Christmas Day at Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Sacramento, CA 12.25.09

Happy Holidays everyone.

It has been a little while since our last post, and a lot has happened since. Christmas 2009 has come and gone, and while many were spending time with family and loved ones I was fortunate enough to get outside on a beautiful bright sunny day to escape to the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Sacramento, California.  When I woke up around 7:30am my iPhone read that it was 30-degrees outside and while there was a chill in the air, it had that clean, crisp feeling (one that you dont often get in Southern California.)  After spending the morning with my parents and Melissa and sharing gifts with one another, we had a quick lunch and then I took Melissa out to the Nature Center (where she had never been before) and we got to enjoy the time together without all of the busy traffic and noise customary to Los Angeles.

When we got there, I was telling Melissa how we may see some deer, wild turkey, and various birds in the area but wasn't too sure because it was around 1:30pm and most of the time they are "hiding" until near sunset/dusk.  Sure enough, no more than 5 minutes into our walk down the path, we encounter the wild turkey in the near distance and shortly behind were a small family of deer wandering around.  After the deer crossed through, we proceeded down the path and down to the American River where the cold water from the Sierra Mountains were running downstream and there wasn't a single disturbance.  Off in the distance were a few Mallard Ducks in the river swimming around, and overhead was a hawk circling in the sky apparently hunting something from above.


All said, it was a beautiful day at the Nature Center, the weather just warm enough to not need a jacket and Melissa and I were able to spend some time together doing something completely different without any distractions of a cell phone, computer, internet, traffic, etc.  After our nature walk, it was back to the house to prepare for family to arrive for Christmas dinner and more quality time together as a family.  Good times in deed!!

Happy New Year everyone, please be safe where ever you may be celebrating and ringing in 2010.




 




 

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Here we are, its December 20, 2009 and there are only 4 days left until it is Christmas. There are only 11 days left in 2009 and then we are off to 2010 and the start of a new decade!

Can you believe that this year has gone by so fast? I know I have said it before, but when you look back on 2009 and have flashbacks to all of those wonderful memories from this year doesn't it just make you want to relive it all over again?? For some, the end of 2009 may be a good thing...maybe they have a bit of superstition in them and are excited to begin a new decade! Just think, it was 9 short years ago and everyone seemed to be freaking out about Y2K and the possible end to all computers!!

Christmas is a special time for me each year, being far away from my family it is a time when I am able to relive my youth and be "home" with everyone again just as though I had never left home. I get to spend quality time with my parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts...and even catch up with old high school friends that I haven't seen since last year. This year is extra special for me; this is my first Christmas being married. So this will be extra special for Melissa and I as we spend our first Christmas together as a married couple.

So to everyone reading this I ask that you please be safe out there if you are traveling (as we are) and here is to wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!

Live Sockets Block Party - Orange County - 12.05.09

Last weekend in Orange County, our friends over at Live Sockets Entertainment hosed a Block Party at BDL Industries near Angels Stadium.  The weather was a bit overcast and cool, but that did not stop the faithful from bringing out their cars one last time for the winter.  Along with a mini car show, there were vendors showing off some of their latest equipment including Volk Racing, Trendy Threadz, Live Sockets, and INGS.

Here are a few pictures from the days events...enjoy!!

a mixed (golf) bag of emotions....Tiger Woods, life, etc.

Happy Friday everyone.  I apologize that it has been so long since the last post here on the blog and I apologize because this is probably going to be a long post.  A lot has happened since the last post shortly before Thanksgiving...it is now December, and we are less than 3 weeks away from Christmas 2009!  This means that we are only 27 days from 2010...the start of a new year, and the start of a new decade!!!  To many that may be a big relief, and for many others it may be a time to celebrate and really reflect back on their 2009 and everything that has happened for them, to them, or what they have done for others.

I will look back at 2009 and remember lots of happy moments (getting married, buying a house, welcoming a new puppy into the family, maturing as a person, having photographed the most weddings on my own than ever before, and the list can go on for quite some time)...I will also look back at 2009 and try to evaluate where I can improve and make 2010 even better than 2009. 

