Hi everyone :) I'm taking a week's break from posting due to the holidays, plus I've been shooting so much that there's too much to post!
Hope you are all having a terrific holiday season, and here's to a prosperous new year! Thank you again for visiting, and see you next time!
All the best,
Mike
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Happy holidays everyone! Yup, it truly IS the holiday season now, with parties, dinners, and get-togethers to go to. Before you know it, 2012 will be here, and as I mentioned in my last post, you'll wonder (once again) where did the time go?!
First off, hope everyone has recovered from the great wind storm of 2011! As you all know or saw, everyone, and I mean everyone on Facebook posted a photo of a downed tree in their neighborhood the days following "windogeddon" (or "windpocolypse"). Sad that some of those trees we're so used to seeing are gone now, but I guess it's Mother Nature's way of cleaning house - with upwards of 70-80 mph blowers! I'm glad that we're through it and if you're reading this at home, your power is back on, which as usual, is a good thing.
For me, life went on as usual despite the strong, gale force winds. So much so that on Friday, I was finally able to photograph my good friend Carin's headshots that she had twice previously had to postpone due to unforseen circumstances. Great times! A big thank you to Carin, and her uber awesome make-up artist Amber Rae for helping out with the shoot. Here are a few photos from our session :)
Thanks for a fun session Carin!
Saturday was spent with our Cold Tofu family at our annual X-mas party and gift exchange. Great times all around, with some pretty interesting gifts given (the "White Elephant" variety). I walked away with a multi-tool that some "donated" from a wedding party they belonged to. I know this cause there was a special thank you note still attached to it from the bride who gave it. Uh, thanks, BTW.
Here are a few scenes from the night's festivities.
Have a great week everyone, and get your shopping done already!!! :)
1 comments so far
Wanru says:
As always, love your photos, Mike!
(12.07.11 @ 03:01 PM)
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Now that Thanksgiving is over, and we're all probably recovering from our tryptophan over doses, I'm sure you're looking at the calendar and thinking to yourself, "What?! It's December already?!! Where did the year go?!". If you aren't, I surely am, and am shaking my head as to how fast yet another year has gone by.
The end of Thanksgiving is the surest sign that the Christmas holiday season is here! Wow, pretty soon, it'll be 2012 and we'll all be left wondering (as usual) where did the time go?
Here's a few scenes from my family's Turkey day extravaganza! Hope you had a great one too :)
Lastly, just wanted to give a huge thanks to my buddy Aaron T. for inviting me to the lopsided USC game this past saturday against the pee-wee leaguers from the west side school UCLA. 50-0 shutout! Awesome! Great to be a Trojan as usual.
Enjoy the last few days of November everyone :)
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Helen says:
Love these!!!
(11.30.11 @ 05:10 PM)
Peter J. Kuo says:
But...it's not December yet Mike.
(11.29.11 @ 11:44 AM)
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As the title indicates, last week was super busy! With a 70th b-day party, a "fashion" shoot, Halloween, Helen's new play opening, and "stalking" Manny Pacquiao, I barely had time to sit down at my computer to update the blog. Thank goodness, I was finally able to spare a moment and update the happenings in my life! Here it goes!
First, our good friend Rodney K., celebrated his 70th birthday party last week, Oct.30th, with much fanfare, food, and friends. Great times indeed. At his party, my good friend, and enemy during college football season, Tamlyn T., was there to rub in the fact that USC barely lost to Stanford that weekend. Here she is "celebrating" the loss.
Me being a good sport with Tamlyn's taunting.
A moment later I MADE her make it up to me by representing the Trojan "V" for victory sign.
Okay, we're friends again.
Monday was spent photographing The Biller Foundation's Theater Best Awards at the Colburn School of music. The Biller Foundation is a terrific philanthropic organization that supports the arts and many other worthwhile endeavors. A great group of people! Thanks for having me.
Afterwards, it was Halloween time! Woo hoo!!! Unlike most people who really prepare for the one night of the year where we can dress up like other "beings", I sadly threw together my quick costume, with the simple purchase of a moustach and goatee, and styled my hair differently. That, coupled with passing out literally 3000 full sized bars of candy, made for a great night! Oh, and it was mom's birthday too! Happy Birthday Mom!!!
