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April SmugMug Meeting : Lawrence Chan
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T his morning I woke up the the black of my room. So much to do before we leave for San Francisco, and so little time. I ran around like a pinball (5,000 bonus points for taking a shower) and we made it out the door just on time. Well, we arrived only to discover Southwest canceled our flight. Just like that. They're all, Thought you had a flight didn't you? We TRICKED YOU!
So, I set up an office here in the airport and with many thanks to my wireless card, I'm in business. Speaking of business, in exactly one week, my good friend Lawrence Chan of Tofurious will be speaking at the next SmugMug meeting on Thursday, April 22, 2010 at Mesa Verde Country Club. He's one smart guy and he'll be speaking about marketing your business online, Search Engine Optimization, and a whole lotta good stuff. He's incredibly smart and kind, so it's going to be a great meeting! |
| On a sidenote, it'll be my last meeting as SmugMug meeting organizer, but we'll be introducing the new leaders at the meeting...they're so amazing and I know they're going to do great things...can't wait to show them off at the next meeting! Hope to see you there...good times shall be had. |
    
W e've been together...well...for, like, ever. JD and I dated in high school and have been together ever since. I know him better than I know the creases in the palm of my hand. But that doesn't mean he still doesn't do things that boggle my mind. Like, WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?! Because, really, that might be totally acceptable on Mars, but here where us regular folk live, umm, yeah...doesn't make sense.
A couple days ago, JD came home with not three, or six, or 12 tennis balls. He came home with SIXTY NEW BALLS....as in 20 containers of tennis balls. Why? Because they were a great deal, and he wants to get back into tennis. He also came home with 16 pairs of ankle socks, a mouthguard, and a pack of Big League Chew. The mouthguard? Have.no.idea.why. |
| We're hosting a tapas party for my best friend's birthday this weekend and though we've never made tapas, we are excited to try. JD is so excited he suggested making potatoes au gratin. And I'm all, Dude, that's French! Then he suggested stuffing gyro with kalmata olives and feta. And I'm all, Dude, that's Greek! He says tapas is simply a term for finger foods...call me silly, but last I heard tapas are Spanish. This is when he pretends he has an earache in both ears and can't hear me. The good news is that he bought miniature forks for our party. And, really, food just tastes better when eaten with a miniature fork. Trust me. I'm way fancy. |
| JD finally got a new phone yesterday, but when asked what he was going to do with his first generation iPhone, he said he was going to save it. Like a collector's item. That's right, Internet, I blame Steve Jobs for my garage looking like an ad hoc nod to the Smithsonian. Just without the marble columns and the fancy bathroom signs. When I objected to his idea, he simply said he'd place the phone next to my Michael Jackson commemorative Time magazine. I wish I was lying. |
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Newport Beach Engagement : Catherine + Jimmy
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She invited me to stay in her room for a week, Jimmy said with a smile. His eyes danced as he recounted the story, and he waited for Catherine to join him at his side. As undergrad students at MIT, they'd seen each other and were friends, but when a snow storm paralyzed Boston, students who lived off campus were frozen in space. Catherine approached Jimmy as he recounted the story, and she immediately took issue with his version.
I didn't just invite him to sleep on my dorm room floor out of nowhere, Catherine happily protests, we had a similar class schedule, so as friends helped each other out, it just made sense to stay with me...THAT'S how it happened. Either way, the truth remains Jimmy slept on Catherine's floor for a week while the storm pounded campus, and love began to pound their hearts. At the end of the week's stay, Jimmy surprised Catherine by cleaning her room from top to bottom. As a way to say thanks. She later asked him to dinner and the rest is snow storm history.
