I found this photo while searching through old files - thought it would be nice to post since "children" seem to be the theme of the month! This photo was taken a few years ago... Jacob and I holding our little girls! Brand new to the father game...

Just submitted photos to Joy and Tommy who are brand new parents! Congratulations guys! Also thanks for making the long trip to do the shoot -I know it was a really long drive for you guys.

Doing a random search via google I found this old blogger site from 2007! I must have forgot about it or more likely got distracted by other projects tech related that I diverted from using this as a tool to broadcast my adventures in this craft. I've got over 5 years of content to upload and share with my friends out there. I promise to keep this mostly about Photography or Multi-media related subjects -No such post about last weeks The Walking Dead episode or anything like that! So here we go again... feels like I'm starting over... all over again!

An-Un-Birthday from Ruah Studios | Films on Vimeo.

For Christmas my brother Randall gave me a book titled The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. After reading the introduction, I felt compelled to start 2012 with a something that reflected my own journey. Moreover how the path "so far" relates to leaving behind a piece of perhaps wisdom, understanding, knowledge, insight to my children. Thus with out hesitation worked for about 8hrs straight editing some footage taken a year or two ago. It's of what my wife calls "Un-birthdays" -random mock birthday celebrations for no other reason than to eat a birthday cake and sing the birthday song! Hey every family has their moments... and certainly for me this one particular moment is priceless.

http://www.thelastlecture.com/

I have posted some images form an assignment that I recently received from Response magazine. Response is a publication out of New York that highlights the women of the United Methodist movement in relation to evangelism and outreach to their community.
I want to thank PK editor for the Tucson Citizen for trusting me to shoot this assignment in conjunction to my summer at the paper.

I am very proud to announce that just recently, I was accepted into the Wedding Photojournalist Association –I am a full-fledged member next to some of the world's finest artist… I do feel somewhat small in the grand scope of things, but I’m happy being one of the members representing Arizona next to Hinkle, Richards, Rashka, Lopez, Clark, and everyone else from AZ –the list goes on… which truly is a tribute to the talent here in the desert.

In all seriousness, I am very proud because it’s not an easy task becoming a member of the WPJA. Membership is granted to individuals who meet a certain standard in their work as photographers.

As promised, I have posted some samples from our engagement shoot with James and Linda. They are such an amazing couple with a bright future ahead of them... The next post with these guys will be of their wedding event.

Recently I was very privileged to assist world-renowned photographer Peter Wong on a commercial shoot for the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort and Spa. With a $57 million dollar price tag attached to a massive renovation, the Omni is well on the road to becoming Tucson’s premier luxury resort and destination for the perfect weekend getaway.


Using the C1-Pro software, Peter previews the image of products donated by Tiffany & Co.


Photo by Peter Wong Photography


Photo by Peter Wong Photography

Alright, so two weeks ago I was very privileged to spend the afternoon on an assignment profiling Jennifer English, owner of the Flavor Bank, located on Broadway -Shops at El Mercado.

I wish to thank Jennifer English and staff for their time and hospitality. Kelly Mahoney you did great with the profile, and last but not least, thank you to Joe Pangburn and Inside Tucson Business for the opportunity.



Various spices from around the world packaged and displayed in storefront.

This, I must proclaim, is an amazing place and I would encourage anyone who cooks or is interested in cooking to visit. This is an establishment that bursts with a scent of history and visual appeal, coupled with tremendous integrity –like walking into a museum or viewing an art collection.



Jennifer English is one of those people that you sit next to during a 5-hour flight –and because the conversation and cultural exchange is so fascinating; the feeling of optimism and sense of place follows you down the terminal…

One thing that I really went away thinking about is the concept of eating “clean” –as fresh and as free from artificial preservatives as possible. Statements about going daily to the local market and buying only enough food and spices for the day. Having grown up in Asia, I have to say that associating the word “clean” with local markets is a bit difficult to conceptualize. An Asian market, is not an Asian market without hurdling over pools of God knows what and bugs crawling over freshly picked fruit and vegetables, and of course the classic thin-plastic bags that potentially fall apart while walking home (I would say 90% of the time). However, everything is free from the artificial stuff and as fresh as it gets. Perhaps our love for fancy packaging and presentation will be our undoing. I have since been trying to eat as clean as I can –I even went and bought a fish with the head still attached! I know that bothers some, but I’m Asian and I’ve seen far worse!

It’s interesting to me that such a wealth of reflection can be delivered in such a humble package of spice.



Jennifer English stands in front of her famous spice rack; made of an assortment that the Flavor Bank will sell in quantities as small as a mere pinch. English says that customers will come with recipes in hand, wanting only enough for their dish.



Inside Tucson Business Reporter –Kelly Mahoney did the profile on the Flavor Bank in the July 30 issue. Check it out link: www.azbiz.com/articles/2007/07/27/business_profile/profile01.txt

World –meet my buddy Mike Pedicone drummer for the band: The Bled –touring all over the United States and the world including Japan, Australia, and Europe. They will be playing at Project Revolution 2007 with Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance to name the first two from the poster. Checkout their link: www.myspace.com/thebled listed is their antennary for the rest of the summer!

Photos are from our shoot last weekend. It was a lot of fun and everyone had a great time -just want to say thank you to Dan for helping out in the studio... Thanks for the heads up on the rules Mr. City of Tucson service-man my wife felt a lot better after you came and spoke with us.

Click on Images for link to password sensitive online proofs:

Okay... what I've posted are some of the photos from our shoot at Lazy K Bar Ranch -a great place and venue for an event and not to mention the best BBQ I have ever had in my life hands down!

The shoot was for commercial stock photos featuring, Sarah Swaim, personal fitness trainer and owner of Fitness First located in Northwest Tucson, and Susan Schmidt, nationally certified Pilates instructor for Desert Palms Physical Therapy. These two ladies were absolutely awesome on the day. The location terrain was a bit of a challenge –especially if you wear sandals… I’m not sure why I didn’t wear better shoes… and I have to apologies for not mentioning it on the shoot specs email I sent to everyone.




View looking East from location spot.



Photo by Benji Park: Benji and I took the more difficult rout up the hillside carrying all the gear and water, while Daryl went up a trail he found... I guess with age comes wisdom!



Benji telling me about his long day in Phoenix… while Darrel leads Sarah, Susan and Steve up the hill… you can see them if you look to the left of Benji’s left hand.



Photo by Benji Park: Daryl doing a very nice job reflecting warm light on to Sarah, as she gets ready for a trail shot.



Nice place to shoot form.


The following are the proofs from the shoot. I have a couple of these posted in the People portfolio section of my website if you wish to see a larger version.

Walmart for people like us...



Randall is in New York for the summer doing his internship, on a recent excursion touring various parts of the city, he found himself at B&H. We all know how functional and user friendly their Website is… now visualize the same experience in the context of local Walmart Super Center!

Two of our good friends are driving up to Las Vegas tonight, and it inspired me to dig through some vacation photos from this past April. Our other good friends Dave and Rachael did a once in a lifetime trek to the United States from Australia. I think it was 6 weeks of touring the biggest and best America has to offer -cities, attraction, monuments, food etc.

The following are photos of our first day in the city of lights.