Traveling to Seattle for two weeks in September afforded me some great opportunities to expand my portfolio in Family Photography.  Seattle was a dream location – that I have wanted to shoot for a while – offering natural beauty and amazing green lush textures to explore with my lens.  Through the powers of networking, Twitter and Facebook, I was able to book some great families to participate in 4 incredible portrait sessions.  I have already shared some highlights from my first session – with the Kennedy Family.  Here are favorites from my second, the Lazor Family, with more to come!

Back in High School years ago, I was so much of a punk-rock fan. The strange thing was, I never dressed the part as many of my friends did and for only a short time did I try to imitate the talking styles of the lead singers of these bands. Since I just let you into that part of my life back then and because I don’t act that way anymore… lets… move on. Regardless, that music had an impact on my life and it included a love for high-energy, fast paced music that would always keep me energized during an exam as I rocked out to Blink 182, Sugarclut, Weezer, Story of the Year & Jimmy Eat World from the earbuds of my iPod.

Last Wednesday night was a surreal experience that took me back to those days for a few short hours. I was so excited when I heard that Blink 182 had reunited and they planned a reunion tour as their entrance into the global media once again. The tickets although sold out in less than 3 hours and I never had the chance to once- again experience those years. Well.. never say never, right?

I was so excited when one of my recent favorite Commercial shoots with Panda Golf had called me offering me two VIP Box seats to the show that they had won from a charity golf event! Immediately, I called my friend & aspiring band photographer Nick Lamb who I knew is a huge fan of the same bands and we were set to go rock out to the amazing concerts!

First off, the concert was at the Cricket Wireless Arena in San Diego. Instead of playing a smaller club venue for their ground breaking hometown return, they brought Weezer & Taking Back Sunday with them to open the crowd up. We missed the beginning of those two sets due to the lengthy traffic that ran back 15 miles for just one exit! That was the first clue for me that Blink 182 was really back home.

The atmosphere was one that set me back a few years. It was an environment with everyone from high school kids who just got into Blink 182 leading all the way to adults in their late 30′s. The stage crew dropped a black curtain in which we stared at for about 30 minutes hearing nothing but Blink 182 chants throughout the crowd of 20,000 plus. Without any notice the band went right into their 22-song masterpiece of music right after the curtain dropped!

The feelings everyone had was not from the music that night, the feeling we had at least was remembering the memories that took place in the days we all listened to those songs.

Regardless, everyones favorite & most memorable moment of the night came during the encore. The black sheet was dropped once again while we later found out drummer & recent plane crash survivor Travis Barker‘s drum set was rigged to a pulley-like system that lifted him up above the crowd at a 45 degree angle during his drum-set spinning at fast speeds! The encore started with a tribute mix tape that was once constructed by his good friend, the late DJ AM while Travis drummed like I had never seen before. You think you have seen good drumming, you need to see that man live and then rethink that question.

After everything was done, the night was an amazing experience I will never forget & one that Nick and I will talk about for years!

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My first eye-exam years ago in high school was a very interesting one… the first Harry Potter book had come out and I only read half of it then it became a nest for a pile of dust. If anyone is interested in having copies of book 1-3, your welcome to have them. I never read them anyways because I never enjoyed it! Once I heard of the first book being turned into a movie, I said to myself, “Pshh.. forget the book, I’ll just watch the movie!!” Once I saw the movie, I was caught onto them and I have seen all the films since, BUT when  I went to see the doctor for my first pair of glasses… all I ever said was, “my glasses need to be like Harry Potter!” My mom couldn’t ever let me have the thick black frame and bless her heart that she never let me because I would have been called some nickname associated with “Harry Potter”. The next best thing was a wireframe set that looked similar to Harry’s and for years, I rocked that pair!

Up until now, I have been a total glasses guy and people have mentioned so many times how great I looked in them and that they fit me like a glove. Okay… well times have changed and the glasses are done!

Being a Photographer your forced to look through a little tiny viewfinder and for some time pushing my glasses up to that little hole cause not only scratches to the lens but they faced me with the issue of having to manipulate myself to get through my shoots with wearing that pair. Finally, the time has come where I can say goodbye to the trend that Harry Potter started inside me years & years ago and finally I get to poke myself in the eyeball each morning.

Today was my first day wearing contacts. Through the silly experience of first seeing my eye doctor this morning, he was shocked with my decision to sit the metal pair down pick up the tiny little invention that allows me to see things better than ever!! Wearing sunglasses is something I was never able to do because for one, who would want to walk down the street with two pairs of glasses on!?

Overall, my first day of wearing contacts was so much fun!! I feel like I am seeing the world in a whole new clarity! Other than the itchy eyes while the contacts adjust to my eyelids, everything is wonderful about them!

Image from http://www.philter48.com

I don’t run on the beach just as my good friend and Jacksonville Wedding Photographer Scarlett Lillian does weekly but there’s something about the ocean that I always feel closer to God and I don’t crank up my ipod while I run for miles along the Florida beach but I live near the beach and I crank worship music in my car every day! That seems close enough in comparison, right?

