A shot of my cousin on our trip to Lodi a few weeks ago. I normally hate how he keeps his hair (he is lazy) but today it seems like his hair adds a cool effect to the shot. Need to brighten his eyes a bit but overall I’m getting better at portraits.
Phew, been a long day! Working hard on doing what I need to do and what I want to do. In the process of studying photography and starting a few projects that I was too lazy to attempt to do. Going to be publishing two private photo books for my friends. Sometimes I really just have to kick my own ass to get myself into gear. I procrastinate so much by drowning myself in the escapism of YouTube and Netflix that I don’t pay enough attention to my true passions.
Not going to say that I will suddenly get better but I am going to say that I am forcing myself to get into the right gear. Cutting out bad habits and replacing them with good ones and working on a schedule. For instance, I always take my time to update this blog but once I actually start writing a post I can go on and on. Just have to control my urges and do what I need to do.
A shot that I took in Lodi recently. This was a spur of the moment shot of my cousin as we explored the nature park around Lodi Lake. This shot is plain to me but I do like the look in my subjects’ eyes. I will go back to this shot and plan something better. I would like to take a tighter shot with more focus on the eyes. I will need to work on my backgrounds as well as my editing. I’m looking forward to the process.
I finished work late today but I was highly motivated to work on my passions. Thus I spent the last thirty minutes editing photos and writing this post. Currently, studying product photography before I jump back into portraits. I built my own makeshift light box to dabble with my Gundam models. My next post might be about that, we will see soon. Going to be taking this more seriously and get out of my comfort zone by taking more portraits of different people. I still have to get comfortable with my new camera (Nikon D5200) and with portrait photography but it is something that I really want to try yet it strikes me with fear so I truly know that is my next step.
I want to see what happens when I put 100% of my heart and effort into this. Even if I fail I’ll be proud of my effort if I gave it my all.
Took my little cousin to Lodi Lake in Lodi, CA to check out a restaurant and to walk around the lake. I’ve been introducing more and more photography principles to him as he has an interest in the field. It’s an interesting process as we can bond over our shared passion for this craft. I handed down my super zoom camera to him and once he has a better grasp of photography and wants to continue to pursue it fully then I’ll buy him a beginner level dslr. However, I don’t want to spoil him so I’m going to make him work for it.
I really love this field! At times I am swarmed by thoughts of self doubt but I step back and give myself a moment. I’ll look at my wall, which has my photos taped on 1/3 of it and just reflect. I know I’m not the best but I’m not trying to be. I am simply creating the shots that I want to and trying to be the best me that I can be. If I never get into Magnum Photos then so be it. I want to pursue this field out of genuine love even if I fail. Really just want to see how far I can go and tell a few stories along the way.
Updating this blog is a hassle until I actually sit down and write. I sometimes want to take the easy way out and just update a photo then go back to whatever show that I am watching. But I really can’t do it and don’t really want to do that. I want to present the world with what I can truly do but I believe that at times I try to do as little as possible so I can have a reason as to why I failed. 2021 is my year and I’m going to face all of my bad choices in hopes to create the right choices for me.
Been taking Skillshare courses on relevant topics which has helped me grasped certain issues I’ve had in the past and I’ve gained a lot of practical knowledge from the site. I will continue to take classes that will help me on this journey of mine. I am in the process of re-designing this website and I’m going to be more attentive to it. I have a few photo ideas that I want to flesh out. So beware that I will be having updating this more with content. Going back to my prolific creation roots.
Explored Reno, Nevada a few weeks ago with my friend. He is always gracious enough to be the subject of my photography. I got lost in the moment of shooting portraits that I didn’t realize he was still wearing his mask. But I happen to like how the photos came out.
At this time I was still experimenting with my IPhone 11’s camera. I’m a little better know as I know a few tricks and gain more knowledge on pogo to graphs. I’m continuing to study daily in order to fully pursue what I love.
