Wedding Photographer

On June 20th I photographed a fund raiser in Loomis California for the Marello Youth Retreat Center and in the process auctioned off one of my portrait packages. There on the same floor with Pottery World and Hubacher Cadillac, SAAB, Buick, Pontiac and GMC sat one of my latest portraits; it felt good.

That is where I met this unique and fun Sacramento rock On Air. “…For more than twenty one years, On Air’s eleven-piece power horn, classic rock sound has captured audiences with classy musicianship, quality showmanship and an attitude of sheer joy. They play, and dance, up a rock ‘n’ roll storm! The group first appeared at the old Woodlake Inn on New Year’s Eve 1985. In previous years they have played such popular venues as the Sacramento Blues Festival, the California State Fair, the Vacaville Onion Festival, the Nevada County Fair and other regional events. On Air specializes in solid rockers that lean heavily toward the style of Chicago and Tower of Power. The repertoire ranges from hot Motown and Rhythm & Blues to favorites by Steely Dan, Van Morrison and The Doobie Brothers. The group can also pull out lots of popular frat rock and also includes a smattering of jazz, swing and soul. An On Air performance is a visual treat as well; the group’s showmanship is as superb as the music itself…” I look forward to working with them in the future.

Everyone should bounce out of their comfort zone and reach their goal; no matter the pain or the fear.

It seems like this week is crazy. Billy Mays is the OxiClean guy. He was found unresponsive in his Tampa home Sunday, and awaited an autopsy to determine the cause of his sudden death. The coroner’s office expected to have the autopsy done by Monday afternoon. His wife he didn’t feel well when he went to bed Saturday night. Earlier in the day, he said he was hit on the head when his airliner had a rough landing at Tampa Bay’s airport. He was 50 years old.

I was reading the Blade Ronner post on Michael Jackson and I felt a sense of sadness not only because MJ is gone, but also of the the way he went. It’s hard to believe that a man with the world at his finger tips could not be happy. However in my pursuit of happiness I’ve come to the conclusion that the simple man, the one with the simplest needs might be the happiest man of all. I thank God that in between all my craziness, I am truly happy. This happiness doesn’t come from anything that I do for myself but from being a Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Uncle, Friend, Photographer, a Man, a Provider, a Listener, a Risk Taker, a Dreamer and a Lover of life under the guide of God.

Keeping my eye on the Creator and not the creation.

This week has been tragic for Hollywood. Ed Mcmann, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson have all dead. Death is tragic that’s why we should live our lives the way they did; they loved, they stood up for what they believed in and had great fun. It sounds cliche but you need to live like today is your last day. Hug your neighbor, kiss and embrace your family and make love to your spouse like today is your last. The King of Pop is dead at 50. He will be missed, he never made the big came back that I excepted.

I was coming home tonight from the Mona Vie event at WoodCreek Oaks Country Club and I heard “Rock with You” and instantly I was flooded by childhood memories of Brooklyn. Dead friends were alive again, my mother was healthy and dancing, I was young and prepared to take on anything and anyone. I choked up, wiped a tear, dropped my car window, blasted my car radio and sang my heart out and the funny thing was that the car ahead of me, at the In and Out drive in, was doing the same thing.
Thank you Michael for sharing your love with me and the world.

It’s 11:30 pm and I’m crashing and I feel guilty. There was a time when inspiration would come knocking at midnight. Ideas for new projects and other ventures would be crashing in at around the witching hour; the time of my second wind. I’m jealous that while my Artistic friends find their voice of growth and risk I find that I have to force myself to sleep.

Times like these can break a man; can build a man.

I few moments ago I got the great pleasure of of working with Dawn & Nestor Clavijo of TLC Catering. Their food is fantastic and their service superb but what I love the most is their passion for food and customer service. I would recommend them for any and every event. I took a moment and asked them a few questions about who is TLC Catering and this is what they said”

“Each menu item is carefully created by our chef Nestor, who has been professionally trained, & has worked with Wolfgang Puck. Nestor’s experience includes a wide range of culinary talent. Utilizing this talent, one of TLC Catering specialties is in creating unique, custom menus for brunch, barbecues, holidays, fine dining, wedding receptions, & personal chef services.”

