Just a day left!!

Thank you to everyone who has commented in my "Cans for Comments" drive. I am up to 20 cans!!

You can still comment from now until the 25th. If you stop by please take a minute or two to go through and comment on any posting you like. Tell me a little about yourself, what you hope for in 2010, what you would like to see on my blog or just say "hi leaving a comment for a can"

That simple!!!

Wishing everyone a fantastic holiday! May Santa (fedex/ups/snail mail USPS or the three wise men) make your shopping easy so that you can take time to enjoy the Season!!

Taken with my Iphone, I spotted some deliveries off to their destination!!



{please leave a cooment- your comment = 1 can of food to Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara}

Do you remember?

being a kid and being sooo excited about all those beautifully wrapped presents under the tree.

being so mesmerized by all the lights flickering magically as they are reflected off the shiny beautifully wrapped presents.

being drawn to the tree and those beautiful presents.

being captivated as you walk slowly, silently towards that tree and those presents calling to you.

being so excited when you saw your name carefully printed on the name tag. To: Mariana From: Mami & Papi.

being soo happy when your carefully ripped the corner to sneak a peek at your beautifully wrapped present.

being so scared that you had just torn the paper and might be discovered.

being so sad to have to wait 4 more days to rip off all the paper and play with your brand new Barbie


oh wait... That was me. I remember all these things.. and yet today as the few days before Christmas begins I saw a sneak peek of what I hope to get on Christmas day.

A day filled with beautiful light and no rain! That is what I want on Christmas. Even if I recieved it this morning , as pictured below.

I am a spoiled California Resident!

What is your one wish for Christmas? I'ld love to hear.. and as a reminder your comment will bring a can of food to someone in need.

Cans for comments are still being collected!

Cans for comments update.

Woo hoo! Today's count is 13 comments = 13 cans towards feeding some people. Keep those comments coming! I love seeing that you stopped by in the form of a comment.

13 days left to comment. Spread the word I would love to donate 50 cans of food!!

Thanks everyone!


and since this is a photography blog:


I took the following image one day when it was nice and warm outside. I am really missing the sun and the warmth so I keep looking back at warmer pictures. And as much as I hate the cold & wet ( unless it consists of a darkroom and chemicals then I LOVE IT), this image reminds me what I have to look forward to.

What's your favorite season and why? Mine is spring & summer for the above mentioned!!




~comments left on this post go toward the cans & comments event~

It's really cold out!

Yes I know with high's in the mid 50's and a low of 32 I shouldn't complain, it could be worse. However this California girl does not like the cold. If I had it my way it would be low 90's every day & night all year round!!! If you agree with me wave your hands in the air -to keep the circulation going in this cold. ;-)

But anyways.... This is how I tried to stay warm last night! Let's ignore the fact that I almost smoked the mutt and I out of my house. (the chimney vent thingie was closed- oops)How do you survive this Artic cold weather?

{Please remember to leave a comment! A comment left below on this or any post until Dec 25th counts towards one can of food donated!! CLICK here to leave a comment!}



image taken with my Iphone, post edited with the Iphone shake it photo app

Mexico on Film

Hi everyone!

This past summer I took a small vacation. Most might think it's crazy for a wedding photographer to go on vacation in the midst of the wedding season. However I truly believe that there's no better time than the present to do what you want to do. No sense waiting until you retire to spend time relaxing with family, because that day might never come.

And so I went to Mexico. Here are a few images taken with the Holga.

Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit



Bucerias, Nayarit



Bucerias, Nayarit



This is from a fun photo session with one gorgeous young lady!

Bucerias, Nayarit

Publish Post

Oh Holga how I love thee for your mystery and imperfection!!

Happy 1st birthday!

A few weeks ago one of my best friends celebrated her daughter's 1st birthday. This little girl is almost a decade younger than her brothers. They had always wanted a daughter and finally decided to turn to the Chinese calendar. Nine months later a daughter was born!! Celebrating the day with them was so much fun. I got to see lots of old co-workers from my days at Wells Fargo Bank. You see, she & I met on our first day of work which is also where she met her husband, so it's mandatory to get the old Wells crew together for such milestone events.



