For the love of it: Ama-teur

Back at it

2009-12-06T19:59:00.001-08:00

This is a sad day, my browser did not even recognize my blog address when I came to sign on, that's how long it's been. Okay, let's get some life back in the blog!

I've had a great few months since last posting, with lots of shooting. I've done a wedding, 2 engagement sessions, had a week at summer camp, a week in Iowa, Drumline Camp, Band Camp, concerts, a trip to El Salvador and some very fun Christmas concert series at TMC.

Well, here are a few from the most recent shoot, the wedding of my friends Tim and Gina Dunham. Tim and I grew up together in San Bernardino when we were much younger, and it has been a blast to reconnect with him over the past year. His beautiful bride, Gina, is an absolute steal and a stunning blonde, as you'll see below. Their wedding was at the Cabrillo State Beach House, a classic building right on the beach in San Pedro.

The floral arrangements and centerpieces were so creative and masterfully done.

Each table had a large glass cylinder filled with the flowers, a waterproof light and water.

Here's the guys, very studly. You should see Tim's 6-pac.

Gina MADE her dress...wow! She works as a fashion designer for Vans

and special ordered the fabric from a specialty mill in China. Here she is

putting the last minute touches on it with the iron.

Loved the shoes. They went perfectly with the dress.

Ta-Da! See, I told you....

Yum. That's all I have to say.

These are some of my students from Valley Christian.

They performed beautifully before and after the service.

Too bad they're all seniors, I'm going to miss them next year!

There were so many sweet moments of affection throughout the day.

I Do

Gina's dad both walked her down the aisle, with her mom,

and performed part of the ceremony.

The wedding location shouted beauty.

Wedding party...

These are some of my new favorite bridal portraits.

Her dress is absolutely gorgeous...or maybe that's just her.

Tim: "O yeah..."

After we lost the last light we headed inside to the reception.

Tim and Gina had prepared an elegant tango which they performed

with graceful precision. It wasn't an up-tempo, high energy dance, but

the attention to detail and form made it beautiful and impressive.

Cake time!

And I won't show you how he got that... ;)

Tim and Gina, Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your wedding day. I hope the images we captured will help you recall it well. Thank you for the wonderful hospitality you showed your guests, and for putting up with me taking pictures of everything! Looking forward to getting to know you more and sharing in your joy and love for life.

To everyone else, thanks for stopping by, especially since you weren't likely to see anything! I am looking forward to posting some more of what's been going on soon.

Nicole and Paul's Wedding

2009-08-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! They're finished! One fantastic wedding this summer was that of the Kent's. They were married way back on July 11 at the beautiful Faith OPC campus in Long Beach. Thanks to my good friends Steve and Bree, we had the day covered from all angles and had a ton of fun along the way. Steve even had some crazy shooting out of my sunroof as we drove. The whole day was beautiful from start to finish, and Paul and Nicole were so relaxed and "in the moment" the whole time. I love shooting weddings that not only feature beautiful brides, but feature our beautiful savior, Jesus Christ, as the ultimate treasure. Here are a few images from the day. Enjoy!

The preparation:

Paul and Nicole each exchanged gifts and letters before the ceremony.

Here Paul is sporting the new cufflinks Nicole gave him,

complete with their monogram.

Nicole was a stunning bride.

You can tell by just the hair!

A delightful bunch of bridesmaids

One of my favorite portraits. ever.

We're cool. We know it.

tsssssss....

The picture says it all

We did it! WooHoo!

Now we're allowed to do this

and this...

...and this...

...but not this. ever.

An oldie but a goodie!

2009-08-23T20:05:00.001-07:00

So, I'm back in the saddle, so to say, through galavanting around the world for now, and it's time for a Post. and a Kent. These shots are of Nicole Post and Paul Kent, who recently became Mr. and Mrs. Kent (I'm just about done editing the wedding, no thanks to Bree and Steve who helped me take 10,000 from the big day). But before I post the shots from the wedding, I wanted to put up a few from their engagement shoot which took place earlier this summer. Also, I had a blast at camp with the Jr. Highers from my church (an exciting video coming from there soon) as well as a killer trip to the Midwest with plenty to post, so I should have enough to do in the next few weeks. Also, Band Camp starts tomorrow for the students at Valley Christian High School, where I teach, so we'll be having fun there all week. Paul and Nicole, thanks so much for letting me capture your day. I am spoiled having such incredible and good-looking people to work with!

Fairbanks, AK

2009-07-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well, life has been a whirlwind the past couple weeks, so I'll try and post a few things to catch up till now. I am currently in Fairbanks, Alaska, for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. I'm playing a ton of horn in all kinds of groups. A highlight is definitely playing the Schumann Konzertstucke with the orchestra, which is a piece for 4 solo horns and orchestra. Earlier in July I had the privilege of shooting Nicole and Paul's wedding in Long Beach. Brienne Michelle and Steven Hernandez helped me out and we had a blast the whole day! Here's a couple fabulous shots from that day. And there'll be a big post in August on these guys as well.

After the wedding, my sister Hannah came down to hang out for a few days. We had a blast and did all kinds of things, including her senior pictures. Here's a couple of the ones we liked...

Then I took off for Alaska on the 18th. The flight up was just beautiful and Seattle is one of my favorite places. Here's a few shots of flying into Seattle.

Leaving LAX

Here is Beautful Malibu, CA

Shortly after Malibu I saw this plane flying towards

us, which didn't look very safe, but we didn't crash. WooHoo!

It was the closes i've ever seen another plane to me in flight.

Here is the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The first bridge was

famous here because the natural resonant frequency of the bay

matched that of the bridge, which caused the bridge to rock and

roll violently till its collapse.

Mt. Rainier from the plane. A striking 14,411 ft which comes

straight up from almost sea level.

Here is the Columbia River, made famous by the Lewis and Clark

Expedition of 1803-1806, the first American overland trek to the

Pacific and back.

So, we made it to Alaska and have had a great first week to the festival. Here are some pictures from our hike in Denali National Park on Saturday.

The Birch Forests are just beautfiul. I love the contrast.

Panorama from the top

Sitting on the edge of the world
Alan, a trombonist from UCLA, enjoying the Alaskan summer sun.

