Tango with the Weather Girl

Fight Photo!

2009-01-27T00:06:00.000-08:00

My friend finally e-mailed me a picture after my boxing match this past December. Danny Bonaduce was kind enough to emcee the event and let me take a photo with him!

Prospectin' fer GOLD!

2009-01-21T00:52:00.000-08:00

My friend, Karl, took me gold prospecting near Washington, CA at Poor Man's Creek - one of the best nugget producing creeks during California's Gold Rush. The whole area, including the Washington Hotel, is supposed to be haunted. In the first video, Karl is talking to the Hotel's owner about a brief experience he had. In the second video...we were digging in the site where Karl had his experience the week before. It was very exciting when the metal detector went wild and I thought we hit the jackpot thanks to a possible ghost. Our friend, Robert, and his dog joined us later for more gold searchin'. Needless to say we returned home without the huge nugget we were hoping would let us retire early...but it was a fun adventure! (note to readers...videos will be uploaded soon - technical difficulties)

Postcards from the Future

2008-10-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

The spaceship earth ride allowed you to send "postcards from the future" to yourself right after the ride ended. So here they are: Amy & I, Kelly & Steve Markkanen.

Spaceship Earth

2008-10-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

Spaceship Earth is a cool ride in the big "golf ball" thing at Epcot. At the end of the ride, they produce a fun cartoon featuring the people in the ride. I was able to get my video camera out for part of it featuring Amy and I. Enjoy!

Disneyworld pix

2008-10-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Just some random pictures from the trip. Kelly and I got to see a short, but free, concert of Boyz II Men at Epcot....all 3 of us won free "Year of a Million Dreams" Mickey Mouse Ears after riding the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom....then Markkanen joined us at Epcot and we all tried to imitate the gargoyle in the France section of the park.

Aerosmith Rock'n'Roller Coaster

2008-10-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

Best ride at Hollywood Studios. Kelly was a bit nervous, but Amy convinced her to give it a try. Then Amy proceeded to do a little dance while we were waiting in line...HILARIOUS!

A Fantasmic Morning

2008-10-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

A quick video of Amy's excitment...

Another Animal Kingdom Video

2008-10-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just a quick video of Amy making fun of me and Kelly desperate to get a picture with Flick from the movie "Ants".

Animal Kingdom videos

2008-10-26T21:36:00.001-07:00

My sisters and I went to Animal Kingdom our first day at Disney World. Amy made fun of me for videotaping as soon as we got into the park, but I was anxious to try out my camera. I took several videos, but there was a clear winner of the day: the fruitbats. The bats were amazing, but I must say - we got more of a show than we expected. Just watch and you'll understand. LOL! Besides the bats, we did the safari, the Dinosaur ride, watched "It's Tough to Be a Bug", and rode the Everest Expedition 3 times! Kelly was about to puke after the third time, so we quickly made our way back to the hotel.

I turned 35!

2008-10-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

For my 35th birthday last month, my roomies and I set up the house to have an art party. Everyone who came over had to make a piece of art for me. The rationale was that I would be moving into my house with lots of bare walls and they could help me decorate it. Well....I didn't end up buying the house (active termite infestation with lots of dry rot damage), but at least we had fun playing with crayons, colored pencils, paints, markers, and pastels.

Visit from Faerosa!

2008-09-16T13:38:00.001-07:00

My girlfriend, Treena, and her husband, Jason...along with their "oh-so-cute" daughter, Fae, were in Sacramento last week for a California Climate Conference. I had to get the camera out while Fae was running around our house. She is SO adorable, I kept telling Treena that I'm going to kidnap her. :)

Inside pix of the potential new home!

2008-09-10T00:09:00.000-07:00

I went over to the house for the inspection. The House Inspector guy, Jeff, was VERY cool and let me tag along. I figured it would be a good learning process since I've never owned a home before....and it'd be wise to finally learn the difference between gas pipes and water pipes. Jeff was awesome and spent a good 4 hours with me. He explained everything in detail so that I would also know what to look for in future homes. He's been in the business quite awhile and has been featured on HGTV a couple of times. He said there was nothing major that would cost a lot of money to fix, but a few things that did need to be attended too in the near future. But overall, it was a sound home. I took some photos while I was there: 1) taken from front door looking at the living room with fireplace and the formal dining area is off to the left 2) main bathroom in the hallway 3) one of the bedrooms 4) the kitchen (needs a fridge and stove) 5) view of the backyard through a window in the back bedroom.

