Noel Grey Photography Blog

Brandon and Leinei's Wedding!

2009-12-01T23:15:00.000-08:00

I shot Brandon and Leinei's wedding back in September and actually never blogged more than 1 photo from the whole set. I guess it's high time I got some more photos from their amazing day up on the blog! The whole day and evening was so enjoyable. I usually don't feel like I'm really "working" in the traditional sense, at the weddings I shoot, but this wedding was especially fun and enjoyable. Plus, I was super into the fact that they were having their reception at the Center for the Arts in Escondido, CA. It's a beautiful spot and I couldn't have asked for better photo spots. And lastly I have to add that my favorite photo of the day was actually Leinei's idea. She saw the awesome shadow. I can't take all the credit for it. Check em out!

PEACE!

-Noel

Kyle and Jamie: Wedding!

2009-10-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

Kyle and Jamie's wedding was amazing! The second I pulled up to the venue I could tell it was going to be a beautiful ceremony and reception! The wedding was held at Vista Valley Country Club in Vista, CA. My brother and I had an amazing time and got some beautiful, and fun shots! The guys in the wedding party were especially creative with a few of their ideas.(You'll see what I mean below)

So, without further ado, here are some AMAZING(If I do say so myself) previews.

PEACE!

-Noel

James and Holly: Wedding!

2009-10-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing James and Holly's wedding in San Diego. It was actually another first for me: it was my first time photographing a Catholic ceremony so that was cool! I really can't wait until I have a laundry list of all different types of ceremonies under my belt. The whole day was a blast and to top it off I actually got a name card and a seat at dinner this time! Thanks to everyone who attended for creating such a great environment!

Here are a few previews of what's to come!

Thanks again for checking them out! Also, I plan on blogging new photos like crazy this week so keep those eyes peeled for some new ones from the past month or so.

PEACE!

-Noel Grey

WAAAAY OVERDUE!

2009-10-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

So I just realized the other day that I haven't posted a blog since August 7th. WOW! I mean, I knew it had been a while but it actually surprised me that 2 months had gone by. So we did move in to our new house a month or so ago and that did take a lot of my time. Plus, I have a ton of shoots for Sept. and Oct. so I guess I just subconsciously neglected the blog. Sorry blog! And sorry to all 2 people who read this blog.

So basically what I am going to do is combine what probably could be 10 posts. I have done quite a few shoots recently that I haven't posted so here they all are in their condensed form.

Thanks for reading and I swear I will not go this long in between blogs again.

PEACE!

-Noel Grey

First are some images from an awesome senior shoot I did with Taylor. We met up at Wind 'n Sea beach in La Jolla, CA which was neat because I actually don't think I had ever been there. I've been to La Jolla a million times but just not this specific beach. It was such a nice spot and we got some great shots! Enjoy.

I had never done a morning engagement shoot until shooting Nate and Ashley at Balboa Park a few weeks ago. It was a perfect morning for it! I also have to add that I love shooting at Balboa Park because it's a little bit of a challenge. Anyone who has been there would probably be confused by that last statement. It's a challenge because you really have to get creative to try and bring out something different from the last shoot. Nate and Ashley had some great suggestions and between the 3 of us I think we got some sweet photos!

Next we have another senior shoot, that like the previous engagement session, was done at Balboa Park. I feel like the phrase "comfortable in front of the camera" is an understatement when describing Mary. I think she literally put her purse down and was ready for the first shot in 2 seconds. I seriously enjoy everyone that I have the pleasure of photographing, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't especially enjoy people who like being in front of the camera. It makes the shoot go so smoothly. This was one of those shoots.

One of the most awesome engagement sessions I've done was for James and Holly. We essentially did 2 shoots in one day. One in San Diego at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, and the second in Los Angeles. My brother Scott went with me to second shoot on this particular day and I'm glad he did. I realized on this shoot that I love going with a second shooter. It really adds so much to the day and of course, the photos. Check out a few selections from the day.

I now like the Black Eyed Peas song "I Got a Feeling" and it's thanks to Leinei and Brandon's wedding last month. Now instead of the song making me think of how much I don't like Fergie it makes me think of how fun the wedding was. Leinei and Brandon were so genuine and fun I felt more like I was attending the wedding rather than working. Now I am still working on most of their photos but below are just a couple from after the ceremony.

And last but not least we have Tim and Glenna's wedding which was held at the Twin Oaks Golf course in San Marcos, CA. I think everyone was a little worried about the weather at first but it turned out to be beautiful. I seriously don't think I have ever had such good natural light for a wedding. It was perfect! Glenna and Tim are good friends of Mark and Lyle who were one of my first wedding photography clients. It was great to see them again and to be photographing for Glenna and Tim on their big day!

Well, there you have it. I have pretty much officially brought the blog up to date. I hope you feel as good as I do about it! I'm pretty sure this blog has taken me over an hour to complete so I'm going to go celebrate now.

Until next time...

Travis and Cary: Wedding Favorites

2009-08-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

These are some of my favorites so far from Travis and Cary's wedding.

Thanks for tuning in!

Peace and Love,

-Noel

Inspiration

2009-08-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

I am the kind of person who absolutely NEEDS inspiration to keep getting better at what I do. I'm not sure if that makes me weak or what but I love submersing myself in other peoples' art for encouragement. I noticed a huge difference in my photographs when I do this on a regular basis. So I have been editing weddings non-stop since I got back on Monday and in between have been looking at other photographers that I have never heard of. Some of them are phenomenal and I can only hope to be that talented one day. Anyway here is a photo I came across while working on one of my recent weddings. It was taken at the Rancho Bernardo Inn on the way back from my car to the reception. I love the light!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Peace and love,

-Noel

Small Steps #1

2009-07-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

I read a lot of interesting things online about the everyday things people can do to conserve resources. I wish I could claim to be a shining example of what 'going green' looks like but I'm just not there yet. I really want to care, but a lot of times just don't. On that note, I am going to begin posting little tips, not only for blog readers but also for myself. These things are easy and can be done with little to no effort at all. I always kick myself talking and not acting so these blogs will act as a reminder for me to get my ass into gear!

