A Glance at Race Day

Here's some shots from around Carsland. I need to practice more at shooting on-ride shots along the side of the car, because I want more shots like the one posted below to turn out along various parts of the track.

LAX Photos

I really can't wait to get down to L.A., mainly because there's SO many different things to photograph. I love urban art and architecture, so when my family went to pick up some family from their trip to China, I went around LAX and snapped some photos. Here's two of them that I really liked. I'm still trying to work on long exposures with so much light around me. I'm used to standing out in the middle of a field in Bakersfield shooting stuff and making the dark sky light up, so this is a fun new challenge to me. But, I think these turned out well, and would love your opinion.

Is This Your Sign? Magic On Main Street

This has to be one of my favorite stores on Main Street. It's small and quaint, but it has some cool history. Steve Martin got his start here before he went on to be an actor. In fact, there's a photo of him near the cash register. Also, this is the only building (outside of the Coke Corner's red lights) that has colored bulbs, outside of the traditional white that adorn the rest of the buildings along Main Street.

Disneyland Forever: An Orange Start to a Magical Kingdom

I'm trying to get back into a habit of posting more photos I've shot. Most of these have been sitting on my desktop for a while, and I've done nothing with them. A while back a friend of ours signed us into Disneyland, and we got to check out the new 60th Celebration stuff. All of the shows are fantastic, and the upgrades to the attractions are top notch. So, let's start this off with a opening shot of the new fireworks show, Disneyland Forever.

This show's technology is fantastic. Steve Davison and his team took the projection mapping from previous shows they've done in other Disney parks and brought it home for the 60th. It starts out with orange groves, as it once was before Disneyland was built. To see something like this, even projected, gives a really surreal idea of what it must have been like for Walt to look at trees, and see where his Castle would go, or where the world of Tomorrow would be. Tying it back to what was once there was really awesome to see, and to think that imagination truly has no limits is inspiring, to say the least. 

Night Crawling: Wandering the Streets of Bakersfield

So, despite living in a town that doesn't have much to do, and basically shuts down before 11:00pm on any given night, I have a lot of fun crawling around this place, because no one else is around. Also given the recent rain, it's given us a lot of fog. By a lot, I mean so thick at times you can't see more than 50 feet in front of you. Makes for a real exciting time while driving...

These were a few grabs I got last night while my wife and her sister spent some time in the car chatting and drinking flat whites while I drove around getting these shots.

Ground Floor Art. 

Honoring Those Who Served

Sometimes a name on a wall means everything...

Night Train

Two small town icons on the same street. 

Bet My Life

Have you ever had a time in your life where a song clicks with you? Where the lyrics stand out stronger than others, and impact you because of how relatable it is? I'm sure it's happened a lot of times in life. I know with me it has. Recently I downloaded Imagine Dragons' new single 'Bet My Life'. The song could be perceived in a variety of ways, but to me, I see it as a struggle between family. Where a kid goes down a path that the parents didn't necessarily want for him, and how he gave them hell through all the years. But as the song progresses, you hear that the kid says 'theres you in everything I do', so that's why I 'bet my life for you'.

This song hits me. Not just because its driving drumbeats are great, but because of the lyrics. It's story time.

I've always been more of the independent child in my family. I see something, I want it, I go after it, and I get it. I have an insane drive that is fueled by my desire to never settle for second best, and always be the best with the best. Lately, I'm realizing that this song is true for me, because I've given my parents hell through all the years.

The last few years specifically haven't been the easiest. My parents didn't want me to get married so young. They thought I wasn't ready and couldn't handle it. But I pushed ahead anyway. I knew Hailey was the right one for me, and I knew that this was right. So through many months of tense conversations, sometimes yelling, and then not talking, and finally resolving our issues, it's worked out well for our family.

The other part of this is, is that I'm their child. I was raised by them with the values and moral standings to live by. As I grew, and grow up, I see things that I utilize from being raised by them, and others that I find out for myself what works. But, there's 'you in everything I do'.

The thing is, that I realize as I'm growing up, is that I'm my own man. I'm still their child, but I'm first a husband now. I'm the man of my own family. I'm in charge, and I need to lead it as I see fit. My parents raised me with wonderful, great morals and values to follow and utilize. I've done this, and added my own, and done things my own way, as inspired by how they've chosen to raise me. What I'm saying is that I'm thankful for my parents, and I'm thankful for what they've done for my life.

It's hard, because when you're this young, people tend to have a way of looking down on you. Thinking you won't make it, or the way you're doing things are unconventional and wrong. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I believe that no matter what I do, I'm going to make it out better than I was before. I'll be the first to admit that I really can't stand it when I'm questioned by those older than me and they tell me 'you're doing it wrong' (believe me, it's happened). What's wrong about how I'm living my life? Is it wrong that I'm doing things differently than you did? Or is it wrong that you think it's just not how it should be done? As long as the end result is the same, what does it matter if the path taken is different? A man can walk a million trails in the forest, and still come out the other side all the same.

