The past few months I have started to get the bug for traveling. A close friend, my brother and I decided to take a long weekend out to Montreal instead of the normal trip to Vegas or the beach. We had a blast walking around the city and experiencing the life of a Quebecer. I would have to say it is really interesting being in a city that greets you with “Bonjour” and “Hello” at the same time and asks if you need a French or English menu. If you are a pizza fan I would recommend taking a trip to Montreal. Pizza in Montreal is fantastic and people in Montreal are really nice. Every person we conversed with was extremely nice and prideful of their city. Even if their english was not great, they would go out of their way to thank us for visiting Montreal all the way from Los Angeles. Apparently not very many people visit Montreal from LA.  

I just want to take the time and congratulate my brother on a job well done. He just graduated from Woodbury University with the second highest GPA and the top 1% in the nation. Your hard work is paying off bro. I couldn’t be more excited for you. This is just the beginning.

Here are a few images from a puppy shoot I did last week. They explain themselves…

It was a pleasure working with everyone from Cool Globes yesterday at Exposition Park. The event went really well. Special thanks to everyone from Cool Globes, Exposition Park, Sony, Governor Schwarzenegger, Mayor Villaraigosa, and everyone else who contributed! 

Happy Earth Day!

Here are a few pictures I took at the event. 

Printing photos at home…

This seems to be such a huge topic these days with the ease of digital photography. I have been asked numerous times by friends, family and clients weather or not it is cheaper to print pictures at home or to have them sent out. I would like to say it is easier and cheaper to print your own pictures at home but it really isn’t! I hate to be the bear of bad news if you just went out and bought a printer to do just that. Yes it is nice to be able to print a picture of on the spot to show your friends or family members…. BUT!! It is going to cost you double if not triple the cost of taking your files to places like Costco, Shutterfly, or Target. The things you don’t realize when you are purchasing a printer is there are a lot of costs that go into printing photos at home.

Always empty?

The most common thing I hear from people is “I just changed my ink cartridge!! How is it empty?!!!!” I say the same thing! The next thing that you always run into is there is never enough paper in the pack when you think there is. Now you have to go out of your way to go buy new paper or ink. And the last thing I want to do is run to the store at 8 o’clock to find out that they don’t have any paper or ink left or the store is already closed. I do it all the time and you know you do as well.

Expensive and Lack of Quality….

After researching and testing myself I have found that printing a 4×6 at home can cost anywhere from 30 cents to $1 depending on the paper and printer you are using. Yes some printers you can print 4×6’s for less then 20 cents BUT what the manufacturer never tells you is the quality of print is decreased tremendously and if you stick it in a window for a short amount of time it will fade to nothing. It breaks my heart to think that one day you might not have a picture left. And I know a good percentage of you are not backing up your files. Which is a whole other topic that I wont get into now. All I will say is BACK UP BACK UP BACK UP!!!! Another thing that no one tells you when you buy your printer is when (Yes WHEN… we have all done it) you spill a drink on a stack of your photos they do not have a protective coating on the prints like places like Costco, Shutterfly, and Target. The protective coating in most cases will prevent the water from penetrating the ink as long as it didn’t sit on the prints for too long. If you spill anything on your prints at home they will be ruined no matter how much water touches them. And just face it the quality is never the same as when you have it printed by a professional. And who wants to pay 30 cents to a $1 for one 4×6 when you can get it printed for 15 cents. 

Operator error… 

This is a major cost factor in printing at home. Most people dont realize it but when you mess up a print YOU EAT THE COST. If your ink runs out and you are not sitting at your printer YOU pay for the paper that was just wasted. If you take it to a professional THEY ARE GOING TO EAT THE COST if they mess up the picture and if you don’t like it they will pay for it to be reprinted for you. 

Shipping

Some of you may say well if I order my prints online they are going to charge me for shipping… Yes, some places will charge you printing but in most cases they if you purchase enough prints they will give you shipping for free. I know a good percentage of places offer free pickup like Costco, Shutterfly and Target. We all hate getting promotion information but I know with shutterfly they are always running some sort of promotion like 25 free prints or free shipping. How can you go wrong with FREE?

Time is Money…

I don’t want to waste any of your time and let me tell you printing at home is always time consuming and it never prints the way you want. And we all know the saying “TIME IS MONEY” Well its true. I mean if you have all the time and money in the world in your hands by all means print away… But most people are not in that situation. Yes, printing at home can be convenient for certain situations and it can be fun to mess around with you have the time to mess around with it but what it really comes down to is what is cheaper. If I can offer you any bit of advice ……. DO NOT PRINT FROM HOME! If you don’t mind running out of ink all the time, going to the store wondering if they even have what you need, dealing with your printer messing up or just wasting your paper, and most importantly spending money you don’t have to spend then by all means go ahead. But when it comes down to it, it is cheaper to send your prints out and relax in the comfort of knowing they will be done right while saving money.

I have recently been in connection with a wonderful organization called The ASHÉ Foundation. They are trying to collect 1 million pairs of shoes for children in  Mozambique, Africa. For the past few weeks I have been working closely with Miss Midstokke’s First Grade Class at Phoenix Ranch School. Our goal was to collect at least one pair of shoes from every student. The kids worked so hard and have successfully collected 441 pairs of shoes with about 15 bags of clothing items!! We were so excited to see such a great turnout. I would like to continue collecting more shoes for the ASHÉ Foundation but it will take the help of everyone. It only takes one pair of shoes to change a child’s life. 

Anyone who donates shoes, clothing, or money to the ASHÉ Foundation by May 1st will receive 15% off of any photo session or photo retouching needed.  

Here is a bit more information about the foundation that can also be found on their website…  The ASHÉ Foundation

The ASHÉ Foundation is dedicated to serving the needs of the underpriviledged of African nations. Our current goal is to collect one (1) million pairs of new and gently worn shoes and other items so that we can deliver them to those most in need throughout the African continent. 

Astoundingly, there are 1.7 million orphans in South Africa alone, and 99.8% were orphaned by parents who have died from AIDS.  Sadly, there are countless other children whose parents are still alive but are not able to care for or feed them, let alone put shoes on their on feet.

We urge you to help our foundation put shoes on the feet of so many in need, especially the millions of children in Africa who suffer daily from the devastating effects caused by HIV/AIDS.  We will be embarking on our second of many trips to Africa in early 2010.  The first stops on our world-changing mission will be South Africa and Mozambique.  This trip will ensure that the items we collect will be delivered to the intended recipients.  With your help we will accomplish our goal and much more and have a larger impact on the world.

We welcome you with open arms and would like to say thank you in advance for your much needed support.   Please inquire today about how you can become a part of our growing organization.

 

Please visit The ASHÉ Foundation to find out how you may help “Change The World Two Feet at a Time”.

Great news! I have been officially approved to submit images to istockphoto !! This is a huge step in my career. I have been looking for some time to see which stock site I want to contribute to and I finally settled with istockphoto. After meeting all of their qualifications I can now start submitting images. Let the process begin!! 

These two have such a spark about them that is indescribable. Working with these two was such a blast! I have never shot so many pictures at a wedding as I did at this wedding. The presence these two left on everyone was remarkable. Congratulations! You two rock!! 

Thanks Jeff for yet another referral. Thank you Hunter Industries the News Letter looks great!!

Check out the latest ad that ran in Hunter Industries news letter! 

Hunter Industries…. http://www.hunterindustries.com/