Happy 2015 everyone!  As the new year approaches, I wanted to reflect on some images from my amazing relaxing vacation I got to experience last year in Maui, Hawaii.  Since I haven’t taken a proper vacation in a very long time, last year around this time, I decided to fly out to Maui with one of my buddies and finally relax a little.  Maui was an absolutely incredible place, and I got to cherish all of it’s beauty for a week.  The landscape changed from crystal clear waters, to white sandy beaches, to lush tropical forrest, to desert like terrain, to high mountain tops above the cloud.  What’s truly amazing is that you can experience all of those things within an hour of driving since the island is relatively small.  The weather was almost always at 70­­° with clear sunny skies.  I mostly spent my time sight seeing and ate a ton of really good food.  I got to enjoy fresh local seafood and loads of tropical fruits (which I’m a big fan of).  More than anything, as a photographer, I got to experience some of the most amazing landscapes and sunsets that I have ever witnessed.  Looking back at it, I miss Maui dearly, and it makes me wish that I had the opportunity to be back this year.  My 2015 resolution is to hopefully be back in Hawaii by the end of this year or early 2016, so any of you native Hawaii readers out there that need some photos done, just shoot me an email =)

Camera Nerd zone:

Being a photographer, what to take on a journey such as this is always difficult.  You have to consider many factors and really think about what you want to get out of it.  I knew I wanted some high quality images (especially since I wanted to try some timelapse [which I’ll post at a later time]), but I also didn’t want to lug around a bunch of heavy gear.  In the end, I ended up bringing with me my 5D mark 3, the 16-35mm f/2.8IIL, a 45mm tilt shift, and my 135L.  These mostly stayed in the bag unless I was doing timelapse, wanted a higher pixel shot for print, or ran out of battery.  I ended up also bringing a Fuji x100s which I used for 85% of my photos.  The Fuji has a fixed 23mm f/2 lens, which was great for most general photos.  For wider shots, I just switched to the canon system.  Lastly, since I knew I wanted to get some underwater photos, I also brought along a GoPro Hero 3+ Black edition which worked great for many videos and underwater shots.

 

It’s impossible to capture the true beauty of this place unless you go there in person, but hopefully some of these images can act as a reference.  Below are some of the photos I managed to capture from my week out in Maui.  If you like a particular shot, please click the little ♥ on the top left corner so I can know, and leave some love in the comments section below!  A special shout out goes out to Andaz Maui at Waliea for providing many of the backdrops and an absolutely exceptional stay throughout my trip.

 

 

Being a parent is a joyous occasion.  It’s an exciting time in a couples life which prepares them for a new journey that is life changing.  Being asked to photograph the first stage of the journey is not only exciting,  but an honor.  A while back, my friend Omar asked me to do some maternity shots for his wife Alia.  I’ve known Omar for a while know, and I was stocked to hear the news that he was going to Dad.  Omar is quite literally the jolliest person I’ve ever met, and his presence brings a smile to everyone around him.  Just spending five minutes with the guy, you can tell that he’s going to be a great Dad.  Now I can sit here and talk about how great Omar and Alia are all day, but instead, I will let you view the images below.  On a side note, this was my first ever maternity shoot!

 

Hello everyone. Today, I bring you a very special blog post, one that’s very dear to me. A little while ago, I was going over some of my old photographs of clients that are backed up on my harddrives, and I came across a lot of previous weddings of some of my good friends. Looking over all the past weddings, I started to feel quite nostalgic, and realized how important these people were to me. These individuals not only trusted in me with one of the most important moments of their life, but they invested in me early on, and saw potential in what I wanted to do. I’ve not only had the privilege of shooting their wedding/engagements, but maintaining a friendship that will last a lifetime. Without their trust and support, my business would not be where it is today, and I am beyond grateful for allowing me to be part of their lives.

So, I wanted to do something nice for my favorite early clients, just as a way to thank them. Now most other photographers might send their clients a thank you card or send a printed 4×6 print of their photo. Really? A 4×6 photo? To me, that’s not really special or meaningful. So I thought to myself, what would I be able to do for these individuals, that they themselves probably wouldn’t do, and something that would be a bit more memorable and fun for them? Well, since it was Spring time, and the weather was so nice, I decided that I should throw these wonderful people a picnic for everyone… where we could all gather, eat, and have fun. So, that’s what I did, and I took some photos along the way. If this idea gets copied by other photographers, well… you know where you saw it first 😉 All in all, we had a great time catching up with each other. This gathering was great because everyone grew up in the same community, and were all friends already. It was great to spend some time with each couple again, and see the dynamic of their relationship. Without a doubt, each of them have found their other half, and formed a beautiful and meaningful relationship that will last a lifetime. I genuinely cherish these people. They are not only some of my best clients, but they are also some of my closest friends. Thank you guys again for investing in me, but more importantly, thank you all again for believing in me.

Super cheesy, I know, but I had to be honest. Now onto the photos.

 

Going through my Hipster phase, don’t judge.