Nick Wong's Focus ST(ock)

My first friend, Nick Motherfuckin' Wong. Yeah, that guy. He had some cool cars in the past, started with a Mitsubishi Lancer, Mini Cooper S, Subaru WRX Wagon, Yamaha R6, and now a Ford Focus ST. Top of the line focus, still fairly new. What makes this better than a regular Focus? EVERYTHING. The only thing this probably shares is the body. Engine includes a sporty turbo, 6 gears, stiffer suspension, bigger brakes. Interior, Recarro seats, Microsoft SYNC touch screen, ST trim throughout the car to remind you that you're not in a regular Focus. A lot of subtle changes from a regular one. He just got it, it probably won't look like this again. Big plans for this car. Nick is one of those guys that enjoys tinkering with his toys. He is never satisfied, he needs to put himself outside the crowd. He's a hipster like that. I think he should of bought the Scion FR-S, but that's just me. Here are some of the shots. Not bad for a quick photo shoot after the rain. We basically just cleaned his wheels and windows. Other than that, his car was dirty as shit. Hopefully you can't tell.

Camera Info: Canon 40D, 28mm and 100mm. Canon 430ex for off camera fill. Synced with RadioPopper JrX. All shots edited through Lightroom 4.

Disneyland

Both videos are major influences on this Disneyland trip!! RIP MJ aka Captain EO!! Batman couldn't be funnier. Hahaa.

This was seriously one of the best trips to Disneyland. We went after season peak time, weather was awesome, and went along with friends. The last time I went to Disneyland, Find Nemo was still being built. So coming back to Disneyland/California Adventures with Cars Land present was certainly a treat. Even though I strayed away from the group and did my photography thing, I'm happy with the results. The only thing that bothered me was carrying that 25 lb bag around with my tripod. If you're military, good for you, you're trained for that stuff, I'm not. Leave me alone. Hahaa.

We hit up Tomorrow land and first thing we did was Star Tours with R2D2 and CP3O, Space Mountain, saw Michael Jackson's Captain EO Tribute. Which is the first video above. Later we stopped by Toy Story 2 Astro Blaster which bottom 3 lowest score had to do a 5 minute beer, which included me. Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean then straight to California Adventures. There we ate an drank while they hit up Tower of Terror. We did a lot, I kinda don't want to list everything. Hahaa. But Cars Land and Radiator Springs was there. I also stopped by to see the Play Parade. A lot of things, I'm sure the pictures will remind me later.

My favorite part of the trip was Cars Land. Probably cause Cars is my favorite Disney movie, actually Toy Story 3. I was just so amazed with Cars Land, I felt like I was on Route 66. I saw everything I remember from the movie from Flo's Cafe, the lone street light, Cozy Cone, I saw Lightning McQueen and Mater. Even the road was freshly paved by McQueen. I wanted to drive Aimee through the streets and get some new tires from Luigi.

Highlight...churros there were amazing!! I had like four of them there. Churro bites with chocolate dip, original churros, can't mess with disney churros.

Photo Info: I flipped between 50mm and 28mm lens. Shot wide open indoor and f/5 outdoors usually. Tripod for the long exposrues after sunset. To check out the photos individually, look at this link for my Picasa album. Disneyland Album.

Like always, thanks for looking. Let's go to Disneyland again!!!
Revolution trip to Disneyland from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.

HBD Jason

If you didn't know, its my boy's Jason's 29th birthday of life. Yes, just another reason to drink. It's his last year before he turns 30! Crazy I know!! Yeah, over the years we can see how everyone is getting older. Sad to say, we couldn't drink and party til closing. We were lucky enough to make to midnight to wish boyfriend Jason a happy birthday. Jason was treated to Red Robin burgers and drinks all night. He had a good time while he was awake. Hahaa.

The Escondido family was always present along side with Geico heads. It was definitely a fun night. It didn't stop at the Tavern too. We carried it back to our place for a slumber party. Yeah, we had a slumber party so what!? Jealous!? I thought so! We watched Tooken Again, I mean, Taken 2. Good and fun movie to watch with friends. It didn't stop their, we didn't have to move when at home. We were catered by the Filipino finest with food and snacks along with more beer. Hahaa. Shit doesn't get old I guess. Hahaa.

