Ambient Photography Studio

New Blog Is Here !

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Hello Bloggers!
Thank you for visiting.
My New Blog is now ready for the world.
Please come visit and drop a line for me.

Thank you.
Best, Tammie

Congratulations Vicky and David!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:47:00 +0000

Today at 4:30pm Vicky and David are getting married. I am so excited for these two beautiful people! I met David while I was studying photography and he is known as technogeek in our little circle called "the f-stops" David is an excellent commercial photographer and a dear friend of mine. I still remember the first time David told me about Vicky. We were going to lunch in Manhattan beach. I hadn't seem him for a while so I asked him if he was seeing someone. (Well, I am like a big sister to him so I am allowed to ask these questions) David was already thinking about proposing to Vicky so I knew he had found a woman of his life. Over our short lunch David showed me Vicky's picture on his phone and talked about what a great person she was. So when we met Vicky for the first time at the f-stop get together, it was like meeting an old friend. When Vicky and David asked me to shoot their engagement photo. I was pretty nervous. It's not easy to shoot for a friend to begin with and it's definitely nerve-racking to shoot for another photographer. Vicky requested these photos to be unrevealed until the wedding day. I'll put up a slide show for them after the wedding. While it was impossible to keep these two goofballs to be serious at times but then again I always perfer capturing their charater. Our shoot was blast! Thank you for allowing me to document your special day! Here are few teaser shots.

Perhaps it's too hard to pose for a friend LOL but i love their expression on this shot.

Granvile Island Vancouver Mini-Portrait Session

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:59:00 +0000

It was a beautiful day in Vancouver, BC. When the warm afternoon light illuminated relaxing Granville Island, I had a wonderful opportunity to photograph this cute girl named Violet and her handsome father. (Violet's gorgeous mother was jogging around the island) After our mini-portrait session, Violet's father told me that they do this almost every weekend.
What a sweet moment I captured. I hope you treasure these images for years to come Violet!
Can't wait to photograph your family again in LA.
I just love what Violet was wearing... so cute....

Just look at her face!!!

Keep on going...

Seattle, Friends, Food and Wine

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:21:00 +0000

After spending a week in San Juan Island attending Rod Dresser workshop, I met Andy in Seattle. Our dear friend Jen & Barry kindly invited us in to their beautiful home in Bellevue. (*please check out Barry's blog if you enjoy reading about marketing and advertising.)This was a wonderful treat after spending a week at the UW Friday Harbor cabin.
Jen & Barry are both foodie just like us so Jen made several reservations at their favorite restaurants. Friday night we went to the Wild Ginger in Seattle for Tyler's birthday! Sleek and modern atmosphere. Delicious Asian Fusion food and nice service. Then Saturday Morning we went to Salty's at the Alki beach for the brunch. Loved Fresh Oyster bar the most but you gotta try their waffle station. If you sit by the window you can enjoy breathtaking view of Seattle downtown. Sunday night, four of us went out to dinner at the Cafe Juanita in Kirkland for nice and cozy adult only dinner. Jen and Barry shared their Aubert 2006 Chardonnay with us. Very fruity and smooth Chardonnay. I prefer little fruity over dry Chardonnays. I had the halibut dish so it was perfect. For the appetizer, we had "Seared Foie Gras with Bing Cherries, Candied Ginger and Cocoa nibs" was delicious! You have to try this one if it's on the menu when you go there. Cafe Juanita offers five Star service and the quality. And of course house made desserts are to die for. Please make sure to reserve your table in advance. Okay, There was more than just food & Wine during this vacation. We went out to see the Tropic Thunder (not my kind of movie but I had a good laugh), shopped and of course did little sightseeing. I couldn't have asked for better vacation. Great food, wine and the wonderful friends to share the table.
With Jen at the Cafe Juanita

Mike is a very good entertainer!
watching them wasn't enough of course I tried to photograph!
To me outdoor market represents "Life"
You must line up for "Daily Dozen" and don't forget to tip :)
Jen took this shot of us.
Andy's new girlfriend, Kiley
My favorite family at the Salty's.