Okay, the first one is so basic, yet I feel will make a huge difference; Buy a reusable water bottle. There is a company called Sigg that manufactures reusable aluminum water bottles and distributes them literally EVERYWHERE. When I think back on all the individual plastic water bottles that I have used it makes me wonder why I didn't do this sooner. I picked up one of these about 2 months ago and have used it non-stop ever since. It's great! Not only do you cut down on plastic waste, but you also don't ingest all the chemicals that plastic bottles leave behind in your water.(Especially after sitting in a hot car.)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not proclaiming the reusable water bottle as a revolutionary new idea. It's just a new spin on something that everyone should have been doing a long time ago.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

PEACE,

Noel Grey

I miss food!!

2009-07-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, so to set the record straight I am not sitting at home starving myself or anything like that. Heather and I recently got married, went on a fairly expensive honeymoon, and are moving into a house in a couple of weeks. I think all that going on at once has put us on a more strict budget for the time being. Strict budget=Very limited eating out. And limiting how much we go out makes me realize how spoiled I have become. I LOVE ALL FOOD! I seriously love a McDonald's Cheeseburger as much as I love any gourmet French meal you can throw at me. They are just different. Taco Bell is at the top of the list and so is Bertrand at Mr. A's. Ridiculous, I know. But both are amazing in their own special way. =) Oh, did I mention Souplantation is probably tied with the best meal I had in Italy?

I think one of the things I love the most about traveling is trying different food and drink. I seriously feel sorry for people who are well traveled but stay completely inside their own box while in a foreign place. I'm not talking about the people who actually can't stand certain food. I'm referring to the individual who will not even try anything that they are not already familiar with. Sure you have your times when you eat something really awful, but it's so worth it when you get something completely different and amazing!

Anyway, there it was; my first ever food related blog. Hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. I'm totally torturing myself, by the way, because I have vowed to cook (almost) every meal from home for a month. Guess I'll just have to get more creative with the at home menu.

That's all for now. Don't forget to leave a comment and torture me with the best restaurants you can think of. Please provide links to make the pain even worse.

I'll leave you with this>>

Omar and Kaila: More Wedding Photos!

2009-07-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

I've been getting through Omar and Kaila's wedding really quickly so I've decided to post some more photos for everyones' enjoyment! Thanks for coming by and don't forget to leave feedback on what you like/dislike about the pics.

Jason and Kristen: Wedding Sneak Peek!

2009-07-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

So sleepy now! Such an awesome wedding today! Jason and Kristen: What can I say? It was an honor to shoot your wedding today. Biggest wedding to date. I had a great time and was so fortunate to have Anjuli Paschall there to be my second shooter! She was super helpful and got some amazing shots! Must go to bed now. On to the photos....

-Noel

Travis and Cary: Wedding Sneak Peek!

2009-06-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Travis and Cary!!

Their wedding was truly as perfect as it gets and tons of fun too! They are such a sweet couple and I wish them all the best.

Here's a little sneak peek from yesterday:

2009-06-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

Sari Lady Photo Shoot: DONE!

2009-06-23T18:27:00.001-07:00

So I'm completely in the mode of catching up with all the photo editing that I neglected in the week leading up to our wedding, plus the 2 weeks we were gone following it. I feel like if there is one time not to bring your MacBook with you it's on your honeymoon in the Virgin Islands. =)

Well, have no fear "people who are currently waiting for your photos"! I am ON FIRE SON! If you have not received your photos as of yet, you very soon will.

In the mean time, here are a couple of my favorites from a shoot that I finished editing today for a local clothing company called Sari Lady. The owner, Rebecca, has really come up with some beautiful and creative ideas for how to wear the saris. Check out her website!

Peace and love,

-Noel

Omar & Kaila: Wedding Sneak Peek

2009-06-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

I had the great pleasure of shooting Omar and Kaila's wedding yesterday in Oceanside, CA. It was held at a beautiful location called Paradise Gardens. It was a wonderful day all around and I have some amazing dance floor photos to share at a later date so keep checking back!!

Thanks!

-Noel

Carl and Mindy's Wedding: Update!

2009-06-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

So I am SO CLOSE to finishing Mindy and Carl's wedding photos, but I couldn't wait anymore. I know they are probably antsy to see more photos as well so here are about 20 more of em.

Full wedding slideshow should be up here early next week!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Noel

David & Melody's Wedding: Full Post!

2009-06-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

I know, I know! It's been a long time coming, but I finally got it done.

As some of you may not know I actually got married 2 weeks ago. Leading up to the wedding I felt like I was in a slump with the photography. I just didn't have enough time or focus or both. Well let me tell you, I am back! Heather and I just returned from our honeymoon yesterday and I cannot tell you how pumped I am to shoot and edit more weddings now! It's like this big weight has been lifted and now I can truly focus.

Anyway here is first example of my new found time and focus: David and Melody's full wedding post! Check it!

Sari Lady Shoot!

2009-05-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

I had a great time yesterday shooting images for a local clothing line called Sari Lady. (www.sarilady.com) Rebecca May, the owner of Sari Lady, couldn't have been nicer and I had a really fun time with all the models. 2 of them are already friends of mine so that made it even easier. And to top things off I got completely sandy and soaked at the beach so that was cool!

Check out some preview photos while I go do laundry and attempt to clean sand out of my shoes. =)

Carl and Mindy's Wedding: A Preview

2009-05-06T00:31:00.000-07:00

I had such a great time at Carl and Mindy's wedding on Sunday! It was a great privilege to be able to photograph the fun that everyone was having! Got to meet a ton of really great people from all over the country who came out for the event. Thanks to Mindy and Carl for finding me and having me be their photographer for the day! Congratulations once again!

Sneak Peak time...

Jake's Senior Shoot: A Preview

2009-04-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since a new post! I've been busy? Is that a good excuse? Okay, so I actually have been fairly busy so here we go. I had the great pleasure of taking some photos of Jake yesterday down here in Carlsbad, CA. (If you don't know look it up!) We had a good time just walking around talking and snapping photos at any spot that looked good. Thanks to Jake for making it a relaxed, fun shoot for me!

On to the good stuff...

I, for some reason love this last one.

Thanks for checking them out! Let me know what you fine folks think.

-Noel

New Website Look!

2009-04-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

Revamped the website a bit. New look while I work on the official site for a while. CHECK IT!

