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You should go to my NEW blog!! It's fresh and tasty :)
Thanks!!

KCRW Volunteer picnic.

I started volunteering at public radio stations when I was about 16. I now volunteer regularly at KCRW in LA. Their programming is about half music and half public affairs. If you like music, check them out! They have a long history of discovering great artists (Coldplay being just one of many, many examples) and playing music that you will just not hear anywhere else. *ALL* of the DJ's pick what they want to play on air. Really. There are no corporate bean counters telling them what to play. They have put a lot of effort and money into their web site too--lots and lots of uber-groovy content!!

Being a public radio station, they have fund drives twice a year to raise money. As a thank-you to the phone volunteers that came down to the station to answer phones during this months pledge drive, KCRW had a picnic, complete with two giant cakes, KCRW's newest DJ Anthony Valadez spinning tunes, a soft taco buffet, pinatas, and of course CD's and books to give away. Thanks to Connie Alvarez, KCRW's volunteer coordinator (plus she wear's more hats than I can count), and a really cool human being with a great sense of humor :)

Anthony helps people "scratch" to the beats. No vinyl was harmed.


Both of the giant cakes were yummy! :)




First the kids rushed in for the candy..........


Then the adults swarmed in for CD's.....


Then it was time for the second pinata. More candy to come!

Kaitlin and Tyler

I shot Kaitlin and Tyler's wedding on June 7, 2008 with Nicky from Eight20 Photography. They had their wedding at Kaitlin's Mom's ranch in Ojai. It was very rustic; chickens, goats, and horses. Kaitlin rides when she can--when she's not flying helicopters. Really. They're *both* pilots. That might explain why they were so calm: nerves of steel!
You might notice some smoky haze in a few shots--it's from the barbecue....... and no, I don't recall chicken being on the menu :)

Yes, their wedding cake was chocolate, and it was delicious! The beautiful net was to keep flies out.

GLOW in Santa Monica

I went to GLOW in Santa Monica over the weekend. It's a bit hard to explain exactly what GLOW is, but basically it was a collection of free art/multimedia installations, from dusk until dawn (literally) held at the Santa Monica Pier and some of the surrounding beach and nearby park areas.

I didn't stay too long as it was incredibly mobbed with wall-to-wall people. The most interesting thing I shot was a really neat installation where 3D forms were projected on to a sphere (not a flat wall) of water.

As a side note, all of these were shot available light around 1:15 AM. No flash was used for any of these images. (In photog geek-speak, around 1/50 @ f2.8, ISO 3200.)

My own fave is of course the one featuring the dude with the awesome Mohawk. :-)

David and Sam's wedding.

David and Sam had their wedding at their home. They originally booked me for a commitment ceremony, but with the recent California Supreme Court ruling, their commitment ceremony developed into a legal marriage--and they were ecstatic about it :-) Amazing catering by Michael Parise of Canoli Kings.
They've spent about 2 years remodeling their home, and it was beautiful inside and out!
Heres a slideshow with some of my favorite pics :)

Meet Cujo, my incredibly smart sweet little poodle.

Say "Hi" to Bailey. His real name isn't Cujo, but he acts like Cujo when UPS come to the door--not FedEx or the US Postal Service, *only* UPS. Anyway, he is my fur child, e.g., dog.

I love dogs :-)

Bailey was a about a year old when I got him from a local poodle rescue group. He is an apricot mini-poodle, weighing in at about 21 pounds.

He's a realllllly sweet dog........ but um, he's got issues. But hey, who among us doesn't? He doesn't like kids too much, does not like his behind touched, has separation anxiety problems, is afraid of water, and can be territorial. But OMG is he smart! When he doesn't want to do a given command I ask him, it's *not* that he doesn't know what I'm asking, it's that he's not sure he wants to do it--my trainer calls him a "show-me-the-cookie" dog.
He can also spell. He learned what the letters "W A L K" means. Now I have to spell it backwards: "K L A W."
See. Told he was smart :-) Cute, isn't he?

By the way, the top one was taken pre-doggy beauty parlor.



Surveying his domain. On the lookout for other dogs, small humans, the pool guy for the neighbor, and UPS.

What does getting the moment mean?

Just as with our culture as a whole, the issue about what's "real" and what isn't often comes up in the context of Wedding Photojournalism. There is a great article about Capturing the moment at a wedding on WedPix, the online publication of the Wedding Photojournalism Association (yes I'm a member).
If you want to understand what *authentic* Wedding Photojournalism is, this is a great article! I am a self-admitted purist :-) It is extremely important to understand that if you want real wedding photojournalism, you need to get a real wedding photojournalist! There is a huge difference between shooting with a "photo journalistic style" (what is that, exactly??) and making images that capture a genuine moment. It takes hard work, timing, creativity, practice, patience, knowledge, and skill (plus a bunch of other adjectives) just like any craft ;-)
You may not even really want a wedding photojournalist to shoot your wedding, and that's ok! It is *not* for everyone. That's why it is important to understand what real Wedding Photojournalism is all about.
If you decide "Yeah, way cool! That's what I want!" Then ask yourself, "Does my photographer keep it real?"
Michael

Three two-bride weddings :-)

Unless you have been living in a cave (hiding with bin Laden?), you probably heard that same gender weddings are now legal in California. There will no doubt be continued legal wrangling on both sides of the issue, especially with a divisive proposition on November's ballot.

