Bakersfield photographer, contemporary photography

Category Archives: Personal - Misc

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2008

December 31, 2008 – 11:42 am

2008 is almost over and what an incredible year it’s been! I can’t believe it’s already gone, 2008 seemed to zip by so quick!! I officially launched my photography business just over 1 year ago and it’s been an incredible journey so far. 2008 has given me some of the most amazing clients and photo shoots. I have to give a really big thanks out to all my clients this past year. You’ve all believed in me and each of you have been so incredible to work with. I’ve met some really cool and amazing professionals in my online photography communities. I’ve been fortunate to network with some really great photographers in SoCal in person and getting to shoot with some of these folks has been a real pleasure!

2008 has been just awesome and I can’t wait to meet 2009 and find out what’s in store!

For my POTY (picture of the year) my family and I spent a weekend in Cambria, CA this last summer and it was a great trip. We all had a blast, the kids loved the beach (even though the ocean was a little scary for them). I know it’s not from one of my official shoots of the year but it’s one of my favorite photos of the year because it’s just us. Just my camera on a little gorilla pod in the sand with the self-timer set. Out of all the things I enjoy and love there is nothing that tops the time I get to spend with my family.

So happy New Years to all of you; I hope that 2009 is better then ever for everyone out there!! Woo hoo!

By Mike | Also posted in Beyond the lens | Comments (3)

Friday Free For All - Episode 10 (belated)

December 29, 2008 – 11:31 am

Sorry for the delay but with the holidays things have been more then a little crazy at our house. We’ve had 12 houseguests staying with us this last week and a half so I’ve barely been able to touch a computer and pretty much took last week or so off. In a lot of ways it’s been nice not to be constantly clicking on a keyboard, editing images, surfing and networking on photography forums. It’s nice to get a bit of a break and get back to ‘real’ life. I had an incredible Christmas with all my family. As crazy as it is we had a heck of a time and besides baby Jesus, being with family and making these memories is what the holidays are all about to me!

I watched the movie “Click” last night and it’s a funny show and all but left me with a simple but powerful message. Family should come first. If you always put off time with your family until tomorrow so you can focus on work and other ambitions then you may go through your whole life on auto-pilot until it’s too late and there are no more tomorrows. So a happy holiday message to all is to think about what’s important and focus on your family, friends and other loved ones. If you haven’t seen it, I thought it was a great show and recommend it!

No photos over christmas? What? Really? Yep, I’ve made an effort to make sure I’m not busting out the camera at all the family functions. In the spirit of keeping family first I want to enjoy the time I’m with my family and not be the photographer everytime we’re doing something. I love to make photos of my family every chance I get but I need to balance that with just enjoying the moments as well.

I’m getting stoked for New Years. I always love going out and partying way too late with my gorgeous wife. I just don’t like having to get up the next morning at 6:30AM with the kids and paying for the night out the next day We’re going out with a few other couples to a house party, nothing too out of control. Just some good wine, some good food and good friends!

I hope you’ve all had an incredible Christmas week and have a fantastic (and safe) New Years! As always, thanks for visiting!!

Friday Free For All - Episode 9 - xmas and blackberries

December 5, 2008 – 10:39 am

Hi all and happy Friday!! TGIF and all that good stuff.

Well it’s been a super busy week of running around and getting things ready for the Christmas season at our house. We spent the long Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas with my folks and had a great time. Way too much food as usualy but it was all great! I’ve been wanting to hit some more pumpkin pie but just haven’t had the time to make any yet…

I’ve spent the last week with the new Blackberry Storm and have mixed feelings. I mean there’s an obvious coolness factor but it’s just not an Iphone. There are some things I’m really liking about it while other aspects are taking some getting used to. The typing is probably one of the hardest things to get accustomed to. I’m used to being able to crank out e-mails, text messages really fast on any of the other Blackberries I’ve owned with a regular full qwerty keyboard. The touch screen is not quite as easy. It’s way better after a week then at first, I could hardly get through a couple words without making a mistake the first few days. The typing is faster now and making far less mistakes so I guess I’m getting happier with it as I get more used to it. The web browser is nice, the few apps I’ve played with are good. The movie playback seems to work great for the few minutes I tried it, that will probably be a great feature for those plane rides or long waits somewhere. Oh and the 3 MP camera works well as expected. All in all great device, I have no desire at this point to go back to a previous device so that has to be saying something!

So Christmas preparations have been slow this year. Usually we put everything up Thanksgiving weekend but we were out of town so we’ve been peicing it together over a few days. We finally finished the indoor decorations last night so now I need a bit of time to start on the outside lights - I like it when it’s done but I always find it to be a pain!! Here’s a few portraits of my gorgeous kids from the night we put the tree up…

Take care & god bless!

By Mike | Also posted in Friday Free For All | Tagged bakersfield, blackberry storm, california, christmas, holidays, photography, xmas | Comments (4)

A salute to our soldiers - Veterans Day

November 11, 2008 – 10:52 am

Having lost a grandfather who fought in WWII and several family members who have served in the Air Force and Navy I have a deep awe and respect for our men and women in uniform. We owe everything to those who have fought for our way of life. We should all make sure that we hold true to the values of our constitution and not let the sacrifices of our brothers and sisters in uniform ever be in vain.

I think the lyrics to our national anthem are an appropriate read for the day. Enjoy and God bless America…

Oh, say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there.
O, say, does that
Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free
And the home of the brave

By Mike | Also posted in Beyond the lens | Tagged veterans day | Comments (0)

Friday Free For All - Episode 5 - [B] School GTG

October 24, 2008 – 10:13 am

Hey folks, We had the first Southern California [B] School get together last night in Santa Monica and it was great! It was awesome to meet some of the SoCal photographers in person finally. Everyone was so friendly and easy going. It was just cool to geek out and break bread with some really talented photographers. I think everyone had a blast, I know I did!

We met at Bubba Gumps on the Santa Monica pier but I got there a little early and just enjoyed walking around the promenade and the pier for a while. I have to say, those ocean sunsets are pretty impressive to watch.

So here are a bunch of photos from the evening… Can’t wait to do it again, Gang! Oh and a big thanks to Henry Chen who got the meet up rolling to begin with! Henry’s an incredible photographer and on top of that a great guy!

Oh and all adjustments for these photos were done in Lightroom, I only used photoshop to sharpen and add my watermark…

A random couple I shot in stealth…