welovedon

Viet Nam.

2010-07-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

Over the month of June, I visited Viet Nam with Anh and her bother and sister. This country was far more beautiful than I had ever imagined; a true testimony to the word "surreal."

Maybe it was the 14 hour plane ride, or the lack of sleep, or both, but when our plane landed in Sai Gon I suddenly became overwhelmed with emotions. I thought to myself, "Here I am, on the other side of the world, 14 hours ahead of where I once was." I never once thought that I would actually be in Viet Nam. Sure the idea would be tossed around about traveling around the world and seeing different places, but until it happens, they're just words to me. What really got me choked up was the idea that this is where my mother and father came from; this is their country. It is where our heritage came from, our traditions and our family. Immediately, I fell in love the country.

Here’s a small example of what I got:

My equipment: Nikon D300 (no vert. batt. pack)

Nikkor 17-55 2.8
Nikkor 70-200 2.8
Nikkor 50 1.8

All that was carried in a plain messenger bag lined with a large plastic bag with a rechargeable dehumidifier.

Overall, I ended up snapping almost 3,000 photos during my 2 weeks stay.

Till then.

May Day 2010: Los Angeles

2010-05-04T00:50:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday (May 1) I went into Los Angeles to attend the May Day Immigration Protest. More than 100,000 people were expected to march from four directions towards Los Angeles City Hall to protest Arizona's new immigration law.

Here’s what I got:

Till then!

The Wedge

2010-04-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

After checking Facebook, I found out that The Wedge was hitting. Took the Vespa, the 300 2.8 and the D300 out to take some photos. Too bad I did not think to take the 70-200. It turns out my over ambitious ass took the wrong lens. The 300 was way to close! Oh well, lesson learned.

Here's what I got:

Till then.

Tax Day Tea Party

2010-04-16T22:51:00.001-07:00

On tax day I went out to Santa Ana's Civic Center to watch a bunch of Tea Party protesters talk about big government.

In short, here's what I got:

Till then.

Joshua Tree Spring 2010

2010-04-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

Anh and I took a little camping trip out into Joshua Tree last week (April 10, 2010) to see all the flowers. Sadly, it's still to cold and there was not a whole lot of action. But we did manage to do a couple of hikes and I was able to snap off a couple of shots.

Here's what I got:

Over all it was a fun and much needed little trip.

Till then.

MEXICALI'S 7.2 QUAKE!

2010-04-07T01:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sure everyone knows, but Mexico was hit with a 7.2 earthquake last Easter (April 4, 2010). McClain and I decided that night to take a 3 hour drive to the boarder of Calexico and Mexicali to take a look at the damage.

The photos are from the downtowns of Calexico and Mexicali.

Here's what I got:

Oh how the world is falling apart. Quick, get some duct tape!

Till then.

2010 L.A. Marathon!

2010-03-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

Peter and I took off to Dodger Stadium at 4:30am yesterday (March 21, 2010) to take a look at the L.A. Marathon; I know, who likes to run? I know I don't, but a couple of names come to mind: Wesley Korir and Edna Kiplagat, winners of the 2010 L.A. Marathon.

Wesley Korir, 27 of Kenya, ran his 26 miles in 2hrs 9mins and 19secs. Just about a minute shy of the L.A. Marathon's record of 2hrs 8mins and 24secs. Oh and did I mention that it was Korir that set that record last year!? Back to back, son!

Above is Edna Kiplagat, 30, and also of Kenya crossing the line at 2hrs 25mins and 38secs. This is her first win and is only her second marathon that she has ever run.

After they crossed the finish line and received their prizes, they took a walk on the Santa Monica Pier; as if they didn't just run 26 miles in under 2 1/2 hours.

Anyways, here's what I got from the rest of the day:

Till then.

Photo Shoot w/Kat Vo

2010-02-16T01:46:00.000-08:00

Old friend and original muse: Kat Vo. Quick shoot on the best couch in the world (sidetracked from doing her head shots)!

I was trying to mess around with lights but decided to just go with the ambient and blow it out a little. Oh and Kingsley posed too!

Here's what I got:

Till then!

Tiger Heat!

2010-02-16T00:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know its a gay bar in Hollywood, but that's not what I'm talking about. Happy New Years everyone! It's now the year of the Tiger and a couple of days ago, I attended the parade and the shindig at the Hue Quang Temple in Santa Ana. The parade was a parade, but the Temple scene was completely different; it was loud, full of people, smokey (from the firecrackers) and very well lit!

Here's what I got (oh and don't mind the watermark. Some people are interested in publishing my photos for the temple, so until that gets sorted the watermark stays):

Till then!

Head Shot, But Without The Head. More Like The Arm, And No Bullet. Just H1N1. A SHOT OF H1N1!

