Moving Furniture

I’m a photographer, but you’d hardly know it from looking at my blog. The pictures on it are barely more than snap shots rather than carefully crafted images.

I made the decision a while ago that not everything I shoot has to be something ready to be published in a magazine. Sometimes life’s little moments don’t have the perfect lighting or the perfect background. That’s okay. I’d rather capture the moment no matter how crappy the lighting or the setting than let it slip by undocumented.

Arnold Newman once said, “Photography is 1% inspiration and 99% moving furniture” and I’d rather not move furniture all the time.

It's not supposed to be this hot in September

It was freakin’ hot today. 106 degrees. That’s hot for any time of year in this area, let alone mid September.

Actually, I spent most of the day in bed. I woke up around 9:00am to use the restroom and decided that more sleep was in order. At 4:00pm I decided I had been in bed for long enough and needed to get my day started. By 4:30pm the temperature had only dropped two degrees. After being outside for less than half an hour, the heat got to me. I felt drained. I decided to go back to bed and wait for the temperature to cool down even more.

By 7:00pm I was out of bed again. Krista called. The photo department at Cal State Fullerton is apparently pretty small. Vergil called. He was in the area and wanted ice cream. YES!

Coldstone or Rite Aid? I hadn’t had Thrifty’s ice cream in decades and the thought of those odd cylinder shaped scoops made me nostalgic for some. Randy decided some ice cream was a good idea too and of to Rite Aid we went.

Three scoops: pistachio, Mint Chip, and Black Cherry. Not only was it cold and refreshing, it was also breakfast.

When we got back, we talked about going to Thailand next year. I pulled out a home movie from when I went back to Thailand in 1999 and forced Vergil to watch it. Evil, I know. One should never impose home videos on friends, at least not on the ones you like.

I know things in Thailand have changed. I have family and friends I haven’t seen in over a decade. Who knows if they’ll want to hang out with someone they haven’t seen in 15 years, even if we occasionally have contact on Facebook. Oh well, it’ll all work out; it’ll all be good.

Race for the Arts - Year 2

Off to the races… again. I had such a good time two years ago; it was time to go back. This time the Millers and the Fultons decided to attend, along with some other friends from the Fine Arts Division. Yes, it was going to be a fun night.

Each fall for the past 15 years, the Cypress College Patrons of the Arts holds a charity event at the Vessels Club at the Los Alamitos Race Course. We dine on good food, have drinks, and put some money down on the ponies. The money raised during the event goes to scholarships for some very deserving students in the Fine Arts Division.

Dinner was served at 6:30. Actually, it was a buffet, so I served myself. Anyhow it was all very good. Chicken, beef, potatoes, salad and rolls - as much as I wanted to eat and all very delicious. I went back for seconds, something I soon regretted. That darn horseradish sauce was just too good. It had just the right amount of kick to it. Dessert: apple cobbler with ice cream.

In addition to dinner there was a "opportunity drawing" for prize baskets.

Randy and I had our eyes on the vodka. Of course. Although Bob here actually won that prize he gave it to Randy. Maybe Randy’s sad face played a small role in scoring the vodka, but I think Bob is just a nice guy, the kind you need to restore your faith in humanity every now and then. People are generous.

Randy won the next drawing, a nice tea set. He gave that to Bob, who seemed more than pleased to receive it. And yes, a friendship was born.

I’m normally not the gambling type, but a dollar or two on each race definitely made things more interesting. Sometimes I would bet on what the experts suggested, other times just because I couldn’t resist the name. How could I pass up on a horse named Pixel Perfect?

I won some, but lost more. I wasn’t the only one. Greg managed to empty his wallet too. I wish I could say I felt bad for him, but I can’t. What can I say? Misery loves company.

Hopefully I’ll see you there next year. It is for a good cause after all.

Nanna's Beach Birthday

It was my niece Nanna’s birthday so the family decided to spend the afternoon at Seal Beach. Despite living less than half an hour from the ocean and actually seeing it quite often, I rarely spend time on the sand. I think I can count the number of times on one hand. Okay, it’s more than that, but not by much.

I’m a California girl, but not the type that likes to lie out under the sun. The last time I did that I ended up so burnt the tan didn’t fade for nearly a year. And no, that’s not exaggeration for once.

These days a trip to the beach is an ordeal complete with nearly an entire tube of sun block, umbrellas, towels, books, and of course plenty of snacks. Parking is another trail, that is if I could find any. It’s just too much work for a day meant for relaxing.

Since provisions were provided for by the family and parking appeared quite magically as we entered the lot, the afternoon was rather relaxing. Randy’s mom made her famous bacon spaghetti and Jojit brought enough Vietnamese sandwiches for everyone. I ate more than I should have, with no consideration for my weight loss goal at all. It was worth it. I had to leave early, before the birthday cake, but that’s okay. I shouldn’t be eating more anyway.

Nanna, I hope you had a happy birthday and your birthday wish came true.

Sisig Tacos

By now, if you live anywhere in the Greater Los Angeles area, you’ve heard of the Korean taco truck phenomenon that is Koji. Food trucks, or roach coaches as some prefer, aren’t new, but the last few years have seen the spawn of a new crop of gourmet food trucks. No longer are food trucks selling just tacos and burritos, they now peddle everything from ice cream and cupcakes to Thai food and falafels.

Southern California is said to be a melting pot of culture and it’s evident in the innovative mixing of cuisine. Greg Bumatay and Marc Weisberg, both phenomenal wedding photographers in their own right have now joined forces to bring you sisig tacos, a delightful fusion of Filipino and Mexican fair. Look for it on a truck near you.

