Then again, maybe you haven’t.

Either way, I’m about to tell you…

For the past three weeks, I have been traveling all over southern California taking pictures of beautiful Hooters girls in swimsuits. :)

It’s contest season…every year, Hooters has their annual swimsuit pageant…which is a pretty big deal if you’ve seen it on TV. We’re talking about some of the most gorgeous girls from all over the country competing to be Miss Hooters International. But how do they get there? It all starts with the local stores…each store has their own contest to decide which girls go to compete in the regional competition and so on…and I was the lucky dude that got asked to shoot the local southern California contests. It’s been a busy few weeks…but along the way, I met some pretty amazing people (not just girls, but our trusty crew who showed up every day.) But yes, I also met some pretty amazing girls too. All the way up to LA, OC, and down here in Daygo…night after night…it was crazy, but TONS of fun. The roadtrip ended last Thursday in Oceanside…and it was sort of sad to see it end. But I’m glad I have my life back so I can get back to…uh…taking pictures of pretty girls. And a person can only eat so much Hooters food without feeling a little guilty. :)

This Friday is the regional competition in Long Beach at V2O…not sure what the ticket situation is, but if you want to see some of the hottest So Cal Hooters girls, stop in to your local store and buy a ticket. I’ll be shooting the event, so hope to see you out there.

I’ll leave you with some blue steel moments from the past few weeks…

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?

“What made it amazing?” you may be asking…well, that’s easy.

For one, Mallory is one of the sweetest people ever…and a ton of fun to hang out with.

She is always down for an adventure.

She is GORGEOUS.

She’s not afraid to get a little dirty. Or try something different.

We shot 10 different looks today in four different locations. We shot a little casual lifestyle, some glamour, a little fashion, some headshots, and a little glamour/pinup, and some dramatic editorial stuff. We shot from one extreme to another. Pretty and soft to gritty and dirty. She is amazing.

Like I have mentioned before, I adore people that challenge me…and today, I was challenged. It was great.

A huge thanks to my homie Scott from Whiskey River Motor Co and the boys for letting us shoot at their garage. A special shout to my pal Bronson for coming out and assisting and shooting a little video. A little thanks to the sweet lady at Hamels in Mission Beach for the roller skates…my buddy Jon for lending me his Profoto pack in a pinch…the lady at the ice cream shop for making the ice cream cone extra messy…my roommate David for showing a tobacco virgin how to smoke a cigarette realistically…and my friend Jack Daniels for getting rid of my sore throat. :)

Stay tuned for shots from today…looking forward to shooting with Mal next week. More hotness to come!!

Learned some things…and these things confirmed what I already knew…the portfolio has got to go!

I’ll be fixing it up all nice and purdy over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

And while you’re at it, listen to the show…

Or download it here.

And while you’re at it, you might want to take a look at some of the cool stuff mentioned in the podcast…

• For instance, the web site of commercial photographer Nick Onken.
• Or you may want to pick up a copy of The Photographer’s Survival Guide: How to Build and Grow a Successful Business
• And finally, you should really give the new Broken Fingers album a listen over at MySpace or ReverbNation (search Broken Fingers)

I’ve pretty much been a blind four-eyes for as long as I remember…and I don’t think I really became completely cool until I got my first pair of prescription sunglasses.

This pretty much became a necessity when I started driving…and even though I would love to be able to buy and wear a normal pair of sunglasses, Lasik is a little pricey and contacts are annoying. There’s just something about shooting a laser into my eyeball or sticking a piece of glass in my eye. Both sound great in theory…but until you actually do it, it’s another story.

So instead, I opt for overpaying for a ridiculously expensive pair of prescription sunglasses. And because I want to be cool, I wear Oakleys.

Now, whenever I’m out and about, I carry them in this ridiculous steelish looking carrying case. People ALWAYS ask me what the case is since it looks like a bomb.

I assure you it’s NOT a bomb. Or a time capsule. Or any other futuristic device of mass destruction…

It just carries my sunglasses.

:)

So many times throughout the day, I have stupid things to say…or I just think of ridiculousness that I have to share with someone. Usually, I’m not with anyone…so the responsibility of listening to my ridiculousness falls to the poor souls that follow me on Twitter.

Before, I would think of a few ridiculous somethings and just make a blog post about it. However, Twitter makes it way too easy to share. What can I say, I’m weak!

So, anyway, the point of this blog post is two-fold. For one, it’s an apology and a public announcement of my goal to be a better blogger. And two…

…an invitation to follow me on Twitter.

:)

Twitter.com/aaronriveroll

The Chargers played last night…and I caught a glimpse of my pal Casie shaking it on the sidelines. :) It made my day.

So when I saw this commercial for Direct TV, I just had to share. :)

I mean, I maybe know like two hot girls that sport the iPhone…the rest are Blackberry gals.

Hot Women Sport A Blackberry, Not The iPhone » ZiggyTek » Blog.

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