“Mommy’s coming to see me! Mommy’s coming to see me!”

Felicia has been chanting this for the last month since her mother decided last month to come to the U.S. for her first visit. In the month leading up to the visit, Felicia had me doing just about everything imaginable, from hanging curtains and buying a new couch to scrubbing the underside of the stove because she didn’t want her mom judging her housekeeping skills.  So I scrubbed and hung curtains while she cleaned everything else imaginable, then finally a couple days ago, Christina arrived and I was able to relax.

The second day she was here, we all headed off the Huntington Gardens for a leisurely afternoon of strolling around and drinking tea. Definitely not the manliest of activities, but it’s better than having to decide what type of sheer drapes would look best in each room, and whether a valence was necessary…

Anyhow, enough complaining about housework. Here are a few pictures from that afternoon, and next week we’re off for a tour of some of California’s National Parks, so more pictures will come from that soon too. Enjoy!

Remember a few months back when I was able to borrow the Canon 100mm Macro IS and shoot a few weddings with it?  Well, it went on sale and Felicia and I couldn’t resist…. Now we can see the world REALLY close up.

In other news, Felicia’s mother is coming to California for the first time tomorrow morning, so for the next few weeks we are going to be super busy showing her around. I don’t really know how much blogging will be getting done, but we’ll be back soon.

Mirza went to UCLA and Anthony went to USC, but when they met six years ago they didn’t let the standard school rivalry get in the way of getting together.  They both love their Alma mater though, so when it came time to plan their engagement session they instantly knew they wanted photos at both schools.  Both USC and UCLA have amazing campuses, so Felicia and I happily agreed to spend a gorgeous Sunday afternoon wandering about these schools.

Fortunately there weren’t any hardcore fans around when Anthony threw on his USC jersey at the UCLA campus.

Congrats again Mirza and Anthony! We can’t wait for your wedding!

I love all things photography and a few weeks ago while trolling through the clearance bin at Bel-Air Camera in Westwood I stumbled across a pinhole lens for my Canon cameras for $1.  It is essentially a Canon body cap with a pin sized hole in it, creating a lens similar to a Camera Obscura - it moves a VERY small amount of light through the hole and gives you some semblance of an image.  Now, in no way is this at all comparable to my other lenses that are 1000x the cost, but it definitely makes for a fun way to spend an afternoon.  After a little testing of the f/181 aperture, I realized to use this handheld at all it had to be an amazingly sunny day and I had to shoot at ISO 1600.  Most of these images were created at ISO 1600, f/181, 1/15 sec.

So a few days after buying this new toy we drove up to the Griffith Observatory to show a visiting Singaporean friend the L.A. skyline and the Hollywood sign. It was one of those crisp, clear, blue skied winter days we get in Los Angeles and the perfect chance for me to goof off and create some images for fun.

This little hole has no sharpness, very little contrast (I added a bit to these images), no way to focus, throws flare everywhere,  and the aperture is so small I can’t even really see the image I am creating through the viewfinder.  It was a lot of guess work and out of the 100 or so images I popped off, these are my favorites.

Mr. James Dean (whose bust at Griffith Observatory has always made very little sense to me)

Awesome fun, but I don’t foresee myself using it all that often. Although it may be added to my backpack while traveling just to change things up.

Not too long ago, I was just explaining to someone why the movie industry moved to Hollywood: because, unlike New York, Southern California has awesome weather where you could make movies all year round (sunlight = film exposure). The same wonderful climate here also means that Felicia and I rarely have to worry about rescheduling shoots due to the weather. Well,  it happened that it was raining when we first met Meghan & Josh for their consultation, and it rained all the way as we drove to San Diego for their engagement session too.

Thankfully we left Burbank real early in case of traffic, and by the time Felicia and I finished our delicious pork cheek ramen, the angry skies had cleared up, and Meghan & Josh soon arrived chirpy & excited for their shoot. Kudos to Meghan for being such a trooper because it was really chilly out. So chilly that Felicia was very sad she did not bring her expedition grade North Face parka along for the shoot. Don’t judge her: she moved from the tropics.

We started at Seaport Village in San Diego before walking to the USS Midway and took our turn among the unceasing line of tourists at the well-known statue of  a sailor kissing a nurse (apparently its proper name is “Unconditional Surrender”, and the nurse depicted attended its unveiling). Very apt for these two, seeing as Josh was leaving for another military assignment just a couple of days after this shoot.

Thanks guys for being so awesome to work with. Looking forward to your wedding in July!

Remember how I joined Canon Professional Services as a Platinum Member, where I can get free “Evaluation Equipment“? Well, I am loving trying out new gear and the second lens I requested (after the 100mm macro) was the Canon 85mm F/1.2 II (the “II” means it is the second version of this lens). As I said before,  I know many of you out there won’t care about these gear review posts, but a few of you will, so I’ll keep on reviewing as the lenses come.

f/1.6     ISO 50   1/1000 sec 

Right now Felicia and I shoot with 4 lenses (the 24mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2 and the 135mm f/2) and while I am completely happy with our current setup, we are always hearing about the 85mm f/1.2,  and how some photographers swear by this lens while others just swear at it.  The complaints are about slow focus, the giant weight (almost 2 1/2 lbs) and the excessive cost (around $2K); while the photographers who love it say it all doesn’t matter once you open the aperture wide and see the dreaminess of its backgrounds. The real question for me is if this uber-expensive lens is worth the 5x premium over the 85mm f/1.8 (which supposedly focuses faster & just as sharp, and costs only $360), also I am interested in knowing if I actually will enjoy shooting at this focal length and we will get something our other lenses don’t already provide.

