Some artists just soar acoustically…and Bethany Dillon is one of those artists. I love her voice. I love the way she strums her guitar. Raw and beautiful in it’s simplest form. She doesn’t need orchestras or extra tracks. Just put her on stage with a guitar and prepare to be amazed.

When I caught her in concert a couple years ago, it was an amazing experience to watch her perform.

So imagine my excitement when I saw this EP on iTunes.

I am enjoying it now. :)

Well, that’s pretty much what my Valentine’s day was. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t get bitter or anything like that…I only get a little jealous at the couples. Just a little, though. :)

I spent the day in the rain…but it was cool. I photographed a cute, young couple getting ready to tie the knot in June. We had fun, despite the water and the freezing cold. :)

I am mostly writing to share the images I’ve been working on for the past week and a half….

Last Monday, me and the other boys from Essence shot four AMAZINGLY beautiful young ladies up in Carlsbad for some promotional materials for a local tanning salon. It was freezing cold, but the models were beautiful, professional, and a total blast to work with. I don’t even know why I am calling it work because it was hardly that…unless you think pushing a button and staring at hot girls all night is work.

And if you do, then you’ve got problems.

Did I mention how beautiful these girls were? Take a look…

Emily and her ridiculously hot lip bite…grrrr!

Casie and her general hotness…almost set my camera on fire…

The lovely Brieana

And Elisabeth just sizzles…

And it’s nice to know that the girls play nicely…

All in a day’s work. More images here.

Or three wishes, as the custom is. :)

Last Friday, Laura and I had an awesome time as usual…

We spent the morning creating some cute, casual, Valentinesy pictures…

After a quick run through the drive-thru at Mickey Donaldos, we ventured into the desert to this really cool location and shot our Genie theme.

And this killer, drop-dead sexy dress….

Nothing like leaving a guy completely speechless. :)

Anyway, I would have held off on sharing some of these images until I had time to work up more of them…but I posted a couple to my Ujena Talent profile and one of them JUST got picked top ten for this week.

Laura and I are both pretty stoked.

Puerto Vallarta, here we come! ;)

Okay, this is sort of freaky, but some how my MacBook knows what color my new iPod is.

So smart!! :)

I am laggin’ on this whole blogging thing, it’s not even funny. I apologize. I’ve been trying to keep afloat, all the while trying to maintain some semblance of a social life and not kill myself while taking pictures like a mofo. But, all is good in the hood. Just trying to play catch up on everything from the weddings I’ve done, to a few commercial projects, to this very blog.

A few weeks ago, I got super-hottie Ashley Taylor in the studio for some fun, flirty shots. Ashley and I always have a good time when we shoot together…and it had been just shy of a year that I had her in front of my lens. Needless to say, it was good times with her. And we got some great shots in…

I’m sure you notice the smile in most of these “sexy” images. Ashley says she doesn’t do “sexy,” but who the heck cares…that smile is worth a million dollars. :)

That same week, I also shot with a new girl (well, new for me, anyway)…and she is none other than the beautiful Jessi Duran. We had a lot of fun…and she even brought a good reflector man too, who doubled as the oil boy (that lucky bastard…j.k.). But seriously, we had a lot of fun shooting up at a beautiful spot in Laguna Beach. We had so much fun, we are revisiting that shoot with another friend of hers in two weeks…so stay tuned for those pictures. Here are some samples from the shoot…

A lot of new shots to look forward to…we did a shoot for I-Tan…and I’m working up those images now to be featured in their in-store posters, ads, and web. And then of course, I am getting my shoot on with my BFFF, Laura Baker…and we had a great shoot on Friday…and an awesome time hanging with her and her family. More samples of those shoots to come this week…but I will leave you with this picture from Friday…

Good night!

Well, as many of you may or may not know, I turned 29 this last Thursday. I’m one year away from the dreaded 3-0…and of course, one year closer to death. But who’s counting, anyway?

But I have to admit, getting older isn’t as scary as it used to be. I mean, I surround myself with people who embrace and enjoy life and I, for one, definitely don’t act my age. Age is all about attitude…not how many rings you can count when you chop me in half or how many calendars I’ve seen in my day. As long as I stay young, I’ll be young.

I was also reminded of how many awesome friends I have. People I know, and even people I don’t know, wished me a happy birthday and it made me feel…important. I was a rock star for a day. And I loved it. I drove up to Fontana and spent the evening with Laura and her family. They took me to dinner and Laura even made me a cake…one of the most awesome cakes in the history of the world. And if you know me, you know I LOVE cake. :)

My new 40D came in the mail too…so I am really excited to start breaking it in. :)

Basically, the 2-9 wasn’t a bad day. It was pretty freakin’ awesome because I remembered how many special people I have in my life.

So thank you, everyone, for being a part of me and my journey. I love you all!

I turn into a homebody when the rain starts to fall. I feel the need to get cozy under a blanket, stare out the window, and daydream a little. As much as I would love to find a cute girl and ask her to waltz in the middle of the rain and splash in puddles, I enjoy staying in. So today, other than a brief business meeting this morning, I spent the entire day inside, under a blanket, working on images from yesterday’s shoot with Theresa.

I’ll share those later…

But for now, I’ll share this…I was sitting here and had the itch to play my guitar. And I figured I’d play around with GarageBand and record a little something for someone who wanted me to sing for them. So I thought I’d share it with you. It’s a little crappy since 1) I recorded it just with the mic on my laptop and 2) I suck…but hey, it’s pretty enough.

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