As many of you probably know, I’ve spent the last year traveling. Against all instincts from my Asian upbringing, I left my stable job at a big-name company and hit the road, finding myself in places like Italy, Vietnam, and New Zealand. During this time, I’ve been asked how I travel with my photo equipment. So here’s how I travel:
I’m excited to announce the launch of my new website (including the blog) under the new branding of Endpin Photo!
A big thank you to Kyle Wai Lin for his slick work on the new logo. If you guys are looking for a graphic designer, check him out. Not only is he good at what he does, but he’s just a genuinely nice guy.
And of course, thank you to my husband, who has put countless hours into customizing this site to make it look just the way I asked.
Yes, I have been MIA…for this entire year. I thought I was going to be able to blog all the way through this, but it turns out I can’t blog, leave my job, pack, have a sinus infection, and road trip all at the same time.
It’s finally Friday. I haven’t been one to really live for my weekends, but I’m finding that lately, I’m doing this much more often. To start celebrating the weekend, I’m happy to announce that my blog has gotten a face lift! I’ve still tried to keep it really basic, but hopefully you’ll enjoy the new look. A ginormous thank you to my husband for helping me with this…well, that is, for doing all the real work!
And before I run off to start my weekend, here’s a photo I recently came across that I took last year during our cross country road trip.
Happy weekend everyone!
It was a hot weekend. My quads were sore. And come to think of it, so was my left shoulder. For a minute, I couldn’t remember what I could have possibly done to make myself feel so out of shape, and then I remembered. The prior evening, I had spent three hours at my first SoCal Photog Shootout, and with all the crouching, getting low, and standing upright again, I had made my legs sore. Carrying around my camera equipment was apparently too much for my shoulder. Was I that pathetically out of shape???
I wasn’t sure what to expect at my first shootout, but I had a great time shooting, meeting new people, and observing other photographers. We met up in Irvine Regional Park, and if you can imagine a group of 50 photographers swarming around a handful of models, well, that’s exactly what it was. I felt like a paparazzo! This is how we looked:
Yes, it was a little crowded at times, sharing angles and jostling for position, but I was just there to learn something new about lighting. So I had a great time snapping some random photos and talking with Doug McNamee from Tilt N Shift (that’s him up there holding the reflector) about how to think about different light and when to use fill light outdoors. Based on Doug’s suggestions, I even tried out using my flash outdoors while there’s still daylight (which I’ve never done) but it was tough since the light we were getting was already so great. And it was also the first time I got to shoot anything using reflectors, which I now know that I love. I’ve decided that I must get one of my own, although it will be a workout (for Edwin!) to hold it up properly.
A big thank you to Hanssie Trainor and Matthew Saville for organizing such a great event! Also, huge props go to the All Made Up Team for doing such a fabulous job with the hair and makeup, and also to Triple Scoop Music for their generous donations!
Some of my favorite shots of the day:
Kaylie was the first model I worked with during the day. She’s actually a dancer and is down for trying anything, so some of the poses she got in for us were amazing! And, of course, she is just stunning, which makes it hard to take a bad photo of her.
In my second session of the shootout, I went along with Rachel Amara and David Liggett to try out some couples shots. Seriously, these two look like they came right out of a clothing catalog. I even heard multiple people asking them if they were a real couple because they just looked so comfortable together.
And then I finished out the day with Kaylie and David. I wish I had eyes like these…
And of course, a big thank you to all the models at the shootout – they were fantastic! It wasn’t an easy day to look calm, collected, and sexy!
