DAVIDTSAY.com

Tearsheet: Hollywood Bowl

2012-02-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a first peek of the Hollywood Bowl 2012 campaign I shot with Wong, Doody, Crandall, Weiner. Just got this in the mail, and we will be driving all over town looking for them once they go up on billboards, bus stops, and street lamps.

This was such a fun, creative project for me because I got to make the flare-y, moody, romantic arty pictures that I love-- and then to create and oversee the whole post-production to make sure that my vision was realized. The main challenge was to capture real and intimate moments within the 18,000-seat crowd and I think it came out really successful, especially when you see the rest of the campaign images when they come out.

Tearsheet: One Kings Lane / Montage Deer Valley

2012-02-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

I was very happy to shoot with One Kings Lane again. This time, we went all the way out to Utah to photograph their project at Montage Deer Valley Residences. One Kings Lane beautifully furnished a condo unit and it's for sale with everything inside (if you are intere$ted). My pictures and video are shown as inspirational/mood images in conjunction with their online "Get The Look" sale. So I guess if you loose out on your bid for the condo, you can still re-create with pieces from place, panaramic views not included.

The Park City was so nice to provide free parking for the season:

And while we were in Salt Lake City, my friend Shawn recommended a local Mexican place known for their mole-- Red Iguana. I'm like, we are from L.A. how could they have a better mole in the middle of SLC? You are crazy and strange. But Shawn's been there before and said it's amazing so I believed him. And you know what? I was totally blown away! Shawn even ordered us a drink off menu-- fresh jalapeño margarita. On your first visit, remember to ask for the jalapeño margarita and a mole sampler.

(another) New Portfolio

2012-01-25T16:34:00.001-08:00

Picked up my new "Interiors" portfolio from my book binder today. We got done just in time for LeBook tomorrow too! If you are going, please stop by Kate Ryan Inc's booth and check them out!

"What's New" Is What's New

2012-01-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

I've ~~finally put something in~~ updated the "What's New" sections on my website.

http://davidtsay.com/whatsnew.html

Portfolio Featured in PDN

2012-01-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

My new portfolio is being featured in a PDN magazine article about branding. Luckily, they omitted words like, "like", "totally", and "and, you know" in my quotes so I sound totally smart and, like, articulate.

Vanity Fair

2012-01-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

It's been brought to my attention that a photograph I shot for Vanity Fair was included in a recent issue called "Masters of Photography". It features a collection of their favorite interior photography. I'm very honored to be included in this, but it feels so surreal to be shown in the same showcase with masters such as Bruce Weber and the likes.

Burrr!

2011-12-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Salt Lake City airport. Hanging out right now and waiting for my tech to arrive. I'm here doing another shoot for One Kings Lane in Deer Valley. This one is kindofa secret so I'll have to post more details on this when the story comes out. Excited to find out if I brought enough clothes for a 5-degree weather tho.

In the meantime, I've been busy finishing up the revised final versions of my portfolios. All four copies are done now and ready to be sent out, wink! wink (call Kate for them, lol)! I've also launched the iPad and iPhone/mobile versions of my site. They are just simple, beta now and the full-scale final sites should be up probably after the holidays.

NEW WEBSITE

2011-11-14T08:12:00.000-08:00

My new site went live at midnight. Take a look and let me know how it looks!

www.DAVIDTSAY.com

PS: I'm now working on dedicated iPad and iPhone versions and they will have their own experiences, navigations, & etc. Stayed tuned for those.

Coming very very soon...

2011-11-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

Notice the new header on this blog? Yep, my new website is about to launch in the next week or so. I've re-designed the whole site so it's in sync with the new portfolios. The whole project was designed, developed and programmed in-house because I wanted something very specific to me (hmm, typical middle child with control issues). I can't wait for the totally official, post-editing/swapping/o,this-would-be-so-much-better-if..., final-FINAL version to launch.

Tearsheet: HGTV Magazine

2011-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

One of my Nashville shoots for HGTV Magazine is out in their premiere issue! Apparently, they've sold out in most cities so I think people are loving this new mag. It was fun to see them working on this story on their "Making of the HGTV Magazine" TV show before the launch... well, until I had to watch them kill off one of my favorite shots!!!

Here are also some on-set captures. I can't tell you how many times we faked craft rooms for catalog shoots, but this homeowner Sara has a great one that she actually uses for real craft projects-- like the flag garlands hanging over her fireplace (you know, in my favorite shot that got killed off).

I've never been in a tornado-warning-in-action type of thing before so it was an exciting shoot week. I stayed up and followed the "storm watch" report and was very fascinated by their minute-by-minute tracking. I even had my iPhone clock to track the countdown, and it got here just as they said it would! Luckily, it was weakened by the time it reached Nashville, so we finished the shoot next day without any incidents.

Type Heaven

2011-10-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

I feel in love with typography and letterpress pretty much the same time I started photography. I was especially drawn to the big, chunky, un-shy type treatment of Blue Note Records and Jack Stauffacher. Years later, I was fortunate to find a private art dealer that had a set of Jack's original letterpress ready for someone to adopt.

So I was very excited when my friend Carol told me about the L.A. Printer's Fair. I saw some interesting printing machines like the giant typewriters below, and also got some more pieces to add to our walls. I'm pretty sure if I wasn't doing photography for a living, I'd take a shot at being a graphic designer, a pastry chef, maybe a baker, or definitely a Lego master builder.

Best Summer Job

2011-09-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

Getting the L.A.Phil/Hollywood Bowl ad campaign from Wong Doody Crandall Wiener was a great way to end this summer. I got to go to many shows (for work of course) including Stevie Wonder, a Serge Gainsbourg tribute, 80's night with Berlin/B-52's/etc, and the L.A.Phil playing Tchaikovsky's "Black Swan". We were dying not to do the Natalie Portman swan dance in the aisles, but those classical audience is a very serious and quiet bunch. It was fun hanging out back stage with the amazing musicians and backstage crew. By the end of the season the security people knew us and would just wave us thru security areas, that made me feel like one of the musicians, even thought I don't play any musical instruments (or maybe it was the big "Press Pass" badge we had to wear both around our necks and wrists?). The Bowl scored me some extra tickets so I brought my parents to see the Rodrigo Y Gabriela for my mom's birthday.

