Archive for July, 2008

I just came back from Nebraska where I got to shoot an awesome wedding of Ashley & Brice. Thanks to good friends Shane & Erin Melenbacker for allowing me to have this opportunity to work with them. That wedding was one to remember for a while. I’ll blog more about it later on but here’s a sneak peak:

ROAD TRIP

Tomorrow I hop on plane to Houston, TX to join my buddy David Jay on his national tour. I grabbed the map image from Shyla’s web blog – she’s also going to be on this tour and I can’t wait to hang out with some of the best photographers and to meet ton of new ones! I’ll be starting off by going to the first three locations (Houston, Austin & Dallas). We’d love for you to come out and join us! It’s not too late to come out and attend! Click on the bus to hop on and register!

Many people ask where I am these days. I sometimes forget where I am too. This past week has been a blur as I went from Chicago >> Philly >> Chicago >> Florida >> Chicago >> Nebraska in span of 8 days. It’s been fun and although it will be almost impossible, I will try to recap it w/ some photos. I’m sorta behind on my blog so hopefully this will be considered a make-up. You guys are so forgiving – thanks so much!

1) We went to a swamp area in Gainesville where we were told that we would see ton of gators there. After searching for 15 minutes, we spotted one about 100 feet away. 2)Newberry BBQ – good stuff! 3)leaning tower of onion rings! 4)My friend/photographer Shandon Smith came out to hang out with us for a bit with her son. 5)Here’s my buddies Al Navata & I visiting Peter and Bethany. They are such good hosts. 6)We basically ate, digested, ate, digested and ate some more during this trip. Good times!

1) I finally got a photo with Caleb! 2)Shot an awesome wedding of John & Jasmine – thanks to Jen Kroll & Gustavo for coming to help out with this wedding. Had so much fun together this weekend. 3)My young fans from U of I! Esther & Suejean! 4)Here’s us sitting in panera parking lot at 1:30am stealing their internet (it was down at our place). Desperate time calls for desperate measures!

1) Got to meet Aeri Chang. Such a cool gal – best wishes to her as she moves to NY! 2) Danny & Nancy – tying the knot soon. Best wishes for them! 3)My old small group members Injae & Jesse 4)You have to click on this link below to see the video for this photo 5) Gustavo & Jen trying to figure out where to visit next 6)We took the Chicago architecture tour – it was awesome but we also got owned by the sun!

Jen Kroll Funny Face from Kenny Kim on Vimeo.

Chris & Katie Torres from 6 of 4 Creations were in town this weekend so we got the troop together to have lunch with them. I love how we can just chill with random folks and become friends instantaneously. Thanks to Priscilla for letting us meet at her cool studio! From L to R: (front)Chris Torres, David Lai, Yours Truly, Priscilla O’Sullivan,Jen Kroll. (back) Gustavo Fernandez, Steve Goldhaber, Katie Torres

Award-winning Dallas photographer JB & DeEtte Sallee were in town also for their I Shoot People tour. Go check these awesome guys out. They are funny, knowledgeable and eager to share their success in how to do well in this industry. I learned some good tips from them that I will definitely apply to my business. But no more talk about work. We met up with them for lunch and hung out with them after the seminar. 1) Here’s Kenny waiting anxiously for the seminar to start. 2) Here’s us after stuffing ourselves w/ Maggiano’s lunch buffet. I tried to get everyone to do the KK logo but JB decided to be a rebel and promote his “Shoot people” tour instead. 3) Got to meet a talented photographer Amy Gaerthofner from Ardent Photography in Wisconsin. She obviously wanted to “hang loose” instead of promoting the KK logo! 4) I definitely got shot with what JB & DeEtte had to share. The key is in the VOSS water bottle folks!

1) Then I hop to the land of cornhuskers to shoot a wedding this weekend with Shane. 2)He picks me up, we’re having a good time then all of sudden we were greeted by a Nebraska trooper! We were one of nine cars that were pulled over in the I-80 speed trap! 3) Shane was not to pleased about the citation. 4) We got a chance to eat at a restaurant called Grisanti’s. Good food and good times. Geoff Johnson and Amy (Shane & Erin’s friend) joined us for dinner.

1) It was awesome to hang out with Geoff Johnson for a bit. He’s super smart and just an awesome guy. He gave us a tour of his studio that day. 2)Hanging out at Gary Fong’s ranch in Kelowna… j/k. I got to visit my friend Julie who owns horses. 3) I thought about riding them at first then got scared soI just decided to just take a photo with them. They were shy about the camera but quickly changed their mind when I brought them food! 4) Did you know there are more cattles than humans in Nebraska? Look at all this meat! 5) Julie & I heading back to Shane & Erin’s place. 6) This is what folks in Nebraska do for fun. We go grocery shopping. Just kidding guys!

