From 7pm to 7am on Friday, July 19th, “Glow” was held at the Santa Monica Pier. When I heard about the contemporary art event I was intrigued enough to spend an hour in grid-lock traffic looking for an available parking space. A few locals that I spoke to said that they had never seen the streets so packed with cars and people.

I snapped a few photos while I was there until the wee hours of the morning, including the “bike valet” lot…

I stepped outside of my comfort zone a bit and agreed to shoot my friend’s wedding and reception last month in New Jersey. Normally, weddings are not my thing- I believe that a good wedding photographer needs to get (at least) a few dozen weddings under their belt before they really start producing original, creative images that capture the event. What has probably kept me from getting into “wedding photographer” mode, is the majority of wedding photographers that I know simply have a routine for each wedding and can do it in their sleep- which doesn’t really appeal to me since personally, photography is more a creative outlet than profit center. I also cringe at the pressure…knowing that if I miss a shot, I could possibly be lynched by the bride.

Here are a few shots from the wedding; and if you’re interested in seeing more of the wedding photos, I’ve posted some on my facebook page.

I finally broke down and took the first step in my conversion from PC to Mac. I’ve used PCs since way back in the Windows 95 days, mostly because of my business-related ventures, but finally decided to bite the bullet and see what all of my Mac-loyal friends have been raving about all of these years.

I’m still fumbling around a bit, like the first time that I picked up a guitar; but I can tell from the rather intuitive interface that I’ll be much more efficient with the MacBook Pro. I like the little things like “Spaces”, which gives me the ability to switch between multiple workspaces with a simple keystroke.

In terms of the display, I feel like I have been editing photos without my glasses now that I have a crisp, color-rich Mac display to work on. I included a few of the first new photos that I edited with it using Aperture, Apple’s professional photo organization and editing application…which I definitely need to take some lessons on. I plan on toying around with multiple Apple applications that do the same thing in order to see what I like the best. My first comparison will be Apple Aperture vs. Adobe Lightroom, which I have heard mixed reviews on.

The photos that I included are of Actor/Comedian Jeff Howard. We recently spent an afternoon snapping some fun, animated photos and even getting his first taste of Pinkberry, a Los Angeles frozen yogurt chain. (Mochi, Blackberries and Captain Crunch are my recommended toppings, BTW)

I also included a photo of Meredith, who I have worked with before on several projects. We recently spent a day at the beach in Marina Del Rey, snapping a variety of photos, including the one below which we did for CitrusByte. You can see Venice, Santa Monica and the beginning of the cliffs of Malibu up the coast behind her.

On a side note, I just passed my one-year mark as a California resident. Amazing how time flies when you’re having fun! After living and working in Venice and Marina Del Rey over the past 12 months, I am heading up the coast a bit. This weekend, I move into a loft in Malibu, California. Life is good.

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 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.

I’ve been taking my new long board out on the boardwalk (well, cement walk is more accurate) in Venice quite a bit lately. I thought that I’d seen it all on the streets of New York City, but Venice, California is certainly a place all to it’s own. Beautiful sunsets, spray painted palm trees and people doing just about anything for a hand-out make Venice an interesting and very unique place to live.

A few friends from back east have asked “what’s it like in Venice?”, so yesterday I decided to take a camera along for a sunset cruise. I enjoyed snapping photos down there, so expect more to come…

…and a restaurant recommendation from last night:

Locanda del Lago (Santa Monica, CA) - I can’t believe that I passed this place on the Promenade in Santa Monica so many times and just noticed it. Excellent Northern Italian cuisine. I had the salt-encrusted sea bass, which they prepare at the table by carefully cracking and lifting off the chunks of salt that are piled on it as it cooks. It gave a whole new meaning to “melts in your mouth”. Thanks for the recommendation, Tony!

A Thursday night text message from a friend had me re-packing my bags for another road trip to Las Vegas on Friday morning. It worked out well, as I had some unfinished business with a model that I didn’t get a chance to connect with during the previous weekend; so the invite was well received. (thanks, Michelle)

Lisa Bay, a model that also did the westward journey from the east coast recently, and I had been talking about getting together for some test shots as she is looking to build out her book a bit and liked my eye. We headed out to a few spots that I scouted the weekend prior and toyed around. She is very toned, athletic and completely up for trying poses that were a little out of the ordinary.

While we were shooting, I could hear the faint sound of a point-and-shoot camera beep and what sounded like German male voices. We stopped for a second and looked around…only to find that we were surrounded by a group of German tourists, who, in order to get photos of us (well, probably not me), had spread themselves over the hills and cliffs above. We got a good laugh and as soon as we acknowledged their presence, they scurried out of sight. If anyone sees me in a German paparazzi magazine, I’m offering a $100 bounty. lol

Here are some of the images from that shoot with Lisa Bay. I’m certain that we’ll be working on some projects together in the future…

And here is a restaurant recommendation from this weekend:

China Grill (Las Vegas, NV) -I had actually dined here on a previous trip to Las Vegas and this time was equally good. Located in Mandalay Bay. Cool atmosphere, interesting dishes. Definitely save room for dessert or at least a glass of their ice wine.

Be sure to request the main dining area when you make your reservation or they may try toss you by the bar. I’ll be checking out the location in LA soon.