Quick Photo Update

Quick photo post because Kurt at work (borrowlenses.com) is trying to pwn me with his moon photos and his Canon 7D and 600 f/4 + 2x + 2x converters and what not.
Just a couple photos from the meteor shower, which was kind of a weak show, and the full moon from a few days ago.

Enjoy!

Shot with :

Nikon D300
Nikon 17-55 f/2.8
Nikon 200-400 f/4 VRI
Calumet tripod



I think I got a meteor in this shot. That little green streak in the top right hand portion of the photo.


My moon shot. D300 + 200-400 f/4 VR of pure bad ass lens combo


Your generic Golden Gate Bridge photo


Big (or little) Dipper and Marin Headlands


Tourists having fun with the bridge
\

San Francisco from Sausalito


What $330 million looks like. Owned by some Russian billionaire. Supposedly has a crew of 37 and 3 other smaller 'boats' to run errands. Oh and he has a helicopter. Which landed on the boat while I was shooting. Must be nice.


Last one

Vivian & Benson Wedding

I think this is my first official wedding I've ever posted on my photo blog. Awesome!

Got a call from Corby to help out with a wedding client of his that booked him last minute. The wedding ceremony for Benson and Vivian would be held at City Hall in San Francisco and the reception would be at the R&G Lounge San Francisco. This is the second wedding I've shot at City Hall.

I started the day running back and forth from the car to the count clerk's office, grabbing cameras, lenses and Corby's glasses. Lol he shot a few photos being half blind. The awesome thing about shooting a wedding at City Hall is the grandeur of the building itself. There's a huge flight of stairs that leads up to the dome where you are married. Marble walls and features with gold fixtures. A good amount of lighting where you don't need a flash if you've got fast glass. I was taking the second shooter position for the day, grabbing candids and what not. For the City Hall photos, I shot with a Canon 5D Classic with the 24-70L and being a lense swapper for Corb.

After taking care of the City Hall photos, we took the wedding couple the Legion of Honor to get some after-wedding shots. I've never been inside or even past the gates, it was pretty cool running around the pillars. Shot the photos here with the Canon 5D Classic and the 85L. My GOD the 85L is one crazy lens. I have a 1.4 lens but 1.2 is just insane with that tiny and razor sharp depth of field. From there, we rushed over to R&G Lounge in Chinatown and got our reception shots. Shot that with the 24-70L set up and a 580ex flash. Standard Chinese wedding reception, ton of group and family shots and toasts. There was no wedding cake, but instead Benson and Vivian had an awesome line up of cupcakes for everyone. Didn't eat one but it sure looked good.

That's all for now. I'll be shooting a wedding for Kong's (our nightlife photog) sister, Shafeen and Liv. Pretty much will be going all out for these guys. Will keep you posted!

Shot with :
Canon 5D Classic
Canon 24-70L
Canon 85L
Canon 580ex

Yeah, yeah it's all Canon gear and I'm a Nikon shooter. I'm an equal opportunity employer!

First Magazine Feature

Finally got my first magazine feature ever. Well not technically a feature of me but my friend's car. If you remember from my previous posts, before I went to cover Formula Drift at Long Beach this year, I drove over to Riverside, CA to meet up with good friend Ian Linberg. He was contacted by MR2 Only Magazine to do a feature of his Lexus Blue Mr2 turbo and asked if I could shoot it for him. Hell yeah!

Didn't sleep at all that night, left Long Beach at 3am so I could get to Riverside by 5am. Grabbed all our gear, hopped in the Mr2 and headed up to the mountains towards Big Bear. I had no idea where I was going and only saw what Google Maps had given me the night before, so we decided to wing it. While driving up the mountain roads we saw a bunch of open space turn off areas and I said screw it, the sun is coming up and we gotta get the photos.

All the photos you see with a freeway behind or with mountains were shot on Highway 18 right before traffic rush hour hit. Was hoping to get some crazy shot with the sun rising over the mountain and reflecting off the car, didn't really get the image I wanted but pretty pleased with it overall.

Both Ian and I were hoping for any kind of feature, something small, but hey it's in a magazine. We checked out the website this month and saw that we'd gotten the front cover. Sweeeet! Check one of the things I want to accomplish in my lifetime. And now 10832984320 things left to do. Just dropped a butt load of money on new camera gear in preparation for a wedding in August. Shot a couple other weddings this month and I'll post those up soon.