Back from the Friday Harbor

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:02:00 +0000

I am back from my two weeks journey. Refreshed and encouraged. For next few days. I am going to try to tell you little more about my trip but I need to catch up on my life here in LA. For now, I am going to have these photos to tell you the story.
This is the last image that I captured in workshop before I left the island.
Friday Harbor is the kind of place that you would like to just sit and soak up on the beauty of life.
Wonderful people I met through this workshop - It was great meeting you all.

This shot of Rachel I love so much, I wanted to leave it in color.
We saw the Orcas! Many Many of them!-I need to get myself a one of those big white lense someday.
Friday Harbor right before the rain in the late afternoon.

Above: Paul kindly took us out on his awesome boat that was named by his son. "Just Because" Below: Rock formation from the Sucia Island University of Washington Friday Harbor Lab

Ferry Landing
Few postcard photos...
I wish we had those clouds in So. Cal
another postcard image
I did not want to do anything with this image because this is exactly how I remember it.

Out of Town until 9/6/2008

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:09:00 +0000

I still have few more things squeeze into my carry-on bag and I will be leaving in few hours. There always is so much to pack when you take your camera gear. Not to mention trying to take 20 rolls of film in your carry-on. I've been running around like a mad woman last week just to get few things done before I go out of town for two weeks. It's little scary to leave everything behind for 2 weeks but I know everything will be okay. Okay, I have been to Passport agency and my passport disaster has been resolved. I can finally leave. Because I recently took Andy's last name and I did that before I change name on my passport, Agency has suspended processing name change on my passport. They are now asking for additional documents. I shipped them over night but when I tried to confrim with them on the phone they told me that I won't be able to get my passport back for another 2 weeks! So I rushed in to get an appointment with the Passport agency in Los Angeles. I was lucky to be able to get an appoint in such a short notice. Last friday morning in 405 traffic, I drove down to agency. A nice supervisor lady at the window #12 said "NO" at first but she took pity on me when I told her I really really really needed to take care of this before I leave so my husband can bring passport with him next week. ( They won't give your passport on the spot unless you are leaving the country on that same day!!! ) She said maybe she can get around the rules and see if she can get my information transfered by next Tuesday. I can finally take our anniversary trip with Andy to Canada after Rod Dresser workshop. Here is my advice to future brides, if you are going to take your husband's last name, do that first on your passport then change everything else. It will make your life so much easier. So I am off for two weeks, please bear with me if I cannot get back to you right away. My dear clients, you know where to reach me for your photo emergency! I won't be able to post things here until I come back so please bear with me.

Happy 7th!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:56:00 +0000

I ran to upstairs panting, looked under our California king size bed where he told me to look. At first, I didn't find anything. The mattress was heavy and I began thinking that he probably took it with him. I gave up searching initially then I went back searching after few hours. There it was in between the mattress, carefully chosen for the occasion and filled with his sweet words. Andy called me this morning from UK and told me that he left me a card under the mattress that he was sorry he couldn't be with me on our anniversary. Andy's been writing cards on every occasion for past 14 years that I have known him. There were very few times that he didn't and I would demand that he should write me a card. Andy would just smile. I don't' mind not getting presents, but it feels weird not to receive a card from him on these occasions. They are always filled with his small and neat writing. I would tease Andy saying that he is not the most romantic guy but how men do really write a lengthy cards to their wives? Well- my husband does.
Andy, here is my card for this year over the world wide web. It has been wonderful being your wife for 7years. Your easy going personality and growing love transformed me to be more like you and life with you has been easy sail with the cool ocean breeze. I am proud to be your wife. You are a honorable man and you will always be my genius.
I miss you a lot and can't wait to see you on Friday!
Not only you are my best friend, but you are my hero that enables me to do things that I couldn't even imagine. I know that your job has been tough on you lately, but I do really believe you when you tell me that you are working "SO HARD" for me. So cheer up baby! Thank you for your unchanging love and trust.
Can't wait to go on our anniversary trip in few weeks!
With Love, from your wife who's been forgetting our anniversary since 5th

For those of you haven't met my sweet husband. Here is us at the Boston Harbor, MA

