i guess it's that time of year because i did another graduation. Congrats Justin! the graduation was at their school in Sunnyvale, CA (can't remember right now the name of the place). there were a bunch of photographers with their zooms. i only had my trusty 24-70mm with me. yes i really wished i had the reach in a bigger zoom, but i moved around a bit and got the shots that counted. after the ceremony there are more shoots in the gymnasium which i used the 580ex...

 

 

 

this years Greek Festival was great! the foooood! i love greek food, especially gyros (yeee rows) something like that. i used to live in Crete, Greece for 3 years and i've had a weakness for Greek food ever since. went with Kate and Desiree. i brought the camera with one 580ex and available light. 

   the following day we went shopping at Santana Row in San Jose, CA. someone was craving for Pinkberry... same setup as day before. i was hoping to catch a dog get-together but missed it. we still saw some dogs though.

 

 

while attending FanimeCon this year, there was another event taking place for celebration. Desiree's Graduation! very nice ceremony at the Spartan Stadium in San Jose, CA. she told before the ceremony that she didn't like her studio graduation pictures. "what happened?" she just didn't like how they turned out, so i was down to give her some photos. here they are...

  580ex camera right, 430ex camera left, sun behind left

  available light

 

click this pic to see all graduation event pics

 

 

 

 

Japanese anime has influenced alot of artists in the U.S. it's influence is more prominent in comics or graphic novels in the west. another influence is in Cosplay. cosplay is where people just dress up as their favorite anime/cartoon characters. pretty much anything goes; i've seen movie characters to tv series characters. as long as you're dressed up and you're having fun. Joe and I went to san jose for the annual Fanimecon. because i was juggling the convention and a graduation that week i don't have much to show, but i did learn the Elinchrom Ranger RX system! great set of lighting and something i want to look forward to getting in the near future. anyway, we had fun taking photos and just seeing the various amount of participants show off their costumes.

 

 

 

  

it's May 2nd, it's my day off and there's a FIGHT tonight! Pacquiao VS Hatton!! an evening of food, drinks and entertainment. let's get ready to rumble!!! well, you all know Manny won; Hatton with his tail between his legs runs off after getting knocked out in the 2nd round. haha! before the fight, the air stunk from all the shit-talking by Hatton and his coach Mayweather Sr. (retard). i can barely understand what Mayweather says in all his interviews...idiot.

 

 

 

 

 

another sunny day but this time in San Jo. we were decided to go Alum Rock Park, the sun was high in the sky and there was a good cool wind. good hiking weather...and yes! we had water in the stream. =)

 

 

 this time around i went with Cybersyncs, 10-22mm, 24-70mm, Manfrotto 190prob w/ Giotto head. often this area doesn't get enough condensation so the environment is dry. dry in color, but when it does get some moisture you get more saturation in color. this place was fun to shoot. we did finish off in the mountains a few minutes north of the park. we tried looking for a flower farm, but no success.

 

 

well, when's it's sunny and it's Sunday, then it's bbq time at the shop. we cooked up burgers and then i cooked up some shots. quick status, because our model Patty didn't think she was up to par that day. she was great! c'mon Patty give yourself some credit. ha!

one thing i have to remember is always reassure the models. either they're amateurs or professionals, when they're feeling good and are comfortable you can produce great shots.
OSC 24-70mm

yea the title's messed up, but i'm just going by what Christian's mother said hehehe. well it was a very nice day for two birthday's actually. the sun was out and the wind kept everyone cool.
here we just have the OSC and the 24-70mm

some Friday's i'll sit around tappin on my laptop...mostly lookin for any free venues i can go to for shooting...my camera. this time though, a friend of mine hit me up and we went to Frisco to shoot. plan was for goin' to the aquarium near the De Young Museum; plans change. although, it was a good change i still want to hit the aquarium. my regular outting setup OSC 10-22mm, 24-70mm

i had some extra time on my hands one friday. yes, i was off and i had the itch to shoot something...with my camera. i drive down here maybe once a month. Taylor rd stretches across many busy streets in San Jose. basic corner stores and shopping centers along the way. what i did notice driving down the street, in search of a target were rose parks.

i went with the usual OSC w/ 10-22mm, 24-70mm close by.

 

 

so little time...so many pictures. well, here's more from the  outing we took early this month in Stanford. the Rodin Gardens at the school was a great idea for shooting. the statues in the first garden on the right are all dark metallic. like, really charcoal dark. i decided to post these as B&W-ish. i thought it helps with the values. it was a battle between me and the sun. i used an off shoe cord and the 24-70mm.

i was able to attend Nathan's 9th birthday! sunny day! came away with decent shots...i hope every one liked them.

 

 

had time for some fun in the sun...went to rodin gardens @ Stanford Univ. two weeks ago. the great sculture/painter from the baroque period i believe. the statues were a deep shiny black iron medium. the sun was high up in the sky; great practice for OCF shots! used two flashes for just two shots...had the 10-22mm and 24-70mm for these shots. can you tell the difference? i've been happy with the 10-22mm. sharpness is great even with the smaller aperture. 

   

congrats lola happy birthday!