Fireweed. The first thing to grow back after a forest fire.
"You lookin' at me?"
Our groundsquirrel company for lunch.
A leisurely lunch on top of the mountain.

The Crew: Alan, Crystal and me

Tammy and Kenneth Wedding

2009-07-09T22:34:00.000-07:00

Warning: Due to the excessive happiness and good looks of the following subjects, this blog post has been lengthened extensively.

Wow, what a day! Tammy and Kenneth tied the knot on June 27, 2009. I have officially decided that due to the success of this shoot, I will only be working with good-looking and friendly people from this point forward. The whole day ran so smoothly, from start to finish, and everyone was relaxed and happy to be there. Tammy and Kenneth are perfect for each other, and I truly enjoyed working with them and all their friends. It was a blessing to be around fellow believers and to get to capture this Christ-centered wedding day. I was encouraged by how selflessly everyone interacted and built one another up. Thanks Tammy and Kenneth for allowing me to capture the day!

Here are some "getting ready" shots:

my competition for the day

Bling

Tammy's sister did her makeup, and did a fantastic job.

The dress was killer. Absolutely Stunning.

Though, not so much on Mr. Dugan.

The ceremony was simple and beautiful:

Tammy's cousin from Ooooooooklahoma

The backlighting coming in the yellow windows

in the back was fantastic, although the whitebalance

did go a little haywire with the different temps of light.

"I've been waiting for this..."

Forged in the fires of.....

Nice shootin, Steve! This picture was taken by StevenJae

WooHoo!

This next section is a few of my favorites from the portraits.

Totally fun bridesmaids, but Tammy had them all beat.

Don't mess...

This one's for you, Brenda. Nice Mini!

Tammy and Kenneth found this terrific spot to take pictures

after the ceremony. We had a blast at the beautiful location,

even after we received a stern verbal rebuke for trespassing on

to someone's property that we though was public.

The Brandon Brothers

Can you tell?

This way they didn't get their socks mixed up.

The reception was a blast, and included live Mariachi music,

fresh-grilled carne asada, chips and salsa, and line dancing!

A very classy cake

Canta!

Splish-splash I was makin' a toast, all

upon a Saturday night....

Happy 4th!

2009-07-07T00:42:00.001-07:00

Howdy! It's been a while since i've posted some random stuff on here, and I have stacks of it to put up, so before my eyes close (which they're trying to do right now) I'm going to get a few images up from the 4th and before. Tammy, your stuff is making great progress....look for a post in a day or two. I'm also going to throw in a couple from Nicole and Paul's E-session which was tonight in Long Beach. Too much fun!

These are some fireworks my neighbors let me in on.

2nd Curtain Flash...something new I picked up recently.

Nice concentric circles, Rob!

Ella: "this thing is hot!"

Ella Twirling

Pit night at Westrups

Fireworks in Visalia

My buddy Steve. Thanks for all you do to make life fun my friend!

Okay, here's 3 from the E-Session with Nicole and Paul. Enjoy!

Tammy and Kenneth - a teaser

2009-06-30T01:51:00.000-07:00

Holy wedding cakes Batman! I had the privilege of shooting Tammy and Kenneth Brandon's wedding this past Saturday. It was a tough day going into it, having all my lenses stolen the night before, but God provided over and above what I needed and I had a blast! Here are a few images from the day, but there's a lot more coming. I think these will let you know why the day went so well...you can just see the joy radiating from Tammy, Kenneth and all those around them.

Tammy and Kenneth E-Session

2009-06-24T14:06:00.001-07:00

God is so good. It is true that he delights in giving good gifts to his children. Tuesday was a beautiful day, and now there's only 4 days left 'till the big day for Tammy and Kenneth! We headed down to The Pike in Long Beach to shoot some engagement photos and have a little hang time before zero hour on sat and boy was it perfect! It was so much fun to hang out with them. Kenneth and Tammy are so easy-going and relaxed, so in love and so joyful that it's impossible to not start feeling the same way. Tammy has a smile that just doesn't stop, and Kenneth might have missed his calling, as a model. Tammy and Kenneth, I'm really looking forward to your wedding!

This wheel is on an actual sailing vessel that is completely old school,

straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean, complete with cannons.

SOOC: go canon + golden delicious light

It's amazing the places you can get when you drop the "getting married" card!

one of my fav's, compositionally speaking =)

alright alright, a little cheesy, i know

Kacie and Todd's Wedding

2009-06-14T18:48:00.001-07:00

Thanks for Letting me 2nd shoot Steve!

Emma is ONE!

2009-06-14T16:32:00.001-07:00

We had a fantastic time at the park on Saturday with a ladybug themed party for Emma. Darren and April invited friends and family to celebrate the first year of Emma Grace on this earth. I had some stiff competition with Doug, Aprils father, who is an avid photographer and managed to take more pictures than me! He's a Nikon guy, but I'll try not to hold it against him. =) Thanks April for putting on such a great party! It was a blast to get together!

The Birthday Girl

A Story by April and Darren and Nathan, but mostly Nathan

There once was a birthday girl with eyes of blue

She liked big polka-dot balloons and would hug them all too!

While playing with grandma out on the grass green,

They blew great big bubbles, all shiny and sheen

She reached up to grab one, and no one said "Stop!"

But before she could grab it, the bubble went Pop!

All giggles and smiles, her mama so proud,

You could tell just by looking, their smiles were so loud!

She played in the sand

and she played with her bags

But the most fun of all was riding with dad.

Then this J-Crew guy showed up.

Then the winds of change, they started to blow

Emma looked to the sky, could it be snow?

Emma asked the rabbit, "what should be done?"

She couldn't stand the thought of stopping all that fun.

It soon became clear that something must be done

A battle was coming, and that battle must be won

The Warriors, they painted and psyched themselves up

They swang...

...and they swung...

...and they never gave up!

As the ghastly mexican lady bug spilled her candy guts

The crowd cheered and they yelled and they almost went nuts.

The day was saved, but as soon became clear

that wasn't the only feat to bring fear

A crazy lady with a box full of bugs

was quickly approaching with a menacing mug.

"One of these you must eat!, or you're not really one,

then in vain you've been smiling and having all this fun!"