"All I do is win, win WIN!!!"
(As he WILL on November 12th!!!)
Before all this happened, I did a little headshot fashion shoot that I posted a preview of last week, with my friend Jully. After a few tweaks with some of the other photos I took, I decided to share these with you all. Thanks Jully!
"Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?"
(D. Zoolander)
Due to copyright laws, I had to come up with a new type of cosmetic product.
Besides, this was just a test :) Jully can pull it off though right?!
Friday was spent with the opening of "Ching Chong Chinaman" by Artists at Play, at the Actors Company in North Hollywood. My very own girlfriend Helen is in the show, along with a stellar cast and producers! Great times and fun show! Have a great run everyone!
Me and my "Star" Helen who plays "Grace" in the play.
(L-R) Helen, Stef (Producer), and Peter (Director)
Founding producers of Artists at Play, (L-R) Julia, Marie, Peter, and Stefanie.
Congrats on your inaugural production guys!
Finally, on a totally "weird" note in the history of my life, Saturday, I happened to finally turn down the street where Manny Pacquiao's "Wild Card Gym" is located, and to my surprise, from the sidewalk, you could hear the legendary boxer working out with his coach Freddie Roach preparing for next saturday's title fight in Las Vegas. Being a proud filipino, I couldn't help but stop my car, park and hang out with dozens of other fans of the "Pacman" hoping that after his workout, that we would get a glimpse of one of the greatest athletes to ever grace the boxing canvas!!!
After three hours of waiting, sadly, I wasn't able to see him as he took another door out of the gym to the Thai restaurant he frequents next to the gym :( BUT, during those three hours, I saw Scott Caan, Justin Long, Freddie Roach (his coach), Manny's right hand man, Buboy, and Aaron Rogers of the Greenbay Packers (who apparently drove up from San Diego for the day to see Manny). I had photographed Pacquiao's press conference with Oscar De La Hoya years ago, and it would've been cool to see him again, but oh well, not this day. Great luck to the "Pride of the Philippines" next Saturday, (although he won't need it!).
See that door at the upper right of this photo? That's Wild Card Boxing Gym,
home of the champ, Manny Pacquiao!!!
(The cars exemplify all the "money" that's involved in world championship boxing")
Manny's party bus for the ride to Vegas this week - sweet!
Lastly, what's a blog post without a cute little "bug" to finish off a great week? Here's our little pal, Kaia in her Halloween costume last week.
This was Kaia's first Halloween :) Hope you had great time little one!
Thanks for stopping by everyone! Have a fantastic week, and don't forget to pick up your camera or phone and take a photo of your life :)
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jully says:
this is a ridiculously cute picture of Kaia. a ladybug in the grass. priceless.
(11.09.11 @ 05:28 PM)
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Long time ago,
in a galaxy,
far,
far,
away...
(Okay, not that long ago, but long enough). A while ago, for nearly a century, there was this thing called "film", that worked by exposing any type of light onto a small plastic sheet, which then activated these little silver halide cells on it, that then created a negative. After it was processed with chemicals and let dry for a while, it then went through another process for it to became photos. Unlike the memory cards we put into the cameras of today, these things were what we had to work with... Whew! You get the picture!
For most of us, I would assume that we grew up in the age of the almighty silver halide days of analog film, right?! The 35mm rolls of 24 or 36 exposures (having to choose between what speed of film to get), perhaps even the days of Poloroid (which I still love and need to get!). And for the really obscure, how about APS (Advantix) or even 110 film?!!! Remember those!?
Sadly, the realm of celluloid film (old film) now resides with old timers, avant guard retro artists, and those who want to take a stroll down memory lane now and then. But for those familiar with it and who haven't shot with roll film in a while, (especially for those with a true interest in photography, or in perhaps becoming a professional), break out those old cameras, buy a roll of 400 ISO film (good speed for most lighting conditions) and shoot away!