2010-02-12T01:58:00.000-08:00

Over at CSUF, the campus got a large quantity of H1N1 vaccine. They gave them out to the students for free, which kind of shocked me. Given my past relationship with this school and how they rape you for all that you have in your wallet, I was skeptical. But, sure enough, all you needed was a CSUF ID and you got a shot.

Here's what I got:

Till then!

Man About Town

2010-02-11T01:02:00.000-08:00

So I got off of work early and decided to take advantage of all this good'ol sunshine. I headed to the beach (I love the beach in the winter/fall, not a lot of people are around) to find me a good photo. I was able to capture the sun setting behind some people fishing and watching the surfers, but I had to pay a price. This photo caused me to see purple for a good half hour! I had to look into the viewfinder while the sun was burning right into my retina. I guess it was worth it; I do have two eyes.

I was also able to shoot some guys surfing, too. What kind of beach adventure would it be if I didn't do that?

My gear for this outing:
-D300
-300mm 2.8
-1.7 TC

Essentially I was shooting at 500mm F/4.8. Long glass FTW!

Till then.

Thao Nguyen for Karl M.

2010-02-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

A weird thing happened to me the other night. I went to go see Thao Nguyen play at The Detroit Bar and the show was suppose to start at 9pm but started at 10pm. I was so tried from the entire day (Santa Monica by 9am and The Griffith Observatory) that I, after Thao N. was done playing, decided to go home and not stay for the entire show (oh bitter milestones). I should have figured. Right before I left my house to go to the bar, I was looking around for ear plugs. Sigh. But, the show was still good, just too late in the night for little old me.

Anyways, here's what I got:

Till then!

So I Might Have A Problem.

2010-02-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

People have vice's (vices')? Anyways no one is perfect and today, I may have discovered my one of many vice's(s').

I love soda!

The above must stand in it's own paragraph to emphasize my point I'm making. You see, my dad owns a little take-out in Bolsa and he's stocking up on drinks (Coke) for the upcoming Lunar New Years. So, off in a little corner of the house are stacks of 12 packs. They're just sitting there with no one watching them or anything. I told myself that I should not take any of the drinks because I've been caught and, lightly, scolded at. So, I listened to "self-control" and didn't touch it.

That was three days ago and they're still sitting in that corner. So, today (Feb. 3. 2010) I did something that I was not entirely proud of: I stole not 1 but 2 cokes from my dad. But not all hope is lost for my soul, you see, as I was drinking to my success (I had to wait for my mom not to be around and, like a ninja, quietly open the package and sneak 2 drinks in my pj pockets), I realized that I can save myself by placing a dollar bill on the package that I tore open. I did.

As a result of my Tom Foolery, dad saw the dollar and proceed into my room and handed me a 2 liter bottle of Coke. I know what you're thinking and yes, I HATE BOTTLED SODA! Everyone knows that.

Till then!

PHOENIX DOWN!

2010-02-03T00:23:00.000-08:00

Ello ello!

It took sometime for me to get out of my humdrum state, but I'm back to my photo blog!

So much has happened since my last entry of Oct. 6 2009.

Quick cap:
My grandma passed away (1910-2009), I got married, went to Costa Rica, went rock climbing, got my B.A, got a new lens, turned 25, the year 2010 (twenty-ten! Not two-thousand and ten. BTW) and a tornado in LBC. I wasn't there for the tornado, but I was on my way out right before the "summer room" was flooding.

Here's what I got:

There you go. Lets hope I keep this shit up now.

Till then!

hiatus

2009-11-24T15:35:00.001-08:00

hiatus

"McCruelty; i'm hatin' it"

2009-10-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

I got word about a protest happening in front of the NBC Studios in Burbank and decided to go take a look, and who better to ask to tag along to NBC?? McClain!!! We got there a little early to check out McClain's old internship and walked around the NBC lot/studio. Lets just say that it was like being on 30 Rock. Anyways, back to our main focus.

In front of the studio were Peta protesters. They came out with signs, a message and, chicken outfits...?

Here's what I got:

Not a lot of people came out to this protest; about less than 20. Although their numbers where small, their message was big: "McCruelty; i'm hatin' it."

Till then.

Home Studio!

2009-10-02T04:40:00.001-07:00

So I was able to put together a MUA (make-up artist), a model and a home studio the other day! Did some photos with details to skin and makeup and turned out very well. After words, McClain came over and he showed me a thing or two with Photoshop and 3hrs later, we have something I'm pretty proud of. Here's what we got:

Photograph by me and edited by McClain Nelson. Pretty cool stuff he learned from NBC! And this photo below is all me!

