Dlux Entertainment...Rockin' It

Less than a week ago while I was up in Simi Valley at Erin's place, I got a call from one of our friends, Kelly McCoy. (He and Jen modeled for us at the very beginning of our blog) Well Kelly may be our model by day, but at night he is the owner, operator, and MC of Dlux Entertainment. He called me to see if I was interested in driving out to a gig he had at a local high school. He was bringing out all the bells and whistles for this event and wanted me to swing by and capture a few shots for his new website. Here are just a few that I'll be previewing for him this week, hopefully we'll get a chance to work together again soon! Enjoy!

**This was one of my first experiences shooting in very low light, so I was working the whole time to figure it out...sans an off-camera flash**

Practice makes perfect ;)

So after Gavin had lunch with Mike Colon on Wednesday afternoon we got together to talk about everything. He got so much out of it and the main thing Mike encouraged us to start doing was to put our settings in Manual mode. My first thought was "Oh man!" but with lots of practice yesterday we started getting the hang of it! It was so encouraging to run back home and see our shots! :)

Here's one of Gavin! (He's probably going to kill me for putting pictures up of him, but it's about time he showed up on this blog) :)

We also took more pictures of Gina this afternoon!
We went to the Rocky Peak trails in Chatsworth. :)

More to come! Hope you are having a great night. :)

My little ones... :)

Hey guys, it's Erin!

I've been the nanny for the Rubanowitz's kids since Aaron was 6 months old, and now he's almost 11 years old!
They had a blast in front of the camera. And they just got their puppy that week. She is so cute.
Here are just some of the moments I captured! :)

There are actually three of them (Aaron, Dana and Renee), but Dana was at her Grandparents house that night.

Have a great day! We'll be posting the rest of the pictures from our shoot last weekend very soon!

-Inspiration and Eel Sauce-

Yesterday I had the privilege of having lunch with a friend and a legend; Mike Colon. Mike and I met around two years ago. He was hosting one of his famous workshops and I was helping out by modeling for his students. At that point, I was just merely fascinated by photography, I never thought I'd go after it myself! It's amazing how God has a way of working in peoples hearts, and since then has changed mine. And thus, there I was...sitting at a sushi bar and munching down some spicy tuna with one of the greats. 

We talked about where we were now...and where I wanted to be 5 or 10 years from now. He looked over my goals and asked in detail how I planned to get there. We talked about the steps I'd need to take both now and in the months to come. Fighting his jet lag from the days previous, Mike encouraged me to just go after it! To not divide my time but rather focus on what I want to become and not settle for anything less! Starting out is always the hardest point. Your faith, confidence, and check book are all pushed beyond what you think is possible...but it shouldn't discourage. He can relate to my situation now, because he went through the exact things I'm facing now. The challenges, the reality, and the learning curve. But he encouraged me to take heart,

"It should light a fire! It should push you to be that much better, that much more determined to be an expert at what you do."

Phrases like these are what left me feeling full of determination (and shrimp tempura!). I can't wait to continue in this journey, striving to be the best at what I do. With help from such inspirational people like Mike, something tells me my education will be nothing short of amazing! 

Thank you, Mike, for your generosity, wisdom, and humble heart. I can't wait to attend your next workshop! I know where it's going to be...but not many others do just quite yet, so my lips are sealed! ;)  I can't wait!!

Jen and Kelly

This past weekend we hung out with Erin's good friend Jen and her boyfriend Kelly. After arriving at the first location we were going to shoot at, I was sure that there was going to be zero character to our scenery. It was just a park with dust and rocks! My nervousness was quickly abated once I got a taste of the character of Jen and Kelly! They were so much fun to shoot with, and right from the start we were as comfortable as old friends on a porch swing!! :) 

Both of them were absolute naturals in front of the camera and made our job as easy as pie! Here are just a couple of the shots we grabbed in Simi Valley. Hopefully their character is as contagious in our images as it is in person. Thank you again Jen and Kelly!

*Erin got this great shot*

More to come of these two! Kelly is a DJ in the valley and owns and operates DLux Entertainment. He needs some shots for his new website coming up so we hopefully will venture into Hollywood and get some GQ shots before too long :)

A Verse for Adversity

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on." -Phil. 3:14

My girlfriend, my business partner, and my best friend, sent me this text as I was driving home tonight. It not only made me even more thankful for her, but also for the the reassurance that as we move forward in this business, and forge new and wonderful relationships, that we are never alone! Thank you, Erin, not just for the reminder, but for always pointing my eyes heavenward. 

P.S. I used my ninja sneakiness and snapped this shot of Erin and our model/friend, Gina, on our shoot yesterday. She couldn't wait to see the pictures!