A task so ginormous and ghastly and gaunt

was sure all her memories of this birthday to haunt

So she split it in two and pondered and thought

"I might as well try it, I'll give it a shot!"

"This tastes pretty wow, so rich and so new,

That it tasted so good, I hadn't a clue!"

I'll pound it and roll it,

I think that's how it's done

But any way you slice it, this cupcake sure is fun!

They all agreed.

"No, no, that's now how to eat it, you do it just like this,

If you concentrate real hard, your mouth you shan't miss"

(The scary lady actually turned out to be pretty nice.

Moral of the story, don't judge a scary lady by her facebook)

The End

Here's April and her friend Missy

And April's Dad, Doug, the other photographer

And last but not least, Grandma Helen and Emma

Emma Is ONE!

2009-06-14T15:57:00.001-07:00

Here's my first Video from a service that I'm going to start using

The Rescue. A.K.A. Photos from the life of a delinquent blogger

2009-04-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

The wind howled and kicked sand in the air as the crowds lined up to abduct themselves. At 4 o'clock on Saturday, April 25 the march started in Santa Monica from south of the pier all the way up to city hall, about a mile and a half away. At "The Rescue" individuals "abducted" themselves, marched to a designated Lord's Resistance Army Camp (LRA) and waited to be rescued by the 2 necessary things: the Media and a Mogul, or "A" list politician or celebrity. The purpose was to raise awareness and speak out in solidarity against the longest running war in Africa and Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA who has ruthlessly abducted thousands of children and put them on the front lines of battle. Invisible Children is an amazing organization that has brought awareness and a heart for these child soldiers through incredible use of media, especially facebook and YouTube. Steve Hernandez gave me a call and said "dude, come to this thing on Saturday, i got us on as official photographers". Needless to say, my eyes were opened more to the whole issue and we had a blast.

Here is the abduction site.

Over 4000 people showed up to participate.

What a sea

This is Jason Russell, the founder of Invisible Children.

A filmmaker from USC, he travelled to Uganda and it

changed his life. He is a passionate and gifted man.

It was cool to have him at the Los Angeles site, becuase

there were 100 other cities in 10 different countries

who were participating.

This teacher from Santa Clarita was nicer than he looked.

The volunteer staff did an amazing job of organizing the 4000+

people who came to support the event and abduct themselves.

The March started at 4:00 PM and everyone marched

single-file, holding on to pieces of rope with 10 on each rope.

The sands of santa monica beach.

IC is not a Christian organization, but they certainly run

on biblical principles and a majority of people involved

seemed to be believers.

The stream of people seemed endless!

Once everyone got to the camp it was expected that we

would stay until we were rescued, which could have meant

days. We were rescued early on that night, but Chicago

is still not rescued as I write this and has been camped

out for 3 days.

Everyone who was abducted got a red x on their hand.

Once we got to the campsite they did some filming for

some new media that they will present to congress in

June. Jason was an amazing director, getting incredible

results in no time with a crowd of strangers.

this is the camp from across the street...City Hall in Santa Monica.

Stephen Hernandez. None other.

Filming on the lawn of city hall for the new media.

Kristen Bell was one of our celebrity rescuers. She was great.

Here was KTLA's van.

while we were camped out, we wrote letters to Boxer and

Feinstein to express our concern and empathy for the situation.

Another one of our celebrity rescuers. They said he was

on the O.C., but I didn't know him.

This is another rescuer, the director of Bruce Almighty,

Ace Ventura and several other films.

Christmas

2009-01-19T22:25:00.001-08:00

So, this is incredibly late, but here's a few shots from Christmas. Emma, Darren and April's little girl stole the show with her bubbly, cute expressions. She is such a happy baby! I praise God for such an amazing family that is so fun to be a part of. There's not much interesting in this post, photographically speaking, just some fun pictures of the people in my life that make life a little easier and a whole lot more fun.

One of our favorite family past-times is doing the dishes. We're good at it.

Here Darren and I had just finished scrubbin some mean pots and pans.

In case there's ever a question, Taylor is by far the

best dog that will ever grace our family's presence.

Just look at that face. It says it all. Wisdom. Loyalty.

Spunk. Personality. Determination. Dedication. Cool.

The many, many faces of Emma...

Lela and Emma...too cute.

Mom and Dad, now Grandma and Grandpa, reliving the glory days.

I love this one of April and Emma

My beautiful sisters.

Heidi, while not the best dog, is growing on me. she has

tons of personality and is slowly becoming more engaging.

Our good friend Steve Morrison brought us this nativity

set from Peru. The clay figures are all wearing traditional

Peruvian clothes and hats. Just to clarify, Jesus was not born in

Peru, but I do love this set.

Hannah feeding Emma. Mmm Mmm Mmm!

Emma with Toffee, the new cousin-dog, in the background.

A very cute cocker spaniel.

Here's our most normal cousin. His name is Isaiahmiah.

J.K.

Warm fuzzy slippers, a holiday favorite, especially when

knitted by the one and only grandma Rita.

Is that so?

A few Christmas tree lights.

Camping in Carlsbad

2009-01-18T14:51:00.001-08:00

This weekend on Saturday afternoon I went down to South Carlsbad State Beach to join my friend Matt Westrup in some serious surfing...well, he did the surfing and i took the pictures. I tried to get some video of him doing his thing by putting my small point and shoot camera in a ziploc bag and putting on some fins, but that video is a little hazy. I'm definitely going to look into a waterproof casing for the camera. Anyway, here are a few pics from my time there.

Sunset was incredible.

the view from our campsite to the north

I don't know why, but i feel like this next shot needs to be on a teacher's wall in poster size, saying something like..

Dedication: The will to see through what others will not.

the lineup

the campground was up on some cliffs overlooking the water.

These stairs led down to the beach from right by our campsite.

Some Tourists wanted their picture taken with a "real surfer"

so Matt kindly obliged.

wipeout! doom diguh diguh diguh diguh diguh.....

Here's Matt, turning and burning

This is not Matt, but i thought it was a pretty sweet bailout.

I'm pretty sure this was a girl.