A lot more, but seeing how it takes some hours for 1 photo to be done, these 2 should be fine for now. Oh and working with a MUA was amazing! I recommend her to any of you photographers in need of someone that is professional, easy to talk to and open to ideas and HAS ideas to contribute! Just click on her name and it will take you to her work. Jessica Hughes

Till then!

Hello Furloughs!@

2009-09-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA-- Students protest budget cuts at California State University, Fullerton resulting in a 32% increase in tuition fees and a 10% pay cut for teachers and faculty on September 29, 2009.

The students marched around CSUF campus chanting "They say cut back; we say fight back" and "Hell no to Furloughs!" during a large scale protest about budget cuts.

The main concern was about high tuition cost and poor education, due to the Furlough policy. Milagro Medrano, president of California Faculty Association (CFA) is seen holding up signs in support. "These students are our future and it's unfair to constantly raise tuition. Some students can barley get by and that is not what education should be about."

Anyways, here is what I got:

Oh, I just love me a good protest. They're old, but I'll post up my May Day 2009 protest later. That was a fun day!

Till then!

Lexicon Polaroid: Me by Anh for Mike

2009-09-26T01:45:00.000-07:00

Lexicon Polaroid is a poetry magazine ran by a good friend in Portland, Oregon. His name is Mike Harper. As soon as he releases the magazine, I'll release the poem that this photograph, taken by Anh Hoang, was intended for. But this is what she got:

It's a photo of me wrapped in dental floss! I added the red filter...maybe I should have kept it in B&W??? Oh well.

Till then.

Engagement Sitting #2

2009-09-24T02:19:00.000-07:00

Anh and I decided to do more photos for our upcoming wedding. So, I took out the tripod and set up some sweet shots at a sweet location! Here's what I got:

JK! One of Anh's friends took these A-M-A-Z-I-N-G photos of us. What makes them soooo damn amazing, you ask??? They're free! Anyways, if you ever need some photos done and you got a small budget, hit me up and I'll recommend Linda Hoang (yes, she has the same last name as Anh's).

Till then.

Photo Shoot: Casey Chin

2009-09-24T01:58:00.000-07:00

Did a photo shoot with the lovely Casey Chin (http://www.modelmayhem.com/caseychin) at her house. The shoot turned out to be a lot better than I had anticipated; her and I get a long very nicely and that is always something I look for in shooting with anyone. Here's what I got:

A lot more, but I'm too lazy to edit and post them all right now. So enjoy these!

Till then.

Mike Harper

2009-09-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

I love alliteration and semicolons in the English language.

"People like pictures in portland. The alliteration alone of that last sentence should bring you up here." -Mike Harper Sept. 14, 09 8:50pm Pacific.

Thanks, Mike, for making my night.

Till then.

Filipino Pirate: Photo Shoot With Karl

2009-09-12T04:17:00.000-07:00

Karl, Anh, Aldo and Jessie came over to my house and helped me with a little project. It involved 2 strobes, 2 scooters and 1 SUV. Here is what I got:

And after words, we went and got Pho at 50% off, you know where I'm talking about!

Till then.

Oh and PCs suck; PS3 crashed on me and I've never had soooo many virus in a months time period. I think I'm going to switch over to MACS.

Oh Photoshop, How I Love Thee

2009-09-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

I can remember using Photoshop 7 and being completely frustrated with that program. As a matter of fact, because I couldn't use the damn thing, I started hating on people that edited their photos. Can't join them, well, then HATE THEM; those jerks. I would tell myself that people made their photos in Photoshop rather than shot them with their camera and lights. Well, on record, I was wrong. You really can't shine shit (I know, it was proven otherwise on Myth Busters, but really, come on). A bad photo is a bad photo. Long story short, I'm pretty excited about my editing skills and wanted to share them. Here's what I got:

And here is what I used:
Healing brush
Patch Tool
Clone Stamp
Liquify
Eye Dropper Tool
Layer Mask
Magic Wand
Saturation
Curves
Unmask Sharpen
Levels

Many thanks to Youtube and McClain for the great tips on natural skin editing!!

Till then.

Labor Day 2009: Anh Gets Her Wisdom Teeth Pulled

2009-09-10T02:09:00.000-07:00

So, this Labor Day (Sept. 7 09) Anh and I went to my brother's dental office in Fountain Valley and got her 2 lower wisdom teeth pulled out! It was not as bad as it sounded; the entire procedure only took about 20-30 minutes! Anh only had 1 moment of pain but my brother solved that with more Novocain.

After everything, he gave Anh her teeth and I photographed them. Here is what I got:

These look so prehistoric; they reminded me of a Velociraptors claw! Ha, they have "Velo" in their name!

Till then.

Health Care For America NOW!