It's not often I get hired to shoot arty, blurry, flare-y pictures (which, if you know my "personal work", its full of them), so I had a ton of fun with this assignment. The new campaign will be all over on buses, bus stops, street signs, and billboards next year, and I'll be driving all over the city looking for them.

Sand In My Bags and Shoes and Clothes...

2011-08-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

Just wrapped a great fashion shoot with the models from M Models. I know,"What? more beach pictures?" But this one is really different, in part thanks to the great talents from Aubri Balk. I'll post the story soon either here or... on my new website :) So nice to be back shooting at the beach. I love going to shoots in an office or middle of non-coastal places, and I'll open my backpack and then random beach sand falls out. That always makes me happy.

M&Ms

2011-08-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

Just finished a 2-day shoot for One Kings Lane, an online shopping site.The whole concept of this online store is just amazing to me, and so is this M&M cake that took two days to custom make from scratch just for this one shot.

And it definitely inspired me when I made my mom's birthday cake later that week. I didn't get the fancy custom-colored M&Ms, just the regular ones from the grocery store. But it's still pretty, right?

Food

2011-06-15T11:31:00.001-07:00

My agency just put up my new food portfolio on their site. Follow this link to check out some yummyness.

NEW PORTFOLIOS!

2011-06-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some sneek peeks of my totally new, re-branded, re-designed portfolios! The blue one is my main brand book, and the orange one is my "What's-New" book. We rushed these in time for the LeBook NYC Connections event. Please stop by Kate Ryan Inc's booth if you are attending the LeBook event!

...All packed and ready for shipping:

Tearsheet: Martha Stewart Whole Living

2011-06-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

creative director: matthew axe

photo director: erika preuss

wardrobe stylist: laura zanotti

hair/makeup: dale johnson

model: alexandra p @ next models

supermodel dog: pony

pony likes to rest in the shade between setups

Tearsheet: FNM Eva Longoria

2011-06-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

art director: ian doherty

photo editor: kathleen bednarek

you know what's amazing about this shoot? eva went from morning-pjs-with-hair-up-no-makeup to this dressed-and-camera-ready in less than 20 minutes. it took us longer to style the kitchen and set up lights.

Woman's Day Shoot

2011-05-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Just wrapped a location shoot for Woman's Day magazine. The shoot was kind of last minute and had to happen on a weekend, so we did the location production in-house. We were surprised and kinda stressed when we learned that L.A. parks do not allow photo shoots on weekends (did you know that?)! We finally found a great park in Orange County and went thru all the channels to pull the different permissions and permits so it worked out beautifully. I was very disappointed when the park rangers didn't ask to see our hard-earned paperwork when we got to the location! We were using strobes and everything but they were only concerned with the permits for all the picnic gatherings around us. Weird right?

Fantasy Job

2011-05-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

ok i totally love my job and career, but i'm so jealous of gary mcintire-- he is a "master model builder" at legoland! i remember when i was a kid i used to play lego with my mom til one or two in the morning. but this guy plays lego all day, all week, all the time! here is a pic his "office/workspace", and he has more cool behind-the-scene pictures on his flickr page.

Rapture

2011-05-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

it's probably not a coincidence that hell week for my portfolio project is also the week of the rapture. good thing we made it thru both. the book is totally on schedule and everything is looking good. so good, in fact, that i decided to start a supplemental book for the same deadline... my retoucher, printer, studio manager and bookmaker all wanna strangle me at this point.

and now i'm packing to go to nashville for a week, with 2 stories to shoot for a new magazine coming out this fall (very exciting top secret project). i've never been to nashville so i'm very excited about the trip. the only thing that's worrying me is that when i look up the local weather for the week, all it shows is this icon for the entire week:

Tearsheet: Everyday with Rachel Ray

2011-04-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

creative director: jill armus

art director: jaclyn steinberg

photo director: kim gougenheim

photo editor: mackenzie craig

prop stylist: dane holweger

food stylist: rori trovato

wardrobe stylist: vanessa shokrian

makeup/hair: brian haugen, daven mayenda, kendra richards, cheryl marks

a really fun day with a cast of 20 (yes, 20).

Coming Soon

2011-04-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

we've been working on revisions for my new portfolio. it's been crazy trying to get it done. but it's looking great and i'm very excited about showing it. it's such a new direction and departure from my previous books, but same spirit. so far we are on schedule to debut it at lebook conference in nyc this coming june. wait... that's in a month or so! can't chat anymore gotta run!

Tearsheet: FNM Debi Mazar

2011-04-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

art director: ian doherty

photo editor: kathleen bednarek

Tearsheet: House Beautiful

2011-04-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

decorating director: doretta sperduto

creative director: scot schy

photo director: david murphy

Tearsheet: FoodNetwork Magazine

2011-02-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

art director: ian doherty

photo editor: kathleen bednarek

food stylist: william smith

Tearsheet: O The Oprah Magazine

2011-02-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

managing photo editor: christina weber

prop stylist: dane holweger

what a sweet family to let us come over early in the morning and make a big mess of their place. we had ton of fun reenacting their (before) morning routine. grant definitely enjoyed himself having permission to run and scream all over the place.

Tearsheet: O The Oprah Magazine

2011-01-27T15:00:00.000-08:00

managing photo editor: christina weber

peter really organized the garage and made it look as nice in the pictures as it does in real life, and in less than five hours. sometimes it takes me weeks just to go thru one box of "tbfs". i told him i've seen his shows and asked him who he's gonna make cry today, and he gave me the evils... lol.

i'm giving myself credit for styling the "before" shot. hey, it can be just as important to make pretty things pretty as it does to make messy things pretty. below is how the garage looked when i got on set, and it just didn't scream "messy" enough...

