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For the past 4 years, we've had the best scary house on the block. It takes Ingrid and I two days to set up and one day to tear down. This year, we decided to take a break. There's just too much going on. You can bet that next year will be better than ever. I'll still dress up tonight in my costume....and do my best to make at least one kid cry.
Yesterday, I photographed a wonderful couple from Texas. They had their wedding at The Montage Resort & Spa. Jeannie and Brooke from Details Details coordinated this wonderful Monday wedding. We had such a great team. Square Root did the flowers, Linda Goldsheft from The Cake Studio made the cake, Peter from Vive provided the music, and Elysium rocked the video with another killer same day edit. Enjoy!
Tony Robbins is a great self awareness coach. He uses easy to understand analogies and illustrations to make his points and he has wonderful energy and enthusiasm. You can learn many life changing perspectives from his books, but you have to read (or listen) to learn. Enjoy:)
"Awaken the Giant Within" - How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! was written by Anthony Robbins back in 1992. It is 544 pages of the man's motivational techniques and self help tips. Awaken the Giant Within covers a wide range of topics, from goal setting, to Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), personal finance, and relationships.The book comes across as fast paced and entertaining, just like he is on his many infomercials. It covers a lot of material, with much of it requiring you to make positive changes and work on yourself. So it is probably best skimmed, before going back to chapters that relate most to your life.
Robbins uses a lot of techniques that are either influenced by or are taken from the pseudoscientific principles of Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). But Awaken the Giant Within is more than a book derived from NLP, it is a manual for life. If one technique or chapter does not work for you, there are plenty more in the book that can.
Anthony Robbins has copped plenty of criticisms for his infomercials, his personal life, and his high priced seminars, but Awaken the Giant Within is a self help classic.
Awaken the Giant Within Book Quotes
"After making a true decision, even a tough one, most of us feel a tremendous amount of relief. We've finally gotten off the fence! And we all know how great it feels to have a clear, unquestionable objective." Tony Robbins
"The truth is that we can learn to condition our minds, bodies, and emotions to link pain or pleasure to whatever we choose. By changing what we link pain and pleasure to, we instantly change our behaviors." Tony Robbins
"The past doesn't equal the future. All great leaders, all people who have achieved in any area of life, know the power of continuously pursuing their vision, even if all the details of how to achieve it aren't yet available." Tony Robbins
Here's another great story for overcoming adversity. Have a blessed day:)
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back...a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP! You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. THAT'S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity...THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US! Remember that FORGIVENESS--FAITH--PRAYER-- PRAISE and HOPE...all are excellent ways to "SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP" out of the wells in which we find ourselves! - Author Unknown
One cold November morning I noticed a sunflower coming into bloom on my patio. It was growing up from a crack between the house and the paving stones underneath the birdfeeder.The little flower stood straight up. It had a thin stem with mottled green leaves and a small, round burst of bright yellow on top. It would never have made it into any flower shows, that's for sure. It was stunted, its bloom a crush of petals squashed together around its centre. They stuck up and out like a spikey hair-do, the biggest one no more than three-quarters of an inch long. It was a scrawny, misshapen little flower, and to me it was beautiful.
Beside it stood its much larger, and at one time, much grander sibling. A big, broad, perfectly formed flower once adorned the main stem. Five perfectly formed miniature versions of itself branched out below like accessories accentuating its beauty. But now, its leaves were crinkled and brown, the stalk yellowed like hay, the dry wilted flowers hanging down in petrified stillness. It had a different beauty now.
I sat and looked at these two flowers, and I wondered why I enjoyed them so much. I asked myself what they meant to me. The answer was very clear. They were a reminder to me of the mighty, unstoppable power of the life force. I looked at the little flower standing so proud and thought about will and determination, the carriers of that force. I remembered that struggles can be won and great things can be achieved against all odds... summer sunflowers do grow outside in the cold, dark days of early winter.
Looking at the splendor of each flower, I saw the glory of life past and the promise of life now, and I was reminded that renewal is a necessary part of life. It is what keeps life on this planet vibrant and alive. I was reminded renewal is a constant. Life never stops. And as I watched the bright splash of yellow dancing with abandon against the gray, windy skies, I remembered that renewal carries with it the seeds of hope and great joy.
In this world there is strife. There is hardship, and there is suffering. There is inequity. There is injustice. There is also abundant beauty amidst it all. And within that beauty there are reminders tucked away everywhere, encouraging us to persist, to strive, and to bring our dreams for a better world to life. We have only to open our hearts and look, and we will see them.
--- Copyright © 2001 Sally Scott
I had a blast talking to Cypress College students Wednesday night who are aspiring wedding photographers. My friend Greg Bumatay is teaching the class and asked if I would share some insight with the students. "The Actual Joey Himself" is one of the students and had the following to say on his blog yesterday.
Joe Photo spoke at photo class.
