Aaron Riveroll | Photographer

Having a process that you follow when it comes to storing and archiving your images is so important, as I learned a couple weeks ago when one of my drives decided to crap out on me.

Equipment is man-made…and like a lot of things…it can break, get lost, stolen, etc.

When your storage solutions are down and there’s no way of working on your images, it can really throw a monkey wrench into your plans and really put life at a standstill…especially if you have to repair, restore, etc. It’s funny how we depend on our gear to get us through the day.

With good storage solutions, a proven workflow, and playing it safe, you can minimize your downtime, stress, and make sure you client is always happy knowing that you are taking precautions to keep your most valuable assets safe: your images.

[audio:storage-ep004.mp3]

Or download the episode here.

While loitering in front of a 7-Eleven in La Jolla, I start to think why anyone would just hang out in front of a convenience store. Convenience?

I think there are far better places to just hang out. So I pontificate on this…Whilst enjoying a cold, refreshing Gatorade.

A few weeks ago, I got to shoot with one of my favorite go go dancers…the totally adorable Tiffanie Damian.

Not only did I get to shoot with her once…but I shot with her twice in one week.

We started around her pad…did some sexy fabulousness…

…then a couple days later, we splashed things up a bit and shot in a fountain near her apartment. Lighting the fountain was a fun adventure…and I’d be lying if I told you I stayed dry during the shoot. But no…I jumped in the fountain too. :)

Got a little video too…check it out…

Photo shoot with Tiffanie Damian from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

For the nerds out there, this is how we lit it…a medium softbox on a c-stand just to the right of the model…and on the back, a gridded, diffused light on the model. We also played with our new toy, a Matthews light clamp…which let us double mount two lights on one stand…so we splashed a blue gelled light on the back wall for a little color.

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.