me to slow down, to sacrifice, to surrender to the unfolding, to stay present with the unfamiliar and the uncomfortable. It called for the duality of devotion alongside disorientation. Gratitude alongside grief. Faith alongside disillusionment. Death and new life. In many ways, this was the hardest year of my life, and yet in others, the most transformational. I’m still processing, still learning how to show up in this new role, this new reality, and asking myself if I can sit in the unknown with grace. Can I trust that the universe’s plan is more expansive than any I would have devised? If this year unraveled you, or rebuilt you in strange ways, you’re not alone. From Barcelona, from Iver’s dad, from my first New Year’s Eve as an adult spent quietly at home. From stillness, from prayer, from hope. 
Here’s to 2026—the year of the fire horse. Giddy up!

Before and after…some portraits Olga took of me in LA shortly after we learned she was pregnant, a couple of us from around that time together in Ojai, and today, on my birthday, holding my 10 day old son on our first family trip to the beach near our home in Barcelona. Today I’m sitting with the duality of a world that has seemingly both drawn inward and expanded; one that feels quieter, softer, smaller, and yet infinitely larger all at once. This season has challenged me to leave beloved comforts of home and step into a new chapter in Barcelona, a place that somehow feels both foreign and familiar. It’s asking me to dissolve parts of who I thought I was in favor of who I’m meant to become. It’s scary, vulnerable, challenging and deeply meaningful. This moment feels like a portal into a new kind of mastery. An opportunity to live with greater presence and intention; to continue the journey of becoming the kind of role model I want to be for my son. To deepen the relationships that anchor me, to create my most meaningful creative works, to show what’s possible, and to open my heart in new ways. Only ten days ago this little being arrived, and already so much has changed. And yet I trust somehow that his soul has been tethered to mine long before this lifetime, and I’m meeting him with wonder, reverence and curiosity. I’m excited to see the world anew through his eyes. To be both teacher and student, side by side. To my friends and family around the world, thank you for holding this sacred moment with me, and with us. I’m endlessly grateful for you all, and excited for what comes next 🤍

Happy birthday to my nearest and dearest friends, @natashawilson.co and @danimaldvm . Dan and I have been friends for 3 decades, and Natasha and I for 2 decades—by my math that’s over 50 combined years of shenanigans with these two 🥲 Honorable mention to birthday boy @jonnycruzzz with his measly 1 decade of friendship. So much love to all my December 1st birthday babies 🥳🤍

With so much reverence, we welcome the newest member of our family and village… After a long, intense labor journey, our baby boy arrived in the early morning hours of 11/22 here in Barcelona. We’re still in the fog of it all, and stepping into fatherhood feels both surreal and profound in ways I’m still trying to grasp, but he’s beautiful and perfect, and we are so grateful. Welcome Earthside to our little angel boy, Iver Francis 🪽🩵✨

We’re only days away (at most) from meeting our baby; seemingly suspended in the liminal space between the lives we’ve known and the one opening up in front of us. The past months have often been a blur of logistics, appointments and preparation, and I’ve often felt too busy to share much of the journey here (yet) though I’ve certainly been documenting with care and reverence. 
In the midst of it all, there have been moments that felt really special, and some of my favorites were from our little “Babymoon” in Paris. Wondering around one of my favorite cities with @iamolganova and le bébé 🤰🏻🥐 🇫🇷 🤍

We’ve been keeping a secret… The past few months have been some of the most intense, profound, challenging, and beautiful yet. We’ve been sitting with the truth of this new reality quietly, but now, at last, it’s time to share. My sweet @iamolganova and I are having a baby! Writing those words feels surreal. This wasn’t something either of us expected, not now, but we are choosing to trust God, the universe, and the wild mystery of how life unfolds. We trust that this baby’s soul chose ours, and we chose theirs. What an opportunity to practice surrender. What an invitation to live fully in the present. What a chance to heal more deeply. To love unconditionally. To leave a legacy beyond anything I could have imagined. As my friend and teacher @paulmkuhn said to me in the early days of receiving the news, “You are an artist, and this is the greatest act of creation you can do.” To the friends and family who may feel left in the dark or disappointed to find out over social media—I see you. There are so many of you I wish I could’ve shared this with face to face; to see your reactions, to witness your love or shock and to answer your questions. But this truth simply grew too big to hold in silence, and so we’re choosing to rip off the proverbial bandaid. Please know I still want to connect. We need community now more than ever! And to my love, Olga, watching you give your body, your spirit, your everything to this moment, watching you connect with the baby’s spirit deeply and intuitively has been one of the most humbling, profound and psychedelic things I’ve ever witnessed. There is a sacredness to it this journey words can’t quite touch. I love you, and I’m so proud of you. I’m scared. I’m overwhelmed. I’m curious. I’m excited. There’s so much we need to figure out and it’s daunting, but we have faith that this little angel will be worth all the effort. This is a huge, unexpected change, filled with uncertainty, but within that uncertainty lives the realm of all possibility. May this path lead to an even more grounded, expansive, wondrous life. Anyways that’s it for now…welcome to the Daddy Cole era!

I had so much fun spending #MetGala Monday with @ameliagray as she got ready in her @maisonvalentino and @raybanmeta . Thanks to the @instagram fam, especially @benfitch @jackieshuyatan @ginnynam and @juliecbeer , for making it all happen 🤍 #valentino #metgala2025 #grwm

Dreamy Prague ☁️🤍

Are we still allowed to post @coachella content? Some moments from a week well spent in the desert creating with @hannahcecillle marking the 6 year anniversary of our first time ever shooting together at Coachella 2019. Who could’ve known how many shared adventures would be in our future 🥲 Also got to pop up to Pioneertown to see some of my desert fam and celebrate @theevansnyder @brendan_snyder and @grantsnyderr dad’s band The Dogs absolutely rip at @pappyandharriets

Last month, I got to return to one of my favorite cities—Seoul, South Korea—with my creative counterpoint and dear friend @hannahcecillle to shoot behind the scenes with the wonderful and talented @enhypen as they prepared for their Coachella debut. It’s such a privilege to witness the creative process up close especially with artists who care so deeply about their craft and each other. Forever grateful for moments like these, and the people who make them possible @katie_fahey @benfitch @juliecbeer and extra special thanks to @gavin.min.3 for the great edit (as always)!!