• Who is TLC? TLC is a family owned and operated business. TLC stands for our daughter Trinity Love Clavijo
• What does food represent to TLC? Nestor Clavijo is our chef and has been trained fine dining, food to him is love. He gets a joy out of life by creating for the event
• When did you know you wanted to be a Chef? Nestor changed his major from becoming a lawyer to the culinary arts in 1995. He was encouraged by his girlfriend, now wife and partner to go into the cooking field since he was talented and creative
• Where did you train? Pasadena City College, along with training under Chef Joachim and Chef Wolfgang Puck
• What professional in your discipline do you admireChef Wolgang Puck, the reason being as a resident of Austria he was able to come to the United States and create a niche in this field for himself
• When did you start your business? August 2001 we opened our doors to the public
• Do you belong to any professional wedding association? We belong to AFWPI
• What is your favorite dish to prepare for a wedding? Filet Mignon w/Black Cherry Sauce
• If you were a wedding cake, what flavor would you be? Chocolate (it is very sensual, silky, delicious, aphrodisiac)
• What’s dinner like in your home? Healthy lots of vegetables and made in 30 minutes, no fried food except for Platanos on occasion
• What questions a Bride in Groom ask when interviewing a caterer for there wedding? They ask about experience, what would my setup look like
• Where do you draw your inspiration from? Seasonal California Cuisine, (fresh, light) w/French influence
• A word that best describes TLC? Exceptional Catering
• Why should they hire TLC? Not only is our food exceptional, but our customer service is also
• Where or how can they find more about TLC? Our website is www.tlc4catering.com or they can call us at 916/454-0852
• If you were a shoe would you be Flats, Boots, Pumps, Sneakers, Thongs or Loafers? Pumps of course. The sexiness that a pump gives is exactly how we present our food what is pleasing to the eye

I love the way this turned out. The ad really represents who I am as a photographer. The bride is cute, electric, sexy, fun, trendy and on the street. These are a few of the words that best describe me and the style of photography that I love. My new ad can be found in this issue of Sacramento Bride and Groom magazine on page 164 surrounded by many talented photography studios. Every issue this magazine looks even better. I want to take a moment and thank Tami, Budd, Marlene and of course Marica and Gary Reimers for all they do for me and my fellow vendors and clients; see at the next Swop Meet.

Call centers are the worse and today I felt a little crummy like I was coming down with something. So like the tree hugging preventive medicine mad man that I’m becoming, I reached for my handy dandy Zicam. For years I used this over the counter remedy only to hear that it might be killing my sense of smell? WTF! Years of pumping this stuff up my nose and NOW the FDA wants to tell me that it might be killing me? What the hell have they been doing all this time? Frustrated I came across Kristina Duda’s, article and here are a few of her points.

” * There have been two notable studies performed and published with regards to this issue of anosmia (loss of the sense of smell). The first was performed by Dr. Burton Slotnick and tested the effect of zinc sulfate, which is different from the zinc gluconate in Zicam, on the smell center in mice. That study found that there was a temporary loss of the sense of smell when mice were given high doses of zinc sulfate.

* It is important to point out that both of these studies were performed on mice and we must be cautious when applying results of testing on animals to humans. Because there have been no large scale studies performed on humans, we cannot say conclusively that the product either causes or does not cause anosmia in humans. “

That’s it! Give me a great product then take it away once I’m is hooked! They did it with cigarettes and now it’s Zicam, one day it will be “Having sex is no good for your back” Please follow the link for more of the ZiCam article from Kristina Duda, I have to go and soak my feet in Vodka, thanks DJ.

I feel like I’m losing the battle to keep it all together. If I focus to much on my day job, I feel like I’m losing my passion. If I focus on my photography business, I feel like I’m losing my family and between these three stands 20 pounds that I want to lose! I’m writing because I want to be transparent and in the pursuit of my happiness I want to get these down to a science; only then will I be happy. With that said I think I’m going back to the my calendar days. Back in my gym days, every day meant a different muscle and now I’m moving the every day philosophy into my daily living. I hope that by scheduling my life, I will be able to get some real progress; I’ll start tomorrow