Whenever I run out of photos, I plan a day trip and this was one occasion. I was thinking about moving to Nevada but after traveling to Reno and Las Vegas I have no desire to do so. Anyway, I’m planning more trips this year. Will be going to Arizona, Truckee, Galt, Los Angeles, Oregon, Canada, and possibly Washington (state).
It all depends on the pandemic situation. Besides that, everything has been nice and easy. Taking the proper skill share courses to help me improve my writing, photography, filmmaking, and design skills.
I’m getting better at portraits and laying out these posts.
After a nice day and night in San Francisco. Me and my friends headed to Davis, CA to shoot some hoops and get some boba. This was my friends’ reaction to trying a new drink. We had fun talking about life and simply laughing as we learned about each other.
My coworker above slowly became my friend in a short amount of time. We simply clicked this to our mutual love of philosophy, creating, and music. We may have different tastes but we respect that and are willing to accept those differences. To me that’s how genuine friendships are created and I’m grateful for this one.
Happened to teach my friend more about photography and posing during this short trip. He was a willing student that asked good questions and seemed to grasp the various principles of photography that I taught him.
I’m not the best teacher but my passion for photography shines through despite my spur of the moment teachings that I cram a lot of things into. It was a good experience for the both of us. We walked away better creators in our respective crafts.
I’m fully pursuing photography, I’m about to purchase a new DSLR tomorrow. Still doing research about which one I will get but I have a general idea. Going to get the best one for me that will help me on my path. However, will not fixate on it and use the camera as another tool to further my pursuit of my passions. Working hard to develop the path that I truly want. It’s thought but I’m taking the baby steps necessary to do just that.
On a whim, I decided to drive to Reno, Nevada a few days after the new year. My best friend tagged along and we had a nice but frustrating adventure. Enjoyed the weather out there but the street lights and homelessness in Reno are no joke. It’s not on the level of San Francisco but it is a serious problem.
Besides that, finding parking that wasn’t connected to a hotel was a joke. Finally managed to find one and got some safe parking for free. Walked a few miles around the nearly empty streets of the littlest big city in the world. All I could was the cars wheezing bye and music from the casinos. I’m no gambler but I did hit the slots for a brief moment on someone’s else’s dime. However, turned that dime into fifteen dollars.
Afterwards, we kept walking towards the University of Nevada-Reno. The campus was as dead as a movie theater. It was a pretty nice experience as I was able to practice shooting portraits with no distractions or interruptions until my model fell.
That wasn’t the end of the trip as we had to make the trek back to Sacramento. We went to Boomtown, NV to devour some steak and eggs at Mel’s Original Diner. It was a fantastic idea despite the long wait time. I found Boomtown to much more pleasant than Reno.
I’m actually pondering moving to Nevada due to the standard of living in California. It’s a serious decision that I am not taking lightly. I’m taking some more time to think about it. I will have my decision in 6 to 9 months. Anyway, that’s all from me tonight.
A shot of my friend in San Francisco. Working hard on taking better portraits!!!
Boom! Like that 2020 is over and 2021 is upon us. I hope that everyone has a much better year this time around. I don’t have many trips plan this year except for two: Las Vegas, NV to Phoenix, AZ to Los Angeles, CA & the biggest trip to Tokyo, Japan. I’m truly hopefully that I will be able to finally fulfill my childhood dream of walking through Japan. We simply have to wait and see with the pandemic. At least I have a lot of opportunities to stash more cash than I normally would.
Planning to leave my job for another one as soon as I can find a better one. It’s not my new years resolution but it’s the first goal I want to accomplish this year. I’ve outgrown my current job and would like to explore another industry while pursuing photography. Been taking my fair share of Skillshare courses and I’m almost done with a flay lay course. I’ve been experimenting a lot with food photography and going outside of my comfort zone.
Have been experimenting with YouTube which I will write about in length in a post in the near future. I only have two resolutions this year: 1. keep my room clean 2. Get closer to being the best version of myself. I have a long road ahead of me but I’m here taking the baby steps necessary to sprint towards my next journey and be able to truly grow.
