Last weekend, I got to participate in the 2nd annual Worldwide Photowalk! That’s right, photographers all over the world convened on June 18 and walked, talked, laughed and photographed (Ha! Rhymed!). We got to shoot in Atlantic Station, which is a big deal because they NEVER allow cameras there (well…I guess if you live there, you’re allowed). Here are some of my favorite shots from that night:

While I was hanging out and shooting with a friend of mine, I made another two friends! Bella, an aspiring model and her photographer, David Sincere.

I think Bella will do just fine in modeling, she’s very pretty and was fierce in front of the camera.

I think these look like chess pieces!

Later that night, we set up our tripods and did a few long exposures. Both of these are quick edits, as I have a grillion dust spots on my sensor. No really, like a grillion

I had a really good time and want to thank SCAD’s own Judith Pishnery for being an excellent organizer

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Oh yeah! Forgot to add! Duh! I recently launched my art website, and you can check it out here! Don’t laugh at my middle name, it’s my Mami’s first name (and my first is her middle name, creative, I know!). More about that in a day or so

I’m back!

Last week, I got to hang out with Zion, her mom Tabitha, and her dad Brian at Glen Echo park, to have some fun on the carousel and the playground (it was Zion’s first time ever on a carousel! And I’m perpetually 8, so um…FUN for me!)

I had too many favorites. My bad in advance. But for real. I kept saying ‘OOOH I LIKE THIS ONE, AWWWWW, OOOOH, YAY!’ and Cory was all ‘WOMAN BE QUIET SOCCER’S ON, WHY DO YOU TALK TO YOUR LAPTOP!?’

(I mean, I know it’s not gonna answer or anything. I learned I also yell at the TV. Especially during the DNC and RNC. But wait, I’m not gonna wax politic. That’s a whole ‘nother blog.)

Okay, back to pics!

This is Zion doing her best Blue Steel face. WORK IT! FIERCE.

Did I mention I’m perpetually 8? Okay. It makes it perfectly okay to keep bubbles in my camera bag. Because sometimes when life gives you Palmolive soap, you pour some of that bad boy into a little container, add some water, mix it, and blow some bubbles.

Oh, and lemme tell you a secret. Parents of two year olds LOVE bubbles. See? Zion’s trying to channel her inspiration for the next photo, and Tabitha and Brian are remembering childhood.

I just like the look on Brian’s face in this photo.

 Favorite!

Zion loved the carousel (the second time around. Oh BTW I’m thinking this carousel’s like 50eleven years old, it probably only goes like .02 mph but I was WRONG! Where was my seatbelt?!)

Tickled. Favorite! Love love love the dimples!

 Kissed and tickled = Awwww-ness!

 :-D

Thank you Zion, Tabitha and Brian for such a fun-filled day!

We came down to Charlotte this weekend to hang out with my parents and sister, and on a whim decided to hit the beach, and with a bit of Google magic set the GPS for Kure Beach, NC. Sort of awesome, because I haven’t been to the beach in a few years, and because Cory’s never been fishing before, and since my dad can sit at a pier for DAYS, I figured I’d torture give him the opportunity to spend some quality time w/Pops-in-Law

I didn’t snap that many photos primarily because I was terrified of sand getting into my camera, and also because I spent the majority of time getting sunburned in the water and/or reading a seedy novel on the sand (I finished Oscar Wao on the way down to Charlotte, don’t judge me!) up until we left, but heeeereee goes

So my dad went away for like 10 minutes, and in that span, Cory caught his first fish!

I think they were set up on the wrong side of the pier or something, because after that catch, nothing else was biting, except for the little boy who caught an angelfish and the dude next to him who caught like five fish, and a skate (which kinda freaked me out because I saw the catch while I was in the water, and it was less than 25 feet away. Plus I watched Jaws the day before, and while I know it’s just a movie, it gave me the heebiejeebies.)

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So…I’ve always wondered what the inside of a lens looks like.

I found out yesterday My Nifty Fifty, Aloicious Leicester, my walk-around lens, decided the world was too much for him and fell apart. I guess this means I’m going to have to replace him with Alocious Leicester II, the 1.4 very soon. It was a good run, chap. Rest in Pieces.

While shooting two weddings this weekend for Julie, I came to the conclusion that I’m one of those people. The ones who cry at weddings. I mean, I don’t do it all day, but there is something about seeing Mom put the finishing touches on her daughter’s dress, and then looking around the church and seeing the bride’s childhood friends tear up during the ceremony, and ohhhh how can I forget, the father-daughter dance? I tend to think about how the parents first held their daugther/son when they were babies, and how they grow up soooo fast and them boom, they’re getting married!