Burbank Wedding, Amy + Byron 08.02.2008

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:39:00 +0000

Congratulations Amy and Byron! Thank you for letting me be a part of the cool gang(?) for the day. You guys were so awesome! When I heard the word "Bowling Alley" + "wedding", I was not sure what to expect but the day turned out to be filled with many surprises and I always enjoy shooting with my dear friend Matt. It was a hot and humid day in Los Angeles but everyone made our job so easy. Byron is serving our country as a US Marin and Amy is a one beautiful woman inside and out. Amy smiled through out the day regardless of uncomfortable weather and Bryon stayed by his gorgeous bride's side through out the day. These two were inseparable. Latin American weddings are always filled with so much family love, music and the dance. I am a softy inside so I cry often while I am shooting, this time it was watching Amy dancing with her father. Byron's dance with his mother was equally beautiful. I absolutely feel fortunate to be a photographer in LA that we get to shoot many different religious and cultural weddings. Thank you Matt, it was fun shooting with you! Here are some of my favorites of the day.

My favorite image of Amy!

Gotta love red!
This is the only way to start our photoshoot!
Byron and his groomsmen had some different ideas on how we should start our photoshoot. Love this shot of Byron bowling.
Thanks guys for fun times!
Picwick Gardens is a gem!

Amy had few shots she really wanted to get and this was the one, Vail + Backlit = so romantic

Their moments alone.

I love Mariachi Band

Here we go
Amy dad is so handsome and generous.
father and daughter dance ; love & respect
another favorite of the day!
They were just so adorable.
mother and son dance, Guatemalan style

Smile, somebody loves you!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:37:00 +0000

I am so sorry that I did not keep my promise to update this blog regularly, but I am a very good excuse. I spent 48 hours with the angels last week. Though I was deprived from my beauty sleep and gained 3 pounds by loading myself with Mc Donalds and Pizza, I am pretty sure I went to the heaven. Flexibility of my work schedule allows me to volunteer for something fun like this once in a while and I cherish these moments. I was not an official photographer(?) for this event; I acutally enjoy not having this responsibility once in a while. But I couldn't help but to snap few candids. I enjoyed being a group counselor for my 1st grade angels.
I love these children...and I know that God loves them more.

The reason to love my job

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:14:00 +0000

Today, I received a very encouraging and sweet e-mail from Robin. I shot Robin & Johannes' wedding last may. She sent me other notes before and I've been meaning to post them here for a long time. I have gotten many e-mails from clients before but it's always nice to receive something in the mail. On today's e-mail, she wrote such a caring and personal message it made me cry. She was worried about how my shoulder was, she complimented my B&W work and she did not forget to encourage me with bludomain situation. She's must have been visiting my blog.

I always dreamt to do something good with my talent that God has given me. It is still unclear what that is but I think God has been leading me to right direction so far. Yes, Job is something we need to have to make a living. But it's nice when you know you are delivering something that makes others smile.

This is first year that I am trying to develop strong business identity. So far I have been working basically through word of mouth. When I was in photography school, I shot a small backyard wedding for Katie & John who trusted me with their beautiful wedding. Since then I have been shooting many intimate weddings. I would like to extend my sincere thank you to my previous clients who trusted me and my talent. Without you, I will not be here today.

In my last class at the photography school, my instructor gave a nice realistic speech to my class.

"Once you leave this school, two third of you will no longer be the photographers in two years. Only elements that will help you last are the passion and the persistence."

I am still a photographer after 5years later because I have a passion for my job and I've been doing everything I can to keep my job as a photographer. I assisted others when I needed to and I did not mind shoting small jobs. I know there are many aspiring photographers out there trying to shoot just high-end weddings. I am not saying that it's a bad thing because I would love to shoot one of those weddings myself because they are just gorgeous. but I am a photographer that delivers heart-warming images. That is good enough for me now. Therefor my "special big thank you" goes out to Robin today who made me realize why I love being a photographer. It is such a rewarding job. In the midst of shooting family events and the weddings, I love becoming friends with my clients. I hope they get the same kind of impression from me that I always personally care for them as well. Thank you Robin you have made my day!

Accepted to Rod Dresser San Juan Island Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:33:00 +0000

I haven't blogged much lately because I was following the doctor's order to refrain from using my shoulder including using the computer mouse. I have a small tear that inflamed after last weekend's wedding. I feel much better now and I am back in front of my working station. Besides shoulder injury there has been numerous of bad things happening in my life "when it rains, it pours" To be honest, I was little discouraged to do anything for a while. I knew that the things will always get better in the end so I waited patiently.
Today, I received an e-mail that I was accepted to Rod Dresser workshop which I applied few months ago. I am so thrilled that I am going to spend 5days with him, Maggi Weston and 5 other great photographers learning more about Fine Art B&W photography. My dear friend Jennifer Lepkowski will be there as well so I am very excited. Rod Dresser takes six students on tuition free B&W photography workshop at the San Juan Island every year. If you are passionate about Fine art B&W photography, you should definitely try to take one of his workshops.
Here is one of my favorite image from the B&W portfolio that I submitted to him.