Our visitor at the campsite this morning

El Salvador in 50 pictures

2009-01-02T00:38:00.000-08:00

My apologies if you're stopping by here with little time. I'll try and keep this short, but i have to share some of the great things God is doing in El Salvador that I got to see and be a part of. In the week before Thanksgiving, 40 people from Valley Christian, the school where I teach, traveled down to the region of Baja Lempo, a rural setting 60 miles south of the capitol, San Salvador. We broke into three teams in three different villages where there are children's centers that we support. We brought with us much needed educational supplies, hard work and lots of love. My goal in going was to record some of the local musicians, encouraging them by validating their efforts and leaving them with CD's to sell to raise money for their music classes at the children's centers. A great guy and now an even better friend, Bandy, came along to help.

Visiting the Children at Presidio (1 of 3 villages)

Please do not feed the children.

On approach. This is the coastal region, to clear up any confusion.

This is a Rode NT2-A Microphone (Thanks Preston!)

We took down 9 Mics, mic stands, 2 small monitors,

cables, and a sweet SKB rackmout case with a space for

my laptop, a power conditioner and the M-Audio Ultra 8R.

Here's Bandy in the cockpit. you can see the SKB Case

housing the goods, and the MacBook Pro on top.

Our first meal...Yum! Carne Asada, Rice and veggies. We

did not eat this well again on the trip.

The Gate to Presidio

We recorded three groups and 50 songs in two days

and left them with 100 CD's. MacBook is amazing, and God

is even more amazing for his care and provision. The whole

thing went way, way to smoothly for us to take any credit for it.

This is the first group, and lets just say, it got better from here.

We visited some homes out in the villages. I know you've

heard it before, but they are so happy with so little. I've got

a lot to learn.

Look at those eyes!

Fun on the swings. Ahhhhhhh!

Lunch time on the farm and the animals are hungry. The

women made us fresh tortillas for each meal. Yum!

This was the second group we recorded. They laid down around

12 songs. this duet had beautiful voices and were accompanied

by the instrumentalists from our third and final group.

We recorded all day Thursday, all day Friday, and

mixed all night to have the CD's ready for Saturday, when

the final celebration would take place. Bandy is very excited

and energetic in this picture. Very.

Corn is one of the main crops grown for food in the region.

Severe weather has taken out much of the crop this year,

leaving many wondering how they will feed their families.

The guy on the left asked me if I wanted his shirt tucked in

or un-tucked for the picture, and then I saw what he was

really asking when the fat pistol appeared just above his belt.

A typical house in the region.

A baby pig can be purchased for around $20 USD and after

a few years will provide a lot of food.

We snuck out early one morning from the school compound

where we were sleeping to watch the sunrise at the river.

this picture was taken on the way there before the sun rose.

Jeff Westrup, where do I start....this man rented me a room

for the past two years, and during that time he has become

family. His humble, generous spirit challenges and calls me

to a deeper walk with Christ. It's hard not to feel the love

when you're around Jeff. He was the fearless leader of this

trip, and serves as the Service Learning coordinator for Valley.

These shots were taken as he was addressing the crowd

at the final celebration in Amanda Lopez, the village where

we did the recording. If you ever think it might be Jeff but

aren't quite sure, just look for the hand motion.

One of the projects at Amanda Lopez was a "Palm" tree,

where the green handprints of the kids made the leaves.

A game of pato, pato ganso is always fun times!

In case anyone was looking, i found the origin of

"skinny cow" ice cream and dairy products.

The river at Sunrise

Adam trying to part the river.

The vines hanging in the dark on our way

to the river give a cool perspective

We arrived in the capitol on Sunday afternoon and did

some shopping. I thought about shoplifting...for 2 seconds.

Senor Romero's grave under the cathedral. He is a

tremendously important figure for many people in

a war-torn country still licking its wounds.

the amazing dichotomy is startling. Huge, rich Cathedral

adjacent to abject poverty.

Instead of his hand, Bandy left his visage. Very nice, Bandy.

Nice looking rooster. Too bad it can't remember what it looks

like when the sun is coming up. But just to make sure he doesn't

miss it, he crows all night long. A broken Cock is right twice a day, right?

The coffee farm had an incredible view of the valley,

all the way to the sea.

A portrait of a young man who lives and works on the Coffee farm.

The Professional.

The volcanoes in the distance pose for a delightful scene.

Jeff calling in the airstrike on the satellite phone.

And by airstrike i mean touching base with some parents stateside.

I was there, really

The falls at the bottom of the valley.

Just Beautiful. And over saturated.

The pool was tons of fun

We found the BatCave.

Putting the beans in to be shelled.

Adam Hernandez kept us safe the whole time.

He was also helpful when I created translational

messes while trying to speak spanish.

Where they store some of the dried Coffee and Corn

Local botonist Scott Tamminga points out the settia of the Pointsettia

Alba is the head contact for ANADES, the organization

we partner with in El Salvador. She was so kind and joyful,

helping us through the whole trip.

Bandy, Jeff and I were given these awesome shirts by the

people of El Salvador. Talk about a humbling gift.

A traditional El Salvadorian dance troupe dances a traditional

Mexican dance.....huh?

They've got some pretty ones down there.

Finally, the foldgers' shot of the donkey carrying the coffee.

A worker on the coffee farm.

Alright, so i really tried to narrow it down. I started with close to 2000 images, and tried to narrow it down to ones that would show the flavor, not show students (I don't think it's legal to put them on my blog) and would bring a little bit of what God is doing to the surface. I'll keep working on this, helping it make more sense, but I had to get something up in the mean time. thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment or any questions you might have.

Guilty as charged

2008-12-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay, so I've been so delinquent. I know. I am a bad blogger. I really do have good, er, great excuses for not posting though....I've been lazy. And extremely busy. Those two things combined produce a force that repels blogging progress like a strong force that repels a thing strongly. Sometimes I'm impressed by my own imagery, it's so vivid. Anyway, since I have so many things to catch up on, I'll start a while back and hit some of the highlights. Just so there's a big picture of what's coming up, we have to cover friend's birthday parties, weddings, El Salvador and other randomness.

My friends Peter and Sarah Connell had a birthday party for Emily, their 1 year old daughter. Sarah knocked the ball out of the park with a lady-bug theme that included a fabulous game of "pin the spot on the lady-bug" and sidewalk, table, and cake decorations that were all perfectly red, black and cute. If cute were a color, this event was monochromatic from top to bottom. Here is Emily and Sarah's brother, Michael.