Holiday Gift

2011-01-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

i thought i was done for the year, but a last-minute job came up for prevention magazine. they wanted to shoot a bunch of lifestyle/couples/beauty stuff for their library, which is perfect cuz i've got bunch of ideas and needing some for my new portfolio as well. what a perfect way to end the year.
...just not a big fan of freezing cold, early sunrise call time

Knee Deep

2010-12-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

in editing.

Tearsheet: Coastal Living

2010-11-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

used with permission of the time inc lifestyle group

design director: jennifer madara

photo editor: kristen fielder

story editor: sarah latta
styist: char hatch langos

Tearsheet: American Baby

2010-11-10T16:08:00.001-08:00

photo editor: s
arah sebastiano
stylist: kim field

Tearsheet: CoastalLiving

2010-11-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

used with permission of the time inc lifestyle group

design director: jennifer madara
photo editor: kristen fielder

styist: dani fisher

Dream Beach House

2010-11-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

my laguna beach house story is out. will post the tears later, but here's a collage. what a cool family!

WINNER! How Magazine Design Annual

2010-10-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

i've been entering these competitions in every category i could think of since forever and i've never won in my life. but guess what? i just learned that the self promo i designed with richard norris of project 13 has been recognized in how magazine's design annual! thank you richard for amazing art direction and breaking my jinx, and also a big "thank you" to alex, andy and jessica for helping me assemble and mail out 5000 of those suckers!

Tearsheet: Rue Magazine (And Video!)

2010-10-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

i did a very fun shoot with one of my favorite stylists emily "who-now-has-her-own-hgtv-show-so-prob-won't-do-anymore-photo-shoots" henderson for rue magazine's premiere issue. crystal and anne of rue were so fantastic to work. they pulled together a great team of food, hair/make up and wardrobe stylists and let emily and i do the story as we envisioned. we all made some new friends and everyone did a fantastic job. the most fun thing for me was that i got to do shoot a video story as well! emily has some great friends, so yes, it was really as fun and yum as it looks.

click here to see the video

Tearsheet: InStyle

2010-10-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

a yummy food and entertaining shoot with an amazing chef, david myers, for instyle magazine. i've never described ice cubes as "sexy" but those are the sexiest ice cubes i've seen. i guess it's pretty difficult in a conventional fridge to get them crystal clear. o, and we got to eat all of those on set. happy happy.

photo editor: mariel osborn

prop stylist: dani fisher

food stylist: rori trovato

On Location: Aruba

2010-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

just thought i'd share some pictures from aruba. more later when i can show the shots. above is our production office at our hotel. the boards are our shots with casting and scouting pictures and notes from the client. it worked out really well cuz any of us at any time could go look at the boards and know what was going on. ...i believe that's just for one week's of shots.

we did all local casting and that was a lot of fun. we've met tons of locals-- and the funny part is most of them knew each other! one of the families we put together, the "mom" is the real life teacher of one of the "dad's" kids while one of his other kid is the godchild of one of the clients. total coincidence.

here's a helpful note to digital techs, present and future: if you are going to bring a laptop to me to edit on my days off, it's better if you bring it with a pina colada. just joking. half joking.

i love local foods. and these arubian/dutch pastries, called pastechis, are really good. the empanada-like ones on top are filled with either cheese or meat. the darker brown logs to the left are like arubian tater tots (i love), and the wheels on the bottom are olive rolls. they are all really good with mustard and a cup of coffee in the morning. i'm drooling now as i'm typing this.

Tearsheet: Big Sur

2010-10-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

here are the tearsheets for my big sur shoot

editor: steele marcoux

photo editor: kristen fielder

prop stylist: emily henderson

M.I.A.

2010-10-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

so i've been back from aruba for a couple weeks now. did a few shoots in town, but mainly laid low because i'm so exhausted from editing this giant aruba shoot. it's a LOT of images to go thru! i have to really think hard on every one of these 9400 images, cuz if i picked the wrong ones, i'd have to live with it being a billboard or something for a very long time, and that would just super-annoy me. so i'm almost done now and it feels like i just edited a movie. ...wait, just realized now i have to start on the video footages...

Hoarding: Buried Alive

2010-10-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

they always give you these tiny jars of jam when you get breakfast room service at hotels. it's hard not to take them especially when, technically, you've paid for them. whenever i get room service at hotels, i'd bring those tiny jams home. but they've mostly been short trips.

so when i was in aruba, i got breakfast almost every morning for about 3 weeks (we didn't really have breakfast service on location). and every morning, they'd bring me those tiny jams and my bag filled up pretty quickly. i imagined myself on that tv show with so many tiny jars that we couldn't see outside our windows. it was weird cuz i couldn't not take them even though i knew that what i'd pay in overweight luggage fees would be more than enough to pay for a couple tubs of that stuff, but, that's not the point right?

anyway, i'm glad to say it didn't push my bag over the weight limit and my jam made it home safely. now they are sitting in the pantry with the rest of them, and no one is allowed to open and use them.

Woohoo!

2010-09-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

It's official, I've been awarded to shoot the library of images for aruba tourism! sad to gone for almost a month, but it will be an awesome trip and i'm sure i'm going to get amazing images and footages! see that beautiful 19-by-6-mile island there? i'm gonna to be all over it.