Bar Mizvah Saturday for Sam 05.31.08

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:44:00 +0000

Last Saturday, I watched an amazing 13 years old boy named Sam celebrating his Bar Mitzvah surrounded by the love of his family and friends. Temple Judea allowed me to photograph during the shabbat morning service so I was able to watch Sam read the Torah. Not only he did an amazing job reading the Torah, but he also wrote a very touching thank you message. My surprise did not end there, Sam loves to sing, play Jazz and swing dance. He also devotes some of his time to charity. It's always pleasure for me to photograph the special family events. Sam's family definitely has the foundation of love. There were lot's of kisses, hugs and laughter all night long.
Click here to order photos if you were a Sam's guest
Click here to see their slide show and here are some of my favorites of Sam!

I love this shot of Sam

Sam with his handsome younger brothers
Jon Layne and his crew from the Party Layne did an awesome job! By far the best MC that photographers would love to work with!
- If you have an event coming up you should definitely try to book these guys. They are so awesome! Please mention my name Jon will take care of you. And Jon definitely looks better in person. Especially, All the ladies at the party LOVED him!

Rancho Las Lomas, Trisha + Steven Wedding 05.10.08

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:45:00 +0000

Few weeks ago, my dear friend Matt asked me to shoot with him at the Trisha and Steven's gorgeous wedding in Rancho Las Lomas. If you are getting married and looking for a location this is the place! The weather was so perfect and Trisha and Steven were very laid-back.
Here are few of my favorites of the day!
Trisha and Steven were in game for everything we asked them to do. Well, Trisha was very fit so we made them run little bit!

My friend Matt is the romantist himself. It was wonderful to watch him at work. I love this peaceful moment that we captured.
Now, you know why wedding photographers love to shoot weddings at The Rancho Las Lomas!- Don't you just love this yellow swing?
Matt was nice enough to let me shoot this one!

I love everything about this shot!
Father and daughter dance - I am always drawn to the emotions captured in photography. This little man Nate asked me to dance. -yes he did...

Baby Gage at 3 weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:25:00 +0000

Last Thursday, I photographed this charming baby named Gage.
This tall and hansome newborn is in 70 percentile!
Gage's mother is a strikingly beautiful model so you know where he gets his good looks from.
well, from the displayed family photos his daddy isn't bad looking either :)
Gage also has a very cute older sister who loves him very much.
I can't wait to photograph the family again in the fall.
It was not a love at first sight for Gage and I :) He wasn't really sure about me.

Gage's mom wanted all B&W images but I fell in love with Gage's blue eyes.
I found out Gage and I have something in common, Gage prefers this position for sleeping too. :)
I think Gage was too excited for our photo shoot, his mother told me that he did not sleep at all in the morning. So he was really really tired.
I decided to let him sleep. I did not want him to be traumatized from his first photo session.

Pacific Palisades, Robin + Johannes Wedding 05.11.08

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Sun, 18 May 2008 06:51:00 +0000

I just came back from my birthday dinner with friends but I have to post this beautiful wedding that I shot last Sunday. Robin and Johannes met through a mutual friend. A beautiful aspiring actress from Pacific Palisades meets a talented music producer from Germany. Their simple but stylish wedding ceremony was filled with love and emotion. I was hired to shoot their ceremony only, but I love photographing intimate ceremony like this one. I overheard that they even celebrate first kiss anniversary. How cute is that! Their family and friends flew in from the distance and Robin's best friend helped with flowers. Robin and Johannes's gentle soul must have touched many lives.
Enjoy this teaser entry guys, Thank you for letting me document your wedding day!
*************** Click here to see more **************

First thing I noticed about Robin was her perfectly beautiful smile. It's addictive.
Happy couple

They were just so in love...
It was a beautiful day...
First kiss as Mr & Mrs Luley!

