I'm On A Happy Spree

I don't even know if that's a real thing.

"Floating" 3/26/08"

Because I make everyone do a jumping picture =).

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So today's been a little unbelievable. Nothing too out of the ordinary at first, with church and all. And then I find myself booking two more debuts for the year and an engagement session. Awesome. Just more sessions to look forward to. I'm excited.

In relation to the photography thing, I just bought myself a new flash bracket for 10 bucks and a flash sync cord for 20 bucks on eBay. Not bad. Especially when you consider the fact that flash brackets can run at least 80 bucks for a reliable one, and up to 300 bucks for the top of the line. Then there's the flash sync cord, which goes for about 60 bucks. So at the very least, I've managed to save myself at least 110 bucks, by going used and not new. Amazing. Thank you God for eBay. Now I can use the money I've saved towards bigger and better things, like new lenses or bodies.

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You know what's a really annoying trend? Hypebeasts. Don't worry if you've never heard the term, but I can practically assure you you've seen them stalking your local mall hangout spot. They can be easily spotted sporting at least two of the following:

• A flat bill cap (also known as a 50 cap), usually worn high in back and tilted to the side
  
• Aviator glasses, or some other variety of oversized sunglasses ("stunna shades")
• a pair of Nike Dunks, or Ponys, or Vans, usually with the tongue sticking out
• a bandana, possibly covering the nose and mouth, but more likely wrapped around the neck in a scarf like fashion
• a t-shirt, usually in the brighter varieties of orange, purple, yellow, pink, or red, with some ridiculously random graphic.

Also, it should be mentioned that all of the above are most likely found in extremely bright colors, for easier spotting.

For a slightly more visual example, and some elaboration on the hypebeast, check out this link.

Now, a lot of the hypebeast style is said to have roots in old 80's fashion styles, particularly during hip-hops infancy. Yeah, that's cool and all, since as we all know, history has a tendency to repeat itself. Problem is, there was only one thing that sucked about living in the 80's. Guess what it was? That's right, the fashion. Folks, the 80's spawned the broad shoulder dress pads, leg warmers, the sideways pony tail, the oversized emblem necklace, the inside-out style, the midriff FOR MEN, oh geez, I could go on. the point is, the 80's was already a bastard decade in fashion and design. Why bastardize even further?

AND!!! To add insult to injury..... the majority of the people that wear it NOW, weren't even born in the 80's, more like early 90's and up. So really, everyone who's into the style now just thinks its cool because they didn't have to go through it the first time.

Anyways, why do hypebeasts annoy me? Well, for the most part, its because the majority of them are under 21, probably don't have jobs, and have their parents pay for their clothes. Now normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but when you're buying shoes that go for 200, a t-shirt well over 50, a bandana easily going for 60, and a hat that could possibly cost 80, then its time to call Houston.

And why are these things so expensive? No reason at all. And what's worse, is that they come in the most outrageous colors, making sure you'll be noticed. In fact, thats really what the whole movement is about; trying to get noticed. It's a very sad truth. Kids giving into the hype (get it?) that all they have to do is buy the most expensive and "rare" types of clothing out there to get noticed by others who have the same "passion". Is it really a passion? Ha. Only when you've got the money, kids. I'm sure without your parents to support you, you wouldn't have half the clothing you've come to collect.

So for the kids.... here's a list of things you REALLY need to get:

• More self-esteem, to realize you don't have to blow so much money on clothing just to "look good"
• A better sense of style. I've seen people go into thrift stores armed with less than 50 bucks, and come out with some of the most awesome looks ever. Stylish AND frugal?! Now that's the girl for me.
• More common sense. One day you're gonna realize just how much money you wasted on clothes, that could've been better spent on real things, like charitable donations and the like. Now, we're all guilty of this one to some degree, but you guys are just horrible.
• A loosened grip on material possessions. The sad thing is, if your house were to burn down, you'd probably be more willing to try and save your precious Nike Dunk collection than your dog. Just remember, when you die, you can't take it with you. That's 100 percent fact.

I'm really hoping that like most fads, this one will go away soon. People like hypebeasts are just add to the reason why the world says the US is spoiled =(.

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Well, that was a bit of a rant back there. Sorry about that. Anyways, here's a hilarious Youtube vid for tonight. It's amazing how corny tv shows were back when I was growing up. The best part about it is, I never even realize it until I have a chance to go back and watch them again. Here's a clip from one of those ABC Saturday Afternoon Specials I used to watch. It even starred that guy from Mr. Belvedere. Now let me tell ya, if gangs were like this in real life, I'd feel a lot safer living here in So Cal, haha:

I Can't Believe I Forgot!

Argh, I'm supposed to call a couple this week to schedule an engagement portrait session soon! Shoot, I really hope they don't think I'm flaking out on them or something. Bad business practice, Tim.

