I spend A LOT of time at the beach…so when I saw this silly, yet effective, way of protecting my iPhone from sand and surf, I just had to share it.

Thanks to Chase Jarvis for this brilliant tip!

When I first started taking pictures, I had just got my first job right out of college at a bank. We worked long hours…and I can remember looking forward to summertime because the days were longer…and the sun was still out when the work day was over.

More time to play outside. :)

After work, I remember trying to get to the parking lot as fast as I could so I could get to the beach before the sun went down. At the time, I lived in Point Loma…about 4 minutes away from OB…so on the way home, I’d stop by the beach, toss off the shoes…and take in the sunset. It was a great time to unwind and enjoy the view.

I’d bring my camera along sometimes and try to capture the “perfect” sunset. But I soon realized that there was no such thing…they were all pretty amazing.

But sunset is my favorite part of the day…where hectic schedules and to-do lists and everything else from the crazy day downshifts into the slow rhythm of evening.

As a photographer, I’ve sort of been typecast into the “bikini/swimsuit/sunset guy.” I mean, I take pictures of other stuff…you and I both know that…but the swimsuit stuff is what most people know me for and what most people want to shoot with me.

And you know…I’m okay with that. I mean, I get to spend time at the beach with amazing people while taking in one of the coolest things God’s created. And after everything is done…I get to relive those times in photographs.

Tonight, I got to spend time with Emily…one of my most favorite people. We went up to Swamis up in Encinitas to shoot some beachy bikini stuff. When we got there, it was a little chilly and a little cloudy and grey…but we started shooting anyway…and all of a sudden, the clouds parted and the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds. This is what we got…

Who could ask for more? A beautiful sunset…a beautiful girl. Nothing could be better. :) A local surfer agreed…and as we were getting ready to wrap up, he said, “You have this amazing San Diego sunset and this beautiful girl…you should do some shots with a surfboard.”

So he handed us his board and we took a few So Cal surfer shots…

Definitely good times with Em.

I had a fun shoot with my pal, Kaitlin this week. The weather is starting to clear up a bit…and since we had some shizz we needed to shoot, we planned a little afternoon sesh.

Except, she upped the ante a little bit and went bikini shopping right before she came out…and she showed up with this hot little blue Diesel bikini. So…I took pictures of her in it:

Also, we took a little video as well.

Photo shoot with Kaitlin from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

Now, I guess this place is as good as any to mention my new toy…I’ve had it for a couple weeks, but only been able to put it to the test most recently…

Upon the suggestion of my best friend, Brian…I went out and got a Flip Mino HD.

Now, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, the Flip is one of the world’s smallest camcorders. About the size of a cell phone or iPod, the Flip fits in your pocket. I totally agree with the thought that the best camera is the camera that’s with you…and with the Flip, you can always be ready to roll video.

Ahem…HD video, to be exact. It records in 1280 x 720 video resolution. The one that I have holds about an hour, or 4 GB worth of video…perfect for snapping clips here and there. And it encodes video in H.264 MP4 format…ready for editing, or uploading a quick clip directly to YouTube.

So far….I LOVE it. I carry it with me all the time. It’s great to have in my camera bag too for impromptu moments during photo shoots. Still getting used to motion and getting smooth video…but it takes practice.

And, so far I’ve talked two of my friends into getting one…one being a pro photographer…and the other, being a pro HD videographer. Once he had it in his hand, he said it felt great…and the quality was just enough for those short, quick moments.

So there is my product endorsement. If it’s good enough for a pro HD videographer…the Flip is good enough for me. It’s gets the job done…like Bacardi and Cola.

Anyway, enjoy the photos of Kait…more soon!!

Wow, I’m a slacker. :)

I shot with Darrce Grace several months ago…and I’m just now sharing these with y’all. :)

Darrce is a supa-sexy go-go dancer and model here in SD…and of course, we got our shoot on at the beach…

To go with these lovely pictures, we shot a little video as well.

Check it, yo…

Photo shoot with Darrce Grace from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

This time, with The Hills star Audrina Patridge.

No joke…if you are a hot model who has shot with me recently, I have shared my recent fetish for shiny bikinis.

And if you have eaten burgers with me recently…you will know that I like to endulge in a good teriyaki burger…

This commercial has all of my favorite things…and it made me smile. :)

I honestly think Carl’s Jr is on to something here…hot girls, delicious burgers? What’s not to love. Excellent marketing, boys!

So I had one of the best weekends I’ve had in a while.

The thing I love about my job is the awesome friends that I’ve made while taking pictures. And the cool thing about an awesome friend is that you can pick up where you left off…even if you left off a year and a half ago.

The last time I got to hang out with Erika was last January. If you remember, I got to wrap her in ribbon. Tough job, yes I know.

We got together for more shenanigans in the studio…bumping some cool tunes, throwing together some fun outfits, a sexy little lip bite here…a sweet smile there…and we had a BLAST creating some super sexy images. Again, the thing I LOVE LOVE LOVE about her is how sweet and sexy she is…she can be the girl next door one minute and the next minute she’s a bad ass.

Here are some shots from the shoot…and we’ve promised to not wait another year and a half before we get together again…so look forward to more hotness soon. :)

And a little bad ass blue steelosity…

I love Olivia Munn. I’m not gonna lie. So I’m just gonna leave it at that.

And the new Playboy with her gorgeousness on the cover is now out. Can’t wait until it hits my mailbox.

But until then, I will enjoy these very cute, very sexy photos of my favorite geeky gal.

Hope you do too.

Check out more here.

I seriously LOVE this commercial. :)

I haven’t lusted after anyone in quite a long time…but I thought it was time.