David & Melody's Wedding: A Preview

2009-04-06T14:52:00.001-07:00

I had the great pleasure of shooting David and Melody's wedding on Saturday. They are such a great couple! I'm so happy for them! And after meeting most of the family I can totally see where they get it from! The ceremony took place at Old Poway Park (Poway, CA) and the reception was at a nearby civic center.
This first post is just a preview and it is mainly "artsy" images. I have PLENTY more photos to go through so I'm going to get back to it!
Thanks for checking them out and please leave feedback if you feel so inclined. =)

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

-Noel

Brian and Nathalie: Engagement

2009-03-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

Great engagement photo session today with my friends Nathalie and Brian! They were super fun! Time for bed now...On to the photos!

My Favorites from Travis and Cary's E-shoot

2009-03-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a good note to start on: I'm fairly busy! Busy with photo shoots, editing, and other photography related tasks. It feels pretty good to feel like you're on the cusps of being legitimate. Instead of just some dude with a camera that takes friends pictures ever now and again. I've had multiple shoots in the last two weeks and have been busy ever since editing and working on a new website. (I promise, the website will be sweet!) I have a TON of new images to add to the "Portfolio" section. It's weird how quickly the portfolio becomes "outdated". I now look at the image that is on the back of my business card and think, "Crap! I still have at least 500 of these and I don't even like the image anymore!" Oh well.

I promise lots more posts very, very soon. I have a lot of weddings booked this year and they are starting this month! Exciting!
In the mean time here are my favorites from the last engagement session.

Thanks for comin' by!

-Noel Grey

Destroy the Runner Photos Up!

2009-03-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Just checked out SolidStateRecords.com and noticed that they have published my new photos for Destroy the Runner. I've attached some screen shots of most of them. Thanks to Chad and the other guys for calling me up to do the shoot.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I spent the whole weekend in LA. Got to hang out with 2 of my cousins whom I haven't seen in quite a while. It was a great time! I'm pretty sure someone has some photos of the night. I don't drink and shoot. I'm too scared that I'm going to be careless with my camera and something bad is going to happen. =)

I'm working on photos all today so I should have more shoots up on the blog throughout the week. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Go out and have a beer for me cuz I don't think I'm leaving the house tonight.

Peace and Love.

-Noel Grey

Travis and Cary: Engagement

2009-03-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of taking Travis and Cary's engagement photos today at the San Diego Zoo. They are the nicest people and I can't wait for their wedding in June! I totally loved their idea of wanting to do the shoot at the Zoo. So many great areas for photos! Check em out yo!

Have a great weekend!! More photos to come on Sunday or Monday.

PEACE!

Kindy and Ryan: "Trash the Dress/After Wedding Shoot"

2009-03-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

Did a really fun photo shoot today! I have known both Kindy and Ryan for a long time and I really appreciate them coming back to me for more photos. I think a lot of the photos turned out sort of "fashion-esque" which is a little different from my past shoots with couples. I'm liking the way they are looking so far! Let me know what you think.

Thanks and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Goodnight!

On to the photos...

Something I will never forget!

2009-03-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

So as you can see from the post below this one I had the pleasure of taking Jason and Kristen's engagement photos this past Saturday. I didn't imagine how important this shoot would become just the very next day.

So basically what you need to know before you read the message from Kristen below is that Jason's dad had been very sick with cancer for quite some time. Even as the three of us were driving together to the location on Saturday, Jason's younger brother Jordan, whom I have known for many years as well, calls from South America where he has just finished playing a show with his band, to check up on his dad. Jason basically lets him know that there is not too much to report and asks him about how the tour is going. We finish the photo shoot, they drop me off, and I toy around with the idea of going out w/ some friends. I end up deciding not to and start loading the photos and editing them. By 10:00PM I finish editing about 20 of them and put my favorites up here on the blog. I send a message to Kristen right away letting her know that they are up and she immediately writes me back saying that she loves them!

I wake up on Sunday morning and check Facebook to find out that Jason and Jordan's dad has passed away. I was so shocked at the news! A million things were going thru my head one of which was the sad reality that he would not be able to attend their wedding or see how great they both look in the new engagement photos.

Then I log on to Facebook on Monday to find this message from Kristen in my inbox.

"Hey, I just wanted to share something really special with you! After our photo shoot, we got to come home to see Paul and when I went online and saw that you had posted pictures Beth and Jason told me to show them to Paul. At first I hesitated thinking, "oh, he'll get better and then we can show him" because he had been pretty out of it..but they were like "no, let's show him now..", so we did. It was crazy, because I don't know if you've seen anyone going through the dying process, but their eyes get fixated in one spot and it's like the rest of the world is oblivious to them. It's a weird thing to experience! but..I put the laptop on his tummy and it was like instantly he turned his head and his eyes focused on the computer, which ws crazy because he hasn't been able to have his eyes focused on anything for a few days!! But noel, I can't tell you how thankful I am that you put those pictures online, because he got to see Jason and I in our photos and he had been so excited for us to take them and to see them! I guess it was a God thing too because I wore that white top and he whispered to Beth that it was like seeing me in my wedding dress! It means the world to me that through those photos he got to experience our wedding in a sense! I can't thank you enough for what you did, and that moment with Paul will forever be one of my greatest memories! thank you again!!"

I cannot tell you how much this means to me personally and related to being a photographer! This will be one of those things that I will never forget!

R.I.P.

Paul Mancino

Jason and Kristen: Engagement Shoot Preview

2009-02-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

Just got back a few hours ago from Jason and Kristen's engagement session. Fun! I'm so excited to do their wedding! Their's will be my largest wedding to date, plus it's at the Rancho Bernardo Inn which is 2 minutes from my front door. Anyway, here's a little sneak peek from the shoot today.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Peace and Love.

Kids!

2009-02-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

Taking pictures of babies and little kids is always fun! This little dude ran around all over the house and front yard for probably an hour while I took photos of him. I think his mom and I got a decent workout just by chasing him back and forth the whole time. Although she's probably a lot more used to it than I am giving that I don't have any kids. Well, I think all that running paid off because I got a TON of great shots of him. Without further ado here are a few of my favorites so far.

Enjoy!

Friends, music, beer.

