Taking a Break

I had an amazing weekend but I've been sitting at my desk for too long now, editing photos, emailing clients, completing clerical tasks etc. I decided to take some time out and review some of the photos I've made over this past BUSY week.

Right now, I'm loving these images!

An intimate gathering

My good friend Matt had a few people over to his house last night. We were celebrating two of my really good friends' birthdays; Jake whose birthday was on the 13th and Devin whose birthday is today the 14th. It was a small group of people but we had a great time, I met some really cool new people and got to shoot over half of the people there in the hallway, with one of the most goofy setups I've ever shoot! Making these photos was insanely fun!

Weekend Getaway

I spent this past weekend in Portland, Oregon with my family; for my cousin's wedding. I left home around 6am Thursday morning, flew to Phoenix to meet my brother and from there we flew to Portland. We got in in the early evening, took a local commuter train to Union station and caught the Amtrak down to Albany, where we were staying that evening. I think we put our bags down somewhere near ten, so it was a 16-hour travel day for me, which honestly didn't stand out as being so; I think my recent travels has shifted my perception of how long is too long when traveling. I still get twitchy when sitting still on LA's freeways, but as long as I'm moving I'm all good.

With the wedding being on Saturday evening I had the opportunity to day-trip Portland on both Friday and Saturday. The distance between Albany and Portland is just over 80 miles, so it was trains and busses that got me there. My brother Sean came along, which was cool. He and I don't get to see all that much of each other and now that he's into his teenage years we have a bit more common ground which makes for more conversation and dirty jokes! Both days we Sean and I checked out the Pearl district; there were tons of second-hand clothing stores, music stores, parks, restaurants, and cool people too see. Saturday we just so happened to walk along some of the route of the Portland Rose Festival Parade. It was sheer coincidence that we were there that day, we had no idea that there would be so much to see; there were A TON of people lining the streets, it was really something!

The wedding was awesome; really low-key, family-oriented gathering. It was held in my Aunt and Uncle's back yard (the crammed over eighty people back there!). I had the opportunity of seeing so many people in my family who I hardly see, it was fantastic catching up and seeing change and growth in our lives. Though I left for home on Sunday (which was earlier than most everyone else who made it out there), and my time there was short-lived, I walked away from this weekend with a new found love for Portland and strengthened appreciation of family.

The Trescott Gang

A couple who I'm friends with, from Santa Barbara, are currently en route to Seattle; they decided to pick up and move to the Pacific Northwest to pursue bigger and better things! It's been a pleasure knowing them, they're an honest and good-hearted couple of people and I hope to see them soon in the near-future. A couple weeks ago Mickey asked me to do a photoshoot with them and I was lucky enough to pull it off, just a few hours before their departure.

Little-Big-Dog Syndrome

I had a couple of compositing assignments from a class and I was able to use my dog as a model. This was the first assignment ever where it felt legitimate to use her, and I'm one more class away from graduation so it's good that I was able to sneak her in!