I love light.

The kind of light that enters from my bedroom window that gently wakes me in the mornings. The same light I photograph people in.

Sunlight.

What I don't love is studio lighting, particularly because I really don't know who to use it. I never really used studio lights or any kind of artificial light, other than my flash. But a few weeks ago my dad surprised me with two reflector lights on stands with two 250watt photo soft white bulbs. He couldn't have gotten me a better gift!

Lately, I've been thinking I should study studio lighting and how it's used, just for fun.

So, the other day I had my beautiful 13 year old cousin, Elahyna, model for me in front of these intensely hot lights. I also made myself a soft box with a white cotton sheet in front to diffuse the light a bit.

Here's what we got:

In these three shots my camera's white balance was set on Auto, hence the yellow hue in the photos.


here you can see in the catch lights the white sheet from the box I made.



This last shot had my camera set to Tungsten white balance. Note the difference in skin tone.

I am now even more excited to see what more I can do with these lights! A night shoot perhaps??? I think so!!!

It's 105 degrees for like the past week and a half!!! If gas prices weren't so outta whack I'd be down at the beach until 10pm at night!

Speaking of which, I went to the beach with my beautiful mother and now I'm sunburned. I didn't think that I could get sun burned, and now, I'm peeling. It's so gross.

And how about those damn gas prices...talk about putting people in a tough situation. Those that need their cars to get to work can't because of the prices. It's a vicious cycle that apparently won't be resolved anytime soon. I wish public transportation was more efficient out here.

4th of July is around the corner! Yay!!! I can't wait. My family is planning this cool cocktail -slash-barbecue thing for that day. It's gonna be so fun!

That's about all for this week. I do have some photos to share and a couple more events lined up so stay tuned!!! But for now, here are some pictures from father's day :O).

My sister, dad, and me :)

I've always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I also that some happenings are hard to forget and get over.

But no matter how difficult it is to move on from a situation, life always tends to surprise you and allows you to find peace of mind...when the time is just right.
I'm sparing you the details mainly because it's not about what happened, but more about what I gained from what happened: Peace of mind.

Yesterday, I woke up exactly the same way I had for the past seven months and during my shift at work, I received my peace of mind. Amidst all the commotion at work, amidst all the busy people walking past, and amidst all the mixed emotions; I was given my peace of mind. And it came at just the right time.

I was ready and today, I started to see the world a little bit differently. So just when you think that it can't get worse, whether it's money trouble, a recent break up, or simply a flat tire, just remember: everything happens for a reason. There is light at the end of the tunnel and all we gotta do is let life take it's natural course and when the time is just right, everything will make sense. When life sees it's time, you will be given your peace of mind.

I wish every one a great and peaceful weekend!

To my dad:

Thanks for being the best father ever. You taught me so many things I will never forget.

From camping in sleeping bags, to hiking with my foot to the side so I wont fall down, to "be careful, I'm a guy and I know how they think," to driving stick shift, to seeing great new places, and to learning how to ride like a true biker.

From mowing the lawn to checking my car oil.

From pausing after commas and taking a breath after periods to never stop giving it my best, at what ever "it" may be.

I can't wait until we hang out all day and work on our bikes, eat a great breakfast together, and just hang out while talking about everything and anything.

Happy Father's Day.



And because I simply can't leave out my mom....thanks to you too! The both of you have made my life and my sister's life so meaningful and full of love.

Love you!!!

I am a super senior at Cal State Fullerton, and like any super senior,I get to register for my classes first , I can stroll in 5 minutes late without one ounce of embarrassment, and I speak up way more than I should. It's also been my sanctuary for 5 years. It's a break I get twice a week from my day to day life.

Last fall started out like most fall semesters start. Lots of commotion on campus, lots of lost and confused first years, and a big long line at the book store. Nothing out of the norm and it seemed to be a great start to my last year...or so I thought.

Financial Aid decided to slap a big DENIED stamp on my file for reasons I don't even want to think about because I'll want to use every curse word in the book. So, I cried my little eyes out to the financial adviser to prolong the process so that I could finish the semester out.

Thankfully, she did.

Un-thankfully, if that's even a word, because of this, I was dropped out of my photo studio class, had to pay, and couldn't graduate. Also, I was unable to go last semester, Spring semester, the semester that was supposed to be my last semester.

And where am I going with this??? Well, because I wasn't in school last semester, also the only semester I've missed since kindergarten, I felt so...so... empty. I felt like a failure, like a dropout, and like my time didn't have any meaning. And I had a hard time dealing with this.

But all of this will change...as of Tuesday, I am getting back into the groove! I'm registering for school and gonna finally get the heck outta school!

Watch out CSUF....I'm back!

Thanks mom, for making it possible for me. Love you.

This mini session was sooo much fun. My friend Ricardo, whom I wrote about a few posts back, is a DJ. He is available for weddings and other events, so if you need him, shoot me an email and I'll forward it to him.

But what is even better than him being an awesome DJ is that he's an excellent friend. Always there to hand you some good ol' advice and the outsider's perspective to any situation. Life only grants you with certain friends that can out stand time, trials, and life's inevitable changes once in a life time and he is definitely one of those friends :O).

So with out further ado, I present to you, the mini-session of Ricardo Carlos. Taken at the Mission Inn while I was helping him out with a school project of his own.


This is the classic pose. The pose that has to always be included...the pose we fight about and I always lose and he always gets the picture with the pose. This one is for you Ricardo :O).



This one here is probably my favorite of the whole bunch...I can't really pinpoint exactly what it is, if it's the flare, the background colors, or just the over all picture, but it's definitely on my list of favorites.


The making of a real smile. I love my job!




Another one of my favs.



Ricardo! You're a natural! Thanks for this awesome impromptu session with me and thanks for hanging out !!!

We've hit 400 visitors since February!

I'm so happy!

Thank you to everyone who visits, follows, and comments. You people are my heroes!

Gordo is thanking you too!

Gina & Gia are such a beautiful mother-daughter team. They are both equally sweet and kind hearted.

Here's a quick sneak peak of their session. Thanks girls for hanging out with me and letting me follow you around all day. I had a great time!

First, here is the beautiful mama Gina:


and now, here is the beautiful Gia:




and now, the amazing duo:







And, and, and...this one is my favorite one of the whole day!

They are such a wonderful and amazing couple. And just because we wanted to, we did a mini session.

Thanks you guys for allowing me to photograph you and have total creative power. I hope you like them as much as I do!










And... can't forget!

Happy Memorial Day to everyone out there.

It's not about the war, but about the people. I wish everyone remembers those who have and are fighting for us today.

:O)

Remember the sneak peak from the previous post...here is the rest. I was asked to shoot my cousins' first communion last Sunday. It was a joyous and memorable event followed of course by a

carne asada

and some

jamica, mmmm!