Rob and Christina's Holiday Photos

My coworker Rob Rudd and his wife Christina wanted to deliver some funny and creative holiday cards this year to their family and friends. The photo shoot was a success since my models were so easy to work with. Rob is one hilarious dude at work, but outside of work he is even funnier. Christina was absolutely down for anything as well. They even went shopping for a few of their outfits, even the dogs has their own outfits. The whole idea of funny was their plan, but all the shots we took were pretty much played by ear. This shoot had to be the most fun I’ve ever had to work with! Merry Christmas Rob and Christina! I want to see the outcome of the cards!



Uno the Rednose Dog


I think Rob was excited to receive a new bike!


The self portraits


The best part of Christmas are the gifts!

Strawberry Lumps, the band

Okay, okay Strawberry Lumps is not really a band. This photo shoot was specifically for Ciela who wanted me to take photos of her before going back to the Philippines. It was kind of like a going away gift for her. Other than Ciela, my wife, my sister Sheila and my cousin Chelsea decided to come along for the photo shoot. Since we all know each other very well, every one wanted a few shots of themselves as well. I figured since they are all here and all girls maybe we can shoot a group shot like a band shot. Chelsea had a great idea of having a name for the band, the first name that popped in her head was Stawberry Lumps. It's ironic that we had our photo shoot in a vineyard, that produces truckload of grapes.

San Diego Trip

In between work at the base and photography work, I manage to find some time to visit some close friends of mine in San Diego. We had a great time hanging out with some of the old crew and roaming around my old stomping grounds. I miss San Diego... the fresh air, the nightlife, the beach, the weather, the people, and the food. My best friend, Mike, was even there. He came all the way down from Denver, Colorado. Even though we did not see each other that much, we made the best out of it when we did see each other. Other than hanging out with old friends, I took my wife to some other places she has never seen in San Diego. During these two weeks, I ended up going to Magic Mountain the following Friday and then back to San Diego. What a crazy two weeks!


Old Town
I always love the atmosphere of Old Town. The people are great and it's one tourist spot that is never crowded. The food is always good, the homemade tortillas are the best, and the place is full of color! It gave us a glimpse of how people live during those era.



The Beaches (Ocean Beach & Pacific Beach)
Since my sister Sheila lives in Ocean Beach, we spent the majority of the day over there. We ate at a famous burger joint called Hodad's. Burgers were juicy and huge! Also, that day happen to be a nice sunny day during Octoberfest. At Pacific Beach we ended up eating breakfast at Broken Yolk and had few mimosas. It's so nice to just hang out with old friends, relaxing under the beautiful sunny blue sky, and not rushing to do anything. A real vacation.



A view from Sheila's backyard in Ocean Beach.



Downtown
I took my wife down to the Embarcadero area near Downtown and to Little Italy. We strolled around and even had a slice of real Italian style pizza from Luigi's. It ws so hard for us to choose what to get as they have an array of pizza to choose from. Later that evening I treated out my sister to the Fish Market which she actually now has a job with.

Mariah's Senior Photos - Lompoc, CA.

I had a special opportunity to shoot a future model for America's Next Top Model! Her name is Mariah, young, beautiful, tall and lots of potential. At first she was hesitant to pose and was not motivated to be instructed, but as the shoot went on she started to loosen up and presented her own fashionable style. Sometimes you just have to let them be themselves to bring out the best photographs out of them. As Tyra Banks would say, "Mariah, you're still in the running to be America's Next Top Model. Congratulations!"









And of course my favorite shot of the day...

Crystal's Senior Photos - Lompoc, CA.

Crystal was a joy to work with. Her shots and smiles came out naturally which made the images even more special. It also helps to have her friends around to accompany her and make her laugh, although she can easily laugh at anything. She immediately asked if I could do her Senior photos when she saw the Senior photos of her best friend Arielle. I hope to do more of these next year because these Senior kids are fun to work with.
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Arielle's Senior Photos

The deadline for senior photos is almost near and unfortunately I was only able to do a few before the deadline. Arielle, my beautiful God-daughter, asked me to do her senior photos this year and my first reaction was, "what, you're a senior?" Gosh, I'm getting old. I've never seen her so fixed up before. She normally has her hair up in a pony tail, jeans, sweater or was barely getting out of soccer practice or from a game. Well, she looked beautiful and I got her to smile as oppose to her usual calm demeanor. Good luck Arielle!








Favorite shot of the day...

Derek's Senior Photos

Last week I did another high school senior named Derek. Derek is a son of a good friend and coworker of mine. He was a good sport just like his dad, just not as goofy. Haha! Speaking of sports, Derek is a baseball star who plays for Cabrillo High and wanted to represent that in his photos by wearing his uniform. With his hip and tough guy look, the pictures came out just nice! Here are just a few of my favorite shots from the day.







My favorite shot of the day...