When I was two-years old, I broke my arm. I was a stupid little kid back then and was fooling around with a 10-speed bicycle that was propped up against a wall. The bike tumbled on top of me and … well … the rest, shall we say, is history.

Yesterday, I took pictures of a beautiful model. And today, I was the one getting pictures taken of me. X-rays, that is.

And yes, it is broken.

This is the second bone I’ve broken in my entire life. And I have to say despite the pain and the general annoyance of hobbling around with my pimp limp, this is actually pretty cool. I mean, heck, got some great pictures yesterday that we pretty much nailed … and it makes the adventure a little more interesting.

I mean goodness, I do have 9 other toes left. What’s one?

Today was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day. I headed up to Laguna Beach, the “real” OC, for an awesome phone shoot with the lovely Miss Laura Baker. We didn’t spot the likes of Kristin Cavallari and her crew … but we got some absolutely amazing shots for the calendar. Laura is an absolute gem to work with. I could say I’d give my right arm to work with her … but today I gave my left toe. :)

We shot at a “secret” beach up in Laguna which was really really cool. But to get to the part of the beach that was really really cool, we had to cross this little part where the water would break really hard against the rocks. It would break so hard, it was thunderous. None of us really wanted to get smashed against the rocks, so we took turns carefully timing the water and darting across. We all stood around cheering each other on … Laura was the first to go. She barely made it … narrowly escaping a humongous wave that would’ve definitely smashed her against the rocks. I went next, with my camera gear … I jumped off the ledge, but must’ve landed funny and jacked up my toe. But I didn’t care. What I did care about was getting across and not getting smashed against the rocks. That definitely would have been worse. When I got to the other side, I had a slight feeling I had done something … but because my foot was so numb from the cold water, I couldn’t tell. I honestly think I broke it, but I’ll find out tomorrow when I go to the doctor. I was optimistic at first, but it’s really hurting now. I guess you could call it a battle wound … and definitely worth it for the shots we got today. And even despite the broken toe, I finished the shoot. It meant crawling around on the sand like an otter … but I’d say it was definitely good times.

Now, some visuals …

Yesterday was a long day, but a decent start to the weekend. After doing some miscellaneous things around the house, I headed up to Fallbrook for a group shoot at a really really gorgeous location. I had a blast … and there were tons of smoking hot ladies around wanting their picture taken. It just so happens that I had a camera and was able to oblige. I’ll post a few pictures little later.

After the shoot, I took a little drive down memory lane and got lost in Escondido. Well, I didn’t get lost … I knew exactly where I was. But my dad got me a little confused. :) I was trying to find a place called George’s Burger … but alas, the one I was thinking of that used to be across the street from my dad’s old office is no longer there. Actually, my dad’s old office is now a Del Taco. But I did finally find a George’s Burger and really enjoyed their French fries. I had forgotten how good they were.

Anyway, I’m going to do a few odds and ends around here and then head up to Laguna Beach for my afternoon shoot with Laura and Lauren. Should be good time. More later!

Back in the day, I was quite the procrastinator. I would wait until the last minute to write papers, do homework, clean my room, and apparently ask girls out (by the time I got the balls to do it, they were already dating someone else). Anywho…

My shining moment (which I may have mentioned before) is when I wrote a college paper 45 minutes before class started…ran to the computer lab to print it out…and then turned it in.

I got an A.

But old habits die hard. I’m sitting here waiting for my laundry to dry because I waited so long to do it. And tonight I had a HUGE pile of clothes to wash. I can’t run around naked, now can I? I even ran to the store yesterday before heading up to Santa Ana to grab a couple t-shirts because I was all out. So now I’m paying the price for waiting. Grrr.

At least I’m able to get stuff done while I wait. :)

Doug and I headed out to a little soiree at Dave and Buster’s tonight for a my pal Heather’s birthday. Lots of fun. Got to see Liz and Shaylin and a few other hotties. The dudes were cool too…don’t get me wrong. And the bread was fabulous. Anyway, it was fun.

But now I’m ready for bed. This is annoying that my clothes are still drying. WTF. Seriously WTF.

Anyway, I am about 10 seconds away from pulling them out wet. I think 3 hours of sleep is good, don’t you?

Wouldn’t be any different than usual. :P

Hey y’all…

Took the afternoon off today and cruised up to Santa Ana for a trade show with the Zoom hotties (Tony, included). Had a blast with everyone. The show was a bit slow, but it was fun snapping pictures and hanging with Stevie and Ashley. I’m thoroughly exhausted, but have a few hundred pictures to sort through from the day. Here are a few…

More shots can be found by clicking the link below:

2007-07-25-Zoom Show

The locale was interesting to say the least, but it was still fun. I’m heading to bed now…but more adventures later.

Well, the last time I shot with the beautiful and super-sexy Taylor Autumn was some time last April before heading off to Hawaii. Yeah, she’s beautiful … but I had *almost* forgotten how much fun it was to be with her. I was quickly reminded today …

We had an AWESOME shoot today for the calendar. And, since she looks amazing with clothes on too, we drove around downtown La Jolla and snapped a few around town. Definitely, definitely good times. Good enough to say “definitely” two times.

Here are a few samples …

And if you click the link below, there are few behind-the-scenes shots. I think you’ll enjoy these as I pretty much look like a dork in all of them.

Behind the scenes with Taylor, 7-22-07

So, since it’s really, really late … I think I’m going to get to bed now. Hope everyone had as good a weekend and as I did.

