Cup of Joe Photo

refocus, refresh, and renew.

Welcome and thank you for visiting! I invite you to be inspired here in the posts and images at Cup of Joe Photo.com. Relax and enjoy.

After two and a half years of blogging almost everyday and 934 posts, I'm ready to make a change. So, I'm taking the summer off from blogging to refocus my business goals and create new photo projects. I'm also looking forward to completing a new website (launching in July), expanding my photography services to clients, and creating a brand spankin' new workshop (see below) for photographers. Stay tuned.

Thank you all for your time and your attention. I hope you'll find something inspirational to take with you and share with others.

Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel Wedding

Indian weddings are full of colorful visual elements which make them so fun to photograph. I've done so many now, that I'm actually anticipating the sequence of events in the ceremony.  Last week I photographed Veena and Mohit's wedding at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel. My good friend Sheryal Rozzelle from Unique Elegance coordinated the wedding and Alex and his team from Square Root did the incredible floral design. It's so easy to capture great images when you are working with talented, professional vendors. They make me look good. Enjoy.

Chinatown - Engagement Session

Last week I met Jennifer and David in Chinatown for some sweet engagement photos. I always recommend shooting in a location that represents the couple and their interests. In this case Jennifer had been going to the Grand Star Jazz Club for years and she suggested we shoot in Chinatown. One objective for the shoot was to incorporate the lights of Chinatown into the backgrounds of the photos once the sun set. To achieve that goal, I brought out my Profoto lighting gear and used a single softbox. I'm stoked on the last shot with the Chinatown neon sign.

Enjoy.

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

Julia Cameron has found her calling to help artists restore and refocus the creative energy that we all have. I listened to the audio book twice last week, and I'll be starting the recommended 12 week program today. I started doing my "morning pages" 5 days ago and I'm thrilled about what is already happening in my life. The book and morning pages have helped me to refocus and rethink my current habits and strategies. I've come to a peace about making several changes I've been putting off for far too long.

As the saying goes - When's the best time to plant a tree? Answer: 20 years ago. But the second best time is today. My efforts this summer shall become abundantly fruitful for my future. 

I want to finish my new website. I'm giving myself until July 1st to have it live. I want to have a really cool, fun blog too. I have ideas, I just need to implement them. My last post on this blog will be on Thursday of this week and then I'm taking the summer off from blogging. My focus needs to be on my weddings this summer and my family. As I said, the Artist's Way is a 12 week course, and that puts me finishing around the end of August. By then, I will have my new blog and it's going to be cool.

I'm also committed to creating a workshop for the fall. I have to first focus my creative energy this summer to effectively help others. So that's what I'm doing. I'm really excited. I have so many great projects planned.

I hope that you will consider doing The Artist's Way this summer too and rediscovering your creativity. Namaste. 

From Russia with Love

Our team just got back from 2 weeks in Russia. I didn't go this year but I got an email when they returned from my friend George (who went) regarding my favorite Russian kid - Arsen. George wrote: 

Hey Joe! :) Sometimes a picture really does speak a thousand words!

When we got to Soligalich, however, Arsen was pissed oh brother let me tell you....
But when later this day we said let's take a photo for Joe, he was super happy.

Hollywood Blvd after midnight

Are you old enough to remember the Missing Person's song "Walking in L.A."?

Marcus and I spent an hour on Hollywood Blvd late Monday night (early tuesday) walking, looking, and shooting in LA, before hitting The Rainbow on Sunset to close out the night. Here's a few images we found.

Walt Disney

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. - Walt Disney

Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money. - Walt Disney

Disneyland is the star, everything else is in the supporting role. - Walt Disney

Melissa + George

While Marcus and I were at Disney Hall on Monday, we meet George and Melissa and asked them if we could shoot some images of them. George is a photographer and the boyfriend of Melissa who's a model. They were awesome and a lot of fun.

One More Shift Tilt

I can't believe I forgot to post this one earlier. It's my favorite. Enjoy.

Homemade Tilt Shift Images

Making a day to play with new lenses is so much fun, and sometimes unexpected. I had the great honor of street shooting with Marcus Bell on Monday. He wanted to visit Disney Hall and shoot around LA. We arrived at Disney Hall and he had his camera bag full of homemade lenses. Like 4 of them to play with. Stoked! I've never been more happy to be a Nikon Shooter. He let me play with them all day. We hit Santa Monica Pier and Hollywood Blvd too. Needless to say, we had a great day of shooting. Marcus is doing a program in Jacksonville, Florida tomorrow if you are in that part of the country. Details are here. Go see him! You will certainly be inspired.

Thanks Marcus for sharing your toys!