2009-02-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Generally any day that involves these three things is okay by me! So...I drove to Pizza Port in Carlsbad to meet my friend Andy McQueen who's down from LA for a couple days. Had a couple beers and a pizza and then headed to a dive bar in Leucadia called Uncle Dukes(Sounds classy, I know.) to watch my friend Derek play drums for a new group he's in. Let me set one thing straight for the people out there who do not frequent the dive bar scene; If you want to witness some truly amazing things, your local dive is the place you need to be! And one of the greatest parts is you get a chance to meet some characters that normally you would avoid like the plague but for some reason while inside the comfort of the bar, they become good company! Weird, but way too fun to not experience at least a few times. =)

The band was awesome and the vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist, Chris Moberg has got some serious talent! Good times!

Oh ya, and I took a couple photos of the sunset right by my house as I was headed out.

Enjoy the remainder of the week peeps!

Peace and Love.

This one makes me laugh because I had no idea until I loaded the pics today that Andy was flipping me off in the background.

I couldn't decide which shot I liked better.

Chris singing "Piano Man".

Derek tearing it up on the fake skins!

It was hard to get a really great action shot on the electric drum set. No crashing cymbals.

Uncle Dukes son!

Dude! Camping in the snow, man!

2009-02-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

So yeah. I didn't use to be much of a camper. But now I love it! I still do not totally enjoy smelling like a camp fire for 3 days after, but I can let that go. I watched the thermometer in my car drop quickly from 74º F to 46º F as I drove up the road to Palomar Mountain. So needless to say it got a little cold but nothing too crazy. And definitely nothing a couple beers and a couple sleeping bags couldn't take care of. =) We had a really good time just relaxing and hanging out with nothing really on the agenda for 2 days. Good fun! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend as much as I did!

On to the pics...

Our campsite in the snow.

My brother, Scott getting ready to "surf" down a phat slope bro!

Sean looking like Diddy if he was a caucasian mountain man.

Danny striking a pose as he walks away. (This is why I don't usually do captions by the way. haha. It's horrible!)

The messy camping table. (I don't think it's called a picnic table when it's on a campground. I could be wrong though.)

SWEET!(I had nothing else to say for this one)

Scott and Sean right before they tore it up!

Sean chillin'

I'm not sure what they were confused about but they both seem to have the exact same expression.

I guess I had mixed feelings about the Heineken

The cool part about this one is you can't really tell if he's throwing it or catching it. (Well I think it's cool anyway!)

My fiancee made that hat from scratch.

Fire rocks!(I wish I talked like this.)

This somehow reminds me of a character that should be in Harry Potter or something like that.

TRIPPY!!!

That's all for now!

I'll leave you with this.

Peace and Love.

Attack of the Cutest Baby in the World!

2009-02-23T14:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know the "cutest baby" title is always up for debate and I'm not even sure if she is fully considered a baby anymore, but none the less here she is...

Cynical Blog #1 of ?

2009-02-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

People are so funny! Anytime I walk around with a halfway decent camera in public people look at me like they are guilty of murder and I am the one assigned to bring them into the station. Come on people, it's okay! Even if you have a pot farm at your house, I don't care! I am here to take pictures of...well, NOT YOU! Stop being so paranoid!! Just pretend you are Paris Hilton and go about your business.

Alright, on to the real point of the post. I am beginning a new photography project. I am not going to say what exactly it is going to be at this time, only that it is based around my hometown of Escondido, CA. I want to take about a month compiling some photos and getting any feedback that I can.

Oh, and FYI, I don't think I am going to be posting non-stop nonsense on the blog anymore. (ie. What I eat for dinner, what bands I like, where I am going this weekend. You get the picture.) I was looking at my Twitter home page the other day and it had all of the updates from people, and I thought to myself: "Who cares!?!?! Do I really need to know what shoes Jane so-and-so just purchased or what combination John What's-his-name decided to get at Panda Express?!?!? The answer is a definite "NO!!" I, like so many others fell completely in to this for quite a while. Every time I would make a move I'd think to myself, "Wait! I gotta hit up Facebook or Twitter to tell the world what I'm about to do." Now there are plenty of people who use it for networking purposes and business type things and that is exactly what I plan on doing from here on out. The moral of this story is: Who cares about me!?! Who cares about my day-to-day activities, habits, etc!?! I want people to care about MY PHOTOGRAPHY. I want my ART to be known, not my eating schedule. So from now on, more pictures, less meaningless details.

Now on to the photos!

I almost forgot!

2009-02-04T13:05:00.000-08:00

I almost totally forgot to post my favorite photo from the ship battles last week! Here it is.

Feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

Clark Howard Knows Best!

2009-02-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

If you're like me and you're just getting things going with your business, this is very encouraging! By the way, does anybody out there watch his show? If so, what do you think?? His show seems pretty good to me.

An eye opener

2009-02-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

I must admit this video was a bit of an eye opener. I think plenty of digital photographers today, including myself, get really caught up in the technology aspect of the industry. Which in part is not a bad thing, I just feel that every once in a while we need something like this to bring us back to the core of what photography really is.

New and Improved Blog and Super Bowl 43!

2009-02-01T22:50:00.000-08:00

What a game tonight! Out of control! It was almost worse than the last minute of every single Chargers game this season. Crazy! Anyway, congratulations to the Steelers. I was actually going for Arizona but what are you gonna do? Had it been San Diego I would have been much more let down.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I added a little "widget" to the sidebar here called "Labels". This makes it easy to navigate around old posts by topic. No big deal, just thought I'd share the new addition. Much more to come this week! I'm going to be busy.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend and sorry to all the Cardinals fans out there!

PEACE OUT!

Gun Battles on San Diego Harbor!!

2009-01-28T23:28:00.000-08:00

So I think my previous idea of a fun Sunday afternoon has officially met its match. This past Sunday Heather and I drove out to San Diego Harbor to join our friends Josh and Stella for an event we had read about on the internet. The San Diego Maritime Museum was hosting a sort of "mock battle" with 4 old historic ships. One of which was featured as the main vessel in the film, "Master and Commander" with Russell Crowe. We didn't even purchase tickets until 5 minutes before the ships departed due to the fact that the website had them listed as "Sold Out". I somehow knew we would be able to get a couple of tickets if we just went down and asked. At 12:30PM we boarded our ship, The Californian, and about 10 minutes later we set sail. I have to say, if I learned anything from the little excursion it's that the crew works HARD! Every other minute the crew is running from one end of the ship to the other for some various reason. I was tired just watching them work! Anyway, I'll cut to the chase and share a few of the photos. I haven't finished working on all of them yet, but I will post the rest when they're complete.

