Hangar #1 & #2 at the now decommissioned Tustin Air Force Base. Before retiring the base, these giant hangars were used to house the fleet of blimps that the government had at the base.

Sitting in the stands of the Maloof Money Cup I was able to get some nice shots on the street course without having the impressive “press pass”. My 300mm zoom lens made quick work of the course as I chased down the skaters, lines them in my focal zone and snapped their heads off. You know, something like that. The wall rides were a particularly nice shot because with the judges and ramp for size comparison you can see just how high these amazing athletes were able to nail.

COOKIES! Somehow, still one of the funniest parts from Van Wilder. If you don’t get the joke, don’t worry. Wonderland Bakery in Irvine made these delicious, not that I ate any *wiping crumbs out of the keyboard*, treats for this year’s OCMETRO Hot25. We sent out intern couriers to each of our honorees with these cookies and an invitation attached, because who doesn’t love getting some free sweets!

Here’s another shot from the Getty Museum gardens. Caught yet another bee spreading his “pollination” throughout the sea of flowers. I wonder if the the bee community looks down on over pollinators… hmmmm.

An ode to Cursive album, “The Ugly Organ”. Shot on the visitor’s deck of the Queen Mary in Long Beach, the history can nearly be felt. So many hands have traded tunes on these ivory blocks and played to scored of cruise ship visitors. Supposedly haunted, The Queen Mary is said to be home to numerous ghosts and spirits that project themselves to tourists and workers on the regular. Hoping to slip off and find our way to the boiler room where some of the most spottings occur, fear overcomes and the thought is quickly dismissed. Not sure how I could handle seeing a ghost. I believe, but question my reaction if I were to ever be confronted. Screaming like a little girl might be a dead giveaway to the crew that We’d strayed from the tour.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Shutter: 1/80
• Aperture: f/1.4
• ISO: 100
• Tip: For a shallow depth of field use a wide aperture (smaller number) and increase the distance between your focal point and the background. With a telephoto lens, be sure to keep a good distance from subject to backdrop, otherwise you will be hard up to create a nice shallow depth of field look.

Every year for 21 years OCMETRO hosts it’s picks for the region’s hottest 25 people. Tonight, literally, was the first year of trying a 360° approach to the presentation with a round stage, the first year for staging with DPS and the first year for many of the companies new employees. Smooth as ever, the event went off without a hitch. Huge credits has to go out to Anna Romiti and Katie Jonegeward of RipeOrange who put the event together for Churm Media. They were also the ones who hired such fine photographers as myself and Brandon Jaime. Awards were given, drinks were had and socializing/networking was exchanged. Successful event? I say, without a doubt.

In this photo you can see the lighter natured side of Churm Media CEO, Steve Churm, with Don Craig, the founder of “Old Guys Rule”. Don was nice enough to bring this shirt for Steve to keep as a memento of the night and a thank you for recognizing him as one of the prestigious 25. I can only hope to be that cool when I’m an “old guy”

Congratulations to this year’s Hot 25 honorees.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Shutter: 1/60
• Aperture: f/4.0
• ISO: 400

I got some pretty awesome shots at this year’s Maloof Money Cup at the OC Fair. I also found a new respect for action sports photographers. There’s so much going on that needs to be watched and the added pressure of not wanting to interfere coupled with the reactions and sounds from the massive crowds. It’s not something I’ll ever aim to put on my resumé, but I wouldn’t mind vacationing there from time to time. Luckily for these shots I was able to post up on a nearly empty halfpipe catwalk so I could avoid having to use my “cheap” telephoto lens. Sure, it’s great for slow moving objects when I’ve got a tripod, but for fast-action excitement I’ll gladly use my 50mm.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Shutter: 1/4000
• Aperture: f/1.6
• ISO: 100

Blog is back in action. Thank the gods. Only a 1-day downtime with the problem working itself out … I must have done something right in a past life. ONWARD!

A day at the beach with camera in tow. Shooting the sandy shores of Huntington Beach and the surfers as they tackle the white caps. A pretty slow day though. In general the waters are filled with board jockeys all fighting to catch that perfect wave, braving the barnacle covered pier supports. But today was a different case. Just a portion of the ocean with boards and a pretty empty beach too. A slow day.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 37mm
• Shutter: 1/400
• Aperture: f/11.0
• ISO: 100

Ahhhh, finally, all caught up on the blog. Now to stay on track. Just need to keep telling myself that the Candyman will get me if I break blog form again!

“So, what did you do this weekend, Kristen?”
“Ohh, you know. Went inside Weird Al’s brain, drank vineyard select wines and rode on the back of an elephant.”
“Hmm, acid trip?”
“Close. The OC Fair!”