The past few days I have been struggling with a personal emotion inside my mind and my heart... and I just dont know how to feel.  As many of you know, I am an avid golfer and I have been playing the game for over 20 years now.  When I began playing, golf was not the "cool sport" to play and it honestly was not very popluar.  Around 1994 or 1995 a man by the name of Tiger Woods began to surface in the media and was being touted as the next golf phenom to the legend of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, etc.  I can honestly admit that I am a fan of Tiger Woods.  During my high school golf years I watched Tiger as much as I could and would marvel at just "how good" he was at the game.  I am even quoted in my high school yearbook as quoting Tiger Woods. 

This past week Tiger fell into the media in no way he has ever been - linked to a scandal.  I was heartbroken, torn, and confused.  I never thought I would hear his name linked to something like this and ever since I have been torn inside and feeling crushed because he clearly is "my favorite athlete," a "role model," a "hero" if you will.  With all of the media attention, and rumors floating out there now my mind has gone into a serious denial that this has even happened.  I feel like this is just a bad dream and I wish it would go away as though it never happened.  I am sure Tiger is thinking these very same feelings as well. 



I doubt that Tiger would ever read this post, but if he should...please know that you are an amazing athlete and that I still think very highly of you no matter what "wrongs" you have done.  I agree, these are your personal dealings and they do not need to be splashed all over the media.  I truly and sincerely hope that you have since become a better man because of this and realize how much this truly hurts people like myself...your fans!!

OK, enough venting for now...everyone have a GREAT weekend!  Photograph lots of spectacular images and enjoy the weather wherever you are!

Thanksgiving 2009 - What are you most thankful for??

With Thanksgiving just days away, I thought it would be appropriate to share some of things that I am most thankful for.  Now it is always easy to use Thanksgiving as your "one time" to really focus on what you are most thankful for, however many times that focus ends minutes or hours after you have stuffed yourself with turkey, stuffing, cranberries, biscuits, pie, etc and spent another Thanksgiving holiday around the dinner table with those that mean the most to you.

Here are a few things that I am most thankful for (this year in particular)... and they are not in any specific order of significance.

• My Family and my new extended family
• My Wife (Melissa) and our new puppy (Mika)
• Our jobs
• Our new home (purchased in April 2009)
• Our friends (co workers, church friends, etc)
  
• Our relationship with God and learning to know him better
• Witnessing the moment of putting smiles back on the faces of those affected by Hurricane Katrina at the Pictage Charity Portrait Session earlier this month
• Making new friends
• Having an open mind for learning, creativity, communication, and dreaming
• Being inspired by all of our friends and family
• The gift of life
  

Think about it for a second, this list could go on and on and on...take a moment and think about it, but dont do it just because it is Thanksgiving!  We should always be thinking about it every day and being thankful for what we have, except in our busy lives these days we often forget to take a moment and think about the other 364 days in the year.  I know I am guilty of this, as I am sure many of you reading this would agree. 

Time yourself and find out how long it actually takes you to say "thank you" whether it is to a friend, your husband/wife, your girlfriend/boyfriend, a family member, the server at your table in the restaurant, the clerk at the register, or your mailman.

Thank you for taking a few moments out of your busy schedule to read this.  Thank you for taking the time to bookmark my blog.  Thank you for your interest in my photography.  Thank you for being a friend to me.

See...that wasn't too hard. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!  Be safe and enjoy your time with those that mean the most to you.

SOLD: Canon 1D Mark IIn DSLR and Pocket Wizards (TT1 and TT5)

Happy Saturday to everyone out there.

Can anyone believe that Thanksgiving is only 4 days away??? Where has 2009 gone? Have well all been "that" busy that we didn't even realize there are only 40 days left in 2009? 40 Days!! Can you believe that? Wow, what an amazing year it has been for me (personally) and I am sure many of you can say the same thing if we all took a moment to stop and look back at some of the memories we have from 2009. What are you thankful for this year? While the list is long and could go on until next Thanksgiving...please do not forget to take a moment and say thank you to someone, or remind yourself how special all of our family and friends are and be thankful for all of them for being in our lives.

I still have so many photos from New Orleans and that magical week of the Pictage Partner Conference, I am going to step aside from posting pictures from New Orleans today, I am actually posting a bit of a classified ad instead.