So I'm sitting here on my laptop, sorting through the hundreds of photos I shoot for each session, and rocking out to Daft Punk. Man, I really want to see them live. I know for sure I would just dance and go all out crazy. And I've heard their live shows are just awesome. I'd be pretty stoked to be in the middle of a crowd of hundreds of fellow DP fans, and we're all just dancing the night away to some awesome music. Random blurb, I know.

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So today was a pretty positive day. Worked at INO today, and we just so happened to set a store record today. 57 Cars in 30 minutes. Yeah, that might seem like a weird stat to be checking on, but trust me when I say In-N-Out stores are very, VERY, competitive with each other. I'm glad I was able to be a part of the record though. I was working the drive orders, so the speed of my order taking was an important factor. But everyone helped play an integral role. That's one of the things I love about the work environment at INO, its a team effort. None of the dog eat dog stuff that I happen to see in the corporate workplace. I like being friends with my coworkers, ya know?

And UCLA won their Sweet Sixteen game tonight. Good job guys. Although I'm extremely concerned about their lackluster play in the tournament thus far. They haven't been playing like they want the championship, and its been showing. I'm not seeing the blowouts that should be resulting from athletic excellence. Instead, we're seeing a lot of cliffhangers and close games. I'm just a little worried that Xavier might have a chance to move ahead of them come Saturday. We'll just have to see.

And as predicted, the Jabbawockeez won the title of America's Best Dance Crew tonight. I'm not surprised. I don't think anyone is, haha. I was kinda hoping for some longer performances tonight, but all of them in general were very electric. Well, except for the stepping one, that one was kinda lame. But to each their own.

Here's my predictions for Season 2 (yeah, it hasn't even started yet, I know). I'm thinking that either Team Milennia, Sickstep, Funkanometry, or maybe even Pac Modern will decide to step up to the plate and audition for next season, and probably end up in the top 3. Remember those names. And it might be more than one of them making next season.

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On another random note, I hate how I always have crazy late night cravings. And its always for mexican. Argh, I really want to drive to Alberto's or Molcasalsa right now. But is it really worth the gas for the food? Argh.

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So here's a Youtube video related to a previous subject. Here's a video of Daft Punk rockin the crowd at Coachella Music Festival 2 years ago, mixing two of their most famous songs. Geez, and to think I had the opportunity to go to this one too! Dangit, this is what I missed out on:

All Work And No Play....

gets really tiring after a while....

Okay, so I promised more frequent updates, and a whole bunch of pictures in my last post. I already failed at the first promise (I'm such a jerk...), so at least I can try to fulfill my second promise. This one will actually go through though :).

"Midnight Contemplation"

"Clear Dugouts"

Here's a fun memory of mine:

"Mickey Hats"

These are all fairly random photos that I've taken, but for some reason, they all evoke certain emotions in me that I can't explain.... but then again, that's what art is, right?

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This is probably the first time that I can actually say I haven't been able to blog because I've been so busy. Truth is, if I ever said that before, its most likely because I've been lazy, heh. I've actually been running all around (well, driving really) southern California these past couple of weeks. I'll be in Aliso Viejo one day, then find myself making my way through Torrance, then off to Pasadena, etc. At this point in time when I'm continually striving to beef up my portfolio, make camera equipment purchases, do business, and make network connections, its almost a necessity to be all over the place. I'm really hoping that all of this will pan out by the end of the year.

Today I had my portrait session with CJ in old town Pasadena. We kept it in one locale, their City Hall, but the session ended up spanning about 3 hours! Which is a good thing for only one specific location, because it meant that there was so much different stuff you could shoot while not having to move around too much. I brought JR, Nicole, and RJ for the ride, which was good, because they all got to experience something new. JR got a chance to try out being a second shooter, Nicole finally got to play with a camera for a bit, and RJ found out what its like to be a photo assistant =). Even though the title is called "assistant", they do a lot of stuff. I don't know if he got tired or not holding my flash equipment and listening to my directions, but at least I got to show him my thanks by paying for his dinner =).

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Did you know someone's producing a live-action GI Joe movie??!?!?! How crazy is that? Initially, I had my doubts just reading the news article, but when I read that it's going to be headed by the same people who redid Transformers, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Having been born in the 80's, those cartoons were two of my all time favorites. When The Transformers Movie came out, I knew I'd be very critical of how they remade it. I'm glad I was satisfied.

I really hope they can pull off the GI Joe movie just as well. Since the article mentioned that the movie will be an "origins story" style movie, that probably means there will be a sequel. We'll have to see if this becomes a successful movie franchise or not.

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Okay, here's a Youtube video for you guys: here's another great 80's memory of mine. Beat Street: The movie. Before you had your America's Best Dance Crew, B-boys were already keepin it in full swing 20 years ago....

