Posts Tagged ‘Canon T2i’

Authenticially Honored

Monday, August 29th, 2011

New Photo Portfolio Domain
Last time, I blogged about a new domain name.  Things are in its infancy stages, but I’ve secured my new domain nameWe just pushed “purchase” literally a few minutes ago!  So the name of my photography site is born.  Finally, my photos and projects have a homeIn the coming week’s I’ll be revealing the new site!

Honored
This past week, for the second time, I was there for the delivery of my friend’s new baby.  I was there for her 2nd and this time, her 3rd.  Witnessing the birth of a baby is something so magical.  Witnessing a baby take their first breath evokes this unique feeling that you couldn’t get anywhere else besides a delivery room.  I’ve been there for of course my own children’s births, but its vastly different just being an observer, rather than the deliverer.

That afternoon, just before she went into the hospital, as I was sort of whining about having to leave work early to go to the hospital, my friend summed it all up for me:  “you should feel honored.”  That’s right.  What the hell was I thinking?  I AM honored.  Thank you Cindy for inviting me in again to share this special moment with you…

Stay tuned for the upcoming newborn photoshoot!

 

Japanese@Heart

Friday, August 26th, 2011

This past weekend we journeyed to Little Tokyo to see some friends.  Our friend introduced us to TOT Restaurant in Little Tokyo.  I discovered their specialty, spicy miso soup.  It was yum!!  Its a pretty good hole-in-the-wall Japanese joint.

Walking the streets of Little Tokyo made me realize we don’t visit enough.  We send our daughter to Japanese school, yet seldom take her to Little Tokyo!  We’re Japanese at heart…its all coming back to me now.

Here are some pics of the HSUFAM in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles:

 


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Authentically Drifting Pretty

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

In 2003, I founded Drifting Pretty.  We had many moments in the media in our first few years, but lately we’ve been pretty private.  You don’t need to be trolling for magazine covers or features to go places in this world.  All you need to be is authentic.  I think that has been one of our secrets to success.  We’ve circled back to our main purpose over the past few years: to encourage and teach women about all things automotive-racing related.

Last weekend was a testament to this when ACT so graciously hosted the 2011 Drifting Pretty Field Trip.  The founder & President Dirk Starkensen, along with Daniel Starkensen & Chris Martin, opened up ACT’s doors on a Saturday afternoon and hosted a private clutch workshop & factory tour for Drifting Pretty.  They don’t get a magazine article or tv feature out of this, they did it simply because they believe in our purpose.  Now tell me if that isn’t authentic!?

We were honored to have this opportunity to come and learn at ACT.  We marketed this field trip to our students as a once-in-a-life time opportunity.  It was.  You can’t get this education from your traditional school.  From the bottom of my heart, again, thank you Dirk, Daniel and Chris.  Your support speaks volumes.

Here are some photos from the exciting field trip:

 

Spur Shooters the Sequel

Monday, August 15th, 2011

 

We met up with Denise & Jameson again, the lovely Spur Shooters couple, and completed their 2-location engagement session.  Dana Point was the location of this shoot.  With 1 session under their belt, the happy couple seemed like professional models this time around!

Denise & Jameson are now in the thick of wedding planning.  A Chinese/Traditional American wedding…its going to be beautiful.  Congratulations again, we’re looking forward to the big day!!

Spur Shooters sequel:

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Spur Shooters: Behind the Scenes

Friday, July 1st, 2011

We had a good time shooting Denise & Jameson.  Here are some behind the scenes shots to paint the rest of the picture:

One of the 1st shots of the happy couple…good job Handicapped sign!!

 

Elise & Kristy came with us!  Good thing they’re iPad fanatics!

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Spur Shooters

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

This past weekend Marc & I did our 2nd engagement shoot.  We had a lot longer than last time to shoot.  We used every minute.

We shot an adorable couple, who might as well be a real-life cowboy & cowgirl.  They met on eHarmony and things moved swiftly into a beautiful engagement.  And who knew asian guys could own Buicks, wear ostrich boots, fancy belt buckles, and carry a cowboy hat wherever they go!?  The bride-to-be admitted they hardly have any photos of them together! We sure fixed that.

We shot with a few props and stumbled into a semi-styled shoot. I’m always reading about styled shoots…and as I reviewed our shots, I realized my subconscious shot the couple as if we were following them around on their ranch. With the entrance of a mere cowboy hat and a few square dancing moves, it transformed this shoot into something magical and western.

I shot with 3 different lenses. 50% was shot with my new 30mm 1.4, 35% with the trusty 28-75 2.8 and the remaining 15% was shot with a 10-22 (which was my first time snapping shots with this lens).  My favorite to shoot with was the 30…but I am intrigued now with the 10-22.

Here are some of my favorite shots.

Tamron 28-75mm 2.8


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Shooter

Friday, June 24th, 2011

They always say the successful big shots are the little shots who keep shooting.  I’m so there.  Marc of “Mondoy”(I dubbed his videography company, “Mondoy”) and I have our 2nd engagement photoshoot this weekend.  We’re shooting at Quail Hill again in Irvine.  The couple just happened to pick the same place we were at last shoot.  I have unfinished business at Quail Hill, so I’m excited to return and challenge myself to not shoot a single shot that mirrors the last session.  I borrowed a Canon 10-22mm just for fun…its going to be interesting incorporating that into the shoot.  Can’t wait!!

New Eye
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to shoot with Canon’s L series 35mm 1.4, which goes for $1500.  It has been on my lens wish list for the longest time.  I’ve been comparing that to the Sigma 30mm 1.4 The $1000 price difference between the Sigma and the Canon was no match.  The Canon was not $1000 better than the Sigma.

I found a sweet deal online from Unique Photo for the Sigma (the discounted price shows up when you put it in your cart), and the store ended up beating everyone else’s price by $50.  The pretty Sigma 30mm 1.4 came last week and I’ve been learning a lot from shooting with it.

I thought I loved my 28-75, and then I met the 30.  I love you new lens.  Here are some test shots:

clean black cars steal the show

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Rawr Big R&R

Sunday, June 19th, 2011

We went up to Big Bear for our friend’s birthday/wedding anniversary.  They’ve been married for 10 years!  Makes you feel old when your friends are celebrating their 10 year.  LA is so amazing, this trip made me thankful to live in such a beautiful city.  Just a couple hours and we’re deep in the wilderness hanging in a boat on a huge beautiful lake.

I haven’t been shooting as much as I’ve been wanting to lately.  So I made up for it at Big Bear.  Here are some of my fav pics from the restful weekend:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DTLA Birthday/Photoshoot

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

This past weekend we celebrated Benson’s birthday in downtown LA.  It turned into dinner then a photoshoot.  Happy Birthday B!

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