Every once in awhile I’m asked to photograph an event.  Weddings and children’s portraits are by far my favorite things to shoot, but whenever I’m asked to photograph a birthday party I’m more than happy to agree.

Last year I shot Mike Limon’s graduation party at the popular mexican restaurant El Cholo – Mike’s entire family and all his friends showed up and everyone had a great time celebrating.

This year Mike asked me to shoot his birthday party in the same room he celebrated his graduation party at the same restaurant.  Naturally, I said yes.  I was even allowed to introduce my first prop into the mix!  I hope you all enjoy the photos from Mike’s 27th birthday party

A trip to the Grand Canyon is beginning to become a necessity for Matt, Albert and I who have gone at the beginning of the year for the past three years.  The year 2011 was no different, and we took off on a Friday afternoon towards that gigantic hole in the ground that never ceases to be amazing to behold, no matter how many times you see it.

A weekend filled with snow, elk, a few games of pool, boots, giant crows, and of course, the Grand Canyon.

Hope you all enjoy the photos from our trip (I certainly enjoyed taking them)!

Christmas this year was a number of events all mashed together between two days.

Christmas eve started the festivities off at my mother’s parent’s house when, after work, all the aunts, uncles and cousins all head over to partake in dinner and present opening madness.  The morning following (Christmas day in real time) starts off with Santa presents, laid out by the fireplace at home.  Next to visit is my father’s parent’s house for breakfast and more partaking in presents.  Then I went to Matt’s family’s house for 2nd breakfast and Santa gifts/family presents, leading into lunch with Matt’s grandparents.  Finally, dinner back at home with all sides of my family, and Matt

Christmas was a little wild this year.  All craziness aside though, it was very enjoyable, and I was able to capture a few memorable images from all of the places I visited throughout the holiday.

(There are two ways to enjoy Christmas, as shown above)

(This image starts Christmas morning, at my dad’s parent’s)

I know it’s a little late (about a month late, be specific), but now that all the holiday madness is over, I’ll finally be able to start updating my blog a little more with recent work!  That’s the plan anyway

This year for Thanksgiving, I took a trip with Matt and his awesome family up to Big Bear to stay in a cabin they rented for the holiday.  Despite the fact that it was below twenty degrees during most of our stay, everyone seemed to have a wonderful time exploring the snowy woods around the cabin (it was also VERY enjoyable to thaw out by one of the two fireplaces that constantly had roaring fires going after an expedition).

We ate a ton, relaxed, played pool, and Matt even got his hair cut after 2 years, which, thanks to his cousin Erin turned out perfectly!

(The fake deer freaked Winston out a little bit.. )

(A rare photo caught of me)

Today I would like to bring to you all the wedding of Minerva and Juan Arias.  An intimate ceremony at St. Bruno’s Church in Uptown Whittier, followed by a lively celebration at the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Garden Walk in Anaheim made for an incredibly eventful day.  And if all that wasn’t enough, a behind the scenes Disneyland fireworks show was in order for the guests right after dinner!

Minerva and Juan, I was honored to have been able to share your special day with you both, and I hope you both have a happy and loving marriage for the rest of your lives.

And now, the photos!

Finally!

I’ve FINALLY finished putting together the photos I’ve wanted to share with you all from Sara and Adam’s wedding just NOW!  Between working two jobs, and trying to keep up with my photography lately, it’s definitely easy to get backed up and for that I apologize.

Sara and Adam were married on October 23rd, 2010 in Lake Arrowhead.  I was second shooter to the talented Kaitlyn Johnson (http://www.therockstudioblog.com/ <- go check out her work!) and had an absolute blast!  Gorgeous scenery, awesome and friendly guests, below zero temperatures, we handled that wedding with anything it had to throw at us

Also, in honor of my first wedding blog post in quite some time, I’ve extended my selection of photos I’m going to show this post – hope you all like them!

Hello

It’s been such a long time since I’ve had a chance to update my blog, I’m posting two events in rapid succession.

The El Cholo Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held on the 25th of August on the newly remodeled outside cantina patio as a celebration for the completion of construction.  City officials passed out awards of excellence to one of the restaurant’s owners, mariachis strummed their guitars, blared their trumpets, and sang, as the celebrating commenced.  Restaurant regulars, first-time guests, and employees all got to share in the fun and it turned out to be a memorable and eventful evening.

I hope you all enjoy the photos from El Cholo’s Ribbon Cutting Ceremony!

Hello again.  I need to post this.

I recently finished a project I had been working on for roughly a month, which I would like to share with you all today – El Cholo’s employees who have been with the company for twenty years or more.  The restaurant takes great pride in the employees who have been with the company for an extended period of time, so when all the employees with 20 years or more had been compiled into a neat little list, I was hired to visit with each one of them for a portrait shoot.  After a month of coinciding my schedule with thirteen different employees at the restaurant, I’ve finally captured a portrait of each employee on that list that will be displayed in the lobby area of the El Cholo in La Habra for everyone to see.

So now that it’s finally complete, prints have been ordered, and delivered, I figured I would share with you all the portraits that will be hung on El Cholo’s “wall of fame” in the near future.

Hi all.  Sorry it’s been a little while since I’ve posted last – I’ve been fairly busy with all sorts of work lately, and sadly haven’t found much time to make another blog post until now.

So lets get back into it! Last month I took a trip out to Lake Havasu in Arizona with Matt’s family to visit his grandpa Ed and spend a couple of days in 113 degree heat floating around in the lake.

Despite a few setbacks (minor and some major) throughout the trip, it was still very enjoyable, and I was sad to leave the relaxation behind when it was time to go.

I brought my camera on the trip with me (no surprise there), but was a little hesitant to take it out on the lake.  ”What if the heat melts some vital organ inside of it?” “What if I drop it in the lake while I’m trying to take photos by the water?” “What if a gust of wind carries it to a faraway land?” Drawbacks as such kept me from bringing it anywhere outside of the house for the first few days, until I finally decided that since I brought it, I might as well get some use out of it.

So here are the photos I took while on our adventure in Lake Havasu City, Arizona!

(This was the gentleman that saved us when the car broke down after lunch in Blythe.  Marshall was his name – so claims his shirt.. )

Hi everyone!  Today I am going to be bringing you some photos from the new Cantina Patio at El Cholo on the day it reopened, as well as some adorable little kids who happened to be in the restaurant around the same time.

The patio isn’t 100% complete as of yet, although I’m quite certain I’ll be bringing you all more photos of the completed project shortly after the 25th of August; I’ve been hired to shoot a grand re-opening ribbon cutting ceremony on that day to introduce the patio back to the guests of El Cholo officially.

Enjoy!