Some people are uncomfortable with the issue. I'm not. I want to shoot weddings of people in love, regardless of their sexual orientation, race, or religion. In a world full of so much pain and sadness, love in all colors, shapes, and forms deserves to be celebrated :-)

So on Tuesday June 17, I shot 2 wedding ceremonies in West Hollywood Park, both with 2 brides. The city of We Ho had set up shop in the park and an auditorium for the express purpose of issuing marriage licenses and performing civil ceremonies because the demand was so high. The LA Times has some great coverage of events around the State.

I went back Saturday to shoot Sandy and Nancy's wedding. It was awesome! I have great pictures to prove it! I'll post more throughout the week :-)

Enjoy,

Michael

April and Steve 2.0

I finished editing April and Steve's wedding. April was overwhelmed by the pictures I made. This is *part* of what she had to say: "Wow!!! I shouldn't be looking at these now. Because I'm crying. Holy s*&#! They're beautiful. I love them. Really. Truly. They're amazing. It takes me back - - a lot of emotion. You're an amazing photographer."

I'm so happy she loves her pictures I can hardly speak :-)

The "non-wedding" images are from the rehearsal.

Michael

We interupt our regularly scheduled broadcast.........

One of the blogs I check out regularly belongs to Jules Bianchi (you'll see her on my blog roll). Jules is a realllllllllllllly cool human being and a great photographer :-)

She had this contest about sharing photography tips, and I won a really cool DVD by Kevin Kubota! Kevin is a photographer and software master/author.

Here's what I wrote about. It may or may not make much sense--it depends how much (if anything) you know about photography.

I'm so stoked!! I'm currently using a PC (long story) and I can't wait to switch (back) to a Mac. The DVD will be very helpful when I make the transition and start using Lightroom regularly.

Thanks, Jules!

Michael

Edit: just want to say that there was no conspiracy here! Jules did not have the names of anyone who submitted an entry (her sister, Joy had all of the info), so she was happily surprised when she found out the entry was mine :-)

Shooting with Robert & Curt: so much fun it should be illegal.

I shot Queenie and Brian's wedding last weekend (5/10) with Robert Evans and Curt Apanovich. They are so incredibly relaxed when they shoot and have so much fun it might just be illegal or something :-)

I want to thank Robert for generously allowing me to use some of my favorite images from the day :-)

We started out at Cal Tech in Pasadena doing formals before the ceremony.

Yes, you read that correctly: Robert does his formal shots of the couple and bridal party FIRST. While this trend is becoming more common, it is still the exception rather than the norm. So why do formals first? Briefly:

• It takes away virtually all of the stress and anxiety of seeing your fiance for the first time at the alter. The relief is tremendous for a couple, and it creates a time and space for a couple to share some of the most intimate moments of their lives together. Do I/we shoot all of that? Yes and no; we are there to shoot, but allowing a couple some space is a good thing, and using appropriate lenses is important, especially for the most tender first moments. In other words, yes of course I shoot all of that, but never in an aggressive "in your face" kind of way. I'm not a paparazzi!! ;-)
  
• The couple and everyone else can go straight to the reception together and enjoy the celebration with their guests. You do want to party with your peeps at your wedding, don't you??

Lauren Clark has a brilliant post about this on her blog. She has seen such a tremendous difference --as has Robert-- that she will now *only* work with couples that want a photographer that uses this approach.

Bottom line: consider this when planning your wedding. As Robert says to couples, he's done hundreds of weddings, and without question the pictures and your wedding day experience will be better if you do the formal shots before the ceremony.

I am still very much a Photojournalism purist in the way I cover a wedding or event, but I have also witnessed such an incredible difference that I highly recommend couples do formals first.

Queenie and Brian had their ceremony at the Pasadena Christian Church. Some of the service was in Chinese and some was in English. It was very spiritual and moving. The reception was held at the LA/San Gabriel Hilton.

At the ceremony I was in the "sniper position:" upstairs from the balcony pews with a long lens. Robert started at the from on the right side and they both moved around during the ceremony. Don't tell my mom, but I was not shooting from a totally fixed position as one would expect: I crawled around the balcony ledge on my belly for a variety of perspectives and candids. Awkward, but there were few people upstairs (Pro and family video people), and no one really cared or noticed........ It was when I dropped my 5lb. camera/lens combo in the lap of an unsuspecting guest that it became an issue........ Just kidding!

The shot with Queenie giving a thumbs up at a table was from correctly identifying a variety of things including: different herbs and spices; different kinds of candy bars (I think she missed on a 3Muscuteers bar); and soft drinks. I'm not sure if this was a variation on a traditional ceremony or their own invention, but it was cute :-)

Oh, I almost forgot: an additional thank you to Curt for being so nice and ensuring that I was not run over and squished like a bug when I was on the ground shooting the Lexus in the parking lot!

Michael

Edit: *blush* I uploaded some photos in the wrong sequence, but that's probably ok, huh? ;-)