Robin's brothers and Johannes gave her a little lift
I cought this true moment, don't you just love Robin's boots!
Lulu, the flower girl. Who I photographed the most next to bride and groom :)

Birthday Party with the sea sharks

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:04:00 +0000

"Sea Sharks" was Owen's 5th year birthday party theme this year. I always get so excited to shoot birthday party because it's always filed with lots of laughter and surprises.
I've been photographing birthday parties for Owen's family for about three years now. Each party was fun and filled with fun details even when mommy was pregnant with his younger sister.
This year's big surprise was the Aquarium of the Pacific! Nice ladies from the Aquarium of the Pacific brought the baby sharks and the starfishes for Owen and his guests. They are too many fun photos to choose from but here are few of my favorites. I will upload the slideshow later!

but I don't think it impressed Owen that much

playing games
Adam was so great with kids! -look how serious Owen looks!
So cute~~~
Jump for fun was a big hit!- I wanted to jump in with the kids but I was afraid my lens would hurt them.

Older brother Everett
Princess Addison

Happy Mother's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Sat, 03 May 2008 00:38:00 +0000

Google Analytics tells me that I have increasing number of visitors daily!
I can see that my friends from Sendai, Japan are reading my blog. How cool is that? I e-mail them as often as I could but this way they can see what I am up to pretty regularly. That is enough for me to continue to write on this blog even though it really scares me because my writing in English isn't perfect. It's little frustrating for me at times because I can write pretty well in Korean. I used to win national essay competitions as a student. So bear with me if my writing isn't perfect or not so entertaining. I promise you it will get better. Thank you everyone who has visited my blog either by accident or by referrals. Please come back to read more and make comments. Everyone is giving away something on their blog to thank their blogger friends so I am going to give away something.
Mother's day is around the corner and I would like to giveaway, one family portrait session for free. All you have to do is send me a little story about special "mother" you know of and if you can attach the photo of you with that special woman. I will have my mother pick the winner on Mother's day! I would love to inform the winner on Mother's day, but I am shooting a Sunday wedding so it will have to wait. *****As a prize You will receive a portrait session + favorite images on CD.*****

Let me tell you little bit about my amazing mother. Her name is Bona and she immigrated to United States in 1988 with her two children. In Korea, She worked as an esthetician since I was about 10 years old. She needed to get licensed again in the states so she got her license in 6months. I still don't know how my mother managed to go to school here in United States and got her license because she did not speak any English. She probably did impossible for us. She has been a small business owner since then. Recently, I have been complaining everyday how hard it is to manage business side of photography, but my mother has been doing this for 20years all by herself. I am so proud of her and I am so thankful everyday that God allowed me to be born as my mother's daughter. She raised me to be strong and she taught me to share. She turned 60 years old last year so we created this family portrait with the help of my tripod. LOL We have fronzen faces, but she displays this photo at her shop and point it out to her customers saying "My family, my daughter is a good photographer!" I hope I make her very proud one day. Like making the list of American photo's top ten best wedding photographers in the world will just do that. I love you mom!

Are you equipped for this season?

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:43:00 +0000

I found this image of me that was taken by my friend back in 2004 and I had a good laugh.
I promised that I will try to post something for many aspiring photographers out there so here is my very first attempt. I still consider myself as an aspiring photographer so it will be mostly about the lessons that I learned as I was starting out and something I picked up from watching other great photographers for past 5 years. There are many useful forums online nowadays, so I am not going get too technical with my entries. I hope you find it useful somehow.

So my very first post title is
#1 Shoot light
Shooting with minimum gear on yourself gives you mobility. This also allows you to focus on one thing and one thing only while you are on the job. That is to capture true moments. A good photographer captures the moments as the day unfolds.

Can you see the amount of gear that I have on me here? I was second shooting for my friend that day so I believe I had less on me. LOL !!! This Wedding was held in mid summer afternoon at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Greystone Mansion and Park offers many beautiful location to shoot, but the ceremony was at noon so we chose to use fill flash. But I probably did not need mighty Quantum Turbo power pack. (I will elaborate on fill-flash on another posting) When you are new in this industry it is nice to be over prepared then not prepared. And please bring your back up gears and leave them in the car safely. At the time we were new and we weren't able to instantly check what we were shooting with film cameras, so we equipped ourselves with everything we had then. Even now, I always bring my light meter with me even if I don't use it.