Ya Gotta Love Life

First off, some quick apologies for not updating as often as I usually do. I would, but I've just so busy with work, and by the end of the day, I'm just pooped. Also, I don't have a photo for tonight, but I promise I've got lots to show on my next update. I don't want to let the 2 of you who read this down =P.

Life has just been a rollercoaster this past week. Not emotionally, and not negatively either. Every day has just been something new to experience, and wonderful. Moreso, I love the fact that I've had the time to think about it and savor it! Sometimes just living day to day is so.... boring, ya know? Thanks God, for this gift of life.

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On the business side of life, things have been going great. I've got two sit-down sessions lined up in the next two weeks, an outdoor photo shoot, and a debut lined up in the next month. Fun stuff to add to my portfolio. Also, I'd like to welcome Vivi as my new, yet not yet official, makeup artist. I love this girl, and I love being able to give her the opportunity to showcase her talent and creativity through my photo sessions. Hopefully this will net the both of us lots more sessions throughout the next few months.

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So today I was supposed to go down to Santa Monica with Jessica, and possibly Tracey, but that didn't pan out, so I ended up going with Jessica, Nikki, and Javier to a "Date Auction" for Nikki's sorority. My main motivation for going was not for any girls (who would've all been too young for me anyways, heh), but because a portion of the funds raised would go to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). For those that know me well, know just how many friends and loved ones I've lost to incidents involving alcohol. In fact, its why I don't even touch the stuff at all. People think its because they think it's against my religion or something, but the truth is, it just.... hurts too much to want to even try it. There are far too many people in the world who don't know how to handle their alcohol, and I would rather avoid it than try and take my risks. I've seen people get in fights, sexual abuse, boyfriends beating their girlfriends, people injuring themselves, and I've even had to experience not one, not two, but three losses in my life, all due to drunk driving. So anyways, to get to the point, I always try to make it out to functions raising the awareness of the dangers of drunk driving, or any type of variation thereof.

However, to cap this solemn story with a happy ending, I ended up bidding on something, and winning! Haha, actually, its more of a happy accident more than anything. The majority of the auctions held included "dates" - that is, whatever you win, you'll be escorted by one or more of the sorority sisters. There were Laker game tickets, Angels tickets, tickets for an upcoming De La Hoya fight, Disneyland tickets, etc. However, a couple of the date items didn't come with "dates". There was a basket, filled with a $50 gift certificate to Ruby's Diner, 4 free rounds of bowling for 4 people, some nice clothing, and candy. The basket itself was probably worth at least 70 bucks. But since it didn't come with a date, no one really wanted to bid on it. I felt kinda bad. Starting bid was only 25 bucks. Only one person took it.

Now, me being me, I'm an idiot, plain and simple. I was joking with Javier a bit earlier about how we should lowball bid on certain stuff, just to jack up the prices for things, just because we could. Now, here's this basket, only going for 25 bucks. Now Javier's telling me to bid, just to work the crowd.... or maybe even winning. Now, I know he was kidding. And yet, I'm not sure why, but I raised my hand for 35 bucks. Here's the best part: I didn't have any money on me.

So here I am, waiting for what seems to be the longest 10 seconds of my life, for someone to outbid me. Then I hear it: "Going once.... going twice.... SOLD! for 35 dollars to the gentleman in the back". Wow. I totally won an auction for something I have no money for. I wanted to kick myself in the head. Good job, Tim. Good job.

This is what I get for doing things on impulse.

It didn't turn out so bad. There was a huge bright side to this. Firstly, they had no problem with me having money. They just took my credit card for a while as collateral until I could cough up the cash, no problem. Secondly, I just won a whole bunch of cool stuff well worth at least 70, for half that price. Go me. Thirdly, the money was going towards something definitely worth donating to: an organization committed to taking a stand against the evils of driving drunk, and to raise awareness, and also to make sure the memories of those lost are not in vain. All in all, not a bad deal. Sure, I spent 35 bucks I never meant to spend, but in the end, I think it was definitely for the better.

Now I'm just worried that it'll cut into my daily Robeks routine =).

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Well, that's really the only story I have for today. If you managed to read through it, then all I have to say is thank you, I'm glad there's someone out there who was genuinely interested in knowing how my day was.

And once again, I promise I'll be getting back into my frequent posts soon!

Wow, what a weekend!

I definitely needed the refreshment =).