Tearsheet: House Beautiful

2010-08-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

editor: robert rufino
creative director: scot schy
photo director: david murphy

and here is from my carolyn espley-miller interior story that i shot with robert rufino. i'm very happy with how they laid out the story and how many images they used. and i love that her slipcovered car is full-page (robert's idea). that whole house is very picture-perfect, and carolyn is very talented and lovely to work with. we all stayed at the charming charlie chaplin hotel in downtown montecito, which we all think is a lil haunted... and it was very interesting to be there cuz that was the week that a certain actor and his wife stayed at a really exclusive resort and, allegedly, bailed without settling their bills...

you know they say you can tell how good the restaurant is by their simplest salad? well, i say you can tell how good someone is at styling by how long it takes them to style a "messy white towel". for robert, it was perfect every time he threw it, like michael jordan of styling or something. and he's such a gentleman, i mean, his friend read my blog entry before our shoot and told him about my "wardrobe dilemma", so he showed up in a casual tee shirt too! well, a very perfectly stylish and location-perfect navy and white striped tee with well-tailored, perfectly worn-wrinkled flat-front khakis.

Evicted

2010-08-18T01:25:00.000-07:00

blogger totally deleted and locked me out of my own blog yesterday! their bogus "algorithm" "has determined” that i’m not a real person. it's so surreal, cuz i’m the real person and their robots are not. you know what you big metal google robots? i’ve got my own algorithm for YOU!

i was so stressed about this mainly because i didn't backed up my blog. so i thought i've lost everything and was very bummed because this is like a diary for myself too.

update: so finally got this back, including all my pictures (thanks to my sister with connections, hehee), but i'm also backing up everything to www.davidtsay.wordpress.com

Tearsheet: Whole Living

2010-07-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

design director: matthew axe
photo producer: muzam agha
prop stylist: dane holweger
wardrobe stylist: gaelle paul
hair and makeup: dale johnson
models: kimberlyn at wilhelmina and kirsten wright at l.a.models

btw, i was laying in this sewage ditch for the running-up-the-hill shot...

Here We Go

2010-07-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

crazy week. taking the red-eye to nyc for a fall coats fashion story on tuesday (which, by the way, mid-summer is the perfect weather for heavy chunky coats), then right after the shoot fly right back that night to l.a. for an entertaining story wednesday morning. looks like i'll be sleeping a lot on airplanes this week.

so i'm wondering, since the shoots are almost always out of season, which one would you prefer: swimsuits in freezing cold mid-winter (yes, you'd have to get in the cold water too) or heavy sweaters and wools (yes, sweating in your turtle necks) in mid-summer? ...for me? i'd rather be the photographer. lol.

Tearsheet: Everyday with Rachel Ray

2010-07-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

art director: jaclyn steinberg
photo editor: lisa dalsimer
prop stylist: dane holweger
food stylist: rori trovato
wardrobe stylist: sarah stanley

this is the entertaining shoot that i mentioned here. i love doing shots that takes advantage of digital equipment. for the overhead shot we set up the camera high up, then i controlled it remotely from the laptop. it did take us some time to set up and level cuz i didn't want to use a wide-lens (it sometimes make things look wonky to me), but i think it's totally worth it. and the best part? all the perfect-looking food was totally fresh, edible and very yummy thanks to rori. the models actually got some time to enjoy themselves, even with the rest of us hovering over them telling them how to eat-- "grab the shrimp! NO, not that one! the other one!"... "stop eating on left, pick up your drink NOW!"... lol. i think the only person that didn't enjoy it was my assistant zeke, because he can't stand seafood. pretty sure it was like his worst nightmare, a big table of shellfish and he couldn't get away from it.

o, i also added some behind-the-scenes of how all that fun-ness looked on the other end...

Packing Tip #1

2010-07-20T22:24:00.000-07:00

hey i kinda been slackin on my blog lately. took a lil vacation with the family, then went on portfolio showings and meetings in seattle and nyc. thanks to all the peeps that took their time out to meet with me!

we also just moved my office from a huge space to a more manageable studio office at our home. i'm very excited about it (...being right next to my ps3/wii-surround-sound room), but unfortunately the space is not completed yet so we are working out of the dining room for a couple more weeks. maybe i'll post some pics when that's all done up. common' building permit officer people! work with me!

speaking of moving, here's a great moving tip: splurge on good packing tape. it was very aggravating to see the tape on 60+ boxes i packed pop right, then running out to re-buy the good tape to redo it all over again. and btw, when i said "i" i meant "mostly alex"...anyway, now i know why scotch brand has been around so long.

Celebrity Work

2010-06-30T13:28:00.001-07:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More 100629clbs

007

2010-06-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

returned from a two day shoot on bainbridge island, just outside seattle. i've never been on a ferry with a car before so that was very exciting. we went to the top deck to enjoy the view, but had to take our $uper fancy digital back$ with us. it was packed in a case like we were on a top secret mission. i love it.

i thought i was a pretty laid back guy until i met the peeps on the island. we were at breakfast one morning and then all of a sudden a wave of crowd came into town from the pier because the 8am ferry was cancelled. and you know what? no one was upset about it! they all hung out at the coffee houses and diners like they were on vacation. the lines were long and packed everywhere but they were all smiling and chatting and everyone knew each other. lovely. i'm pretty sure if they cancelled a train for a couple hours in nyc during rush hour it'd a totally different mood...

Surfer Boys And Beach Toys

2010-06-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

i had a very production-intense week at the office so was looking forward to spending a day at the beach with some pro surfers. no surfing for them tho, instead we brought some beach toys to play around. they were a lil bit baffled at first but they got into it pretty quickly. and we all learned a new game-- ladder golf. quiet beach, perfect weather, great guys, yummy snacks, bunch of fun games. definitely not a bad way to spend a friday. (click image to enlarge)

design director: jennifer madara
photo editor: kristen fielder
boy wrangler + toykeeper + story editor: sarah latta

Natasha Bedingfield

2010-06-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

just wrapped a really great shoot with pop star natasha bedingfield. she's super sweet and down to earth, we had a ton of fun playing hair and dress up all day. lol. her new single is out now and pretty sure it will be stuck in everyone's heads for a few months.

Summer Party

2010-05-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

here is a collage of a great entertaining story that's coming out very soon. tearsheet next post.