Color me ferklempt. The good thing is, my nerd-glasses hide the fact that I’m bleary-eyed

I also think it’s my nephew’s fault, bringing about this whole new feeling of they-grow-up-so-fast-ness. I’m putting together an album of his life from when I first put him in front of my camera until now and as I go through all the photos I’ve shot in a short year, I get this horribly overwhelming feeling knowing that he’s never going to be that tiny again. He’s practically talking now and doing all sorts of I’m-getting-bigger-baby-ness stuff now and I’m all OH BUT OH YOU WERE SO LEETLE! I used to hold you and now you’re like, running away from me now

(Naturally, when I was a teenager, and my mom tried to convey this emotion to me, I was like ‘Psht yeahhhh mami, cayoudropmeoff at the mall now?! My friends are waiiitiiiinnnng!’ *pops gum*, but now that I’m older, I really can understand that feeling.)

So to my clients, present and future, be forewarned, I’m probably going to tear up, but I do keep a small pack of Kleenex in my camera bag for situations like these and I promise, I photograph through tears

One of my favorite shots from this past weekend! I spotted theeeee LAST strawberry sitting on a bed of lettuce before I was done for the night, and made a beeline with the rings, three toothpicks and a champagne glass

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So, that Kleenex box shot is from today! I just took it a minute ago I’m back in Cali for the taping of the ALMA Awards! No, I won’t be shooting it but I’ll be working closely with the photography team and YES, I’m totally bringing a camera along to get some snapshots. Oh and the highlight is that I’ll be trying to survive in a DRESS! (For those of you who don’t know me…I LIVE in pants. This is a big feat that I’m going to pull off this weekend!)

Pray for me, y’all.

And tune in September 12 to see the awards!

The view from my hotel window:

And from the plane on the way here:

Of course, to be continued!

P.S. I’m only sharing this because it’s absolutely necessary to be able to laugh at yourself. About an hour ago, I was bringing my room service tray out and locked myself out of my room. I didn’t have shoes on, just socks. I really thought about the embarassment that would ensue if I padded into the lobby and ‘splained myself, but thankfully, I was able to get someone up here to let me back in. Awkward moments define my life.

Okay so I totally ran away from my other post about Conference, and since it’s wayyyyy down there and you have to scroll and it’s a big effort and stuff, I decided to post the outtakes here. You know…the stuff that I randomly shot, forgot all about, and then was backing up and was like OH SHOT I FORGOT ABOUT THIS!

I also have been absent from my blog b/c I’ve been busy busy busy editing all the photos from Conference (I know I took probably close to 3,000 photos) and a few other projects but now I’m BACK

Okay…

So the last night of conference, there was a gala, and a dinner, and I was exhausted but I was all * GULPS RED BULL * I’M READY! and because I’m persistent, managed to make it through the night in these!

Well…did I say through the night? My Red Bull high faded not too long after we had sat down and eaten at the Gala and I almost thought about tearing these bad boys off and running back barefoot across the street to the hotel. I trusted my better judgment though (my colleague saying DON’T DO IT), whimpered back to my room, and about an hour later, I was knocked out. When I shoot, fatigue doesn’t usually register until I put my camera down, and because I wasn’t set to shoot the Gala that night, my body was like SLEEP RIGHT NOW. Which I did.

The next morning, a colleague and I went to this supercool spot called Mary Jane’s Coffeeshop, located right around the corner from the hotel, and had a delicious ‘itis-inducing breakfast that made me fall asleep on the plane with my mouth open and drool (which of course, I didn’t realize until I woke up and was like ‘Ew.’)

Of course, because I was ravenous, I didn’t take a picture of the food but I did snap some photos of the decor! It was total retro diner, and visually enthralling:

After we stuffed ourselves silly, we wandered for a bit around the downtown vicinity.

Am I the only person who has never seen this? I love these little guys! Doesn’t the look on its face look like I’m chasing it?

We went back to the hotel to get our bags and I had some time to stuff everything possible in my suitcase and sit on it so I could zip it pack and rest for a bit. This phone was in the lobby on my floor. No, it didn’t work. Yes, I tried it. No, nobody was in the lobby when I did it. I think.

This flower only cost me $23. I got a salad and some fruit

Telephone, it’s Old Dirty….

Guess guess guess what this is?

So…I was so tired, I fell asleep sitting up? Who does that? Oh, me. Once I woke up I realized it was time to go, and I was gathering some odds and ends and noticed my original flower had begun to shed its petals Maybe it was sad that I was leaving? Maybe.

I dragged my bags to the front door, and embarked on my journey back to the D of C, sad because my mission to make it to the beach while I was there was thwarted by some long days documenting something that I was very very very part to be a tiny part of.

Wait a minute, I forgot something

(Shout out to Security Guard #4 in the Green Room who made this photo possible!)

The Omni is awesome, btw, if you’re ever visiting San Diego and have the ends to drop on a room. I definitely hope to return, and GO TO THE BEACH I AM ON A MISSION!

Oh, and it was my first time in California, and I’m a wimp, because that 3 hour time difference put a HURTIN on me. I’m better now. Finally.

OH, and I got a formal introduction to the magic that is Pinkberry! WOW. Why doesn’t it come to D.C.?