Bryan And Aprille's Engagement, April 2007

Yay! I'm excited! Only 2 and a half months before my best friends get married! Wedding of the year, right here. And it's in Hawaii.... what's not to love? =)

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So right now it's approaching 3am Monday morning, and I can't sleep. Not cool, especially since I have work in the morning. However, I'm glad to say that I managed to accomplish quite a bit over the weekend, so here are some highlights:

• On Friday night, Veronica and I went to watch Horton Hears a Who!. Now, this day was originally intended for Jon and I to go to the newly reopened Bodyworlds exhibit in LA, but he had to cancel due to car trouble, which was all good. Now.... a tidbit of information about my moviegoing history: I hadn't previously been in a movie theater since.... wait for it.... 300. Wow, more than a year since I'd been to the movies. Anyways, the both of us were bored that night, and we were looking for something to do, and of all the movies, Horton looked like the only worth even seeing. So we go to watch it, and well.....

It was amazing! Now, considering its generally a family movie, and the last Dr. Seuss movie, The Cat In The Hat, was a huge disappointment for me, I didn't really have any expectations for this one. But boy was it a satisfying experience. The movie managed to stick well enough to the story, and any random tangents the movie took, still kept it within the bounds of the story's logic, as opposed to the crappy CITH. It had lots of clean humor for the kids, and enough wit and hidden meanings for adults to chuckle. All in all, I actually give this movie 5 stars (out of 5). I was originally going to give it 4, but one of the characters, Katie, just put this movie over the top. Think of Katie as the equivalent of Superbad's Mclovin, on a dumbed down scale for the kids.

• Saturday was a free day for me, so I actually managed to get a lot of cleaning and organizing done. I finished filing all of my receipts and orders for photography (need to save those if I want that tax deduction). I got around to cleaning out my car (finally), and even organizing my closet. Yeah, I know! If I had managed to make time to buy some new guitar strings, then my whole To Do List would've been marked off. Had work that night at In N Out, which was great. I love it there, I have to admit. Even though it carries with it the weight of working at a fast food restaurant, In N Out's just so much better. My only qualm that night was having to deal with people who don't know how to order correctly in the drive thru. In fact, I was irritated so much, I think I'm going to dedicate my next post to the top 10 things Not To Do When In The Drive Thru.

• Today I had to wake up early for a work meeting, which is never fun, and never worth the money to drive to. Yet I did it anyways (gotta set the example, ya know?). I just wish management moved the meetings back to Saturdays instead of Sundays, like it used to be. I hate having to rush straight to church right after and missing part of the service. Anyways, after church, Jon and I finally got around to doing what we intended to do on Friday night.....

• Bodyworlds!!!! Hosted by the California ScienCenter in LA, its definitely an educational, yet very.... chilling experience. It wasn't the fact that real bodies were used as the models that scared me. It wasn't the potential controversy of the plastinated unborn babies that chilled me. It was actually the exhibits of the intact capillary systems that just gave me the creeps. For those of you who don't know, the capillaries are the most intricate system of the cardiovascular system. The capillaries are the smallest types of veins in the body, and network off the main veins to move blood to every area of the body. The head is what freaked me out the most. You have to see it to believe it: to know the extent of the bloodwork in your head and face alone is just so massive, and to see it in real life... you really get a better scope of view of just how intricate our bodies are. Highly recommended, unless you are easily squeamish at the sight of real bodies, and not recommended for children, unless you're sure they have a very good grasp of the things they'll be viewing.

• After Bodyworlds, we decided to drop by Little Tokyo for dinner. Found this really good place called Zen Cu. Although I don't eat sushi, Jon had a feast with it, because they've got this great menu with lots of variety, and everything is half off. I don't know what that means, but he got lots and lots of good sushi for real cheap. I settled for the usual fare (gyoza, teriyaki, bbq beef ribs), but the meal was pretty good, and also fairly cheap for the price. If you're in the Little Tokyo area, I definitely recommend dropping in for a meal there.

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Wow, so there you have it. Yes, this post was a bit long, but then again, I haven't posted in a while. Anyways, I hope this was some good reading material for whoever reads this. Well, it's 330 now. Wow. I better get back to bed before I really lose some sleep.

P.S. Sorry about no Youtube video tonight. My brain's already shutting down, I don't have time to write one up.

Work Has Been Tiring.

But the weather outside has been great. I'm definitely taking advantage of my day off, so here's a quick, almost certainly useless entry.

I'm going to Disneyland with my sister today. Good bonding time I suppose? Oh well, at least we both get to go out for a change.

Enjoy whatever it is you're up to today readers.

No One Told Me It Was Daylight Savings Time

It's a good thing Nicole texted me last night to warn me.

"The Kiss" 3/31/07

Thanks Mark and Belle for helping me get started =).

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I went to bed around 130am last night. While I was trying to get myself settled in, an earthquake occurred. It wasn't big, about 3.0 or so and far away from my location, but it was pretty thrilling. For some reason, earthquakes excite me. Okay, obviously not the scary 6.0 and up ones, but the little tremors excite me. I remember the last time I felt an earthquake, was about 4 years ago, and it happened during the middle of the night too. Now, safety rules usually state that if an earthquake occurs, duck down beneath the closest desk, table or doorway. Instead, I just chose to stand up, and feel it. Maybe I'm weird like that. Anyways, thank God it wasn't large enough to cause any structural damage.