He came by last night for the wedding photography class that I am in this semester. Needless to say, the class did not expect an overly animated and extremely passionate metro sexual dude to be speaking. Usually the class asks a lot of questions, but they were pretty entertained and shocked to just listen to Joe explain all of his styles from getting clients to sign retainers, to how he handles the mother-in-laws, and his post wedding rituals with wine and quesadillas (which I was able to witness first hand last saturday).
Greg sent me the following images. I plan to post some of the students work next week. It was great to be back in school. Have a beautiful weekend:)
Consider the following idea and have a blessed day. You make a difference.
" There is no such thing as a self-made man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success." --- George Matthew Adams
This post is coming to you late. My internet was down for the 1st time in years. I'm guessing it was fire related.
I was in LA yesterday until late. All day I had been so grateful that through all these fires, things were safe for my family and everything was still pretty normal. I was driving home last night at 11 pm and saw fire from the hills beyond our house. It was hard to tell how far it was until I got closer. It turns out that it was probably 4 or 5 miles away. But there's mostly just ground cover (which is dry) between our house on the ridge and the fire. The grounds behind us are part of the huge Marine Base - Camp Pendleton. They have tens of thousands of acres, just below San Clemente.
The high winds have been incredible. I've never seen our area so covered with debris. As our back yard pictures from Monday morning illustrate, we've had plenty of ash blowing our way.
Please keep the firefighters and rescue workers in your prayers. They're stretched really thin.
Last weekend I had the great pleasure of photographing Andrea and Ben's wedding at The St. Regis hotel in Monarch Beach. It was a beautiful day on Saturday. I'm so happy that they missed the crazy, windy weather he had here in So Cal on Sunday and yesterday. Stephanie Lairson (who I got to work with for the first time) organized the event and Square Root did the gorgeous flowers. Enjoy!
This book totally has me hooked. I'm reading fiction and loving it. I'm still not all the way through (I read slow) but I wanted to recommend this book for sure (and fiction in general) as a way to relax. The book is very different from the Broadway show. Both are equally engaging. Enjoy.
Thank you for the books a few of you recommended last week. It's nice to hear from you:)
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.
This story really put things in perspective for me when I heard my Pastor retell it. I hope you'll enjoy it too.
The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs." The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life." The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you will run your ever- expanding enterprise." The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then?" asked the Mexican. The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Millions?...Then what?" The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos." - Author Unknown
My sister Brigitte turned me on to these guys. They are worth your time. Have a good laugh and enjoy your weekend:)
It is good to be reminded of our destiny. My wife received a prayer card in the mail this week that had on it's front side a painting of St Francis sitting amidst a pile of ashes. He is quoted as saying "Now, it seems to me, I am sitting as a brother ought to sit". The commentary below the quote said in part, "We all come from the Earth and will return to it. But we pretend to be more in the in-between. We still doubt that all was given to us in the beginning. And nothing real can ever die."
I enjoy my spiritual journey and I nurture it in some small way every day. This reflection on passing into the next world, helps me focus on what I hold as really important in this world. I'm grateful for every day.
I photographed this cemetery 6 months ago. I thought it would be appropriate for this post.
I really like the old cyan toned vintage look and I've been applying it to some new sample images. Enjoy.
I have been having so much fun experimenting with new photoshop layers and blending techniques as I prepare for my upcoming Rimrock Workshop with John Mireles. Check these out. I'm using techniques such as these in my newest sample albums for weddings to really create a new standard of expression. What are you doing to expand your vision and set yourself apart? It's a brave new world. Enjoy.
Ingrid and I have had a party for Becker on his Birthday for the past 3 years. This year, he's in New York and we're partied out. So we'll pick up the tradition again next year. This year he's celebrating his (7th) 29th [b]irthday. We love you [b]rother:) Make it a great year.
Good morning friends! You may be surprised to know that I'm actually READING a book. I'm 100 pages into to a 400 page book. it's a fiction and I'm captivated, and reading in my free time. It's a wonderful change of pace, sort of mixing things up a bit. I'm also half way through another audio book. I'll post about it next week.
I'm looking for a few recommendations for great books you have enjoyed recently. Please leave a comment if a book has impacted your lives. I look forward to your input. Thanks:)
A book is a part of life, a manifestation of life, just as much as a tree or a horse or a star. It obeys its own rhythms, its own laws, whether it be a novel, a play, or a diary. The deep, hidden rhythm of life is always there -- that of the pulse, the heart beat. ~ Henry Miller
Right Brainers Rejoice! This movie is a playground of sights and sound blended to sweet perfection. If it's playing in your city, do yourself a huge creative favor and go see it now!! If today is your day of rest, there's no need to feel guilty about going to the movies. Stop working and start imagining that all we need is love....
I shot this image of Ingrid and I a week and a half ago at the Ceremony Party at Rancho Las Lomas. The setting behind us was created by Square Root. Have a great weekend!
I don't regret the numerous pictures of Brigitte Bardot, but I'd rather have a good photograph of my father. -Raymond Depardon
This quote struck me as very important wisdom indeed.
