Things in the yard

Pretty soon we will be moving into our first home together! (that is if the remodeling process doesnt hit another brick wall) It's an older home, built in the 1970's. Older homes need to be fixed here and there...due to old age. But the up side is, it's usually larger with more yard space! Living in the suburbs has always been 'uncool'...but hey I think I'm starting to really dig it...it's peaceful, quiet...less pollution...and I even hear birds chirping! The previous home owner was a 80 something years old Korean lady, she was cute, and was nice. She had been living on her own since her husband passing, and all her children are grown up and have moved away. The reason she had to sell the house was she wanted to be closer to her son up in San Jose as she is getting older. All these plants were her babies! We were both instantly drawn to the yard when we walked into the home. Now I just hope these plants will survive under my hands. Sadly we did have to move away some...it was starting to get too cluttered. Also, we are thinking of water conservation, eventually I hope to plant more succulent plants, since they take much less water! It's essential living in such dry place like LA to consider saving water!

The side of the house is where all the succulents are!

Orange tree at the back of the yard! Harvest should come February?

There are roses scattered everywhere...I guess roses are seen as old fashion...but classic!

These roses are like on steroid...they keep blooming and blooming...well into the winter!

Flower of a succulent plant!

Smells like Shitaki mushroom alright, but I bet it's not edible!

There's a little bird feeder, I should put some food in it.

Quirky succulents! They are so designy looking, definitely one of my favorite!

The previous owner said these are African daisies, she planted these to cover the slope at the back of the yard.

Susana, Steve, Spenser & Skylar!

Susana, Eloisa and I were in the same team for this dumb environmental project back in school. Don't think we got much done and probably didnt get good grades for that class....ha! We also used to hang out together with our other buddy, Miss Triana! So there blink of an eye...it has been ten years! I drove over to Chino Hills to meet with her and her lovely family. Susana looks just about the same as school, but now she is a mommy with two adorable boys! After a very yummy shabu-shabu lunch and some caffeinated and sugary coffee jello, we were all ready for the photoshoot! Real challenge for me this time round...I have only shot one child with two parents before, now we got our hands full...two very energetic boys! Something new to learn and I'll have to practice much much more! The park was small but absolutely beautiful...I found a spot in shades with beautiful trees all turned yellow. Guess when photographing children, got to do it quickly and get it right instantly...which is tough! Nature of kids is they just have a very short attention span and short of patience. Something I need to learn to adapt to! I drove home happy to see a friend, and boxes of baked goodies by Susana! Thanks girlfriend!

Found this spot at the park, perfect place to take some pictures!

Susana did an exceptional job on coordinating wardrobe...LOVE the color scheme!

Fish lips!

They are such a sweet couple!

Pretty mommy!

I love that red bike, it's such a cute prop!

It was so cute, the boys kept saying 'Say Cheeeeseee'!

The boys kept feeding the ducks, bet they were all stuffed!

The little one, Skylar, he's the more quiet one and always keeps himself occupied with things!

Duck feeding frenzy!

Catherine on 3rd St. - The Green Batch!

Every time I go shoot, I get cold feet...I get really nervous, that during the shoot I won't find good lights, can't find the right spots to shoot, can't pose my subjects, and everything would come up blurry, colors all wrong, and just crappy pictures overall! So the second half of a photo session is usually a little easier for me, both the model and I are more relaxed. You know I really come to appreciate all professional photographers...it's a trade not just about your skills, but your personality as well. You got to be a people's person...frantically pick up personality traits of your subject quickly, making them feel comfortable and have confidence in you...all within a very short amount of time. Catherine put on a green top for the second half of our session. I guess subconsciously I was drawn to finding green backdrops! Catherine wanted a more colorful shoot for her portfolio...I hope these will add to it! The sun came down quickly around 4:30pm...a winter sunset comes early, warm and low to the horizon! Thank you Catherine for having so much patience for the entire afternoon...and such a relief it was not a parking ticket she got!!

Shooting around Westside urban landscape it's quite interesting, there are lots of varieties in backdrops!

We found this quirky vacant green apartment to shoot at!

I love those two bright magenta flowers! Makes the picture looks very tropical!

Was very lucky that day, had an abundance of sunlight, even with all the buildings surrounding us!

Wanted to try a more 'vintage' look with these...

Catching the very last bit of sunlight before sunset...

Love those draping tree leaves!

Lighting, that's why they call it the golden hour...

Thanks Catherine for a whole afternoon of hard work, good job!

Catherine on 3rd St. - The Pink Batch!

Instead of going crazy shopping on Black Friday, I was scheduled to shoot with Catherine on 3rd Street around Melrose area. Catherine wanted more colorful pictures for her portfolio, she threw together a color wardrobe, and I suggested to shoot around Melrose area, since I always see splashes of colorful walls around that neighborhood! We chatted for weeks to try to schedule a time to shoot, but we kept running into rain. Finally we pulled it off yesterday! The sun was high and up and we managed to catch some interesting lighting too. Shooting in a urban landscape is different, with all the buildings blocking the lights. Another challenge!

The pinkish brick wall definitely matches her dress!

Catherine reminds me of girls on Japanese NONON magazine!

We found this amazing backdrop in the back alley!

Beautiful back-lighting...I love how soft the light is....

All of a sudden one of the resident returning home went yelling and screaming...
we quickly grabbed our stuff and made a run for it!!