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So I realize that as I continue to build up my photography business, I need a website to showcase my art as well as get my name out there and have a place online to contact. Problem is, I don't know very much about website design. This fact sorta sucks, because I'd like my site to look good, but I don't want to have to pay a lot of money for quality, although it'd be worth it. I guess I'll have to stay up nights learning as much as I can. I'd prefer this route, because I'd like to have as much creative control over my website as possible. Of course, I'm willing to trade services to anyone who needs it and requires their own photo work. Photos for website - not bad, right? I guess its time to start posting on Craigslist =).

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My Flickr account is expiring in 4 days apparently, on the 14th. Hmmm, I wonder if renewing could possibly count as a business expense (photography)? Would that be cheating? I don't think so. It's a way for me to publicize my photos, and advertise my services, right? That's fairly business oriented. I'm planning to use whatever funds I require to start up my website as a business writeup too. I'm starting to realize that starting your own business requires a lot of bookkeeping. That's not a bad thing, but considering how bad I can be with organization sometimes, things might get a little messy come next years tax season. Does anyone know of any good websites that provide information on small business practices, or working from home? As well as documents I'm probably going to eventually need? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Okay, here's my Youtube video for the night. Oddly enough, its an American Idol clip tonight. This video was shown to me by a good friend who knew I'd really appreciate it. It's a video of contestant Jason Castro singing one of my favorite songs of all time "Hallelujah"

After watching this, and his other songs, I've got to say, he's got a lot of talent. So it turns out, even though I don't watch the show, my top 3 predictions are going to be : Jason Castro, David Archuleta (already tagged as the most likely to win this season), and Ramiele Malubay (I wrote a piece about her in an earlier post). Good luck to the 3 of them, and regardless of who wins, those 3 have talent enough to probably get picked up for a record deal eventually.

Tradition!!!

I just got back from watching a production of Fiddler On The Roof. Great play.

"A Pony!" 12/18/07

I took this photo in December during my trip to San Francisco. I really liked the colors on the horses, even though close up, you could see they were very old and probably in need of restoration. From the picture though, you probably couldn't tell.

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Continuing on about The Fiddler On The Roof, I have to say that I was extremely impressed by the production. First of all, this was a high school play. I've been to quite a few productions, at various high schools. I don't think I've ever seen so much professional backstage work as in this play. Which is a great thing. The excellent lighting, orchestration, and stagework made the play that much more enjoyable. Heck, this is the first high school that I've been to that has a PIT in their auditorium! Needless to say, I was pretty much blown away. Heh, leave it to a photographer to be critiquing the stage lighting instead of watching the actual production itself.

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Gas is starting to get ridiculous again. Reports say we might be seeing the average hit up to $4 by the summer. Unbelievable. Back when I first started driving, I was a junior in high school. At that time, it took less than $20 to fill up the 14 gallon tank in my Toyota Celica. The average price was about $1.10 or so. Fast forward 7 or so years, and now it takes about $50 to top off my Honda Accord's 15 gallon tank. Has inflation always been this bad? I was too young to understand these kinds of things back in the 80's and early 90's, but sheesh. I don't want to get into a political debate and try to figure out who's at fault, but I think there are more important things that I ought to be paying for besides my car fuel.

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I'm tired, so here's the Youtube video for the night. In honor of the pretty horse up above, here's a wonderful cartoon about horses =). Just watch, its pretty funny, even if a lot of it doesn't make much sense:

Hooray For The Weekend

In the words of Loverboy, "Everybody's workin for the weekend". So true =)

Check out my new invention!!!

Okay, so I'm uber stoked, because I finally managed to create my lightstick for formals and weddings. Total cost: $480. Yikes. Actually, I could've brought it lower, but I decided to spring for a new SB-800, which is a total of $315, including taxes and shipping. Had I gone for, say, a used SB-28, it probably would've cost about $120, making the total about $285 instead. But I needed something I could use on camera as well, so I had to go with the newer model. And technically, this lightstick isn't even finished yet, seeing as I don't have the "stick" part yet. Which is a monopod. The rig is mounted on a tripod right now, but its way too bulky and heavy to carry. A good monopod will run me anywhere between 70-300 dollars. I'll try to stick to the lower end of that range. And JR, if you're reading this, yes, be very jealous.

I took a test shot of my car with the lightstick this afternoon:

Now, its hard to tell exactly what's so special about using lots of flash to spice up an image, which is why I'm banging my head against the wall at the moment. *Remember to take before and after pics, dummy! Now, I didn't do a lot of post processing with this picture, which is good, because the colors are already standing out. The image pops with color. Take note of the sky especially. Usually sunlight tends to diminish the contrast between sky and clouds, as well as make colors more drab (depending on what it is you're looking for in a picture). Lots of flash deletes that ambient light, and replaces it, causing colors to be more vivid. Eh, whatever. I'll make sure to do a before and after next time.

