This picture of me and Khiemy cracks me up - we were in goofy moods.  It was taken when I was back home after our group ate at Lucille's in Brea.  Come to think of it...we shared the dinner...then this picture.  What is going on here?!!

Just to mention photos - I've noticed that more and more people are buying some nice DSLR cameras, which is great.  They usually ask me which one to buy and my answer is:

1.  Stick with Canon or Nikon because there are a huge selection of lenses and accessories that are easily available, ranging from beginner's stuff to high end fancy stuff.

2.  If your budget is under $1000, get a Canon Rebel __.  It has great picture quality and is compatible with all the new Canon lenses.  The Nikons D40/60 can't use older mechanical lenses.

3.  If your budget is between $1000-$2000, get a Nikon.  Big high resolution screens and manual controls built for serious photographers will allow you to learn your camera, making the next step up very easy.  I was very comfortable with the D3 after the D70s.  

4.  $2000 and up - either brand is great.  At this point, it's really your own skill rather than the camera that's limiting you.  

Finally, I will say that the camera only matters so much and having a nice one makes your life a little easier.  Unfortunately, having the best camera without the knowledge or artistic sense will lead to boring pictures, even if they are sharp.  The best pictures technically don't necessarily mean good pictures.  Some of my favorite pics are grainy, a little out of focus...it's ok as long as people find it interesting.  Anyway, that's my 2 cents!   More soon.

More Dallas Pics

So I went out with my Texas friends, Michael and his wife Tu to Dallas yesterday at the Kennedy Memorial District in the Historic West End. I brought my camera and snapped a few pictures. Using my old D70s was having some problems focusing with water in front so I got a lot of blurry pics. We ended up at an anime convention at this hotel lobby which was awesome. There were so many people in cosplay but my favorite was Arcee from transformers - coolest cosplay ever.

Evelyn and Kirk part 2

Some pics taken at the San Gabriel Mission (a very popular place for pictures, but a little overrated). Once again, some awesome warm sunset lighting. The D3's focus tracking system worked flawlessly when they were walking. Anyway, this is my last post from Southern California.

Beef and Evelyn Part 2

More pics from K&E's picture set. Check back tomorrow for some new pictures of a Barb and Mike.

Kirk and Evelyn

Some awesome sunset lighting.

A little more processing for the cool cross-process effect.

File this one under Johnny's Favorites.

This one too.

Something a little different.

One of my best friends Kirk AKA "Beef" and his wife Evelyn got married a few months ago, so they're doing things backwards by finally taking some pictures. I took the D3 out for a spin and it did pretty awesome. All these pictures were taken locally in Alhambra. I spoted this gym for a while now and always wanted to shoot there because of the colors. This goes to show you that you don't have to go to a fancy romantic place to get some awesome pictures. It's all about lighting and angles. I am absolutely loving the colors and sharpness coming out of the D3. These have been retouched a bit but nothing like the D70s, which required some heavy processing.

I've been super busy so pictures have not been my priority. But...this is a double header...tomorrow (Sunday) is an engagement shoot with Barbara and Mike. So check back soon!

Some Dinner Pics

Alea, UCI undergraduate Class of 2008!


B - I just threw her in there cuz this was a nice pic.

Khiemy and Ty - who I owe a refund for the red envelope. I actually owe Johnny Lam one too, but he got me a gift certificate. I'll have to figure out a way to pursuade them to accept their refunds.

I have been patiently awaiting my more powerful lappy computer which is in for repair to do some retouching so pictures have been trickling out veeerrry slowly. Here are a few more guests who only attended the dinner portion (which was probably the smarter thing to do). Also, congrats to my former research assistant Alea, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from UCI and attending Hastings Law School! There was a lot of brain power in that room come to think of it.

Also, on the Sienna front - that little girl might be getting an agent so hopefully I can get in on the action for pictures. The talent scout really liked her and my "professional" looking photos :) Anyway, these photos were snapped by me just for fun. (I only shot a handful that day). I notice that photo newbies tend to shoot horizontal shots a lot. I guess it feels more natural. I suggest changing things up - go vertical, try shooting upward from below, and even ... do I dare go there??....TILT the camera. But please use sparingly at non extreme angles (just my opinion).

Hey Jeff, I know you have 2 kids and a wife to get out of, but we need to get together soon!

Before | After

I was talking to Shari today about photos and retouching so I gave her a quick demo. The first pic is straight out of the camera and the second shot is retouched. As you can see, it makes a big difference. My philisophy on this is just to do enough to enhance the picture a little bit - don't go nuts. The trick is a good shot to begin with. Some people can perform miracles with Photoshop but I can't. I love the lighting in this shot, giving her the famous "glow."

What I've done is enhance the color saturation and contrast and boosted the light a little. Some people might not like the color or that you can't see the beach but I like the warm tones on this one - the effect I was going for, it's all a matter of taste. Also notice she's not facing the sun. But you do it I bet either the flash goes off or the person is too dark. How did I do this?

1. You need a DSLR (you can get one for pretty cheap these days, don't anything fancy)
2. Spot meter on the face (make sure your camera has this)
3. Adjust your camera settings to it and make some adjustments. (I use manual mode)

How did I learn this? Reading photography sites with tips like this one and practicing ;) I'm just passing along the info.

Feel free to leave questions in the comments or share your photo tips.

Shari @ Santa Monica

Earlier this week Shari and I met up in Santa Monica for some food and hanging out. I had my camera with me so we snapped a few photos. She spotted a great location on the pier and the lighting was perfect.