Ultimately what I'm getting at is this: don't forget where you came from. You were put there for a reason, and you are who you are now because of it. Take what you want from what you've grown up with, and use it to your advantage, and make it your own. Be your own unique and beautiful person, and learn to better yourself every single day. It'll help you, and those around you if you do. Also, love your parents no matter what. Some may be terrible and you may not have been raised the best, but again I say, use it to your advantage. See what they did wrong, and change it for your kids. Thankfully my parents were great people, and I use a lot of what they've done with me in my life, but I've also tweaked some things to make it my own as well. Our lives here on earth are too short to dwell in anger and sadness, and not progress individually.

Not all things in life are free, but sometimes they are...

We just came for pizza....

Interesting day so far. Professor never showed up, so class was cancelled. Then Hailey and I ordered a pizza from Papa Murphy's. Nothing too odd yet..but e arrive to pick up said pie, only to our perplexity, the lights are on, with the only pizza on the rack being ours, and the door is locked. Literally no one was here. We waited for a bit, called again, waited, called, waited called..nothing. So hailey called corporate which got ahold of the owners, they show up, and apparently Robbie the employee decided to just abandon ship. No idea why, even the owners don't know why.

As you can see, pens on the counter, lights are on, there's nothing in the small cooler, but there's our pizza, right on the rack. Yet no one's here to be found...

We were comped a dessert pizza though which was nice. Oh, and while we were waiting, a friend saw us in the parking lot, slowed down to quickly say hi , and the black ladies behind him got mad. I quipped, "chill out, he's leaving right now!" As he left and they followed. What happened next, I wish I filmed. They stopped. Went in reverse, and starting to yell the following: "what the f***is your problem, white boy?! You got a f***ing problem with us? Mind your God**** business, motherf***er!" And promptly drove off. I didn't realize I was so important for two ladies I don't know, to come back and yell so vulgarly at me. But, I guess they're having a bad day. I didn't mean any harm by what I said. They had ample room to drive around my friend who slowed down, and who's kept rolling his car as he said a quick hello..but I guess some just like making a scene.

Anyway, I hope you all out here in cyberspace are having a good day, and was hopefully entertained by my little story. I'm off to go eat some pizza with my wife.

Honing In On Working Out

This post has been something I've wanted to write for a while now. It's something I don't like admitting, but who would?

Wedding life is amazing, first off. My wife is really wonderful. She's my best friend and we've already been through a lot in six short months. But prior to our wedding, we had a lot of stress. Wedding stress, family stress, work stress, you name it. Things are smoothed out now, but that came at a price. That price? 30 pounds heavier.

See, I've always tried to be relatively fit, and there's a reason for that. I've scared myself into being fit and healthy, (and I'm sorry family, but you're the example here..) I have family members who aren't. An uncle who's vastly overweight, and a granddad who ate himself into diabetes and being overweight, yet has done nothing to combat his now life-long sentence of a constant high-low sugar levels, insulin shots, and all the extra junk that comes with diabetes.

It's not fun to see family not care about their health, when you know they can be better and live life longer. But that doesn't mean I have to be like that. 30 pounds to some may seem like not a big deal. But when you're a kid who's lived about 80% of his teen life at 160 pounds, and under 15% body fat, gaining that much that quick is a wake up call.


But that brings us to today.


Hailey and I have been eating at home. We cook cleaner, eat less fatty, junky foods. I actually like salads now. Fruit is something I seemingly can't go without. Oh, and for those that know me well? Sodas are now severely limited to when I'm out with friends. Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, all those big boys are staying out of my home now. Also, getting back to working out has been the absolute best. I understand that people have a hard time doing any sort of exercise. Pain hurts, I get it. But the results are worth the short-lived strain you'll have on your muscles, because that means your muscles are doing their job! Stretching them out, make them bigger, stronger, and better. It's also a phenomenal way to get your mind off the work day by listening to some great music while you're working out, too.

Anyway, this morning I woke up after a late night at Fright Fest with Hailey, and decided to do some floor/ab work, and then weigh in. I'm down five pounds without clothes on, and that feels great. It's a small step, but I'm happy about it. I want to get back to my target weight of 160-170, and be fit. Lose the small gut I've gotten because I chose (yes people, I said chose) to stress-eat to cope with everything that went on. I'm in control of what I do, and I refuse to do what I did before. I don't want to be an overweight statistic on America's obesity problem. I want to be healthy, and I want to be better to live longer for myself, and for my family. It needs to happen, and it's going to happen. 