Heading to LA tomorrow with my brother Scott to see a band called Chevy Metal. Taylor Hawkins, of Foo Fighters fame, plays drums in the band and me being the huge Foo fan that I am, I pretty much take any opportunity I can get to see them and their side projects perform. The band supposedly plays all the inside tracks of classic rock bands instead of your typical cover band that plays only the hits. It should be fun! Disneyland the next day also! That's a pretty good start to the weekend if you ask me.

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend! And remember to stay off the road if your going to be drinking on Super Bowl Sunday!

PEACE!

As I Lay Dying DVD Shoot @ The Jumping Turtle

2009-01-24T12:16:00.000-08:00

So for quite a while I've neglected to post these photos up. But I just got back from a run and thought, "Hey, today is the day! I'm going to go for it!" I'm making it sound much more exciting than it actually is, I know. Anyway, this show was at a local venue here in San Marcos, CA. called The Jumping Turtle and it was back on November 17th, 2008. The band chose 3 venues in which to film their live DVD in, and this was the "intimate" of the three. It was a great show and hopefully I captured a little bit of what energy was there that night. ENJOY and have a great weekend!

If you get a minute leave a comment at the bottom so I know what you're thinking about the photos.
Thanks!
-Noel Grey

Destroy the Runner Photoshoot #2

2009-01-22T12:22:00.000-08:00

So a little under a year ago I travelled to San Marcos, CA (about 10 minutes from my house) to photograph my friends band, Destroy the Runner. Well at this point I had just purchased my camera a few months before and didn't really fully know what I was doing yet. I had only 1 lens and didn't really have much to work with. The photos didn't really turn out that great and I had been wanting to "re-do" them ever since. Well, a couple of weeks ago I got to photograph them again and this time I think they were more what I had hoped they'd be.

Here's a few selections from the shoot.

A Day to Remember

2009-01-20T20:23:00.000-08:00

I, like so many others, watched hours of the Inauguration and its festivities today and I must say, I was very impressed. I know if were going by my age this should be the first Administration that I really pay extra close attention to anyway, but really, in these few months leading up to today I have been so anxious to see what will happen. I have never been so, well, excited to see what this Country can be again! This was a great day in American history and I hope with everything inside me that Barack Obama leads this Nation as honorably as he appears he will. Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or neither you cannot deny the shift in spirit that has seemed to take place over the last 2 months and I cannot wait for that spirit to keep rising.

Congratulations to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and their families! I wish them well as they embark on building a better America!

WAY TOO LONG!!

2009-01-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

I know, I know! The holidays had me in a 'blog rut' but now I'm back! With a vengeance! That's right, 2009's gonna be a big year baby! We gonna be doin' it real big all year long. (Sorry, the last two sentences were complete inside jokes that like 3 people know, but I guess it doesn't matter now anyway since no one reads anymore due to my lack of posting. =) In all seriousness though, I am extremely excited for a new year to be here. I have booked a few weddings already and hopefully have plenty more booking to do in the coming months. I will also be working with a couple up-and-coming bands, doing some group shots and shooting as many local shows as I can. This is the year I am going to strap in and work, work, work on my business and creativity. I'm sooo excited to see what comes from all of this by next January!!

As some of you may already know, 2009 also marks the year that I will be married to my fiancee, Heather. I cannot even express how happy and anxious I am for May 30th to come. Up until about 2 years ago I had no desire to be married. It's funny how easily everything can change once you've met someone that you can't wait to spend the rest of your life with. Once I experienced life with Heather the desire to be married felt so natural. Just a continuation of what relationship we already had. I could probably go on for a while but the point is, I'm so happy for our future together!

And lastly on the agenda, we have some new-ish photos that I failed to post in the last month or so. Some are from "December Nights" at Balboa Park in San Diego and the others are random holiday photos. Hope everyone had a great holiday season and I wish you all a safe and happy 2009!! Thanks for reading!

December Nights at Balboa Park------------------->

Photographer's note: This is my favorite of the set. I didn't photograph the whole man due to the fact that he was giving me the evil eye, and now I'm so glad I shot this instead!

The scene above happened so fast I didn't even have time to focus correctly, but I kind of like it. It has an eery(?sp) feel to it.

mmmmm. Sausage.

Thanksgiving/Christmas------------->

Grandpa with my parents dog, Puck.

Puck by the stove.

My Grandma at Christmas.

Uncle George and my brother, Scott looking thrilled.

I've heard so many names for this cat I don't even know what to call her.

TONS of new photos!

2008-11-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

I just uploaded a million new photos to the "Portfolio" section of my website. Check 'em out and tell me what you think!

NOELGREY.COM

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Mark and Lyle's Wedding: Slideshow

2008-11-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

I posted a preview of Mark and Lyle's wedding a few posts back and now I finally have the full slideshow to share with ya'll. Feel free to leave any comments you might have on the photos!

Just click the photo below to view.

Music video tests

2008-11-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

My friend Josh and I are shooting a music video for Destroy the Runner this weekend. It should be awesome! We had a few minor issues while testing for it this week, but nothing too scary. For those of you who care, what we are doing is hooking up various Canon lenses via an adapter on to a Panasonic HD camera. That way we can achieve the depth of field we want in a lot of the shots. Here are a couple photos from Monday when we were testing my Canon lenses on his Panasonic. Enjoy!

Josh, messing with the new setup.

I love that there is a way to use my lenses for video!

More Senior Photos

2008-11-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

This week has gone by sooo fast! I don't know what happened. Maybe it was the whirlwind and excitement of the election. I finally got a chance to sit down and go through the rest of these senior photos and I'm planning to finish the Mark and Lyle's Wedding tonight. So be on the look out for the full slideshow within the next few days. In the mean time here are a few more of Scott and Sean's photos.
Have fun this weekend!

A preview of Scott and Sean's Senior Photos

2008-10-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

CHECK EM OUT!

Ryan and Kindy's Engagement Shoot

2008-10-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

I have taken more pictures this week than I usually do in a month. It's great! I can't wait 'till every week is like this week.

So yesterday I met up with my friends Kindy and Ryan down in La Jolla to do their engagement photos. It went great and I think we got even more good shots than I originally thought. Afterwards we all ate at this Mexican place that served gynormous portions of food. That's usually cool with me though. =) Anyway, it was a fun time and here are a few of the photos that I have edited so far. Have a good rest of the week!