Kristen and her entourage decided the last thing they wanted to do before checking the OC Fair off their bucket list was to hop on top a Hawaiian lei’d beast. Personally, I feel sad for any animal that gets treated like a ride at the fair, but at $10 a head I have to believe these animals are being treated to the best peanuts since George Washington Carver.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Shutter: 1/50
• Aperture: f/3.2
• ISO: 1600

This photo is a little bit deceiving. She looks as though she’s got a mischievous plot cooked up in that young brain of hers. Ready to cut left and make a mad dash towards the popcorn machine. Or maybe a bolt into the maze of air filled fun jumps where she can hide from her mother who waits patiently at the exit. In actuality she was playing a game of tag with some of the other kids at the iJam concert and this was her chance to refrain from being “it”. I’m sure with all the running, that Jamba Juice ended up being a washing machines nemesis later that night.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Shutter: 1/3200
• Aperture: f/2.0
• ISO: 100

Despite my ignorance of having never heard of School Gyrls every little kid with the Disney channel was way ahead of me. Singing their teeny-bopper tunes on the IPSF iJam stage, the crowd of children was going crazy. In this shot Mandy Rain, somehow I doubt that’s her real name, reached out to one of her fans as she belts the chorus to their most popular song. I can only imagine the feeling those young ones got when they got to meet and see their Mickey-eared pop star idols. I remember being a fanatic too … but mine was more for G.I. Joe and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Beat that Gyrls.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Shutter: 1/800
• Aperture: f/4.5
• ISO: 100

Busy taking photos the whole night, I missed my opportunity to #nom on one of these delicious looking carrot cake samplers. The buzz from the crowd was enough to make me miss the sweetness too, as I watched multiple people going back for seconds, and some, thirds. Luckily I’m not a huge desert fan (I know, who doesn’t like deserts! freak!) so I can tell myself I didn’t miss out on much. Now, chocolate chip cookies and/or brownies … that’s a different story. Not quite falling into the “desert” category I let them pass my test. They’re more of a “lifeblood” category. Nom nom nom!

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Shutter: 1/60
• Aperture: f/1.8
• ISO: 500
• Note: To get this shot i didn’t use a flash, just the natural light from a nearby window. Without a nice lighting setup, finding ways to use natural light will produce a more “realistic” looking image, since it’s what the viewers eye would be normally seeing.
• Tip: Use a large aperture (smaller number) so that you can get a nice depth of field to the images, focusing on one singular item.

This year’s OCMETRO “Green” issue was accompanied by the first-ever Green Team Event. When searching for awards the OCMETRO team wanted to find something environmentally friendly, but still unique. They found these recycled glass awards made from melted down glass and formed into these etch-able pyramids. I’m not sure if there’s an added dye or if it was the process itself, but the blue hue of the glass was a perfect offset to the etch marks made into the face.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Shutter: 1/60
• Aperture: f/1.4
• ISO: 100
• Tip: Use a large aperture (smaller number) so that you can get a nice depth of field to the images, focusing on one singular item.

No badgers here, just a delicious looking mushroom salsa of sorts. I personally don’t eat mushrooms because it’s hard for me to get past that whole “grows directly in poo” things, but I can appreciate a fine looking platter just the same. Maybe someday I’ll change my ways, but until that day I’ll keep my mushroom hating ways. This spread was part of OCMETRO’s first-ever Green Team event held at the Great Park or Irvine.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 50mm
• Shutter: 1/60
• Aperture: f/1.4
• ISO: 100
• Tip: “Food shots” are a different breed of photography, and not being a professional myself, my amateur tip is to use a large aperture (smaller number) so that you can get a nice depth of field to the images, focusing on one singular item.

Dexxy Midnight is the queen of the ottoman at the Clover’s house. By far the most energetic pug I’ve ever seen, but when she’s not bouncing from couch to couch or throwing her toys across the room, she’s a really sweet little dog. Once she’s had her fill of play time, she’ll curl up right next to you, lay her head on your leg and fall right asleep. When i lived with the Clovers, Dexxy and Frankie were the dynamic duo with a total love hate relationship. One day you’ll see them sleeping next to each other and the next their chasing each other up and down the stairs. I think Frankie misses her. Sad.

• Camera: Canon T2i
• Focal Length: 36mm
• Shutter: 1/30
• Aperture: f/4.5
• ISO: 3200
• Tip: When shooting in low light situation it’s possible to use a higher ISO setting, although the trade-off is image quality. Higher ISO settings will cause more camera grain in your images.