Emily and the first Cake

Oh yeah

During our "pin the spot on the ladybug"

game, Michael, one of my neighbors and

friend of the Connells decided to have a little fun.

I caught the expression on Pete's face which was priceless.

He's normally a really happy guy, but there was something

ominous about this look. =)

At 6.5 fps, it's like shooting fish in a bucket.

Only, there's no refraction to deal with.

A slight change of subject. I played with the American Victory Orchestra for the Daniel Pearl World Music Days this past October and November, and the rehearsals took place up in woodland hills. Afterwards I headed down Topanga Canyon (A fantastic drive!) to PCH, and this picture is from the stoplight at that intersection.

I drove down PCH and ended up in Santa Monica with some time to kill. These shots are all from the beach path.

This family had tabled the conversation.

Gotta love beach sunsets, ever if there aren't that many clouds.

Going...

...going...

goooo...

...ne

I liked the reflection of the ferris wheel in the water.

Fast forward to haloween, and my awesome neighbors came to visit. Rob pulled this scarecrow costume together in about 10 minutes. Pretty impressive.

Ella was completely Dorothy, right down to the

ruby red slippers and Todo, although,

I think the dog was dead. Either dead or sleeping.

the trio

Okay, I will try and blog semi-consistently from now on, or until I have a relapse of my strong force problem.

Party in Pasadena

2008-10-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of shooting with Bree from Brienne Michelle Photography in the beautiful wedding of Lisa and Dali. They were married in the beautiful city of Pasadena and held their reception at the Athanaeum on the campus of Cal Tech. Most of the wedding party met at harvard, so I was around very smart people all day, but they let me take their pictures anyway. They had a very interesting and engaging "east-coast-ness" to them which I liked a lot. I haven't had a lot to blog lately, so I'm putting up a few more images to make up for it. Here are some of the images.

Arghrrrrrrrrrr....

Loved this dress shot

Love in an elevator, livin' it up as I'm goin' dooowowown

Who doesn't like an elevator?

Mod Squad

thanks Becker!

Dali, the groom is in the middle of the seven.

She and my camera had a staring contest. She won.

Brother and sister

The handsome groom. Bree sent me over to get the guys

while she worked with the girls.

They had a fabulous candle lighting part of the ceremony

where the dad's lit their candles from the big church candle

and then walked to the back of the church, where they sent

the flame up through the congregation sitting in the pews.

Then the mothers lit their flames from their sides, and

placed their candles next to the unity candle, which the

bride and groom lit together. Kind of cool imagery.

I thought this balcony of the church looked straight out

of Indiana Jones, complete with spider webs and a silhouette

shadow of a statue through the window. I started to look for

numbers on the floor, or a secret passageway, but then Bree

told me I had to take pictures. Oh well.

A Grandpa.

This picture was taken in 1952, thanks to Kevin Kubota.

What a happy couple

I caught these two in the act just after the ceremony.

The getaway car was incredible.

I'll let the picture speak for itself.

It is common in Pasadena culture to give high-5's to brides

passing you in the hallway of really nice hotels.

We wanted City Hall, but another group got the permit before us.

So, we walked in the street in front of city hall, technically not on

the sidewalk so we were safe, and still got some fun pictures there.

Cal Tech had a gorgeous campus...truly beautiful!

On the way to the reception...

The father's speech was hilarious!

Here's to you, kid.

The details were quite exquisite.

The band was really good, and tons of fun.

Father Paul was the officiating clergy for the day.

He was so laid back and relaxed it was wonderful.

Wilderness Challenge

2008-09-29T00:35:00.001-07:00

This weekend I had the awesome privilege of doing some climbing with a student learning group called Wilderness Challenge from Valley Christian High School, where I teach. We headed up into the San Bernardino Nation Forest out of La Canada on Highway 2. About an hour up the road we turned off onto a smaller road towards Horse Flats, a remote campground high in the mountains. We parked at the trail head and hiked about two miles up further into the hills. It was beautiful. Here are some of the photos. It was a great day!

Right in the middle, in the distance is where they set

up camp, right on top of the cliffs we'd be climbing.

Jeff is the master-mind behind this genius program

Allison is the super-helpful moral support and female brains

Another helper, Jason and his wife Serena and their Dog

came down from Northern California where they run NAWA,

a fully accredited high school and vertical adventure rescue training facility.

Their dog was really cool. I was hiking back from the car after

going down to get more water, and all of a sudden this animal

runs out of the brush behind me and my heart stopped. I slowly

turned around, only to be greeted by their friendly dog with a big

"woof!" when he recognized me. He kept the bears away at night.

The climbing was tons of fun.

Feel the burn

I was parked on this ledge most of the day, about 2/3

of the way up the cliff. Below is a chimney, which we were

climbin up and out of. Talk about a great place to climb...

The view to my right.

They tell me shoes make all the difference.

I'll have to try them sometime.

Here's a picture of Jason, king of the hill.

a backpack

Some quality time in the word.

I loved the way the light was coming through this tree

When I first showed up I was a little spooked by the presence

of this other photographer who was sporting a Mark III Ds (I think)

anyway, a really big camera with a 70-200 2.8. We quickly became

friends, and he loaned me his 24-70 2.8 for some shots on the cliff.

I look forward to seeing some of Doug's pictures.

This was the view of LA coming down the hill. Too cool.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment.

Rob and Celia Wedding

2008-09-22T23:26:00.001-07:00

Here it is. The moment we've been waiting for. Well, I've been waiting for. My very first wedding! There has to be a first for everything, and this is that for me. Rob and Celia were a great couple to work with. Very down to earth, go with the flow, make you feel relaxed kind of people. Their location was intimate and beautiful, with some gorgeous flowers and a lively crowd of guests. It's late and I have Jazz Band in the morning, so I can't type much, but I must give a shout out to Stephen Hernandez, who shot assistant for me and helped me out more than I could ever thank him for. Steve, you got some tasties and made my life livable that night. Thanks for putting up with me and helping me stay in the zone.

Enjoy!