                             f/1.2    ISO 125   1/400 sec                                                                                                                       f/1.6    ISO 125   1/125 sec

The first day I had this lens, Felicia and I were up in Santa Barbara wandering the streets and took a few portraits of each other.  I popped off a few of her at f/1.2 and saw that famed background blur and razor thin focus.  She snapped one of me looking goofy at f/1.6 and instantly exclaimed that she loved this lens. (Anyone wants to give her a late Christmas/early birthday gift? Just sayin’….)

f/2.2     ISO 160  1/400 sec

Genna & Michael had the luxury of enjoying this lens through their wedding images, and I used it during the ceremony in addition to my 35mm f/1.4 (I always have 2 cameras on me), and found this to be a spectacular focal length for a ceremony such as this one where there are very little restrictions on where I can be. and don’t need the extra reach of the 135mm f/2.  As you can see from the image above, everything goes “magical” really quickly with this beast.

f/1.6     ISO 640   1/125 sec

Genna & Michael’s ceremony was late in the afternoon in November and by the time we were doing their portraits the sun had already dropped behind the surrounding hills, I was able to open up the aperture quite wide and still capture amazing images on this lens in very little light (which I could also do with my 50mm f/1.2).

f/10   ISO 320   1/160 sec 

All in all, I had no complaints about the focusing speed and although 85mm f/1.2 is quite heavy, Felicia and I didn’t find it unmanageable to carry throughout a wedding day.  This will most likely be added to our camera bag one day, but I still think I’ll probably buy the 100mm macro first.  I also want to check out Canon’s other 85mm before I commit to the $2K purchase of this lens. Although, I don’t deny, when this lens came in the mail and we begin using it, it certainly looks REAL nice next to its L-Series siblings in my bag (Yes, I am a shameless gear whore).

Our next review? The Canon 14mm f/2.8 ultra wide!

Thanks for reading, and if you’re looking to buy this lens, check out B&H, they normally have the best prices and always have the best service.

Anna and James booked us a few months back to capture their wedding next summer and after a busy holiday season we were happy to meet up with them again for our first engagement shoot of the year.  James grew up in Santa Monica so our first location was Douglas Park, a sentimental spot where he played as a child.  After a little while there we headed down to Ocean Blvd. and Third Street Promenade to capture the late afternoon colors (speaking of colors, I am absolutely addicted to creating vibrant images – if you hadn’t noticed).  Anna and James are stunning people who were totally game for whatever Felicia and I suggested making this an awesome Sunday afternoon for us.

Congrats again guys on finding each other, and we can’t wait for your fast approaching big day!

Speaking of colors, I get comments about the vibrancy of my images from time to time, and questions about how I photoshop them.  The answer is, I don’t photoshop images like this at all. It is a mixture of on camera filters, in camera white balance, and gels attached to my flashes.  Almost anyone could make images with these colors with a couple dollars worth of gel and a point and shoot camera with white balance control.  (magenta filter over the lens, green gel over the flash, camera set to daylight WB)

Several weeks after we did the maternity shoot for expectant parents Jessica & Nathan, we got a call from Jessica’s sister Lissette. Both sisters are pregnant, and are due only a month apart!

We met the excited trio at their home where I popped off a few shots in front of an open window, then we trooped out into nature on this cold & blustery winter’s day. Felicia has been particularly enamored with Mason since she met him as the charming ring-bearer at Hellen & Jose’s wedding, and she was thrilled to be tasked with keeping him entertained while I photographed his parents. That’s right Felicia, keep borrowing other people’s children, so we’ll never need to have our own!

Congrats, Lissette & Jason! We look forward to meeting your little girl soon!

On Christmas Eve, I was in my Dad’s backyard, drowsy from a food coma and was being coerced into playing yet another game of croquet, when my phone rang. It was Michelle, whose engagement pictures we shot in the Nevadan desert and the glitz of The Strip in Vegas. Her best friend, Juna, was visiting LA from Jakarta Indonesia with her fiancé Whitson, and they were hoping we could squeeze them into our schedule before they flew home in a few days.

Thankfully, besides an obscene amount of feasting with the family on the calendar, I had no other shoots scheduled.

We met with Juna & Whitson for a shoot to capture the sights of downtown Los Angeles, and I was very impressed by their outfit changes: Juna had three awesome gowns for maximum dramatic effect, and Whitson was not to be outdone, picking up several Hugo Boss suits and new shoes while shopping the day before to keep up with his lady. Michelle tagged along as driver & chaperon and updated Juna’s hair & make-up for each outfit change. Thanks Michelle!

And… the last shot while we were walking back to the car. Camera bag as tripod = MacGyver win!

Last week I got a Facebook message from Randy (who I hiked the Lost Coast with in 2009) and he was coming into town and wanted to spend an afternoon taking some photos, hanging out and grabbing a beer.  I was quick to accept and we met up down by Manhattan Beach pier and watch the sun drop in the sky.  It’s a rare opportunity to get out and shoot for fun, without any deliverables, just me and a camera and plenty of time.  I think this first picture in the post is my favorite, a 30 second exposure with me standing extra still as the tide comes in and out at my feet – totally cool.

I love watching the light change from the yellow of the sun on the horizon, to the milky pink of dusk and the purples of twilight just before the skies go black.  The whole process takes about an hour and a half, but who can complain when you are sitting on a beach with your wife and good friends watching the sun drop.

After the sky went completely black, we found a mexican joint, drank those beers and ate way too much.

Good times.