Mia and I popped back to New Jersey for what turned out to be a gorgeous autumn weekend. We did a little corn-mazing, hit up NYC and went on an afternoon kayaking trip around Clinton where I snapped a few photos which I’ve included below. I found that the secret to appreciating the weather in the North East is to live in the South West and to come back for short visits.

Mia Relaxing

“Nature”

Goose in Flight

And an old favorite restaurant that I revisited this weekend:

Origin French Thai (Somerville, NJ) - Nestled away on a little side street in the quaint town of Somerville this BYOB gem is one of the best spots in New Jersey, in my opinion. With a fusion of traditional Thai patterns, modern vibrant colors and exposed brick, the 2 rooms have a wonderful ambiance. My favorite dish is the Wild Boar, prepared with Bok Choy and Chili Peppers. I’ve suggested it to dozens of people and never had a complaint. Try the creme brulee for dessert. Origin is becoming more of a hot spot since I lived nearby, so definitely make reservation…and don’t forget a bottle of wine!

Jessica Mammen, a model from Las Vegas, was in LA for a few days and popped by for a test shoot. We had been talking about getting together for quite awhile and luckily our schedules meshed quite well on this occasion.

I felt that her current modeling headshots didn’t do her justice, so we focused in on her face and played around with some creative headshots. She was fun to work with and I think that the images that we produced show that.

Sheer Curtains

In a milk bath

Wrapped in Foil

In case you were wondering why she is wrapped in aluminum foil, I’d just like to point out that Jessica grabbed my attention initially by telling me she was “up for whatever” and continued “heck, wrap me in foil!” Of course, I couldn’t pass that kind of adventurous attitude up! Keep an eye out for more images of creative images Jessica Mammen when I am in Las Vegas next…

I had the opportunity to try something a little different and shoot some promotional images for a new jewelry line that is about to launch in North America. We cast a local model, Meredith Molinari, who wound up being fantastic to work with; along with Mandy Perez, a wonderful make up artist here in Los Angeles. I was very happy that we were able to come up with poses and simple lighting configurations that featured complete sets of the client’s jewelry in one shot, without looking awkward. I included one of the clients favorite shots below.

And a excellent restaurant recommendation that came to me by the way of Meredith:

Vibrato Jazz Grill (Bel Air, CA) - In her words to me, “It’s a really fabulous place to get drinks and listen to jazz. Food is pricey but worth it.”

Well, I went there last night and she wasn’t kidding. Son Mayor, a group of 12 amazing musicians that play a mixture of vintage latin and contemporary Cuban music had the room for the night. We got a table right against the stage and dined on some fabulous steaks. The oysters were huge and the martini’s were excellent. Oh, and be sure to try the mac and cheese.

I recently went on a semi-rigorous hike through Angeles National Forest to “Strawberry Peak” with my neighbor Chris. Ok, I take back the “semi”… Chris is a hiking enthusiast and had me panting the entire time!

The experience and view from the top was amazing, as you can see from a few shots that I included below.

Mia and I took a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and wound up snapping a few shots around her beautiful campus. I took one shot specifically to play around with in Photoshop using the tilt-shift mimicking technique that I mentioned in a previous post. Basically, by manipulating the areas of focus within the image, it seems more like a miniature scale model rather than the real thing.

After getting a few requests to see the original, I included it below. Believe it or not, I didn’t touch the sky in this image. It was really that gorgeous up in Malibu that day.

Pepperdine University Campus

Tilt Shift Experiment

And of course, a recent restaurant that I need to recommend*:

Turner New Zealand (Costa Mesa, CA)- If you a can appreciate a good steak and are in Orange County, CA, you should definitely check this place out. They serve all-natural, hormone-free meats & seafood from New Zealand. An extensive wine list and friendly staff. I had the fillet and found it hard to believe that it was only seasoned with organic sea salt and pepper, as the flavor was amazing. (thanks for the recommendation, Scott!) At the time of this post, their website was experiencing uptime issues, so here is an alternate link to a review of the establishment.

* BTW: you can use the SEARCH function above to find past recommendations in your local area. Just type “restaurant” and your city.