30 seconds to Happy!
Darla demonstrates her amazing ability to brush off the sad clouds and get happy.
It only takes a few moments to completely change your attitude and get on with a good day when your sad.
Another valuable lesson from Darla.
French Photographers – Francois and Isabelle
I spent a bit of time yesterday with Francois and Isabelle. They came all the way from France and were in California to relax and capture all kinds of great photos of the beautiful state.
I met Francois originally when he was planning his trip out to San Diego. He was reading up on best places to take pictures and stumbled across a blog post I had written awhile back about the Top 15 Place to Photograph in San Diego.
I really got a kick out of meeting Francois and Isabelle, hearing about France and talking endlessly about photography. I took them to my favorite three spots in La Jolla: Windandsea Beach, La Jolla Cove and Scripps Pier. It was a great afternoon!
The Old Men and Their Mural
We were driving through a tiny village in South Baja Mexico when these two men started waving at us to come over. They saw me with their camera and they kept pointing to the mural behind them that they wanted me to take a picture of.
It looks like a mural painted by school children and it was about keeping Mexican Water Supplies clean I believe. You know they always say don’t drink the water in Mexico and I guess the kids that did the sign really got that.
These two old guys were funny. Not sure they had much to do all day except sit outside a small store and talk to each other. The old man with the cane pretended to play guitar with his cane while his friend smiled happily beside him. You can almost see from his smile how he thinks his friend is crazy. He was a little crazy I would have to say. Another great memory from Mexico.
El Chingon De Cabo San Lucas
In Spanish “El Chingon” means badass. I was walking through Cabo when I made a turn through a less frequented part of the beach there.
I passed by 4 guys trying to do a picture of themselves with their cell phones. They saw my camera and they were all, “Tomo una Photo de nosostros” (Take a Photo of Us).
They were pretty happy that I agreed in fact we got some pretty good photos of them against a building that looked like it had been hit by a bomb.
When you get off the beaten path a bit, its amazing the photo opportunities that start to pop-up. Thats why I like to get off the beaten path a lot when doing photowalks.
Taking the Worlds Most Hyper Dog for a Walk
He likes to chase lizards, cats, spiders, cows, chickens, hamsters, elephants, giraffes, chimpanzees, rodents, people, cars, bicycles, bacon.
He will snatch a cracker from your hand when you are watching and gobble it up. I witnessed him eat an egg roll from the table in a single gulp, and I imagine that he has possibly even eaten the poop of a cat just because it is different.
His name is Roy and he is the most hyper dog in the world. And what happens when a 2 year old takes the most hyper dog in the world for a walk? This is what happens.
Best Engagement Photo Locations San Diego
Scripps Pier is a great place for engagement and couples photos in La Jolla. The combination of the beach, the pier, the surfers and the cliffs in the background make this an ideal place to take your engagement photos in La Jolla.
My other favorite locations include: 1) La Jolla Cove (Google Map It). 2) WindanSea Beach (Google Map it). 3) Balboa Park (Google Map It), 4) Centennial Park Coronado (Google Map It) 5) Church of Latter Day Saints (Google Map It), 6) Salk Institute (Google Map It). On any given day you will probably see families and couples getting their pictures taken at these locations.
If your looking for Wedding Photographers that can do both video and photography whether you live in or are visiting San Diego, I highly recommend these guys – Sweet Day Studios. Check out their Facebook link here and some of the awesome work they do – Sweet Day Studio Facebook Page.
Here are some photos I did of some friends that came out from Chicago for the weekend at Scripps. They were recently engaged. We had a blast but I made them soak their clothes because we kept going out in the water. It was a fun day.
Waiting on the step for Pop Pops
She kept yelling for Pop Pop’s (Grandpa) to come over and sit on the steps with her. She calls’ him pop pops because every time he sees her he makes this knocking sound with his mouth and hitting his forehead like he is knocking on it. She loves it.
Anyway, she kept calling for him to come over and he said, “I don’t think so my man”. Ok, how you refuse that offer I’m not sure.
The Quick Collar Campaign
I am helping a friend, Kenney Pierce with an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for his new invention the Quick Collar. The Quick Collar is this little ingenious device that we want to get into the hands of every Rescue Agency and Fire Department in San Diego.
Kenney’s story was so compelling to me that I wanted to get involved. He watched a news story over 20 years ago that changed his life forever and got him started on a campaign to develop water rescue gear to ensure that no kid will ever drown again.
Indiegogo democratizes investment by taking those decisions out of the fat cat investment funds hands and puts the decision in the hands of the public. Anyone can donate to help bring a new product to market. Whether it is $1 or $1,000 dollars no investment is too small.
We started off small but managed to raise $100o in the first night and we hope this is just the beginning of something big for him. Check out the campaign here if you can and pitch in if you think this is a great invention. Kenney Pierce’s Quick Collar Campaign.