Mark and Lyle's Wedding: A Preview

2008-10-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of shooting Mark and Lyle's Wedding at their home in Valley Center, CA. I had such a great time with everyone! I've been working on photos ever since I got home last night so here's a small preview of what's to come.

Random Photos

2008-10-23T23:52:00.000-07:00

I think I am going to start a tradition of just unloading random photos on here when I have nothing else to blog about. Which is quite often. So without further ado...Random!

American flags and my first wedding!

2008-10-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

So, yeah, this Saturday I am shooting my first wedding. I'm super excited! I've done a couple of engagements and some other shoots but I will be very happy to be able to add a wedding to my portfolio. If any photographers have any last minute tips I would appreciate the help! I also have another engagement and 2 high school senior sessions to do within the next two weeks. Okay one of the seniors is my brother but it still counts! Wish me luck.

The town I call home, Rancho Bernardo, recently had a benefit ceremony commemorating all of the fire victims of the 2007 San Diego Wildfires. I passed by the park this morning and saw an entire baseball field covered in American flags so I had to go see what was going on. Apparently there is one flag for every house destroyed or damaged in the fires. It's too bad I didn't get to photograph the actual event, but this works too.

Just thought I would share

2008-10-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

I thought this was pretty funny. Hope everyone has a great week!

New England Photos

2008-10-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

So we're back from our short trip to New England. We got a lot in for being there for only 4 days.

We started in Hartford, CT. to visit Mark Twain's home and a few other spots. Mark Twain's house was awesome! I learn soo much more when things are right in front of me and this was a perfect example of that.

After Hartford we drove to New Haven and spent a few hours in the town. A lot of rich, "sweater tied around the neck types" at Yale. More than one would even guess.

We only spent an hour or so there and then it was on to Mystic Seaport. It's a great little town! We looked around and stopped in for a chowder and a beer.

And finally, late Thursday evening we ended up at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Boston. Checked in, watched Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann, and then headed out for a couple of drinks. The best part of the night: I ended up finding my new favorite Canadian whiskey. I love Crown Royal but this blows it out of the water! So good!

The last day of the trip we went with my cousin Helshi to a cemetery where 20 or so of my distant relatives are buried. It was pretty interesting to see. So when you see about 10 slides of random headstones at the end of the slideshow below, you can understand what it is. No, I'm not some weird guy that likes to hang out in cemeteries. Okay, maybe I am but that's not what this is! Now I have to look up all the names on Ancestry.com and piece everything together.

Enjoy the show and have a great rest of the week!

David & Melody's Engagement and New England

2008-09-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Well, let me start this off by saying I had a great weekend! It went too quickly as it usually does, but it seemed to be very fun and productive. On Friday Heather and I met up with our friends David and Melody to shoot their engagement photos, and I am happy to report that they turned out great! They're super fun people and are very much in love and that seemed to really come across on camera. We had dinner with them afterwards and almost stayed to have some drinks except I was itching to edit the photos so we called it a night from there.

I think going home "early" paid off because I finished all 88 of the final photos by Saturday evening just in time to head out to my friends show at SOMA in San Diego. (See photos in the post below this.) They played a really great set and as I found out midway through, this was one of two last shows before parting ways. So sad when bands call it quits. I'm going to miss their last show at this sweet place called "Anthology" in downtown San Diego which I'm kind of bummed about. If you're not doing anything Friday, Sept. 26 and are over 20, (meaning 21) check it out. I think it starts at 10PM. www.myspace.com/amiddayatlantic

Anyway, on to the reason I am going to miss the show on Friday. I am going to be in Connecticut! Yaaaaaaa! I know. Just about every single person I have told asks the same question. "Why?!?" And then I say, "Oh, but we're going to Boston also." And something to the effect of, "Oh, okay. Awesome!" is said. Like all of a sudden it makes sense as to why we travel to that part of the country. Well, it's amusing to me at least. So watch for photos from our trip very soon. I'm sure like every trip, it will be a lot of fun!

And now.....David and Melody's engagement photos. ENJOY!

P.S.

I think this is the lengthiest post so far. Apparently I had a lot to say today.

A Midday Atlantic Show: 09/20/08

2008-09-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

I shot A Midday Atlantic's last all ages show last night in San Diego. Check it!

Photo of the Day!

2008-08-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

Took this photo today while I was in downtown San Diego. Thought it was kind of different. Let me know what you think!

Rainy Day

2008-08-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

I think one of my favorite things in the world is a sunny day mixed with pouring rain. It feels like I'm in Hawaii right now. I wonder what the humidity is? Anyway here are a few photos I snapped in honor of this glorious occasion.

-Noel

Finally, New Photos!!

2008-08-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

I realize I haven't been posting as much lately. Been busy the past few weeks. So here are a few photos from a recent stroll around San Diego. The first of the set is my favorite.

Have a great week!!

I love Queens of the Stone Age!!

2008-08-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I discovered that one of my favorite bands, QOTSA was going to be headlining a memorial concert for friend and fellow musician Natasha Shneider. Natasha passed away in June after battling cancer and the concert was set up as a charity to help pay for any outstanding medical bills that her family may have. Also on the bill was PJ Harvey, Tenacious D, Matt Cameron, Jesse "The Devil" Hughes, etc... Needless to say I bought 2 tickets and my friend Andy and I made our way to Hollywood on Saturday afternoon. The show was AMAZING! QOTSA were one of my favorite bands before I had ever seen them live and this show secured their place there! And of course Tenacious D were hilarious as usual. I didn't get to bring my camera with me but I found these great shots taken by Matthew Field. Check 'em out!

Oh yeah, and we got to talk to actor/director Adam Goldberg and his girlfriend for a bit. So all in all it was an awesome night! Hope everyone had a great weekend! PEACE.

I kind of wish...

2008-08-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

...she would disappear forever. =)

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Real Brew Show 07/26/08

2008-07-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

My brother's band, Real Brew played a show last night in San Marcos. Naturally I brought all my camera gear with me and snapped some photos. Check em out!

Have a good Sunday!

