Toby Brooks Photography

Fall Ramblings

2011-11-26T13:20:00.000-08:00

Fall is a beautiful time of the year that as a South Floridian, I have barely gotten to witness. Our winter's are a thing of envy, and our Fall is just a sign of that winter to come. The fall temperatures here are still wonderful, but the coloration of the foliage is definitely lacking. The freedom and accessibility of such beauty is such a blessing to be grateful for as a young adult. I remain mindful of how fortunate I am. Part of my inspiration is how giving is a significant part of contributing to this world. The more I give the more I am given, and this is a truth I have learned and experienced over my young life. I still grow daily in what giving means.

Another learned lesson, is that for myself being in a place of comfort dissuades growth and motivation to grow. As a young adult, I have experienced that I am capable of so much when under pressure whether self-induced or externally applied. I have maintained a steady pace in my growth as a photographer and a person, but as a photographer I do feel a comfort settling in that I am not driven by some imminent expiration date or some self-sustaining necessity. I apply a steady pace to long-term goals, but there is a great comfort creeping into my. I heard an interesting description today in an interview with the husband of congresswoman Giffords. He said that when she gets frustrated it's a good thing because it causes her mind to work and re-grow in those areas that she is most frustrated.

I try not stress over this point, but I do in moments feel as though I need to be working harder or being challenged more. Being a practical person, there are so many things in my mind that I have planned to do not just as a photographer, but most importantly as a person. There are things that apply pressure to my ability to work as a photographer that don't even buck a balanced life. I have made a balanced life a priority. In a sense the biggest internal battle within myself is the comfort that a balance life provides. My passion of photography is limited in that I am more passionate about growing as a person and being a well-balanced individual than I am with being a great photographer.

I make certain sacrifices to pursue photography but I don't allow it to own my life. At this point in my young career, I don't allow the pressure and the glory of capturing something great to determine my path and force me to give up things I consider more important. I remain mindful of that path I am travelling so that when I come to one end I can look back and know that I was mindful. Before I fell in love with photography I experienced places and people of great beauty even in the absence of the ability to capture it. Even these days there are moments when I am in the presence of a scene that I really want to capture, but I am not always with my camera. Sometimes this frustrates me and sometimes I am able to bask in the scenery. When I am with others especially I try to be mindful that my drive as a photographer should not outweigh my experience of them in whatever moments they would be willing to experience. Photography can push me and my company to experience great things otherwise unappreciated, and for that, I am grateful. I am sure most often those who are with me while experiencing great beauties are not disappointed.

This past trip I took, I had the privilege of being with three younger guys whom I have become great friends with over the years knowing them. I feel as though these guys would be just fine without my friendship, but their influence in my life has been an anchor and a part of my growth as a young man. I do not attribute any responsibility for their growth or who they are becoming as young men, but they have contributed to so much value in my life that I am grateful just to witness them growing as young men.

I am willing and motivated to do what it takes to go places and do things necessary to get great photos, but the dynamics of travelling with a group require a bit more flexibility and openness to take what you get with what you got. If it is my intention to go on a photography excursion and someone asks to come along, that is a different story, but for the most part I am aware that my drive can exceed the willingness of others to participate in a photography driven experience. While they may appreciate the outcome after any hardship, I prefer to prioritize my companions over my own drive. This trip was a good mix of willingness and new discovery for these guys, and I know that they were able to experience a healthy amount of adventure and gained a great appreciation of stepping through unknown paths.

I believe in the value of nurturing younger men to grow into the men that they were meant to be. Throughout my life besides the example that my father led, there were several older men who have had influence in my life. There is a clever balance in leading young boys to become young men. Much patience, great integrity, and persistence with an open hand is required through most of this journey. A stern discipline not only in direction but also within one's own life is a key to the effectiveness of leadership. In its most passive form, just the continued integrity of consistence, and staying the course in one's own life while in the presence of young ones goes much further than given credit. Not all of us are the same and we have a nature to handle and perceive things in different lights, and although we may learn the opposite the first time and learn the truth after we experience on our own the opposite can also be true.

While important is the seriousness of raising young ones, equally important are a balance with a sense of humor and a light heart. These traits will also carry us a long way in most situations. I have yet to master this balance of serious and humor, but have had an evanescent success at either in their right time. My biggest fault has been taking things too seriously and yet I proudly maintain that there is a lack of seriousness in most things that should be taken seriously. I occasionally feel I may have had it mastered more when I was younger I took most things with a great deal of outward brevity and lightness while maintaining a seriousness internally knowing how things should be, and yet as I age, I find the reverse true, that I dictate a serious outward reflection but maintain a very light-hearted and easy inward feeling. It is an interesting internal conflict in that I don't feel any shame or guilt in the decisions that are made for either trend when I show and lean toward reverence or show and lean towards the whimsical.

This occasional reflection keeps me self-balancing between the two and in faith I hold no burden in when I choose to apply either.

In photography there is this balance too, there is a certain amount of daring, adventure, and ambition associated with photography and a certain amount of seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary and being able to take amazing photos of everything. You can go to the most well travelled spots and take magnificently composed photos, and your pictures will be common to everyone who has travelled that spot and seen something similar to what you have seen, or you can seek out the most unimaginable places during times when they have never been seen by human eyes. Whether you capture a spectacular image or not your story and your own experience will be invaluable.

I value both. The ability to take something ordinary or well travelled and make it great whether it's the lighting that makes it perfect or the scene just showing off at that moment you were there. Another aspect of this balance is getting to know a place so well that you really know when and how a place is different from moment to moment and season to season. My admiration becomes something more when the scenery and the moments captured are truly rare, not just rare to the masses but rare even to those who search and seek those rare moments. These images obtained in a manner that few are capable of obtaining are the images that impress me. While these aspirations are grand in my mind I also love the regular look-out spots, the well-beaten paths, and all the things that continue to be new for me that can deliver winning images over and over again.

What do I look for when taking photos? For me, light inspires me, composition second, and finally capturing the scene with enough accuracy to satisfy the image in my mind of a scene or a moment.

While I do feel that all photo opportunities are a real treat some fall upon you and others you have to seek out. This scene with the birds was a fun gift that I saw as I was passing by on my way to meet a friend in DC. By chance there was a rose garden in the same location without any nice light at all. These fully bloomed roses fully in shadow of the Smithsonian Castle while this fountain scene was calling my name and glistening with sunlight. I had to stop. The sunlight was retreating in late afternoon, between buildings just highlighting this fountain where the birds were bathing and playing king of the fountain. In hindsight, there was a composition of this scene that I had taken after the birds left that left me to be disappointed that I didn't capture the whole episode with.

The size of the birds caused me to set my shutter speed that allowed me to capture their extremely fast movement luckily the light was direct, and the angle I shot them was purposefully done to avoid the passersby and the distraction of a construction fence. I fired away as they flew in and out of the scene pausing re-adjusting as the light changed following one here and there, this scene lasted for maybe a little more than a minute and they were gone! I looked up after shooting this great little gem of a moment, and they all flew away as if caught in the act of doing something ashamed. I hope you enjoy this re-display of the same moment that I witnessed!

This post has been fairly lengthy both in photos and in writing. I just felt like rambling. Please take what you can and enjoy it as it is. For there are many more opportunities and postings to come!

Best Buddies Miami Gala 2011: Viva Italia

2011-11-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

Being a photographer opens doors to new and exciting experiences. This Best Buddies Miami Gala: Viva Italia was just one of those experiences. While I don't get too excited about famous people or event photography, this was surely an experience that was worth the time and effort it took to be a part of. As I have posted about Best Buddies before in my blog about the Polo Experience, this was a much more formal celebration of the work that Best Buddies does and the support that they receive from some of their largest monetary supporters.

So this was my second Best Buddies Event, my first major Gala. Again as I have written about before, I admit that Event Photography does not inspire me, but at this event there was a certain amount of allure with very expensive and rare auction items, very beautiful people, and ultimately being a part of serving a cause to help those that are less fortunate have greater opportunity and a better experience in life.

There was a certain aspect of this event that felt like a frenzy or a free for all that leaves me very grateful of the peace and solitude of other forms of photography like nature, landscape, and portraiture. While the event lasted well over 6 hours, the shots I am posting are a general overview about the locations, the happenings, some product sponsor shots, some posed portraits, spotlight speakers and presenters, some roaming entertainment, and finally a fashion show. There was a concert performance by LMFAO that I unfortunately had to bow out for because of a prior commitment to travel to see my fiancé early the next morning.

One of my assignments for the night was to cover sponsors of the event and sponser product placement, while my introduction to most of the sponsor representatives was overlooked, the representatives from Piaget that I did get to meet were warm, welcoming, and very appreciative of having a photographer there that was taking photos with them in mind. This was an undercurrent for the event coverage that I didn't mind. People wanted their pictures taken for the most part and wanted to be published in some form of online media which was refreshing.

I have had plenty of experience working in low-light conditions for both events and show-type performances to be completely at ease about the situations presented at this event, almost bothered that the coverage became a grind. I try my best to avoid this type of complacent coverage and see things differently and capture things differently. In that aspect of event coverage I can be challenged, and for that I can grow and seek self-improvement to be more creative in situations that I become complacent in.