Big brothers will always be around to help her out!



This is my absolute favorite image from the whole day. It was taken after everyone had gone home. The little birthday girl finally felt comfortable and started smiling & playing with the balloons. Throughout her whole party she was a little reserved. I think she was a little overwhelmed by all the people who came out to celebrate with her.



These next two images are awesome. In them you can see how much love her parents have for her.





I always love a simple portrait such as this at events. It is full of so much history (past, present & future). This is a portrait of four generations, passed down mother to daughter...



We all know daughters are such daddy's girls, and sons are momma's boys. Here is the birthday girl with paternal grandmother, her "lola".




The processing on this last image is different then the rest. I wanted to use something representative to her only. She is 92 years old and from what her gran daughter said still very much strong & independent. I didn't get a chance to sit down and talk to her, I would love to one day spend some time with her to hear some of the stories from her life. In 92 years she's lived through so much! Talking to an elder is definitely WAY more interesting than reading some boring history book.




Thanks you guys for a great party! And remember when she turns 14ish and boys start coming around.... I will come over and help put up the bars on the windows! ;-)

Don't forget to say Thank You!

Hi everyone just want to let everyone know I'm alive. I've been so crazy busy ( in a good way) as well as sick ( in a bad way). Stay tuned I will be over blogging in the next few days! So much has been going on. All good , well except for the sick thing.

Here's a little story about something that happened a couple of years ago. With an ending that many don't know about.

A few years ago I entered the below image in a contest offered by AVA (Alliance of Visual Artists). I was a wreck, I had never entered something like this. The first step had been to go to a pre-screening to get juried in. I almost forgot about it altogether. Once I was told I was accepted I had to prepare my work for contest entry. Mat, frame, and wire ready to be hung. That was a trial in itself as I had never done this from beginning to end. The day came to drop off my work, I entered 3 pieces. I figured might as well enter the max allowed. Well apparently I had forgot to add my name to them. Luckily a nice man receiving work reminded me. As I was leaving I felt like a total newbie and a train wreck wondering why I was wasting people's time. A few weeks later I get a call. I figured it was a courtesy call to let me know I can pick up my loser pieces. Imagine my shock when I was informed i was receiving Awards of merit for two pieces, and A FIRST PLACE for one!!! Not only that but they also wanted to know if I would be willing to sell the first place winner to the Triton Museum. "UM WHAT?! I'm sorry I didn't catch that" I practically choked as I whispered into the receiver. The voice on the other end said "oh was that too little?" As they had just offered me a very generous amount. "UM no that's fine" I replied. Thinking I would have given it to them. It's a Museum!!! I never in a million years thought a museum would ever buy one of my pieces, at least not while I was living. HA! I hung up and immediately called my dad to tell him what had just happened and ask him to be my date to the award ceremony. He said "you should ask your mom, you know she likes going to these kind of things" (she likes art) to which I jokingly replied "she can go to the next one, you should go to the first."



The day came and I was pretty nervous. My dad met me at my house, and we headed over. The awards were handed out, and each time I walked up my dad had this funny look on his face, probably wondering why I wore light jeans and a cotton t-shirt. He was wearing really nice dress pants and a button down shirt, however it was almost 100 degrees out. After the awards were all handed out they let us in to see all the pieces that had received recognition and placed. He said "ok let's go see what the big deal is". We finally found my piece and there was this little crowd, checking it out. When my dad stepped up to it, he said "that won, a picture you took in a bar?" I said "yea and the museum bought it" He then replied "wow you should give them their money back" and then immediately said "Take a picture of me with the winner, so I can show people and they don't think I'm making it up" In that moment I knew he was proud of me.

and here's a picture of my dad standing by the winner.



I'm sure I never said it enough if at all. Thanks Dad!

RIP 1938-2008

WOO HOO!! I was accepted into WPJA!!

