So much to be thankful for....

As I contemplate the busy holiday weekend, I can't help but think how blessed I am. We live in a country where we live freely to go, do, live, think, say, be, what ever and where ever we want. I don't know if many other countries have as many freedoms as we do here. And in reflecting on that, my hope is that because of all the freedoms God has given to me, that I am able to give to others and glorify God while I do it...

Here are a few photos of what I'm most thankful for....

Corn and Shrimp Soup

This one of my favorite recipes... It's simple and really good. My buddy Craig help me film the cooking... I think he came over cuz he was hungry. I had to split the video into 2 parts cuz it was too large. Part I is the Corn and Shrimp and Part II is Mary's Garlic Bread. At the end of Part II, I put it all together... mmm, mmm good...

Corn and Shrimp Part I

Corn and Shrimp Part II

My Brother is in Trouble

Back at the end of July Mary and I were in Las Vegas for Chris Webber's fund raising event Bada Bling which my wife, Mary and her business partner, Wendy of Nouvelle Roux designed and produced. I was there shooting for the event and I was exhausted afterward. So much so, that I went on a little trip to the Grand Canyon with my brother, Tim and his two girls, Emma and Katie.

We stayed in Williams, AZ. and drove north to visit the GC but while we were in Williams, the girls wanted me to do a photo shoot with them (my brother did too). So we went into old town Williams as the sun was setting and had some fun. And with very little direction, these girls knew what to do.... My brother is in big trouble.... Check 'em out!

Full Circle Dance Company

So for those of you that don't know, this summer I followed the Full Circle Dance Company from Step One Dance Studio and took pictures during their practices that lead up to August 1st and 2nd performances at the Benvenuti Performing Arts Theatre in Sacramento. The show was called Emotions and it was awesome! So I took a little over 7,500 pictures over a four month period and now I'm putting together a book for them to document the experience. It was totally fun to be around the ladies and watch the energy, enthusiasm, spirit and passion they have for dance. And I have to tell you, I was totally in awe of what I saw them do between the long hours of practice to the choregraphy to the promotion of their event, these ladies are professionals.

So here's another fun clip I made with a cool on-line video maker called Animoto with some of the practice photos I took. Check it out...

Football is in the Air

If you've read the "Inside Info" on my website, you know that I've said that I think football is stupid even though I played the game in college. What I really meant was that at my age, it's silly to think you can still play. :-) But even so when I have an opportunity to get down on the field and close to the action, that's what happens... I want to put on the gear and get out there and bang some heads... see, isn't that silly.

I had the opportunity to go to Hornet Field, home of the Sacramento State Hornets to watch a scrimage. I was also at field level so I was able to get real close to the action. Then I stood next to some of the guys... they're a lot bigger than I remembered.

I happen to know the head coach, Marshall Sperbeck, so it's possible that I'll be able to go down to field level for the real thing and take some pictures. From what I saw on Saturday, it's much safer on the side lines... Check out some of the shots...

Shrimp and Grits Recipe

WOW! Two posts in one day... that's like a record or something but I got my new Flip Video player on Friday and have been dying to try it out.... And I've been promising my Shrimp and Grits recipe so here it is... Hope you enjoy this recipe, it's one of my favorites.

Elsa Letterseed and the NorCal Film Festival

Mary and I spent the day in Modesto yesterday at the NorCal Film Festival in support of a independent feature film Elsa Letterseed. Almost 6 years ago now, a good friend and writer/director, Sarah Kreutz asked Mary to read a part for the movie she was making. Mary got the part Casandra Sybil and the rest is history.

Elsa Letterseed is the story of a young violin prodigy who experiences a phenomenon, which renders her genius musical gifts useless. Unable to perform and provide income, her parents place her in a mental hospital for a brief stay. Years later, Elsa is now out on her own, struggling to survive. Without money or talent she must now forge her way through the intricate puzzle of her life, finding unexpected sources of support which help guide her through extraordinary events. Elsa's journey to regain her purpose brings together an intriguing cast of characters and mazes through a story of unexpected twists.

The film was very well recieved and won many of the awards it was nominated for including:

Best Feature Film

Best Actress (Garian Grewe)

Best of Festival

Check out some of the pictures from the day...

Writer/Director Sarah Kreutz

Sarah next to her Elsa poster

Some of the cast and crew: (l to r - Teri Burns, Mary Daffin, Sarah Kreutz Paul Kreutz, Garian Grewe, Linda Nalbandian, and Michelle Silas)

Sarah answering audience questions after the showing of Elsa

Donnette and Mac on the grounds of the State Capital

Shot a wedding on Friday, August 8th, 2008. In some cultures 8's are lucky. If that is the case, this couple has all the luck. The ceremony was on the southwest lawn of the State Capital in Sacramento, CA. Beautiful backdrop as we were able to shoot in the rose garden as well as the west steps. Take a look...

