SoCal Cigar Alliance 1st Annual Long Beach Smoke

Saturday night was hot, beautiful and smokin. Or you could say it was beautifully smokin hot! I was asked to shoot the SoCal Cigar Alliance event held at the El Dorado Park Golf Course by Albert Espinoza at Taylor's Cigar Lounge. The event was a cigar lovers dream. They had beautiful ladies, a fantastic raffle, a silent auction with some of the best items I have ever seen and cigars galore! They served a wonderful dinner, had a rad band that kept things hopping and did I mention cigars? Of course, being the photographer I didn't have a chance to smoke one, but walking around I was able to savor some of the essence of tobacco and it was smooth.

The night started out super hot, but once that sun went down there was a cool breeze and event goers let loose. I had so much fun walking around shooting the tables, the shop owners (thank you all!) and the best of all the huge group shot out by the golf course. It's fun shooting a group of people, but shooting a group off 100+ cigar lovers as they smoke - yeah, cool just doesn't cut it. It was just plain fun!

Here are a few of the images I shot last night. For all of you that attended and want to see your photos, please see the shop owners and politely ask to see them.

Enjoy the festivities!





















Last, but not least... shooting the group shot was a blast! Such a fun group and oh so much smoke!

Joelle - Sneak Peek!

Kymberli, Riley and I had the pleasure of meeting Joelle today. She has a natural presence in front of the camera. Not only was she polite and smiling the entire time, but in case you missed it she's also beautiful! We captured some amazing moments with her and these are but a few of the stunners.

Please, step back, put on the sunglasses and prepare yourself for hotness.

Brandon - Sneak Peek!

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since I last blogged. It's been a busy time of year and it took a session with Brandon to finally get me to get to typing. In case you haven't seen Brandon, my wife introduced him to us here. Today was my first time actually meeting him, but he is totally cool. Down to Earth, laid back and up for anything. He's one of the few models I see that takes direction, works it and sends the camera looking for a cigarette.

We had an awesome time shooting. Here are just a few of the images from today. Make sure to brace yourself because if you can't handle sizzling you had better leave the room.

Does Skripture speak to you?

Does it catch you with a hook? Well, this Skripture does. Today I had a photo session with actor/lyrical artist/model Skripture, a.k.a. Mike Foy. Who is this cat, you ask? You've probably seen him and heard him and enjoyed his work. Ever see The Shield on FX? Stamped it. Heroes on NBC? Stamped that one, too. How about the show Prison Break? Stamped that like a slap to the face! His music has even graced an episode of The Shield. He's got an album coming out soon called, "Legendary" and I am sure it'll be great. I was fortunate enough to listen to a sample today and it was smooth as silk. Loved it! Between the TV shows and movies he has coming out, I was psyched that he had time a photo op.

Today we collaborated to create some images that would benefit us both. We wanted to create something unique and knew it would be tough. On many of the television shows he's the 'bad guy'. Truth be told, Mike is a down to earth guy from back east who knows what I mean when I tell him that many of the California 'lakes' are really ponds, but we understand. He's laid back and super cool. Before the end of the session we had already discussed one or two more sessions with a different vibe. I am looking forward to them.

Mike, thank you for allowing me to shoot you today. I hope you had a great time and that you and all of you webbed foot followers enjoy the session. We certainly did.

Roncovacoco - Get your listen on!

Ever hang out with a band that you just KNOW is going to be fun to chill with? Roncovacoco IS that band. They are so much more than just a band though. They have this cool family vibe where they can be totally cool with each other, poke fun, be serious and still smile... all at 8am on a Friday morning! I want to say Thank You to the members of Roncovacoco for inviting us to be a part of your journey.

Kymberli and I got to shoot a session with them in downtown LA and it was a blast! Roncovacoco is in studio recording a new CD and we shot some photos for the CD itself. I've listened to some of their tunes they have out and I cannot wait for the CD release. It's gonna blow up!

You really do get super comfortable with these guys. I think every single member (nine were there and they were missing two) offered to help me with my gear at least a half dozen times. You guys are too cool and helpful. I so appreciated it! Best of all, they moved with precision. If one of us asked them to move around and get into a different positio

n... they did it with grace and we had a stellar session, but enough of my rambling... on to the sneak peek!

Kymberli's rad images are up on her blog... talk about talent!




My favorite shot of the day...

Maternity Session with Bobbi and Che

We had the pleasure of photographing a wonderful couple last weekend. Bobbi and Che are expecting their first child and she is going to be rockin' in the looks department. Look out world, say hello to Ella!

These two had us meet them where they exchanged their wedding vows and it was spectacular. The view was amazing, the weather was perfect and these two just made the camera blush. They are very much in love, as I am sure the photos will show.

Ella, you have some great soon-to-be parents and we are blessed to be able to call them friends.

22nd Annual Seal Beach Car Show, Pin-up Photoshoot

Hearing a hot rod getting revved is a great sound. Seeing the remarkable paint job on said car while it is being revved is an added bonus. What's can be better than that? How about a beautiful pin-up model standing next to your car getting everyone's engines going without having to touch a key.

Today was the 22nd Annual Seal Beach Car Show in Seal Beach, CA. I had the fortune of being asked to shoot some photos for Taylor's Tobacco House in Long Beach. The high-end cigar lounge owner, Albert Espinoza, asked me if I was interested in shooting some photos for him. We had spoken before, and I get all of my cigars through him, so I figured I had better not pass on this opportunity. The best part was he brought in pin-up model Diana Yanuaria especially for this event. I knew Albert would not disappoint.

When I arrived today, we all got to chatting like we were old friends and it just felt good. We joked and laughed and Albert introduced me to some of his friends, and of course Diana. Let me tell you a bit about both of them from my perspective. Albert (great name, huh?) is a dedicated businessman and cigar lover. He knows what he wants, works hard to get it, but still has time to enjoy life. He works hard and is also a laid-back guy. Diana is the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. Not only is she a beautiful woman, but she was all smiles and was very cordial with everyone. After about ten minutes of chatting we geared up and hit the pavement.

Our goal was to get some photos of Diana with some of the car owners throughout the show. With 500 cars there, we had a good chance of finding a few. In 2 hours we took photos of her with 25+ cars. Not even a dent (pun intended), but it was a blast. As we shot, many of the owners came up to us asking if we would shoot a photo of her by their car. Our answer was always the same - You bet! One of the best parts were the families that came up and asked her to pose with them. It was great to see that they weren't afraid and also how open Diana was. She was never standoffish and always made everyone smile.

We ended up having to stop shooting because it was getting late, but I'll bet that if we walked around some more we could have photographed Diana with 100 more cars. What a great day. I want to say thank you to Albert and Diana for being great to work with and asking me to do the photos. I had a great time and look forward to working with you both again.

What's that? Enough talk? I couldn't agree more. Wear your sunscreen and prepare for the sizzling hotness...