The reason for this suggestion is that I have been wanting to go back to the old days of shooting with film, to S L O W myself down a bit in this world of high speed, high megapixel cameras, and really SEE a scene and photograph it from there. What I've learned and experienced with the onset of the digital age is that most people (okay, everyone) are becoming lazy and start firing away, getting weird exposures, and thinking to themselves that they can "fix it in photoshop" No!!!!! Shooting with film will force you to slow down and really think about what it is you are shooting. Once you see something that inspires you to press the shutter, you have to think about where your light is coming from, aperture, shutter speed, composition, all before you make that final (and with film, it is FINAL) click! Plus, you won't be able to see what you've created, so you have to visualize what it will look like, therefore making you think more about what it is you are doing. Slow, right?! Helpful? Absolutely!!!
For the past few months, with a little help from a friend, and from old school "toy" camera, I was able to get back to film photography. I have to say, I really enjoyed it, and plan on doing some more of it soon! A friend of mine inspired me to start shooting film again by loaning me his iconic Leica M6 manual film body. If you don't know what a Leica is, check it out. And before that, just for the heck of it, I went out and bought a completely plastic camera called a Holga just to play around with. I have to say, once I got the film developed (yes, developed!) I was thrilled and astounded by the results I got, especially since it's been months since I've taken those photos!
Will I stop shooting digital from now on? No. It's a necessary tool these days, especially for the working pro. BUT, I will break out the occasional roll of film, and slow my process down so I can see better. Heck in these days of cell phones, iPads, and instant gratification, I think it's a good thing, don't you think?
The photos below took about 4 days to process and get back. But, I was happy with the results. Reminds me of Henri-Cartier Bresson, although perhaps not as good, but I can see why he loved shooting with his Leica. I sure did. What I love most about film are the textures you get in the grain of the film, and the "feeling" it conveys. Even the out of focus photos work for me.
Enjoy :)
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Helen says:
You're right...there's something about these photos that really make you feel an emotional connection of some sort. I definitely get a feeling of nostalgia. There's almost a gritty, edgy feel to some of them too. The out of focus photos really hit me for some reason, especially the one of baby Saopeng. All of them are really cool. :)
(10.25.11 @ 10:56 AM)
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As a professional photographer, i.e. a person who makes their living 100% off of photography, I always get the inquiries about what are the best cameras out there to use, how do I get a certain "look" to my photos, or even questions on how to photograph better. Questions that everyone who has ever picked up a camera, and has a remote interest in taking better photographs always ask, because they themselves want to produce better looking images. I always kindly oblige, give them the answers to the best of my ability, and wish them well on their journey. If you've ever asked me a question about "good" photos, I'll always say that they are the ones that mean the most to you regardless of composition, lighting, etc. That's just me.
I'm bringing this all up because more often than not, the work, technical skill, and experience of a true professional photographer is most often overlooked and undervalued. Yes, UNDERVALUED. In this day and age where everyone owns a camera of some sort, be it on your phone or point-and-shoot, or even a DSLR, most people who are not professionals or avid photo enthusiasts THINK that they can produce the types of images they are after. You know, pictures that are well lit, properly exposed, conveying emotion, and overall, is a solid photograph. So, in an effort to save money, the do-it-yourself'ers go out, buy a "nice" camera, start shooting, and then wonder why their photos aren't coming out the way it's supposed to. I mean, "I bought the best, most expensive camera at the store, so it should shoot professional photographs, right?!!!".
There's this great joke about how an aspiring writer asks a successful writer about how he got to be so good at writing, and the reply was "I buy all my quills at the same place that Shakespeare did". And for some reason, people still think this to be true! All they have to do is go to a camera store, by the latest and greatest, and then they too will be taking professional level photographs. Not!!!
I get this all the time, and sadly, because of it, I'll lose jobs over it because although the photographs of an event or occasion are important, how to get them isn't. There's always "Unlce Bob" or cousin Betty who has a camera who can take the photos of the wedding or birthday, which is all fine, but if the event really means something to you, leave it to a professional to cover the event for you. Someone who through years of experience can always get the shot, and not just cross their fingers in hopes of getting a good image. Sure, people who don't photograph for a living, can sometimes, and randomly get a good, solid image, but when you hire a pro, you will most certainly get many more images that you possibly could not get, and even better than what you may have expected.