I'm officially a GEEK

2008-09-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

I went to my first LAN party hosted by the great Eric Buchman from work. He had tons of computers set up and we played all kinds of geeky computer games like Battlefield 2, Medal of Honor, and Unreal Tournament. I arrived around 4:30 pm and stayed until 10:30 pm....then had to drive to work and do the midnight shift. Crazy night, but I really had fun. Eric did a great job of playing movie clips and giving us comical quizzes in between games, plus all the smack talk provided much entertainment! One of the characters I created was "Twinky" the buff military medic. It's kind of embarrassing when you're supposed to run around healing the other players, but every time I got off the helicopter I got shot within 30 seconds and had to start over. Juskie (in the red hat), another co-worker, was sitting next to me and he kept dying, too. We had our own competition going on just to see who died less in each round we played.

I might be a HOMEOWNER!!!

2008-09-05T03:45:00.000-07:00

So I've been looking at homes ever since I moved to Sacramento (officially a year ago this week). I've put in several offers only to be outbid by others despite the fact that I've made offers over the asking price! Finally got an accepted offer and have included a picture...I need to take more because this was the only one on the web. Quick MLS facts: 3 bd/2 bath, 1455 square feet, 0.19 acre lot, fireplace with gas starter, hardwood floors, 1 car garage. Oh - and my commute time to work will be a whopping 2 minutes!!! The home inspection should be this coming Monday or Tuesday and I plan to crawl under the house and into the attic with the inspector. I've never owned a home before, so I figure it's time to learn the difference between gas pipes and water pipes. :) I'll post more pictures soon, but if you want to check it out on zillow, the address is 2517 Catalina, zip code 95821. But don't look at the street view, it's the wrong house, just go for the Bird's Eye view. Plenty of room in the backyard for a pool!

You be the judge!

2008-07-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

Amy vs. Clay. Which one is which? See....can't hardly tell the difference! :)

Pix of my family from Megan's wedding...

2008-07-12T00:40:00.000-07:00

My whole family was together for Megan's wedding so we had a lovely group photo taken. My sister, Amy, used to shave her head and is finally growing her hair out. She showed up the night before the wedding in a fun crazy outfit complete with tophat. She finally removed the hat and we teased her saying she looked like Clay Aiken. And then a couple of beautiful shots of us 3 sisters...except when I got something stuck in my teeth and had to use one of the straws from the cocktail hour to relieve my gums...CLASSY!

Pix from my Cousin's wedding in NC

2008-07-12T00:33:00.000-07:00

So my cousins, Megan & Scott (brother and sister) both got married this year in North Carolina....not to each other, though! :) Scott got married to Beth in April and Megan married Rick in June. It was great getting together with the family on each occasion. My sister, Kelly, sent me some of the photos. These pix are from Scott's wedding at a gorgeous old castle. They had a chocolate fondue fountain!!!!! Loved that and so did Megan's man, Rick! And finally a pic of me and Kelly.

Soroka's Party

2008-06-26T20:42:00.001-07:00

Because Dave is heading to D.C., the office figured he was going to need a new suit. Mark Strobin picked it out all by himself...I can't remember if he got it at Nordstrom's or Salvation Army, but Dave looks SMASHING! :) The next morning I enjoyed a delicious breakfast at First Awakenings with Markkanen, Kate, and Duane...he'll love that I posted him in mid-breakfast bite.

Lightning & Fires!

2008-06-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

I drove down to Monterey last weekend to attend Soroka's (Monterey WCM) going away party as he prepares to take a new job in Washington, D.C. On the drive down there was an incoming storm system with the most lightning strikes I've seen in a LOOOOONG time. As I drove close to the Monterey Bay, I saw one storm cell that kept pumping out one strike after another. I stuck my camera through the sunroof to take the photo. For those of you familiar with the area, that storm cell is right over Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula. When I drove back on Sunday, I found out that over 800 fires had been started and the smoke was filling up the Sacramento Valley. You can barely see the hills in the distance from the hazy conditions. I promptly started to work midnight shifts. One morning, I decided to capture the unique, bright orange color of the sun as it rose.

