First, be prepared for the unexpected. Pros are able to get the job done with what they have and what they know…and are able to roll with the punches.

And, speedlights work in a pinch. :)

Here is the podcast…

Or you can download the episode here.

And here are the pictures. :)

Or is it Magnum?

I love the fact that I get recognized for my infamous and ridiculously good-looking photographs…I love that models can rock the Blue Steel with me. Last night, as a matter of fact, I had a mom come up to me (seriously, this isn’t a mom joke…) and tell me she recognized me from a blue steel photo I took with her daughter, who is a model. :)

But how did it all start?

I have to say it was back in college when the roots of this phenomenon started to take shape…

I think it was around the time my buddies and I started frequenting the Mission Valley Hooters. Now, it’s common knowledge that a dude can’t take a picture with a hot girl and not end up looking like a total dweeb. Seriously dudes, have you ever seen a picture of yourself taken with a gorgeous girl and thought to myself, “Damn, I look good!” It can’t be done. It’s humanly impossible.

Unless, of course, you’re Derek Zoolander.

But I have yet to see a picture of a guy and a hot girl where the guy looks half-way decent. And Hooters is famous for their ridiculously hot ladies.

I had my picture taken back in college with the Ikki Twins. Now, if you know who the Ikki twins are, you know that they are RIDICULOUSLY hot. So ya, multiply that by 2 and divide that by the square number of Aaron-Looks-Like-A-Jackass and you pretty much see my point.

:/

So I started making goofy faces in pictures with hot girls since, well, I already looked goofy anyway, right? And that goofy look, my friends, developed into the Blue Steel look.

I honestly think Derek Zoolander stole the look from me as I was doing it way before he was. He was just more ridiculously good-looking than me…

But what really started it all was I was sitting in the Pacific Beach Hooters visiting my friend Stevie (notice how the epicenter of all things great just happens to be Hooters?)…and I thought to myself, “Self, I think I should make it my life’s work to Blue Steel it up with as many people as I possibly can.” To be a Blue Steel whore, if you will. So right there in that restaurant, my journey began…

And that, my friends, is the story. Pointless? Yes. But if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be an Aaron Riveroll story, now would it?

One of our sets was a cute little pin-up look in Mission Beach. :)

I spent a little time this afternoon installing a mobile WordPress theme on my blog today…so if you’re on the go and out and about as much as I am and want to keep up with the nonsense or look at pictures of beautiful girls, then you can definitely do so. It’s totally easy to follow the blog, my Twitter, and to leave comments too…so I definitely think you should. All the cool kids are doing it. :)

Hope you enjoy the mobile theme…I have to admit, I think it’s pretty sweet. :)

I haven’t been able to post the photos…but you are able to check them out on their web site at bikiniteamsandiego.com. You can also purchase calendars and posters, which I definitely encourage…because they are HOT. :)

My buddy, Thuy Tran, was on-site with us assisting and I asked him to bring along his Nikon D90, which shoots HD video. It was his very first time shooting video at all, and needless to say I was impressed…with his shots as well as the footage that the D90 captured. I think it has inspired me to delve into the world of HD video on a dSLR. Oh, the possibilities. :)

Anyway, check out this 5 minute video highlighting the shoots we did…

Photo shoot with Bikini Team San Diego from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

An amazing team to work with…and a super fun shoot.

Kyle cut this little video out from the DVD he produced for the shoots so I could share it with the world, so a HUGE thanks to him for providing this clip.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy watching us photograph the beautiful Casie Kimball with the gorgeous La Jolla backdrop.

Casie – Swimsuit Video from Kyle Karges on Vimeo.

Videographer: Kyle Karges; Jonathan Fraser, editor
Music: Kill the Snake by Spero Lumina
Makeup: Marisol Garcia

It’s a little shakey…but she’s so hot, I think you can overlook that. :)

Photo shoot with Mallory from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

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.

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.

Except, she upped the ante a little bit and went bikini shopping right before she came out…and she showed up with this hot little blue Diesel bikini. So…I took pictures of her in it:

Also, we took a little video as well.

Photo shoot with Kaitlin from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

Now, I guess this place is as good as any to mention my new toy…I’ve had it for a couple weeks, but only been able to put it to the test most recently…

Upon the suggestion of my best friend, Brian…I went out and got a Flip Mino HD.

Now, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, the Flip is one of the world’s smallest camcorders. About the size of a cell phone or iPod, the Flip fits in your pocket. I totally agree with the thought that the best camera is the camera that’s with you…and with the Flip, you can always be ready to roll video.

Ahem…HD video, to be exact. It records in 1280 x 720 video resolution. The one that I have holds about an hour, or 4 GB worth of video…perfect for snapping clips here and there. And it encodes video in H.264 MP4 format…ready for editing, or uploading a quick clip directly to YouTube.

So far….I LOVE it. I carry it with me all the time. It’s great to have in my camera bag too for impromptu moments during photo shoots. Still getting used to motion and getting smooth video…but it takes practice.

And, so far I’ve talked two of my friends into getting one…one being a pro photographer…and the other, being a pro HD videographer. Once he had it in his hand, he said it felt great…and the quality was just enough for those short, quick moments.

So there is my product endorsement. If it’s good enough for a pro HD videographer…the Flip is good enough for me. It’s gets the job done…like Bacardi and Cola.

Anyway, enjoy the photos of Kait…more soon!!