Fantasia Floral at the Seattle Wedding Show

Sunday I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the 2010 Seattle Wedding Show. A two-day event, it's quite easy to be overwhelmed by the hundreds of caterers, florists, DJ's, hotels, jewelers, wedding planners and more participating in the show. I left wishing that I could have spent more time to meet and network with other wedding vendors.

Fortunately, I met up with Michael Thomas, owner of Fantasia Floral, to photograph his floral arrangements and the booth he designed for the expo show. Michael's bouquets were even on stage during the fashion show. I captured some lovely photos and am glad to have met Michael. A very courteous and creative designer, Michael and his team did a great job for the trade show. Take a look and enjoy the photos!

Art Criticism Hits the Shelves

Why didn't I think of this? I've done this in the past with ketchup bottles and -given the slam that I gave Woods for his infidelity- guess I should give credit to the street artist who came up with this:

Tiger Woods "Unfaithful" Gatorade labels trigger federal probe

The appearance of Gatorade bottles featuring photos of Tiger Woods and his wife, labelled "Unfaithful" have alerted U.S. food safety authorities.

Several of the tampered bottles of the famed golfer and wife Elin Nordegren have been spotted in the Denver, Colo. area, reports KUSA TV.

The television network spotted an e-mail address hidden in the labels' small print, and fingered Jason Kay of Longmont, Colo., who said he helped a pal with the labels. Kay described the stunt as a "pop art" project.

There were reportedly 1,000 bottles with the "Unfaithful" labels.

KUSA says food and drug administration investigators are probing the incident to see if the drink has been adulterated along with the labels. Federal tampering charges could be laid even if the drink itself has been unaffected, said the network.

Wedding Biznastiness MMX

So the wedding season is picking up and going strong. I'm working on building up ideas for better networking, easier ways to be hired and more clever ways to improve my imagery. Just you wait to see what I have in store. 2010 is going to be a great year, I'm psyched to get my biznastiness up and going strong! If you're interested in information on my current wedding packages, email me for details.

2009: It's Been Reel

The year has come and gone and I've seen a lot of amazing things happen within my life and those of others close to me.

A lot of films also came and went this year. I probably didn't see most of them. While most people agonize over a list of the best 10 films of the year, I'd rather not waste the time. I'm posting what I consider the best three movies of the year, plus a runner up or two. Each film hit the list based on their own merit and some of them I could watch repetitively at home. So enjoy my definitive list, and try to trim yours down for next year.

1- The Road.
I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic movies, and this is one of the craziest best I've seen hit theaters in a long time. No stupid CGI vampires, or stalker zombies to muddle the plot. Emotional story and great acting. Plus the scenery is phenomenal. I also identify with the father protecting his son part of the story a little more this year than other years prior.
Go figure, right?


2- The Hurt Locker.
A compelling, adrenaline-inducing film about the Iraqi war has finally hit theaters and there's no politics to distract from the great acting and storyline. Jeremy Renner does great and so does director Katherine Bigalow. This film would have made it to #1 on my list if I wasn't such a sucker for good post-apocalyptic movies. But the Hurt Locker does a great job at blowing away all the other competition.
Funny, I know.

3- Star Trek.
Wow. Talk about a film that was a surprise. I vehemently despise movie remakes. They only strengthen my belief that studio executives are trying to cash in on cheap reboots that exploit and destroy the cherished memories of devoted fans. Leave it to JJ Abrams to invigorate, redesign and instill wonder in a film series that went stale years ago. Abrams accomplished everything for Star Trek that Star Wars fans wish Lucas had been capable of achieving instead of his 2&1/2 failures of movies. So suck it, George. Gene Roddenberry is laughing at you from space.
Man, I could geek out over the new Star Trek for a week's worth of watching. It's that much fun.


Runner-up #1
Moon.
A big contrast to the sci-fi franchise above, Moon was one of the best under the radar films made this year. Since his minor role in Galaxy Quest 10 years ago, I've been a fan of Sam Rockwell and it was great to see him carry a movie like this all alone. Literally. Being alone on the moon for three years can do some crazy things with your head. I'll leave it to you to find out exactly why. Duncan Jones made a great flick and truly captures the essence of a science fiction film. You should catch it on DVD when it's finally released here in the States.


Runner-up #2
9.
Shane Acker accomplished some wonderful animation with this film. It also hits post-apocalyptic film territory, and presents a beautiful visual story. The best non-human centered animated film I'd seen since Wall-E of last year. I'm definitely looking forward to multiple viewings of this movie.


Runner-up #3
Avatar.
I'd be a fool not to include Avatar, if only for what it achieves with the medium of film-making. James Cameron is always one to push the boundaries of film-making and does some fantastic things with this movie. The story is, I think, typical for his style of writing but it also pushes some concepts that most people overlook in our society.

But then so do the other films on my list.

A lot of the other movies of this year were entertaining. Others, not as much. And then some made me wonder what the hell people were thinking by either making or watching such a soul-stealing disappointment.

So make it a point to go check out any flicks on my list that you haven't seen yet. And if you want to see anything else that came out this year, well, that's what Redbox is for. It's been reel, 2009. Bring on 2010!

Under the Gun

Feeling a lot of pressure to get things in order and on track now that I'm back from visiting family for the holidays. Here's a good theme song for my day.

Four Days Tardy

I totally flubbed my monthly posting of Ophelia's progress and how she's a blessing in our lives. I must have lost track of the time last Friday. After a long day's work and then attending a dinner party at a neighbor's house, I can't say I'm too surprised.

The best thing about being a father is watching Ophelia grow and learn new things. She's a wonderful daughter and fills my life with a lot of happiness. For each new feat that she accomplishes or funny thing that she does, I'm reminded of what blessings truly are. And how blessed I am.

Here is one of my favorite videos of her, second only to the first video of when she was born. I managed to catch her mesmerized by the mirror in her BabyEinstein jumper. To simply watch her expression and reaction at discovering herself in the mirror is one of the sweetest memories I have had so far as a father. Enjoy!

Destination Miami

A potential upcoming job for next year -one that I am looking forward to- is shooting the wedding photography for Nina Garcia, one of my close friends from Miami, and her fiancé Matt Stevenson. We spoke in length today about her wedding plans, and created a package that suits her needs. Though they both attend BYU, the wedding will take place in Orlando and the reception will be in Miami. I'm excited to hear back from her and finalize things. Nothing is confirmed yet, but it will be personally satisfying to me to photograph Nina's wedding. When it comes to my friends I don't trust them with another photographer...

In the meantime, here's one of my favorite photos of us goofing off with our friend Jaeuk. Yes, Nina is rocking out a Power Rangers shirt and Jaeuk is eating a sandwich. That's how we roll.