How much I enjoy photography (& coffee).

This is my fun little project.  You might say it's stupid.  But, it's all about keeping the spirit alive as an artist.  I would like to share a little part of my life that was not been told before. From this, I hope you will get to know me better.  I want people to know how much I truly enjoy photography.

Wedding Site at Oxnard, Heritage Square

Whenever I arrive at the wedding site, I take pictures of my coffee cup. 

How it all started

1. I don't drink coffee every day.  But I religiously drink coffee whenever I do anything that's related to photography. 
   • For example: If a customer schedule a meeting, I will come to the meeting with a cup of coffee in my hand.
2. I always brew fresh coffee right before I leave home for a wedding.  I drink coffee as I drive to the wedding site.
3. When I arrive at the wedding site:
   • I get out of the car with the last sip of the coffee in my hand.
   • I place my coffee cup on top of my car to stretch.
   • Then I get my cameras out.  Take the lens caps off. etc..
   • I snap a few test pictures to make sure my camera is in working order
   • When I take test pictures, the closest object I see is my coffee cup.  So I take pictures of the coffee cup.
4. I am a Canon user.  I don't know why I bought this cup at the first place. 
5. The cup is about 18 years old (maybe older). I bought it through mail-order.  There was no Internet back then.  I bought it along with a Canon cup & a Nikon cup.  The other cups were broken a long time ago.

Before I knew it, this practice became one of my wedding photography rituals. 

Each photograph of my coffee cup marks the moment I was getting ready for a full day of work.  These are my personal moments when I was by myself.  I usually have a little butterfly in my stomach.

* If you don't see a series of pictures below click here.

Secret Garden, Moorpark, California

RiverRidge Golf Club in Oxnard.  August 30, 2008

August 23, 2008 - Coffee Cup: Bella Victorian Vineyard, Camarillo.

Saticoy Country Club

Saticoy Country Club is an exclusive, members only golf club & community.  From the hill you can see Morgan Stanley Building in Oxnard (red arrow).

Saticoy Country Club
www.saticoycountryclub.com
4450 North Clubhouse Drive
Somis, CA  93066
Phone (805)485-4956

Calamigos Ranch, Malibu,  Friday August 1, 2008

Wedding: July 26, 2008 

Wedding ceremony was at Heritage Square, Oxnard.  After the wedding I went to Point Mugu for beach photo-shoot.  Notice how the sky is gray at the beach. 

After the beach photo-shoot, we went to Simi Valley for a reception.

Westlake Village Inn.
July 12, 2008

The bride and groom stayed at Westlake Village Inn.  But the wedding ceremony was scheduled at their house in Thousand Oaks.  The bride and groom got the photography pass so we took care of the formal photography at Westlake Village Inn.

Wedding Site: Our Lady of the Assumption

It was a super hot day on June 21, 2007.  I didn't drink too much coffe that day because it was so hot. 

 A blog entry with some wedding pictures is listed below. I am very happy with how the pictures came out. 

* Update: The customer opened the web album to public.  Please note, you are about to look at hundres of "proof" quality images.  I am not just showing you a handfull of highly retouched images.  But, I have a guts to show you all my proof images in bulk.  You gotta give me some credit for that.

• Wedding at Ventura, beach photography (June 21, 2008)
• Web album for client, opened for public (proof quality)

Wedding Site: Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Barbara

This is a back-street from Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Barbara.  I come here very often.  Cabrillo Pavillion Arts Center is located across the street from Hotel Mar Monte.  Because the hotel is located so close to Cabrillo State Beach the parking is always the issue.  But I always find a spot on this backstreet.

I have a few stories and some pictures on Hotel Mar Monte:

Vegetarian Wedding (May 11, 2008)
• Above photograph was taken that day.  But there is no story or picture about Hotel Mar Monte.  Although the bride and groom stayed at Hotel Mar Monte, the main story was about their Vegan wedding menu.
• Santa Barbara wedding, a view from Hotel Mar Monte (August 11, 2007)
• Back to Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Barbara (July 14th, 2007)
• Santa Barbara, Mar Monte, wedding photo (Jule 2, 2007)
• Wedding at Santa Barbara (July 22 2006)
  • No pictures of the hotel Mar Monte, But the bride and groom stayed at Hotel Mar Monte.  Also, reception was held at Hotel Mar Monte