The rarities of this event as far as the rubbing elbows with the rich and famous, rare and extravagant auction items, shooting a fashion show for the first time, and admiring the roaming entertainment were all great fun. There was a great energy here that was driving a great cause with compassion and heartfelt support. You got a sense that there were many people here supporting Best Buddies because they have experienced first hand the work that Best Buddies does throughout the world and they know and love buddies or have worked with buddies that have had a major impact on their own lives.

The purely inspirational moments for me at this event were hearing the first hand account of Charles Calhoun and watching as Anthony and Alina Shriver nurtured one of their young daughters Carolina to be so influential in the Best Buddies organization.

Charles spoke about how it was growing up with an intellectual and developmental disability and how it has been for him to succeed and dream in spite of the ignorant forces that oppose him. He spoke of his relationship with his mother and how he was so thankful for her love and support through such cruelty from his peers while growing up. He continued to speak about how Best Buddies has provided him with amazing opportunities for growth, leadership, and continued success through encouragement, support, and belief. Through their practical training and the generous support of donors Charles has become an inspirational leader and productive member of our global community.

Seeing Anthony, his wife Alina, and his daughter Carolina on stage was a genuine image of how this organization has been inspired, grown, and the seeds be sown into the younger generations. The torch of Best Buddies International will be past to strong, willing, and capable hands. As Alina Shriver announced her daughter as the future leader of Best Buddies and then watching Carolina speak in front of 100s of influential people about what she is working to do within Best Buddies was inspirational. Not only in her speech but also in how she carried herself throughout the night could you agree with Alina that her daughter will carry Best Buddies into the future.

I hope these images share the experience I had while covering this event for Best Buddies and that you would be so inclined to expand your mind about the realm of possibilities for all of us in our part to make this world a better place.

Casual Inspirations

2011-11-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

It's not the first time that I have made Lianne pose for pictures for me. A couple are from my first impressions of her at the farm, another was a brief opportunity during the barn warming event, and the rest were taken on our day off. These are pretty casual, I wasn't planning to take pictures of her like this, but I was really inspired by the scenery and my first visit to their new home.

Especially of the vineyard and the quality of light that we had this early evening. This was after all the work had been done for the barn warming and we were able to relax and enjoy a local vineyard that has live music on the weekends. We got there right at the beginning of an hour and a half of great light. It was thinly over cast with breaks in the clouds that allowed certain areas of the landscape to be well light and others to be diffused.

Lighting like this is so great to shoot in, plus the hills, the vineyards, and my beautiful fiance could not resist the inspiration of this fleeting light. It was so dynamic and painterly that I had so much fun moving as it moved and adjusting for the next great shot. After working on the farm the past several days and shooting the event the day before these conditions were a real treat.

I know this post is not related to my recent fundraising efforts you may have seen through my facebook page, but I have to mention it since it is relevant to the happenings of my photography for this month. I am raising money for a great organization, Food for the Poor. If you have followed my photography for sometime you would know that I do make an effort to make a difference with my photography. Through different non-profit organizations, whether through volunteering or raising money through my photography, it has been mostly through opportunities coming along through friends I have chosen to partner with in ways that allows my photography be used to serve their cause. All of the opportunities that I have been a part of have been really great organizations with really great services. I hope that if you have not already been introduced to Food for the Poor, I hope you would take the time to learn a little more about them!

This post is full of pictures of my fiance Lianne. Can you see that she doesn't mind so much that I like to take pictures of her! I hope you don't mind that I enjoy sharing pictures of her with you all. Enjoy!

This last photo was a treat to see, the last good light of the day that we got to see came clean through an opening in the clouds and painted two hill sides. The result really was classical in nature, and deserved a worthy capture. I hope you have enjoyed this post, and are able to partner with me to support great causes by supporting my photography.

Cowboy Father-in-law

2011-10-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

My future father-in-law is a cowboy. This past weekend I spent my mornings cleaning stalls and the rest of the day working around the farm. I don't mind that life; in fact, most of my later experiences in life cause me to miss the solitude and reflection of manual labor. There is a certain perspective that is gained from this work.

Only after a short stint of manual labor, I find both a balance and a fresh productivity with both my photography and my job as an engineer. This past weekend I also got to take some interesting photos at a barn warming event. Event coverage is not something that excites me as a photographer, but I do love photography in a way that allows me to enjoy certain aspects of event photography.

One is that it is great for tuning your eye and camera work in conditions that may not be ideal to capture moments with a limited set of equipment. Although, I admit I do find myself bored with standard event coverage photos, there is a great opportunity to have thoughtful composition and intentional communication with event coverage. People may refer to this as a more photojournalistic approach to event coverage.

Second is that this photojournalistic approach really lends itself to telling stories. What I find when I take many photos at an event is that there is a large story and many smaller stories that can be told through the photos gained, and the presentation of photos have a major influence on the audience's interpretation of the story.

If you are familiar with horse whispering you would know the magical experience of witnessing a horse being worked from the Natural Horsemanship perspective. Horses are majestic animals with several basic behavioral traits and natural instincts that allow them to be harnessed and trained to perform with passion and relationship that is unparalleled even by man's best friend. When done right the relationship between man and horse is less of a struggle and more of a partnership.

With that said, I do value presentation of work. The arrangement of photos in a particular layout, and the intentional presentation of work are just a couple of ways to make a difference in how people perceive photography. This type of post work when putting together blogs or any media takes time. I was inspired by a notion of story-telling and having many small stories within a larger story when going over these photos. So after my initial photo pick, I went back to re-pick more photos just for the purpose of presentation. While this exercise takes more work than I like to spend on my blog, It was helpful in allowing me to create story-lines and see the photo coverage as a progressive story-line.

With any event lasting more than a couple hours with a fixed number of a people, following the people and their individual stories tend to take priority over the chronological order of things, I have arranged the photos in a story-oriented manner, and I hope the smaller stories are evident and the larger story of the introduction of Cornerstone Horse Farm is clearly depicted in the capturing of genuine moments from the barn warming event.

The third aspect of event coverage that I really enjoy is the opportunity to capture candid moments that are not posed, but genuine. Moments where the camera disappears from its influence over the subjects are wonderful in my eyes.

The purpose of this barn warming event was to introduce the local and extended communities of Nashville to the services and facilities of Cornerstone Horse Farm run by Sal Landa, Horse Tamer and Lynette Villa de Rey, Event Coordinator.

This was a fairly informal event coverage for me, and I learned of the services that will be provided at Cornerstone Horse Farm during the event, but even if the exact services were not directly provided, the scene and atmosphere provided a great idea and I feel the pictures also describe the story.

Most often in my blogs, I have been presenting smaller samples of my work showing only a few photos of a particular scene. I love the way one photo can depict a dramatic story without a succession of photos or a particular arrangement to support it. But often times there are many details withheld when sharing in this way whether intentional or by accident, I am typically more interested in showing great photos than telling more complete stories. In my opinion, I favor quality over quantity.

Originally, I only wanted to post around 10 photos from the event and combine two postings into one from the weekend. I decided to take the extra time to give the event coverage a little more attention here and break out some alone time sessions I had with my fiancé for another post.

Stay tuned for pictures just from my creative time with my fiancé in which I took advantage of some opportune lighting during the event and some time at a vineyard where I was completely inspired and focused on the sun-light painting the scene so beautifully. Enjoy and thank you for your patience with all of these photos in this post!

A New Chapter

2011-10-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

Besides getting engaged to the love of my life, I got to share some of my high school friends with my fiance, Lianne. This past weekend was my ten year high school reunion. Although I didn't get to see as many friends as I was hoping to see, there were so many good memories with the ones I did get to see that she caught a glimpse of the love and support that I was blessed to be surrounded by throughout my childhood. She has met some close friends throughout the years of dating but it was extra special to share with her a little part of my high school experience. While there were several friends she met this weekend I have known since elementary school if not kindergarten, she was able to get a less biased picture of who I am from the many friends that only knew me from high school. While I have grown dramatically in my own eyes since high school, I am not so prideful or mature to say I am a different person than I was in high school especially since I am not ashamed of anything from my high school experience.

It was funny, because prior to college, I had never used a camera, I drew and sketched, but it was not until my freshmen year of college that I fell in love with photography. Before then I almost avoided the camera, and it was evident in all the photos from my high school experience. This weekend I only saw one of me, but it did not take away from my experience or the friends and memories I made while I was there. Those memories are strong as was evident from this weekend and the stories we shared. It was great to see everyone I saw this weekend! Thanks for being the same great people I remember from high school!

How did I know when to propose? So after giving her an experience of who I was in high school, and having her love me all the same left no stone un-turned in our relationship. I have put her through a ringer of experiences to show her who I was before I met her, and she has remained intently in love with me and I in her. While none of it was an intentional test of her love, she past every experience with a solid commitment of love and support. How could I not ask her immediately after this final stone unturned. I have had the ring since August, and have planned many opportunities through the end of the year to ask her, it was exceptionally difficult to wait when I got the ring. Keep in mind, I knew and was committed to marry her from the beginning almost 6 years ago when I met her. I have maintained this commitment from the beginning and will till the day I die.