Bada Bling 2008 Time Lapse

One of the things I do at C. Webb's Bada Bling is create a time lapse video of the event. I started on Wednesday night prior to the event and ended on Sunday morning after the strike. Actually, it ended a little shy of the complete strike... one of the strikers moved the camera so I was taking pictures of the corner of the room for a while. In any case, here's what happend during the 5 days the camera was taking pictures from set-up, rehearsals, the event, and the strike. Enjoy!

Bada Bling 2008

It's that time again... Bada Bling Celebrity Weekend 2008! We arrived yesterday and a lot of work had already begun. Mary and Wendy of Nouvelle Roux were already here getting things ready for the Roux Crew and others. It will be a weekend of fun and a lot of hard work. I will try to post often as I will have lots of pictures to share.

The Roux Crew excited to be here...

The Grand Ball Room at Planet Hollywood

Lots of drape to hang

Chairs to set out

Ooops! Not those...

Here's the plan...

Late night production meeting...

The view from our room... we won't be seeing much of it...

New Service Offering at Photo128

Wanted to let you all know that Photo128 has a new service offering effective July 1, 2008. As part of my standard wedding package, I will be providing the bride and groom their own personalized website for their engagement and/or wedding. There they will be able to display information about their engagement or wedding, recent photographs, slide shows, and even video. It is totally customizable... and it's FREE. We design together and I will build and host the site. I am very excited to be able to offer this to existing as well as perspective clients. Check out the sample below....

Saturday Night Salsa Dancing

OK. So Mary and I had a very busy weekend... major trip to Home Depot for lighting, Sacramento Rivercats Baseball, Dinner on Sunday with some really good friends in Granite Bay, but the highlight of the weekend was Saturday night. Bobby and Wendy Fresques invited us to a Court Party in their neighborhood. What a great turn out. There were 80 to 100 neighbors and friends and plenty food and drink. They even had a Latin Jazz band that ROCKED!! the neighborhood. As it started to cool down and folks were feeling a little less inhibited, a little salsa dancing broke out and started to liven things up a bit. But I think the best of the night goes to the Fresques Girls who were dancing in the street till the wee hours... talk about shakin' it up... Check out the slideshow...

Wedding in the Woods

I shot a wedding this past weekend in Glenbrook, NV on the east shore of Lake Tahoe. What a beautiful venue for a wedding. The wedding ceremony was at St. John's in the Wilderness Episcopal Church and the reception was adjacent to the church at Camp Galilee. The groom was the brother of a really good friend of mine whose wedding I shot 2 years ago so I already knew many of the family members is attendance. The bride was a little nervous (to be expected) but gracefully composed as she entered the church and walked to the alter where there was a huge window overlooking the Lake Tahoe. After the wedding ceremony, toasts, and dinner, we all went down to the lake for a walk on the beach. Check out the slideshow....

Photo128 New Website Coming Soon

Just wanted to let you know that I will be launching a new website this summer and wanted to give you a preview... Let me know what you think.

I also wanted to share with you the tool I'm using to build this website... It's Showit Sites and it is being created by David Jay and it is an absolutely phenomimal product. It makes creating and controling your website super easy... and the only limitation is your on imagination. It's in beta right now but you can still try it out by going to blog.showitfast.com. If you like it and are interested in subscribing, I have access to a few subscription codes that will allow you to be some of the first to use this service. Send me an email if want the subscription code... hurry though... I only have 5.

New Babys Everywhere

Is there something in the water? Seems like I've been photographing a lot of newborns. But that's good cuz I like babies... other people's babies... cuz I can give them back.... Just kidding. I really do enjoy the moms and dads coming to my studio for portraits of their new additions. This past week I had 3 sessions and all three were big, stapping, healthy boys. Introducing Vincent, Clay and Henry.


Vincent and mom, Liz

Clay and dad, Wes

Henry with mom and dad, Greg and Katie

New Baby Josephine

Mary and I had an opportunity to vist some friends of ours, Valerie and Brent, and meet Baby Josephine. She is 8 days old and very, very pretty. She was also a very good model for these shots which I took in between bites of pizza. Mom and dad are doing great adjusting to their new life. Not getting much sleep as is the case but non the less doing great. I don't think anything compares to the birth of a child. What a miracle!

Attended a Wedding....

I was an attendee of a wedding this weekend at the Presidio Chapel in San Francisco and brought my camera just to take some candids. I brought my fastest lens which is my Canon 85mm f/1.2 cuz I didn't want to be obnoxious with my on camera flash. And besides, the photographer the bride and groom hired for the wedding had a flash and I didn't want to mess up her flow.... Anyway, I love shooting with this lens cuz I can stay a good distance away from the action while getting some great close-up shots with just a little light. The bride was a classic beauty so I decided to go with some B&W Lightroom Presets in my post edit. Most of these shots were taken wide open at f/1.2 and between 1/30th and 1/40th of a sec. Check out some of the shots...

A Day in the Park

I spent last Sunday in the park with a senior... no, not my grandmother. A high school senior, Allie. She wanted to take senic photos so we went to a park near my house I call The Oaks cuz, well there are plenty of oak trees... duh! And the wild flowers in this park were also blooming. Beautiful! And I'm not just talking about the wild flowers. Check out some of the pics...