Overdue visit

2008-07-21T18:54:00.001-07:00

So I called my grandma the other day and realized that I hadn't visited them in 2 months! What the hell? I guess things get really busy and time goes by way too fast now. I hadn't even shown them the pictures from our trip to Italy. And we got back from there a month ago. I definitely need to be better about going and seeing them. My grandpa has been going slowly downhill semi-recently and I need to cherish the time I have with both of them. Visiting my grandparents is always a good time and today was no exception. We had a nice lunch in their dining room area and I got to show all the progress I have made with photography lately. My grandma is a painter so she is able to appreciate things like composition and color in my photographs.
Anyway, that was my Monday. Hope everyone had a great weekend and don't forget to check out my website and tell me what you think! Thanks!

www.noelgrey.com

Family and Dogs

2008-07-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

As some you may know Heather and I's house burned down in the wildfires last year and my parents were nice enough to take my dog, Ruby, until we move back sometime next year. They have roughly an acre of land in Valley Center, which Ruby pretty much has rein of in the backyard. I miss having her around all the time so it's always nice to go and throw a ball around with her for a little while. Here are some of the photos from yesterday:

She is almost too fast to focus on, but I can get 2 out of 10.

Playing fetch(kinda)

Finally tired.

My parents pug.

NoelGrey.com launched!

2008-07-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

My website is ready for visitors! Go check it out and tell me what you think.

Thanks!

www.noelgrey.com

New Gear!!

2008-07-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

I'm set to go! I finally have all the gear I am going to need for a little while at least. Now I just need to get the website up, book wedding and engagements, and start shooting! It's exciting to think what lies ahead now. Back to work.

Have a great weekend!

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

Canon EFS 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM (I actually love this lens so far!)

And of course the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM! (Love it)

Below are a few random photos taken with the new stuff. Enjoy!

Sammy the cat. Taken with the 50mm f/1.4

Nice sky right outside our condo. Taken with EFS 10-22mm.

Color version. Taken with EFS 10-22mm.

I'm going to shoot some portraits with the 70-200mm today so I will post those when I am done. PEACE!

Fun with new lenses at Uno's!

2008-07-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

So the day that I acquire 3 new lenses anything has potential to turn into a photo shoot. Hence this post.

MMM. Newcastle.

Sweet angle bro!

Eric Phelps. (or as we prefer, Phelpsy.)

I always make this face in photos. I never make this face in everyday life.

Shane and Eric.

DJ. Or as Heather calls him. "The Deej".

Heather's ring. We're engaged. That's what the ring means. Got it. Cool.

Food and Drank! (You have to say "drank" like Lil' Jon)

Phelpsy portrait.

Heather portrait.

Noel portrait.

Shane portrait. (Were done with portraits for now)

The Deej again.

We ended the night at Stone Brewery in Escondido. They were showing Blazing Saddles on some huge screen outside. Fun!

Heather gots some new stuffs!

2008-07-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

I convinced Heather to buy an Apple PowerBook today! I think I am probably more excited than she is. I love buying new electronics! It came with a 8GB IPod Touch and a Canon all-in-one printer. SWEET!

Heather with her new purchase.

Notice the reflection of the logo.

4th of July Craziness!

2008-07-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

I think 4th of July was a big hit this year!

Heather and I checked into the Marriott on Coronado Island on Thursday night after she got off work. What a beautiful spot!! It's located right on the water over-looking downtown San Diego. I kept intending to get a shot of the view at night but it didn't work out. =( Oh well. I only live 20 minutes away.

Friday morning we kind of slept in because the bed and pillows were so damn comfortable. So we had a great breakfast and made our way down to the town and beach around noon. It wasn't too long before a few of our friends, Josh, Stella, and Brianna joined us at The Del for some drinks. We ate, drank, swam, and did a lot of random dancing. Good times! And the fireworks show was right outside the hotel pool. I definitely want to do this again in the coming years!

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Till next time.

Our giant room!

Another room shot	Try to figure this one out

Our friends Josh and Stella

Stella, Heather, Brianna, and Me.

PEACE

-Noel

Camping and Flickr

2008-06-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

I just got back from camping with my family. I haven't gone camping in years I think I really enjoyed myself. Other than the fact that we all got attacked by mosquitoes it was awesome!

My brother's friend Danny and me

View from Palomar Mountain.

I need everyones' opinion on this image. I kind of like it for artistic reasons, but let me know what you think.

Lastly, I put a lot of Italy pictures up on my Flickr account that I did not include here on the blog. Go check em out!
Noel Grey's Flickr

My first engagement shoot (And a really cute baby)

2008-06-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

I think yesterday could have been as close as you can get to a perfect day. First, Heather and I went to the pool at around noon to cool off. We ended up calling a few friends to come join us at the pool and before we knew it we had a whole clan of people there. We hadn't spent time with some our closest friends in while so it was nice to see all of them in one fun-filled day. I left the "pool party" a little early to go shoot Lyle and Mark's engagement photos at the Bernardo Winery. It was a blast! They were the nicest people and the winery ended up being a perfect place to shoot. We were done around 7:00pm so I made my way right back to the pool for a few beers, bratwurst, and of course swimming. Fantastic day!

Here's what I have so far:

And now I will leave you all with a photo of the cutest baby ever. Have a good week!

1st shoot on Sunday!

2008-06-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

(The image above has nothing to do with the post by the way) =)

This Sunday will mark my first shoot in the wedding world! I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited to get this going. I am covering this couple's wedding in October but first we are going to do a short little session for their invitation photos and go over all the details of the wedding. I will post the photos probably on Monday morning.
In other news, my website is in the works and almost completed! I need to get it up ASAP so I am going to get into gear this weekend and next week.
The Italy/Switzerland photos are going up this weekend. I am going to post the entire series, separated by area, up on my Flickr account and put the link up on here. I'm really excited with the way they all turned out!
I am purchasing new camera gear within the next 2 weeks.

I have my eye on the following: (all Canon)
• EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
• EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
• EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
• BG-E2N Battery Grip

• Also some random CF cards.

Thanks again to everyone who checked out my Europe photos! I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend. Go swimming or something. It was 108 in our area today! Yeeeoow!

Homestretch

2008-06-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

I'm nearing the end of editing 14 days worth of photos from all over Italy. I think I have somewhere around 300 photos left to organize and edit. Below is a couple more photos that I didn't include in the giant previous entry. They were both taken in Pisa, Italy.