Anyway, here's the photos of the magazine and the original images. Enjoy!

Shot with :
Nikon d200
Tokina 12-24 f/4
Nikon SB-600
Canon ex-580II
China poverty-wizards
Lots and lots and lots and lots of Starbucks energy drink
And a fatty breakfast burrito at some random spot in Riverside

Also if you're wondering, Mr2 Only Magazine is printed solely for single purchases and isn't sold in stores. Not a real 'circulation' magazine but hey, still a print magazine. Pick one up at www.mr2only.com

Mr2Only Magazine cover


2nd page with editor comments


Two page spread! (Double truck ftw!)


Another two page spread (yeeeee!)
Oh and that top left corner photo was shot at Moss Brothers Toyota. Those guys were cool, let us shoot the Mr2 in their showrooms and such.


Last page


And sent to us by Her Majesty's Royal Mail


Original photos

Shot facing south towards Riverside with the Nikon sb-600 flash on camera left and Canon ex-580 camera right. The ex-580II flash is f'ing ridiculous more powerful than the weak Nikon flash.


Single flash from above


The cover photo, you can see the ghetto strobe set up and the freeway behind


Canon flash to the left and nikon to the right


Somewhat successful attempt at getting some sun flare in the photo. Canon 580 flash on full blast on the right and nikon on the left. Didn't have a polarizer or anything, wish I did.


Interior shot with one flash to the left and the other strobed from the top. Both with shoot through umbrellas.






Inside Moss Brother's Toyota dealership. They had a bunch of balloon clusters I had to clone out, pretty crap job of photoshop but I am no pro.




Yay Moss Brothers Toyota. Flashes on camera left and right.


Single flash from above with shoot through umbrella








And that's all for now. Pretty proud of the feature, hopefully more magazine's to come.

a|traxx

The new Summer Sessions 2010 Mix by dj a|traxx

Download link : http://soundcloud.com/dj-a-traxx

Mark Arcenal with Fatlace

A few weeks, or maybe months, back I helped out my buddy Allen Chu (www.theallenchu.com, www.4rtofclean.com) with an interview for his new magazine Slick (http://www.slicklifestyle.com/). He would be interview Mark Arcenal and doing a feature on the store, clothing lines and lifestyle of Fatlace.

I wouldn't say I know much of the urban and lifestyle scene of the import automotive world, but Mark Arcenal (http://arcenal.com/mark/)is one of the pioneers of the game. Not only for the import scene but for, well, one of the biggest companies out there. From 2007 - 2009, Mark was the Global Digital Design Director for Nike and were the brains behind the 'Nike Sportswear' line. Yes, those Airmax 95's you rock? That's him.

Mark Arcenal and Fatlace started a revolution in the import automotive lifestyle scene, creating a new genre of automotive fashion with the Hella Flush mentality: basically slam the f*** out of your car and slap massive wheels in there until the body was flush with the rim. On top of this, the Fatlace line of clothing and accessories has grown to epic proportions, with the logo 'fatlace' pulling brand loyalty on its own. The newly introduced line of clothing and accessories named 'illest' is taking on its own movement as well.

Mark is one of the most down-to-earth guys you'll ever meet. He quit his job at Nike in Oregon to spend more time with his family in California and focus on the Fatlace line. He's business oriented but in a way that makes you feel like family, if he succeeds, you know he wants everyone out there to share in it too. Since it was a sunny day, he offered us a ride around town in the gangster VW bus, but we had to leave early and couldn't take him up on that offer. He says the bus isn't smog legal but everyone loves it; even cops give him the thumbs up. We'll be back for a cruise around town Mark.

Shot with :
Nikon D200
Sigma 30 f/1.4

Mark Arcenal of Fatlace


Hella Flush
















After doing a quick video short at the Fatlace store in Japantown San Francisco, where I was a 'customer' making my debut film apperance (w00t) we drove over to Fatlace's design studio in San Mateo. If I had my own home, it would pretty much be a replica of their design studio. DJ gear set up and ready to go, RC drift cars everywhere, a Honda Ruckus and CBR in the garage, you know the deal. Really friendly staff over at Fatlace, both at the store and in the studio. Hope to hang with them soon.











From there, we were invited to do a private interview at Mark's own home. We were amazed to see Mark's sunny day cruising toy, an old school VW Bus. Gangster. Restored and yes, slammed with rims, the bus pretty much represents Mark Arcenal. Old school ways mixed with new school style. Love it.