1) We played a friendly game of Scrabble and had dinner at home. I got 65 points for using HOSTAGES. I’m proud of myself so I’ll give myself a pat on the back right now 2)Can you tell by this photo who won and who got demolished? Good times 3) Shane & Erin are such cute couple. They make a Dynamic Duo 4) Shane is warning me to watch out for next time we play. Is that a threat Shane? 5) Victory is so sweet I can almost taste it. In this cast, it’s tastes a bit rough and manly.

Next week I’m going on a national tour with David Jay across the nation – starting with the friendly folks in Texas. If you have not signed up, do yourself a favor and sign up! I hope to see you guys there so leave me a comment if you plan on being there!

I’ve been slacking off on my blog updates lately. I had an awesome weekend but filled with every minute filled with something going on. Plus my internet at my place has been down for the past few days!

I’ll update more but I am heading out to Nebraska in about 5 mins to hang out w/ the Melenbacker gang and to shoot a fun wedding out there.

Here are some images from Devon & Daisy’s wedding from last month. D&D are one of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet. I’m so blessed to not only have them as my client but as my friends as well. I was recently out in Philly again to shoot a wedding. They met up with me and took me out to an awesome meal at Vietnamese Restaurant – one of my favorite joints in Philly! Thanks guys!

Wedding: Bethlehem Baptist Church – Ambler, PA
Reception: Asuka/Gaya Banquet Hall – Blue Bell, PA

Photographer: Kenny Kim
2nd Photographer: David Burke

Whew, it’s been a pretty long weekend so far. Friday I spent in Peggy Notebart Museum in Chicago photographing Cory & Erika Bradford’s wedding. Cory and I met in college so to have the privilege to shoot his wedding was a blessing. He’s a good looking dude but man Erika was stunning! Here’s one more photo of Erika:

Then we caught an early flight to Philadelphia to shoot Julie & Wilson’s wedding. I was going on 2 hrs of sleep so I was a bit tired..but after a super-dosed iced americano from Starbucks, I was good to go. My sidekick Kenny Nakai tag along for the ride which made it more fun. Julie & Wilson were such a cool and laid back couple. They got married at the Normandy Farm in Blue Bell, PA.

Here’s a fun shot of the bride and her bridesmaids right before the ceremony:

The next day we stopped by Grace Covenant Church for service. Then we met up w/ Devon & Daisy for lunch:

Then monday, I took an early flight to Orlando FL to meet up w/ my friend Al Navata for the International Christian Retailer Show. The atmosphere was electric – almost like being at WPPI (Vegas).

Thanks to my friend Al. He works for Tyndale as the senior art director – he hooked me up w/ a pass to shoot some photos for them. I got a whole bunch of freebies and got to meet and greet some authors.

Meet King Nebuchadnezzar

Here’s Francine Rivers author of best selling “Redeeming Love” plus many other popular books during an interview…

Here’s up and coming band called New World Son – they were giving away copies of their new album

Got to meet Jerry Jenkins – known for his famous “Left Behind” series that he co-wrote with Tim LaHaye

I got to meet Jesus & Simon Peter!

Artist Jeremy Camp signing autographs. There was a long line…

So I jumped in quickly to get a photo with him..

Ran into Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato. I picked a fight with them and they ganged up on me. I can’t believe I got messed up by Veggie Tales folks…

My friend Al designed this tradeshow booth – so proud of him!

Al and his boss CJ. CJ is such a cool guy – If I went back to working for a corporate company, I would want someone like him as my boss…

I had a privilege to meet Dr. Jerry Bridges. Some of the younger guys might not know him but he’s a seasoned veteran in Christian books. His classics include The Pursuit of Holiness and Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts.

I took this photo for my sister. This is her favorite author Francine Rivers. She’s written numerous #1 books including Redeeming Love. Sorry about the blurry photo!

Al is excited to get his book autographed by the quthor

Then I waited a while to meet Randy Alcorn. This was such an honor for me since Randy has been my client for the past few years. He is one of my favorite modern authors and I had a chance to work as his webmaster for the past few years. It was a brief meeting but it was well-worth it. I plan on visiting him in Oregon later on this year…

All in all it was good times! Now I hope to recuperate for next couple of days in FL before I head back to Chicago for a wedding. Have a good week everyone!

It’s 6am and I am about to board a flight to Philly just in time to shoot Julie & Wilson’s wedding in Blue Bell, PA. This has been a long week. 3 eSessions, client meetings, 2 weddings, meeting up an old friend for lunch, etc. Then as soon as I get back, I fly right back out to Orlando for one day of work and finally some rest and relaxation in the sun for few days before the schedule picks up again. I can’t complain though. I got my buddy/second photog Kenny Nakai coming with me on this trip to Philly so we should be able to rock the wedding even though we are going on 3 hrs of sleep. Good times!

Here’s some shots from this week:

Scott & Jane’s eSession:

Cory & Erika’s eSession:

John & Jasmine’s eSession:

Cory & Erika’s wedding:

I will follow up w/ each of these weddings later on. We better get on the plane before it takes off. Looking forward to meeting some friends and Daisy & Devon tomorrow. Good times!