Goodbye Nicholas

We lost nick Friday October 24, 2008, around 2:30pm. Funeral arrangements have been made. Viewing at Rose Hills on tuesday at 5-8 pm. And a memorial service at 5:30 on Wednesday at Florence Avenue Foursquare Church.

Nick was my cousin and one of my best friends. But with his cancer, he could not survive in the world that we know. He struggled with Ewing Sarcoma for over 25% of his life. I am very sad he is not with us, but I am happy he does not have to suffer in our world any more. He is in heaven right now with his twin sisiters, Jennifer and Andrea. Durning Nick's last days, he said he couldnt wait to go swimming. I remembered that we used to go swimming all the time in the pool and at the beach. Looking back, Nick wasnt able to go swimming for the last few years.

Nick had fought this cancer for a long time. Most people do not survive more than a year. I never wanted to think this day would come, but it was in the back of my mind all the time. I often hung out with Nick a few times a week. A lot of my friends would always ask why I hung out with my cousins all the time. They are a unique bunch and we joke around like a bunch of kids ALL OF THE TIME. It is never a dull moment with the Colombo's.

Nick was a very special person to me. I learned so much from him and I thought of him everyday. When people complain about the everyday mundane tasks of life, I would think of Nick and be appreciative and grateful of my health and family. We can complain about anything, but what is there really to complain about. I learned to value my life, my family and loved ones even more because Nicholas showed me these values.

I will never forget you Nicholas John Colombo.




OC Register Article

Life Anew

O ye people, be ye healed
life anew I bring unto ye
o ye people, be ye healed
life anew I bring unto ye
through the Father over all do I thus
life anew I bring unto ye.

-Good Eagle. Dakota Sioux holy man.

Turned in this image for school

I printed this image last night before I turned in my CD, but the printers at school were out of a couple ink cartridges (what else is new). So it printed not like this...I am still going to hang it up and add it to my other funny looking prints of flowers and plants that were printed from school...

San Gabriel Valley Training Center

San Gabriel Valley Training Center is building a new website and hired me to shoot their facility to show how their program trains people with mentally and physically handicap abilities can work in all different kinds of jobs.

Earth From Above

"The Earth is art.
The photographer is only a witness."

Yann Arthus Bertrand galleries are coming to America. His work is published in National Geographic, and this guy has traveled EVERYWHERE! His website is separated by the countries where he did photography work in. I posted some of my favorites of the countries I want to go visit.






Wikipedia Link

Another Site about the Yann

Viewing your image for printing.

Now this is a good photo tip for professionals AND amatuers.

When you make fine adjustments on your image, make sure you are viewing the image at 100% of the real image size. Make sure you are looking at full 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, or larger. This way you can see what your image will look like when you print it out. If you do not view the full image before you print, you may get some surprises on your prints that you didn't see on the monitor because sometimes what is on the monitor is not what will be printed out.

Don't sweat the small stuff...

Don't sweat the small stuff -- not even the big stuff. At the end of the day, none of it matters but your own joy, your own spiritual journey that you go on, God, your loved ones, your friends, your animals. These are the things you've got to cherish and love and embrace.

Christina Applegate. Actress. Breast cancer fighter.

Before & After

Before...



After! WA LA!

Lately, I like to burn the details with contrast to make the details stand out, while complimenting a great subject in my image.



And finally, and nice email from a fan.

I wondered how you got those great people shots at the wedding. Very wise to camp out where people don't know they're being photographed.
Even so, it takes real talent like yours to be able to identify and capture the right moment (that may last a fraction of a second) in candid moments like those. THAT'S insight. That's a REAL photographer. Those are the shots that tell the story of the day, and Joe's really lucky he's got a second shooter who brings so much to the picture. Your portraits are among the best out there, but I also love your landscapes, because you have such an artistic eye. You just do all subjects well.
-Sally

Chapman 5K. 10/4/08. 6:30 AM

I shot a marathon with Justin Moore-Brown for the The Flash Bulb Group last Saturday.
Although I didn't participate in the marathon, I still broke records that day. I shot a record breaking 2600 images in about 2 hours, and narrowed and filtered them down to 1,150 images. That is a high percentage of submittable images. I was on fire.





On your marks...get set...


GO!!


I was the only photographer that stood in the middle of the street as the 1300 runners ran past me, all at once. It was like a massive wave, but instead of water, it was people. I held my ground while shooting as much as possible.
Vincent Laforet, eat your heart out...


The winner. His time was under 16 minutes. He had hot feet.




The President of Chapman University ran too.





This was the oldest lady to run the marathon.


And her portrait with the President.


And her official photo with the Chapman Panther mascot.

I see you in the park, always wearing DODGER BLUE!

Dodgers win their first post season division series for the first time in 20 years...





Russell Martin jumped into the pavilions to celebrate with the fans. Usually, the craziest fans sit in the pavilions, so Russell was really brave to give high fives to the fans. I am surprised he made it out alive...



Congratulations and good luck in the next round against the Philies.

Spear Wedding Details

Sarah & Tucker Spear Wedding

I shot a wedding with Joe Photo two weeks back at the St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point.



Sarah gave Tucker a watch before the ceremony.


The last toast before the ceremony.