Photo Friday: Under Pressure

Little trinkets and gadgets have always interested me. I love how mechanisms work, on the smallest level, to make bigger things work. So I always find myself gazing around the queue of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, seeing what used to make the old iron horses and steam machines work. After all, these were once real props. They're not just thrown together. Disney bought old machines that used to be apart of mining equipment to help with the theme of their attraction.

Photo Friday: The Back...or Frontside of Castle

Sleeping Beauty's Castle is probably one of the most iconic buildings in the world. A recent statistic showed that Disneyland is the most instagrammed place in the world. So it goes without saying that this building has seen its fair share of photos taken, especially from the front. 

However, what not a lot of people know is that back when Walt Disney was in the process of building Disneyland, he and his imagineers had originally planned on having this side of the castle be the front. But, as fate would have it, the top half of the castle model they were using got flipped around by accident, and they loved it so much, they kept it, and built it as such. So, this photo's dedicated to the original front of the castle, a side of it not often appreciated. 

Photo Friday: Closing Time

Club 33 is a place revered by Disney fans. Some have been lucky enough to know a member, and were able to venture beyond that green door. Now, the club's taken a beautiful new direction, and has a new entrance. But the door still stands, tribute to its long history of exclusivity within Disneyland. 

Photo Friday: Jungle Lanterns

Jungle Cruise is always one of my favorite attractions to shoot. Since it's opening, it's literally grown into its own ecosystem. Let alone the amazing queue, the shots are limitless. After buying a 50mm lens, I had some fun with focal length on here, and this shot turned out a lot better than I originally thought! 

Photo Friday: Entering The Mansion

A lot of photos I shoot are at Disneyland. It's my favorite place to shoot, because you can hardly ever look at something the same way twice. This was shot while hanging out with a good friend of mine, while closing out the parks. Both of us were running around New Orleans Square taking photos of the empty park. This was shot off the new 50mm lens Hailey and I bought. It's a lot trickier to use at first, because it's a fixed lens, and you have to walk around more to set your shots up, over relying on the zoom.

Boy Meets Girl Meets World

I've been a big fan of Boy Meets World for as long as I can remember. In fact, my sister got me the entire series on DVD last year as a Christmas present. Now, Disney decided to bring back the show in a new way, as many of you know, with Corey and Topanga being parents to their daughter Riley.

From the three episodes that have aired so far, I've honestly been blown away. Disney Channel is finally returning to their roots of having a show that teaches history and lessons alongside the events life throws at everyone. Sure, it may be centered around a young teenage girl, but even I'm learning from it, and remembering some of those lessons the original show taught me as I was growing up.

What makes this show superior than the rest on the network though, is that it does what was just stated. It teaches you, and you sympathize with the characters. Why is that?

Because the characters are you. Whether you're a dad or mom, little brother or big sister, best friend or a crush, there's a little bit of you in those characters. There's stories you've gone through, and have tried to figure out how to handle it. There's events that seem bigger than they are, but the characters teach that you can conquer anything with those closest around you by your side to help you through it.

It may be a 'kids show' to some, but really, it's a family show. It's a show that teaches parent's to revel in their child's childhood, and don't rush them to grow up so fast, unlike what the world wants them to do. It teaches the kids to accept that there are responsibilities in life, but don't take them so seriously that they miss out on the fun times of being a kid, because as Topanga so beautifully put it in the third and most recent episode, "stay this young for as long as possible, because when it's gone, it's gone."

Hey Pinheads...Pinterest Isn't Just For Girl

Gentlemen...

We need to talk. There's something bugging me about my gender. We're an arrogant bunch, and I don't know why. We brag about our sports teams being better than the other, our cars being faster than  the one in the next lane over, and our girl being prettier than another.

Oh, and apparently we have an issue with thinking that certain things are for girls only. Sure, I'll agree with you that I'd never be caught dead getting a mani/pedi, or shopping for clothes with a group of guys. But what about online? We Facebook photos of our night out with the bros, and tweet about the sports scores. How about pinning our interests? Or, pintresting? Is that a word? Ladies, help me out there.

My boards. See? It's not that bad. 

Anyway, Pinterest isn't just a site where girls convene to trade recipes and nail art, and create their ideal weddings to Adam Levine. Sure, a lot of that stuff is on there, and just like any other guy, I actively avoid it. However, what if I told you about taking what the girls do, and being guys, and making boards of your dream cars and motorcycles? Or those sick leather jackets and messenger bags? Or a collection of sunglasses and cufflinks? Hell, even trade our own manly recipes for ribs, beer chicken, and more?

I don't understand why more guys don't take advantage of making boards on Pinterest to collect a list of the things we want. The desktop site is easily laid out, and the app for your iPhone and Android is even easier. I believe it's time that men invest some time into this site. It's not just for the dresses and drinks the ladies love. It's for the street art. It's for the architecture and creative backyard solutions to make hanging out in the backyard cooler than just that store-bought plastic lawn chairs.