Back on the Wagon

2008-09-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

I write this as I wait for Aperture to finish a rather large export...of my very first wedding!! Last Saturday I had the privilege of shooting Rob and Celia's wedding in Torrance, CA. They both work for the LAPD, so I had to be on my best behavior. I was so thankful for this opportunity, so I must give a shout out to my friend, Brienne of Brienne Michelle Photographywho hooked me up. Thanks Bree!! It is so awesome for God to provide, and I'm glad he used you to do it.

Speaking of God providing, I have moved into a new house, which is incredible. I'll post some pics soon of the new place, but I'm still moving in. Not only has God been faithful in providing me with a great new house, he provided this photography gig right when I needed it. I am thankful for his gracious and benevolent provision in my life.

Now, as for getting back on the wagon, I have indeed slacked in my blogging responsibility. This post also captures time spent with an old friend, Manny Castro, who I also needed to get back on the wagon with, as it's been months since I've gone to see him. Manny, I had a great time, thanks for having me down!

These pictures are all from the Torrey Pines Nature Reserve, about 20 min north of San Diego.

Torrey Pines Golf Course is at the top of the preserve.

Very beautiful.

We met some very nice docents who told us about this spider.

If I remembered any of it, I'd tell you.

Manny took this great shot

"Danger! Unstable Cliffs"

I think Manny missed his calling in life. Should have been

a model dude.

Check back tomorrow for shots from the wedding this past weekend.

Iowa Camping

2008-08-19T22:58:00.000-07:00

During my time in Iowa in June this summer, the gang minus Mark decided to go camping up on the Saylorville Lake, North of Des Moines. So G-Money and Chris and I packed up the things and headed to the campground. The weather held up great and didn't thunderstorm on us. God was kind and allowed us to have a great time of fellowship. We went camping days after the worst of the flooding in Iowa, so there were some pretty incredible log-piles and flooding mess.

these are just a couple cool pics from the lake. We rented a boat and had a great time.

If I had a beer belly, it would look like this

CJNitzschke lookin pretty fly for a white guy

Experimental cooking, which actually turned out great!

This was a huge Great Blue Heron that took off from the lake while we were on the boat. Beautiful

Gerard showing off his muscles, and Chris laughing at him

Don't know what I was doing...

Flood debris

the perfect hotdog

Chris thinks it's okay too

Gerard tried to eat the whole package of sweetrolls in one bite, but Chris saved the day and kept that from happening

So this is from the night before we went camping, but Chris is on the left, and I'm on the right. Ridiculous.

Chris' inner ballerina

Flood debris

This is one part of the trip to Iowa. Coming up is an awesome frisbee shoot set in front of a killer Iowa summer sunset, a collection of old barns and farms shot on a six hour trip down to Kansas city, including the covered bridges of Madison county, my time in Kansas City with Meghan Ziekel, and other odds and ends. Thanks for stopping by!

Marathon Weekend, Part III

2008-08-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true, I skipped part two. I am waiting on those images from the other photographer. this wedding was Sunday night, with the fabulous Brienne Michelle, none other. The wedding was at a beautiful location in Malibu, up in the hills. As I post this I can hear a mouse running around in my band room, I've got to catch that little guy. He ate my chocolate bar in my office this summer while I was away and pooped it out all over my desk. Fortunately mouse droppings are small and easy to clean up, but I'm still saddened over the loss of my chocolate bar.

Anyway, back to the wedding...

Mark and Joy, the bride and groom were so awesome, totally sweet and very servant-oriented. The were so helpful and wonderful to work with. Their flexibility and go-with-the-flow-ness made the whole night fun and relaxed. And on top of that all, they were two of the most photogenic people I've shot.

A Toast!

Everyone danced, especially the crowd from England!

Here is the Groom with his mum.

Cutting the cake

Grandma bustin' a move

Oh yeah, break it down

New Castle is one of my favorites.

Even though I didn't have any, this sight still made me happy.

They played a really fun game at the end of dinner. The DJ said they were playing a game to see who would be doing the chicken dance on the floor. Each table was to pass around a napkin, and when the music stopped, whoever was holding hit was it. It was hilarious to see everyone working so hard not to have the napkin. When the music stopped, they were told to pass the napkin two people to the left, and then after that, to the fourth person on the left. This person was "it", but instead of having to do the chicken dance, they won the centerpiece from the table. This guy was pretty happy with his winnings. =)

Check out those light-up high heels on the groom's mom!

One of my good buddies, Steve Hernandez, has been hiding out at camp all summer. He and I play a game with our camera flashes where we try and flash each other in the eyes. It's tons of fun, and since he's not around, I had to play with Brie, who wasn't nearly as excited about it. =) This is a picture in a mirror of me totally flashing her, (in a very appropriate way).

Thanks Brie, it was tons of fun, as always!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creatures here below

Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

Marathon Weekend, Part I

2008-08-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! God is so good to bless us with work and things to do! He is also so perfect in his timing to give me things that make me put my trust in him, that force me to rely, and be dependent on a faithful and benevolent God. This past weekend I had the opportunity to shoot 3 weddings, with 3 different photographers. Friday was a blast, working once again with Lukas VanDyke, who shares so freely his wisdom and knowledge. Matt and Suelynn were the happy couple, and it was so encouraging to be around them the whole day. Both were so selfless and giving, looking out for the interests of others, even on "their" special day. I love shooting weddings where Jesus Christ is the focal point, a true celebration of the glory of God in marriage.

I always enjoy shooting with Lukas and really appreciate his feedback and helpfulness. the wedding was in Camarillo at a beautiful garden/wedding hot spot. The crowd was intimate, with family from Canada (how aboot that, eh?) and friends from all over. Oh yeah, and the bridesmaids dresses were the coolest. ever. I feel bad for every wedding after this one, because nothing will top those dresses. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

The cakes were handmade by the bride and a friend

Mmmm, butterrrr

50mm 1.4 1/60 iso 1600 no flash

One more thing....

2008-08-17T03:41:00.000-07:00

Before I go to bed, I have to post this spread I made with detail shots from Friday night. I used Aperture to put this together in a flash, definitely very cool!

Firsts from Iowa

2008-08-17T02:30:00.000-07:00

Well, as many know, I travelled to Iowa earlier this summer, and I had a great time visiting close friends in "God's Country". I'm going to try and post some images from the trip randomly interspersed with my latest wedding stuff (Three from this weekend alone!!). Here is a study of lines from the Des Moines Airport waiting area. Kinda weird, but kinda cool. Enjoy!

