I had gotten a call from Mercedes on Monday about taking some family photos with her family.  I was really excited because I have never really done a family portrait session before.  Informing me she had two younger boys, I knew I would be in for a fun time!  Perhaps in my excitement, I didn't fully absorb the details of the shoot, which I thought would occur on September 3rd.  I fortunately woke up soon enough to check the voicemail she had left me an hour prior, confirming her address for the photoshoot.  Confused, I called back and essentially had half an hour to get my camera gear together and head over to her place!  Fortunately, the misunderstanding didn't cause any harm, and we were able to have the photoshoot as "planned."  Her two boys, Octavio and Ignacio, were a little camera shy at the house, but once we arrived at the nearby playground, I knew they would be in their element and the photos came out really nicely!

3 photoshoots in a week...a new record!

Bushido Fight Team, a MMA training facility in SF, was in need of a group photo of all their students and I had the opportunity to play around with some strobes to light the 40+ martial artists.  It was a nice stroll down memory lane seeing the comradere through sweat and hard work from these guys (and few girls) from my high school wrestling days...perhaps I might join them eventually...?

I don't usually use strobes, so anytime someone calls me to do a photoshoot with them where I might need to use additional lighting, it is always a relatively new and very exciting experience for me.  David and Noelle were gracious hosts in their Oakland home, in need of a specific shot they had already planned out for the cover of a book they were nearing completion for.  David had emailed me a few concept photos so once I arrived we started working right away...and within 20 minutes we had gotten the shot they wanted for the cover.  Since we were all set up anyways, we decided on doing other photoshoots for a few more hours...anywhere from business casual attire to lingerie. 

When I got the email regarding this gig, Radha had referred to this as something like a "birthday party."  Unsure of what he meant, I looked online to see what a Giving Ceremony was...but couldn't find too much info on it.  Fortunately, he was nice enough to forward me a link with similar photos to the event he was going to have for his daughter, Shruthi. 

Essentially, the tradition marks the transition for a girl to becoming a woman, primarily done in southern India from what I heard, through the sprinkling of grain and herbs atop her head by her aunts and uncles.  A wardrobe change also signifies the transition for the girl, who is dressed head to toe in traditional Indian garb, as well as henna tattooing on her hands. 

It is always nice to experience and compare different customs from other cultures, Indian or otherwise, I have seen in my life.

I shot Valentina's 2nd birthday a few days ago and I have to admit, had one of the most memorable times I've had at a birthday party in a while.  Reasons could be various, including the lack of alcohol in my system helping me to remember a birthday (just kidding!), but the main reason would be this was the first birthday I had been to where there were clowns and characters attending the party...characters like the one and only Mickey and Minnie Mouse!!!

The entertainment started with an always popular-with-kids face painter, who was followed by a hilarious clown, who was then followed by everyone's favorite Disney characters!  The 2 dozen or so kids definately had a great time clowning around with all the characters, but I'm sure the adults had an equally enjoyable time watching their kids have such big smiles on their faces.

I got this gig through a friend of mine, Jen, who has been working towards promoting a candidate for supervisor of district 6, Jane Kim.  The Pistahan Parade is the largest celebration of Filipino culture, heritage, and arts in SF and was held over the past weekend downtown.  It was a first for me actually walking in a parade, and couple that with photographing Jane as she was part of the parade made it even more memorable.  It was a fun experience taking a few photos, then playing catch up with the car.  Being in the middle of all this attention amongst a crowd of thousands helped me relive my rockstar dreams... :)

"OK, so I know my name isn't credited for the photo, and I know it isn't the most amazing thing ever, and I know the ad is so dominant you may not even notice the photo, but when I first turned the page and saw a photo I actually took, in a magazine, I couldn't help but laugh and smile!  It still counts :)

Check out page 55 of the August issue of 7x7 magazine for the DonQ half page ad!" was my post on Facebook today.

I had such a hysterical laugh earlier today when I found it.  I had done the photoshoot in June, and the mystery of which photo would be used was really built up...and initially led to disappointment...I didn't see the photo the first time I flipped through the magazine!