Tearsheet: Coastal Living

2010-04-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

design director: jennifer madara
photo editor: kristen fielder

great news i have a 10-page feature in the new coastal living magazine with interior decorator tim clarke. the house has a cali-beachy, effortless but luxe feel to it. subtle, sophisticated color palette with lots of textures. it was definitely right up my alley and that made it very easy to photograph. totally clicked with me, cuz i'm very "effortlessly luxe" you know. hah!

PetFolio

2010-04-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

someone requested to see my lifestyle work with pets so i put together a PetFolio on pdf. i'm liking these customized pdf portfolios, they are fun to put together and easy to share with agencies and clients. plus, i just never know what the next theme will be. here are some screen caps but if you'd like a copy to see more, please contact my agency.

Beach Week / Worst Seat In The House

2010-04-17T10:10:00.001-07:00

just wrapped 3 shoots in a row, all at different beaches. but the great thing is all the jobs are so different-- a fashion/lifestyle shoot with surfer guys, an interior/lifestyle shoot with a stylish, chic, cool family, and an un-generic fashion/exercise story. can't show any now, but i'll def post the tears and collages as soon as they come out.

and i just noticed, that no matter how amazing the locations, i always end up shooting from the most undesirable spots. like at this last beach shoot, i was laying down right in front of a big sewage hole.

...and below are some of my other not-so-comfortable spots. i don't remember how i wiggled behind the camera inside that closet or not fall off tip-toeing on apple boxes stacked on shallow staircase while looking up into my camera up-side-down, but i got the shots i wanted...

Tearsheet: Coldwater Jane

2010-04-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

and here are the official label releases from my music shoot! brandon and leah are sisters and i think they've been writing and making music together since they were babies or something like that. they have never done photo shoots before but i don't think you could tell that from these photos. they did an amazing job. best love to these crazy talented girls and bring on the love! (that's their first single)

creative director: karen naff
production: 3star productions
prop stylist: dane holweger
wardrobe stylist: claudia fowler
makeup: angela hall
hair: darryl bowslaugh

Tearsheet: Coastal Living

2010-04-01T16:02:00.001-07:00

great family, great house, amazing dog! i have yet to meet a human model that takes photo directions as well as everest. haha, just kidding. well, half kidding. collage here

design director: jennifer madara
photo editor: kristen fielder
prop stylist: shéhérazade arasnia

Tearsheet: RedBook

2010-04-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

recently spent a wonderful afternoon with holly robinson peete and her family for redbook magazine (yes! i tried to be cool and not to geek out about 21 jumpstreet and hanging with mr. cooper on set about it. lol). it's about her family coping with her son r.j.'s autism. they are very lucky to have such a big supportive family, and definitely an insipiration to us all.

r.j. did a very good job on the shoot. i think having a mom that's such a pro about it helps too, lol. being photographed for photo shoots are not as easy as most people think, it's a lot of do this 100-times, with lights flashing and everyone around and all over you; it can get stressful and claustrophobic. later, his lil brothers joined, or more like, jumped in and bombarded us for some family shots and that was a lot of fun.
photo director: bruce perez
entertainment director: lori berger
makeup/hair: camille clark

-----

and there's another story (hey, 2 opening well spreads in one issue, not bad huh?) about women that have their own "me time" to recharge and relax. one woman tends to her garden and plants, and another finds inspiration out in nature.

...which reminds me, well, i tried making gardening a "me time" a while ago but i definitely don't have a green thumb. i managed to kill most of my plants, and they were supposed to be climate-friendly and self-sustainable too. below, image right, is plant under my care; image left, is the same type of plant i saw down the street growing out of pavement cracks, with no one taking care of it. i think it's time to take mine to my mother's garden, which is like a pet cemetery for my dead plants.

photo director: bruce perez
prop stylist: emily henderson

Bad Host

2010-03-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

wrapped a really fun entertaining shoot the other day. a big shoot with cast of 12 for a summer afternoon party. food styled by rori trovato (who also brought some amazing santa barbara spot prawns as a treat, which are only in season like 2 weeks out of the year or something. they were sweeter than candy i swear), prop styled by dane holweger, and wardrobe styled by sara stanley. so half of our shots were around the food/entertaining, and the other were all fun activities and games. def one of my favorite type of shoots cuz i love switching from still life to people and back and forth. so crazy and so fun. i love the pictures and can't wait to share when the feature comes out in june. tearsheet and collage to come.

i feel like a host at these entertaining shoots. but the worst host ever and always ordering my guests around and telling them when and how to eat and when and how to play. then when i say stop they have to stop eating or whatever they were playing and exit. and if we didn't like what they wore to the party they have to change. maybe that's why i don't like to throw real parties cuz i can't snap out of this mode?!

New Portfolio

2010-03-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

just completed a pdf-only travel portfolio. if you'd like to see it please request thru my rep.
i'm very happy with the portfolio. i had a lot of fun working on it. i had a chat with kate about my work recently, and she gave me some "key words" to remember and focus on when i do my picture stuff. and it definitely helped a lot (thanks kate!). so this came together very easily and naturally. i was really surprised by that, and definitely had a moment of revelation doing this project...

Photo Collage: Coastal Living "Santa Cruz Beach House"

2010-03-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

spent a couple of days in santa cruz with the trobbes family for coastal living magazine. they have this amazing, modern, lux but comfortable "crash pad" right on breakers beach. scott, the dad, knows a lot of interesting history about the area, like how and why it used to be called "pleasure point", wink-wink. and teresa is a photographer, and also, i personally believe, a dog whisperer. their dog everest can surf! tearsheets coming.

one of my favorite part of the trip? tacos moreno (thanks for the headsup kevin!). ok, not to get into a full taco discussion, but i really believe now that the secret to a great taco is the homemade tortillas. i bought a tortilla press as soon as i got back. mine are def competent, but also def not like theirs. they have this chewey, al-dente-pasta bite to theirs... somebody tell me how! (in photo, lengua, carnitas, and chile verde)