Here's a recent image I felt would be enhanced with some some warm toning to the color and vignetting, as well as a little blur too. I'm interested to find out your thoughts.
Many of you know how much I loved the movie 300. So I was totally stoked when "The Actual Joey Himself" sent me this link for the sequel. Enjoy!
Last weekend, I had the great pleasure of photographing this beautiful couple at The Mission in San Juan.
As I've said before, I really enjoy alternatives to the beach. Jennifer and Justin had fun with me, and I had fun shooting them. Enjoy.
I've been a big fan of Mitch Alboms since reading The five people you meet in Heaven a few years ago. His latest book is equally captivating and inspiring. I got through it in two days. It's a book that challenged my idea of my relationship with my parents, and the sacrifices they made for me. As a result, I hung out with my Dad on Saturday doing one of his favorite activities, walking through the OC Auto Show. He and I both share a love for fast cars and we totally bonded and enjoyed each other's company. I have a new appreciation for the limited time we have with those we love. Enjoy each moment:)
Albom’s tribute to family and particularly motherhood is his second novel and the first to feature a female protagonist. It explores questions of regret, divorce, and how we would spend one special day with the ghost of someone we loved.Pauline “Posey” Benetto raises her son bravely as a divorced woman in the 1960’s. The boy, Charley, never really appreciates her sacrifices, spending much of his life chasing the elusive love of his father, who left when Charley was 11. The book begins on the night when Charley, now a middle-aged alcoholic whose family and work life have disintegrated, decides to take his own life. He makes a midnight ride to his small hometown, staggers into his old house, which he believes to be abandoned, only to make a startling discovery: his mother, who died eight years earlier, is still living there, as if she never left.
The two of them then embark on the “one more day” that so many wish they had with a lost loved one – a day to ask question, seek forgiveness, and reexamine the life you thought you had. The book was chosen from hundreds of candidates to be the first ever featured by Starbucks in its stores nationwide.
One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, Okay, time for a quiz. Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouth mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, Is this jar full? Everyone in the class said, Yes.Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, Is the jar full? By this time the class was on to him. Probably not, one of them answered.
Good he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, Is this jar full? No the class shouted.
Once again he said, Good. Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, What is the point of this illustration? One eager beaver raised his hand and said, The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it. No, the speaker replied, that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.
Are you putting the most important things first in your life? May your day be blessed with love and contentment.
The last part of this extraordinary wedding was filled with beauty and surprises for the 650 guests. There were Le Cirque performers, pyrotechnics, and top performers from India. Thank you Sara and Deepak for allowing me to be a part of your Big Day.
This wedding is proving to be more and more magnificent as I finished editing yesterday. Wow, this one took me a bit longer than usual. As I'm continuing to pick my favorites, I'm becoming more excited and proud of the hard work we all did to create extraordinary images. I hope you'll enjoy them. The rest of the party will follow tomorrow. Tune in then:)
This was such an incredibly huge wedding, I'm going to show it off for three days. The early part of Saturday included getting ready images, some portraits and the Baraat. Deepak insisted on coming in on an elephant. The Bellagio wouldn't allow any animals on their property, so the 650 wedding guests were bused to and from The Stirling Club where the ceremony took place. Platinum weddings' team filmed the wedding for TV. Enjoy!
The first day at The Bellagio in Vegas, I shot the rehearsal at 10 am, Sara's henna at 3 pm, and the Mendhi and Sangeet from 6 pm to midnight. Sara had 11 bridesmaids and Deepak had (blackjack) 21 groomsmen. The weather was comfortable and the couple looked gorgeous. Day one was awesome fun.
Sunday afternoon after shooting for three days of wedding festivities, Sara and Deepak agreed to let me shoot them with the old neon Vegas signs. I really wanted to shoot their engagement images there this past summer, but it would have been way to hot. The weather was perfect on Sunday. The bride and groom rallied and I got some sweet shots. I'll be posting some of my favorites from their extraordinary wedding the next couple of days. Enjoy.
I just enjoyed a solid 9 hours of sleep. I got home from vegas this morning at 12:30 am. I was wiped out from all the shooting we did this weekend. I was extremely blessed to have had an incredibly talented and helpful team of photographers to work with me on this wedding. Marc Weisberg, Nick Adams, and David Tosti each put in a remarkable 22 + hours of shooting over two days. We really bonded. It was like running a marathon with three friends. Crossing the finish line together sealed my friendship with these guys forever. Thank you all so much!
It was also great to see so many familiar faces at Sara and Deepak's wedding. I'm beginning to develop lifelong friendships with some of the coolest people on the planet. It's a small, small world.
As far as blogging goes, I noticed that two of my posts for last Friday and Saturday didn't post as I made a mistake with the dates. So I reposted them this morning for you to enjoy.
I'm laying very low today. I hope to have some images to show you tomorrow. I'm taking the complete rest I need.
Blessings!
