Aye-Aye Mando!!!

About three years ago, we were setting sail to a good friend as he joined the military. We had an awesome going away party for him at Rod McLeod park. Three later, Melissa throws him a "Welcome home Mando" party at the same park, it's only right. Weather was awful for the first couple of hours as Francis was grillin', everyone was huddled under the tree. People were not prepared for the rainy weather because of stupid weather application on iPhone. It said it'd be partly cloudy. Luckily, the clouds started to clear out and we got ready to play some flag football...co-ed. Jess and Mel we're used heavily in the plays. They were definite impact players. During half time, it was time to bust open the Ninja Piñata. Mando, being blindfolded had to down a beer, spin around the bat 10 times, and go attack the stealth ninja. The ninja fought back, but Mando is stronger. Successful party, no doubt. Here are some of the photos from the day. Thanks for looking.

The British is Coming!!!!

My FIRST friend EVER, Mr. Nick Wong was holding a "British" party, can't really tell besides the flags and the Newcastle beer. Whatever!!! It was a dope party! Nick got SMASHED like he never drank before, people were all cool except for this one ho, but that didn't slow anyone down. hahaaa. Here are a few pictures from the night. Like always, thanks for looking.

Cool Beach

Today was a cool day, literally. I love shooting in cooler weather. As a photographer, as a hobby-ist, I prefer shooting on cloudy days. Usually the sun is always too strong and I always get harsh shadows on my subject. Unlike shooting with clouds, they act like a giant umbrella or light modifier. After taking care of a lot of stuff around the house and enjoying my day off, I had to go shooting. I decided to go to Oceanside Pier just to shoot. No self portraits, not for work, just to shoot. I haven't done that in a while, and it felt good. Cruising around the pier with my camera and iPhone on Pandora. I was able to grab some awesome shots, meet some cool photographer, and get collective with my thoughts. I just walked around the pier, carrying my camera just brings a lot of attention, maybe because I'm so Professional. Hahaa. Here were some shots. Thanks for checkin' them out too.

HDR of the Oceanside Pier

Another HDR, just practicing on that dreamy effect.
Some people love that look, but I had to practice it.

So many surfers today from young to old. Makes me want
to hit the water.

This guy was a beast, kinda hoggin' all the waves.

Rippin' it up!

Ruby's sounds sooooo good right now! A nice milk shake along with  that burger and fries.

The beach was warmer than inland.

Wish you were here.

I wanted to stay for sunset, but I got too hungry. Hahaa.

Grand of a Time.

Late entry! So WHAT!? I was itchin' to go take a self portrait. Looking for inspiration from Flickr. Cait, a future model of mine decides to join the party. Mind you, it was already night and I had work the next day. So I wanted to stay local. One of my favorite places to shoot is Grand. No homeless people, nice lights, classic Escondido. So we searching around grand, seeing what kind of lights and subjects we can possible shoot, and we pass some bank with some cool semi-spiral stairs. We do a couple of shots, keep in mind that nothing was planned. I was teaching Cait how to use a DSLR, hopefully she'll get one soon. If not, she'll just steal her boyfriends. So we were just messin' around with some poses and some cool exposure shots.

Equipment: Canon 20D on a tripod with remote shutter, 17-85mm f/4-5.6, Bare Canon 430ex triggered by Radiopopper JrX (no stand or anything)

Our location on Grand and Maple (?)

Cait waitin' for her boyfriend's call.

5 separate exposures and super imposed into a single photo in Photoshop. Not bad for a single light source.
We're textin' each other. Hahaa.

Cait_DGAF.

Chillin' in my sweats.

For the given time and equipment, I'm pleased with these shots especially with the models so casual not "model ready". I'm sure I'll try this again and hopefully I'll be better prepared too.

Auntie Mel's Birthday Celebration

uggggghhhhh.....that's how I feel right now. I worked Friday, then right after went straight to Carrie and Francis' place to celebrate Melissa's birthday. This is gonna be a short entry, a lazy entry, a whatever entry. I just need to get these photos up. It was a great weekend, started at a house party with great friends and alcohol. It was a wine party. Sounds class right? Not really, fun as hell though.

Then the next night, we hit up North Park's The Office. Hit up Alberto's for some carne asada fries and called it a night. If that wasn't enough, ended up at Simply Sharon's for some high end chicken and waffles and plus some. That's a wrap!! The "Itis" 2 waffles, it felt like a half of a chicken, 2 eggs, hashed potatoes, and biscuit and gravy.

iPhone quality.

Chicken and Waffles.

Continuing to Conquer Mountains.

Alvin and Melissa figuring out where to go next before we get lost.

I'm taking over mountains. I'm snowboarding, hiking, and biking them all!! There is no mountain to high for me to climb. Hahaa, that's a lie. I just didn't find it yet. Well, Elfin Forrest is located in Escondido. Gorgeous place to ride especially with the cool weather after the rains. It's no Daley Ranch though. Daley's trails are fun and a work out, compared to Elfin Forrest's trails is a nightmare. Sharp mini boulders to climb over, loose gravel, a lot of sharp switch backs. It sounds like fun, but it is more about technique than physical strength. Technique is something I need to improve.

Elfin Forrest Overview. Pure Nature. I love it!!

It was a work out to get to the top of Elfin Forrest Overview, but worth it. Once at the top, Melissa, Alvin, and myself decided to have a little picnic and have our lunch. Eating our dry Von's brand sandwiches. No Mayo or mustard!!! Instant FAIL!!!!

Top of Elfin Forrest Overview. Time to eat lunch.

On our way down seemed so much faster than the climb, a bit tricky and stressful but faster. I just couldn't wait to hit the shower and eat some real food. I'll be sure to be back on this mountain soon.

My Baby.

Melissa is using this bike like a champ!!!

Chillin' next to Roxi.

Alvin on a good charge downhill.

The shower was the worst part of the day. Dirt, sweat, and BLOOD all down the drain of my shower. I fell into a small bush (don't ask me how), a twig ended up stabbing my right lower ribs. Putting disinfectant is never fun. I don't think I've screamed that much in a while. 

Mt. High has SNOW!?

I just came back from Mt. High with Cait_dgaf. We both had free lift tickets from SnowJam. I've been itching to go for a minute. If you haven't heard of Mt. High, keep it that way. Hahaa. Mt. High is the closest snow resort to San Diego, literally less than a two hour drive to get there without any windy roads and chains. That being said, you won't expect fresh powder (something I still have not experienced). So its no Mammoth. Lately, its been raining, so I had to take advantage of the moment. I was fortunate enough to have decent snow, no ice patches on the mountains, nicely packed snow. Here are only a few pictures of the mountain. I didn't take as many pictures because I was enjoying the snow too much with my friend.

Pink and Grey Snow Bandits! What up!!!

You can sense a storm is brewing in the air. Conditions exceeded expectations.

Cait_DGAF, pretty in pink.

WEST COAST!!! My track jacket was more than enough to keep me warm.

I just like this photo Cait took on the way back from Mt. High

I'm ready to ride again!