I Make The Best Call Sheet

2010-03-24T15:37:00.001-07:00

ok so just wrapped a cover-try editorial shoot this past week. always nice to spend a whole day at the beach right? for this one i needed to be more hands-on because the shot has very specific needs and details. just thought the shoot would run smoother if i took care of some of the production since i'm already out in the west coast. anyway, i've worked with some really incredible producers in the past and they always do these sleek, information filled, very professional production packets and call sheets for the shoots. that's all great and everything, but i think i just did the best one ever! lol

Photo Collages: Mexico "Riviera Maya Resorts"

2010-03-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

i've been making my photo collages since i started photography. they are like little short stories to me. and most of the time, these end up as pages in my portfolio in one form or another. i like to send them to my clients when i turn in my jobs to show how i "visualized" the assignment when i was shooting it. i think it'd be cool to start sharing them on there. so here's are two that i did from my mexico story for coastal living.
design director: jennifer madara
photo editor: kristen fielder
stylist: emily henderson

mini-Portfolio

2010-03-08T13:01:00.000-08:00

here's a lil mini-portfolio called "fun moments". enjoy!

Neon Green Power Drink

2010-01-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

doing some portfolio work and prepro for an upcoming shoot at the studio office today. within an hour, we lost an awesome location to a film shoot (it was my favorite of the approved), my printer was printing alien text, my color xerox ran out of toner for comps to ship to my agents. nothing was going right and fedex cutoff was nearing... went to get summtin to drink and came back with this neon kryptonite thing... i always get this from the gas station next door, then get grossed out after 2 sips. it just looked so promising in the machine swirling around with that icy slushee sound...

Tearsheet: Esika Cosmetics

2010-01-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

here is the beauty shoot i did for esika cosmetics few months ago.
creative director: hiromi
make up: walter obal
hair stylist: steven lake
wardrobe: miriam sternoff
manicurist: cyndi watson

Music Shoot

2010-01-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

i had a great opportunity to work with a just-signed act with universal music. fresh talent, starting from scratch, i love it!

it's always great whenever i get a chance on a job to handpick my perfect team of talents and producers. it really makes me sleep easier on the days before our shoots. lol. and i think the results are always pitch perfect.

they knew they wanted something very bohemian, but modern, and gave me some of their favorite 70's album covers for inspirations and jump-off points-- linda ronstadt, johnny cash, mama's and papas, all great classic covers (for me, mine are patti smith's horses, velvet underground's banana, and those cheeky roxy music covers. lol).

so based on all our meetings and brain storming sessions and what i (personally) want to shoot, i put together my own inspiration wall for myself. i always do these for big shoots cuz it really helps me form a specific feel, light, and mood that i want to achieve while on set. it's not to be taken literally, really just something visual to feed my head.

we had some really fun, unconventional prop ideas and dane did another amazing and beautiful job pulling it together and making them work as one cohesive "look" (will show more when they come out). one of was having four 3-week old pink piglets! they were very cute but not very cooperative. they like to walk bumped up against each other in a big piglet cluster. they squeal when you try to pick them up, and periodically they'd just fall asleep, while still standing up in mid-step. i had to keep asking the girls to gently tap them to wake them up in the middle of shooting! lol

Tearsheet: Coastal Living Cover

2009-12-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

thank you Coastal Living Magazine for giving me 2 covers in a row! what a great way to end this year. we shot this cover at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach.

the shot took us the whole afternoon, and most of it was editing down all those lounge chairs, finding the perfect angle, and predict what the sky, the ocean, and the pool lights would do at the perfect time (read more here). we couldn't shoot for finals when the guests were utilizing the pool (i think i saw heidi, but not sure cuz at this place, all tall, blonde pregnant women look like heidis), so their security staff was nice enough to help us (politely) clear the pool area when the time came to shoot. and below is what it looked like during the day with our overlay (to work out the negative space for type and composition).

design director: jennifer madara
photo editor: kristen fielder
stylist: dane holweger

Tearsheets: Cat Deeley & Mario Lopez

2009-12-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

i heart cat deeley.

photo editor: lyn horst
prop and food stylist: bonnie belknap
wardrobe: imani akbar
make up: amy strozzi
hair: sallie nicole ciganovich

Tearsheet: Coastal Living Cover

2009-11-16T22:35:00.000-08:00

okay, one more this month. and it's a cover feature! i was very lucky to shoot a couple luxury resorts in mexico for coastal living magazine, and very please to see it been selected for the cover. emily henderson did the prop styling and she did an amazing job (i don't know how, but she brought a huge hurricane from l.a. without breaking). the magazine did such a great job with my pictures and there were so many great shot, that i made a separate gallery portfolio to show them better. so please check out the Mexico Portfolio
...i'm in a process of gathering and organizing all my tearsheets. i have to figure out a way to incorporate them into my online website. hmmm...
design director: jennifer madara
photo editor: kristen fielder
prop stylist: emily henderson

Tearsheet: Fitness

2009-11-16T22:33:00.001-08:00

...and another for Fitness Magazine. I also have a beauty story in the same issue. it was all done in one day in studio.

photo director: elaine roake
beauty director: leah wyar
fashion director: argy koutsothanasis
makeup: emily kate warren
hair: damian monzillo
manicurist: kim chiu

Before/After

2009-10-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

did a really fun kids editorial shoot, and the best part was working with the amazing dane holweger again on this.

the yellow/black room is the twins room at this mega-interior-decorated mansion in beverly hills. the small picture at the bottom is the scouting picture and that was how it was when we showed up-- the interior decorator even had pre-approved matching black or white dresses for the girls to wear all pressed and ready on hangers. we knew we needed to make it looks more warm and lived-in, like a room you'd wanna hang out in, but in that chic, messy, stylish way... so dane just made a big beautiful mess with the cushions and we totally lucked out to find those magenta nightshirts in the drawers. yes, we snooped a lil but we were desperate.