Always saw these girls pose with their drinks in front of this flower wall at a local boba shop and had to poke fun at them. This is not the best shot that came of that experience but it is a decent one. I took it with my old Samsung J7 Sky. Would love to go back to retake it with a better camera but for a few reasons that won’t happen. Really shows me that I need to get the shot that I want so I won’t look back at the photos later consuming the imperfections.
Anyway, finally printed out my first photo book. It was a good experience that taught me a lot. It’s a simple process to print a book but there’s a lot that goes into it. I have a lot of work to do but I fully fell in love with the experience and plan to release an official photo book in the near future. The one I printed out was a private one meant for my group of friends.
I can honestly say that I am developing more confidence as a photographer. It’s been a long process for me due to being lazy and always doubting myself. But this is what I want to do and need to act accordingly. I have made some changes in my life and stop myself from doing things that don’t help me out at all by thinking to myself “how does this help me be the best version of myself?”. It’s helped steer me in the direction. It takes willpower but I decided to become a more dedicated man.
I’m making more time to create, edit, and upload my work while still learning thru Skillshare. I’ve taken three courses so far: T-Shirt Design Workshop, Food Photography, and Flat Lay Photography. I’ve been dabbling in food photography and have become more conscious of my food photographs. I haven’t dived too much into non-food flay lay photography but will be doing so pretty soon (probably after I finish writing this).
I will be posting at least twice a week on this blog and almost everyday on my social media.
The few positive results of me and my friend’s journey to San Jose. We went to the Japanese friendship garden and let’s say we did not see what we expected to. Anyway, I was able to capture a few good shots with my camera (I miss it – enter crying face emoji). If you have seen my previous work then you should know that I like to play with shadows and capture people in natural situations. Some people may think that the subject of the shot is an angry participant but it’s simply a shot of my friend as we crossed the threshold of a soulless garden.
That day was a long day as we had already drove to Milpitas earlier to have some fantastic Vietnamese food before heading to Palo Alto. We managed to walk the long road to Stanford University before making the much shorter seeming way back out of the campus. San Jose was suppose to be the cherry on the top of a very good day but it was more of a disappointment than I could ever imagine.
However, me and my friend still had a blast. We managed to find this small Asian grocery store that stocked one of my favorite drinks, Pocari Sweat, which I was ecstatic to find. If you haven’t had it before, I would heavily suggest it. I generally say to new drinkers that it tastes like flat 7up or Sprite with less sugar. It may not sound good but I have hooked two people to it so far.
This journey to Palo Alto & San Jose was one of the many small trips I’ve taken this year. I also travel through my job around Northern California so I have to places that I never heard about it before like Cool, Shingle Springs, Cameron Park, and many more small towns. So this is the just the tip of the iceberg of what I have to share.
Hope you enjoy the journey that I am sharing on this site. If not and you are even more of a visional person then check out my Instagram. If you are here for the long ride, hop on and stay tuned in.
A portrait that I took of a friend at a boba shop in Sacramento. We saw a bunch of girls just posing with their drinks in front of the flower wall. So we decide to make fun of them with photography. It was a funny moment in a good friendship. Sadly, I took this with my Samsung J7 sky as I didn’t have my trusty Nikon at hand. I copped the shot and tried to make “Love Colorfully” as clear as possible. AS you can see, I still have a lot of work to do with my portraits.
Phew! It’s been a while, I finally found the time to edit photos and put more time into my passions. Been working like crazy and trying to find a new job. I have found some part time work at a warehouse. I’ll only be there for six months as I am trying to gain new experiences and to add to my resume while I pursue my passions and investing.
Formulating a life plan tonight and will be acting upon it as soon as I wake up tomorrow. I realized that I was too comfortable in life and have been focusing on distractions rather than on my goals. I have cleaned my room and throw away any that didn’t spark joy. I’ve got a few simple photos to edit of the time I tested out my new lens. I don’t want to end up staying where I am at. Next year I’ll be thirty. So I truly have a lot of work to do in order to achieve the life that I want. Progress has been steady but slow. I talk to myself when I get restless and remind myself to be patient as my time will come.
