So, again, I’ve totally been laggin’ on blogging…but I thought I would post a few from a shoot I did a few weeks ago…

Melissa Roller is an absolutely amazing and gorgeous model…as a matter of fact, I first saw her when I started shooting back a few years ago and I totally wanted to work with her. Well, a couple months ago, that dream became a reality and we shot our first shoot together at Crystal Pier in PB. We had a great time…lots of dramatic skies. But we thought we would do another beach shoot together, so we met up at Swamis in Encinitas and got some amazing sunset shots.

Love you, Peach!!

My special friend and fellow nerd, Jessi, kicked booty on ABC’s new show Wipeout a few weeks ago. I was continuously thinking, “WOW! I know her!”

:)

Anyway, she was the only girl to make it all the way to the end…and she was seriously impressive.

Check her out:

A few weeks ago, I cruised up to LA with Brian and Leslie of Revolt In Style Magazine for an interview with comedian, Carlos Mencia. I gotta tell you…this guy is HI-larious! Freakin’ down-to-earth and instant buddy…you feel like you’ve known him for years. We set up for a quick video interview (which will be on Revolt’s web site within the week…), and then headed down to the soundstage for a quick photo shoot. Here are some frames…

First, the cover shot:

And on the set:

Here is a little behind the scenes video of the shoot. I love the two girls in the convertable…we were cruising down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills when we saw these two bikini-clad hotties sitting up on the back seat. Only in LA. :)

Photo shoot with Carlos Mencia from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

If it hadn’t been for the phone call I got from my pal, Jessi, I probably wouldn’t have gotten up today. Sometimes I have moments where I feel it just isn’t worth it to get out of bed. Today was one of those days.

But if I hadn’t gotten up, I wouldn’t have spent time with one of my favorite goobers. :) Jessi and I instituted our very first official Nerd Day today, complete with surfing MySpace together and acting like the dorks that we are. We even listened to Nerd in the car. :)

We can even spell words with our faces. What does a cow say??

Anyway, it was lots of fun. :) The rest of the evening was spent buried in a pile of old mail. Why? Because, that’s what I do with mail. Put it in a pile until I can go through it. Not the best way to organize, but what can I say? :)

Last week, after a hellish few days of moving, Brian and I decided it would be cool to grab a few drinks downtown…so along with Schmidt’s Gay, we headed down to the posh Top of the Hyatt lounge. We enjoyed a few outragously priced cocktails, lavish decor, and spectacular views of the marina and downtown skyline. We shmoozed and looked dapper…which is what we do best.

The Most Interesting Man in the World (who, surprisingly, is NOT me) has some really significant words of wisdom.

I seriously and totally LOVE these Dos Equis commercials.

On Careers (my favorite):

On Packages:

On Mixed Nuts:

He’s a lover, not a fighter:

So, I thought this was pretty random…

Where do they get twenty three??

Living my life day-to-day would be a pretty daunting task, if I wasn’t organized that is. I mean, I’m pretty much OCD anyway…

I’m totally a list maker, so it helps to have tools that will keep me in order not only at home, but in the field as well.

I was totally stoked to learn that awesome people at Google found a solution to syncing with Blackberries…without the use of a computer, that is. :) It’s called Google Sync…and all you need to do is download it to your phone and you can sync with all your Google Calendars. It’s quite convenient…and you avoid the hassle of having to sync with a computer…your calendars online and on your Blackberry are always the same. :)

But I’ll get to the computer in a second…

Here’s how to get Google Sync for your Blackberry…

Now, I’m a Mac user, I’m proud to say…and at first, I wanted to find a way to use iCal with Google calendar. I’m not always online, believe it or not…so the solution was Spanning Sync. What makes this beautiful is that it runs quietly in the background and two-way syncs all my Google Calendars with iCal. Neat, huh? :) It syncs BOTH ways! Not only can I make updates in iCal and have it reflect online…but I can make changes online in Google Calendar and have it update my iCal. It’s a thing of beauty.