I am so exited! Last week I was accepted into the Wedding Photojouranlistic Association aka WPJA. I applied the week before and was nervous, they needed to review my portfolio (website) and because they get so many applications I knew it would take a while. Have I ever mentioned I hate waiting, especially when they only reply to those that get accepted ( due to high application volumes) I could have been waiting for months without a word. Imagine how excited I was when I received a letter informing me I had been accepted.

Never heard of WPJA? Check them out their website to find out more.

Here is a little blurb I pulled from their website:

The Wedding Photojournalistic Association

"Leading the way in Wedding Photojournalism, WPJA represents the most discriminating talent around the world technically, creatively and visually. Qualified members hold industry-leading standards, skills and business integrity."

It's been a week and I'm still excited! I think mostly I am excited because I have never really "classified" my work into a category. I just love photography and catching moments. As an example this following image. It was taken of complete strangers in New York:



This one I am very proud of. It has received an award and was purcahsed by the Triton Museum in Santa Clara! It was photographed on film, which I them developed myself and printed in a wet darkroom on fiber paper!!


And of course since it is all about Wedding Photojournalism. Here are a couple of my favorites from past weddings:




this is a page from a wedding album I designed:


and one of my favorite things at weddings the kids! they are so carefree and always full of emotion.

Film Friday!

Hello! I hope everyone had a fabulous New Year's!!

As many of you know and some might not, my first love in photography is FILM! I continue to shoot all variations of film, both commercially and personally. Many times you will see a Polaroid or two incorporated into my sessions.

Starting today I will be posting at least one image shot on film every Friday. The work I will be sharing on Fridays will include lots of old work as well as new work. I hope you enjoy Film Fridays as much as I have enjoyed creating the images.

If there is anything specific you would like to see feel free to ask for it in the comments section! For example: more holgas, polaroids, transfers, medium format, B&W color anything... as long as it's film related!

For the First Film Friday I would like to share some polaroids I took on New Year's Eve at a friend's party.

This couple is absolutely adorable. They currently reside in Italy. We were so happy to spend a little time with them. He claims he hates having his picture taken, but he doesn't look too tortured, does he?



I was very sad that jet lag kicked in and they left shortly after the stroke of midnight so in order to get every last second of Quality Time in I walked them out to get this next shot.



This next image I love. I'm not sure why, but I think it maybe for the plastic lei around his neck.



The final image is a must. It was a theme party. Brownie points if you can guess what the theme was.



I hope you got if nothing else a giggle from my first Film Friday post.

Look Up!

Hello Everyone! It's a busy week! Some of you are at work rushing to finish everything before having (hopefully) a few days off to spend with family. Some of you are already off doing last minute shopping dealing with the crowds, full parking lots & long lines. Others of you are already at home busy with kids, baking, prepping, & cleaning. There's even a few who don't celebrate this season, however are still caught up in everyone's madness.
So what is your week like? I would love to hear how you plan on spending the second to the last week of 2008. Leave me a comment below!!!

Whatever your week is like... Don't forget to stop and look up, down and around you. You only live once!!

Don't forget to leave a comment on "Cans for Comments" below.

Check back soon.... Santa might arrive to my blog. ;-)

Here are a few images taken with my Holga on my recent trip. For those of us in cold weather let's enjoy a moment of summer images.







And of course, What would the beach be without anyone on it:

I LOVE to travel! But I hate being en route for over 24 hours.

I walked in to my house Friday November 28th at approximately 12:30am. As I walked through the threshold of my house I sighed.. a BIG DEEP "glad to be home" sigh. Don't get me wrong I LOVE to travel! I am one of those people that will go anywhere in the world with or without planning.

However I hate long travel times and by long travel times I mean : I left my hotel on Wednesday November 26th at approximately 10:20am Punta Del Este, Uruguay time. We then drove to Montevideo ( about 1.5 hours away) caught a flight to Sao Paolo, Brazil hung out for about 7 hours in the airport waiting for a flight to Houston, Texas. A LOONG 10 hour flight later we landed in Houston, Texas where I had my first Egg Nog Latte of the Season. a few hours later we boarded our flight to San Francisco, California. as I stepped off the plane in SFO about noon I thought I'm almost home! But alas it's Thanksgiving day and I went straight to my family's house. A few servings of MEAT later (as if I haven't ate enough meat in the past two weeks to practically be on an Atkin's diet, if only it wasn't for the bread, potatoes and delicious sangria) and the usual round the dinner table conversation, where at least 3 different conversations are going on simultaneously, I finally headed home!