What were her expectations? I did not hide that I had the ring nor about each of the events we had planned in the rest of the year. I told her I would ask her in the next three months before the end of the year. I asked her not to ask or talk about our engagement anymore, so it was at least three weeks until we had spoken about it. I wanted to have a more organic experience as far as my decision was concerned about when it was going to happen. I had several opportunities planned and through each opportunity I would decide whether the time was right. I am a prayful man and consider my prayers with God a major influence in what happens on a day to day basis. I am open and obedient even through my own indiscretions and iniquities.

How did I propose? I took her up to Jupiter to scout an epic scene in Florida for engagements and bridal photo shoots. I was more nervous, and through prayer I discovered, that God left me up to my own courage to finalize the deal. He laid it on my heart to ask her now, but when I asked Him for courage, I found His answer to be more of tough love than I was expecting. I drove off my anxieties and finally made it to Blowing Rocks, Jupiter Island, FL. When we got there I discovered that there was a beach cleaning in progress and more people than I was expecting to be there. We walked a short distance, and found an epic scene with a large rock hole in the shore-line. I asked her to pose alone for a few shots. I brought my remote control for the opportunity to take pictures together in this great landscape. Of course my remote control ran out of battery at this moment. I was forced to setup my 10 second timer. I was running back and forth taking pictures with her, and for the final pose I was planning to ask her and catch it on camera. As you can see, she moved quite a bit during the final shot, but the picture communicates the story well enough.

I am grateful to experience this story and love with you all, and I hope you can enjoy our experience through this blog and images.

Weather Staging

2011-10-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

When you plan a five hour road trip to take pictures and the weather forecast is for non-stop rain all weekend, the only saving hope was that I was planning to take my underwater housing with me. The plan was to get on to the Paynes Prairie and get some opportunities to photograph some wild buffalo and horses. Another idea was to get into some heavily gator populated lakes and get some long exposure night shots with the eyes of gators complementing the starry skies. Finally, we had planned to kayak down the Ichetucknee river with my underwater housing. Although one could argue and completely throw the plans out the window when the weather was taken into consideration, we decided to stick with the plan and go out regardless of weather. What we got was some pretty even lighting and some chance opportunities that seemed to be set up perfectly by the poor weather conditions. If you were in Florida this past weekend you know how rainy and miserable it was. We didn't see the sun this past weekend.

As I was talking to some co-workers prior to my road-trip we were discussing the idea of going up and coming back with nothing. I shared that I have yet to have an experience where I have come home empty handed from a photography expedition, but willing to accept the defeat of weather. Extreme weather conditions often setup great photo opportunities for both the epic landscapes and the fact that few people are willing to put themselves out in a situation of extreme weather. While I would hardly call what we experienced this weekend extreme weather, it did make for some great photo opportunities.

By chance we stumbled upon a lone Buffalo. Funny story, this guy in the picture below the buffalo was right there where the buffalo came out, and we saw him try to walk away from this buffalo unnoticed. Apparantly the buffalo was more concerned with us than it was with him, and began charging towards this guy who then began to run as fast as he could towards a raised look out on the prairie. Watching this whole scene unfold before our eyes was quite entertaining, especially since we had been walking with our heads down avoiding large piles of crap unaware of what we might encounter on our path.

The starry night plan was a complete bust because of heavy cloud cover, but the rainy day set up a completely isolated experience on the Ichetucknee river. Not another person in sight as we spent four hours kayaking a two hour river course.I absolutely loved this experience, being in the quiet solitude of nature is an experience I cherish. I rarely take the opportunities to get out in it, so each experience is so very special. This weekend was full of those opportunities to dwell in the silence and serenity of our surroundings. Its allure is addictive; it was so invigorating and refreshing.

Thanks for taking the time to look through my photos! I am excited to be sharing photos again, especially with the coming winter season and spectacular weather to look forward to be shooting in. The feeling I have about this winter is great, I am already seeing a significant increase in bird activity while it is still frequenting the 80 degree temperature range. I have some exciting trips planned for this Fall and Winter, and hope to be sharing photos frequently.

Gems of Experience

2011-10-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful wedding and opportunity to share my love with photography with Jenna and Austin as they celebrated their love for each other. Destination weddings are gems in my experience as a photographer and I am grateful for every opportunity that I get to shoot a destination wedding. As my first time to the Bahamas, it was spectacular. While my focus was on capturing this beautiful and intimate weekend for Jenna and Austin, the atmosphere and excitement about being in the Bahamas allowed me to forget about any stress involved with working this wedding by myself. The small group of friends that surrounded them as they began their life-long commitment to one another complemented their completely genuine and heartfelt love for one another. It was a complete joy and blessing to be a part of such a tightly-knit group of friends and family. Thank you again, Jenna and Austin for bringing me into this circle and sharing a glimpse of your life together with me.

I have had some great opportunities in my short career as a photographer and continue to see opportunities for great growth. Photography is going through some exciting changes and it is exciting to watch things progress and move with greater strides as both technology and accessibility to photography accelerate. With so many great photographers sharing content through the web and interacting with each other it is hard not to be inspired. I love seeing other photographer's sharing their work and young photographers so eager to learn and become better. Part of this growth is increased competition, and I am strong believer in the value that competition has in any market.

Competition is saturated these days with accessibility of equipment and the economic pressures of a recession. I particularly like competition and the spur of creativity and quality that can become of a competitive market. Although the economic scenario has created pressures on the market that have pushed the quality spectrums in the other direction, even in a highly competitive market driven by downward economic pressures there are plenty of opportunities to stand out. I enjoy both aspects of the nature of things in photography today as they both lend themselves to adding value to good work.

Weddings are a great deal of work for any photographer, and a wedding photographer's work should not be taken for granted. I particularly enjoy weddings for the hard work required and the specific skill of shooting under pressure and moment constraints. I have done many weddings and have grown tremendously as a photographer by working in a wedding environment. I respect wedding photographers who have made a career of wedding photography and continue to grow and improve their artform. It has been inspirational to watch and follow great wedding photographers produce great work over and over again. Thanks for checking out my blog, and I hope that whatever your interest in photography may be that you would find value, inspiration, and quality in my photography.

This and the next post contain more images than I usually post, but the images made the cut and I believe they complete the stories of my expereiences. I recently made a trip to Gainesville, visiting the Paynes Prairie and the Ichetucknee river; I am excited to share the images from that trip, and I hope you don't mind the longer posts.

There are only a few things more spectacular than watching a full moon rise from the ocean. It is truly awesome and breath-taking. Having your wedding reception right at the center of this occurence could not have been more perfect.

Another Long Break

2011-10-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

It's been too long. That is two in a row, looking back at the last post. I started it the same way! I hope to get the next few posts out in quick succession, just images. The truth is photography work has slowed down for me this half of the year, but it's beginning to pick up again. Thank you for all of you who continue to support and enjoy my work, sorry for the long delay between posts. Don't hesitate to ask about any interests you may have working with me or even purchasing any of my works that may be your favorite. I am still working on my online-store, and I would like to start making some long-term photography relationships with families interested in periodic portrait work for their growing families. Please contact me with interest, inquiries, and if you would like to come with me on some of my local shooting experiences, fall - winter time is prime time shooting here in South Florida. Enjoy the next few quick posts!

I like to take a little more time on photos that I define as simple pieces and apply some subtle painterly affects to further communicate the peace and tranquility of a fleeting scene. I hope you can enjoy the subtle transformations.

With the change of season, this last photo doesn't match the time taken of the previous set of images, but I took this photo last winter in South Carolina, and it reminds me of Fall with its red lit tree lines. This fall, I will be going to Tennesse and North Carolina, and I hope to capture some great Fall images!

Cherry Blossom Festival, Finally!

2011-08-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last blog, and I remember when I said I would post these pictures a while back, so here are my pictures from the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. I know they are late, but I have been working on some cool projects with my photography while continuing to pick up work on the side. Although I have neglected my blog, I have had some wonderful photography opportunities and I am working on an online store to sell my work.

To recap this trip, when I arrived in Washington, D.C. on a Thursday evening, the cherry blossoms had just reached full bloom in the prior weekend, but the weather was not very cooperative with cold rains. The forecasts for my stay were hopeful in that they expected the weather to clear for the weekend festivities. My plan was to walk around early Friday at a minimum to scout some good spots for the festival activities, but what I found was that the weather forecast changed to heavy rain for Friday afternoon. Fearful that the cherry blossoms would not make it through these last rains before the weather cleared, my scouting walk turned into my last chance to get the best photos of cherry blossoms for the weekend.

Although the sky was overcast and the blossoms were not completely full, the experience was still fantastic. Walkers and cyclist passing by were telling me that I missed the bloom, but to my virgin eyes that had never before witnessed this event, the scenes were that much more impressive.