Thankfully one of my buddies was on a quest, and discovered Mr. Yogato will suffice. Shout out to Stacy, Fro-Yo Guru of the District

Yeah. So…Conference began, and I didn’t have time to update each day. I worked 15-20 hour days, running around with my gear, my forearms got some dope definition (which will return to their normal mushy state once I’m back in the D of C), but most of all, I met some wonderful people, doing amazing things for the Latino community, and felt so proud/blessed/amazed to be a little teeny part of it all.

I got the opportunity to work with an amazing team of photographers from Fernando Pena Photography, and we had a great time talking like nerds about fast glass, and shooting RAW, much to the confusion of my colleagues who, well, are so much cooler than me.

On to the photos! My hard drive is tucked safely away in my suitcase, so last night I picked some photos at random to share with all of you. I encourage you to check NCLR’s website in a few weeks to look at the rest of the photo highlights from Conference.

I don’t think I ever shared a view from my hotel. In the foreground is the Convention Center, aka the office for the week that I was here.

Taxis. Yep! I mean, they had actual taxis, but if you wanted to get around the general vicinity of downtown, this was a quick way to get there!

Did I mention I love this lens? Because, well, I really do.

On Saturday, I got up SUPER early to cover the Diabetes Dash.

I got to hang out with the Lideres crew and their Despedida (their farewell) included a Afro-Ecuadorian group by the name (I believe) of Azucar!

I got to shoot many a happy hour/dance party. Here’s a pic from the Rockin Oldies Happy Hour:

And the Lideres DJ Dance Party:

This was a GREAT band and ARGH I forgot their name. Homegirl can SANG.

One of my favorite authors, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, was on a panel about being a Latina in the arts, and breaking the stereotypes that plague us. BUY HER BOOK! AND READ HER BLOG!

I got to see (and shoot) Ozomatli performing at the House of Blues. I had SO MUCH FUN!

The highlight for me, however, was meeting the presidential candidates, and hearing their thoughts on how they’re going to improve things for Latinos in this country.

Yeah, Green Room access was kinda cool too It was a once in a lifetime opportunity – unless either of this fine fellows wanna hire a sista to be a WH photographer

I’ll probably update this blog post once I’m back in DC and have time to look at more photos (ohhhh the editing commences!)

Yesterday we visited one of our Affiliates, the San Ysidro Health Center. It provides low cost health care to the residents of the South Bay, and it was great seeing everyone in action. Here are two of my favorite shots.

 Aight, back to work. Hollahollaholla!

I fell asleep in front of my laptop yesterday but I did get a chance to traipse about the San Diego Convention Center earlier and try to shoot wide with the 14 mm lens. WOW @ this city, all the architects must have had a field day when they were planning it, everything is visually STUNNING. I also got the work out of the century with the GRILLION stairs the convention center has. NEVER ENDING. Luckily some of my coworkers drove by and saw me panting at a stop light and rescued me

On to the photos

(yes there’s a photoshop faux pas in there LOL)

Okay holla! Back to work!

I’m in San Diego for NCLR’s annual Conference, and although the view from my hotel is awesome and San Diego is begging to be explored, I’m going to behave myself and stay in and study for GREs.

The flight here had me with my face pressed against the glass; I haven’t seen mountains in a lonnnnng time (half my life was spent in Colorado, and I really hope to go back soon to visit), and wow, we flew over deserts! Sand and everything. Being the dork I was, my cameras were in the overhead bins, and I hate getting up and climbing over people from the window seat, so I stayed put and tried to close my eyes and memorize how breathtaking Mother Nature is.

Anywho, on to the few pictures I’ve snapped on my way here:

I’ve never seen this on a phone before, and I thought it was a joke, and then I got up closer to read it, and realized it wasn’t. Sign of the times.

My first real meal of the day was accompanied by this lovely flower. I guess it’s supposed to brighten your day considering how much you spent on a sandwich

I’m testing out the Canon 14mm f/2.8L rectilinear lens (try saying that 5x fast) while in San Diego .

This is lodged in the ledge of my hotel window.(What is with me and tongue twisters? Lodged/Ledge?)

Argh, while I really really really really want to go outside and explore San Diego (it’s my first time in Cali!), I’m gonna try and remember basic arithmetic.

(I hate math, I really do. I also hate debt. I think I owe Howard University my first born. *pep talks herself*)

I tend to shoot things just because I think it looks cool, copy them to a hard drive and then forget about them until I go to my “Sort Me Out” folder (yes, I really do have one and yes, it’s got a LOT of random photos in it), and go ‘Oh wow, when did I shoot this?’

This was one such occasion. I met up with a photographer friend one fine afternoon in Georgetown some months ago, shot these photos, and then forgot that I ever shot them.

See the little ant? He was ready for his photo op

Coming this week, he’s BACK! My adorably less angry, more toothy, running walking nephewww!

(No, his photos don’t go into my ‘Sort Me Out’ folder…)