All I'm getting at here guys, is that it's not something that's just for the girls. We can share in the boards and sharing all the things that are all so great about being a dude. So, here's to pinning. Here's to celebrate being a guy, and giving light into what makes us men so awesome to begin with.

A Magical Fourth

Hailey and I didn't have any plans over the Fourth of July weekend, so we decided at the last minute to head down to Disneyland. We checked out the new Alice in Wonderland, and enjoyed the day mulling around the parks with no real agenda. Also, I really wanted to give a go at trying to capture long-exposure shots of fireworks, and figured the special fireworks for the Fourth would be a good start. The color isn't the best in these, and I wish some came out brighter, but for the first time, I was happy with the general results.

The Bay and Baseball

We spent a weekend in San Francisco for fathers day, to celebrate my dad. His two favorite teams (Yankees and Rockies) were in town playing the Athletics and Giants, so we did something rare, and ventured north to see the two games. Now, I did make a stipulation for the trip and said we had to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum before Saturday's game in Oakland. Not that it was much of a stipulation, because the entire family loves Disney and the amazing history behind it. But, here's some of the shots from the weekend! 

She's an angels fan, but still supports the pinstripes! 

Presidio has some beautiful buildings. 

The temporary Mary Blair exhibit is nothing short of amazing. 

Girly hard hat is girly. 

I didn't realize just *how* much Walt loved Mary's work. He's been on record numerous times saying she was his favorite. For good reason, too!

Now for the Walt part of the museum!

The type of truck Walt drove when he was in the army (remember, he faked his age to do this. How 'bout it for patriotism, right?)

Walts' grandad's violin. They really did their homework with finding and collecting all of this material. 

This was ingenious. The instruments on the table were synced up to the video on the screen, and guests could try to sync up the music with the short film, just like how they did it back in the day. I can attest, this is the hardest thing to do. It really is an amazing thing to see how hard they worked to sync the sound with the short films. 

Multiplane camera. Definitely a highlight to see such a brilliant piece of film technology. 

Hannah really soaked in a lot of the audio pieces around the museum. Families, this is actually a fairly kid-friendly museum. It's not just all history and facts. There's a good element of fun for the young ones. 

Touch screen with short clips about the films Walt worked on. 

There's also a beautiful view of the bay and the bridge, too. 

And the model of Disneyland with all of Walt's ideas. I loved that they didn't just have a model of Disneyland, but an idealized concept of the ideas he had, and some that either look different than today, or just aren't there because they never made it to conception in the park. 

Why can't Autopia cars look this cool today? 

Audio-animatronic body. 

This room. The last one in the museum. Most of the time you don't hear much of Disney talking about Walt's death. It's a hushed topic that he was a smoker, and died because of it. But the museum is wide open about it at the end. There's audio from the Sherman Brothers, Marty Sklar, X Atencio, and more, that speak of where they were when they heard that their beloved leader had passed. It's sad, but somehow at the same time, beautiful and poetic. 

Another shot of the multiplane camera from inside the gift shop. 

And now onto  the rest of the weekend...

Lunchtime at the Wharf. 

What up, Paul Blart(s)?

Game one! 

Not sure if anyone watched the game on TV, but these stadium lights went out in left field for just about thirty minutes and they delayed the game because it would 'hinder their ability to see the ball'. C'mon, you get paid millions of dollars to play baseball, and you can't see the ball in left field when it's hit because a few dozen lights are out? Go back to the sandlot, boys and see how it is to play with only streetlights!

Dad with his oldest and youngest. 

The captain! 

Work it, Jeter! 

Game two! 

I think they're a fan...

Met up with the Paulus family too! Good friends from the central coast. 

Dad and I decided to walk around and check out the stadium. AT&T Park is really one of the coolest stadiums on the west coast. Great atmosphere, cool location, and good ballpark food. The Coliseum on the other hand...well, there's a reason there isn't more photos of it from the trip. It's a concrete pit. That's all I've got to say about that. 

Family photo! 

Me and Nan <3

Since it was fathers' day weekend, we were able to walk the field, and dads with kids 14 and under could run the bases! So dad and Hannah jumped on the opportunity! 

On the field!

And she's off! 

Dad soaking in the views from ground-level. 

 Hailey and I drove up a day after my parents and sisters got there, so on the way back, we drove over the bridge and into Emeryville to see the famous studio...

I wish we could have gone inside and checked it out, but soon enough, I'll be able to go in for work! 

All in all, it was a great, fast paced and fun weekend. We don't get up North a lot, but when we do, it's a lot of fun. Can't wait to go back!