mike baker / the bike maker

Last week, I headed up to Queens for an impromptu shoot with rapper Mike Baker the Bike Maker. I had been wanting to do a series on friends of mine who are in the creative field and to observe them in their element. So I went over to hang at his apartment that he shares with his gal Drea, or to whom I lovingly refer to as Cheddar Bay Chuck, haha. So when we weren't cracking up at whatever Mike and Chuck were doing, I got some cool shots in as well as portraits with Mike and Drea together because hey, I gotta show off the love.

laura + tommy / castle in new york

It's been almost two months since my last blog post, I made the move to Brooklyn from San Diego the week before Thanksgiving, so life has been insane! 2012 is going to be a crazy year, I'll be splitting time between New York and Southern California, so make sure to check my schedule to see where I'll be! With the holidays and flying back and forth between coasts, its been hard for me to get to the blog. but now that I'm settled in, its time showcase the latter half of 2011's engagements and weddings. So in honor of my move to New York, heres a gorgeous wedding that I did at Oheka Castle in Long Island with Laura and Tommy. The venue was gorgeous, the couple was classic, it was hard to stop snapping photos. A big thanks to Tim Ryan Smith who second shot for me and to B Floral for the gorgeous flowers.

Awesome photo by Tim, who conquered his fear of heights for the shot!

out of town + refix magazine

I'll be out of town from June 11th through the 20th, the first half of my trip will be to Hawaii for the wedding of AJ and Jelynna then the second half will be to New York City. I will do my best to respond to all emails and inquiries in a timely fashion. But till then, I wanted to introduce you to Refix Magazine, a new online publication created by one of my best friends Andrea. She has been working hard to promote green living and fashion and this magazine is a product of months of hard work! Check out the magazine as I have a spread of photographs starting on page 36 and another one of my amazing photographer friends Emily Sandifer has some of her gorgeous work featured as well!

the top 20 / songs + photographs

I compiled a collection of my twenty favorite photographs I took during 2010. When I looked back over my work at the end of the year, these were the images I were drawn to the most. I can still remember the feelings I had when I took these, it ranged from euphoric to heart-wrenching. I decided to pair them with twenty of my favorite songs from 2010, while all the songs were not created last year, these are the songs that were my biggest inspirations to keep enhancing my life and my photography. A lot of this work I haven't blogged yet, so look for the full sets coming soon, enjoy the photographs and enjoy the music.

ytaudio(lCUvgwIvbzk) Houstatlantavegas - Sonnymoon

ytaudio(1a3dmgpAIGc) Summer Holiday - Wild Nothing

ytaudio(90ipyWYO3LM) Zebra - Beach House

ytaudio(164yaEvIGcw) Wet Cement - The Morning Benders

ytaudio(lUT5RK51-c4) It'll Be Better (Francis & The Lights Cover) - Alex Winston

ytaudio(nEHlpqejj6g) Feel it All Around - Washed Out

ytaudio(2LfKBP7Q_PM) Blessa - Toro Y Moi

ytaudio(WUedGjAbbf0) This City Ain't the Same Without You - The Foreign Exchange

ytaudio(WACkePEYj-U) All Around - CEO

ytaudio(sMgO235XsEw) Silver Tiles - Matt & Kim

ytaudio(x7Zs2vXxSUE) Island, IS - Volcano Choir

ytaudio(x2RKb3VNAOo) Awake My Soul - Mumford and Sons

ytaudio(fIQlusm5QJw) Unforgettable Season - Cut Copy

ytaudio(Wmmy9Q0bMGo) Two Doves - The Dirty Projectors

ytaudio(BqXnzqB1sik) You're Going Back - The Tallest Man on Earth

ytaudio(W-ENipUB8NI) Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap

ytaudio(hujyBO-6o-k) Who Knows Who Cares - Local Natives

ytaudio(XZvOeknTW2M) I Remember - Yeasayer

ytaudio(qA0CTDEggzs) High Hopes - Onra

ytaudio(RQKD-ftwqCM) To the Lighthouse - Memoryhouse

glamour girl in bedstuy

Last month in New York, I had a photoshoot with Ruby Veridiano, a media personality from Oakland/NYC. She is one of the most inspirational women I have ever met, you can see it through her personality and all the hard work that she does. Did I also mention that she is one of the top 3 finalists for the head blogger position for Alicia Keys website, iamasuperwoman.com? She'll find out if she wins the position in a few days, so you can lend her support by clicking on this link and comment on one of her blog posts. Her idea for the shoot was a "glamour girl in Bedstuy," so I headed over to Brooklyn and with the help of makeup artist Eileen Lei, we proceeded to go around the neighborhood and make Ruby's vision a reality. Check out some of my favorite photos.