January 25th, 2012 Photo of the Day: River the Cat

After every trip to Costco..

January 24th, 2012 Furniture shoot

Updating the furniture catalog!  Very similar to shooting interiors, except that I pretty much stay in one spot and the furnituremoves around.  All were done with a Nikon D700 and 24-70mm f/2.8 and minimal editing thanks to the abundant light sources they have on site!

 

January 24th, 2012 Joy & Brian’s Engagement Session – San Diego, CA

Joy & Brian are an amazingly photogenic couple from Las Vegas, with awesome personalities to match!  I have the opportunity to shoot their April wedding this year (also in Vegas), and this engagement was the perfect chance to get to know these two lovebirds and fellow Rebels

 

They were looking for fun and romantic engagement photos, with a few vintage elements thrown in.  They also wanted to shoot in environments which would complement their requests so we decided on Balboa Park, Heritage Park, and one of the most frequently requested areas, downtown San Diego!

 

We started off at Balboa Park in the morning, but with the rain hammering the area, it was a bit of a challenge.  I initially thought we could go with a Notebook-inspired shoot, but it didn’t rain enough to get this shot, but that’s fine.  We’ll rock the cloudy skies anyway!

 

There’s just something I enjoy about telling couples to run to the middle of the street.  The quick burst of adrenaline, the rain, and an amazing backdrop make an awesome experience for all!

 

Cloudy days make for GREAT lighting!  I just love how the light softly wraps around the two and falls into dark shadows.  That building behind them is the Museum of Man, and while we originally wanted to shoot in front of the massive green door, I think this works just as well if not better!

 

 

Our second location took us to Heritage Park, which was probably my third time visiting.  It’s like traveling back in time when you see all the ornate Victorian houses in their very unique colors.  I wish we could’ve shot inside, but the outside was awesome with framing like this!

 

 

And of course, the always trendy Gaslamp District.  I asked Joy & Brian for a dip in the middle of the street, which even drew oohs and awws from on-lookers as they saw what we were doing

 

On my side of the camera, I just love shooting in downtown areas using the available tungsten and neon lighting.  Living just 10 minutes away from the area is awesome.  Shooting with my favorite lens (Nikon’s 24mm f/1.4g) really takes it to another level with the crisp shots and excellent depth of field control.

 

 And one last kiss in San Diego before heading back home.  Priceless cross-lighting from stopped cars in three directions.

 

Great shoot you two, I can’t wait for your big day!

 

January 4th, 2012 Apartment interior photography – River Front Condominiums

River Front Condominiums wanted to me come through and photograph their updated model and gym, which of course is great to shoot since I get to use my Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 and newly acquired Manfrotto tripod!

 

I love the colors and furniture pieces used, makes me want to update my place!

 

 

January 1st, 2012 Shannon & Randy’s Engagement Shoot – San Diego, CA

Shannon & Randy were both interested in having some cute & playful shots done throughout San Diego.  They were set in the locations they used (which were awesome, btw), and put together some snazzy outfits for the shoot.

 

I’ll also be shooting their wedding in April, and can already tell it’ll be quite the adventure!

 

 

 

Look how well they pull off the floating shots, I love it!

 

Carousels? Yes please!

 

 

Finally get to relax after a long day of shooting.  Well-deserved you two!

 

 

August 30th, 2011 Photo of the Day: Wedding Portrait in Seal Beach, CA

I survived triple-header this past weekend (nightlife, group shoot, & engagement), but I wanted to post a shot from the wedding I’m currently working on.  This is Wendy & Scott’s wedding party at the Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach, CA.

More photos and a full post from the wedding soon!

August 19th, 2011 Carmax Escondido Grand Opening!

Here’s an interesting assignment!  I covered Carmax’s Escondido store grand opening, celebrated with many of the area politicians, Escondido Chamber of Commerce, and local TV news personalities from various San Diego stations.

Local business officials, Carmax directors, and the wonderful employees came out to show their support, along with the news personalities competing in three car-related contests for charity.  In this first event, Brad Wills from Fox 5 News was tasked with parallel parking a BMW 328i between four orange cones, very similar to the DMV test we’ve all (hopefully) passed

 

The catch: each of the cones had an egg placed on the top, and any incorrect turn would knock it over and disqualify you from the contest. Each contestant had a Carmax navigator AND all the spectators yelling out directions for guidance. The cones were set in a much tighter configuration than the DMV test, with judging based on how close you were to the curb and how long it took to complete. Oh, this was also in front of 60 people and was also being televised. No pressure at all.

 

 

Although it was a great effort, the pylon was knocked over and the egg fell! It’s alright though, everyone had a good time and all three charities received $1,000 contributions, with the winner of the series winning an additional $1,000 contribution.

 

August 17th, 2011 Photo of the Day: 50th Anniversary

This was part 2 of a double-header I shot right after the Queen Mary wedding.  I started the day with a 10am drive to Long Beach and finished in Chula Vista (two hours away) at 11pm.

 

It was a long day, but you know what?  I enjoyed every minute of it!  Just give me some red bull throughout the day and I’m good

August 16th, 2011 Photo of the Day: Queen Mary Bride (Long Beach, CA)

I’m in Long Beach three times this month within a span of two weeks, and all of which can be attributed to photography.  I’m still amazed at the places it takes me, such as the Queen Mary for this wedding.

 

I got lost as I scouted the ship though.. good times

August 13th, 2011 Photo of the Day: Rollin’ in my double R

Quick shot from a Hard Rock Hotel wedding in San Diego with Petco Park lighting up the night sky. I love the neon colors in the area and definitely need to shoot an engagement here!

Have a good weekend everyone!

August 1st, 2011 Photo of the Day: Pedro Garcia Wedding Shoes

Featured below is a set of Pedro Garcia wedding shoes, which will be worn by my bride-to-be To be honest, I tried looking for the exact name online but couldn’t find it!

July 31st, 2011 Photo of the Day: Gaslamp Nightlife (San Diego)

Shooting a wedding takes a LOT of effort, stamina, and the ability to focus on the details while maintaining a sense of urgency and artistry. After all was said and done from last night’s wedding, I took a few seconds to snap this nine-shot vertical panorama of 5th Avenue in downtown San Diego.

 

July 30th, 2011 Photo of the Day: Downtown San Diego

Here’s a short time lapse shot of downtown San Diego.  This was shot around midnight on the first (preview) night of Comic-con, so there weren’t too many cars driving around to clog up the streets

July 29th, 2011 Photo of the Day: Eliza

The Photo of the Day belongs to Eliza looking fab on her wedding day.  Despite the summer mugginess, it was an amazing first trip to New York that I’ll hopefully do again soon!

 

July 28th, 2011 Photo of the Day: D7000 Freelensed

I never got into the habit of regularly posting images to my blog, but this is my first step in that direction

 

Here’s a simple shot of my D7000, shot with a freelensed 85mm f/1.4D.