Just one for an update

This car is currently going through a few changes. Just thought I'd post a pic of whats to come. Just an FYI, blogger really desaturates the photo's upload here. Please refer to this link for the better, original version.

Sadie and Motley at the park

Had a lot of fun taking the dogs to the park today. They had fun and I had fun shooting them. I must say though that it was hard trying to juggle shooting pictures and playing fetch. There weren't too many dogs there today which made it much easier for me to just let them roam freely around the park. Something interesting I saw though was that there was a new newsletter informing guests about recent rattlesnake sightings in and around the dog park. So FYI. if you plan to take your dogs to Ed Levin Park in Milpitas, please be cautious and aware of your environment. Rattle snakes are commonly found during hot, humid weather which is about mid-day in the bay area. They don't strike or attack for no reason, if you see one or hear one grab or call for your dog and leave the area. Also, do not put your hand or step into an area where you can't see. Enjoy the rest of summer with your pets while we still have it but continue to safe and cautious about your surroundings.

This is Reyna, my wife.

I did a quick shoot in our backyard with my new lens and tripod setup to test out the DOF ( depth of field) and Reyna was happy to be of assistance. For one of the photos, I wanted to create a "windy hair" look so I used a leaf blower to achieve it which wasn't necessary because we had more than enough fans to blow the hair off of her head. The rest of the photos were just random poses that worked out pretty well. Again, thanks for being a brave model and not surrendering to the leaf blower!

P.S. I know that the pictures needed a fill flash but for this particular shoot, I really only wanted ambient light as my main light source.

Family Photos

Heres a picture I took sparingly of my brother David his girlfriend Justine and their son Jaiden. It's nice having pictures to look back on especially of your family. As a kid growing up, I can't recall a time where we sat down and took pictures just for fun. In a family of seven including my parents, you would expect a huge photo album but unfortunately we only have one. My mom still has it and I often look through it whenever I get the chance to. As an adult now looking back, I promised myself to always have a camera around to capture moments I share with my family so that one day my kids and future generations can have something to refer back to. I don't hate my parents for not taking more pictures but the memories they had captured and saved in an old, dusty, half-way torn 30 page photo album from the early 80's to mid 90's were some of the best memories I remember sharing with my siblings. So I guess for this situation quality was more important than quantity.

In addition to my immediate family, I also have a beautiful wife and two super energetic puppies that keep us going. We already started a family album together and as the years go by, I know we'll have plenty more memories to add to it.

Photographer's Block

I don't know what this feeling is but lately I've been feeling uninspired to pick up my camera and shoot anything. I feel like I've been diagnosed with a heavy dose of photographer's block. Maybe it's because I've been shooting too much of the same thing and I need to just leave it and try something new for a while? Whatever this feeling may be, I need to find a remedy for it. I have two projects lined up this weekend and one is a personal project that I'll be trying to finish up.

I've been doing a lot of reading and experimenting with artificial lighting so we'll see how it turn out in actual practice. It's new to me so I expect a lot of trial and error which is perfectly fine because that's what makes the process of photography so fun.

Im done ranting and I'm already starting to feel a little better.

My New Gear

Got some new gear the other day from BH photo store and I'm pretty stoked about it. Didn't get a chance to take actual pictures of the product by itself because I was too excited. Anyway here's a picture of all my new gear together. Items pictured are Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS II, Manfrotto 498 RC2 ball head, Manfrotto 055xpro tripod.

Motley and Sadie

Here are a few pictures of our two yorkies. I'm in the process of uploading some newer pictures but they pretty much look the same.