Here’s a little video I shot this morning while mourning the death of my bookshelf.

Too many books, I suppose.

So, I’m pretty stoked that Google finally came out with it’s Picasa photo software for the Mac OS. It’s in Beta…so I’m giving it a whirl. So far, it’s the Picasa I’ve come to know and love on the PC, with quick correction tools and it’s awesome sorting abilities. You even have the ability to upload directly to your Picasa Web Album.

Download it here.

I’ve come to a realization that I get really crabby and moody when I don’t do things that I love (i.e. photography). I’ve had a few periods in the last few months where I haven’t shot anything…and I’ve been so grouchy. So I guess I just need to keep the camera out of the bag. :)

Anyway, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve had the chance to shoot with anyone…and so this was the first shoot I’ve had in a while…and also the first shoot of 2009. It was with a crazy-cool gal named Cindy. Cindy is a go-go dancer here in San Diego who is originally from the east coast…and we had a killer time. First, let me just say how much I love go-go dancers. :) Some of my best model friends are go-gos…and let me just say they are hot. :)

But Cindy was a lot of fun to work with. We must have talked for a good hour before we even started shooting…and it was cool getting to know her.

We had decided earlier to shoot a bunch of go-go themes…and since the weather was absolutely crappy outside…we mostly did studio stuff. But it was fun and we got some great shots…

So I thought I’d bring in 2009 with another crush.

For anyone that has known me for any length of time, I will reiterate my affinity for artsy girls.

Dancers. Singers, Actresses. Painters.

You get the idea.

Every girl I’ve remotely had a crush on has been artsy. I don’t know what it is…I dig a talented woman.

So it should be no surprise that I totally have a platonic crush on Kristin Chenoweth.

Not only is she one of the CUTEST women ever with one of the CUTEST voices to ever hit my ears…but she is a talented and accomplished actress and stage performer.

You may have seen her around on episodes of The West Wing and in movies such as Stranger Than Fiction…but she’s probably most noted for her performance as Glinda in the Broadway production of Wicked. She has a voice that is definitely unmistakable.

Anyway, here are a few links to YouTube videos I’ve found of her…takes me back to me performing days.

As Sally Brown in Your a Good Man, Charlie Brown performing My New Philosophy

And right in the middle of the city…performing Popular from Wicked with Idina Menzel, on the street on NBC’s Today Show

I guess you could also throw Idina on the list as well…she’s pretty damn amazing too. ;)

Saw a Tweet from Jeremy Cowart sharing a link to the year in pictures from the NY Times. Definitely cool.

Check it out…

“Are you tired? Because you’ve been running through my mind all day.”

:)

Cheesy? Yes.

Why do we flirt? How? I heard this episode from the Stuff You Should Know podcast on How Flirting Works and I thought it was pretty interesting.

They actually have quite a few awesome podcasts on interesting topics…and since I’m quite a curious fellow, I really enjoy listening to the random facts.

Check it out at HowStuffWorks.com

Here’s a lighting tip…not really anything exciting, but it’s something I use all the time as part of my “standard” lighting scenario.

Here are some of the images I mention…

Samantha…

Miah in the jungle…

And a couple other examples of rim/edge light…

Emily in her Christmas outfit. I also have been known to call this “booty light” for obvious reasons. :)

And my other Emily. :)

And one of Rebecca outside…

And finally…one of Glenn-Marie outside…

Other photographers I mentioned in the podcast…

* Michael Crouch - Essence Digital Imaging
* Johnny Crosslin
* Justin Price

Give it a listen…

Or download here.

Absolutely brilliant…5 tips you can use to make your iPhone photos, well, not suck.

I loved every one of these tips…including the apps he suggests in tip #5. I own both…and highly recommend Camera Bag and Pano.

Check out his tips here: Chase Jarvis | 5 Tips For Making Great iPhone Photos

The hour is near…Santa is just about here, so I thought I’d write a quick little note and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I’m fortunate enough to have a great family whom I’m spending the day with…so that will be good times. :)

Yesterday, I got to spend the afternoon with Emily…and we had fun getting some totally foxy Christmas shots and then some. I will leave you with these…

And these…which are not Christmas-themed…but they are pretty cool anyway. :)

I had a reader comment on a blog post the other day about sharing more than just the pictures I take…

I never thought about sharing the technical stuff about shoots because I figured that I just am not that good. I figured the stuff I do is sort of elementary. However, that being said, I guess there is something to be said for what I can share…I like to learn something new whenever I pull my camera out…so I thought why not share the stuff I’m learning? Maybe someone else can learn something new too? We are all trying to be better artists, so I thought that in that regard, I would start talking about the stuff I’m learning.

So to change things up, I thought I’d do a podcast on it…this is the first episode…hopefully of many…where I talk about how I shoot and what I’ve learned. This episode talks about Mixing Light, artificial and natural, in order to achieve a very natural, bright, commercial look.

For visuals, you may reference the post titled “SoCo” about my shoot with Arika, the southern belle from Tennessee.

But here are the photos I talk about in the podcast:

Enjoy!

Or…

Click here to download the episode

If you haven’t seen the new commercial for Wynn’s new Las Vegas resort, Encore, you should definitely check it out…

And when you’re done, check this out…

Yeah, he’s really up there.

I’ve had the biggest crush on Jennifer Aniston…since the beginning of time. :)

This just solidifies it.

Check her out in this month’s GQ.

I love this new promo USA has out for the new episodes of Monk that are supposed to start in January.

It’s a spoof on the 80s show Magnum, p.i.

Monk is no Tom Selleck…but he gets the job done.

Definitely a cute commercial.

:)

I usually like commercials from Carl’s Jr…and this one is no exception.

The only thing that bothers me is this:

In what universe would a chump like that score a hot girlfriend like the hottie in this commercial?

All I can say is that I’ll gladly take you out for a steak dinner. I’ll even dress up. :) And we won’t be ordering from a drive thru.