Archive for May, 2007

EDITED 5/14: I mentioned this before in my previous blog(s) but if you ever want to get an idea of what the lifestyle of a professional tennis player is like, you have to read my buddy Amer Delic’s blog. He really gives a humble, honest and detailed aspect of what goes on in his daily life – not just talking about tennis but incorporating that experience with his daily life events. It’s much like reading an autobiography. Any ways, go check it out when you can: www.xanga.com/amerd :END EDIT

I’m trying out David Jay’s ShowIt Web slideshow to show photos from weddings & engagements. This slideshow presentation has been around for awhile but couple days ago, David got me convinced to try this out. So far it’s been pretty amazing.

Take a look at the show and let me know what you guys think. Here are some photos from Mike and Jane Zimmer’s wedding. If you are friend or family member of Mike and Jane and want to see all the images from the wedding, please contact them to get the URL. Thanks!

Click here to view the slideshow. (I took it off this blog b/c it plays music automatically and I have another one playing right now to accompany the most recent photoshoot.

I think just about all my friends play golf except for myself. I held out as long as I could but I think I’m finally going to give this game a try. Last summer I bought a set of clubs and only used it once. So I decided to go out to the range with Jason Gwak today and hit some balls. Jason also captured my swing on video (his swing) and I wanted to upload it here so that all the golf experts out there can take a look at my swing and tell me what I need to do to improve my swing or any other helpful tips. (please keep in mind that I do not play this game at all so any tips will be helpful).

Should I give up this sport or do you see any Phil Mickelson (fellow lefty) in me? Thanks in advance for the tips everyone!

EDIT: My eyes are seeing things as I’ve been editing photos all day! Time to take a quick break. See the bottom of this entry for update : END UPDATE

It’s about 2:20am right now. I returned home for Chicago not too long ago. I was about to hit the sack but I promised David Jay that I’ll update my blog today so here we go…

I had a great time at this year’s Pictage Partner Conference. It was much smaller in size than the WPPI convention that I went to in Vegas in March but I really enjoyed that we got to spend more time with the main speakers and meet other fellow photographers. Here are some photos to recap what happened in the last couple of days. By the way, I apologize for the quality of these photos. I thought I could get away with shooting a point-and-shoot camera but unfortunately I was not too happy with the result. But here goes nothing:

Guess who was registered to come?

These famous Pink Flamingos (promotional item given out by Jessica Claire) were seen everywhere. Here’s one checking his email.

It was a mini-WPPI reunion with Priscilla and Corey McNabb

Mike Colon & Charles Bordner hanging out with the Apple rep learning more about their new Aperature software.

DJ getting ready for his seminar – “creating freedom”

It was a sellout crowd!

Everyone listened attentively (except me)…

Bob Davis is a veteran in this game. I could go on and on about his resume but let’s just say he rocks. He’s one of the few photographers that Canon sponsors. Bob is probably one of the top photographers in the nation and I’m proud to say that he’s from Chicago! His wife Dawn is an amazing person and unfortunately I didn’t get to meet her at this conference. Bob & Dawn both love the Lord and it was so encouraging to connect with them. Check out their website

Mike Colon is a familar face to Pictage – he speaks regularly at these conferences – go visit his site. You’ll know why. (By the way rumor has it that he’s quite a poker player/hustler)

Denis Reggie – the godfather of wedding photography wowed us with his images and powerful lecture. Here Denis is explaining his “foofing” technique

Denis is a good looking guy. i have to apologize to him for this bad photos.

For dinner I got to hang out with Mike & Rachel Larson, Priscilla and Blake. We went to Meiji’s for some good sushi.

Mike & Rachel just came back from Rome shooting a wedding so they were jet-lagged. Yet they came out to hang out with us. Thanks guys.

We surprised Rachel for her birthday with a cake. Happy birthday!

Meiji’s is probably the best sushi joint in Chicago

David carefully explains his popular-selling ShowIt Web software to a potential customer. His slideshow maker is amazing. You have to try it out!

This is Todd, the real brain that makes David Jay look good.

Blake knows more about korean food than I do. – next time we are definitely going to K-town and having galbi buffet!

I was so fortunate and blessed to get to know these two brothers more at this conference. To most people, Mike Larson and David Jay are known as the “top photographers” in this industry. To me I’m more just glad that I can call these guys fellow brothers in Christ. These guys are what I called the “positive people” (see previous post) that influence the world with their lives.

Small Group Reunion Part 3? 4? Who’s Counting?
I think I need two bodies. One up in Chicago and another one down in Champaign. After an awesome two day conference in Chicago, I am back in Champaign doing the everything things again. Today I met up with some of my former small group members for dinner. Thanks Minsoo for organizing it. I don’t know how many times we had the FP 10 Small Group reunion but I think Minsoo’s going to organize it until it’s just him left on this campus.

Thomas was visiting from Chicago – ran into him at the restaurant. Someone please tell him to stop hanging out with Barry Bonds. Last time I saw him couple months ago, he was a shrimp. Now he’s twice the size and it’s not fat – it’s 100% pure angus beef on his body. What the?!

This small group was the year when I started getting into photography. I remember using them as guinea pigs for my photoshoots. They missed those days so we had a quick one again for old time sake.

Yun is sad its over now. Until next time!

I’m back up in Chicago for couple of days to attend the Pictage Partner Conference. Although this conference is not nearly as big as the one that I went to in Vegas back in March, it still features some impressive keynote speakers. I am looking foward to hearing from these guys again as they impart some of their wisdom with us. But more importantly, I’m looking forward to building more relationships with them and also get to meet other fellow photographers. I know some of the guys that I met in Vegas are going to be there and since this conference is around my neighborhood, I’m hoping that I can connect with some fellow Chicagoan photographers.

One of the reasons why conferences like this is beneficial is because I really believe that it is important to surround yourself with good people. It doesn’t apply to just some people – it’s a lesson to be learned by everyone. I belleve that everyone gives off influential energy that others can absorb. This energy can be positve or negative. I think surrounding yourself with the right people can only help you to become that positive person yourself. They wil be your source of encouragement when things are down; they will correct you when you are going in the wrong direction; and they will point you to go the right way when you are making a wrong turn; and most of all, surrounding yourself with the right people makes the journey in life more fun and interesting. So do yourself a favor and connect with positive people that God has surrounded you with in life and spend some time with them. You’ll soon realize that networking and investing your time with them will be one of the most rewarding thing you did that day. In the future, I’ll do a blog post about this to go into it more but for sake of time, I’ll stop here.

Speaking of positive people – before I end this post, here’s a quick shout out to some of these positive people that are leaving Champaign this semester:

Aurum is like the godfather of filipino community. After a decade, his legacy will definitely go on by other filipino brothers and sisters that he touched during his time down here.

Edsel is the better-looking half and perhaps the better dancer (although the dancing part can be argueable) of the Cruzat family. Praise nights and special skits will have a tough time finding his replacement

Rex is the reason why I wanted to join the Mustard Seed dance ministry. Okay not really but he’s a really good dancer and a genuine guy. I just realized CFC church is going to lose 3 big filipino brothers. Who will step up and fill the gap? Good thing Chris and Lester are still here.

We are going to miss you but our loss is other’s gain!

By the way, incase you didn’t notice the blooper in the graphic above, I inserted myself in there for fun. Some days I wonder if I ever hosted my own workshop if people will come? It probably won’t be for a while but it was just a thought. Any ways, I’ll update you on how the conference was in couple of days.

How about them Cubbies?! And Go Bulls? Please??!