Tearsheet: Cookie

2009-10-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

here is the tearsheet for my palm springs cookie magazine shoot that i posted about here. ...r.i.p cookie, that was such a great magazine.
photo director: darrick harris

Happy Meal

2009-10-04T23:14:00.000-07:00

at the cookie mag shoot, we stopped for lunch at a local vegan place and i had vegan chicken and pancakes. and it was so good i totally forgot there's not even butter or cream in anything! ...or maybe it's because dane styled it so it's smiling at me and that's why i totally forgot it's totally vegan:

Office Space

2009-09-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

shooting for house beautiful and this is my "office" for the week. not bad right?

Beach Week

2009-09-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

i'm packing to go the other direction to montecito. good timing because it's getting really stuffy-hot here in l.a. i'll be working with robert rufino which i'm very excited about. my major issue now is that i have no idea what to wear to set... since my usual wardrobe is t-shirt, jeans and sneakers,

just wrapped a shoot earlier this week at a resort in laguna beach for a cover-try (pressure's on). it's an evening shot, so basically, we stressed out all day thinking of all the worst-case scenarios that could happen in that 5-minute window we have to shoot, then try to resolve them before they could happen-- styling choices, rearranging all the lounges a gazillion times, obsess over weather that dreaded "marine layer" would come at sunset, what cocktails to be in the shot (we auditioned 8 colorful tropical fruity things but did a last minute switch-out for a classic manhattan)... o, and the "umbrellas open or closed" (dane came up with a genius solution). it all went very smooth and a lil better than how i imagined/obsessed the shot to look like, which is always what i'm looking for.

Light & Shadows

2009-09-15T09:24:00.001-07:00

had a day off so went to the norton simon. it's such a great museum, i really should go more often.

i didn't really appreciate old renaissance-y paintings until i got serious with photography. not so much for the painting techniques, but for noticing their choices in lighting and compositions. like, it's amazing that in these, they chose to paint with shadows over their faces when one's instinct might be to bring the light around a bit to be "in" their faces-- so modern and chic. (pietro antonio rotari, "young girl writing a love letter", c 1755 & jan van bijlert, "man in armour holding a pike", c 1630)

and this one? i'm totally going to keep that in my back pocket for a home story or something...

Be My Valentine

2009-09-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

just wrapped a big valentine's shoot for a cosmetic company. location was the gorgeous graystone mansion in beverly hills, which is the spidey's house in the movie. wish i could post some selects cuz i really love the shots, but since it doesn't come out til valentines, i'll have to wait til then to show. hey! it's been like a "month of beauty" shoots for me!

anyway, i was very impressed with the 90210 park rangers. they are a very well-groomed and polite bunch. i mean, it was probably 95+ degrees out, but their shirts have perfect iron creases like a dress shirt! it made me itch just looking at them. and every area we were at, they'd put these "film crew only" signs so visitors don't wonder onto our sets. very cool.

Wannabe

2009-08-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

right after my nyc studio beauty shoot, i hopped on a plane for a 2-day shoot in aspen, colorado. i've never been aspen and now i know what the hype is all about. but have to say, all this fresh air and green trees everywhere is making me a lil dizzy... anyway, i noticed this picture on the wall at the mountain top ski lodg, and made me think, wow, he's so cool, i want to look exactly like that when i ski! i just don't think people look or dress like this anymore.

Beauty

2009-08-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

so i'm on set in nyc doing a hardcore beauty shoot. no environment, no props, no nothing, just gorgeous, beautiful light, makeup and model. it's very intense, but gotta say, i'm having a blast. i thought i wanted/needed to be on a tripod the whole time, but it's so hard to keep me on a tripod. you learn new things about your shooting habits, and then you just have to go with it. i needed to move around and see where the model goes and do some cool crops and angles, not just head-on centered, you know?

everything is getting interesting these days. i mean, just this week i'm going from this million strobes, digital studio beauty story, then hopping on a plane to a totally opposite, interior story for housebeautiful in aspen with 4x5 negs and available light... i'm loving all of it and very curious and excited to see what all these big swings of subjects will lead to next...

Salon Day for David Tsay Studios

2009-08-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

i took my studio manager alex to joanne today. she's been cutting my hair for over 10 years now, and before her was my mom. alex's usual dude is too far away and he was also ready to move on from his rockabilly pompadour. so we grabbed some tearsheets from the web and we had a haircut afternoon. it's a very asian salon in a very asian part of town, so of course when i brought in a white boy everyone gathered around and watched him like he's a zoo animal. anyway, she did an amazing job and you should stop by the office to see it in person. hah!

Tamales & Teching at 110*f

2009-07-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

i love multi-taskers. here, ben is digi-teching my shoot and also selling tamales to help keep our budget down...

i just returned from a cookie magazine shoot in palm springs. it was a long, hot day, but a very fun shoot as it was all at the pool. we wanted their special shave-ice in the shots, so our lil model probably had about 100 of those. just kidding, it wasn't 100 but it was a lot. i wanted to use red, but her favorite was blueberry. that worked too so we just went with it. tonight i'm repacking and heading out to houston texas tomorrow for another shoot. not sure how i feel about humid-hot without a beach or pool nearby to jump into...

Hola

2009-07-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

i'm shooting two great luxury resorts in mayan riviera in mexico this week. we start everyday camera-ready at 7am and shoot until after the sun sets. very intense but it's so amazing when your rooms are right at the beach so you can just jump into your swim trunks and run downstairs to work. plus, when the sun is not good, we all jump into the ocean until it gets good.

the customs part was a bit tricky for both countries. at lax my assistant overheard while in line for customs agent-- traveler: "so where can i find this person?", to which the agent responds: "go down to the first floor, walk into the gift shop, and buy yourself a crystal ball.". then we were at the mexico's customs off for over an hour showing them every single item on our equipment list and their serial numbers-- customs agent: "show me the 4 lens caps listed here on the list..."

