Bird's-Eye View

Music Video Shooting

2011-09-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

These photos are from a music video shooting of one of my customers, Bvalano। This is the first time I've worked for a music video as a still photographer. It was quite exciting and I just wondered how much time they had to spend to make this 5 minites (or 3 min.?) video. Well, it was started from 3PM I was told it would only take a few hours, but hell no! It went on and on...til 3AM!!

There was a cool set...like this.

Icy & John Engagement at UCLA

2011-06-13T22:41:00.000-07:00

I had some STUNNING images at this beautiful campus of UCLA. Icy & John were very patient and helped me a lot to take better pictures! Enjoy!

Laura & Joel Wedding at Heritage Park in Santa Fe Spring

2011-05-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

Photo Guest Signing Book Available!

2011-03-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

Exciting news! Now Photo Guest Signing Book is available to make with your favorite pictures from an engagement session.

Here are some pictures:

The faded photo area can be used for the space your guests can write any comments.

To check out more design samples, click here :)

Bride's Choice Awards 2011

2011-01-31T11:28:00.000-08:00

I was just notified by email that I received Weddingwire.com site's Bride's Choice Awards!

Weddingwire explains this award as:

"With more than 200,000 wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community throughout the US and Canada, the 2011 award recipients represent the top five percent in quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. "

Thank you very much all the brides & grooms who wrote a nice review on the site!

Ruth & Juan Wedding Album

2010-12-24T23:08:00.000-08:00

This is the last wedding album I am creating this year! The cover page came out very elegantly.

Getting ready shots. Her dress was very fashionable.

The ceremony was held at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in Downtown LA. There was a lot of artistic decor.

Noemi & Adrian Wedding Album

2010-12-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

I am making three wedding albums this months, it's been quite hectic!

Here are some layouts.

The St. Joseph church was magnificent... I didn't know that there are so many beautiful churches in Downtown LA!

Pink, Pink, Pink! I think pink was also another trend this year.

I really liked the metal door with lots of circles at the church!

Marisol & Matt Wedding Album

2010-11-11T14:16:00.000-08:00

The ceremony was held at Santa Anita Church. The stained glass wall behind the alter gave me such an inspiring feeling!

The photoshoot was done at Cal Tech before the ceremony.

This was where they met at for the first time, and spent time together a lot. :)

This place was one of their favorite spots at Cal Tech.

Yuka & John Wedding Album

2010-10-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some layouts I made recently for Yuka & John's album

Wedding was held at Orcutt Ranch in West Hills. The reception area was surrounded by a rose garden full in bloom. There were also orange groves, a little cave...very nice location for taking photos! And the ceremony was held under a big tree. :)

Yuka's mom (visited from Japan) appeared wearing kimono.

They vowed under the big tree with Origami cranes (hanging from the tree's branches).

Group shot with everybody before the reception starts.

In the middle of reception, Yuka showed up wearing a beautiful kimono...

Shhh! A little privacy please for a newly wed couple!

Caltech & Santa Anita Church Wedding

2010-08-31T18:17:00.000-07:00

Jennifer & Douglas Wedding Album

2010-08-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

Their wedding was held at Cal State Fullerton Arboretum!

All their memories living forever in their rings...

Quinceanera: Melissa

2010-07-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

007 Wedding at Wedgewood in Camarillo

2010-07-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ana & Timothy had a wedding at Wedgewood Wedding & Banquet Center in Camarillo.

There was a cute cake-top with 007 theme.

And this is their grand entrance.

Pasadena Engagement Session

2010-06-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hyatt Huntington Beach Wedding

2010-06-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

Hyatt Hotel at Huntington Beach is worth to visit for any occasion, but Misty & Denny had good reasons to have a wedding here. It was where they first spent weekend vacation after they met and also where he proposed her!

Yes, it's just in front of the beach....and there's a beautiful white bridge to walk down to it.

Bride's son walked with her down the aisle, because...

Her farther below was the officiant for her wedding! He is actually a minister.

Congratulations!

UCLA Engagement Session

2010-05-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Black & Red Sexy Wedding

2010-05-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

Alexandra & Matt had a very sexy wedding style!

Photoshoot at a beautiful rose garden at Lacy Park in San Marino.

And the bridesmaids were wearing in black & red!

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church looked like a castle.

The reception site was also decorated with black & red.

This is the ring pillow...and the middle red rose case was used to have their rings inside.

San Dimas Golf Club Wedding

2010-04-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

Rebecca & Luis wedding

Odyssey Restaurant Wedding : Allison & Erik

2010-02-28T01:29:00.000-08:00

Look at this great view! Erik and Allison had a wedding at Odyssey Restaurant in Burbank, which is on a top of a mountain.

It was a garden ceremony at the same site. It's February but very warm day and look at those white flower trees full in bloom!

Allison is a classical musician (harp), so her friends played during ceremony.

There was a cake as a centerpiece on each table. Please note that the case base was wrapped with a music-themed paper.

I asked them to bring some props if they want to use for photoshoot, and guess what? They brought mountain boots! It turned out they are serious hikers, and met through Sierra Club.

And they went back to the reception wearing the boots...

And danced! :)

Weddings Are Back This Year!

2010-01-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

I got three bookings in a day today! :)

Looks like a lot of couples are getting married this year...

Noriko & Toshi at Summit House

2009-11-29T23:22:00.000-08:00

My friends, Noriko & Toshi, finally had a wedding.