I got to utlize my culinary chops…pork chops, that is. See what I did there?? I used chops to describe my technical abilities in the kitchen as well as the entree that I cooked. A double entendre, if you will.

Anyway, my dad and I utilized a Giada de Laurentiis recipe for a parmesan encrusted pork chop…which I must say, came out mighty tasty. ;)

Earlier in the day, I was able to get some things done…I slept in, cleaned up the room a little. Brian and Flor’s spring cleaning has motivated me to start purging a little myself…so I threw out a ton of crap with more to follow. It’s amazing how much crap I have.

And speaking of crap, I found a pages from a journal that I used to keep. Seven years ago, I was actually pretty good at recording the mundane details that happened in my life. It was pretty entertaining reading about the stuff that happened exactly seven years ago to the day. And it was also pretty depressing reading about some of the events as well. Let’s just say we all learn from our mistakes…encounter stupid people…but we live and we learn…and we grow. Funny how life is like that.

Last night, we got to see the Padres lose (unfortunately). But had a blast with Flor and Brian. Definitely good times…and I have the photographs to prove it.

2007-07-20-Padres/Phillies game

Really looking forward to my afternoon shoot tomorrow and getting more stuff done around the house. Check back!

I’m so glad too…it’s been the Longest. Week. Ever.

And I thought I’d purposefully utilize periods for emphasis. Did it work?

Anyway…I have fun shoots planned for this weekend….plus…goin’ to see the Padres and the Phillies tonight. Woo hoo!

And it’s pay day.

And I’m going to eat me a large hot dog too.

Thank God it’s Friday. The weekend is officially here. :)

I headed out to Windansea this evening to take Dave and Erin’s engagement pictures. Dave was my roommate almost two years ago…and it was my first time meeting Erin. It was a good time playing at the beach…and it’s good to know Dave’s found a good woman. Here are some shots…

And now, I think I’m going to get to bed. More later!

As always, it’s been an interesting week. Today is the first time I’ve been able to stop and breathe. :)

In totally random news, I met a girl for the first time today…that I’ve known for the last 3 years. Sort of.

Back at Union Bank, my job was dealing with mortgage brokers and their processors. Basically being a nice guy, doing a little processing…but mostly interacting with our brokers. One of the processors I really enjoyed working with was a gal by the name of Rashell. We became quick pals and it was fun working with her. I found out yesterday that she now works at the “W” too. How random is that? She’s actually been here for the last two months, but I never knew. She said that she walked by my desk and recognized my name, but wasn’t sure if I’d remember her. But when I saw her name on a file, I quickly shot her an email and sure enough, it was the same girl. So we met today for the first time. It was cool.

So last weekend, I had a busy, busy time shooting…Friday, I drove up to Flash Box Studios in Orange for a group shootout with the beautiful Gianna and Charlie Kristine. Got a lot of good shots and it was fun hanging out with two gorgeous ladies and some cool photographers.

Saturday, I drove up to good ‘old Ramona to photograph a cool backyard wedding. No pictures yet…but it was a nice time.

Sunday was twice as busy…woke up sort of early for a shoot at Downing Studios with the lovely Kymberly. Definitely a fun shoot…however, some of the shots are quasi-scandalous, so here are a few that I can post…

In the afternoon, I met up with Gianna and Ennis in La Jolla for another calendar shoot. Gia brought her A-game as always and almost set my camera on fire. Smokin’ good time…great shots…

It’s gotta be illegal to look that good…and I’m sure that blue bikini is a felony in some states.

Anyway, the laundry needs to be folded, so I have to get going. I’ll chime in a little later, I’m sure. Enjoy your Thursday night! Tomorrow night…I’m going to get my weekend on!

Go treat yourself to a Slurpee today.

It’s 7/11. :)

I had a great weekend. Lots of pictures were taken, which I have spent the better part of the evening sorting through. I am going to be heading home and heading to bed in a little bit, so I will have to recap the weekend tomorrow. But let me just tell you now that it was good. :)

I wanted to share with you all this HILARIOUS commercial I saw the other day. When it came on, I literally stopped what I was doing and laughed out loud. Not only is it funny, but it’s for Coldstone…which of course, is one of my weaknesses. Enjoy…and laugh.

We celebrate, of course, the freedom we enjoy in this country…but I also celebrate freedom from work…and any type of responsibility. :)

I had a nice day off…

Had a little fact finding mission on my own today…drove up to Malibu for a photo shoot. I was a little late (like two hours…), but it wasn’t my fault, I swear. Anyway, the model was cool and the beach was breathtakingly cool. Lots of people out to celebrate the holiday. We shot at Point Dume after finding a parking spot and hiking the trail down to the water. Got some good shots…

After the shoot, I decided to take my time heading back south and enjoy the drive. My cool cousin, Tara, graduated from Pepperdine last year…and since I’ve never seen the campus, I took a quick detour and drove through campus. Pretty.

Last night, had an AWESOME time with Brian, Flor, and Michele. We went out to Deco’s to support the breast cancer 3-day fundraiser my friend Carrie was hosting. The turnout wasn’t as big as I expected…but it was still a good time.

More pictures here.

Flor forwarded this to me today…

Now as a photographer, I believe in a little post-production. In the glamour-photography world, the pictures fresh out of the camera need a little sweetening to make them “pop”…

But sometimes too much is too much.

And sometimes, even the pros goof up:

• Maxim Magazine Sucks at Photoshop

I think you’ve acheived a culinary lowpoint when ramen and mac and cheese are too much of an effort.