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Whew, finally got that out of the way.

So, after checking out pictures and watching the videos of some of my friends going skydiving, I think I'm gonna do it. That's right, I'm gonna face my deathly fear of heights, and smack it in the face. As I watched their videos, I dunno, I guess I got inspired. And even after listening to their testimonies of how its a lot scarier than it looks when you're finally on that plane, I think that this is something that I owe to myself to do. Now, its just a matter of saving up for it =). They all want to do it again in the summer, so I suppose I have time to save up, and psych myself up for it. Hopefully this plan will go through. I'm leaving you blog readers to put me up to this before the summer ends.

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I've just about finally finished all my bags of Doritos. I'm surprised I haven't gotten sick of them yet. At least I bought enough flavors to not get sick of one. Now I have to finish my Girl Scout cookies. I went through one box in two days, but even then, it was just sickening, haha. The thing about peanut butter, is its almost a necessity to drink it with milk. It's just so.... sticky. I couldn't get myself to continue eating them with only bottles of water lying around. I'm sure I'll finish all my boxes by next week though. My hunger can never be satisfied.

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Okay, Youtube time! Haha, this videos been out for a couple months now, but I just can't help but come back to it almost every other day! Let me tell you guys: if you really want to know how to master using the internet, let Max and Gabe show you how!

Red Robin Is Yummy.

But In N Out still wins for the best burgers ever. Hands down. If you disagree, I'll stab you. Just kidding. Sort of.

"Contemplation" 2/28/08

Although I agree with the concerns, it can be very hard sometimes to convince parents that you're merely capturing daily life by photographing their children. I've taken photos of peewee football games, little league games, and even just went to the park for inspiration, as seen above. And oftentimes, various parents will approach me and interrogate me on the subjects of my photographs. No, I'm not a pedophile. I won't be selling any photos. Yes, I post a few on the internet, but mainly as an expression of an art form.

I usually have to reassure them that I'm there for either someone else, or merely for the sake of trying to take nice photos, then give them my business card. If they see anything that's distasteful to them online, they can email and I'll gladly take it down. Once again, its not that I don't understand the concern, but it's just the amount of parents that continually hound me and hold me suspect of crimes I have no intention of committing. Oy. In other news, I like this picture. Hopefully you do too.

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Well, my weekend started early this week. No work tomorrow, which is great, because I'm waiting for a package to arrive tomorrow in the mail. And we all know how suspenseful it can be to wait for something you know is coming. I'm just waiting for a new light stand and a new radio trigger, but anytime I get new stuff, its exciting. I'm like a kid on Christmas morning when it comes to camera equipment.

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Although I don't normally watch tv, I've been following "America's Best Dance Crew" on MTV the last couple of weeks. Mostly because my good friend, Allison Vicencio, is a member of one of the crews, Kaba Modern. Here's an interesting observation I've made about the show and all the internet talk that its spawned lately. Mainly, the top crews in the show, Jabbawockeez and Kaba Modern, are top two for good reason: they're from California.

Now before you go assuming, let me explain. Dance crew competitions have been going on here for decades. Most teams are formed at the collegiate level/age, so if you've ever gone to a Cal State or UC, chances are, you've gone to a school with a dance crew. Even USC has one(although theirs isn't particularly good. Hey, they have to be not good at something, right?). The particular styles of dance showcased in ABDC are among the usual routines of these dance crews. All over the LA/OC, in SD, and up in SF, dance competitions are held all the time. So Jabba and Kaba have had lots and lots of practice already doing these types of things. Almost every other dance crew that's been eliminated, has been from the east coast, and in my opinion, its due to the fact that they don't have the types of competitions that we do here.

That being said, I'm pretty sure that the top crew in the end will either be Jabbawockeez or Kaba Modern. And before anyone instantly declares Jabbawockeez the winners, consider this: two of their members were former Kaba Modern dancers.

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In other dancing news, I hope Patrick Swayze beats cancer. I mean, seriously, he starred in Dirty Dancing. That makes him an instant 80's movie idol. Right up there with Molly Ringwald (Sweet Sixteen, The Breakfast Club) and Sean Astin ( The Goonies, Rudy). I'll honestly be sad if he doesn't make it. He practically reinvented what it means to do "The Lift".

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Okay, I was gonna do a Youtube video, but out of necessity it's gonna have to be a Myspace video. I just wanna show you all how much I love my cousins (well, for the most part they're my cousins, long story...). Here's a video of Rachel (on the right with the guitar), and our mutual good friend Tori (on the left) singing their version of Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning":
Sunday Morning

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Wow, aren't they good?!??!!? I love my family!!!