I am now selling my Canon 1D Mark IIn DSLR camera body along with my Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 and 2 Flex TT5 units. If you are interested, please email me and we can discuss it further. If you know of anyone in the market, please be sure to pass along the message to them as well.

First Up - my Canon 1D Mark IIn.  SOLD

* Original Owner
* Purchased brand new from an authorized US Canon dealer in Oct '06
* Less than 21,000 actuations on the shutter
* Complete with original box, packaging, strap, manuals, discs, charger, cables, etc.
* Excellent condition, no major scratches, dents, marks, etc
* Owned and Stored in a smoke free environment

I am asking $1,500 shipped via UPS Ground to anywhere in the US. Canada and International shipping requires additional cost. All serious/reasonable offers will be accepted.

Second Up - Pocket Wizards:  SOLD

I have decided to sell my 3 Pocket Wizards because I have never used them. I purchased these shortly after they were released (April-May 2009) anticipating using them but ended up never actually using them. They have since sat in my roller bag unused.

Each Pocket Wizard comes complete with it original factory packaging, including all manuals and CD information. I am passing the opportunity to own these along to you at my loss. The Mini TT1 retails for $199 and the Flex TT5 retails for $219 each.

I will accept all serious and reasonable offers for these Pocket Wizards. I prefer to sell all 3 at once, however if you only need 1 or 2 of them, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.

A Gallery - Pictage Partner Conference - 11.3.09 - New Orleans, LA

On Tuesday night, The Contrast Show displayed pieces of photography by fellow Pictage members at the A Gallery for Fine Photography in the French Quarter presented by Pictage and ShootQ

Here are a few pictures from the evening fun.

Friends of Pictage Partner Conference 2009 - New Orleans, LA

Happy Monday everyone, can anyone believe that we are just over 1 week away from Thanksgiving already? Where has this year gone?

On to the fun stuff, here is a collection of photos from Partner Con - NOLA of a bunch of Pictage friends doing what we all do best...Have a great time!!

Enjoy.

Shari Zellers and Alex Abercrombie


Jim Collins and Rene Tate


Pictage's Danny Faccini and Michael Caro


Shawn Reeder, Sarah Hodzic, Monty Jessop, Danny Faccini, and Nitin Somalwar


Chris Williams and Alex Abercrombie


Alex Abercrombie, Debra Gerson, and Jessica Del Vecchio


Kip, Laura, Shawn Reeder, and Sarah Hodzic


Pictage's Paul Manke with lots of lanyards

Pictage Partner Conference - Day 3 - 11.5.09 - New Orleans, LA

Not be outdone by the previous 2 days of seminar learning, Day 3 began Thursday with the highly anticipated off site shooting workshops. Pictage hosted 8 off site shooting workshops for the conference attendees that registered. These 2-hour workshops were held at various locations within the French Quarter and within walking distance of the Astor Crowne Plaza. The sessions were led by some of the best photographers in the country, including David Beckstead, Mike Colon, Joe Buissink, Sara France, Kurt Gerber, Scott Bourne, and Grant Oakes.

The second half of Thursday was the event that nearly everyone has been talking about and eagerly waiting for the past 9 months and was extremely excited to be a part of. Pictage coordinated with a local charity to host nearly 200 families for a free portrait session. These families were the unfortunate victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 that lost virtually everything they owned including all of their family photos. Many of these families have never gotten a chance to have their family pictures taken again because of the painful recovery process and costs involved.

Myself, to be a witness and participant to this event was truly touching. I thought to myself, what better way could we "give back" to these families by using our talents and skills and providing them with "new" family portraits as a small step in helping them rebuild their lives.

One lady that came to have her portraits taken stated to us: "We thought everyone had forgotten about us..." Another stated "this is just the beginning, my children will never have pictures of their grandparents again" To me personally, this was the "icing on the cake," the "satisfaction," the "joy and happiness" of all our hard work this entire week. To see the smiles on these people's faces said it all, they didn't care what they were wearing, they didn't mind at all because they were having their pictures taken again, not by the media as victims showing their anguish and loss, but as people, as American Citizens.

Enjoy...



Mike Colon (center), Jeff Youngren (far right)










Joe Buissink (left) and Denis Reggie (right)












On the bus back to the hotel from the portrait shoot. Downtown New Orleans at night.