Here Tammie is wearing;

Nikon F100 with Nikkor ED 24-120mm f/3.5

Nikon N80 with Nikkor 85mm f1.8

Quantum Turbo battery pack with SB-80 Speedlite

and think I am wearing another not so fancy belt purse for films.

I think having two camera bodies on yourself as you shoot wedding is generally a good idea. Especially, if you are shooting alone. We can now just switch ISOs on digital cameras but I still do at times because I can quickly switch my lenses this way. I now have a cool Shootsac, so I try to go to my job in style now.

I am not a big fan of long lenses. Don't get me wrong, I own one and I love milky blurred look ,but I find that I don't get it out much unless I am shooting at outdoors where I have a lot of room to move around. I am strong and I can lift heavy things pretty well.( I move house furniture all by myself) But I am only 5'4" and having heavy gears on me for 10 hours is really hard on my body so I came up with a solution . That is to shoot with a fast prime lens. I can still get "bokeh" ( means blurred in Japanese also means demantia and senile- can you see the relations here?) and gain my mobility back. Prime lenses are now very popular among wedding photographers. Using a prime lens means that you need to zoom yourself in and out instead of a lense. This also challenges you to be more creative with your composition. Hey, I can always use more cardio! so this works for me.

Here are list of some good prime lenses to have: I will just list Canon lenses here. If you are on budget or own a different system you can just take notes of the length of lenses (mm) and the brightness of the lens (f-stops) then get similar items that fits your budget. I own few Tamron lense for traveling and I highly recommend them.

Canon EF 24mm f 1.4L

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 or on big budget 50mm f/1.2 L

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 or on big budget 85mm f/1.2 L II

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro (my favorite lens along with 50mm f/1.4)

Canon EF 135 f/2L

Please feel free to leave comments or e-mail me with questions!

Little office update: with extra Ram added to my PC. It's not flying but it's working fine. I've decide to maintain current condition until I finish editing all the images for my website. Andy is dying to build new PC for me, but I can't afford to not have computer for few days!

Office update

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Some of you may already know that I have been working on my new workstation for a while. This is while I am tyring to build my new website, write blog entries, and keep up with facebook! -oh, I painted my dinning room for the second time! Things have been pretty hectic here and to be honest, I am really burned out now. I still have few albums to put together and upload edited images online. My PC (yes, I am still a PC girl) has been really bugging me lately.I been drooling over Mac Pro for a while now. I know the importance of keeping up with new technology now days. However, I have been trying to keep my overhead costs low and to spend my money where it will help my business to grow continuously. (I will share my experience on how to build your photography business wisely for the new comers in this industry so please stay tuned) Luckily, I can operate both PC and Mac ( assisted a photographer who had a Mac), so it won't be hard for me to switch over to Mac. I know that Mac users probably say other wise but honestly, I can't see that much differences. I can do everything on my PC as fast as I could on iMac (not Mac Pro). I can't really complain much about PC at this point. Andy is my genius guy at 24 hour Genius Bar. He makes sure that my PC doesn't crash and I've never lost a single file so far. (knock on wood!)
However lately, I've been noticing that my PC was running slower. So of course, I asked my genius husband why. Andy's answer was short " Your computer is too old and you just have too much stuff on your computer!" .... hummm a year old computer is old. I guess that's like 100 years in computer world? So we went down to Fry's to get some RAM. Despite of Andy's research, we found out my computer is too old to fit new memory!!! Now, My genius guy is backing up my data locally and tomorrow we are going to put my PC back together with brand new motherboard. I guess, I will just have to wait to work on those images. Andy is going to write more technical entries for you all, bright minds out there real soon.

This is how my PC looks now.

