Bolshoi-trained beauties bolster ballet in Orange County

I have had the pleasure of working with these "Bolshoi beauties" for the last couple of weeks, photographing them for the Orange County Performing Arts Center at two of their rehearsals, for an ad piece for the event (see above), and at a party to introduces them to the press and donors. The show will be January 20- 23, 2011 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and January 27 - 30 in Moscow, Russia.
To read about the details please follow the link to the article in the LA times today.
Bolshoi-trained beauties bolster ballet in Orange County

Newport Beach Breakers

Nice Face!



Maria Sharapova



Lindsey Davenport

John McEnroe

I had the pleasure of working for Hoag Hospital again this year, photographing the Newport Beach Breakers as they played in their World TeamTennis matches at The Tennis Club Newport Beach.

This years Marquee players were Lindsey Davenport, Maria Sharapova, and John McEnroe.

http://www.newportbeachbreakers.com/

Game Face!

John McEnroe

Maria Sharapova

Lindsay Davenport

Tour of the USS Nimitz

WOW! That is one big ship! In fact, you cannot believe how big a ship it is. I had always wanted to see an aircraft carrier up close and Karen and I got to tour the USS Nimitz in San Diego on Saturday. Very Cool! Next on the list is to see it working. The 10 part PBS series "Carrier" is about the USS Nimitz. Go to the PBS website to see more details about the ship and clips from the series.

http://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/

Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s, South Coast Plaza

With a recent change in décor, I was asked to do a new set of photographs of the lounge and dining room of the Charlie Palmer Restaurant at Bloomingdale’s, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

I had the honor and pleasure of taking the first set of photographs they used for marketing and advertizing two years ago when they opened.

For those of you that have not yet dined at one of the best restaurants in the SoCal area, I highly recommend it. It is located on the southeast corner of Bloomingdale's at South Coast Plaza and has a wonderful lounge, beautiful dining room with fantastic food, private dining rooms, and a retail wine shop called the Next Vintage Wine Shop.

Call 714.352.2525 for reservations or visit their website

USA Soccer Dog!

Maybe next time the USA Soccer Team should use more players like Pukalu who has a dogged determination and a nose for the ball!

PPA International Print Competition

June 12-16th found me heading to Atlanta, Georgia, to judge the International Print Competition for the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) www.ppa.com. was one of 50 judges selected from a total list of only 125 qualified jurors who, over a four-day period, judged over 5,500 entries from PPA’s 20,000 plus members.

We broke new ground this year by scoring all the prints digitally using an Apple iPad as our key pad. All the print scores and judging stats were sent to a central server via our own wireless network in each room. Pretty cool! We already judge digital albums, but next year we will have digital prints as well.

To become part of this esteemed group of jurors, I first had to become a Master Craftsmen Photographer with PPA, then judge for many years at the local, state, and regional competitions, followed by completing a series of judging classes, and finally a review of my background and submissions of my work for review by other judges. Over the years, I have also had many opportunities to judge the international print competition for the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). By judging these international print competitions, I get to see thousands of prints from photographers around the world. This allows me to stay in touch with the latest trends and styles in photography and, most of all, to always provide fresh perspectives and ideas for my clients.

AIDS Walk Orange County

I worked for the first time as a volunteer photographer for AIDS Walk Orange County 2010 on Saturday, May 22^nd, at the Great Park in Irvine.

More than 6,000 attendees participated, from walkers to corporate sponsors to volunteers and vendors. The day was full of energy, support and, most of all, hope. Phil Yaeger, AIDS Services Foundation Executive Director/CEO, announced that approximately $400,000 had already been raised with more pledges yet to be received.

For more information about next year’s walk and how you can support Aids Service Foundation of Orange County, visit their website. www.ocasf.org