The rain started just after noon and continued to get heavier through the early to late evening. By the next day, the scene was much different, while the blossoms were still evident and cheerful, the fullness was gone. I was grateful that I had brought my gear that Friday morning to scout the scene. Saturday it remained overcast, and I didn't take many photos after that morning, but I got to enjoy the company of friends the whole weekend. Sunday, the weather finally cleared for the kite festival and looked like it was there to stay. My flight home was in the afternoon on Monday, so I planned to get up before the sunrise. The friend that I stayed with has been doing his medical rotations for Med School and is very familiar with leaving his appartment at 4:30 in the morning. He suggested I start at the Iwo Jima Memorial and move towards the Mall as the sun began to rise. The advice was perfect and it was well worth the early morning. Although the friends whom I visited and the experiences outside of photography really made this trip awesome, the photo opportunities and the beauty of this majestic city really puts this weekend in the top of my list of recommended things to see.

Thank you for being patient with my work and continuing to follow in spite of the lapses in blogs. I hope you will soon enjoy the opening of my new online store. My goal is to make my work affordable yet meaningful to all fans of my photography. I plan to offer fine art limited edition prints at affordable prices and keep things simple to start. I will be slowly building it up to offer more of my work in a variety of formats while also inviting my friends who are artist or photographers a convenient affordable way to start selling their work through my online store with very little overhead.

I hope you enjoy these photos and can understand the wait between blog posting! I will be working to make my online store public soon, and I hope you can find something you would like from my collection of work.

Rebalancing

2011-06-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

Gavin and Martha came to me over a year before I was to shoot their wedding, and were extremely easy to work with from the very beginning. Their plan was simple and their wedding was sweet and beautiful. Schnebly Redland's Winery was picturesque and the time of day was perfect for some great lighting for the ceremony.

I have grown fond of formal portraiture over the past year, and weddings have been great opportunities to experience this type of portraiture in a special way. An aspect of formal portraiture that I enjoy is the freedom of time and not feeling pressure to lose a moment that is often associated with event photography, an exception to this has been portrait sessions during weddings. When you combine the time constraint of wedding plans and formal portraiture, the mix is a charged session of portraiture that I tend to enjoy. There is something about pressure and energy involved with being in a moment that I love.

Lately, I have been working long hours, busy with photography jobs on the weekends, and trying to learn more about shooting and post-processing video in every free moment I am able to get. Still, I have found time to work on things around the house on the weekends and spend time with my great family at least once a week. I am grateful to have all of these things to fill my time, and by no means is this a complaint but to say that I don't want all of this busyness to burn me out, nor do I want the feeling that my job, photography, and learning more are the cause of being burnt out. To cope with being busy, I have been getting to bed earlier, waking up earlier, getting some quality time alone in the morning, and taking breaks throughout the day to watching some inspirational TED talks. The result has been the ability to focus on one thing at time, letting go of some things for the short term, and getting back into some physical exercise. I love playing sports and with a schedule that easily gets filled it becomes increasingly hard to make time to play as I get older. The benefits of physical exertion especially through playing has a great balancing effect, and it is something I feel as though I have always had while growing up.

The two TED talks that seemed to have sparked an interest in me the most have been one about playing and one about regularly scheduled and planned sabbaticals. I have not reflected on the significance that playing has had on my life until watching this talk about revolutionary play. I have been previewed to regular sabbaticals through friends in ministry, but had not considered the effects for myself, and at this time it is quite enticing although unsettling to my perception of the normal. Plenty of dreams in this little head of mine, and there are so many great technological breakthroughs that seem to be happening weekly that it is hard not to be excited about the future. I continue to gain perspective about life one day at time while trying to stay balanced, preparing for the future, and grateful for each day I get.

Back in the Water!

2011-06-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

So I remember when my love for photography was new. I was learning at an incredible rate and I was just concerned with taking pictures for the sake of learning. My videography has become that fresh new love to me. I am able to enjoy the foundation that 10 years of photography has afforded me while experiencing a new medium of expression. When I look at creating complete video productions I become overwhelmed. So I have changed gears and I am starting from what I know. I am just beginning to collect footage learning about my cameras and the simple encoding and uploading to web for the best results at a minimum file size.

I hope you enjoy these two brief clips plus a few images I gathered before filming. This is a more personal post and I know this is my professional photography blog, but this is a natural progression of skills and direction of learning for me, and since it is consuming my time, it is either this or no blog! I do have plenty of less personal higher quality images to share and I intend to share more when ready, but in the meantime enjoy and please stay tuned.

I have also been on a weekly adventure with Lianne helping to maintain her blog and produce both video and images to track her progress along her journey to Horse Whispering! Check out her blog for weekly update with my own photos and video. It is pretty sweet, I know. She has begun to give me weekly lessons so that I can begin to nurture my own skills and love for horses as well. I am loving every minute of it. I hope you understand and can continue to follow my blog despite the inconsistency.

Where did all my time go?

2011-05-31T21:24:00.001-07:00

So I have finally found the motivation to take a few more steps into video, and the adventure of post-processing video, but it is exactly like I thought it was going to be, alot of research and alot of time. This weekend I played with Final Cut Pro, I learned some quick ways to produce videos straight from the camera to YouTube, and today I have been playing with the Adobe CS5 Suite wanting more out the post-processing experience. I have only just scratched the surface, finding many different workflows with a mixed bag of results. Learning things like this feels like getting lost in the dark really, and when that happens the time flies. Before I knew it, I have neglected to blog, and it is almost midnight. Check out Lianne's blog for examples of some straight to YouTube videos, and my Vimeo for my first solo video post-processing attempt with Adobe After Effects, I will be trying to get one video a night up on Vimeo. Thank God for ESPN Radio. Go Heat!

I had a great weekend, and got to take some pictures and video for Lianne and her new blog. I have been really spending more time in video in an effort to be prepared for her needs for video while developing some in-demand skills for myself with video. It is about time that I start becoming a little more savvy with videos, considering its been over a year since I have gained some serious video equipment and software. Knowing that I will continue to be crunched with time, I pre-selected some photos last weekend for this week's blog.

These photos are from an engagement session I had with a beautiful couple. Paula and James, were great to work with, and their love was extremely evident in our session together. Paula's shy but thoughtful demeanor and James' constant patience and great attitude made this shoot go very smoothly. I was very happy with the results from this session and I absolutely fell in love with this location. I hope you enjoy!

I love being raptured.

2011-05-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

So I definitely got raptured this weekend, I don't know about any of you out there, but I am in heaven. Life is good. This post is not the usual for me, a little sexy, a little intimate, a little less of what I usually post, but still tame by most standards. I definitely know that pictures of girls especially ones in bathing suits get alot more attention than other pictures I have posted, so here is a toast to being raptured and living life as though you are in heaven here on earth. While I know that these pictures are not a complete sense of being raptured into heaven, I thought they would rouse some attention. In general this is a study on what will get the attention of the audience of the internet. Have fun, and stay classy. Thanks for checking out the blog! Just love one another, and you too can be raptured.

Sharing Dreams

2011-05-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have the pleasure to encourage and support someone whom I love and care for very much. It is a dream to share my life and my passions with someone whom I love and feel such mutual unconditional love. While we both pursue our passions, I am continually encouraged and supported. Witnessing someone else pursue their dreams and allowing their dream to influence my dreams has deeply enriched my life. Sharing the excitement with the love and commitment required to follow your dreams is both inspirational and contagious. Today I am sharing a promotion of my girlfriend Lianne, in her debut Blog and the beginning of the next chapter in her life after graduating college. I am blessed by her presence in my life and grateful to witness the pursuit of her dreams! Here are just a handful of pictures that I have had the opportunity to take while she works with such majestic and royal animals. She has a passion to train and teach others to develop stronger relationships with their horses. Focusing on natural horsemanship she has been generous in her time and to bring me alongside her while she develops her passion and pursues her dreams. Please enjoy the pictures and check out her debut blog!

Best Buddies Polo Experience 2011

2011-05-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

Just before I stopped blogging, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Best Buddies Polo Experience, I have been wanting to get out to see a polo match, but just hadn't made the right timing and connection to get up to the Wellington, FL area for a match. My good friend John Arroyo works for Best Buddies and invited me up to take some photos at the event, this was a great opportunity to get a feel for the sport of polo from behind a lens, and help out a great organization. It was great to see all the buddies learning to play polo and getting to play in their very own polo match with professional polo players and ponies. It was both inspirational and beautiful to witness and be a part of this awesome event. Check out Best Buddies Florida, and all of their great local events!

A Short Hiatus

2011-05-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

So I took a little over a month off from blogging, did you miss me? I did miss it at times when the weekend passed and I didn't get to check comments or see how many views the blogs/posts were getting. In a sense I missed you the viewers of my blog more than I actually missed the blogging part.

It was nice to have some extra time to enjoy family and friends, and just rest. I decided to take a month off from blogging for several reasons, but the primary reason was to have more time to enjoy my weekends with family and friends, and not make photography just another assignment or job. Although my intention for this blog has been to promote my photography and not post personal family time photos, recently I have been really grateful for my family and the quality time I have been able to spend with them. I felt this blog would appropriately give me some space to share some of that time with you while I have been away from the blog. I also wanted to share a small teaser of photos I took while on a photographic adventure to Washington D.C. In the next month or so I will find time to post on the whole adventure, but for now here is just a taste. I hope you enjoy!