We're also planning a last second trip to LA for some Disneyland. The older we get, the younger we want to be. No! I believe in happy endings! If you know what I mean. Hahaa.

Looking at the photos, I realize I'm starting to pop up in more photos than ever. I'm glad people can snag my camera and just go at it. If anyone wants to practice photography, they can use my first dSLR, my trusty Canon 20D. I'm not using it. It's pretty awesome still. I was talking to my hair stylist, Casey. Yes, I have a hair stylist and she does an amazing job. Look good as me by checking her out. Salon Sultry. We were just talking about the tools of a stylist/photographer. We have our tools of the trade, but it doesn't dictate our talents. It may not be the latest or greatest, but it'll get the job done. I know I always hate on social networks and society in general, but I do appreciate instagram and how people are using their camera more artistically now than ever before. I'm getting a little off topic but it's always good to celebrate a friend's birthday especially my roommate Jason. Love you brother.

Funny thing, it'll be our "last" time drinking. Starting to go H.A.M. at the gym and diet. Wish us luck. Like always, thanks for looking.

To check out the photos individually, check them out at my Picasa link. HBD Jason.



HBD Jason from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.

#flowremixfriday

It's friday wrap up. I hate how instagram crops my photos. Some of the shots I took this week. I started updating my flickr more too. Hopefully I can add to the photography community more too. I want to show off my hair cut cause its been a while since I've had one. But my "studio" session sucked ass. Here are some macros of my street fighters then a photoshop trick of many mes.

NYE 2013

I love hangin' out with my friends that I call family. We don't need the a ball to drop, fancy drinks, high end hotels to have a good time. Put us all together with some alcohol and we always make good times. Holidays man, bringing everyone together.

One of my favorite things to talk about is life. Everyone has their own life experiences and willing to share to others. We all reflected on 2012 and said some good and bad things of the year. We are all extremely proud of what we accomplished in the past year but are never satisfied. I was talking to Albert, Mando, Virgil. One common thing each of those guys said was to be happy and follow your heart. Sounds corny, but the ego always gets in the way of things at times. I don't know if I was buzz'd but it

Another thing that was cool this past night, I don't think I touched my camera as much as I normally do. I think everyone is use to having my camera around where they don't need to bring theirs. Of course people will upload to IG/FB from their phones. But I was too busy talking and drinking where everyone else handled my camera. They know how to use it from watching me. So its odd finding myself on the other side of the lens. I really need to practice my smiling. I tend to squint a lot. Hahaa. I guess it can be a near years resolution/goal. Hahahaa.

The highlight of the night was Jess transferring her slap to Malas to slap Jason. Jess had a bet she wouldn't eat a single fry for an entire year. Guess what...she won. I'm sure shes eating fries as she watches the slide show. Hahaa. So Jason manned up and got was coming. Hahaa.

Like always, thanks for looking. 2013, lets do it big. Health, Spirit, Mind, Wealth.

Download the pics from my picasa. Click Here.

NYE 2013 from Ryan Florido on Vimeo.

Save the Date photos of Josh & Erin

This couple is chill. Josh with his mean beard, manly traits. Erin is a rebel chick. I don't want to generalize on them because they are so much more than that. But in my photos, that's what I wanted to portray. I like the fact that it looks kinda country, just massive land. All they need is a guitar and the pup along with each other. Keep it simple. They have their own vices like smoking, but its ok, it's who they are and they love it like that. I'm glad I was able to help them during their journey toward marriage. They had an objective and I just captured it. These photos are to be used for their save the date cards. I wonder which one will be picked. I'm sure its not the smoking one, it was just a cool shot.

I'm very satisfied with these shots with the given weather conditions. It was raining part of the time, the couple had to be cold cause I know I was freezing. I tried to make it look sunny and happy as much as possible. I had a lot of help with my assistant Jessica too. She came in the clutch. I might have to steal her for future photo shoots.