Archive for August, 2008

I just found this photo in my other computer! This was taken back in October of 2006. I drove almost 7 HOURS (each way – 14 hrs total in one day) to Cleveland, OH to visit Mike Colón! There I met Tomas Flint, David Burke and Erich Camping. I also got to meet Skip Cohen (president of WPPI – not pictured) and Jeff Jochum (former VP of Marketing for Pictage). Even Mike thought I was pretty crazy for driving that long to meet him for the first time. But I was so hungry and eager to learn from him, I weaved through some bad traffic, weather and construction to get there. The entire time as I was driving, I was having doubts about whether I made a right decision or not. Fortunately my friend Michelle Henke came that night and kept me company. If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve probably fell asleep and crashed and died some where.

But that trip was so worth it because not only did I meet these great guys, I also won a free full registration pass to WPPI. Had I not won that, I probably would not have attended it and would not have gotten a chance to meet all the photographers that are now my friends. Tomas and I have shot few weddings together and our work will be published in the next issue of Destination Weddings magazine. David Burke & I are good friends and have worked together in Charleston SC and Philadelphia. Most of all we like to just act just goofy together! Skip ended up helping me out alot answering all my annoying questions over email. And Mike’s became one of my mentors and a great friend since then.

I owe alot to this trip. For those that are starting out there, I encourage you guys to take bold steps and don’t be afraid to try something new. Go attend those seminars, workshops, meeting, get togethers, etc. Even if you don’t know anyone there or feel intimidated. You don’t know whom you’ll meet there and what kind of relationships & opportunities you’ll find! I would say this trip was definitely a monumental one for me!

Click here to read Mike’s blog about his perspective about the seminar. I love how he is always thinking about being a good example in all he does.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share some exciting news. It’s probably not that big of deal for photographers to be featured in a magazine’s vendor index but Grace Ormonde Magazine is not just your ordinary wedding magazine. Let me explain:

It was in early 2006, at the beginning of my wedding photography career, that I stumbled upon Grace Ormonde’s Wedding Style magazine at Borders while “researching” through various magazines to get inspirations and ideas. Grace’s magazine stood out above every other wedding publications for various reason. I immediately started to peruse through the pages being awed by some of the incredible images that I saw in it. It was an inspiring, but at the same time, a discouraging moment – wishing that I wanted to get to this level someday and discouraged because I wondered if I’ll ever reach that kind of level of success. It was also in this issue that I first heard of a California-based photographer named Mike Colón. I reached out to him immediately and shared with him how I much I admired his work.

Fast-forward 2 years and now Mike & I are good friends and just recently, I was invited by Grace Ormonde’s staff to be featured in their platinum list! I was FLOORED when I got the invitation. Unlike other magazines, you cannot just pay money to be in their elite list of photographers and other vendors. This is an “invitation-only” list. When I heard this news, I just smiled and shook my head – seeing all the hard work I’ve put into making it this far in the past 2 years. I know I still have long ways to go, but to make this monumental step was a big deal for me.

I have to thank Uncle Mike & Uncle Ray (contributing photographers) for their help and support. I also would like to thank many others that have helped me to be where I am today. I am excited as 2008 is coming to an end soon and can’t wait to see what 2009 has in fold!

My business name will appear in issues starting in 2009. But you can view my profile on their website now by clicking on the image below:

For more information about Grace Ormonde’s magazine, click here

My next goal? Get a wedding published in their magazine! Look out for an announcement in the near future about some features in other publications (Destination Weddings, The Knot) soon!

On another note, click on the video below to watch part 3 of 3 of my friend David Jay’s interview by Ron Dawson. I really like how you can get to know a photographer on a personal level with these video interviews. I kind of wish we had something like this couple years ago when I weas starting out! This would’ve helped me so much in learning about these guys instead of stalking their blogs!

About two months ago (yes i’m that behind on my wedding blogs!) I had a chance to second shoot with Mike & Rachel Larson. They are good friend of mine and i was to help him out on this wedding. Second shooting is awesome because I can capture angles that I sometimes can’t get when I’m the main shooter! Matt Hall from Indiana was also there to help out – together we had a blast! Mike & Rachel are such a team and it was fun even watching them work together!

I’m going to try something new and make my images slightly smaller – 1) to help down load faster 2) It is the same dimension as the photos in facebook gallery so hopefully facebook will not resize them and reduce the quality of the photos. Let me know if you guys like the smaller format! Here are some images I helped capture during the day:

Mike’s such a riot. I love this guy. Thanks again for this beautiful wedding Mike & Rachel! Look forward to shooting with you guys again!

Hey folks – just take a break from putting up photo-related post today and wanted to focus on one of my friend: Mike Kim. It’s cool to have friends like him who is talented enough to come out with his own book! If I tried to write one, I think I will stop probably after the first page! I once wrote a 24 page in college and that was torturous for me!

Here’s brief summary of what the book is about: “Escaping North Korea provides a rare and unique inside look into the hidden world of ordinary North Koreans. It recounts firsthand experiences of enduring famine, women’s sex trafficking experiences, and torture in the gulags, as well as inspirational stories of refugees who overcame tremendous adversity to escape the repressive regime of their homeland and make new lives.”

Any ways, if you are in the Chicagoland area, I wanted to let you know that he has a book signing event scheduled at Barnes & Noble.

Date: Saturday, August 30, 2008
Time: 3:00pm
Location: Barnes & Noble Old Orchard
Street: 55 Old Orchard Center

Stop by and pick up a copy and show some support! I found out that from 8/12-8/25 Mike’s book will be at front-of-store display of every Barnes & Noble!

You can also click here to order a copy! Congratulations Mike!

It’s been about a week since I’ve been off the Freedom Tour Bus and I have to admit that I really miss it. Growing up, I literally wanted to be a rock star so being on this bus meant that I was somewhat living out my dream! I’ll be joining them again soon — hopefully at the Kansas stop, if not for sure in my hometown Chicago. I’m so amped about them coming and want to make sure that Chicago will get the biggest showing. The Freedom Seminar will take place on the 19th of August and I would like to see lot of people there! To make this happen, with DJ’s permission, I am having a contest to give away a couple of free seats to the seminar! You can sign up for the seminar HERE

I have to thank my friends Shandon & Matt for giving me the idea for the contest. The rules are pretty simple. Take a photo of yourself doing the most creative/fun/entertaining “KK” pose. Here is a good example of a fun “KK” pose:

Please include your email, link to your site (or blog) & your number in your email. The deadline for submission will be Thursday the 14th, 11:59pm. I’m doing this because I have a wedding to shoot this weekend and I won’t have any time during the weekend. Remember, this is for the Chicago stop only! Winner(s) will be announce on Friday!

To help clarify what the proper “KK” pose looks like, here’s some samples of what it SHOULD NOT look like:

Look forward to seeing some fun images.

BEST PHOTOGRAPHER IN INDY?!

On another note, I just wanted to give a quick blog shoutout to my friend/photographer Morgan Matters. Morgan has been nominated on
TheIndyChannel.com for the best wedding photographer of Indiana category!

If you have a minute, go to the link below and sign up with your email address and vote for her (I think she’s in 2nd place and is in few votes shy of winning it all!).

http://wrtv.cityvoter.com/morgan-matters-photography/biz/92792

How can you not vote for Morgan?!

Morgan Says: “Good Times!”