May 24, 2012

  • Long Weekend Coming

    This is a long holiday weekend coming up and it a way it will be long since I have two weddings to shoot this weekend.  Although, it will most likely be a tiring weekend I am very excited and looking forward to it since I get to spend it with two great couples.  I feel so honored to be part of their special days.  So stay tuned to see each of their awesome events.

    Sherina & Brett

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    Wenyin & Thomas

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January 30, 2012

  • Life Moves Along…Seldom Do We Realize Until Later The Full Meaning




    The other week the wife and I were shopping at Target.  Yes, we are pretty wild!    Well as we were wandering the aisles we ran into one of my past brides.  I do have contact with her and her husband but it was just a reminder to me of how life is moving along.  Seems like yesterday that I was shooting their wedding and now she is expecting their first child…and you can now definitely tell.  I am so happy and excited for them!   I thought back to their wedding day and all the joy and fun that we all had.  I remembered her beautiful dress and their wonderful venues and yet I also remember an image I shot of the Groom and his Mom.  I loved it not because it was such an exceptional image but because it was him cheesing it up with his Mom on the dance floor.  Unfortunately, his Mom is no longer with us and  I know that on the day of the wedding nothing could have been further from anyone’s mind.  But these are both reminders of how our lives continue to move along and change, some good things and some sad.  I do not look at my own wedding pictures that often but I am so grateful that we have them.  I remember that the day was a great one in my life but it went by so fast that much of it is a bit of a blur.  I also have lost both of my parents since then.  I am often sad when I think of my Mom because I wish she were still here.  I know that my wedding day was a day my Mom looked forward to for many years.  She was diagnosed with lung cancer just a couple of months before my wedding and one of my great fears was that she would be too sick to enjoy that day.  I thank God that she had a good day and seemed to enjoy herself.  Sadly that perhaps was one of the last greatest days of her life since we lost her just a year later. 

    My wife and I spent a lot of money on our wedding photos.  We hired a photographer whose work we loved.  We brought them up from LA to the San Francisco Bay Area.  We chose too many pictures for our album and had to pay extra.  At the time it was a bit staggering to us how much it all cost but now I think about those photos and what they are worth to me.  I don’t think I can begin to explain how much they are worth.  At that time I knew that it was worth having good photographs but I did not truly know the worth of all that imagery.  They say that hind sight is 20/20 because we can see the ramification of our decisions and actions.  That is why I now work so hard on a wedding day for my couples, because I know from my own experience what the worth of good images are and once the day is past we can never go back.  

    HERE ARE A COUPLE SHOTS FROM MY WEDDING. – These are not from our official photographer but from my Best Man, Scott Robert Lim. Maybe some of you have heard of him.  Yeah, he is an okay photographer too.  Ha ha ha……

    Look how skinny and young we were!

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    A shot of my folks.

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January 23, 2012

  • Honolulu – Sun, Fun, Headshots…

    Awhile back the family and I went on vacation to Hawaii.  We just love going there for many reasons.  My daughters loved the beaches and it was amazing to see how excited they were to be there. Hummmm…what a surprise.  Ha ha ha…  Of course a great thing for Hawaii is that a number of shows and movies often film there.  So while I was there a couple of my friends and others wanted to update their portfolios a bit so they had me shoot some headshots for them.  I have been just so busy I did not get a chance before but I figured I would post a few up.  If you look close enough I think you might see a couple of them on Hawaii Five O sometime.  =)

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January 10, 2012

  • The Sofitel Shoot – Part II

    Things have just been crazy and I know I have not had much time to post much.  I thought post up a few more shots from a little bridal/editorial shoot I did awhile back.  It was great to work with my friend Diana and she did a great job styling, hair, and make-up.  Hope everyone is having a good New Years. 

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December 7, 2011

  • Sandra & Tomas | Oakland Wedding Photographer

    Associate Photographers – Brian and Michelle

    Ceremony – Church of Saint Leo the Great, Oakland, CA

    Reception – East Ocean Seafood, Alameda, CA

    Make-up – Michaela Yee http://makeupdesignbymichaela.blogspot.com/

     

    It has been a pleasure working with Sandra & Tomas, from having a lot of fun going out to get their engagement shots to recording their beautiful wedding day.  Through all this time though I have come to know that Sandra really knows what she wants! So it really makes me feel even more honored that they chose to let me record their very special day.  If you would like to see a slideshow of their special day click the link below.

    CLICK HERE TO SEE SANDRA & TOMAS’S SLIDESHOW

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November 7, 2011

  • Celia & Winson | San Francisco Wedding Photographer

     I first met Celia and Winson in a small coffee shop out on Geary Street in San Francisco.  I was totally frazelled as the traffic coming into the city that day was terrible.  They were thankfully very graceous to me and we enjoyed a nice little meeting.  It was not until we went out to shoot their engagement pictures that I realized how much fun they really were.  Their wedding was a frenzy of activity but it was so great to see those little quiet moments in between as well.  I had such a great time working with them.  I wish Celia & Winson the very best in their new life together.

    Associates: Wing and Brian

    St Mark’s Lutheran Church, SF

    King Wah Seafood Restaurant, Daly City

    Make Up & Hair: Amy Lawson www.bridesbyamy.com

    Florist: Cary Li www.petalsbycary.com

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November 3, 2011

  • The Kim Family | Los Altos Family Photographer

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    This year was the third year that I have had the honor of shooting family photos for the Kim Family.  I look forward to the opportunity each year to spend time with them.  The other thing that I love about being included in a families yearly activities is that I get to chronicle the growth of their beautiful family.  I think too often people only reserve getting professional photos to those tremendously monumental moments and then forget that life includes the other times in between as well.  So I feel honored that they allow me to record the passing of each year with them.  Here’s to another great year to everyone, may it be more than can imagine. 