It's now Friday, November 28th 3:19am and I am thankful for the fabulous life I have had so far, however at the moment I am really thankful for my pillow top mattress and big fluffy comforter.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!

How did you spend your Thanksgiving? I would love to hear all about it in the comments.


Here are two images from my trip.. more to come over the next few weeks.

I love these trees! they were all over Buenos Aires. Someone said they were called Paradise Trees.



La Casa Rosada (the Pink House) Palacio de Gobierno, Buenos Aires

NY

Was in New York last weekend!! I flew over to attend the Lucie awards. It was the best! Also to visit a really good friend, go to Doze Green's art show opening and EAT LOTS OF PIZZA!!

I'll be posting images on my adventures in the upcoming days.

For now just one image, this was taken with a Holga camera. It's my favorite camera. If I had to take only one camera with me on any given trip, hands down this is the one. My Canon 5D would stay home. Sorry Canon, nothing beats the Holga!

PS- if you would like to purchase a copy of this image. I now have an online storefront on Etsy with my fine art prints, or contact me directly!

Future Hall of Fame Drummer

Don't you sometimes wonder what the GREAT GREATS looked like as toddlers. I'm talking about (to name only two because the list goes on & on) Richard John Cyril "Rick" Allen, &  Ringo Star. But even more importantly with this video game craze, do you wonder what would have happened if these greats had discovered the Wii at such a young age?? I'm sure they would have quickly surpassed the game, just like this kid pretty much has. 

As my sister unpacked her new game this little guy ran over and immediately picked up the sticks ( incorrectly at first looked at them and JUST KNEW they were wrong quickly flipped them over and began to bang ( with rhythm) on the drum set. I would also like to note that he has never had lessons nor seen anyone actually play drums. How he just KNEW - no idea-- maybe he is doomed to stardom. 

I am a bit behind in blogging..

I apologize. Lots has been going on I will however try my hardest to post at least weekly maybe even twice a week. However I will say, there might be many more personal pictures being posted and not just "work". 

Hope you enjoy!! 

Here is an older self portrait I did. I still shoot, develop, print & tone my own film images. Below is proof, I'm working in my garage. It's a little messy sorry.
 

Happy 5th Birthday to the cutest Tax baby ever!!

Saturday was my favorite tax baby's birthday party. This little cutie officially turned 5 on April 15th. However due to her busy schedule (karate, dance, cheerleading and the list goes on) her parents weren't able to celebrate her 5th bday until now. AND celebrate they did! Besides the "normal" food, cake, balloons & bouncy house there was also a magic show performed by a fairy and a real live petting zoo with another magic show and face painting!!! All this took place at their home. This is one lucky kid.

I arrived camera less to this party (ok my camera bag was in the car but I wasn't going to pull it out- really) and made it through the magic show performed by a real life fairy princess and even the cake cutting without taking a shot. Well ok I did grab my friend's camera for a family portrait at cake time but I only took 3 little shots. ;-)

But then.... a mini pony showed up at the front door!! I couldn't resist and ran for my camera!! The pony was followed by a couple of ducks, some guinea pigs, a dove, a bunch of rabbits, a labradoodle puppy and carriage! Did I mention all this came out of a mini van- it was like being at the circus and watching 15 clowns come out of a mini car. All the adults were wowed just by watching all this.. geez - we are easier to amuse than kids.

It was the funnest birthday party ever! I want to be 5 again!

oh and did I mention it's Springtime?? The rabbits turned the party X-Rated, so if you go with a petting zoo party for any of your kids birthdays make sure only same gender rabbits show up and keep it G Rated ;-)

here are the pictures I must warn you there are lots of pictures...