Homework On Set

2009-07-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

it took me a while to get used to editing as i shoot for digital shoots. when i shoot film, i kinda enjoy the 3-day break from the shots. sometimes you just get emotionally attached to shots because either it took a lot of work to get or it has a prop or model that you love. and by having that break, you are sorta detached from those and i think you edit the film more critically; i usually pretend i'm a photo editor and they were someone else's film. ...but i had to get over that and just edit them as i go, or as captured here by my digitech jon, doing my homework all alone at the end of the day.

Red Rental Car

2009-07-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

i always tell the car rental counter agent that i definitely do NOT want a red or gold rental car. and guess what i always end up walking up to at the pickup lot? a red or gold rental car. anyway, i'm shooting in salem-winston right now and my car is bright crayola red. the only thing that kept me from going back to the counter is that it's a prius! i've never driven a hybrid car before and i was very curious. it took me about half-hour to figure out how to start that thing. turning it on was easy cuz you just push a power button. but turning the engine on is a bit tricky. the drive is really quiet, like i had to keep checking if the car is still on; and the monitor showing what it's doing is interesting. i was a bit late to the shoot the next day because i couldn't remember what i did to turn on the engine the last time-- which was to keep the foot on break while holding down the power button.

Fairy Rings

2009-06-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

on an interior shoot for housebeautiful here just outside palo alto, cali. the house is gorgeous and the work of will wick, a young, very talented interior decorator. btw, is it a rule that all interior decorators, guys or gals, have to be good looking?

there's a circle of redwood trees in the backyard. i thought that was how they planted them, but will told me that it's a fairy ring. after an old redwood tree dies, it will spread seeds all around it so that more trees would grow around where it use to be, creating a circle of trees. it's so sweet and romantic i just love it. i love learning new things on set, and this was definitely one of my favorites.

Tearsheet: Parenting

2009-06-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

from this shoot

Interiors

2009-06-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

i've gotten interested in interiors/design ever since we began remodeling our home many years ago. and in the process of looking thru many shelter mags for inspirations, i started getting into interior design photography. for me, it's just like when i photograph people, travel and places because it's still all about light, compositions, instinct and telling a story. so it's been very cool that i've had the opportunity to shoot with some really great magazine editors and work with some of the best designers in the industry (i geeked out over kelly wearstler on our shoot and brought my copy of her book to sign.). after my tim clarke and mary ann schicketanz shoots (see entry below), next week i'm going up to san francisco bay area to shoot a will wick project. hope to post some edits soon.

Big Sur

2009-05-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

i was shooting in big sur and santa barbara this week-- a lot of driving i know. photographed two really different but equally amazing estates. one by mary ann schicketanz of carver+schicketanz and the other by interior decorator tim clarke. mary ann gave us a preview of another project on the same property, and it was a real treat to see project-in-progress with the architect, especially when the project seems to have no budget and all function and aesthetics. i was also very happy to work with tim clarke as i've admired his work for a long time, having seen his projects in many editorials. that shoot seemed to move quickly as the weather was great and i think our styles kinda meshed well.

both shoots are for editorials that, unfortunately, won't come out until next year. but i love them so much i want to show them asap. will see about posting some outtakes or collages if possible.

Beach Girls

2009-05-13T16:19:00.001-07:00

beauty shoot about surfer girls' beauty secrets. it was very cloudy and cold but the girls were so upbeat and cheerful i think the pictures feel sunny. maybe that's the real beauty secret.

Kids + Diet Coke + Mentos

2009-05-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

photo shoots with kids are always fun. photo shoot with kids, 6 bottles of diet coke and 6 tubes of mentos are funner.

Spring Cleaning

2009-04-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

i'm cleaning my office/studio this week! doing some major editing and throwing out things i don't need. cluttered space = cluttered mind. happy spring!

Tearsheet: Everyday With Rachel Ray

2009-04-03T12:09:00.001-07:00

here are two outdoor dining ideas shot for rr's june/july issues. we shot over two days and it was one of those shoots that take 6+ hours per set up, but only 20 minutes to shoot everything at the end of the day. the stylist dane holweger is brilliant, effortlessly stylish, and a super great guy to work with. i love shooting real, edible yummy food (as opposed to tricked-out fake-for-photo food) so we got to eat everything after the shoot.

Version 2.1

2009-03-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

i've upgraded my website. now each category has a downloadable pdf promo on each thumbnails page. we also finally figured out how to link this blog to the main site -- ask professionals to do it for us.

they are like little posters, i love them. and here's the shortcut:

• LIFESTYLE 1

• LIFESTYLE 2

• TRAVEL&OUTDOORS

• HOME&INTERIORS

• KIDS

• PORTRAITS

2009-03-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

SONOMA PORTFOLIO

here are two interior stories i shot with my friend patrick printy, who's an incredible decorator and stylist in the bay area.

San Francisco

2009-02-18T15:15:00.000-08:00

we went to san francisco last week and brought our dog rocky with us. kri scheduled meetings and portfolio showings for the first part of the week, then i did an interiors shoot with my friend patrick, who's an art director and interior decorator. overall a very productive week. i'll post my edits from that shoot soon, but in the meantime, here's rocky on our last day totally exhausted and ready to come home :)

New Website

2009-01-30T12:07:00.000-08:00

up and live. thank you steven for an awesome job.

we are working on officially linking this blog to the main site... alex and i are reading thru the confusing instructions on creating a custom url, etc... btw, what is a "CNAME"??

Blog

2009-01-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

very nice mention in sfgirlbybay blog. thanks sfgirl and pat!

Kidsbook

2008-12-15T17:41:00.000-08:00

it's done! i heart my bookbinder, she can turn anything into books.

the first cover was done a little bit ago, but after a short round of showings, the inkjet image started peeling off... gggrrrrrrr... i needed a sealer that's not shiny but will totally protect it. went to my gallery framer and they tested with something and it didn't work. googled for industrial stuff and nothing for just one book cover. i finally found an artist's fix that works perfectly, and it was at my local michael's... doh!