I went to Fremont to shoot another 1st birthday, which seems to be the most common event I have been doing these past few months.  There were probably around 50 people to help celebrate Siddarth's birthday, and everyone was in such a joyous mood I ended up shooting way past my normal average per hour.  There were a good number of kids, which was really cool since Siddarth's cousins seem to be all around the same age.

The feel I got from the party was very warm and close, and this was one of the most comfortable events I have been to.  It reminded me of the family gatherings when I was younger, since all my cousins and siblings are around the same age as me.

Happy birthday Siddarth!  May you have many many more parties to celebrate with your cousins and siblings!

Trust me, it's great...

Hardika was my contact from the Gurome party held last month. Needless to say, the best compliment anyone can get is repeat business.

She was graduating from her master's program at Cal State University East Bay and I had the honor of photographing the event for her. It was of course a little difficult to locate her amongst the thousands of people in attendance but once we joined up she was more than eager to catch up on the "lost time" with her celebratory poses and photo ideas!

It was a hot sunny day so using flash proved to make all the difference in the colors and helped eliminate ugly shadows on everyones' faces.

Graduation...reminds me I do not miss school one bit :)

I had come to meet Anurag a few weeks ago through a prior gig for his company, Gurome.  A man of several different business obligations, he threw this farewell party to help colleagues introduce their medical supplies research to those in attendence.  They were leaving for India to continue their research and discussed the needs and markets for their products, including anti-snoring equipment and infant health devices. 

Also on the itinerary for the evening was a "surprise" birthday party for his son, but the birthday boy wasn't one for crowds and celebrations...so I left without photographing the cake.  Though I happily do it, I always questioned the tradition of photographing the cake...?

It turned out for the better, not having to stay for the birthday celebrations, since it gave me half an hour to eat before I went to SF to photograph inside the nightclub, Harlot, for my photographer friend, Gene Kosoy.

You can see photos taken from the night at Harlot on his website :
www.phatcatphoto.com 

I received a last minute call from Ron, my contact from the previous HIV event, about this gig the night before.  Fortunately, my schedule was clear for the morning and I was able to attend.  It was going to be held at the same place as the previous event, although this was different in that the mayor of Oakland, Ron Dellums, would be in attendence congratulating the work these organizations do for their communities.  Needless to say, I was excited!

Unfortunately, Mr. Dellums was not able to attend the event...although a channel 7 news crew (ABC) did record it...so Mr. Dellums could've seen what he missed!  I never got a chance to see the clip on the news, however :(

A definite highlight in my photography experience, standing side by side with a news crew...it made me feel like I worked media for ABC!