2009-09-04T00:46:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES-- I went into DTLA to get some photographs of people yelling at one another about Obama's plan for universal health care plan and only got some peaceful, protesting, old hippies. So much for all that stuff you see on TV about them Republicans yelling and crying at their representatives. Anyways, here's the one I like the most:

Oh, and I totally caught a guy starring at some ladies boobs!

He was SUPER annoying. Reminded me of that one guy from Happy Gilmore that would pop out of no where and call Happy a "jack-ass!" This guy...

Till then.

Cold War Kids in The LBC

2009-08-22T00:51:00.001-07:00

The Cold War Kids, one of my favorite bands, played a free show at the Busker Festival, August 21, 09. The show took place on 1st and Elm Ave. in Long Beach, CA. The show was packed (why not, it's free) with a bunch of people wearing flannel and riding "fixies." It was really cute. No, I did not wear my flannel, and truth be told, I felt left out, sigh.

Here's what I got:

It's really cool how people think you are associated with the band that you are photographing when you're carrying a big'ol camera; cutzzies for me!

"Who are you shooting for?" "Oh me? Them, The Cold War Kids."

www.coldwarkids.com

Till then.

Sequoia in 36hrs.

2009-08-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, 2 buddies of mine and I decided to go backpacking in Sequoia for only a short amount of time (We left Friday morning and I had to be at work on Sunday, 10am). I brought the essentials: Camera, 17-55mm 2.8, 2x 8 gig CF cards, batteries, tripod and a hat. Here is what i got:

We ended up doing a 7 mile night hike in the complete dark, well, we had headlamps and little flashlights, but that only lit up about 5 feet in front of us. I wanted to get more photos set up for our night hike, but that would involve me walking into the dark forest, off the trail, and setting up the tripod. I didn't want to do that, plus everyone was super tired and did not want to slow down for me to set up a couple of pictures.

We made it back to the car in about 4hrs and got back to Huntington Bch by 9am. Success!

Till then.

A Bowl of Kix With A Side Of Creatine

2009-08-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

I was out working and waiting for Mia Hamm to show up to coach a girls/boys team (never happened, because she was a no show) and I was watching girls practice goal kicks. Well needless to say, this little girl caught my attention.

I was so amazed at the size of her legs, in fact, I was jealous; I'm a bike rider and legs like that can destroy hills! I wanted them.

It makes me wonder, "What if steroids Were legal?" It would make athletes soooo amazingly awesome! This girl is only in her teens and has some monster of legs. Whatever her parents are feeding her (milked topped with creatine powder), it's looking great!

Till then.

Pop's Lily Pad

2009-08-14T00:27:00.000-07:00

Self-explanatory.

But if you have ever been to my house and noticed a fountain in the front yard, you would be surprised, as much as I was, that something so pretty can grow in such nasty water. The water has nothing but dirty gold-fish swimming in their own poop. Maybe its like fertilizer? I don't know, I'm not a botanist.

Till then.

Meteor Shower. Well Kind Of.

2009-08-12T03:40:00.000-07:00

So Anh and I decided that we wanted to go watch the meteor shower this morning (12am-5am) over in the Inland Empire. Like I said in my last post, "you got to drive at least a couple of hours away." Oh was I right and wrong. The view was nice, but there was still a good amount of city glow coming from the horizon. Oh and not to mention all the other people that got the same idea as us to drive out to the mountain/desert area.

I had envisioned 4-10 meteorites at the same time; filling the sky with wonder-ist lights! We got 1 or maybe 2 back to back, at best. Needless to say, I did not get a photograph of any of the meteors. Instead, I photographed the moon shinning down on power lines and the road. Not according to plan, but I enjoyed myself and I'm sure Anh did too.

Above is a photo of us. Courtesy of my wireless, Chinese, trigger!

Till then.

Suburban Sprawl

2009-08-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Can't help notice that there isn't a whole lot of nature around Southern California. I mean, we do have the "wet lands" and "parks" but that's it. It's no Oregon or Kentucky and if you want some peace and quiet, you got to drive at least a couple of hours away and still it won't be all that great. Just a little tangent from my initial thought, but slightly related.

I'm going to try and start up a photo-essay about "Modern Nature." It's been done, but I want to give it a try. Here's the first 3 of the set.

Till then.

Mom's mom

2009-08-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

First post belongs to my grandma; she is currently 99 years old. There are disagreements on how old she really is, but this is my blog, so that means she is 99 years old.

This photograph was taken on a visit over in Lexington, Kentucky. It was a 37 hr. trip starting with a red-eye into Cincinnati from LAX. I decided not to use my 37 hrs. for sleeping, but instead, for beer, conversing with family, photography and reminiscing.

The photo below was taken on the airplane (+1 creep) of some lady with the seat that I wanted. Oh well, I made the best of my situation.

Till then.