Scarlett Lillian is coming to San Diego to shoot an engagement session, and I was talking with her about how great it would to organize a worship night on the beach with an acoustic guitar, making s’mores on the firepits and a chance to fellowship with other Christian photographers in the Southern California area. Scarlett & I are working together to organize it on October 12, and we’ve created a Facebook invite to RSVP. I hope you’ll join us! Feel free to bring a friend, they don’t have to be a photographer!

I look forward to seeing some of my SoCal photog friends and meeting new faces! Click here to RSVP and for all the details:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131053772225&ref=mf

God Bless!!

Their laughs were contagious and their family connection so evident – leading to an incredible experience shooting the Kennedy’s. Every member of the family shared such a heart warming smile and excitement that came over me during the shoot, and did not go away!  The parents have a super cute love story that started when they were literally 12 years old. They began dating in their school years, and the journey has continued through marriage and creating a family! Their two children are extremely enthusiastic, radiating laughter and love. The 5 year old daughter has a style all her own (in her words “rock star”) wearing kid sized pink converse shoes, black leggings and a black spotted white dress. Their son played the casual role off extremely well with his blue polo and his blue faded jeans. One reason I love shooting families is when I arrive the children are usually hiding behind their Mom & Dad, but through the course of our interaction, I get the kids to warm up and before long they are jumping around in front of the camera!

During my current stay in Seattle, WA I have been able to relax and admire the amazing earthly architecture that God has blessed this area with. I was so excited when I announced my trip north to the Seattle community! Twitter & Facebook are two of my favorite tools to bring people together. I twittered to the “twitter-sphere” about my trip and to my great surprise my good friend & International Destination Wedding Photographer and Photojournalistic Wedding Photographer Garrett Davis got back at me and announced that he was going to be shooting for two weeks up north too!

I was so excited when Garrett drove over to the Kennedy family shoot with me, as he brings an amazing photojournalistic style to his image and is very much worth checking out!!

Our family portrait session took place at the Newcastle Beach Park which is located on the South Eastern side of Lake Washington. What an AMAZING location!!  Variety for shots abounds from a little beach, to an open field, and ‘a secret forest.’  The family knew how to be in control of their session and along with the amazing light and great location, it created the opportunity for some astonishing images!

Thank You so much to the Kennedy family! Your love for each other is contagious ad I cannot wait until we can meet again.

The last time I attended a So Cal Photographer Shootout in Orange County, it was my first event of its kind. It was such an amazing time with Santa Barbara Wedding Photographers Michael & Anna Costa, Orange County Wedding Photographer Jasmine Star and 50 great photographers ranging in different skill levels.

Well, it happened again and I don’t see an ending point for this monthly get-together! As it was planned, there were 50 spots available to the So Cal Photog Shootout. Surprisingly, two hours after these spots were opened up they sold out! Luck me, I was spot #50!! The shoot out was once again filled with a great networking opportunity with so many talented photographers. Our shoot was blessed with some amazing models! I was so excited once I started shooting and I heard a loud voice yell, “STEPHEN!”. I spun around and running at me was my great friend and incredible model, Rachel Amara. If your looking for a Professional Model in Orange County, Rachel is your girl!!

Our shoot took place at the Irvine Regional Park. This place is incredible, if your ever looking for a forest & lake themed portrait session, the Irvine Regional Park is the place to knock it out of the park! Our setup had our 6 models perfectly designed & styled by the great makeup & hair artists from the All Made Up Team. Our location was surrounded by huge trees, amazing light and a huge lake. The only downside was how hot it was, I think it was somewhere around 101!! So crazy. I kept asking the models if they felt like jumping into the lake with me. I was almost serious! At the end of the day, the images truly turned out like it was an amazing Irvine Regional Park Engagement Session!

The great thing about these amazing monthly events is they bring people together and create an amazing community. I contacted the directors for the So Cal Photog Shoot Out. To get you a little excited, I am starting the San Diego Photog Shoot Out group! What we have been blessed with for months with the Orange County Photography events are finally coming south! You can join the facebook group by clicking here

I wanted to give another shout out to the amazing work from the All Made Up Team and our sponsor Triple Scoop Music! Another special shout goes to Orange County Wedding Photographer Hanssie Trainor & Matthew Saville for doing an amazing job planning this event! Thanks Guys!!

I have been so anxious to write this blog post for the past few weeks! Finally, the day is here! Today at 11:05am my flight will take off from San Diego Airport and will land at 3pm in Seattle Washington! Two weeks ago, my sister had her third child & daughter, Norah. Leading up to the weeks before my trip, I have been taking extreme advantage of the tools that are set before us of Facebook, Twitter & Photography forums. Through word of mouth & social networking my 10 day trip will become not only a time to see family, it has now become a trip filled with photo shoots! It has been such an amazing blessing from the Lord to receive these amazing gifts!

I will explain in more detail once I arrive in Seattle… All I can say right now is I’ve got some incredible family portrait sessions and few sessions with some incredible models that I am so stoked for!!

In between the amazing trip, my family surprised me by planning a trip to the San Juan Islands where I will be able to shoot some amazing star trails, landscapes and another family portrait session that my heart is pounding for as the anticipation rolls in!

Well, I am off to the airport… Please keep my trip in your prayers and stay tuned as I will be blogging almost daily from Seattle!!

God Bless!