Long Day of Shooting!

So today Erin and I went out and did two shoots in L.A. with friends of ours. They all were SO much fun! We are blessed to have such amazing friends who are willing to give up their entire day for us!

It was a jam-packed day of sitting in traffic, finding parking, and being followed around by tourists taking our picture, but we loved every minute of it! We learned a ton :)

We are in the editing stages now so please keep stopping by as we should have a few of our favorites up here shortly!

As for now...here is a little teaser of what's to come!

This...

..is going to be EPIC!!

An Afternoon in the Park

So I was sitting at my desk most of the day answering emails and learning more about my camera, and I realized that I was losing the light outside! I needed to get behind the lens today so I grabbed my 70-200mm and played a game of cat and mouse with the sunset! Here are just a couple of my favorites :)

One of the perks of living next to a canyon!

Almost stepped on this little guy...

Red Meat and Fast Cars

Hey everyone!

I wanted to tell you about this site I found that was wayyy helpful with getting me more familiar with my camera. I'm such a guy, and therefore there is a rule hardwired into my DNA that reads "Do not look at the manual, if you were a REAL man you'd just figure it out on your own!"

But...there is nothing programmed into my genetic code that doesn't allow me to look for help online! *some might say it's a mutation*

I found this site and it not only boosted my manliness, but also my familiarity with my camera!

(This is the camera we both have, so far it has been amazing!! Gotta love the Full Frame action!)

Crossroads...

"I wish I could see the future.

I wish I knew what life would look like a year or two from now.

I wish that I knew my efforts and hard work would not return void..."

I have no doubt that we have all wished for at least one of these, if not all of them, at some point in our lives/careers. The unknown can bring out the best and the worst in people. It can be our biggest ally, or our greatest adversary. I may not know what is to come, but I do know that everyone who has come before me and stared the unknown square in the face-and persevered to follow their dream- is the better for it. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the faith that we will never be given more than we can handle...it's dropping to your knees in humility asking for guidance.

Uncertainty will always come before true greatness.

Pictage Partner Conference...The Catalyst

Last week was amazing! It all started with meeting up with our friends from Nebraska, Shane and Erin Melenbacker, for dinner in L.A. I hadn't seen Shane since Mike Colon's workshop over a year ago so it was great to catch up and meet his wonderful wife Erin!

*Yes...for those at home keeping score, there were two Erins at this particular meal*

We had such a blast with them in Hollywood. We ate at uWink (which was quite the experience, you HAVE to go there!) and talked about their business and the metamorphosis it has undergone these past years. Basically Erin (my Erin) and I grilled them about how to get started in the wedding photography business, what cameras and lenses were best, where to start, and pretty much everything else under the sun! haha. They were so helpful and were gracious enough to invite us to join them at the Pictage Partner Conference the following day!! 

They basically sponsored us and got us in so we could have the opportunity to hear a group of amazing speakers for both days of the conference. Needless to say, we both cleared our schedules [I missed two Photoshop classes...whoops 0:) ] and trekked to L.A. each morning! It was well worth it! We both were inspired by what we heard and knew without a shadow of a doubt that this is where our lives were being directed. Pages upon pages of copious notes filled our binders as we gobbled up every word at each session! Half the time we would need to split up just to get as much as we could! No matter where you are at in your business, I would recommend this conference hands down!

(We played video games at our table...and the Erins won. Shane and I vow revenge.)

Not only did we fill our noggins with priceless info, we also had a chance to catch up with old friends...and make some new ones! Great people like Mike Colon, Kenny Kim, Rudy Arpia, and Shyla just to name a few. We could not be more thankful for the willingness of all our friends to help us in this business. We are blessed to have role models and friends such as these to help guide us and keep us focused! Thank you all so much! 

(Thanks Mike for being fearless and basically sharing your testimony! It rocked.)

Without last week Erin and I would have felt way more disoriented, thanks Shane and Erin and to everyone else at Partner Con; we will see you at WPPI in February! We hope this blog will help us all stay in touch until then!

How We Got Started...

It was late, and we had been talking for almost an hour. Erin and I were talking about life, about God, and where we felt our directions were headed. We both felt as though we were being called in a different direction. A direction we both admittedly strayed away from due to one reason...fear of the unknown. 

"What would make you the happiest?" We asked this question to each other...and we both answered as if a hot air balloon-sized light bulb had just been switched on; "Photography!"

Together, Erin and I pursue our passion. Of course, the road is not going to be easy, but it is going to be an experience we wouldn't trade for the world!! 

As time passes, we refuse to just merely convey our profession with you, but also our personalities! We want you to know US and who we are as people and share in what we call "Life."

We simply cannot wait :)