One last analogy to this dilemma is one I heard about recently. If you needed to get your taxes done, and have a friend who is an accountant, and you asked him or her to do it for you, when it's completed, would you pay them for their work? Of course you would. You know how much time and effort, tax knowledge and experience went into that tax prep, so of course you would compensate them for their work. Then why is it that if you need a certain event or project to be photographed, something that also requires time, effort, knowledge, experience, and this time equipment, and location challenges, would you second guess about paying a professional to cover it for you? This is precisely why we hire professionals in every field to do the things that we could possibly do, but can't because there are people who do it everyday and know exactly what it takes to get the job done. Just because we all may own a hammer, doesn't mean we can build a house :)
My point is, next time you have an event, or need to have photographs taken, and you do go ahead and hire a professional, the price that you're paying for their services are for their experience, their knowledge, the use of their equipment, their rapport with people, etc. Should you love the work they are creating, don't second guess the cost. Way down the line, years later, when you look back on the images, you won't be thinking about how much you paid for them, only how great the day was, and how terrific it was to get some fantastic images from it.
Okay, that's the end of my "rant". Next time you see your favorite professional photographer, give him or her a hug will you?
Happy Thanksgiving everyone :) May you all be blessed to be around those you love and cherish the most this holiday season :) See you next week!
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mipal7 says:
Absolutely Peter :) Thanks!
(11.26.11 @ 04:03 PM)
Peter J. Kuo says:
Truth! I think when it comes to products that are "objective" people feel that they can do it better, because they don't understand what it takes to really get something done. And when it comes to work that requires an artistic eye, everyone feels that they have one.
(11.23.11 @ 11:12 AM)
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Happy Tuesday everyone! As always, thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my blog happenings. If you've been following me for a while now, you may recall that I've been battling a cough and cold for the past month, and yes, it STILL is with me (darned cold/cough!!!). But, I'm happy to say that I'm definitely on the road towards being a 100% and back to my "normal" self. Also, this past Friday, October 14, was my younger brother J.J.'s 21st birthday - Happy birthday bro! Wow, 21. Where was I when I turned 21? Hmmm...
This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to photograph one of my favorite subjects, theater. What I like about it is that everything is potentially unexpected, and I have to be on my toes to capture the important moments, just like with my wedding photography. This time, I was asked to photograph rehearsal footage for Artists at Play, a new theater group created by some good friends of mine. Their production, "Ching Chong Chinaman", is going up in November. So do check out their website for more info on this great play, with some great actors! Check out the photos!
Although this looks posed, it really wasn't. However, the characters in the play were
posing for a family photo in the realm of the story. I just happened to be there.
Needless to say, I think this is going to be a terrific production! It has a great group of actors, an impeccable production staff, and a solid story, so be sure to see it when it comes out. Click on the link for more info :)
Lastly, this past Saturday was Cold Tofu's monthly improv show at the Maryknoll Catholic Center in Little Tokyo. As a member of the group, I've taken numerous photos of the cast on and off stage in the past, and here are a few more behind the scenes stuff that goes on at a Cold Tofu show. Check it out!
As always, thank you for stopping by. And should you have any comments, please feel free to leave them below. Have a great day!
4 comments so far
Ju-ju-ju-julio... says:
I agree with Peter...me like. :)
(10.18.11 @ 11:35 PM)
mipal7 says:
Thanks Peter :)
(10.18.11 @ 09:44 PM)
Peter Varvel says:
Very sorry to have missed Cold Tofu last Saturday, but thanks for the additional heads up on Ching Chong China Man.
Great photos, and very funny expressions on the cast members!
Peter J. Kuo says:
I'm no photographic expert, but it really looks like your photographic eye has intensely developed over the years Mike! These photos look great! I love the play with focus!
(10.18.11 @ 02:13 PM)
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