Since this year I have really made an effort to blog every week, and because of this break I learned the benefit of blogging has on my photography. When I blog every week, I process my photos more diligently and my rate of photos coming in to the rate of photos being processed and posted and/or archived is very manageable and not overwhelming. The break in blogging has nearly caused me to fill my working hard drive full of photos to process and archive. Having a to-do list grow over your head is quite overwhelming and can be stressful, but it is proving to be a great motivation to start blogging again! Having a full-time job outside of photography is a blessing and I love what I do, but I have to take time to let photography be my passion and art and not become a grind. I am typically a grinder and have workaholic tendencies. So this is especially important to me when it comes to staying healthy with my work as a photographer and has been a major benefit of photography not being my primary source of income.

I work hard to get better and continue to grow as a photographer, I try to learn new techniques, study other's work I admire, but whenever I get the sense that it is consuming me, I like to step back and take a break, sometimes I stop shooting, sometimes I just shoot and view, no post-processing, no selecting, just shooting. When I get back into it I am usually refreshed and come back with a renewed love and some sort of vision for the direction I want to take in the next steps. The same is true for this break and although this has been my shortest break from most work aspects of photography, I was still able to dream and come up with some next steps! I am looking forward to putting those dreams on paper and making a plan to see them come true. Thanks for spending the time to read my blog, I hope to be back blogging regular again! I hope you will continue to enjoy my postings!

A Pure Passion

2011-03-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

The elusiveness of great waves in South Florida, and the alignment of schedules have made getting out to take photos of surfing a rarity for me in a year. My brother, primarily, has given me the most opportunities and it's his passion for surfing that allows me to spend time in my passion. These are usually early morning sessions and the up-coast road trips usually create greater chances for good waves and earlier mornings for travelling. I am a morning person and the light tends to be great in the morning so I have no qualms about these factors. On the other hand, surf photography on the east coast in the mornings does pose the challenge of having back-lit subjects. There has been a learning curve to angling myself in a good way to avoid the common affects of backlit subjects, over-exposing backgrounds, and finally just using the backlight and accepting the looks that strong backlighting brings to a photo. The occasions are so rare that I get to go out, that I hate to turn down an opportunity to spend time with my brother just because the lighting is not completely right. Even when the waves are not as big as we had hoped, my brother will still get in the water and can't turn down the opportunity to surf a ride-able wave.

Decisions on which photography opportunities to take and which opportunities to reject have become more complicated recently and this has led me to reflect. In some ways this complication makes me feel that my passion with photography has become less pure over time, expenses, other life pursuits, and a growing comfort with the quality of life I am beginning to experience as I pay down my debts. Another thought, is that there has been a considerable amount of growth in my pursuit of photography and as my rate of growth decreases I feel a sense of nostalgia to the hot pursuit of developing my passion with any opportunity. Part of me knows that it is a balance of fear, bills to pay, comfort of friends and family, and opportunities with other pursuits that keep me from letting go completely, and giving everything I have to a career in photography. I also feel that I have passed that fork in the road several times with just glimpses and tastes of those decisions. I have touched them but not allowed them to rule in my life for a long-term pursuit. They are alluring, but I still feel that I will have many opportunities in the future to make those decisions again. I justify my decisions and my un-hurried attitude toward photography by seeing my commitment to photography as a long-term one. Finding ways to pursue photography for me has become a methodical pursuit in which all of my experiences will ultimately contribute to my career as a photographer and as a person. My commitment to a higher cause will lead me whether I find that one photography cause or I find many different causes to be a part of in which I can use photography.

While growing up I have always had so many interests and pursuits that now as I grow older I still pursue a more balanced life maybe less courageous than when I was younger but as it was when I was younger it is still difficult to make a commitment to a balanced life where there are competing ambitions and dreams of chasing a pure passion. In the past five years, I have had opportunities that I have been able to take for the short-term to express that freedom. In spite of current circumstances and responsibilities at those times, those opportunities proved inspirational beyond my own imagination and they energized me to seek that long-term pursuit. As I re-acclimate to business as usual and the daily grind, I am re-attached to my daily responsibilities and they too have an influence of my pursuits. Being a Biomedical Engineer is exciting and there are alot of exciting technologies on the horizon that I have become very interested in. I seek to have a passionate drive in all of my efforts and in most cases I am serious about where and how I spend my time. I seek inspiration outside of my own capabilities and experience and continue to look to God for guidance. God remains a central part of my inspiration and I am still slowly understanding the things that have been put in my way and their purpose as I begin to use them for purposes greater than myself. I guess this is just part of growing up while beginning to understand a purpose much greater than myself I now weigh decisions based on my current financial situation, the loved-ones in my life now who I care for and want to continue to be in my life in the future, ultimately my overall well-being, and the direction I may or may not be heading. The allure of a pure passion that is willing to sacrifice all of these things is still something that I struggle with, have a desire for, and is in the cards for what God has dealt me.

I truly admire and respect photojournalist who take up their passion with courage and sacrifice their own comfort and balance without financial support to share the story of others; others, who do not have the freedom to pursue their dreams because of injustice, circumstances outside of their control, and a deep cultural loss of hope. These same stories shared around the world seem to liberate and become the inspiration to those they are sharing about giving them opportunities to find the ways for them to pursue their dreams. Having faith in a cause or a dream without having support is a difficult commitment to make and although these stories are extremely inspirational to me, and I have witnessed opportunities to pursue this in my life, I continue to struggle with a vision of what they may be in my future.

I am also inspired by those passionate people I have learned of and rubbed elbows with who have maintained a balance life while pursuing their own dreams and passions. So passionate and affective that through no effort of their own they are bringing others along to encourage them in the pursuit of their own dreams. Both paths seem simple and impactful. Both paths allow me to question how I think of the right way and whether there are many ways to attain a passionate life and a faith strong enough to persevere through extremely difficult times. In the past year or so, I have been listening to TED talks and I have been inspired both in my own career as Biomedical Engineer, and my passion for serving others, and I have really been taking in a lot of inspiration and hope for the future in both regards.

While ambition and inspiration for greatness can come from many voices around me and lead me to places I have never been before and experience things I have never experienced there is a grounding that occurs when I spend time with my family. I am simply fulfilled and inspired by spending time with my brother. Responding to a call the night before a morning surfing session, and spending the morning with him is both fulfilling and inspiring. Just as inspiring if not more so than listening to grand stories of inspiration through TED talks and getting excited about things the future holds in technology, entertainment, and design. It allows me to draw from his experience and witness a passion of his in a way that has a deeper personal impact. I am witnessing the life of my brother who is more than five years ahead of me in age and even more so with his family, his children, his wife, his career, and using his passion, and it allows me to make decisions that will direct my life that is without his agenda. I am grateful to have this experience with my family that is not limited to my brother. I am inspired by my relationships with each of my family members whether I decide to follow in their footsteps or not having them in my life is an unconditional support and a foundation that I am blessed to have and hopeful to share with others.

If you have made it this far into the reading, I hope you enjoyed, and didn't get lost in the rantings of a young adult. At the very least, I hope you enjoy my photos!

A Day at the Track

2011-03-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

I never got into the thrill of going fast. I liked sprinting, and for that I was relatively fast, and I enjoyed jumping off tall things although I have always been scared of heights. There has always been something about going fast in a motor vehicle that has never really enticed me. My father and brother on the other hand really enjoy the challenge and thrill of speed. After becoming friends with a local car club in Miami and going to some car events, I have developed an interest in car photography. My dad has always had a love for Porsche. He has recently shown interest in taking his car to the track. Through the shop that my father had some work done on his car, he was invited to go down to the Homestead Miami Speedway to drive his car like it was meant to be driven. Since getting into car photography, cars have proven to be an interesting subject to shoot and sporty enough to offer a challenge. Racecars and getting on the track to shoot is more along the lines of a challenge that I am enticed by. Spending quality time with my father is great when we are both doing things we love and can share the experience together. Here is a session with my father and I at the track; him driving while I run around taking pictures of him and others zooming around. Yes, I did get to ride along with him a couple times, and yes I did enjoy the speed. I hope you enjoy my photos of the fast cars!

After Portraits, What's next.

2011-03-07T15:37:00.002-08:00

This will be the last of portraits for a little while, I will be posting other genres of photography that I have been able to shoot and hopefully I can share some life stories along the way. As I attempted to end the series on portraiture, I had several things on my mind to share. I have been wanting to write about my development as a photographer while relating this experience to life-lessons learned while growing up. I also wanted to explain my perspective on photography pricing, and how I have experienced it. It became difficult to keep this blog short, simple, and cleverly tied to photography. I have decided to incorporate it in the next series of blogs and find some sort of transition between blogs so that it is not one huge long novel to read all at once. It is currently an unfinished draft and there may be a brief intermission before I can manage to finish. The intermission, however, will not be absent of photo postings. After all, this is a photography blog, but I do want to express a little more with words every now and then. My intention for starting this blog besides showing my photography has been to gain an opportunity to share a passion through writing.