So what's the best way to light a person with sunlight? There are a couple of ways to go about this. A lot of people face the sun, but all you get are squints and it looks harsh. Some people will have the sun to the back but it'll come out dark or you'll have to use a flash, which isn't flattering. My favorite is to have the sun at an angle - notice the nice glow :) This can only be done during specific times.

So what's the best time to shoot? Ideally, I like to shoot during dusk, about 30 minutes before the sun sets. The worst time is probably high noon, when the sun is bright which casts harsh shadows. It can be easily fixed by just going in the shade - but if you do make sure you have a good fast lens.

That's my way of shooting, there is really no right or wrong way but this way produces the more flattering pictures in my opinion and it's just my style of lighting. Some people love it and some might hate it.

Saturday I'll get a chance to shoot with AC so hopefully I'll have some nice pictures to show.

A Birthday with Crawdads

I had a tasty cholesterol-filled treat this past weekend at Anisa's birthday crawdad extravaganza. This is the second year I've done this so I'm a pro at this now - the trick is not to eat the meat and suck the head but you gotta peal the head back to scrape the head fat (the best part). Yes, it sounds gross but true crawdad fans know what I'm talkin about. The next birthday coming up in my good friend "Prince" Howard's this weekend (see the post where I was a groomsman at his wedding).

Anyway, here are a couple of my portraits shot with awesome sunset lighting and my favorite 1.4 lens. I'm going to post another golden sunset lighting picture soon that I shot at Santa Monica.

Also, looks like I'm going to be assisting AC this weekend to shoot a wedding so that should be fun. A lot more pictures soon.

Sienna The Slideshow

Ok this is the last Sienna post for a long while, as I am only documenting the first year of her life. It's a good thing Kris has a nice camera so he can take over from here. It's amazing to see someone grow up so fast. She's developing quite the personality as you can tell by the pictures. She's got a split personality, so goes back and forth between all-business like dad and silly/funny like mom with her own goofy style added in. My regular blog readers have shared this experience with me. If you like the pics you can see most of them in the archives. Enjoy :)

Howard + Sandy + Nikon F4

Nikon F4 with the fat 17-35mm 2.8.

Howard and Sandy came up to visit today for some lunch (See history for their wedding). Sandy brought her Nikon F4 film camera, which was the top-of-the-line Nikon back in the day. Actually, Howard's dad owns the camera and it's been sitting in storage in mint condition for ages. She's taking a photography class. Attached to it is the 85 1.8 lens ...yummy (did I tell you how much I think prime lenses rule???). Unfortunately for me, I have an old Canon EOS Rebel S film camera that isn't compatible with my Nikon lenses. Two gear posts...what's going on here??!!

The good news is that there are some birthdays coming up in March, which means some pictures of people coming soon.

Update: New Poll (Which camera brand do you use) on the right as well as a link to Sandy's blog -->>

Slow Period ... Old Photos

I haven't updated this blog in a while and well...I haven't been taking any pictures lately. So, the next best thing is to dig up some old ones and fix them up. Here are a couple of pictures of me (top) and AC (bottom) taking pictures during our trip to Lake Tahoe last year. Seeing these pictures makes me miss the fresh air and relaxation.

Let's see...what else is new in my photo world. I bought a new flash bounce card which I haven't tried out yet. I am looking to buy at 70-200 lens - I was so impressed at Lynn's wedding and if I have the money, a new camera. I know it's not the camera that produces the nice pictures but the person taking it but I've outgrown my little camera. I'm looking for something with better low-light capabilities and faster/more reliable focusing. If you are reading this blog and have a DSLR camera, chances are your camera is > than mine...but that's ok :) What I will buy first is a little point and shoot camera. I'm deciding between the soon to be released Canon SD1100 or the Nikon S600. Personally I hate using the little cameras because they're so slow. What to do???

If I don't take any more interesting pictures soon I'm going to post a 'What Gear do I Use' post.

Some of Rita's Pictures at Atlanta

A cool shot of a sawfish shark.


Rita and I with the Coke bear.


This picture just cracks me up.






Here's me donating $1 to a beggar...oh wait...

These are some pictures Rita took at the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coke in Atlanta a couple weeks ago with her Nikon D40. See the full set on her Flickr photostream. Good times.

Jazmine's Quinceanera

Getting the speech ready.




Getting ready at the house.




Purple (I assume her favorite color) was the color of the day.




Arriving at church.


I love this picture.


Mom Celinda was so proud.


On to the reception. Nice details and decorations.


Same crowd as Susy's graduation party - yep they still know how to party.


Suzanne's slideshow.

First of all, happy birthday Jazmine! Yesterday I shot Jazmine's quinceanera and it was simply amazing. What really impresses me is that Jazmine at only 15 is not just beautiful on the outside, but is well grounded and mature. She wrote and gave a touching speech that thanked those that mattered in her life and unlike those stupid MTV Sweet 16s, stressed how NOT important material things are. Her family definitely raised her well. Her aunt Suzanne made an incredible video that started with a sonogram and ended with half the place in tears. I was fortunate to be a part of it.

Anyway, before I get too sappy, here are the pictures. I shot it photojournalistic style which tells the story of the day - almost like a wedding. I got some killer shots and some that exposes me as the kind of wannabe photographer I am. There will be a ton more pictures in the coming days.

Update: I totally forgot to give a birthday shout-out to Khiemy (see link on right) who celebrated his 31st birthday last week. We went out on Friday for some shabu shabu which was delicious but the spiciness almost KO'd me for the quinceanera the next day. I got him The Orange Box as a gift but haven't been able to give it a good run through myself.