R 'n B Wedding

2008-08-11T22:31:00.001-07:00

First of all, let me congratulate .blogspot for the fastest file upload, ever. Normally I dread blogging because the image uploads take forever, but this time it was lickety-split! I guess you get what you pay for =). Alright, now on to the gorgeous wedding of Robert and Brigitte.

The last week in July I received a phone call from Lukas VanDyke asking if I could shoot second for him. I've looked up to him ever since I knew of him at Master's College, so I was thrilled. The best part was that the wedding was north of San Francisco, which meant I got to pick his brain the whole way!

The day was fabulous, with great food, good music, handsome black tuxedos and vibrant dresses. Brigitte's dress shouted beauty and elegance. Here are a few getting ready pictures.

Just before the ceremony

Stunning.

A few real moments..

Lukas in action

And the party, which was outside, with very bright light

So on the way home, we missed the turn-off for the 580 freeway, so we decided to stay on the 101 through San Francisco. We stopped on the hill by Sausalito to take this picture of the Golden Gate bridge and S.F. After taking the picture we hiked down the hill in the dark, realizing that we had been walking through large patches of poison ivy! Lukas got it on his feet (wearing flip-flops!) and arm, and I escaped without a scratch, praise the Lord. We found an IHOP nearby to wash off, and then we learned you aren't supposed to wash Poison Ivy with soap and water, but scrub it with rubbing alcohol. Soap and water just spreads it. FYI.

Thanks for looking at this long post!

Jen and Anthony

2008-07-30T00:28:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the fabulous Brie of Brienne Michelle Photography invited me to come along for an engagement session, starring none other than Jen and Anthony from San Fran. We headed to Ventura for some killer settings and had a blast. We even got Slurpees. That's how cool it was. This couple was a blast to work with and was up for just about anything we threw at them. Thanks guys, looking forward to your wedding in Summer of '09!

We had to pay the Seagull extra

Anthony was so funny, talking about his lack of confidence

in front of the camera, but as soon as he was in focus, the

GQ-ness oozed from all over.

We found some friends along the way.

Swings are just so much fun!

We arrived back at the parking lot just in time for

this train to plow through, answering our question,

"Do you think these tracks are used anymore?"

In light of that, we were extra cautious on this awesome

old train bridge that goes right over the 101 freeway.

After our time at the beach we headed down to

Cal State Channel Islands. This used to be a mental

illness hospital, but is now a college campus...very creepy.

This place inspired the song "Hotel California" by

the Eagles, and has the well featured in "The Ring".

The natural light through the skylight at the end of this

tunnel made for a glorious lighting situation.

Who says you can't dance when there's no music?

The very talented and pregnant Brie, what an artist.

Jen is a bit of a rebel

CSUCI had a great courtyard in the original building, which

used to be a Spanish mission. Around the 1930's the State

built a mental institution, keeping the mission style in all

the buildings. The hospital was a leader in experimental

treatments of mental illness, such as Schizophrenia. Wierd.

Anyway, back to the nice courtyard.

Thanks for stopin' by!

Swingin' the night away in Hemet

2008-07-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

A week ago Friday I travelled to Hemet to shoot a professional Big Band. The venue was great, and the band was even better. The dancers turned out, and great fun was had by all. Here's a few shots from that evening. A special thanks to Kevin Mayse for having me out to take pictures! Did I mention that I love Big Band?

The vocalist was simply amazing. She sang with the Harry James Orchestra back in the day.

The food people brought to their tables was incredible.

Wisconsin Whoopie

2008-07-15T03:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, It's been a terribly long break since I've posted, shame on me! Part of my troubles have included being away from a computer, so i don't feel so guilty. =)

While visiting friends in the Midwest, I had the opportunity to shoot second for Carrie Krupke, a good friend of mine and wife of one of my best friends, Gerard. Kim and Mike Priaulx were married on the 28th of June with a smashing Wisconsin wedding. The greet was so beautiful, it almost made me want to move back! Congratulations Kim and Mike! I pray God's blessing on you as you honor Christ in your marriage. We had heaps of fun the whole time, and here are a few images that caught my eye. There are some more that I'm really excited about, but I'm saving those for later.....

Kim and Mike Priaulx

Announcing Emma Grace Board!

2008-06-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

FRIDAY: 0200 HOURS

April Dawn Board reported to the doctor's office in Santa Clarita, CA. Reports of high blood pressure and risk of seizure from priaclampsia led to immediate inducement of labor at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.

So the whole fam (Mom, Dad, Hannah, Leanna, Nathan F. and I) rushed to SC to join Darren and April. Soon after we arrived, two surprise guests joined us. April's mom and sister drove down from northern CA to be with her. After many hours of anxious waiting, Emma Grace Board was born on Saturday morning, at 1:53 AM to an awesome set of parents. Weighing in at 7 lb 12 oz, 20" long and lots of dark hair, we are all amazed at this miracle of life God has brought into our family. God is so good to bless us, and especially Darren and April with a beautiful little girl. I'm on the road, away from my computer, so all of these images are straight out of the camera.

waiting for the elevator

waiting for the baby

keeping track of time

Leanna's beautiful elephant walk

waiting for the baby

the time is right...

a very proud dad (and brother)
a very proud grandma and grandpa

aunt Crystal, April's sister

Emma's first bath

Orchestra Concert at RCC

2008-06-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

The wonderful Kevin Mayse of Riverside City College had me out to do a shoot for their concert. They played some great stuff, including Tchaik 5 (one of my favorites, duh). Here were some images that weren't too bad. =)

The King of the Brass, and thereby the whole orchestra

Shootout on Kooi farm

2008-06-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

So a few days before my sister's incredible wedding, i had a chance to practice a little bit with my co-worker and friend, Eric Kooi. His family agreed to go on a photoshoot a few days before the wedding so I could break in the lenses that I rented. So late in April we headed to the park and took some pictures. The Kooi's are such a blessing to be around. They put the Lord first in all they do, and their kiddos are so full of life and sweet. I'm so thankful to get to work with Eric every day, and to hang with his fam frequently.

