Last night I got to see one of my favorite up and coming artists, Janelle Monae, in the D.C. area, no less

She’s an independent artist hailing from Atlanta by way of Kansas, got her break with Outkast, did her own thing and started the indie label the Wondaland Arts Society, and recently signed with Bad Boy, so I’m positive she will be a familiar name and (hopefully) change the state of music.

Her sound is a mix of everything, I think, and the kitchen sink, her band is amazing, and when I think nobody’s watching, I sing out loud (and loudly) to her CD in my car (and not to toot my own horn, but you’re looking at an All County Chorus finalist, for Lake Ridge Middle School, REPRESENT), and hope that whoever’s looking at me rock out doesn’t think I’m having a seizure or anything. But I’m certain that all other Janelle Monae fans have similar reactions to her music, so it’s whatevs  

Anyway, some snapshots from the evening

So I’m back! I survived ALMA awards, didn’t take thaaaat many pics (mon dieu, how did that happen?), chatted my head off with one of the Getty guys who covered the event, wore a dress the night of, lasted 2.5 hours in my heels (I got a pedi to feel pretty, but part of my oh-so-fabulous heel rubbed up against my toes and irritated it to the point where I was limping, which is never a good look, so I donned ballet flats for the rest of the night), got my makeup done @ MAC-though I’m not sure if I’m ready to post the pic of the makeup; I’m not used to seeing myself with more than lipgloss on …

and…hmm…what else? I was around sooooo many celebrities, which was surreal, but I think I managed to make my squeals internal (especially when I was 2 feet away from Shakira, got smiled at by Lisa Lisa and Mario, stood next to Paula Abdul and didn’t realize it was her because homegirl is TINY–as is most of Hollywood)…I had my bracelet admired by comic Alex Reymundo, totally gushed about how awesome his sister, Margo is (she was the singer @ Conference whose name I could not recall!)…and overall felt an overwhelming sense of pride about the ALMAs, and being a teeny tiny part of it all.

As I said before, I did get a *couple* pics, but not that many, and most are behind the scenes, and reveal the winners, and I don’t want y’all knowing who won what until SEPTEMBER 12, the air date

ohhh ohhh ohh, and if you look reallllllllly closely the night of the awards, you might see a few pics integrated in the show taken by yoursssss truly

So..then I got back, and went to hang out with my mom and pops and NEPHEW! He’s getting soooooo biiiiiiig!

Of course, when I walked in the door, he was soooo happy to see me, he chucked a toy at me, as if to say ‘WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN WOMAN!?! I MISSED YOU!’ and laughed maniacally as I ducked.

Then he grabbed my car keys and pondered on if he should make a trip *now* to Babys-R-Us and pick up a few toys and his girlfriend, or wait until after he was fed… 

Instead he opted for strained peaches mmmmmm and decided to put off the road trip until later, until Mom and Dad got home. Besides, the Navigator is much more roomy

After a filling meal (aka running away from my mom as she chased him around the living room with a spoon and jar), he decided to show off his new toys, and the best way to do this is by throwing them ALL over the living room. Baby Feng Shui!

But wait, he didn’t want to miss Casos de La Vida Real, his favorite show (my mom has him HOOKED), so he dragged his toys over to catch the rest of it.

 During commercial breaks, he played Chase with Gramps.

 …but was dismayed that the Chase didn’t continue into the TV area of the room.

Dejected, he took a seat in one of his most comfortable pieces of furniture and watched the rest of the show with Abuela.

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

* * *

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