Yet another upgrade!!

Oh man!! Oh man!!  Am I excited or what!!!  Another upgrade to my collection of lenses!!  Just got my 2nd L series lens the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L.  First look at this, was it felt a bit heavy and longer that my Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8.  So I put this on my camera, the infamous Canon 40D and was ready to experiment.  I shot about 30 pictures and was ready to upload on my handy dandy Mac Powerbook!!  First thought after seeing the images, I almost thought I was going to have a heart attack!!  The 2 lenses are almost night and day with color and sharpness.  After only about 20 minutes with this lens, I have to say I am impressed and with my other Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS I think I can basically shoot anything.  Anyways please see some of these amazing images from in and around my house this afternoon.  Canon freakin rocks!!!

Someone drank this last night, but just wanted to show depth of field.

60 mm f/2.8 @ 1/50 ISO 320

Random flower or weed in the backyard.

 52mm f/2.8 @ 1/160 ISO 200 

My favorite model!!

38 mm f/2.8 @ 1/400 ISO 320

Yet another shot of her, look at the crispiness of the eyes!!  Can't wait to do a real field test!!

55mm f/2.8 @ 1/320 ISO 320

A Day in the Valley

When I think of Napa, nothing but images of sunny skies and great wines come to mind. And today was no exception. The weather could not have been more perfect as we set out to the valley to meet up with some old friends for a long overdue rendezvous. Although it was Stacey and Elmer's first visit, they managed to find their way to V. Sattui Vineyards, our first destination. After two rounds of tasting for some of us, we found the perfect spot on the grass for a picnic style lunch. 

Our second destination was Franciscan Winery. For some reason, the weather began to get hotter. Or was it because we were already drunk by now? After our tasting, we decided that there was still time to hit up one more winery. Our last visit was to PEJU Vineyards, one of my favorite places. By this time, we were all mellow and getting tired eye. Once again, Napa proved that first timers will keep coming back. Here are some images from our day out in the sun.  

Wine, wine, and more wine...

Endless grapes!!

We all needs some water after all that wine!!

Softball - Week 3

What a day to start off the 3 day weekend! It was week 3 of softball, and we The 48's had a battle with the Greenhorns.  The game came down to the last inning with two outs and a runners on first and second...  Despite our effort to come back, we ended up losing due to a runner getting into a pickle between first and second!  Final score was 8-9...  Oh well I guess there is always next week, until then enjoy some images from week 3!!!

Pre-party Tailgate

Let's Go 48's!

Linda and Dong's wedding

This weekend, we had the pleasure of shooting our very first wedding! Although Leric has had numerous years of experience being behind the video camera filming weddings, this was his opportunity to venture out and truly explore his passion for photography. We were invited to the wedding of Linda and Dong as guests, but ended up at the very last minute to help them photograph their beautiful wedding. Linda could not have seem more stressed out than any other bride on her wedding day, but she held her composure down to perfection.

The ceremony and reception took place in Mill Valley, a small town right across the water that's known for it's seaside leisure and upscale accommodations. The Mill Valley Community Center was beautifully decorated, and although there were no ray of sunshine that late afternoon, everything still turned out almost perfect. Here are some images from that evening of Remy rain and all night open bar!!

Cathy and Kiem's babyshower

Sunday was a day filled with joy as Cathy Ramos and Kiem Nguyen got together with their friends and family at Little Saigon Restaurant ( owned and operated by Kiem Nguyen himself ), for their very first babyshower. The not so little restaurant quickly filled up with families from all over; everyone all there for one purpose.

Guests kindly made an early contribution to unborn baby Kayla's college fund and were given hand-made bamboo plants as thank you gifts. What better way to collect money for college than from your friends and family! The mama-to-be looked radiantly beautiful while sticking it out all day on her feet as she greeted guests, posed for pictures, and made sure everyone was comfortable. Here are some wonderful images of the day and for full gallery please see here.

Alyssa's 1st birthday

This past Saturday, baby Alyssa turned one years old. Even though it was a scorching hot day, Alyssa was surrounded by friends and family who came out and made her 1st birthday very memorable. Both kids and adults alike enjoyed themselves by getting temporary tattoos and cute balloon animals made courtesy of Mellissa from BalloonStar. Games were played; pin the nose on Elmo was filled with laughter and a pinata of Elmo was swung around underneath the warm glow of the heat. Cake was served while the sun begin to set just in time for the kids to start jumping around in the Sesame Street jumper. Here are some images from baby Alyssa's big day and for full gallery please see here. Enjoy!

Outside of the photography...

To some people, work may be boring but for me, I am surrounded by great people. Besides doing photography on the weekends, I am usually on the 9-5 grind. Sometimes work and photography aren't enough that I have to do more!! Usually during lunch breaks I am usually attempting to shoot hoops with the co-workers. Games can be intense, but we all know that the games are for fun. These are some of the guys I play with during lunch, but today decided to be behind the camera.

Basketball, photography, and work may seem like a lot, but I've also added company softball. Who the heck can say NO to softball?!? The never ending tailgate filled with all the alcohol you can drink and endless hamburgers and sausages. That's only the beginning!! As a team we all get to come together, practice, and win!!! Here are some images of week 1 of 10. GO TEAM!!