Lifestyle and Self-Promotional Headshots

2011-02-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

There are many challenges with portraiture and so many different types of portraiture within photography that I could easily spend a whole career on just portraiture and be completely fulfilled. Taking Headshots is one specific area of portraiture that you can spend a lot of time developing a career becoming successful at. It can be extremely simple yet full of emotion. There is a common structure as far as formal portraiture goes, but they can also be extremely fun and interactive. The dynamics of each person and the emotions they are capable of expressing just through their faces makes portraiture and specifically headshots so interesting. I have a young portfolio in my more recent studied headshot work, but I really enjoy the room to grow and progress towards a well rounded portfolio and understanding of the extent of what headshots can be. In general, I have a broad interest in portraiture and photography so I want to be a little more liberal when it comes to headshots. I am willing to create less formal headshots, including some lifestyles into the composition or using a subtle promotion as the background of a portrait is something I like to create. Of course for the client, it is the most important to create an image that is common to what they would like to communicate in their own headshots. Most of the time, clients may not have a set expectation of how their headshots should look other than what they have seen before in the typical corporate/school directory photos and what they want to use their headshots for. I have no problem meeting those expectations, but I love a playful client willing to incorporate a little more personality into their headshots. Given the opportunity, I will play with the boundaries. Right now I love experimenting with my own work and learning from other's work so that I continue to grow into both the more conservative art of headshots and the creative sides of experimenting with portraiture. This is another aspect of my love for photography, the room to grow, learn, experiment, and get better.

Quality Time Portraiture

2011-02-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

While I do tend to take pictures of my own family when I spend time with them. I prefer these days more time with my own family without my camera because being behind a camera separates me from interacting completely. This separation is not a bad thing, and it is not a complete separation it is more of a different type of interaction when from behind a camera. It is not a complete participation. Naturally, it has become something that creates a more genuine interaction with families I have taken pictures for. I have begun to offer spending time portraits in which I don't get very much into formal portraiture. I may take several group photos, but the majority of this type of offering is to spend time and separate myself so that I am capturing authentic moments between family members. This spending time photography tends to be much more candid and personal. Since I really enjoy candids, I actually prefer this over a more formal pose and shoot interaction. It has been a very fulfilling type of work. I am continuing to grow into my portraiture work and this has definitely been a smoother transition for the type of work I am used to. Formal portraiture has been much more demanding of my research and learning part of photography. I am much more comfortable and competent with spending time portraiture because this has been the majority of my experience with people photos.

These two families highlighted in this blog are long-time friends, who have beautiful families. I am grateful to have them as friends and be able to capture moments that will be cherished and remembered by them for the rest of their lives. I frequently get the comment that I always have such beautiful subjects in my photos, and I agree and am lucky to have these opportunities, but I also think that everyone is beautiful as individuals different from each other. I seek to capture that individuality and beauty in each of my subjects the same way I strive to capture love in my photos. Love is beautiful. I hope that my photos express that beauty and love in a way that is not only for those who are in the photos but for inspiration to all those who want to be seen and portrayed in that same light.

Fostering connections through portraiture

2011-02-10T22:46:00.000-08:00

I love one-on-one personal portraits because there is something so simple and intimate that occurs between the subject and the photographer in these sessions. I like to take my time and give few posing instructions and let the subject and our interaction really create the mood of their photos, and I try to really encourage the confidence of the people I am shooting. No matter what age, the interaction between me and the subject is key and the subtle reactions of the subjects to my words, facial expressions, and encouragement makes a dramatic difference in the overall result of the shoot. In some cases our interaction is minimal when I use a 400mm telephoto lens to capture portraits it really creates distance that allows for an interesting dynamic. When necessary it requires an assistant in between that can be a posing coach and encourager. There is just something magical about the crushing affect and the zero distortion created from a telephoto lens that is both flattering and isolating.

Both Lianne and Candice have been amazing subjects for me growing into my portraiture work and this is the second time I have been able to take their portraits together. The last time was more of a tribute to their friendship, and this time was much more focused on them as individuals. I will post a prequel of their friendship session to my Flickr after this blog series on portraiture. I love these ladies, and I am forever grateful to them for being such great models for me to work with. I love how their different skin tones, colors, and personalities create a unique look for each even when shot at the same place and virtually the same time. These pictures were taken in Walhala, South Carolina, right before summer time with Spring in full affect. They were taken in the middle of the day either in shade, cloud-diffused sunlight, or posed to create an even shadow over their face. Any direct sunlight with the exception of one shot was kept away from their faces and no reflectors or strobes were used. These photos represent a complete portrait session with two locations and changing wardrobes.

I used both a Canon 85mm F/1.2 and a Canon 400mm F/2.8 for all of these shots, can you tell which ones were taken with which lens? Both lenses are a complete dream to work with. The 400mm is not completely necessary for portraiture but I continue to be impressed by the photos that this lens is capable of capturing. For the post-processing, I was experimenting with a new product for me, Apple's Aperture 3, and finalizing most of the work in Adobe Photoshop, a program that I have been using over the past 7 years, and it seems that they keep obsoleting all of my skillsets that I develop over time. With each new generation, Adobe has been saving me more and more time by creating easier and more powerful ways to do things; I have no complaints about this progress. I love it. I really hope you enjoy looking at my work and would consider allowing me to work with you to capture your personal portraits!

I am available for Family Portraits!

2011-02-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have been working harder to get into more portraiture work, my experience with people has come primarily from travel candids, non-profit work on my travels to Africa, Haiti, Ecuador, Peru, Cuba, youth-mission trips, volunteer youth group photography, loving people, and a dozen weddings. More recently I have been defining a more intentional pursuit of portraiture and exploring family portraiture, child portraits, and personal portraiture as a market that has a higher demand among the people who may be fans of my work who have been asking if I do this type of photography. I have been pursuing individual portraiture work for both personal, model, and business markets that have been really great to learn and set up some experiences that have given me great opportunities to grow as a photographer. The next several posts will highlight some of my family, child, and personal portraiture portfolio work. I am available for hire for any of these types of portraiture, and I am capable of producing many styles and looks as I will try to show in the images I post. I am looking to develop lifelong relationships with my clients, and for that reason I strive to make the experience as enjoyable and stress free for clients as possible. Thank you for continuing to follow my work, and I hope to work with you some day.

Destination Love

2011-01-25T20:25:00.000-08:00

I pursue love. Capturing love from behind a camera is central to my passion for photography. I strive to capture love in my photography whether it be in the Everglades, Uganda, Sudan, Haiti, underwater, the streets of Miami, or in any place where I am taking photos. Love is what inspires me to be a photographer, and If my life is to have a purpose may it be a celebration of love. Weddings are the celebration of love between two people and the opportunity to capture this same love is just one way for me to experience love through my photography. Photography has provided me many opportunities to be a part of a love that is far greater than myself, and it has allowed me to witness the formation of love between friends in which I can be a significant part of that celebration of love. I am grateful for these experiences and I am grateful that photography has brought me to a place where I can feel comfortable producing lasting memories of love for clients, family, and friends alike. Love has taken care of me and I love photography. I will pursue love while working for you; will you trust me to capture your love?

I am a longtime friend with the groom in these photos, and I was blessed to be asked to take photos in a place that very few publicized photographers get to take wedding photos. This is a West Point wedding, and the location alone is a gem, but when the couple's love and commitment are so evident outside of the photos, the job of a photographer is a true joy. Shooting destination weddings is a life that wedding photographers dream of and this wedding was a wonderful dream. Thank you Diego Espinosa for partnering with me on this job!

Unrequited Love

2011-01-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

Note: Click the Panaramics for a better viewing experience and some technical details.

Wildlife and Landscapes, two loves neglected. Being in such a beautiful place as Park City, Utah and not pursuing these things has left two gaping holes in my heart that have been begging me to return and focus my attention solely on them. The effort from the photos posted here were merely by convenience. Walking into the backyard and looking around, riding a Gondola up to a ski-resort, asking only to stop once on a 36 hour round trip car ride was the extent of my effort to get these pictures. I did not hike for hours to some remote location to take these pictures, nor did I scout and wait hours on wildlife to capture them in their true winter form. I passed up most of the opportunities of being in such a place and driving by countless antelope, a bald eagle being harrassed by a black crow, and a wild moose walking clumsily through the snow to spend time and experience things that can't be replaced or re-visited once they are gone. I spent my love on my family. I would do it over and over again because as much as I would like to believe that the pictures I can take of wildlife and landscapes can love me back or even provide me with an ounce of fulfillment, I would be wrong, wrong, empty, and alone. I was excited that the family vacation would be in such an awesome place, but I was even more grateful that so much of my family would be going and that we would all be together for this great vacation. The ambitious photographer in me was frustrated at times, but I had decided before I even agreed to go that this was a family vacation and not a personal photography excursion.

While surrounded by grand things of nature the discovery of this new environment of photography was full of little things that you can only experience in such conditions. Things that while experiencing them you marvel about how awesome and powerful even they are. Little things that take away the pain and allow yourself to endure longer suffering. Little things that teach you how to cope and adapt in this challenging environment. The snot from your nose freezes on your camera. Getting warm invites condensation. Re-entering freezing temperatures can cause ice to form on the outside of your lens and camera body. Metal equipment can maintain freezing temperatures that can cause condensation to form and freeze upon entering a building. The reason your fingers stop hurting is because you can't feel them anymore. Trekking around in powder with no prior knowledge of the terrain is challenging. The grandeur landscapes beg to be captured and continue to linger in your mind asking for your return. I continue to be smitten by photography in every path that I am able to experience it, and in every direction it leads me.

