“A UFO crashed northwest of Roswell, New Mexico, in the summer of 1947.” – Wikipedia on Area 51.
But what was never mentioned was the existence of a “Hangar 51″. In 1947 the government ran a complex web of diversions that led the press and UFOlogists to speculate on Hangar 18 (another abandoned warehouse near Roswell that reportedly stored alien aircraft debris), several hundred miles from where the actual extraterrestrial material was actually stored. Only the highest government and military officials knew of Hangar 51, if indeed it existed.
Haha ok there really is this abandoned military hangar, but it’s nowhere near Roswell. My friends Kristi and Stephanie had planned a road trip to Salton Sea for a photo shoot, but it rained on us on our way that morning (for the second time!). We took a little detour and found ourselves taking shelter in this old dilapidated warehouse. The place was incredibly filthy, with decaying wood, broken glass, torn out fixtures, and bird (owl?) droppings everywhere I stepped. It was perfect for a photo shoot!
A HUGE shoutout to our hair/makeup stylists: Denise and JJ, Paul from Blue Sky Videos, and our fabulous models Cazz, Denise, Tyler, Kylah, and Amy!
Tags: artistic photography in southern california orange county
Note to self: Come back to Red Rock and plan to stay there all day (or two)
Just before leaving Las Vegas I decided to check out Red Rock, NV just west of the city. Oh man I was blown away by the beauty and immensity of this place! I managed to get a few shots before the sun went down, and left with regrets that I didn’t come here sooner. I will definitely be back…
Here’s a quick recap of the Anti-Workshop in Vegas:
Day 1 we dove right into the deep end with lectures from Chenin, Doug, and John (JMC) about previsualization, context, making every image interesting, telling the story, and branding. (that’s just a tidbit of things found in my notebook) Then we went out to shoot Elvis with polaroid cameras all over Downtown Las Vegas. Yes, Elvis lives! Too bad I didn’t get (digital) pictures of this. But it was a great exercise in using a limited tool to rely on more “thinking” rather than having all the digital advantages.
Day 2 was all about finding the light, and creating dramatic lighting. And this time we got to shoot with our own cameras. Here’s a few favs that I got of our models (and photographers) Trish and Jared:
Day 3 was all about creating TRUST from clients, directing, cool group shots, being proactive, album designs, self promotion, and workflow. We even got a little bit of expert PhotoShop tips from Doug.
And that evening we met up with my friends from San Francisco Ed and Monica Pingol (awesome photographers!) for an impromptu romantic photo shoot: 
Afterwards we had a little fun while looking for a Starbucks (vid courtesy of Erwin, starring Monica, Ed, Jeff, me, Josh)
Ok it was about 3am in the morning and I had the wrong shoes on!
So the workshop ended with a demo shoot at “The Boneyard” – the Neon Sign Museum in Las Vegas. John, Chenin, and Doug
The Anti-Students!
Oh wait, it doesn’t really end there…
we also had a chance to shoot Eliesa and Judd at Bally’s
They were totally cool and were down for anything!
Awesome times!
I’ve been out of town (off to Vegas, baby!) last week and this week attending my first ever workshop hosted by John and Dalisa Cooper (Alt-F) plus Doug and Chenin Boutwell (Boutwell Studio).
“It’s an intensive three day workshop for photographers that emphasize discovering and creating a style (my style) that works with my own life goals.” It’s a chance for me to rediscover why I’m in this business, improve my photography, learn to think outside my little box, learn from photographers whom I admire, and to get “corrupted”. Actually it turned out to be a whole lot more than that. I learned to really think about the images that I create through previsualization, finding the light, the composition, and the moments. I also had the pleasure of meeting some talented photographers that came from all over the world for this workshop, and made some new friends. I just can’t say enough good juicy yummy rad stuff about my experience from this!
And as if that wasn’t enough exposure to everything about photography, I’m also attending the WPPI Conference and Tradeshow that’s also in Vegas! 
That’s the annual convention for Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. There’s classes, workshops, parties, guest speakers, parties, dinners, parties, the huge tradeshow, and parties. I had a great time meeting so many other photographers, doing photo shoots, networking, and checking out the parties. I mean I was literally seeing, hearing, breathing, and talking photography for eight days straight. Talk about overkill.
Anyways, stay tuned for updated images!
A huge CONGRATS to Katie and Jason! Their ceremony took place at Heritage Park which had a spectacular view overlooking Dana Point Harbor and the Pacific Ocean. It was such a gorgeous day with unbelievable weather. Just check out their wedding slideshow (click here!).
After the ceremony we were able to capture images of Jason and Katie enjoying a moment together – I love when two people in love can totally be into each other. I didn’t even have to direct them while they interacted! Their pictures came out naturally romantic. Awesome!
Afterwards we headed over to Salt Creek Grille in Dana Point for an elegant outdoor dinner/reception:
Also a gigantic ‘thank you’ for Britney who came out to second shoot with me!
Tags: Katie and Jason’s wedding in Dana Point, Heritage Park, Salt Creek Grille, romantic photos overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Dana Point Harbor
Dana Point wedding photographer, Orange County wedding photography
It’s couples like Mimi and Ramin that remind me how much I truly love what I do. They came ready to enjoy themselves! When we went to Pasadena to do their engagement session, we ended up running out of light so we took the shoot into downtown. We found some killer lighting in the alleys and even sneaked into one of the buildings. I thoroughly enjoyed myself finding these really cool spots and they were willing to try anything! 
I love this image with all its grain (kind of hard to see at this size, but this one looks awesome when you can see the details of the grain)
I’m definitely coming back here again!
Tags: Mimi and Ramin’s engagement photo shoot in Old Town Pasadena, romantic portraiture, sexy fun, low light photography, e-session, downtown urban exploration, alleys, streets, Pasadena City Hall.
PS: Here’s one for Mom and Dad! ; )
Engagement pictures Pasadena, bridal portraits Old Town Pasadena, urban photography, romantic photos, Pasadena wedding photographer Greg Bumatay
Karen and Tony could not have picked a more scenic place for their bridal photo session than The Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, CA. I’ve been excited about this this day since we started planning it a few months ago, and I finally got a chance to shoot once again in this beautiful setting. I’ve shot many times here before but never on an early morning with such exquisite lighting like this. Just look at these favs:
We also happen to be one of the first to photograph at the newly built Chinese Gardens, which just completed a couple of weeks ago!
Tags: Karen and Tony photo shoot, The Huntington Library and Gardens, San Marino, romantic portraiture, Chinese Garden, Japanese Garden, wedding, bridal pictures.
San Marino wedding photography, The Huntington Library Gardens wedding photographer, bride portraits