One More Month Til Bamboozle!!!

I'm pretty darn excited.

"Oscar The Grouch Jr." 2/28/08

This is such a cute photo. I was at the local park a few days ago, snapping photos of my friend's son, who is learning to play soccer there. So here are a bunch of little 4 and 5 year olds, happily running around on the grass, with no knowledge of the existence of rules, just doing whatever they can to run up to the ball and kick it. Comedy at its finest. I lost count of how many times kids bumped into each other and fell (don't worry, no crying today).

One of the kids spots me, and completely leaves the field and just starts playing with me (she's the one pictured above). She thought it'd be more fun to play peek a boo with me, and I ended up getting this photo as a result. She got caught eventually, and went back into the game. Fun times.

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Did you know Easter's in March this year? In fact, it's the earliest we'll ever see it in our lifetimes. I learned that at work today. Something about Easter being marked by the Jewish Lunar Calendar, as opposed to our standard Roman Calendar. Apparently, the last time Easter was in March was some 95 years ago. And it won't be this early again for another 285 years. That's pretty cool. I guess you could say we're experiencing history, but I highly doubt anyone even notices. Apparently after Y2K, anything having to do with dates isn't just as cool anymore.

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Today I bought yet another set of rechargeable batteries for my camera equipment, bringing my total amount to 20 AA Batteries and 8 AAA Batteries. And that's just all for the camera stuff. At about 10 bucks per set of 4 AA and 8 bucks per set of 4 AAA, that brings the total to almost 70 bucks on batteries alone. Sheesh. And then there are the chargers. I just bought a new charger that charges batteries in 15 minutes. Yeah, it was a lot more expensive, but considering the fact that I have so many sets, and it takes an average of 8 hours to fully charge a set, it was almost a necessary purchase. The charger was 35 bucks.

So that basically brings my budget for batteries well over 100 bucks. That's ridiculous. I suppose in the long run though, it'll end up being a wise investment. It's just hard to think of it as so right now.

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In other news, Gary Gygax has passed away today, at the age of 69. Who's Gary Gygax, you ask? Well, although the name might not sound familiar to you, if you've ever played an RPG game before in your life, then you have his influence to thank. Gary was the mastermind behind Dungeons and Dragons, the popular and infamous pen and paper roleplaying game. Sure, most people merely think of it as the Holy Grail of Nerdy Gamers, but you'd be very hard pressed to find a video game today that wasn't developed by someone who played the game. I can honestly say I owe a lot of late night gaming hours to this guy. I never played the pen and paper RPG personally, but I know what he created has influenced a lot of the games I've played. So thank you.

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Ugh, so the question pops up again today. Should I go into management? As awesome as the money is (I can end up making six figure salaries with enough work), do I really want to dedicate my time into that? I'm kinda happy with the freedom that I have right now, and it allows me to continue to take up photography as a happy side medium. Oh, but I do need the money. Not THAT much money, but it would be nice to have something to put aside for whatever I need. We'll see. I'll continue to contemplate.

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Okay, time to take a shower before I go to bed. Here's tonight's Youtube vid. Haha, I love this one. By now, you've probably seen those Jimmy Kimmel Live videos featuring Sarah Silverman, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck (if you haven't, just put any of those two names together in Youtube, it'll probably be in the top 5 searches). Anyways, those videos are some of the most watched on the internet right now. But I think people are only starting to see what I've seen for a long time. Jimmy's a lot funnier than I think people give him credit for, especially since he's a lot more recent on the late night talk show scene. Anyways, here's a great sketch featuring his security guard, Guillermo, trying to pursue his "dream":

Guess What?

This is officially my 30th entry in this blog. Nice. Yeah, I'm pretty much over Xanga by now.

Mt. Baldy Mountain Range 2/4/08

I took this photo from just up the hill from my house some odd days ago. I absolutely love the fact that I can pretty much wake up in the morning, look out my window, and see this. Granted, there is that one green hill in the way, but otherwise, it's just great. It'll be a shame to see this slowly turn brown over the coming months.

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Okay, so get this. I know its a little early (okay, way early), but I've already got my Halloween costume figured out. Now, me being me, I try not to go with costumes that are cliche or overdone. I love utilizing the creative side of me, and turning it into something wacky. I also love making costumes that are familiar, and yet not. As an example, and also in order to potentially humiliate myself further, here's an example of myself from last year. First, the inspiration:

Now, the result:

Oh yeah, good times.

Now, what is my costume going to be for this year? Well that my friends, is a secret. But I know that if I want it to be good, I'm going to have to start on it now. And trust me, you'll never see it coming.

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By the way, today's the start of a new week. Have you checked out your weekly dose of Postsecret and Kina Grannis yet? If not, I suggest you hop on over right away.