I’ve been in love with Marzia Prince for the longest time…ever since I picked up a camera, really. Marzia is a fitness and glamour model based out of Texas. With a killer smile, gorgeous eyes, and curves to die for…Marzia really brings a grown man to his knees.

So there you have it.

I love shooting people. However, I wish I could photograph ’stuff’ a little better…including landscapes. But I enjoy shooting people way too much. :)

Here are some awesome landscapes from San Diego wedding photographers Bauman Photographers.

Check out their site and their blog as well.

Another fabulous hottie that I’ve had the pleasure of photographing recently is Tawnya. She’s another one of my Mission Valley Hooters girls…and again, I met her when I shot the Rancho Bernardo Hooters bikini contest last year. She was a finalist along with Natalie, who I got to shoot with a few weeks ago.

Tawnya is smart, funny, a little on the quiet side…but she has this confidence about her that makes her oh-so-sexy. We had a blast on our slightly chilly beach photo shoot…and here are a few pictures from the day…

Again, to share a little technicalness to the shoot, I always try shooting a variety of different styles during shoots for a number of reasons.

For one, power. I’ve sadly noticed recently that my Vagabond II is not holding the charge like it used to…which means it’s time for a new battery. A way to prolong battery life during the shoot is simply to shoot on a lower power setting, saving the power for later in the shoot when overpowering the sun is more of an issue.

To compensate, I’ve been challenged to use other methods of lighting…reverting back to my days where I used only a reflector. I had forgotten how much I LOVE natural light sometimes.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m not a purist. I think artificial light is dandy and can be amazing…but natural light should never be overlooked…and can sometimes be more amazing than artificial light when done right.

Also…and this is one of the awesome side effects to using different lighting methods during a shoot…the model ends up getting different styles of photo. Changing up light, location, clothing, and style really gives the client a variety of different looks…it ends up looking like the product of several different shoots…and ultimately gives you and the model variety and shows your versatility as an artist. So there you have it.

Some of my favorite shots from the shoot were the bright, natural shots of her in the white bikini…which was achieved by placing the light opposite of the sun, turning down the power, and shooting with a more open aperture. This blurs and blows out the background, making her the central focus of the shot. This also softens the image as well.

So there you have it. Anyway, Tawnya was a lot of fun….and we have an indoor shoot in the works, so stay tuned for that.

More later, folks!!

Last week, Revolt Magazine released its annual swimsuit issue, of which I was fortunate to be a part of. This year, Ennis helped out as a second photographer…as well as my good friend and videographer, Kyle Karges…who produced a kick-ass companion DVD.

A few shots…

First, our cover…with the gorgeous Sarah McDowd…

My good friend, Lara Hardy…

The beautiful Emily Deyoung…

And our Ten on 10 and centerfold, Casie Kimball…

The behind the scenes video is on sale now and is available on DVD as well as iPhone format. Shot in stunning high definition, the video highlights beautiful swimwear, cool San Diego locations, and of course, our gorgeous models.

Check out the promo video and order your copy today!!

So last week, I had the chance to shoot with the beautiful and TOTALLY sweet Mallory Clark. If you remember, I got to shoot with her last Memorial day weekend…and so when my buddy Rich said she would be in town for a few days, I asked him to PLEASE bring her by for a quick shoot.

Mallory is probably one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever worked with…and again, she has that southern accent that turns a man to goo. :) She is such a sweetheart…and we had a blast shooting over at Ennis’s place.

Afterwards, we all went to Hooters…a familiar place to her, as she works at one in Tennessee. Even though she’s over there studying to be a vet, she is still a San Diego gal. :)

Anyway, here are a few shots from the shoot…stay tuned for the behind the scenes video coming soon!

The Revolt swimsuit issue went to print and should be out any day now…

But we are still working busily on the behind the scenes DVD. There were a few girls that we didn’t have enough footage of, so we’ve been shooting some b-roll and getting extra stuff with those lovely ladies.

One of these ladies was my GOOD friend, Kimberly. We shot her with the first group at The Pearl Hotel a couple of weeks ago…and we shot some more stuff yesterday at Windansea. I wasn’t planning on snapping any pictures…I actually assisted Kyle a little and shot a little with the second video camera…but then about halfway through the shoot, I busted out my Canon and snapped a few natural light shots. And I was pleasantly surprised. We got some great shots.

We also had a great shoot with Lara last night on the roof of a local hotel that over looks the city…and then today, we are shooting with Sarah and Emily. So busy, busy times…

Here are some shots…

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So for the last week and a half, we have been shooting the Revolt In Style Magazine swimsuit issue, which is due out next week. We photographed seven BEAUTIFUL ladies in and around San Diego and had a blast. There were challenges getting everything together…but in the end, it all worked out…and the finished product should be amazing. :)

New this year, I brought in my buddy, Kyle, to shoot some behind the scenes and he’s putting together a DVD that we are planning on selling at the issue release party this Friday at Anthology. He just shot me over a brief clip…and I have to say, it’s pretty amazing. Shot in stunning High Def, Kyle and his second videographer, Billy, got some amazing footage of our amazing models.

I would be slacking if I also didn’t give a shout out to my buddy, Ennis, for being a second shooter on the project. I had a lot on my plate…and Ennis, as usual, was there to get the job done and get some amazing shots.

Last Thursday, we shot with my pal, Casie…and she was the last girl to be photographed as we went to print the following day. But Casie and I always have an amazing time shooting…and this time was no different.

I brought my Flip out to the shoot and shot some behind the scenes of the behind the scenes…really, it’s only a teaser compared to the stuff Kyle and Billy shot. But it’s fun…and Casie is so cute. :)

Photo shoot with Casie from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

And here’s our Blue Steel shot…

Be sure to check out the issue of Revolt later this week.