The above and below red house is where 19 of us stayed as a family while in Park City, UT.

I know I love it!

2011-01-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

Five hours on a mountain in negative ten degree weather with thirty pounds of photography gear and very little movement and a whole lot of waiting, you start to ask yourself questions. Your purpose becomes challenged by nature and your body. Having not experienced a cold like this or conditions anywhere close to this, I have to admit I was challenged, but by no means did I feel like I was pushed to some extreme or that I over-extended myself. On the contrary, I felt more conservative than I usually am and I wish I had experienced more and challenged myself more. I left with a desire to spend more time out there both on my own and taking photos of my family skiing. The pain in my hands and the lengthy wait times in between seeing family only made me think of ways to do it better and have a better plan for the next time. The experience was much more of a tease and an introduction than a pain or a bad experience. At the end of the day on the mountain, at Canyons Resort, we stumbled upon a freestyle ski and snowboard competition, I had packed my gear and was ready to go home when I saw the competition. I spent an additional hour just watching and taking pictures of the awesome stunts that I had been hoping to see all day on the mountain right in front of my eyes with no wait time in between tricks. I love it.

Family Vacation Park City, Utah

2011-01-17T16:46:00.000-08:00

First family vacation as a photographer, it began as a realization that this was a family vacation, and that I would not be going off on my own to explore the awesome scenery, and that not many others in the family would be interested in trekking for hours through rough terrain or stopping at every picturesque setting to get some epic pictures. Fortunately, the family vacation was in Park City, Utah, and the mountains surrounded us. While I did my best to soak up the family and take in the vacation part of this trip, from the moment I caught glimpses of the beautiful surroundings I was having feelings of frustration about not being able to go explore and find some great pictures. I made up for this frustration by spending time taking photos of my cousins' kids experiencing this amazing weather and environment. The last day in Utah I spent all day on the mountain taking pictures of skiers and snowboarders and a little bit of the scenery. Although I came away with great pictures, I am still not satisfied and I can't wait for another chance to get back to the mountains again and explore. The trip was awesome and the time spent with family was excellent, the picture opportunities were plentiful just with family alone, this will be one of three posts, the first being mostly of family on our trip in Utah.

A Momentum and Direction Forward

2010-12-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

Over the past year, I have been building my portfolio and gaining momentum with photography as a business, I have been intentionally planning trips to experience new things and gain some portfolio work in different seasons and different locations than Sunny South Florida! Also, I have been fortunate enough to have some beautiful friends that enjoy letting me take their pictures. In addition, beautiful familes have been hospitable and gracious to open their home to me in these great places to take pictures. Many friends over the past year have been supporting my photography through hiring me to take family portraits, individual portraits, and also several weddings. Next year, I would love to start setting up more portraiture and wedding work and gain more of a repertoire for wildlife and landscape. This next post is from a recent trip I took to South Carolina, and I took some casual photos of my friends for my portfolio, some beautiful backyard golden hour photos, and also an opportunity to go to the top of Sassafras Mountain and take some pictures of a magnificent sunset. Unfortunately, I forgot my tripod head, so my experience was more difficult than it had to be at the top of the mountain, but I was still satisfied with the pictures that I came home with. I am currently in Utah, and although the priority of this trip is primarily a family vacation, I love every small opportunity to build on my portfolio especially in a place like Park City, Utah. So far, I have been snowboarding more than taking pictures! I hope you all enjoy the post! Happy New Year to all my friends, family, and photography supporters.

Monday Nights

2010-12-01T21:01:00.000-08:00

Although Photography is a passion of mine, and I am attempting to communicate that passion in my blogs, I have learned and am continuing to learn that friends, family, and having people to share time and passions with is extremely valuable to my well-being and happiness. The love of photography for me began as an introverted journey and in many aspects it still is, but I have found great joy in bringing others along, and beginning to shoot more personal subjects than places I have visited, animals I have seen, or strangers catching my eye. Balance in life has been a point of learning and a discipline as life has become filled with many interests, and work mainly, but also photography, because it can easily become a point of busyness that denies me time for friends and family. Every monday a group of friends of mine get together at a local establishment called Landlubbers. They have 60 cent wings, 70 cent raw oysters, and cheap beers . My friends and I love wings, raw oysters, and beers; some original lovers, some newly introduced, but all friends. There are a few that are regulars and occasionally we bring a crowd, but consistently there are at least three of us that show our faces on a Monday night. Although we didn't eat wings on this night I assure you their wings are delicious and worthy of a visit especially at 60 cents a piece. I just wanted to share this time with you as I begin to open up more of a personal side to this blog. My intention was to post mostly personal postings on Flickr and keep the blog for more photography oriented posts. This is a step out of bounds.

A Love Affair

2010-11-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

A year ago, I began a love affair with Natural Landscapes and Wildlife photography. I have had experience with both, but always more along the lines of Travel Photography and Visits to the zoo. Travelling is an old love that I long to see again, visits to the zoo are a fling that offers something more superficial. I am in pursuit of a more lasting fulfilling love experience. This journey is a fresh love that brings me deeper into the dynamic beauty of nature and the authentic presence of animals on their terms. It began by visiting the Everglades with a group of photographers who I work with at Beckman Coulter, Inc. It led me into staying up all night to experience the bright lights of a cityscape, and driving straight to the everglades to catch the morning light and early stirrings of birds and alligators. Winter's in Florida are a treasure that the bird's have known about long before humans settled here. Birds became the primary wildlife that I enjoyed seeing during this early stage of falling in love. Since these early images, I have been dreaming of travelling to wild places throughout the US, and experiencing this love. I have begun to learn new techniques, gain more experience, collect equipment and clothing for hiking and winter extremes, and ultimately planning trips to places of extreme natural beauty with the hopes of experiencing a deeper love.

Join me in a Labor of Love

2010-08-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

Help support me to reach my goal!
-or-
Join Team Aloma!
-or-
Hire me before Oct. 2, 2010

The Walk for Hunger is a 3 mile walk established by Food for the Poor to raise awareness and funds to fight the chronic malnutrition affecting the Caribbean and Latin America. The 2010 Walk for Hunger will provide life-sustaining food for the people of Haiti, who have suffered greatly due to the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince in January. The people of Haiti continue to face a daily struggle, but they have not lost hope. Your help will remind them that they are not forgotten.
Date of Walk: October 2, 2010

I have joined Team Aloma in Food for the Poor's 5th Annual Walk for Hunger. Team Aloma is being led by the man, Angel Aloma, who began the inspiration and continues to nurture the part of my soul that yearns to travel and be a part of a Labor of Love. In honor of Food for the Poor's excellent work, I will be giving 97% of all money gained from photography from now until October 2nd, 2010. Contact me if this is how you would like to help.

In a country that has lost the attention of the media, but that has not lost the great need for the essentials of life to be restored, Food for the Poor works tirelessly to restore those needs and has the resources to make your help most effective.96.9% of your dollar goes directly into their programs and services that helps feed, house, educate and provide medical supplies to the people of Haiti.

$10.00- Provides a fruit tree for a Haitian Family
$12.00- Feeds a family for a month
$12.50- Provides a desk for a student
$20.00- Provides 100lbs. of rice and beans
$20.00- Provides a solar powered light
$20.00- School supplies for a child for a year
$25.00- Provides chicks to provide eggs
$31.00- Shirt, pants and shoes for an orphan
$36.00- Feed a child for a year or a family for 3 months
$50.00- Provides medical supplies

Friends please help join me in a Labor of Love to help to restore basic essentials of life to people in Haiti who have dealt with extreme poverty and extreme conditions their entire lives. Since travelling to Haiti before and after the earthquake, I have seen first-hand that the people of Haiti whether devastated by the earthquake or not were a people of strength and perseverance that have endured great suffering and tribulations through no fault of their own.

Please invite anyone that you think would like to be a part of this event by attending, volunteering or donating. Hope to see you there! Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Reconnecting Leads to a Year with Cars

2010-08-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

Facebook has been a great place to reconnect with old friends, and one night last year it turned out to be just the right circumstances. I started a chat with an old high school friend, John Arroyo who now works as a web designer for Best Buddies International, who I had not seen in probably 8 years. I met up with him at a VW car meet and one of my other good friends from high school was there also, Erik Antuñez who now owns his own restaurant in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Cafe Verdi. This reunion has led me back into some great friendships, a community, and a whole other world of photography and enthusiasts. It's a blast being around people who have spent a lot of time and energy becoming very knowledgeable and proud about a particular subject. Since reconnecting with my old friends, it has been one photo-op after another. Car Photography is a great field to learn in with several dynamics, but one of the most important factors has been the community and because I have met some great friends through this field I see it being a regular occurrence of shooting opportunities. There are always local events, long road trips all over the nation, and international shows all over the world for that matter; It has been a good time travelling to the few events I have been able to make it to. Here is a small collection of work over the past year since becoming involved with car photography. Thanks John and Erik for inviting me back into your lives and giving me the opportunity to learn more about photography. Thanks Dubbers Inc. and Wolfcars for providing a community to be a part of and plenty of beautiful cars to shoot.