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October 25, 2011

  • Practice Makes Perfect – Sandra & Tomas

    Practice Practice 

    You know they always say that practice makes perfect and you know often it is so true.  I am not always at the rehearsals but I have to start remembering to tell my couples to practice their kiss.  I know, I know, many people are embarrassed or self conscious but really this is a great moment!  You have just made a covenant with one another and now this is the first time you kiss as a married couple.  Too often I see the couple make this super fast peck at each other.  I hate to say it but if you are afraid of looking awkward, then that move will really accomplish the goal of making you awkward, which is what you were trying to avoid.  I am not saying to be at the point where people think that you should go and get a room either but in my humble opinion I think a nice relaxed and thoughtful smooch is a nice end after a very intimate and special ceremony. 

    I think Sandra & Tomas did pretty good during the rehearsal but still a little not sure of what to do and a bit  too much space in between so they had to really stretch but as you can see with a little practice I think their wedding day kiss turned out quite nice. 

    Congratulations to Sandra & Tomas it was a beautiful day.

October 19, 2011

  • The Little Triggers That Could – Review of Scott Robert Tiny Triggers

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    So a few months ago I got a set of Scott Robert Photography Tiny Triggers.  Before that I had been using Pocket Wizards, which are the industry standard for wireless triggers.  At times I even ran them side by side during certain events for a couple of reasons.  First I actually needed to run two different sets of lights so I figured instead of having to remember to flip the switches I would just run the two systems and dedicate them to one set.  Also then it would give me a better idea asto how the two performed side by side.

     

    I have written a couple other quick and interim reviews onmy Facebook page but this will now be my final wrap up.  So after using the SR Tiny Triggers for a few months this is what my thoughts on them are. At the beginning I thought I might have issues with not using myPWs.  They have and still work great, they are reliable and sturdy.  Hey thereis a reason why they are the industry standard, right?  But what I like the most about the SR Triggers is that they are small, light, and fast.  As a wedding and portrait photographer I amone that does most of my work out on location. So I have to be mobile and fast while still having powerful tools at my disposal to be flexible and adjust for the infinite scenarios that are encountered.  When I have my PWs they take up a whole little corner of my Pelican case while the same amount of SR Triggers takes up a little bag.  The thing that I love the most though is that I use a lot of small strobes,therefore, what gave me speed and ease is that I can just slide them into thehot shoe mount of the SRs and I am ready to go. My PW Plus IIs require that I have to tether a bigger unit to my strobe and then connect it with a cable, more steps and more things to deal with.  Why not use a Pocket Wizard Flex 5 some might ask.  Because I do have one and first of all for the price of one unit I can get an entire set of SR Triggers.  Second is that I have always had very spotty performance from my PW Mini and Flex.  Infact while attending the Flashbus Tour, Joe McNally was having all sorts of issues with his Mini andFlex system.  You could see the frustration he was having and you know that he is sponsored and uses them allthe time.  Another little thing I like about the SR Triggers is that it has a threaded spot in the bottom so I can screw the trigger directly to a light stand or monopod. Again less stuff and less steps.

     

    So is it all love?  As with all things nothing is always perfect. So as a psychiatrist might say, “What are your issues?”  I think the main cause of problems with theSR Triggers stem from battery issues. The back door sometimes comes loose and then they don’t work right.  I believe that Scott has a new improved version and they did try to address this by making the door more secure.  Also in the receiver it is best not to use a rechargeable battery.  I of course love rechargeable batteries as each shoot I rip through tons of batteries to run everything.  Unfortunately the rechargeable AAA only put out 1.2v and the triggers are more reliable with the regular AAA that put out1.5v. But on the bright side you don’t have to change the batteries every time and can go for awhile before you need to change them.  Other little hiccups, I think in some locations there is a certain interference that really limits their range,although to be fair I did not have my PWs with me those times and I could not switch to see if they did any better.  Also they are not as beefy as the PWs but that is also why they are small and light.  And perhaps a significant issueis whether they will be backwards compatible or not.  That is one of the strengths of PWs in that thenew products will still play with the old ones.  But being the SR Triggers are affordable it might not be too bad to just get new equipment, this issue somewhat depends on your situation.  Also if you find yourself out somewhere and you need another trigger it is possible to rent PWs where as you would not be able to rent a SR Trigger.

     

    So in conclusion, I would have to say that the SR TinyTriggers really exceeded my expectations. As I mentioned they are fast and easy to use but most important is thatwithin their expected range they are highly reliable.  Those who are looking for a great tool toempower you to release your creativity while still not breaking the bank, theSR Tiny Triggers are a solid and reasonable investment. Here are just a few ofthe images that I was able to create with the help of these little giants.

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September 21, 2011

  • Sammi Is The Girl With The Not Quite A Dragon Tattoo | Editorial/Bridal Photographer

    Awhile back I worked on a wedding with Diana when she was the MUA and I was the photographer.  I later realized that we had a good friend in common so we started to communicate.  Well we both decided that we wanted to try some stuff so we set up a shoot.  I am going to break the images up into a couple of posts so this is the first installment. 

     

    Well awhile back I posted an image that seemed to garner a fair amount of attention and I can’t say I am completely surprised.  It featured one of our lovely models giving us a look at her awesome tattoo.  So to let you know that girl is Sammi.  As you can see Sammi is not just beautiful but she has a certain sex appeal as well.  So here are a few more of the shots we got of her that day.

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