Another cool tool I use often is Remember The Milk. I LOVE making lists…call me a nerd, I don’t care. I learned about Remember the Milk from Brian’s cousin, Josh…and I absolutely love it! It’s got cool usability with the iPhone, which I was totally jealous of since I don’t have an iPhone…but they recently came out with MilkSync for the Blackberry…and again, I’m able to wirelessly sync my phone with all my lists. Keeps me on track. It’s also cool to use RTM with Jott. And if you haven’t used Jott, I recommend that as well. :)

So, she was a crush of mine two years ago…and I still haven’t been able to get her out of my mind.

Well, sort of. Today, I got bored and was surfing YouTube and found this video of cutie Allison Holker performing with Ivan on So You Think You Can Dance. This was one of my favorites…

Shes just an incredible dancer with a smile that floors me. Here’s another amazing solo act..

It’s 5 in the morning and I’m still awake. Yay.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July.

Anyway, I’m going to take a little nap before I have to get up and head to Qualcomm for some photo taking…but all of you know I’m always changing things up. When I was a kid and finally got my own room, I was notorious for rearranging the furniture in my room at least once a month. I’m OCD, I swear.

Anyway, aaronriveroll.com’s got a new look…so check it out. I didn’t really like the other one to be honest with you. Color scheme was cool, but not me. Wanted something more dramatic…something cleaner…something without flash…and something that would work with the blog too.

After playing with CSS, this is what I’ve come up with. Functional, clean lines…and still delivers the brand.

Let me know what you think…

Good morning…

I think the mark of a great anything is the aspirations to be greater. I mean, who stops just when the going get good? If you climb mountains, you have this drive and desire to climb higher mountains. I think that great people who settle aren’t really all that great…and that’s why when I achieve goals, I make it a point to become better…it’s really a never-ending journey. And I’m alright with that.

I also think that some of my heros, photographically speaking, make me want to be better. So I thought I would list a few of my photo-idols, if you will. Maybe you can see a little of their inspiration in my work? And then maybe I suck so much that you can’t. But nevertheless, here they are…in no particular order…

The first, would have to be a long-time favorite of mine. Fred Egan has been the epitome of who I’d like to become as a wedding photographer. The hugest thing for me, aside from his technique, is the way he captures personalities. When he gets couples together, the photos he takes make you feel like you know them. Bright colors, open and airy, contrasty and outside-the-box…Fred hits his mark everytime. He’s also a music lover, which I can definitely get behind. Check out his blog too…

The second, whom I found through Fred, is a commercial/lifestyle photographer named Nick Onken. Again, Nick captures priceless moments with a very open and light technique. The ability to take photos with very little equipment and a good eye is rare these days…but he definitely is the definition of a lifestyle photographer.

It takes a lot of patience and a great and talented eye to capture the beauty of children and newborns. I have done only one shoot with a 1-year old and let me tell you…you thought 20-something models were difficult to work with! (just kidding…I love you all!!). But jeez, kids are so…unpredictable. I don’t know how Anne Geddes does it. But Anne isn’t really the one on the list…even though her work is phenomenal, so I guess she’s sort of on the list…

The photographer I am speaking of is a gal by the name of Molly Hilton. I actually stumbled onto her work by accident…but she’s local shooter at that. Gotta rep SD, baby! Her work is seriously amazing…so I recommend you check it out. She captures the beauty and innocence of children and it’s really pretty cool.

In another realm, a few photographers who I really admire technically are glamour photographers. Totally different look, different equipment, different technique and mindset…but still a very polished look. Johnny Crosslin’s lighting techniques, warm tones, and superb composition really yield amazing results…and it doesn’t hurt that his models are stunningly beautiful.

Chad Martel from Florida also has some amazing models…and his outside-the-box composition style and flair makes his photos eye-catching and unforgettable.

Justin Price, another glamour photographer…effing kicks booty. His shots absolutely rock…and I am continually amazed with every shot he takes.

On the commercial side of things, I highly respect the work of photographer Jeremy Cowart. He’s been shooting musicians, celebrities, and other notables with a really unique style and flair. His work is totally unreal…sort of along the lines of Dave Hill, who is also another amazing commercial photographer. Check him out as well.

Anyway, there you have it. I will probably be adding to this list down the road…but know that these guys rock.