Cypress Fine Handmade Albums & Boxes Anniversary Open House

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:11:00 +0000

When I first saw Cypress albums about 3 years ago, I thought they were the most unique and beautiful albums I've ever seen. Recently, I discovered that I research things pretty extensively before I make my decisions. (And sometimes decision making takes too long just like i can't seem to make up my mind on whether I want to show big images or small images on my website?) I think, I am pretty resourceful because I am always working on something new. Then why did I wait so long to visit Cypress Album? -for a long time my clients did not really ask for "professional" albums. I used to buy unique scrapbook albums whenever I found one and gave them to clients that I thought were good fit. They were happy with my albums so I never really got a chance to make album samples through Cypress. Now that I am re-branding or should I say starting Ambient Photography Studio, I think Cypress album will add something beautiful and special to my business. I can feel it! and I am so happy that I got to meet the founder Dena and the cool staff at the Cypress Fine Handmade Albums & Boxes.
I am noticing that I am keep bumping into photographers whose work that I've been admiring for a long time like Yvette Roman and Jose Villa. And they use Cypress! Hummm....thinking I am a copycat? Maybe I am, but Cypress caters to unique group of photographers who want something outstanding and unique to present their work in. So if you ask me, yes I want to be want of them. Thank you Cypress for inviting me to celebrate your 10 year anniversary and allowing me to tour your company. Your products are beautiful and it is comfort to know that all of your staff are so cool! Dena Robertson, Thank you for following your dreams and sharing your talent with us! I look forward to working closely with you in the near future

chic cypress showroom

Dena, founder of Cypress giving group tour

beautiful fabrics

I love this matted folio

the Cypress album

I spotted this mural on the wall of Cypress showroom for my portrait, Photography courtesy of Sandra P.

Indian Springs Ranch

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:33:00 +0000

I met Gail from Indian Springs Ranch at Brides.com party and she invited me to her beautiful Ranch in Sylmar, Ca last Thursday afternoon. This 40 acre ranch is going to make someone's wedding unforgettable. I love being in outdoors so being invitied to Indian Springs Ranch was like a vacation to me.

I met with more talents in the wedding industry; My Wedding Blooms, Wedding Jeannie (I love this name!), La Creme Bakery , The Venetian Palace and Open Box Designes This ranch has so much potential, I can't wait to see how Jeannie Ward from Wedding Jeannie will transform this place for one of her weddings in the future. Jeannie kindly shared her knowledge with us during the party and I just read PDN article where she was interviewed!
Gail has a warm smile and sexy British accent!

Nicolette Janssen from Jenssen Photography and the harpist,Vonette Yanaginuma Here are some photos from the Ranch.

Brides.com Party

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:42:00 +0000

I apologize for my delay in blogging lately. I am still working on developing my new website. Brides.com hosted elegant party at the molaa in Long beach last week. a team of beautiful ladies at the Details & Details did awesome job of planning this party with Brides.com
My brides, you should definitely check out Details & Details blog for more details on awesome vendors that helped to put this amazing party together.

*all photos are used with permission by brides.com*

I met Sandra P. at Jose Vila's workshop and we immediately connected! so when she invited me to be her date for the Brides.com party, I leaped for the joy. I love this fun shot of Sandra Pan. When I meet people I see only one thing, genuineness of their heart. She definitely has a good heart and she is so talented. I am glad we became friends! Attending networking events are definitely helping me gain more friends that I keeps me grounded.

In this photo: from the left Jacqueline Phung from Brides.com, me, Marianne, Sandy and Roberto Valenzuela
photo provided by Sandra P.photography

photo of us from Marie's Canon 5D! Marie, me, Marianne, Sandy and Marissa Lopez

A+ Jose Villa- PPA Super Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:22:00 +0000

I came across Jose Villa's work many years ago and I fell in love with them at first sight. I am so happy to see that he is featured in PDN magazine this month because he is the most talented photographer that I know of. He "knows" photography and his work is just simply beautiful. So when I saw his name on PPA Super Monday , I told everyone about it. It was so much fun driving up with Marie & Rowena and we spent awesome day in Solvang, CA with Jose Villa. He delivered A+ workshop. I believe that photographer's heart and soul translates into his work. Let me just say that the man behind his beautiful work is also as beautiful in person.

I tried little bit of Jose Villa + Me on these images.