Seriously though, neither are thinking of starting a food based business any time soon. This is just dinner at the Cypress College Photography Department. Greg, our Wedding and Event Photography instructor suggested this meal after last week’s discussion of the emergence of Filipino taco trucks.

Now, I’d tell you where we ordered the sisig and hand made tortillas from, however, we’re saving that as our own little secret. All I can tell you is that it’s brilliant and if you want some, you’re going to have to sign up for classes in the Photo Department.

We’re planning on having this for dinner a few more times this semester. If you’re a student in the Photo Department come join us for dinner on Wednesday night. Follow the photo department on Twitter at @cypressphoto or me at @pinlux to find out when our next sisig taco night is. You don’t want to miss this.

P.S. Thanks Brent for picking this stuff up for us.

"About Me"

I’ve been a business owner since last year. Conventional wisdom dictates that a business should have a web site and web sites, generally, have an “about” section.

I’ve been struggling since the day I registered my domain name to write an “About Me” page. I don’t know what to write. Do I write in the first person or the third? Do I talk about my years (or lack thereof) of experience? How about personal interests?

Jeff Jochum talks about Being Authentic on his site, Startup Strategy and Lawrence Chan talks about promoting transparency in his blog post 7 Ways To Have An Awesome About Page…
And Yes, It’s Important. I get what they’re saying, I really do. Because of my personality, it’s something I probably would have done anyway, with or without their advice. The problem is that their advice is so good everyone and their mother is doing it now. It’s no longer unique.

I’ve been perusing the bio pages of prominent photographers and a few of my favorite celebrities to see what they have said. I read the same thing over and over: EVERY photographer is now PASSIONATE about capturing images of YOUR day, nearly every photographer seems to be a foodie, and a darn good number of them loves God and goes to church. Good for them, but how do I compete with that?

What professional in their right mind would say they would do nothing but the best? Of course, that’s a given… I hope. “I’ll do a so-so job on your [insert project here]”. It just doesn’t have the same pizazz.

My philosophy, when it comes to my online presence (personally or professionally), is to be truthful with what I post. Like all human beings, I have skeletons in my closet and I choose not to share them online. My well-meaning friends warn me quite frequently to be cautious about what I choose to share… what if my boss reads it? What if a client does? I’m very aware of what I share online. I self censor what I write so much my posts just end up pathetically mundane.

Conventional wisdom dictates that you should avoid discussing religion and politics like the plague and for the most part, I do. I don’t want to alienate myself from potential friends, business partners, or clients.

Roughly 76% of people living in America are Christians. And here goes nothing… I’m not. There, I said it. Luckily, only about 11 people read my blog (and that number may be pushing it) so I’m not very worried. It’s something I’ve wanted to say for a very long time, but was too afraid to because I didn’t want people to think I was a bad person.

I went to a Christian school for 12 years (pre-school through 8th grade). It was a Quaker school no less. Tack on another 4 years of Catholic school after that and I’d like to think I have a pretty fair understanding of what Christianity is about. I won’t go into the reasons why I’m not a Christian, suffice to say it’s just not for me.

I was a “Christian” until I was in the 10th grade, but not because I believed in God or loved God, although at times I tried to convince myself I did. In hindsight, I know I said I was one because my “friends” told me I was an evil person if I wasn’t one and that I would go to hell. What kind of sick person tells a child that? It wasn’t for the love of God that I became a “Christian”; it was the fear of persecution.

Today, I don’t associate myself with any organized religion. Today, I’m okay with what people will think of me when it comes to this, come what may.

I still don’t know what to write for my about page.

Laboring on Labor Day

Labor Day. No work. No school. I’m still not sure why they call it Labor Day rather than Non-Labor Day.

At least part of my day was spent laboring. I had a list of errands to run and The Verg agreed to do it with me. He was either really bored or a really good friend. Maybe a little of both.

When I was done with all of my errands we went to Sam’s Club to grab some pizza and I decided to do some shopping. It’s amazing how a handful of $7.00 items can still add up to over $130 by the time I walked out the door. I now have a supply of soap to last me for the rest of 2010 and over 21,000 calories worth of candy. For good measure, I bought two bottles of multi-vitamins – gummy multi-vitamins.

I’ve been involved in the photography industry for over 10 years and I’ve seen enough wedding photos, portraits, and pictures of flowers to last me the rest of my life. If I see another picture of a makeup artist applying lipstick on a bride I may cry. After snapping the picture of Verg pushing a shopping cart it occurred to me that we photograph the major moments in our lives - birthdays, weddings, and vacations - but we rarely take time to take pictures of the little things we do from day to day, like grocery shopping. When was the last time you saw a picture of someone doing laundry, washing dishes, cleaning out the gutters, or vacuuming? Okay, so I shoot that kind of stuff, but I can’t remember the last time I saw a non-commercial photograph of those everyday chores.

Anyhow, after Randy got home from work (he had some laboring to do too) we went to Chili’s to have dinner with John and Krista. Ever since Krista started school at Cal State Fullerton we haven’t had much time together. A week without Krista is just too long, especially since I’m used to seeing her 6 times a week. There was a point in time I saw her more than I saw Randy.

Krista, John, Verg, and I don’t have much time to socialize anymore. Between work, school, and conflicting schedules we only have a few free hours in our week (month?) to get together.

Speaking of school, I better get back to doing homework. I’ve got a paper to write for my Art History class. This time I’m a time traveling Egyptian. Last week I was a Sumerian traveler. The week before that: a caveman cave painter. Yeah… I know….