Also, I can't forget to give a big thank you to my friend and fellow photographer Bobby Earle for posting a link to my Italy photos on his blog yesterday. I really appreciate the "shout out"!

I hope everyone is having a great day and I will post again when I have completed these photos. Or if something really amazing happens in between now and then. We'll see.

PEACE!

A taste of Italy!

2008-06-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know Heather and I recently went on a trip to Italy for 2 weeks. We had so much fun and as an added bonus we are now officially engaged! Yea! I'm more excited than I can even say!(I'll post the pictures of the ring and all that very shortly)

For the most part Italy was beautiful! Some areas are definitely nicer than others though. For instance one of the days we drove to a little town called Sressa, which I had never heard of before, and it was gorgeous! Our hotel was practically right on Lake Maggorie overlooking this little island called Isolabella. I will have pictures posted from that area later. So we're back; we're burnt out on pasta, pizza, and practically any other bread and cheese combination; and I have days and days of photos to organize and edit. FUN! It's definitely good to be back home though. The first couple of days I am always glad to be back, then give me a week and I want to go somewhere again. It's going to become an addiction. I know it. So below is a taste of the millions of photos taken on this trip. I will be busy in the next couple of days posting new photos and eventually will be putting up a slideshow of the final product, so check back often! And as usual please give me feedback on what you love, like, don't like, or loath about my photos.

Thanks and have a fantastic week!

Farmers Market

2008-05-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

Ever since I rediscovered the Farmers Market last week I have been dying to take some photos of all the people and food. There are so many colors. It's great! I went briefly last Tuesday but unfortunately I didn't have my camera. (Another reminder to ALWAYS keep it with me.) So on my way to visit my grandparents today, I stopped off for 30 minutes, drank a strawberry lemonade, and took some pictures for y'all to look at. 'Till next time.

Lazy Saturday

2008-05-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

So these pictures basically sum up what is going on today. It's an rainy, lazy Saturday. =) Have a great 3-day weekend!

California Adventure.

2008-05-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures from California Adventure on Wednesday. I don't have many words today. Just photos. ENJOY!

A walk in the dog park.

2008-05-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to post as much as I can. I swear. I thought I was going to be posting new things like almost every day, but it doesn't seem to be working out that way. I'm doing alright though. Hope everyone's weekend was enjoyable. I did almost nothing and it was amazing! Watched a really good movie called "Sleuth" with Michael Caine and Jude Law. It was originally a play so the movie played out exactly as if it were on stage. Two thumbs up! Other than a few movies: Time with Heather, Swim, Sun, Coors Light, BBQ. That pretty much sums up the weekend.

I went for a hike at Lake Hodges yesterday and on the way home stopped at the dog park. Below are a couple of the photos from the exciting excursion.(Not really that exciting but I had to get outside) ENJOY!

New Layout

2008-05-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

I am finally done with the new layout for my blog! I know it doesn't look really fancy or anything but you would not believe how many versions of the header I made today. Ridiculous! If this was not digital work I would be drowning in crumpled balls of paper. Good day!

Random San Francisco Photos

2008-05-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

You know your in airports too much when you see the same "People" magazine as the last time you flew. I'm not sure I could completely get tired of it though. I get tired, yes, but I LOVE flying.

This past weekend was San Francisco with the family. We kept it pretty quiet. Didn't really do a ton of sight-seeing which in a way was kind of a nice change of pace. Saturday night we went out to a restaurant called the Franciscan to celebrate my mom's birthday. The view of Alcatraz was incredible and the food was about an 8 out of 10. Plus, I got hit on by a couple of "cougars" at the bar so that sealed the night as memorable. Oh, and I finally got to drive down Lombard St., which for some reason I was really excited about.

Hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day! Goodbye!

Please feel free to send feedback on any of the photos I post. It can only help me get better.

Portland and more!

2008-05-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

Portland was nice. Heather and I made our way up there at 4:00am on Friday morning. Waking up to catch a flight that early sounds awful at the time but really it's the best way to do it. At least then you get the flying part over with and have the whole day to relax and do whatever. Depending on how far you are going of course.

Heather's Dad got married on Saturday afternoon in Washougal, Washington. Which is right on the Oregon/WA border. It was fun! I drank a lot of SoCo and Champagne punch, and took a ton of photos. Seeing as it was dark as night where they had the ceremony, I am amazed that any of the pictures came out. And I didn't fired a flash the whole time! Thank you 3200 ISO.

Here are just a few of the photos from the wedding and the day after:

La Valencia

2008-05-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last night Heather and I took our friends Cristal and Ryan to dinner at the La Valencia hotel in La Jolla. I love it there! It's one of my new favorite spots in San Diego. It can be kind of pricey but the food was fantastic! Anyone who is from San Diego or is planning on visiting should definitely check it out. Anyway, we had a really nice time and I thought I would share a few pictures from the outing. Good-day!

EF 50mm 1.2L

2008-04-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

So last week Bobby Earle, a photographer friend of mine, let me borrow his new Canon lens for 1 day to run around town and shoot some photos. Needless to say I loved the lens and cannot wait for it to go down in price so that I can buy one for myself! I think I got a little carried away with the photos since I didn't actually end up returning it to him until midnight.

Here are just a few of the photos that I shot that day.

Nice weekend.

2008-04-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend was really nice. Saturday I got to spend some time with my family and my dog, Ruby. (Who lives with my parents until our house is rebuilt.) Now Sunday Heather and I were supposed to go to a "Bridal Bizarre" but since it was so hot we skipped that and just decided to eat and drink instead. Wise move on our part. We spent the day barbecuing with a couple of Heather's friends and their 6 month old daughter. Now I am not really a baby person but she is adorable! I would definitely put her in the top 5 cutest babies of all time.

In other news, I am still working on my website and will be uploading it probably by the end of the week. Hope everyone had a good weekend. PEACE!

First blog

2008-01-23T10:57:00.000-08:00

Good morning to all who read this! (Which is probably just me. Good morning Noel.)

I will be mainly using this blog as a travel journal with little tidbits of non-sense thrown in for your enjoyment.

I was very saddened to read about Heath Ledger passing away yesterday. He was an actor I expected to see for many years to come. RIP.

That's all for now. I hope to be posting all kinds of photos and fun stuff very soon.

--NG