Monday Nights

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

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

Help support me to reach my goal!
-or-
Join Team Aloma!
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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

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

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!