Simply beautiful bouquets were provided by Renae's Bouquet

Stunning Make-Up and hair service was provided by Mar from T.E.A.M make-up & hair. I wish I knew Mar when I got married. Her style is so elegant. I just love her! I am thinking of an excuse to get Mar to stylize me. Super fun and beautiful Lacie was wearing dress by Jenny Lee collection. I am happy when I capture true spirit and personality of a person I photograph. There were other gorgeous shots of her, but I think this image is my favorite of Lacie. Hope you like it as much as I do Lacie! Shelbie and Gerado was our couple of the day. Sweet Shelbie was wearing this elegant dress by Melissa Sweet. Shelbie, I hope you enjoyed your modeling debut. Thank you for being so accommodating and patient with us.
There is a big advantage of having talented photographer as a friend. They know how to capture you more beautiful than you really are! I love this picture of me, Marie shot. Can't you just feel how happy I was that day? Thank you Marie!

Bye Bye Kodak HIE

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:15:00 +0000

When I need the break from fast pacing life of mine, I go out to shoot landscapes.
I love photographing children and weddings but those are fleeting moments. It's no joke that many photographers have ADD. I need to be grounded at times so this is my way of finding peace in my life. I find myself focused and centered when I am composing my shots on film cameras. I practice using zone system and pretend to be Ansel Adams for the day. I can now pretty much see things in B&W and control my exposures based on the effect I want in finished prints. I love printing in the darkroom even though I can easily do everything in Photoshop now. I learned to do alternative processing and printing and I would love to use same process creating fine art portraits for my business. There is something about "old way" of doing things. Few days ago, I found out my favorite film Kodak HIE ( high-speed infrared ) discontinued. I am so bummed. I called everywhere to find left over stock, but there were none left. I hope Kodak HIE comes back in the market just like Ilford SPX 200. Here are the few images taken with my LAST role of infrared film. (Zone system was not used for this specialty film) I know some will say that we can now shoot infrared with digital cameras or apply action in Photoshop but I still think it's different. I hope you can see that too.

Boulder, Colorado March 2008 Kodak HIE rated at 100 ISO

Boulder, Colorado March 2008 Kodak HIE rated at 100 ISO
Paris, France December, 2007 Kodak HIE rated at 100 ISO

Las Vegas WPPI 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Tammie Kimura) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:27:00 +0000

I am a member of Wedding and Portrait Photographer International (WPPI) which is a fast glowing organization based in Santa Monica, CA. This was my first time attending this fun convention and I had a blast. Making talented, gorgeous and generous new friends and listening to industry's most successful photographers definitely inspired and challenged me to next level.

I will be honest, I wanted to be where some of the photographers stand and I wrote it down on my journal to make myself remember this feeling. I've never wanted something so badly in my life. I am not a competitive person. I am horrible at playing games. I don't like to be on the spot light so being third place was fine with me always. But for four days that I was attending many seminars. I found myself wanting to be on the top. "Dreams are like clouds and they need to be chased"-Matthew Jordan Smith said this in his seminar which was the last seminar I attended before I left Las Vegas. I think God is really telling me to really go after my dreams this time.
I relied my business on word of mouth until now but it's time to change that. Because I really love my job and I want to be able to do this for a long time. At WPPI I saw what success brings to a photographer. It's freedom to be able to do what I want. It is not the great fortune, fame or a receiving a glamorous title of being a master photographer. It is really about having a "Freedom" to photograph what I think is beautiful and to inspire other with those images. It means to be able to help others that are in need.

Photography community is very friendly and I love that I am a party of community that are willing to give back and pay it forward. Here are few fun shots taken with very first generation Canon Elph ( I think I can all it antique camera now), a point and shoot digital camera. Colors were not great so most are converted to Sepia. Thanks for the great time everyone!

from the top left: with Maureen Ford from Boston, my facebook friend Kenny Kim, with my hubby,
with Marianne Lozano and Julie Weaver , With Tanja Lippert and Kim, With Vanessa and June, with Laurel Mcconnell and Jenna Kaworski, with Jay Goldman

with Mike Lin, Gene Higa Speaking at Young guns, with Kim, Maureen and Marianne, With Robert Evans, With Jasmine Star, With David Jay, Matthew Jordan Smith Speaking at Sony Booth, Andy speaking with Jason Kiefer of Pictage, Jules Bianchi speaking at Pictage Partner Con headliners.After attending the convention, it was time for some girl time. My good friend, Jean who is a major airline pilot flew in just to drive up to LA with me. I am so proud of her whenever I think that she is actually flying the big plane. We had so much fun trying out desserts at the buffet ( told you I was a foodie!) and I won $250 as we were leaving the Wynn hotel. I have to say she is my good luck charm.