I would now like to take this time to announce my dinner for the rest of the week: Girl Scout Cookies. Last week's dinner special ended up being Doritos for 7 straight nights, now I've got Thin Mints, Samoas, and Do-si-dos. Do-si-dos are my personal favorites, mostly because I'm a sucker for peanut butter. I'd also like to take this time to thank Audrey, the coolest, and oldest, Girl Scout I know. She's a senior in high school. I didn't even think Girl Scouts lasted past elementary school. But mad props to her for sticking it out for so long and continuing to enjoy it. And for giving me cookies.

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Oh geez, its 330 already? Okay, here's my Youtube vid for tonight. This one's a little short, but its a really awesome look into something I've always wanted to do: time-lapse photography. It's obviously very time consuming, and setting up your camera in the right place is a must, and worst of all, you have to leave your camera there, alone. That's a scary thought. Well, you could stay there all day if you wanted to, but I'm sure that'd get really tiring, especially considering how long some time-lapse videos can be. Anyways, check this out, I know you'll like it:

Photography Is An Expensive Hobby/Business

But it's so worth it.

"You Are Loved" 8-15-07

I took a series of these photos for an advertising campaign for a company last year. I was fairly pleased with the results, especially considering I wasn't allowed to use studio or strobe lighting. The off center zoom effect was made possible with a Lensbaby lens, and employing a special trick I learned from a fellow photographer. Zoom effects are possible with any lens (quickly shift from close in to wide open while taking the shot), but the Lensbaby allows for different focusing other than the center. Maybe with a little experimenting, I can do it off center with a normal zoom lens, but I didn't have the time as of the shooting. I still love this shot due to the story it tells.

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Work this week has been thoroughly draining. I didn't even realize until just now, when I took a 3 hour nap, and I didn't know where I was when I woke up. I hate when that happens. Sometimes I tire myself out so much, that when I have a chance to rest, I knock out for hours. That's probably bad health-wise.

You know what else is bad health-wise? Eating whole giant bags of Doritos by yourself. Ever since Friday, when I ended up with 5 or 6 extra Doritos bags, I've been slowly munching on all of them. I particularly like this new "Smokin' Cheddar BBQ" flavor they've got. While its nowhere close to replacing my all time favorite Cooler Ranch, it runs a really close second. Actually, its pretty similar to Fritos Flavor Twists Honey BBQ. I've gone through 3 bags by myself already, Cooler Ranch, Poppin Jalapeno, and Smokin Cheddar BBQ. I'm also munching on these late into the night. That's usually an easy way to gain weight easily, but not for me. Blah. I want to gain 30 pounds. It's sooooo hard!!!!

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So I just got tapped tonight to photograph my little cousin Grace's debut in July. Awesome. I better get started on headshots and portraits for her as soon as possible. I'm still looking for people who'd like to take photos for fun. Come on, it's a great deal: You get pictures for yourself, and I get pictures for myself. All it takes is an investment of time. I'll even pay for any prints.

In preparation for graduations and prom formal photos, I've invested in a couple more lightstands, umbrellas, and flashes this week. Now I'm also gonna have to look for an assistant to help me out, cuz the equipment is starting to pile up and getting troublesome to set up by myself. But I'll manage for as long as I can. If anyone is interested, let me know. In return, I'll help train in photography, lighting, and positioning, and you might even get paid, if you can help get referrals. Everyone wins!!!

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A few friends of mine went skydiving today. How exciting. It's too bad I'm deathly afraid of heights. I think vertigo might run in my family too, so that doesn't help much either. I remember going to the Grand Canyon years ago, and while it was a beautiful sight to behold, just looking down made my knees weak. I seriously couldn't stand after a while, my head was spinning so much and I almost felt like throwing up. I'm not sure what the effects of vertigo entail, but they're probably similar to what I experienced. I wonder why that happens? I should look it up. I really would like to try skydiving one day though. I suppose its one of those things on my lifetime to-do list.

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On a last note, it was good seeing you today, Heidi =). For some reason, you always make me smile, and that's a good thing. I think you're one of the few people who just take full advantage of the life they're living, and that's just wonderful. Keep doing that. What's sad though, is I think I talk to you more than even your best friends Vero and Mercedes do. Well, lately, anyways. That's no good. We all need to hang out soon.

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Here's my Youtube video of the night. I know you all look forward to seeing these =). This one's a little old, but it never ceases to just blow me away and constantly inspire me. It's a video of ukulele phenom Jake Shimabukuro. I first got my first taste of him when I went to Hawaii for the first time in 2005. A year later, he did a cover of The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and it became one of the most watched videos online, and launched Jake onto the world stage. If you haven't yet seen this video, here's your chance to have your socks knocked off. And if you have seen it already, this is a great chance to be awed once again: