Until the 14th.

Its true. I'm leaving for a few weeks to go explore the world. Take some memorable life changing images and see things I've never dreamed of seeing. This next two and a half weeks will be an adventure. I'll try to post images and stories, but nothing is guaranteed. When I get back I'll be dropping the new blog and filling it with imagery.

Ingram Family Shoot

I was able to photograph the Ingram family for their Christmas Portraits.
Cory and Emilie are quickly becoming some of Audrey and I's favorite people. They are Audrey's other family. She's a nanny for Keegan and Kendall and couldn't be happier.
Here are a few quick photos of our shoot!

WPJA thinks I'm alright

The winning shot was from Angie and David's Palm Springs Wedding.

Alright, so its not 1st place, and its not 2nd place... but I did win...(19th place for best silhouettes and Shadows shot)
See all winner HERE
WPJA (wedding photojournalist Association) is an elite group that holds 4 photo contests a year for the Wedding photojournalists across the world.
Ira (my brother) was once rated # 2 Wedding Photojournalist in the world by this site.

Belmont Shore Christmas Parade

Love this shot.

The 26th Annual Belmont Shore Christmas Parade was Saturday night. I was a parade judge. What does that mean? It means any number of things, but mainly that I dress up like a judge, pens in pocket, tie around neck and a niche for seeing details in floats, then in turn putting your thoughts on paper all in a matter of 15 seconds or for however long it took for the float to drive/roll/walk across my view.
So there you have it... how to judge a Christmas parade 101. You also have to have a good supply of wine nearby...which I had.
I love the annual Christmas parade mostly because it seems like after the parade is over, Christmas season can finally begin here in the shore.
As you can see I was busy judging I had a hard time finding time to photograph.
Here's a few shots I took.

Audrey being a nanny

Eddie Kurkjian's the man. The tie was strictly for christmas cheer (And some deserved attention it recieved!)

Robert Garcia doing interviews.

Yes, being a judge is quite manly.

Kiwanis had the best float.

Cotton Candy man.

Someday I wanna be grand marshall and ride an elephant.

My Guilty Pleasures

Alright, so I have two. (They overlap.)
one• Terry Richardson. I love his photos. Its simple, its sexy, its art and its fashion.
two• Lindsay Lohan. I've always had a mini crush on her, she's not scared of bad press, shes got this wildness about her, this shoot she did with Terry Richardson is perfect.
So there you have it... I've confessed my guility pleasures...I hope they overlap more often.
Terry Richardson shot "Tom Fords eyewear" campaign.

Lindsay: By Terry

Terry Richardson Himself

More on Mr.Richardson HERE (please use discretion on your surroundings when clicking this link)

I love this shot of Lindsay. maybe the fur is faux?

More on Ms.Lohan HERE

Adam's Project

I love this.
Adam did an excellent job of embodying a group of his friends (me included) individually expressing some chaos in these "Church Directory Photos"

Here is his blog post. Loose Luggage: "Long Beach People"

Danny Simon

Samuel Lippke

Adam Sjoberg

SX Time

Audrey and I just celebrated our 1 year together!
She got me this Polaroid Camera, its the original SX-70
I love it! When I photographed Shannon Leith a few weeks ago, she brought along her SX-70, I was Able to shoot some Polaroids with it. Coincidentally, Audrey just happened to get me one this past weekend!
Thanks Audrey!

Also, thanks to this BLOG for the image of the SX-70, taken with another SX-70. That blog is legit!
Another HUGE inspiration for wanting a polaroid is ERIC TRINE's "Polaroid a day"

Audrey's Gritty Shoot: "The Real Thing"

As I promised before, here are more images from Audrey's birthday shoot.
I love this concept of shooting for your birthday, using the pictures for invites, sending back to mom, or just adding to your portfolio.
I love these images.

Southern California is burning!

This place is a smoke house. This weekend fires roared 20 miles from my studio. It was 90º+ and It felt like I was in a smoke filled sauna.
Take a look at these shots I took while walking out the door for San Diego.
My black car looks more of a Grey tint with this ash layer.
After breathing in toxic waste for 3 days and seeing ash float around like snow in the winter...
I have a solution for punishing fire starting piro freaks... burn them at the stake.
My Heart goes out to all those that lost their homes and their memories to the fires.
And Oprah who lost her home.
I'm complaining about air quility here, but I can't imagine what it would be like to lose everything... that ash we see in the air and stuck to our cars could be someone in Yorba Linda's couch.
Please take this time to help rescue efforts in neighboring cities struggling after loss of homes and property. find information on helping fire victims or to Donate Red Cross
If you are a victim, find out information to get back to normal with help. "Rebuild your Life"

Many of the Belmont Shore businesses hurt this weekend with the ash keeping people in their homes. Grab a mask and go buy stuff, its good for our economy!

The CSULB flag with the murky brown smoke clouds looming in the background.

Like a chocolate cake in the sky... layers of smoke over Belmont Shore.

Shannon's shoot

I had the privilege of photographing fellow photographer; Shannon Leith tonight.
She was in need of some new images for her upcoming blog launch, so we set out to get her just that... I think we ended up getting more then that. I'm honored she would come to me for pictures and not just shoot self portraits like I do when I need pictures, Haha!

I also loved shooting Polaroids with her. You can see more about that on her blog HERE
We had a great time while working hard to get the images she needed, hope you like um.

Props to Ann Pacheco for the great hair and makeup!

Shannon, good work in front of the camera, its quite the switch from being behind it... Am I right?

Heres a sample of images to come.






Shannon's BLOG, she has some great images from Africa, as well as some sweet Polaroids up there.

Ellen and Andrew's Shoot

Ellen and Andrew came knocking on my door for some superb imagery to document their love for eachother, advertise their upcoming marriage and to portray who they are and things they enjoy. I gladly agreed.
After idea after idea, we came up with an amazing plan! An afternoon Sunday picnic in the woods... It ended up starting to pour down while we were shooting, so the umbrella came in handy. I love these few images. There are plenty more amazing shots, but I can't show you too much, I want there to be some mystery for when they show you themselves!

+ I have a sweet SLIDESHOW coming tomorrow afternoon!

Enjoy!

Not all of my clients are this adventurous... but its nice when they're down for anything!
Here you see them climbing through fences per my request.

EastSideBride- Likes this shoot. See her post HERE