2nd Saturday in Sacramento

2008-06-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

I finally got a chance to check out Second Saturday where all the art galleries stay open late in the midtown area. They block off some of the streets, everyone's walking around socializing, musicians play in the streets and there are lots of cool dining/drinking establishments along the way. One art gallery had some very funky animal art (note: NO animals were harmed in the making of this art...they're not real). My friends, Dan and Jeannie, posed with the squirrel before heading out on their tandem bike. I hung out with a group of people for dinner and drinks...Kendra ( a tango gal) and Micah (an artist) are ignoring me as I took a quick pic, but they were fun to hang out with along with Michelle, Lud, and Henry.

Some wedding pix of me!

2008-06-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

No...I'm not the one getting married, but I found these shots on Lisa & Ben's blog (from the Tucson wedding). I rarely get photos of myself when I do wedding photography, so thought I'd post these. The first shot is me in action as I shoot from above at the very beginning of the ceremony. Several people said I looked like a sniper - all in black up on the roof. The second photo is me getting a chance to relax with my Hawaii friends at the reception. Bob & Maureen work at the Honolulu forecast office and are great people to hang out with!

"Let's get ready to RUMBLE!"

2008-06-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

I started boxing at a gym called PrimeTime Boxing in Sacramento about 5 months ago. I have to say it's the most motivating, challenging and FUN workout I've ever done. I always look forward to going even though I know they're going to kick my a$$ during the workout. The owners of the gym are Cary and Angelo Nunez. Angelo used to be Oscar de La Hoya's sparring partner and Cary is a highly trained female boxer...one of just a few in the US. They got together with Audi, Bistro 33 (a popular Sacramento restaurant), and some local fashion designers for a huge event in El Dorado Hills on June 12. Audi released their new A4 car, great food was served, there was a fashion show and, of course, some fights! The highlight was that they got Michael Buffer to come to the event...he's the guy famous for announcing "Let's get ready to rumble!" He's in the first photo and was doing the "ble" part of "rumble" when I snapped the pic. The second photo is Angelo and Cary. Third shot is some boxing action followed by the obligatory bikini-clad girl walking around the ring. The last picture is me with my friend, Dennis. He started boxing one month before I did and we keep each other motivated during the workouts. I'm so proud of him because he's lost a lot of weight in the past 6 months and his doctor has taken him off his cholesterol/high blood pressure medicine because he's getting so healthy! Way to go, Dennis!!!!

A few more Tucson wedding pix...

2008-06-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Had to include a few more before I start posting some of my latest adventures in Sacramento. Love the one of the baby sniffing the flowers...her head just went straight down when she saw the bouquet as the bridesmaids were getting situated for a photo op. Romantic dip, the cake cutting, first dance, and the day after,- we all relaxed by the pool!

"Antique" effect on some of the Tucson pix

2008-06-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

The Hacienda del Sol was a beautiful setting for the wedding and being a historic site, I decided to give some of the photos an antique look. If you look closely on the veil photo at sunset...you can see the shadows of their faces in the veil and it almost looks like Lisa's shadow is about to kiss Ben. The shot through the doorway was one of my lucky shots. I was following them after they walked down the aisle and the sun provided a beautiful glow. I had no clue what my camera settings were, I just took the shot and hoped for the best. Thank God the exposure worked because I love how the sun lights up Lisa's dress!

black & whites of the Tucson wedding

2008-06-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

More pix from Lisa & Ben's wedding...some of my favorite b&w.

The Moment

2008-06-10T00:38:00.000-07:00

I was going through some of the wedding photos on the plane ride home and kept coming back to this one. I stared at it for a good 20 minutes trying to figure out my intrigue since it wasn't the typical Lisa "bright eyes and infectious smile" expression. I realized that this photo captured the main reason I love shooting weddings.

I've had several years experience in the wedding industry, first as a videographer's assistant, then as a wedding photographer. There's an evolution of emotion that occurs behind the scenes on "The Big Day". First, the bride is calm, cool and collected as she begins early preparations. Just sitting back and chatting with the gals as hair and make-up pampering ensues. Then, inevitably, some level of stress creeps in (nagging wedding coordinator, where is the marriage license?, a stain on the dress, cell phone calls with last minute questions, need to pay the caterer, or numerous other scenarios).

But as the ceremony begins, there's a brief period of time where the parents have been seated, the bridesmaids have just left to begin their procession, and I'm still in the room with the bride. I don't know exactly what goes through their minds, but I would describe it as a quiet intensity. Sometimes it's only for a few seconds during a deep breath, but this internalization of the day has always fascinated me. All the logistical stress of planning countless details melts away and the vibe of a life changing experience permeates the room. The bride realizes she's about to step through the door and the true meaning of this day becomes very real. To be the only person privy to witness this moment, especially when it's your friend, is one of the highest honors of doing wedding photography. Thanks to Lisa, Treena, Amy, Lacy and all the other brides that have let me be a part of their special day!

Lisa & Ben: Tucson Wedding

2008-06-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

Lisa is one of my weather friends from Hawaii and I had the pleasure of being one of the photographers at her wedding. When Lisa first came to the Aloha State, she stayed with me for a couple of weeks while looking for her own place. During that time, I remember her telling me about a guy named Ben back in Tucson. They had been friends for awhile, but she thought it might be turning into a romance....I'd say she her intuition was a perfect forecast!

I'm BACK!

2008-06-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

After many, many months and harassment from multiple friends...I have returned to my blog page. Here's a photo a friend took of me tango dancing at The Beat in Berkeley, CA. (So I'm back with a photo of my back - clever, eh?) I just returned from a weekend in Tucson for a friend's wedding and will be posting pix after I finish downloading all of them.

RIVER RATS

2007-09-08T00:08:00.000-07:00

Drove up north for my move to Sacramento, but my first stop was to meet my family for a whitewater river raft trip on the American River. My first (unofficial) familiarization trip! Steve Markkanen drove up as well and we had a blast on the river. Kelly braved the very front of the raft for these shots. Dad and Markkanen were next in front followed by my Mom and Metro, then me towards the back. Our guide, Ravi, got bounced around on this set of rapids called "Hospital Bar"...it looks like he was about to fall on top of me!

Dance, Dance, Dance

2007-09-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

Dancing the night away in Monterey...a lot of my dance friends came out to send me off in style before my move to Sacramento. Thanks to Robbie, Laurie, Wil, Margarito, Torsten and Mary Beth for dancing and to Matt & Kate for coming out to show support!

Shot Shots

2007-09-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

My last night in Monterey before the big move to Sacramento and a bunch of my friends met me at Sly McFly's for a night of dancing!!! My friend Robbie and I often go there and we have a tradition of buying a shot when we first arrive so it doesn't seem like we're free-loaders just using their dancefloor. Once the shot is done, we're out boogie-ing for the rest of the night. My other friends decided to join in to celebrate my last night. Following the shot, you can see that I have this bitter scrunched up facial expression...but that went away when I started dancing! :)

The Lovely Matt & Kate

2007-09-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

So here are a few of the engagement shots I took of my good friends Matt & Kate while we were on our convertible Big Sur trip. I'm just glad the scenery was as beautiful as the couple! :)

One More Big Sur Convertible Breakfast Trip

2007-09-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Sept. 2 was my last full day in Monterey. The weather was spectacular and I wanted to head down to Big Sur for breakfast with my friends. There's no better way to do it on a sunny day than in a convertible!!! This has been a bit of a tradition between Markkanen and I when we both have a free morning and the weather's good. Thanks to Matt & Kate for supplying the convertible this time so that Markkanen could check out their wheels. We headed to Big Sur River Inn and had a yummy breakfast. After that, I took engagement photos of Matt & Kate and then finished the afternoon with some Bernardus Lodge wine on Markkanen's deck.

Going away party with my Co-Workers

2007-09-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Lina hosted my going away party for work and it was full of good food, good people, and good times. I'll miss everybody at MTR, but plan to visit often! Didn't take many pictures, but took a few of Brian and Kate holding sleepy baby Maddie. Thanks again to all the Monterey crew for organizing and participating in a great send-off party!!!

SMORES!!!

2007-09-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

After the wine tasting, we were running out of wood for the fire pit. Matt & Kate went to get more firewood and they also picked up chocolate, marshmellows and graham crackers. We had ourselves a lovely smores party to top the night off!

Malbec Wine Tasting

2007-09-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

In honor of my last week in Monterey, a group of us decided to get together for a wine tasting at The Lazy A, my friends' abode. Everyone brought a bottle of Argentine Malbec wine since I'm into Argentine Tango. Each bottle was wrapped up and numbered for anonymity and we took notes on the color, bouquet, texture, and taste. There's a picture of Markkanen actually eating a carrot...I've been on his case to eat more fruits and veggies lately! Then me looking all confused while trying to decide the appropriate notes for wine color. At the end of it, we each selected our favorite number, then did the big unveiling. Thanks to Steve & Suzanne for hosting!!!

Lunar Lunatic

2007-08-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

My co-workers called me crazy, but after working 3pm-11pm I slept for a couple of hours then woke up to shoot the moon! Grabbed my tripod and went up on the roof to take my first try at lunar eclipse photography. Even though I didn't get back to bed until 5:30 am, it was worth it to capture a rare event. The fact that we didn't have stratus at night was rare enough...throw in the eclipse and it made for a special evening!

Baby Maddie...part 2

2007-08-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

Just a few more fun facial shots of Maddie, plus one of me holding her - check out her long legs! The last picture poses an interesting question: I'm sure she was just pointing something out to me...not flipping me the bird, right? :)

Baby Madeleine

2007-08-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

I finally got to visit my friends, Lina, Ryan & Makena to see their new family addition....little Miss Madeleine. Here are some of my favorite shots of her including shots with her family! You can see that Ryan has already learned how to multi-task as he discusses sports with his brother on the phone while cradling Maddie. Makena is a super-great big brother and Lina's so happy to be a mother of two (plus, she's excited that the score is now even with 2 guys and 2 gals in the house)!

Last day in Bisbee

2007-08-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

On my second day in Bisbee, Doug gave me some water and we headed up a hill near their house. The rocky road up became very steep and the sun was beating down upon us. We finally made it to the top and the view was AWESOME! The little suburb of Bisbee called Warren looked spectacular with all the greenery from the recent rains. Even more exciting was looking south and seeing Mexico. I could see the Border road and a town called Naco, AZ and Naco, Mexico straddling the border. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me, but the first picture shows the hill that we climbed to the right of their half-painted house. And speaking of their house....the second picture with the flower illustrates their new home color - a bright yellowish green that reminds me of a brand new tennis ball! Next, I have a shot of the inside of their living room with a tiki bar in the background. Later that night, we went out to the Bisbee Grand hotel for some drinks. Amy likes to dress up and pose for the camera....she delivered! I just went with polka-dots. It was a great visit!!!!

Down Under with the Mine Tour

2007-08-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

Bisbee is home of the Queen Copper Mine and we (Markkanen, Amy, Doug, Jobi, and I) decided to check it out. First, we had to gear up with bright yellow slickers, hard hats and lamps. Then we had to get on this very narrow train thing where everyone straddled a long seat on each cart. As we headed into the mine, the guide stopped a little way in to check on all of us. The tunnel is very narrow and it can be a bit freaky, especially after hearing all the news about the Utah mine collapse. I was actually worried about my sister getting claustrophobic, but as it turned out, her boyfriend was the one who skee-daddled off the train back to the main office for a refund, then promptly hit the bar. The tour was good, but the guide was a bit long winded and my sister expressed her "enthusiasm" by a facial experssion I've never seen on her before. By the end of the tour....the rest of us needed a drink and joined Doug at the bar!

Heading down to Bisbee....

2007-08-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

When Steve Markkanen and I drove to Bisbee, we made a quick stop in Tombstone, AZ. I got a shot of the OK Corral and a guy ready to give stagecoach rides to the tourons. When we arrived at my sister's place, I had to take some shots of her studio decor: ruby red slippers mixed with lime green and bright turquoise. Amy loves bright colors (in case you didn't notice!). Towards evening the clouds got darker. Finally, I got to see some lightning strikes and hear thunder, but the bulk of the rain was to the east of us. The last shot shows the stormy sky looming above us.

Traildust Town

2007-08-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

A group of us Monterey Meteorologists met up in Tucson's Traildust Town for some grub and the ever popular Old Time Photo Shop. While walking down the streets of Traildust, I found a drinking trough for horses which had a scrub brush. I needed a bath because my luggage didn't arrive with me and I was still in the same clothes. Apparently, XpressJet thought it'd be more convenient if my suitcase stayed behind in Monterey for an extra 24 hours. (I exaggerate a bit. Markkanen let me borrow a t-shirt and I did some quick shopping at Target, but the sarcasm towards Xpressjet is not exaggerated!) Steve got in touch with his feminine side and posed as a lovely damsel. And last, but not least, the old time photo! I took a photo of the photo with my camera. Pictured with me are Markkanen, Steve & Suzanne, Jeff & Barb. Fun night!!!

Caught in the Cacti

2007-08-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

Once again...I've jet-setted to a new exciting place. I am now in Tucson, AZ!!!! This blog has the obligatory cacti pix. First, we have the Devil Cactus. See how the blooms are up on top like a couple of horns - spooky, eh? Next, we have the happy-go-lucky Flower-Eyes Cactus. Then, an up-close, abstract shot of a saguaro with a far away shot of a saguaro. Finally, me getting pricked by a prickly pear.

Amy's Wedding in Olympia

2007-08-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

So here are a few shots of my high school friend Amy on her big day! It was a lovely day for a lovely couple! When I wasn't taking photos...I did a little musical conducting on the side! (ok - so the musicians agreed to let me stand in front of them and pretend, but I'm sure I added inspiration to the music during that song!)

Olympia Wedding Rehearsal

2007-08-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Before my friend, Amy, got married, her mom showed us how to make corsages. There's a pic of me and my first corsage. Then I took a close-up shot of my corsage with the wedding rings. The wedding site was a beautiful place called Swantown Inn - a gorgeous historical building. The shot I took was a bit overexposed (was in a hurry), but you get the idea. At the rehearsal, I found a cute ol' garden gnome hiding in the grass and had to take his picture!

Not Sleepless in Seattle

2007-08-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

I've been quite the jetsetter lately. Last weekend, I flew to Seattle to meet up with some high school friends of mine, Heatherly & Jennifer. Our eventual destination was Olympia for my friend Amy's wedding. But...similar to my NY wedding trip, once I arrived we decided to grab lunch in the city before heading to the wedding location. We went to Pike's Place where I kissed a pig and met a pet opossum. Seriously, some guy had rescued this opossum after being hit by a car and now carries the creature on his shoulder while explaining the joys of opossumhood. The guy was very nice and knowledgeable....but accessorizing with rodents enhances the hillbilly look.

SF Adventure continued

2007-08-07T23:11:00.000-07:00

These are the shots from the Crabhouse, the carousel at the pier, and our fun hat shots....check out Mom in the sassy, hot pink cowboy hat. Yee-haw!!!

SF Adventure

2007-08-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

My cousin came to visit with her 2 kids (all grown up). They had never been to the West Coast or seen the Pacific Ocean...so, along with my Mom, we explored San Francisco. We went to Pier 39, saw the sea lions, went on a bay cruise around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we had some crab at The Crabhouse (imagine that!) then tried on a bunch of silly hats at one of the Pier 39 shops. Later, we headed to Ghiradelli Square (yum) and the cashier was a very personable man....dressed as a woman, so they got the full-fledged SF experience! It was a fun day packed with good memories.

New York Wedding (continued...again)

2007-07-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

New York Wedding (continued)

2007-07-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

The New York Wedding

2007-07-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some pix from the wedding I did this past weekend of the lovely Ryan and Melissa. The first picture is a little blurry, but it was taken by a guy up in the balcony and it shows me in action. The rest of the pix are mine - some romantic shots, group shots, and fun shots. I especially like the Secret Service shot with Melissa and the groomsmen. Matt had fun starting up a congo line and later getting dressed up with the other groomsmen as The Village People for a rousing rendition of "Y.M.C.A."

Lunch in New York!

2007-07-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that 24 hours ago I was on the west coast in Monterey...around midnight I was in Vegas...and today I had pizza next to the Empire State Building. I'm currently in Poughkeepsie, NY for a friend's wedding. I flew into Newark, NJ earlier to meet my friend Matt so we could share a rental car. Matt suggested we go grab lunch in New York City, so we went for an adventure. I've never driven in downtown Manhattan, but I have now! Cost us over 20 bucks to park for 2 hours and we made the most of our time. We went to the Empire State Building, had some great NY pizza, walked down to the New York Public Library, Rockefeller Plaza and Radio City Music Hall/NBC studios. We even saw Al's Soup Kitchen - the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.

Pregnancy Portfolio Expands...

2007-07-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

So it looks like I'm transitioning from a part time wedding photographer to a part time pregnancy/baby photographer. Here's another lovely couple, Ryan & Lina, in the last month of pregnancy. They're expecting a little girl...any day now! These are the "before" photos and the "after" shots should follow soon.

Another Baby Pic plus some from my road trip

2007-07-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

One more baby pic of Faerosa plus some pics from my road trip to Eureka. There's one of me and Paul Bunyan with his ox, Blue....another pic of me in the Redwoods on the Avenue of Giants South of Eureka....then some Elk resting in a meadow.

Eureka!...it's a BABY!!!!

2007-07-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

So here are some shots of Faerosa, the beautiful daughter of my friends Treena & Jason Hartley. Baby's make the best facial expressions!!!

Darwin

2007-07-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

These shots were actually taken before the baby shower on my last day at the desert party, but I forgot to add them earlier. Darwin is a dinky little town near Death Valley and there's actually people that still live there. Here's some artistic shots of the almost ghost town.

Eureka!....its a baby shower

2007-07-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

I headed up to Eureka, CA for my girlfriend's baby shower at the end of March. My gift to her was a pregnancy photo shoot. These were some of my favorite shots done around sunset for some great silhouettes with the ocean as a backdrop.

Panamint Part 2

2007-07-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

So here's a few other pics from the desert party. There's Gay Cousin Eric who is neither gay nor a cousin to Doug, but that's his name. Gay Cousin Eric got too drunk the night before and was rude to some of the staff, so Doug made him do "community service" the next day by picking up cigarette butts in a bright orange vest and white wig. Then you've got the Hybrid-Dog....a guy brought his dog and the staff quickly informed him that the dog needed to be on a leash. This guy didn't have a leash, so he found this old plug laying around and attached it to the dog's collar for a leash. He kept telling everyone that his dog was a hybrid and needed to be plugged in every once in a while to recharge his batteries.

First Night in Panamint

2007-05-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

Had a slow start getting to Death Valley....there was a screw in one of my tires and had to get it fixed before the almost 400 mile trip. 7 hours later and I was exhausted, but it was worth it. I arrived just before midnight and the party was alive with music and dancing. Everyone was dressed up and I found my sister in an orange flapper dress and matching life-vest. Another gal had on a red dress with black polka-dots, ladybug lady. Doug started off with an orange suit, then later traded it for a Jesus robe as he commanded the masses.

Checking again :)

2007-05-17T00:45:00.001-07:00

This is Chew's Ridge. Scott drove Suzanne and I up there last year. The pic below is from Yosemite.

Checking my ability to post via my cell.

2007-05-17T00:33:00.001-07:00

My first blog!

2007-05-16T23:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of me putting on my dance shoes. Wanted to test out the blog as I'm about to take a road trip into the desert. My sister and her boyfriend are hosting a little camp-out in Death Valley. I'm supposed to bring food, water, sleeping bag, and a crazy costume...should be interesting.