The Kooi's

Mom and Dad

Mom and Audra

Eric teaches Jr. High and 5th and 6th grade, and has

some of the BEST facial expressions!

Here's me trying to get down from a tree, where I was

shooting from. Eric took this picture, and is a fine

photographer in his own right.

This picture just captures Audra's energy and playfulness

Baby Chloe, Hollywood style

Peyton means powerful

I almost forgot!

2008-05-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here is one more pic that belongs with the post below. I forgot that we traveled to Paris for part of the shoot.

Havin' a baby!

2008-05-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

My awesome brother and sister'n law are having a baby! This is the first addition to the family in the next generation of Boards. It is great to have godly examples in your family to look up to, and they are definitely that for me. On Sunday we took some pictures in their apartment, creating a make-shift "studio", if you can call it that! anyway, here are some pics with my new 50mm 1.4 lense, I absolutely love this lens. Darren and April, thanks for being willing to put up with my antics and get these shots. I can't wait for this little girl to be born!

My oh My

2008-05-22T16:14:00.001-07:00

So it went like this....

bvvvvvvv. bvvvvvvv. bvvvvvvv. bvvvvvvv.

"Hello?"

"Hi Nathan, this is Charlotte, How's it going?"

"Going well" I said, "How are you?"

"Very good" she replied. "Are you coming to my birthday party?"

"Yeah, I'm coming!"

"Can you pick up my friend? Her name is My, like MyBook. She lives in Lakewood."

"Uhh, yeah, not a problem."

"Good, see you tonight"

So I picked up My, and we went together. In the hour and a half it took to get there (Thank you LA Traffic) we talked alot, and it came up that I was into photography. "Do you want to take my picture?" she said. And I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that! So we did a photo shoot on Wednesday afternoon, tons of fun!

We started off at El Dorado Park, and then tried a couple other locations.

I love these trees that are in bloom right now.

Here we are using the famous Becker Squat.

Along the way we found an industrial fruit concentrate plant.

Long Beach is a town full of vivid color. so much fun

My was willing to go to a number of locations. I appreciated

her willingness to be a guinneapig and let me get some experience.

We stumbled upon this nursery with BEAUTIFUL flowers,

but it was closed. I followed the advice of my mentor, and

decided to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

Despite the large NO TRESPASSING sign that decorated

the fence, we decided to squeeze through the gate.

As we were leaving the owner pulled up in his truck. After

showing him some of the pictures, he said with a smile,

"Go through the hole in the fence by the river path, it's easier

to get in that way!" He was very kind to us.

I loved how soft the light was here.

The texture of the Palm Tree was great.

Hmmm....

Cool bridge and reeds

Sometimes the simple are some of the best.

Thanks My! You were so fun to work with, and the camera really liked you! I'm glad you two got along so well. I am so excited about all the stuff I'm learning. God is soo good and kind to allow me to do this stuff.

This One's for you, Brienne

2008-05-19T23:16:00.000-07:00

I'd like to dedicate this post to, Brienne, of Brienne Michelle Photography, who has reminded me what a lame blogger I am. Thanks Brie. This post is also sponsored by Stephen Hernandez Photography. I have so much to catch up on, but here are a couple images of things I've been shooting lately.

One of my 6th grade Saxophone players invited me to his baseball game last Saturday. So much fun! This is a meet'n'greet on the mound.

I also got to shoot a session with Lex Six, who is an amazing horn ensemble. More to come.

Okay, Janitors are kicking me out of my classroom at 11:30, so I've got to go!

Wedding Installment II.1

2008-05-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

Here is the second group of pictures from my sister's

wedding. This is my brother and sister 'n law, Darren

and April, who are expecting their first child in a matter

of months! We are all so excited! April did a killer job

wearing the shoes, even at almost 7 months.

So my settings were way off, but I got a great "Matrix"

shot as Brian, the best man came in from the bright outside.

My sister has the greatest smile.

So I said there was a story behind the first picture on the

last post. The representative for the grounds where we

took the pictures was trying to show me how to "fake fall"

into the water to make the girls laugh. It seems that a

"real fall" works best, as that's what he demonstrated.

Here is the kind gentleman who took the dive

Lane Wells had a hoot as well...

On the way back into town we had to stop at the poppy

fields. The California Poppy is the state flower, and they

are a beautiful, deep orange. The fields of the high desert

are full of these intense flowers. Incredible.

It was such a blessing to be a part of a truly Christ-Centered

wedding. Every aspect of it was about bringing glory to

the only one who is worthy, Jesus Christ.

More to come, when I have time....

Wedding Installment II

2008-05-03T14:58:00.001-07:00

The day was fun filled, to say the least. There is a story

behind this picture, but that will come in the next post.

Needless to say, all the girls lost it, completely.

Here is the standard edition of 7 bridesmaids for 7 brothers.

Nathan was a pretty happy guy that day!

Muy guapo

"goin' to the chapel and we're, gonna get married"

I am so thankful for a godly man to be marrying my sister.

Blogger is having some trouble uploading my photos.

There are a few more, but they won't seem to go. I'll

try again tomorrow. Stay tuned for more, and

Feel free to leave a comment.

Wedding Time!!!

2008-04-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, So my sister got married this last weekend! It was so much fun, and they are incredibly happy. I have so much to share about it, but this is all I have for now. Here is the first shot from the wedding that I've posted. There will be many more! Also, this is the first photoshop-ing I've ever done. I just installed the program an hour ago. Thanks Brienne for all your help!! Now I most certainly won't be getting any sleep, I'm too excited!

Matt's Brithday

2008-04-28T16:47:00.001-07:00

Matt's Birthday

Steve and I made Matt a really, really big birthday card.

We went to Michaels and bought some poster board and

foam board, and acrylic paint

The awesome part of the card, besides the incredible

painting and lifelike surfer, was the fact that when you

open the card, the surfer moves down the wave. We're

pretty proud of that. Thanks to Chris Nitzschke for the

genius idea!

and it wouldn't be a birthday without a Cake!

This was just a double layer chocolate cake

But the frosting is cream cheese, chocolate frosting that

was to die for. Used a double-boiler system to melt

the chocolate and then added cream, cream cheese and such.