Catherine and Jimmy now live in Hong Kong, but they'll wed in Newport Beach later this year, surrounded by their friends and family. I know their day is going to be perfect with help from Jeannie Savage at Details Details mixed with Catherine's attention to detail. I'm so honored to document their love as we roamed Orange County for their engagement session... |
| One thing I particularly love is the way Jimmy sneaks a look a Catherine...he's totally in love with her... |
| Catherine...you're gorgeous and I can hardly stand it...many thanks to Joyce Luck for hair and makeup... |
| One of my favorites photos from their engagement session... |
| After a quick outfit change, grabbed a few more photos and the light was simply amazing to work with... |
| Jimmy...I think all those modeling lessons from your Taiwan photoshoot paid off because you look quite comfortable in front of the camera! ;) |
| We then went to Newport Beach to complete the engagement session and take a few more photos... |
| The light was pretty amazing last week... |
P eople often ask about my childhood. I'm the first to admit my parents raised me differently, albeit hippie-ish. I suppose when you're a parent you just make up the rules as you go, but my mom is a breed all her own. She never went to college, wasn't keen on math, but she loved teaching. Teaching anything. Everything. To her, the world was her blackboard and mistakes was her chalk. So when Mom announced she was going to homeschool her children, one could imagine it was much to my grandparents' chagrin.
My mom couldn't afford buying us text books, so she simply went to the library and borrowed books to create her own curriculum. She was on a first-name basis with the librarians and they'd often extend her book loans without penalty. Mom--with her plastic grocery bags filled with books--would often take us on the bus to the library where we'd choose what we wanted to study that semester. And just like that, it was decided I'd complete a study on koalas. Or Amelia Earhart. Or air. Or hearts. I, essentially, made school my own.
A teacher once worried mom cheated us out of a "real" education because we didn't study art like other third graders. Off to the library we went. Mom collected books and large pictures of replicated art, covered in plastic sleeves. She borrowed grandpa's car and steered us away to a park in Sierra Madre where they made her pay $2.00 for parking. Mom found the money in grandpa's ashtray and thanked God under her breath. That's so they keep the riff raffs out, she said. I wondered what would've happen if we didn't find grandpa's money.
At the park, she made us take off our shoes and swing high on the wooden swing set. Higher, higher, she bellowed from the grass below as she brought out a tape recorder to play classical music. Mom recited poetry, her voice becoming louder with every dip of the swing. Later, over bologna sandwiches, she brought out the plastic covered pieces of art and we discussed the work. After she made us recite poetry. And then she took a nap while my sisters and I chased butterflies.
Still to this day, I think back to that swing set. In Sierra Madre. Mom laying on a blanket. I still don't know multiplication (darn you 8x7!), but I somehow discovered that life is best lived making up the rules as you go along. In her own silent way, Mom showed me this first hand. |
And CONGRATS to Samantha of S'Moore Photography for winning Friday's contest...holllla!
Happy Monday. |
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Cypress College, Mimes, + A Shootsac Giveaway
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I 'm expressive. To put it mildly. I use hand gestures, eyebrow lifts, and lip puckers in conjunction with words, so I'm pretty much a speaking mime. Seriously, someone throw me a striped shirt and a beret. I'm constantly reminded of this fact whenever JD takes pictures of me presenting. Today I had the pleasure of speaking at the Cypress College Photo Expo and it was a great experience! With many thanks to Professor Greg Bumatay (a good friend and mentor) I was able to open the show and connect with many amazing people.
The event was free, so hundreds of photographers showed up for a day full of learning and growth. I was incredibly happy to be there. Until I saw The Pictures. As I looked through them, I realized I looked like I was going to poke you. With toothpicks. |
| Oh my gosh, I think I just lost my place in my notes...stall...stall...stallling... |
| If you don't like what I'm saying, there's the door... |
| No, no you CANNOT go on a date with JD... |
| Let's have a stare off...okay? Ready...begin... |
One thing I forgot to do was give away a Shootsac Hipslip...the ever fab Ally sent over the bag and totally hipslipped my mind. I'll be here all week, folks...
So, in light of this, my friend Becker said I could give it away on my blog. Woohoo. All you have to do to enter this giveaway is list your name and email address. Only one entry per name/email address. The deadline is Sunday 8am PST.
And for those of you who are local, you should definitely check out the Shootsac studio located in Santa Ana...super cute space, but bring your piggy bank because you won't be able to leave there without a camera bag...it's my personal fav! |
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