love.

had the great pleasure of photographing the wedding of a friend-of-several-friends out in marin county this weekend. one of the most beautiful/entertaining/fun shooting evenings i've experienced in a long time. here's a couple outtakes from the night.


congrats to the happy couple, you crazy kids. and thanks for allowing me to share in the good times.

friday night lights.

it's been a year since i've had the privilege of covering friday night football. i'm not a huge fan of the sport itself, but i love going to the high school games, just for the atmosphere. neither my high school nor my college had football teams, so i never got to experience going to a game with a bunch of friends after class to cheer on the team for no other reason than they're your home team.

tonight i got to cover St. Mary's catholic school, and i have to say, i really dig that school's spirit. at every game, for every sport, there's at least 50 kids in face-paint or costume, all school colors, cheering and jeering from beginning to end. and as a photographer it's great because everyone's so enthralled by the action, they have very little time to worry about me taking their photo.

so here's to tonight's blow-out... i'm just bummed that because of deadline i never get to stay until the end. one of these days, i hope to. just to see what happens.

party.

spent some time this weekend trying to get out. i almost always find myself in these social situations - bars, parties, wherever - sticking to the side with my camera in-hand, snapping photos to try and understand what exactly i'm watching. it's usually pretty entertaining, and it feeds my mild obsession with photographing that ever-vague notion of "youth culture."

what can i say? sometimes it's fun to be a fly-on-the-wall when everyone else is having fun.

free.

as much as i hate to admit it, freelance is a much scarier beast than i first gave it credit for. i love the idea of dedicating all the time in the world to projects that i feel make a difference to my community, love setting my own schedule and rate, love that the only thing keeping me back is myself. but that is the problem, too: you are only as successful as you can motivate yourself to be. with no daily deadlines and no newsroom to keep you motivated, every day gets harder and harder to get out there.

after going to the A Photo A Day conference in st. petersburg, fl, this year, i got a better understanding of the freelance gig. most of your time is spent promoting, researching, editing, marketing, calling, emailing... and very little of your time is actually spent shooting. honestly, it's been quite a reality check coming to terms with that.

but every day gets a little better. calls are trickling in slowly. some projects are in the works. and i still get to photograph a few times a month for 209 Vibe. i miss the newsroom and the excitement (even if it was mostly just me) of the daily grind, but maybe there's something to this freelance thing, once you get used to it. at least now i know if i make it, it's because i worked for it; if i don't, i can't blame anyone but myself.

so here are some photos from the last month. looking forward to the exciting prospect of an unknown future.

meteors.

sometimes i have those nights where i realize just how much i love california.

as a native, born and bred in this state, i find myself getting antsy to move somewhere else. but then there are those moments when i feel more at home than ever. and, when my friend mikey invited me to go with his friends out to the fields around lodi to watch the meteor shower at midnight the other day, i had a moment when i felt truly at home here in the central valley.

the photos are far from perfect. i never did catch a meteor on camera. but it was still beautiful. sometimes all it takes is some kids, a guitar, and an old VW bus to make you appreciate home.