Photos on exhibit in the main lobby of the Cooper Design Space in downtown LA with tons of other photographers. Thanks to h2 for capturing this, her photos are featured there as well!

Just a few shots I’ve taken with my new lens. This thing is monstrous and I love every bit of it:

So I just picked up a Canon T1i as a backup camera for weddings and events. It’s also going to be used as my sister’s main camera, so only paying half for it to use at jobs is pretty sweet.

After reviews and forum discussions, a lot of people advised me to stick with similar camera interfaces – such as canon XXd’s or an older 5d. For me, the buttons of the T1i were learned in 5 seconds.

As a backup camera, I will be needing to adjust iso, exposure compensation and aperture. Anything beyond that and I’ve probably lost the shot. So the “stick with a similar interface” doesn’t apply to me.

Secondly, the body is small and lightweight. It’s actually a nice change of pace. I would 100% recommend this to any starting photographer or photo/hobby enthusiast.

I would also highly recommend it as a professional back up camera. Performance so far has been stellar in both speed and image quality. To put it simply, using the T1i doesn’t leave me feeling I wish I had my 5dmkII. This is by no means an easy feat so kudos to Canon. Though the 5dmkII is just absolutely brilliant in most aspects, the T1i does hold it’s own.

The screen on the T1i is out of this world, much like the 5dmkII. It’s a great feature to allow you to see if you’ve got a sharp image. HD capture is nice and so is CA (creative auto).

Check out some sample pics shot with a Sigma 24mm F1.8 macro:

Business, casual, walk in the park, summer kinda looks. Hat is from Urban Outfitters. Button up found at a thrift store. Dress shorts are from Heritage and the leather belt is a levis hand-me-down from my oh so cool dad:

Mark is wearing a hat from Target, a floral print button-up from h&m… we love the hint of color. He’s also wearing some jeans that I’ve had for years so the tears are 100% natural. They’re actually American Eagle jeans that I cut because I am no longer a fan of bootcut jeans. I hate that they hide your shoes. A total no for me. But yea, cut a little longer so you can roll them up for an even more custom look.

And then he’s also wearing slippers from Old Navy. Oh and there’s his Louis Vuitton belt, but we’re not counting that for this affordable look

Nothing we’re wearing is over 30 dollars (minus the LV belt). If it weren’t for my hat all items would actually be under 20.

Went hiking yesterday at Black Mountain Open Space Park in 85 degree weather so I didn’t want to lug around my dslr… this is where the DP2 excels. Didn’t feel pulled down by any weight at all. About a 2 hour hike up and down and the DP2 lasted the whole way.

I love the peacefulness that comes with hiking. I’m no expert hiker with hiking shoes and gear, but I do appreciate a nice – somewhat challenging – elevating destination with amazing views.

Sign:

Starting our hike on level ground:

The light was gorgeous, our hike stared around 5:40. Perfect light for me:

The green on this tree was really interesting for me, post process a little much, but that’s my style:

More gorgeous light infusing through nature:

View from atop:

Lastly, the end of the day drawing near:

Great place to go for beginners like myself. It did get kind of scary an hour into the hike because we weren’t sure if we were still on the loop trail. So instead of continuing (the sun was just starting to set and the gates closed soon) we backtracked the way we came. Definitely need some good shoes as the hills get pretty steep, but other than that… a nice walk.

Another good hike around the area is the Rancho Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve which is made up of mostly flat lands to which a 3 mile hike to a waterfall and 3 mile hike back makes for a great workout while enjoying the outdoors.

I 100% firmly believe these results (for me and my liking) would not have been achieved by any of the compact cameras I’ve owned taking in consideration color, dynamic range, low noise, quality of the image and I’ve owned many compacts including the G10 and LX3. Still fascinated with my Sigma DP2!!

Still workin’ on it but lovin’ swimming!! If you have a chance, take a swimming class and learn. It’s a huge learning curve but the pay off in the end is life changing. I promise! I started off here really slow because I took of from the middle of the pool and need to work on my arm movements, but overall, I’m pretty happy! (Exited cause I thought I looked like a hot mess in the water)

For those that don’t know photoshop all that well, here’s a tip for enhancing a photo in 2 steps, 3 when you include opening an image. See the effect below:

Original Image:

Final:

step 1: Open Image
step 2: Press command j (on a mac). This duplicates the layer
step 3: Turn the duplicated layer to “soft light”

From there you can save as, to keep the original file. Or you can simple right click the layer and flatten the image and proceed with a save.

I was once a kid with a red jacket trying to be Michael Jackson. He helped me realize a passion for dance I had burried in my soul. Back then, dance classes weren’t as attainable, affordable, or even as visible as it is today. So in essence, your performances and videos were my training.

The spark transcended through my high school and college years through theater and hip hop and those were indeed, some of the highlights of my past. I can’t imagine not expressing my emotions through dance when times were tough. It was an outlet that kept a lot of my friends away from who knows what. Dance was, and sometimes still is, who I was and am. I honestly don’t go a day without dancing. It happens in the morning when I brush my teeth. It happens in my chair when I hear a beat. It happens in my car when I’m driving and blasting that favorite jam of the moment.

So MJ, thank you for your brilliance as an entertainer and thank you for the inspiration for something I may never have known about if it wasn’t for you.

Videos in this .zip file include:

Beat it
Billie Jean
Bad
Smooth Criminal
Thriller

Again, this is optimized for iPhone playback. download here

A lot of times we see doubt as something negative. Doubting oneself is perceived as being not confident or with the inability to succeed because of a struggle with certainty.

I like to think of doubt as questioning. Without questioning life, uncertainty, therefor can’t exist. When in doubt, find the answer.

Doubt within relationships have had it’s own stigma between my circle of friends. The minute your hear your friend doubt a relationship, it’s so easy for us to say, “Oh well, then he/she isn’t the one.” We automatically think that if there’s any bit of uncertainty, it’s not the right choice.

I say, how do you know he is the one without doubt? Truly, no one is perfect so in essence, doubt should exist right? After all, when we do meet someone we deem perfect, we wonder it perfect even exists, or even if we deserve perfectness. Is this not doubt?

But then we can argue that without a doubt, Obama was the better choice over McCain so where does doubt play into that circumstance? But before doubt could even could exist in that scenario, perhaps the best of us looked at the two candidates and did our research. In this case, doubt would not play a role.

Ok, so I’m completely confusing myself lol. Maybe I should have just stuck to talking about doubt within personal relationships.

My point though is that doubt, at many times, is perceived as something negative. For awhile, I believed that to be true. But had I never doubted my relationships or questioned friendships, I would not have who I have today. Doubt provides second chances and I’m a firm believer in just that. A chance to be better.

A chance to be doubted, only to prove otherwise, to confirm the reality of the situation. Instead of Just Do It, Just Doubt It. lol

Wow, this was a complete, write what I’m feeling, kinda moment. Apologies left and right.

Pay no attention to April’s shoes, or lack there of lol. Fixing that in the final version!

view larger version

For their artistic sets, see here and here.

Some cool stuff. Peep it here.

On a cloudy day. WOW.