Well, you always think to yourself, "it won't happen to me" but ... my hard drive crashed on my main computer! This was such a horrible experience! I back up my data especially my photography but there was that 20% that I kept telling myself to make sure and back up. Well, the computer went south and it's been a rocky road to recovery! I have to give kudos to my buddy Mike Murimoto for coming to my rescue at the drop of a hat. He spent many hours weeding through a corrupt drive to restore my files and he did a great job!
Now, I'm on the path of getting my systems up and running again. Things are almost back to normal now but what a pain in the !$$!@#%!#$! I'm master back up man now!
If you haven't been there yet, I've updated the slideshows on the site and Adrian and Gina's wedding is up and running!
Remember, make sure to BACKUP all of your work! I learned my lesson the hard way.
This little dog is the best! As you can see, she's got her favorite spots all over the house. When I'm working and it gets really quiet, I'm sure I can find her in one of many places. Here are a couple of them!
Melissa and I went to Kauai for a much needed vacation. It was part vacation and part work though. Melissa, owner of Spa Defined just recently partnered up with Spas of America. She features Santa Barbara area spas and they have a wider scope covering the United States so it was a great fit. Anyway, she enjoyed the facilities and services while doing a review of the Grand Hyatt Anara Spa while we were there, bummer huh?
Kauai was so beautiful and a lot more lush than any of the other Hawaiian Islands I've been too. It's also much more peaceful and relaxing, really laid back. The beaches there are awesome especially one we went to. Kauai seems to be known for it's "secret beach." We finally found it and had to hike down the side of a cliff to get to it but it was worth it. I hiked around with all my camera gear on my back, I'm just stubborn that way! You can see in the pictures that we practically had the whole beach to ourselves! The water was warm and the beach was wide and clean. It was a great trip, oh yeah, check out that wicked spider we found! I used a macro lens to get that shot but when I was done, I didn't realize that my face was about an inch away from it!
Gina and Adrian were married at Elings Park in Santa Barbara. It was a beautiful day and everyone was so much fun! There were some great t-shirts at the rehearsal and the best man actually had the rings under padlock attached to his belt! Just in case, the bride, groom and the maid of honor also had keys!
"With my education, I want to help people find and develop health and wellness." - Stevie Mason, Fall 06 Applicant
One thing neat about this campaign is that they are running in the local area theaters. The next time you're sitting eating your popcorn waiting for the movie to start, answering all of those celebrity trivia questions, pay attention and you'll see the Students with Character ads!!
We had alot of fun shooting this engagement session. We walked around at the pier here in Santa Barbara and then all along the beach. We wound up downtown at one of their favorite restaurants. Here are some pics!
Ok, well once a year it's time for Fiesta here in Santa Barbara. Lots of festivties, food and fun! Anyway, when it's Fiesta, there's always a rodeo. Now I basically grew up in the city but my girlfriend Melissa, grew up on a ranch so she really enjoys rodeos and now I do too! It just amazes me to see these brave souls ride the bucking broncos and the bulls, I know I couldn't!
One of our favorite events is the mutton bustin! Get this... a bunch of kids get all decked out in their best Fiesta/cowboy outfits, then they get voted on by crowd applause as to who has the best costume on. Here's the best part... now they all line up and ride these huge sheep and see who can stay on the longest! It's so much fun to watch, I just die laughing!
Sometimes the kid wins and makes it for the whole ride but there are the ones that bite the dust right from the start! They get up after they wipe out and brush off the dust and the crowds love it! The kids are watched closely and have protective gear on but I know I'd be scarred for life after wiping out for the first time. The kids love it and can't wait to get out there while they wait watching in the stands! Too much fun!
What an amazing wedding! This wedding was in New Jersey and the reception was held at the Pleasantdale Chateau. The bride and groom were amazing and the friends and family were so much fun to be around! The home page picture on our website is also from this wedding. They had a 16 piece band that just rocked all night long. Check out the mosh pit at the end of the night!
Earlier in the blog I posted their engagement session and here is their wedding. It was such a great wedding with so many wonderful people. I love experiencing weddings from different cultures! There are so many different traditions. Everyone was so nice and they treated us like family! We can't wait to shoot her sisters wedding this September! Here are some favs.
Here's another photo for Melissa Mellott's Students with Character SBCOM ad campaign. These guys were great. They are surfers by day, students by night!
Ok, well I had a Doberman name Maverick for 13 years. He was my best friend and I lost him about 3 years ago. That was one of the hardest things I've ever been through. I didn't realize it but I had a companion that I took care and loved for the last 13 years and now he was gone! Anyway, I knew I wanted another dog but just never took it too seriously until...
Melissa and I had been talking about what it would be like to have another dog and what kind of dog I would want. Well, while I was out of town one week, she researched and found the most incredible Mini Australian Shepherd. She surprised me with the "idea" when I got back home and before you knew it we had a little puppy running around the house!
She found a breeder of minis in Buellton named Karen Keller. All she raises are mini shepherds and they're also mostly champions! Mia has an incredible bloodline and hopefully will one day be a champion too!
Earlier in the blog I talked about Laura and how I met her when she was just 14 years old. She went to Laguna Blanca High School and now she's graduating! It's amazing how time flies! She's going to USC this year and is a first generation college student. Melissa Mellot met her in Girls Inc. and has been her mentor ever since. Melissa is the author of the book, The Little College Handbook. This is the perfect example of how you can make something happen with guidance and effort.
This little guy had other plans for the graduation!
I'm the photographer for SBCOM (Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine) so I get to shoot some really neat pictures of chinese medicine, acupuncture etc. for whatever it is they need. Melissa Mellott, who is in charge of admissions and public relations for the school devised a fantastic ad campaign call "Students with Character". The lives of all the students are so diverse and through this ad campaign, she's highlighting many of them.
Pay attention the next time you're sitting in a movie theatre, you'll see the ads running on the big screen right before the movie starts!
This is Laura, blues singer by night, acupuncture student by day!
Well here's Marta' sister Solomiya. We had so much fun running around everywhere doing a dual engagement session! I would shoot one way, then see a great shot from the corner of my eye of the other couple and would whip around and grab that shot. Too much fun, alot of work but fun! They are from the Ukraine and right after this shoot, Valeriy is returning to the Ukraine for 3 months! Solomiya is so bummed but he'll be back to stay in August and then they're getting married in September.
This was a great shoot! Peggy is a local artist here in Santa Barbara. She was written up in the local paper and you can see her article from her website. I was honored to do the photography and to build her website.
What a great couple! They are getting married July 3rd in Santa Barbara. We shot all over the place running around between the Bacara and Butterfly Beach. It was a great day and actually this was a double engagement session because her sister Solomiya is also getting married but in September.
I was introduced to Laura Hernandez by Melissa Mellott when she was 14 years old. Melissa has been her mentor ever since. Through Melissa and her work with first generation students, Laura went to the prestigious Laguna Blanca High School here in Santa Barbara!
We went to one of her softball games and I had to take some pictures of her being the rock star she is!
This is pretty cool! I had the honor of shooting the cover for the book Changes from Advocacy Press. This is the second cover I did for them. I first book is Challenges and the most recent is Changes.
Since 1983 Advocacy Press has been a leader in the development, publication and distribution of equity-oriented publications and programs for children, adolescents, and young adults. Their publications promote self-reliance and gender equity and encourage realistic life and career planning.
There's such satisfaction when you finally get something fixed, like this BLOG! Needless to say, I've had some technical difficulty. Anyway... so many things have come and gone and there are so many things to post about. I've made it a priority to get back on the blog wagon so I'll be updating very soon, please check back!
