Jax Shoot Club - September

Another Jax Shoot Club meeting...and with 80 photogs in the mix...wow...it might have been harder than shooting that one wedding ceremony where the pastor/priest tells you that you can't move - @ Corinna, Mel, & Kathryn!

Regardless, it's always fun getting out from behind our computers and talking with your fellow photog friends...it beats communicating via Twitter and Facebook!

Here's a few that I sneaked away...and when I get the info, I'll revisit this blog post and give credit where credit is due...ahhh...thanks Mel and Kara...Faythe - she did make-up...this I know!

Credits as promised:

Makeup: Faythe Mesic www.faythemesic.com

Hair: Sonia Garza soniagarza1225@yahoo.com

Models:

Lauren (dress with colorful makeup) lauren@laurenrossi.com

Many faces...moods...emotions...and those are beads in the models eye lashes...WICKED!

Mamiya - check out the photog sitting in the back - that's a reflector!

Massive Wedding Collage!

Sometimes while working on fotos from a wedding, you get so caught up looking at one foto at a time that the "story of the day" starts to get foggy in your mind. In particular, with this last wedding...where there wasn't those traditional aspects of the American wedding (no, there wasn't a first dance...nothing got tossed...no one had to put something up some stranger's leg...)...

But due to the lack of these rituals I have come accustomed to, I was wondering what the "story" was looking like...so I decided to make a Massive Collage! First, I decided to try not to use images that were showcased on the blog or on Natalie & Scott's slideshow...and I decided to use "The Other Pictures." See, we photogs go through all our images and decide to show the best - composed correctly, exposed perfectly, etc... Well, these are the leftovers...but these are the ones that REALLY tell the story...the Grade A photos tell the story too...but I think these really capture the day...so here's Natalie & Scott's Massive Wedding Collage...made up of fotos that did not make cut to be showcased on the blog previously (the leftovers)...slapped together imperfectly...intentionally...and I hope it tells a little story...enjoy!

The Fray - "Heartless"

I dig the animation in this song...the moving characters...check it out for your self...

The FRAY - Heartless from IE HAGY on Vimeo.

the Vitamin Circus Blog...

Good reads...check it out!
the Vitamin Circus...Go!

Mark Hubbard's Demo Reel!

I was checking out youtube for some videos...and I stumbled across my good friends Demo Reel (Mark and I took video production classes together). While I was watching this video I was totally wowed. His videos have always been better than the rest of us in class...he always had an extra something that just blew the rest of us away...but then I saw his Demo Reel...I'm floored! I've seen the work in progress...I've seen his work grow...and I'm totally impressed...check it out...it's a must!

Note: The music is by the super talented Rickolus...and I got a fotoshoot scheduled with him! I'll post it on the blog when that day comes!

Enjoy!



Double Note: Check out 2:36...on the phone booth - Marion Crane sticker - I've worked with band member Thomas...what a coincidence...

Vegetarian Shoes...

Vegetarian Shoes found on www.mooshoes.com.

The brand Vegetarian Shoes manufactures these shoes...out of the UK...

$105 - being vegan comes with a "healthy" price tag!

I did not take this foto...it was found on www.mooshoes.com.

Natalie & Scott's Wedding!

I like non-traditional weddings...but I admit I'm biased...being that Rana (my wife) and I had a very non-traditional wedding. Natalie and Scott's wedding reminded me of our wedding. No church, no aisles, no seats, no wedding parties...just plain simple......ah, but the big difference was that Natalie and Scott had a photographer...me!

Here's a few fotos from their Sunday wedding at One Ocean...located in Atlantic Beach.

I would like to thank Jillian for helping out...she lives in Mexico and shoots weddings too!

Enjoy!

This won $20,000...all shot on a phone video camera!

This video is absolutely incredible. It's shot so simple. I think most people could do a video just like this...but this producer thought of it...they came up with this really creative concept...and what makes it so significant is the message....

I dig this kind of stuff...with my education in Social Work, it's really important for me to remember this stuff...to stay grounded...to stay true to myself...to not forget that there is people out there that need our help...

Watch it...think about it...this is crucial...

Joe Vigil on iTunes!

I love this stuff...you know...do a shoot...and see the total fruition of your work.

Here's Joe Vigil's single cover for iTunes...he brings back a classic from Stevie Nicks!

You can check it out here!

For all Brides-To-Be...must see!!!

This blog post is for all Brides-To-Be! I have some really cool collaborations with two fine wedding planners. I'm not going to break it down into detail...but I will say that you will most likely be able to get a wedding planner and a photographer for the price of ONE! Essentially, you will have more $ in your pocket to save, to purchase more products (albums, digital images, etc...), or splurge on that really cool DJ.

So for details you need to contact Tanya at Southern Charm Events or Heather at First Coast Weddings & Events.

Tanya's contact info:

Tanya@southerncharmevents.org

904-588-3271

Heather's contact info:

info@firstcoastweddings.com

904-739-8003

Again, what I'm offering through these two awesome wedding planners is so outrageous, you have to contact them (or contact me...).

Colorado Day #5...last day...

So I didn't blog my last day in Colorado...I didn't get any real cool fotos that I could share...b/c I shot most of that day in film...so we'll have to wait and see.