Young and In Love

2010-08-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Surfing Photography was something I was always inspired by when I was younger. Now in my humble efforts to begin capturing the beauty and love of this art form, I look to see what is being produced right now in Surf Photography, and I am blown away by all the room to grow in this area of photography. I love it!

Although I have taught myself the technical aspects in the theory of photography, and I have been able to produce some beautiful work, I feel as though I have much more to gain with experience. Even with nine years taking pictures and the last four years semi-professionally shooting for profit, I have gained far more knowledge through experience than I could ever have received studying theory. I feel as though the type of things I am learning now can only come from experience and being in specific situations. Photography still feels fresh to me and I have a strong drive to continue to grow, learn, and improve in the many different types of photography that I have had the opportunity to shoot. I guess what I am trying to say is I feel young in many disciplines of photography that I have had limited experience in, and I am excited to be growing. I am grateful to have people around me supporting me. Against the advice of several professionals, I have tried to pursue many different paths of photography, and all these paths have become part of my love of the art, the many different skill sets and experiences that are required in each area. It keeps photography challenging and fresh for me and it allows me to feel that I have much to learn and mature from in experience in each of the areas that I have touched on. I have taken my time and continue to be inspired by professionals whose focus is on one discipline of photography. I also continue to be inspired by new photographers who are trying new things and dreaming big dreams for themselves and their photography. Thank you all who have influenced my photography!

Food for the Poor: Haiti

2010-07-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

Since reconnecting with some old friends, I have also reconnected with an old high school teacher of mine who has since become the Executive Director of Food for the Poor. He led me on my first mission trip in High School and I have been in love with serving God through short-term mission trips ever since. Angel Aloma is an inspiration to me and everyone who has known him, and his work at Food for the Poor is passionate and continues to spread into the hearts of all those he has spoken to about Food for the Poor. Food for the Poor strives to improve the health, economic, social and spiritual conditions of the men, women and children they serve throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Angel has invited me as a photographer several times to witness first hand their work and the fruits of their labor. These experiences have made marks on my heart, and continue to tug at my soul to be a part of this labor of love. The labor to return to them, the essentials of life that we have far surpassed and so readily take for granted even in the poorest areas here in America. The labor to care for the men, women, and children who have suffered so much through circumstances in which they have been brought into this world. I encourage everyone to become aware of the atrocities that exist in our world and begin to understand what we have even in the smallest sense is an abundance that we can offer to a world in need. Helping one person, one family, one community at a time. Progress begins with one. Giving is easy, and can be done in many ways. Here are some ways and stories of inspiration. Donations, Gift Catalog, Florida Marlins build homes for Haiti, Local Girl builds homes for Haiti, read about more stories like these at Food For the Poor Facebook page.

Renewed Energy and Love of Photography

2010-07-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Photography has been taking my heart and God continues to show me so many beautiful things through this art form. During the summer of 2009 and through the end of the year I was experiencing a renewed energy and love for photography. I began taking my camera everywhere I went, because the summer storms had created some wild skies and lighting for photography, Facebook chats with old friends were turning out to be a photo opportunities that I had not really had exposure to eventually leading me into new markets of photography. While in the Florida Keys, a stormy summer afternoon brought the fishing boats in early from the ocean, and the fishermen were skinning and filleting the fish by the water. Eager for a free meal a great white heron approached without timidity, and I took a wide angle photo from about three feet away. It was a pretty awesome sight. Getting back into some low light concert work for a friend was great fun, and reconnecting with old friends will be leading me into my next couple of posts. This is just a collection of photos taken on my personal adventures in photography including my first trip to the everglades.

Soul View Photography Workshop

2010-07-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

In June of 2009, I taught a six week intensive photography course for the youth of Coconut Grove, FL. While each class was spent learning some fundamentals of photography, each class we also strived to walk the streets of Coconut Grove, and it seemed as though the community was smiling and posing at every corner we stopped at. Here are some results from 2009 Soul View Photography Workshop sponsored by Urban Resurrection. The first four photos are mine, and the last six photos are from my students Paule Jackson, Antwone Walker, and Almustafa Irshad. They will be continuing this program this year at the beginning of August. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me or Urban Resurrection about involvement.

High School Spring Breaks

2010-07-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

The Roots Ministry that I volunteered for brought high school students during their spring break to Mississippi to rebuild homes of those who have been long forgotten by many and overlooked by many more since the storms of 2005. These high school students served their hearts out and received many amazing experiences and lasting memories. Some of them were returning as Juniors and Seniors after coming here in 2007 as freshman and sophomores to rebuild a church and school. We got to see the finished buildings and have service in the church that these students helped put the walls up in. Since leaving this ministry I have sincerely missed these students and continue to be rewarded by watching them continue into college and travel the world and serve in many great ways becoming young men and women that I am proud to have been a part of their lives!

Collection of Jobs

2010-07-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

This Blog post is many in one, and it is just a collection of my favorite picks from jobs, travels, and personal pictures I have taken in between some more substantial photo-shoots/jobs. Special Thanks to Coral Gables Congregational Church (Conservatory Concert), Beckman Coulter Inc. (Backyard to my day job, and resident iguana), Urban Resurrection (Community Development Team in Coconut Grove), friends in New York City, Chi-town for a Community Development Conference, an old teammate for asking me to do some springboard diving pictures, a Horse Whisperer, Sal Landa, founder and director of Horse Tamer Ministries, and friends Jason and Jenise Burris and their beautiful daughter Zoe.

Fundación Amor y Esperanza, Quito Ecuador

2010-06-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

Three months after coming home from Africa, work has been ramping up towards a period of intense work. Usually these times last between two and three months out of a year. A week before work was scheduled to begin this intense period, I got a call from the Youth Group that I volunteered for at University Baptist Church in Coral Gables called Roots. The call was inviting me to go as the photographer to their annual mission trip. Every year they take the students on a mission either locally within the United States or globally in another country. This year they were going to Ecuador. The mission was to serve the Foundation of Hope and Love, a privately subsidized school system for poor areas of Quito. Teachers from Miami were brought to Ecuador to have a week-long teaching seminar for the local teachers of one of these schools to learn new teaching techniques and gain tools for a more privileged learning experience. The high school students were to be substitute teachers for a week of the classes from Kindergarten to 5th Grade(about 250 students). We also did student portraits for all of the students, brought them new shoes, and new blankets were donated to all the nursery age children. The trip was a major success and a great blessing to all involved. Since the Foundation is subsidized by a locally owned tour company after school each day we traveled throughout the major tourist spots in Quito to learn about this beautiful country.

Underwater Introduction

2010-05-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

Just after coming home from Africa, my age group diving coach, Paul Breitfeller, called me and asked me to audition for a commercial! I really did not want to do it. After his second call and a little nudging, the situation was explained that they were a little desperate. After already being away for three weeks, it was still a difficult decision to take off from work again. Once the shooting began, my attitude changed and the whole experience was far greater than I could have imagined. I met some really cool people. I met a great underwater photographer, Tim Calver(pictured above), who has been an encouragement in combining my love for water and my love for photography. His work has been an inspiration to start and pursue underwater photography. Tim walked me through buying the right equipment to help me explore a whole new world underwater. Although it has not been my primary focus of photography, every time I get back in the water with my camera I get hooked. I love the challenge of underwater photography and it makes feel like a student again! I am looking forward to growing and gaining more experience in a different and challenging world of photography!

Separate but Connected

2010-05-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Friendship led me to East Africa in 2008, a former roommate of mine spent a year serving at orphanages in Uganda and Sudan. I came to these places to visit a friend and change the environment in which I was so comfortable in. I came home to bring back pictures that would help raise awareness and share my experience with other friends that it might inspire them and others to seek something other than what they currently know. While my visit was only three weeks, the experience has touched my heart deeply and continues to ask me to go back to this day. The journey is difficult, but the experience is priceless. The people I met both young and old continue to tug at my heart to see them again and learn how they are currently doing. The visitors that have gone after me and have stayed an extended period of time remain connected to me through friendship. The changes that I have witnessed in these places in the past three years is a direct confirmation to my faith and the power of relationships in love and compassion. While these are just a few of my favorite pictures; the organization I gave all my photos to is Lahash International, they have maintained a supporting relationship to both places I visited since 2005. To see what has been done most recently at the Orphange in Sudan check out the update on the water project. Through the sponsorship of Horse Tamer Ministry, the most recent update is that the orphanage in Southern Sudan now has running water something that very few places have in this area of the world. As Americans, to understand the significance of that requires some effort because for many of us we have never known an existence without running water. While in this place, they have never known an existence with running water nor has it even been a dream.

Refresh!

2010-05-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog! I am hoping to keep up, but I feel as though this blog needs some history! I had an old blog that I will be transferring over the next few weeks for better coverage and as a little history about me and my photography! I hope you enjoy and gain some inspiration or at least some admiration of beauty from the photos and the stories that I will post! I am beginning this blog in-line with the redesign of my website. Feel free to send me an email or leave a message on my facebook page. As time goes by I will be updating each with new photos and stories! Thank you for sharing in a journey through my eyes.