The First Weekend of SVOS

The first weekend of SVOS went relatively well, outside of a few glitches (as there are often are in these situations.) The biggest glitch was the tent we rented for SVOS. The second was the rain.

After some finagling of the tent, it was discovered we were missing the canopy. Luckily, there was a Costco only 5 minutes away from the site, while a phone call was put into the tent owner, who found the missing piece of the tent.

Between the Costco tent and retrieving the missing piece, we were able to set up relatively quickly. The rain, predictably, kept things a lot slower than we would like, but we managed to get a few small sales. One gentleman came down because he had seen my images in the SVOS catalog and wanted to see it in person. He didn't buy anything, but I was flattered nonetheless. We spent a bit of time talking about photography in general.

We got slightly more people towards the end of the day, but the traffic was pretty light. We had several people see the signs and stop by randomly just to look; and we had drive-by onlookers who pulled over slightly to gawk, but never really stopped, which was unfortunate.

The second day went a little bit better from the 1st, but the skies pretty much kept everyone away in the morning and early afternoon. We did have a flurry of visitors the last two hours of the show. And, as Murphy would have it, as soon as we began tearing down, the clouds parted and we had blue sky and sun. Go figure.

Of course, neither photographer took any photos during the course of the weekend, but luckily, Richard's wife had better sense.



We'll be showing again the 3rd weekend of May (May 16-17, 2009) at my studio in Redwood City. So please stop by and see the show.

WyldFire Studios Opening: SVOS

The three weekends of May is the Silicon Valley Open Artist Studio. I have known about SVOS for the past two years, but only decided to enter this year along with another friend, Richard Man

In the 1st weekend of May, we will be showing at Richard's studio in Palo Alto, and the weekend of May 16-17th 2009, we'll be showing at my studio (WyldFire Studios) in Redwood City.

Richard will be showing off his photography and calligraphy combinations (quite impressive), while I'll be showing my wildlife photography of the past two years.



Along with some of the Venetian Maschera images taken over the past two years at the Carnivale, in Venice Italy.



Please come join us on both of these weekends. We'll be serving wine and refreshments the entire weekend, and showing off some great photography.

Check out the SVOS website for additional details.

Miko

As a female photographer, I love working with other women to help make them look the best. As a woman, I often understand more clearly in what areas women are often the most uncomfortable, whether it is about themselves or a given situation. Because of that, I think women often will relate better to me versus a male photographer in many instances.

This photo session with Miko was to help show off some of the inner garments she had made as part of a costume (NSFW) for one of her fashion projects, which turned more into a boudoir photoshoot than my anticipated fashion photoshoot. But I quickly turned the shoot into something more appropriate for the situation (and clothing) at hand.

Miko was great at taking direction, and after some time of just laughing and getting comfortable, her personality and beauty shined in the photographs.

Prom Night

For her 40th birthday, one of my clients decided to throw a "Prom" birthday party with all the trappings of any high school prom. All the guests were in various prom outfits of many different eras, a DJ spinning records, balloons and other decoration, lots of tables, lots of dancing, and, of course, the prom photographer. Budget was tight for a typical 'prom' props, and my client created her own backdrop full of balloons and white tulle.

The atmosphere was casual, campy, and fun. The DJ played many songs from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, while couples and groups of friends danced on the floor. Many couples posed for the "traditional" prom photos, but soon, thereafter, groups of friends also started getting photos and many ended up being rather silly in nature.

I rather enjoy my clients having fun during their events, and many of the guests were having a lot of fun during the event, and while taking their prom photos, and it showed in their final images.

Kitchen Courtesan

The Kitchen Courtesan is a one-woman show in San Francisco that creates some of the most spectacular desserts that I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. The chef, Harriett Jernigan, is passionate about her desserts and it comes through with every single bite!

One of the perks of food photography is the ability to sample the plates put in front of the camera (after they've been duly photographed). Unfortunately, it can also gain you several pounds of weight, especially when it comes in the form of desserts. My assistant was the recipient of most of the desserts that were finished being photographed. Considering his silence throughout most of the photoshoot, it was obvious he was enjoying this benefit!

Almost all of these images were taken with a large East-facing bay window and using strobes as fill flash. As the day wore on, we moved to using two strobes and larger softboxes. Unfortunately, we didn't have a food stylist per budget constraints, but I did what I could with what little food stylist techniques I knew. I tried to match the look and feel of her website (via color temperature and layout, etc) as much as possible. The client was extremely pleased with how the photos turned out.

Lemon Scones
These buttery scones are can be eaten by themselves or paired with the Courtesan lemon creme.



Lemon Tart
This dish is primarily the Courtesan lemon creme in a light and flaky tart shell.



Salame di Cioccolato (Chocolate Salami)
This dish was easily my favorite from this amazing chef. This dish combines nuts, chocolate, and butter cookies into a most amazing dish that will have your taste buds screaming in ectasy. She had made five variations: orange, cherry, espresso, and pecan. The images featured here is the pecan and espesso versions.

(Pecan)

(Espresso)

Flying Solo

There are times, when I find myself needing a bit of help. As a one-woman outfit, it falls on me to do everything from the photography, the post-processing, the business-dealing, the contract negotiation, and as well as the grunt work (but necessary work).

Not that I mind most of the time; I love what I do.
But, there are times when things get a little backlogged and I find myself needing to clone myself for just a little bit of extra help.

Now, where's a cloning machine when you need one? :-)

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to the Americans! As every year, there are always fireworks at many places around our area.


We have spent the last three years celebrating it in our hometown, although many often will trek up to San Francisco or down to San Jose to see the "bigger" celebrations. I prefer something closer to home. It allows me to be "closer" to the fireworks for my preferred fireworks abstracts, as well as not dealing with larger crowds or very heavy traffic.




So, for those celebrating, here are a few photos to remind you of this day. And for the non-Americans, a few firework photos to enjoy.



All photos taken at about 100mm @ ISO 100 F11 - F22 for 1-5 seconds.