Regardless, that last day was exciting like the previous 4 days! Friday morning we left Estes Park and stopped by some really small towns! A couple of towns were located on a Dirt Road!!! What an awesome strategy to prevent growth! We went through Pinewood Forest, Allenspark, Jamestown, and Nederland. The land up there was nice. Beautiful valleys...with grasses...and rocks in the mixture (could you imagine having a giant rock in your backyard!). After that we returned back to Boulder...checked a couple of surrounding towns in the 'flat zones'....walked a trail on the side of the mountains...got our hotel, and ate some fantastic Thai Food (Pad Thai & a Peanut Sauce/rice/veggies dish).

To wrap things up, it was very hard to come home. I love the mountains! It's like home...I feel really FREE up there. The air is so smooth to breathe in...the sights are beautiful...it's therapy! But the ironic thing is that I have a super fear of heights! See, there's a friend of my father's side of the family...a very eclectic and spiritual person...he discovered my super fear of heights in his high rise condo (this was like 7 years ago!)...anyway, he told me that in my past lifetime I must have gone out by falling from some high place! So I joke around and tell my wife that I was a super nice mountain goat...but rather clumsy. This explains why I came back as a human and why I feel like the mountains are home!

Until Such Time, Colorado...perhaps I can return home...

Day #4 - Colorado

Day #4...and thank this hotel owner for having some wireless internet! So this morning we left Granby...and went off the main road to scope out some land. We saw some awesome land for sale up in the hills (8,000-9,000 feet above sea level)...but the temperatures are extreme...regardless, it was beautiful!

After we scoped out some land, we entered Rocky Mountain National Park. At first we were in a valley for quite a while...I was cool...and then we started climbing...I was still cool...and then we hit a spot where there were no trees...but I was cool b/c I was on the other side of the road...until a switchback! Then the cliff was on my side...no trees...no barriers...just air...a little earth, but not much...for 45 minutes of driving.

Here's some fotos through the park...I can't wait to return to do some hiking...

Mountains...lot's of them...

My Foto - Park's Foto

A little education: The water in the foto on the left drains in our ocean...the water in the foto on the right drains in the Pacific Ocean...all within a few hundred yards of each other - The Continental Divide!

Elk at the bottom near Estes Park...we ate lunch down the road, where another herd ran by us by about 200-300 yards!

Day #3 Colorado

Day #3...a day late. Sorry...no internet connection at the last hotel in Granby.

Day 3 went like this...waking up early...and it was kind of chilly. We left Silverthorne...drove through that 2 mile tunnel again. Then we went over Berthoud Pass at 11,000+ feet...sorry no pics...wife wasn't too crazy about me stopping to take fotos (but don't worry...day #4 has some awesome fotos from 12,000+)...

Anyway...we drove through a few towns that we had interest in seeing...but when we got there, we decided to keep on moving. Then we stopped in Granby, where our internet-less hotel was...interesting town...in a valley. We decided to get off the path...we went into Arapaho National Forest...drove down a gravel road for 9 miles along a lake...went over a treacherous dam with ZERO railings...and then ended up in a secluded area...in a grassy area...on a little river...with a view of the Continental Divide. We ate a late lunch there...and kept a Serious eye out for Bear...we saw none...

Note: It seems more than half the pine trees here are dying d/t a beetle (Pine Beetle). Due to the mild winters lately and the favorable summers, this little beetle has been unstoppable. They only treat the trees in Rocky Mountain National Park...the rest of the trees will suffer the consequences of nature. They say this same infestation occurred 500 years ago...hopefully the trees will be able to recover...anyway, this explains the foto of the single pine tree...resilience...

Lake Granby - Granby Rainbow - Surviving Pine Tree

Arapaho National Forest - where we ate lunch!

Colorado Day #2

Day #2 - We left Boulder around 11am...then we drove through some serious mountains...and finally arrived in Silverthorne around 1pm. The highlight was the tunnel we drove through - at 11,000+ feet above sea level. That was the first time I felt a little strange inside. Silverthorne is a town of about 4,000 people...but it neighbors Dillon, which has 9,000 people. It's kind of expensive here...and they have a summer that last only 2 months. It gets real cold here too...I mean tonite, it will get in the 40's...

Here's a few fotos.

The Tunnel.

Lake in Dillon, Colorado...next to Silverthorne.

Day #1 - Colorado

The fam & I got up at 3am...jumped on a plane from Chicago at 6:50am...landed in Denver @ 10am. We quickly stopped in Minneapolis prior to reaching Denver. I picked up my rental car...I got a sweet deal on a small SUV...it cost nearly as much as renting an Impala...anyway, I get to the rental...they tell me to choose whatever SUV I'd like...so I skip the RAV 4 and go for the Hummer 3...it's much bigger...and considering I am traveling with family (hence, half the house), this vehicle is just right...except for the stares we get b/c Colorado is pretty green.

I want to apologize because on twitter I dissed the whole city of Boulder (I stated the the people in Boulder were a bit snooty)...well, I apologize. The people in Boulder are cool...but a good handful of people I came across inside the Whole Foods grocery store were snooty...???

Here's a few fotos from just outside of Boulder...literally, just outside...

Enjoy!

Coming from Chicago...

Alright...so tonight is my last night in the City of Wind - Chicago. Once again, it was a busy week visiting family from every corner of the city and burbs. Tomorrow I'm off to Colorado to do some site seeing...but before I leave Chicago, I'll give you a little taste from a shoot tonite. I met up with Tarima Son - a local Jarocho band (traditional music/band from Veracruz, Mexico). Check out this awesome set...

Next blog should be coming from Colorado! Enjoy.