Joss' First Birthday

It's a sign that I'm getting old. I always thought I was a kid. WRONG!!! My friend's are getting married and they're having kids. I'm being called Uncle Remix now.

Joss had her first birthday. These photos were actually taken on June 30 of this year, but summer was busy. I'm playing catch up on photos.

Once again, I'm very fortunate to watch this precious angel grow up. I was there for her first photo shoot at home which you can see here. Now a year old, understanding her surroundings each day, learning to new things everyday, and watching her personality grow. Her parents are lucky. Ryan and Stine are great to her, spoiling her with nothing but love. I hang out with the couple pretty frequently and it's always a treat whenever Joss is around too. They are not scared to take baby Joss out. She'll be hanging out with the adults as we drink. She is always the center of attention and honestly, who can blame it. She is nothing but smiles with wandering eyes as she is entertained by smiles and loving friends.

Just like baby Cassius' birthday, the birthday celebrator was surrounded by family and friends. Of course we were drinking. That's how we celebrate, find any reason to drink. Joss had gifts galore, mostly Hello Kitty things. Notice the last picture of her Hello Kitty backpack...that was my gift. Hahaa. For a first year old party, it was fun. Alcohol, food, astro jump with a slide!!!! Yeah, there were other kids, but I'm not sure how parents feel about their kid online without permission, sooooo....they're not online. Plus, its all about Joss. 

If you're wondering whats up with the music...it's Joss' favorite song. Maybe it's cause of the lyrics or the beat...but she shakes her booty to it whenever she hears it.

Happy Birthday JOSS!!!!

Joss' First Birthday from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.

Setting Sail AUDIO!!

John Audio's deployment party is nothing but a haze in my memory. I remember being really hot and drinking a lot. Sloshball was intense while drinking Stone beer. Not bud light or 'water' but freakin' Stone Pale Ale. So after scoring my run, I was done. It was certainly a good time at Felicita Park. Good times none the less. Here are some of the pictures of that day.

Deployment Party for AUDIO!!! from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.

Bates Nut Farm...lookin' Ripe!

I love it when seasons change, summer to fall, winter to spring, whatever. It's always nice to see some change. The air is starting to get cooler, I'm riding my bike more. Things are looking a lot better for me.

For some news about myself, I'm switching hospitals. It's for the best. It took a while for me to understand the importance for the future. So now I have a better position with full benefit which I lacked on my previous position. People were always surprised to hear that I didn't have benefits working at a hospital, but now that's not a problem. I'll be working on the medical/oncology floor at the new Palomar West near the infamous Stone Brewery. So I need to buy a growler soon.

The pumpkin patch was amazing compared to last year. It was the hassle to get there last year. We went on the worst time possible, the weekend before Halloween and a Charger bye week. I felt like EVERYONE went all at once. Super BUSY!!! This was not the case.

The pumpkin patch was free from clutter of crying kids and overloaded parking lots. I found the pumpkin I was looking for, had plenty of time to take quality shots, I wasn't rushed. I couldn't ask for anything more. Actually, I take that back. The thing that probably bugged me were the over sized pumpkins. The over size pumpkins were rotten, lob sided, collapsing on itself. I didn't see a decent over sized pumpkin.

Me and my sister just goofed around with the pumpkins. I took some candid pictures of her during the search of a perfect pumpkin. I used my 50mm and 100mm. I think you can tell when I used my 100mm with the intense bokeh. I'm starting to usethe 100mm macro for more than just macro shots. Its a fun lens to shot with.

The question is, what should I carve my pumpkin? Any ideas? Shoot them to me. Leave a comment.

 
pumpkin patch from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.

Cassius' growing up!!!

Cassius, son of Brandon and Bethany Garcia. The future of hip hop/sports/anything good and pure, a true reflection of the Garcias. Bethany decided to take a mini vacation to the West coast while Brandon did training for the military. It was amazing to see Bethany and Cassius, seeing the size I last saw him. You can see him here the first day he was born.

Cassius' personality is definitely present. You can already know he is going to be a tidy and clean person by his attitude toward his messy birthday cake. He'd prefer to play with it while in the the cover than feel the sticky frosting.

It was a true treat to see all the family, bother from the Jordan and Garcia side. Family and friends are always present. Was there alcohol here? YES!!! Even though we weren't technically allowed to have it present as park rangers did a walk around making sure we didn't have it.

I know these pictures are late, but looking back at them reminds me how hot Escondido can be. Overwhelmed by mid 90 degree heat is never fun, but we made the most out of it. The heat was so bad, I felt as if we were the only group in the park.

I look forward on seeing this young boy grow up. Escondido misses the Garcia Family. WHAT UP PARADOX!!!

 
Cassius' first birthday in Escondido from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.

It's coming!!!

At the end of the month will be the wedding of the year (at least for me). My good friends Aldrich Galimba and Jessica Nix are going to be married by the end of the month. A long anticipated event for sure. I've known the couple for a while, I even took over their old room from Jessica's condo. It was a true pleasure to photography them as a couple. We decided to go to Balboa Park to do some photos. It was a busy Sunday. Actually, the first Sunday of the NFL season.

 I love my camera. However, I wanted to do wider shots. I kinda stuck with my 50mm. It's the widest lens I have at the moment. Not very wide at all. It's considered a standard length lens. Great for portraits and "walk around lens" so things aren't distorted by the lens. But after working with some ultra wide angle lens, I can appreciate them. They can make anything look cool. During this trip with the future Galimba couple, I wanted to work on separation and do some wides. I didn't want to get too close. I think pretty satisfied with my work. I find it hard to be blown away. I know my strengths and try to work on my weaknesses. Let's just hope I keep on improving. It was fun shooting at Balboa, so we ended our day at one of the coolest bars in San Diego (IMO). West Coast Tavern in North Park is a hip spot. It was kind of dead, so we took advantage of the lack of seating and did our own little impromptu photo shoot. I really like how you can see "North Park" sign on some of the photos. I feel like I captured them at their true element, enjoying each other's company over a drink. I feel like they can do that all day if they had a chance. It's hard to find Aldrich being photo ready, so when I captured his smile, not a fake obligated smile, but a genuine smile means a lot to me and I'm sure to Jess too. CHEERS to the couple. The reason for the white boards were for the table arrangements at the wedding.