There are sometimes a lot of of more things that you have to overcome in order to get married than you first thought.

But love finds a way....congratulations!

Mountain Ceremony

2009-11-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

Kim & Dan, who love nature and hiking, decided to have a wedding ceremony on Santa Monica Mountain with immediate family members. Here are some of the pictures!

Halloween Wedding at Swiss Park, Whitter.

2009-11-01T19:03:00.000-08:00

This was one of the most memorable weddings for me. Exactly a year ago, the decorations were all Halloween-themed, Scalps were seen all over, very unusual for wedding.

The bride wore a very lacy dress. And the rest was decarated only with black & red...

The cake-top was interesting. The death didn't part them! Ths is called REAL LOVE.

It had a light rain that day...the reception site manager suggested to set up ceremony site inside, but the bride decided to go on at outside.

It seemed OK when the groomsmen entered the ceremony site, but by the time the bride walked down to the aisle, the rain was pouring!

Everyone including the bride was giving a wry smile...Why now!? It was only a shower a few minutes ago.

Anyway, I quickly covered my camera body with a plastic bag, but of course it got wet a little bit...The
videographers and I were so worried about the equipments, but luckily, those were OK.

You see the water all over, right!?

The rest of the event went well though.

The location was Swiss Park, Whitter.

Engagement Session

2009-10-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

They are getting married this November.

Congratulations!

Photos Taken for Magazines

2009-10-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

*Click the "Play" button if the slideshow is not working!

These are the sample photos of restaurants/stores I took for various magazines.

*Please do not click the slideshow unless you see a "play" button. It will move to another page.

Malibou Lake Mountain Club Wedding

2009-09-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

Did you know that there was a small lake in the Malibu Canyon? By the lake, there is a mountain club called "Malibu Lake," and that was the place for last wedding job...

Only bride & groom could enter the actual lake property to get some photos.

Cake decoration was fabulous!

It was also nice inside the hall...

Light Blue is popular color for weddings this year?

2009-08-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

Last week's wedding in Canyon County was filled with light blue color stuff.

The Belvedere, The Peninsula Beverly Hills

2009-08-19T22:56:00.001-07:00

Today, I went to interview the executive chef James Overbaugh at the Belvedere restaurant in the Peninsula Hotel, Beverly Hills. Unlike other top-class hotels and restaurants, I felt great hospitality here.

I had several opportunities to talk to the chefs of LA's top restaurants through magazine interviews. I am not that good of a cook myself, but there's always something to learn from the experts. Since cooking is such an everyday-thing, I tend to forget that the world of culinary arts is very deep and consists of many elements.

Taste has 4 elements: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Also, there are several textures that your tongue enjoy: Creamy, crunchy, fresh, or soft. These are very abstract, but chefs work on these very carefully as if they are painters.

Chet Zar will be on UK magazine!

2009-08-18T00:33:00.000-07:00

I interviewed Chet Zar and took some pictures of him for August magazine a while ago...the left is one of them, with his one-eye dog, Bella. This portrait is really popular among people and he might use it for another article in a UK magazine.

He draws monsters' portraits, sometimes scary, but often looks humorous, lonely or lovely. You can see his works at http://www.chetzar.com/

He also works as a sculptor for feature films. He worked closely with director Guillermo del Toro for the movie "Hellboy."

Yuko Tokunaga Nominated for Emmy Again!

2009-07-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

This is very exciting news! A hair-stylist Yuko Tokunaga has been nominated for an Emmy Award working for the TV series "Pushing Daisies." This is her second nomination since last year.

I've known her since 2006, and she is the most hard working artist I've ever known. She would rather go to work than sleep, but still doesn't forget to show her affection for other people. Her deep insight is somewhat shocking to me sometimes, but if you are someone who should be nominated for such prestigious award, then maybe you must have well-advanced psychic ability...

Well, she is also a specialist of Kimono. She worked for the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Engagement Session at Malibu Beach

2009-07-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

Classy Wedding

2008-07-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

Held at The Neighborhood Church, Torrance
*Click the "Play" button if the slideshow is not working!

*Please do not click the slideshow unless you see a "play" button. It will move to another page.

Vivid Red & White Wedding

2008-06-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous dress!

Today's job was held at Faith Christian Church, Simi Valley.

The red color was the right choice for today's wedding.

USC? Yes the groom is a USC grad!

These flags were decorated at a part of the alter.

The groom works at lighting dept. in the movie industry, so he put some spot lights on the ceiling. Nice effect, huh?

How beautiful these red dresses with the green background!

Very modern and pop!

Interesting Lighting effect, isn't it?

Yes, they were proud. ^^

Free Thank You Card Promotion

2008-02-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

I am doing a promotion of FREE THNAK YOU CARD with a picture for my prospect customers. What I can offer is 100 free 4x6 glossy postcard with free layout design! I am going to have different styles for my customers to choose from very soon!

Creating a Brochure

2008-02-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

I am designing a brochure for my wedding photography service recently. There are so many good images to choose from, since I have been taking wedding for 3 years now. The selection of images are finished, but I still have to think about what kind of information should be on the brochure....I hope to finish by the end of Feb. If anyone wants one, just e-mail me your name and mailing address to photo@ipressimages.com

Calendar Girls

2008-01-30T21:49:00.000-08:00

It was very fun taking pictures at Malibu beach the other day! They are cousins and are going to make a calendar। Wanna buy one?