Heart Rate Monitoring
I never stop thinking about doing something creative, unique, and fun.
Last few years, I’ve been trying to describe how physically intensive wedding photography can be. But there was no intelligent way to show it, until now.
I started to wear a very sophisticated heart rate monitor and a foot pod to the wedding. This system measures my heart rate, total calories burned, distant I walked, and more. It also prints out the data on various graphs.
Below is my activity data from the wedding I did at Redlands on June 28, 2008. I started to record when I got out of the car at the wedding site. I stopped recording when I got back to my car (to come home). The red line shows my heart rate. Blue line shows my walking speed.
Detail shown in gray table:
Calories burned: 2754
Average heart rate: 112 bpm
Maximum heart rate: 168bpm
Duration: 6 hours 19 minutes
Distant walked: 5.8 miles
* Temperature at Redlands: 90+ degrees
I am planning to keep monitoring my physical activities. I find this very entertaining at this moment. Here’s a link to my project: Wedding Photographer’s Heart Rate Monitoring
heart rate monitor test at Redlands wedding
Wedding at Simi Valley - Hot
Sorry, I am too busy to keep up with my blog. I had three photography jobs this weekend, including two weddings. Heatwave is still the biggest news in Southern California. Today’s wedding was at Simi Valley. Look at the thermometer. It was hot.
Gunga Din, Bring water…
Above is my water supply I bring to every wedding during the Summer season.
With this; I can drink, wash my hand/face, cool down… it’s a life-savor. If I want to bring a soda, I make sure they do not contain caffeine (dehydrant). Caffeine will defeat the purpose of drinking water, because caffeine takes water out of your body (we call it dehydration).
John Park Saves the Day Again:
The bride was getting ready at the second floor suite at Grand Vista Hotel. I was taking photographs of the bride and the bridesmaids getting ready and having fun. They lost the groove when they realized that they didn’t have any bobby pins. The grooms mother was going to go downstairs to get the bobby pins. That’s when I produced my bobby pins for them. You see, I always carry some bobby pins and safety pins in my pocket. The bride also needed some safety pins as well. I wouldn’t say I “saved the day”. But I came in handy for sure. :) And we went on with the wedding.
Wedding at Ventura, beach photography
Good news: Web album for this wedding is open to public. Visit Wedding Album and see 422 “Proof Quality” images. This is my open book policy. I don’t show you only a handfull of best of the best wedding photoraphs to you. But I show you over 400 raw images with no fancy fixes. Enjoy.
One word. HOT~!!
It was the hottest wedding day thus far. I was worried that bride and groom will sweat too much. I don’t know how they managed to keep clean and pretty. Also, I had somewhat challenging lighting situation during the formal photography session. I think wedding pictures came out just fine (look at below image).
Ventura Beach, Across the street from Ventura Fair Ground
In the beginning. Booked 2 weddings with 1 sales pitch:
There is a fun story on how I met this wedding customers.
I had a wedding last year (2007) at Wedgewood Banquet Center. I had a meeting with the bride and groom for that wedding at Starbucks Coffee in Ventura. As I was getting ready to make a sales pitch, a couple walked in and recognized my wedding prospects. They turned out to be close friends and neighbors. They were planning to get married next year (2008). I invited them to join us for my presentation on wedding photography. They set down along with my customers. I made a sales pitch to two couples. And I booked two weddings. So far, this is the only incident where I scored two weddings with one presentation.
Never too Hot for wedding:
One requirement of being a Wedding photographer is a good physical condition. Today was the perfect example of how you should keep in shape. It was a very hot day. As soon as I got out of my car I started to sweat. The whole city was baking. From that point, my job went on for 8 more hours. I wore Sunscreen lotion. I had my supply of cold water. I was also wearing a heart rate monitor that I wear when I workout. I thought it would be fun to monitor my heart rate & calories burnt.
It was a Catholic wedding at “Our Lady of the Assumption” in Ventura. The priest was very nice. I was allowed to use flash all I wanted. You see, flash photography is usually not allowed in Catholic weddings. Some catholic priests would forbid any kind of photography during the wedding ceremony. The wedding was very impressive with about 200 guests and the Mariachi band playing loud. By the way, I know this Mariachi band. We worked together at number of weddings. This was a Spanish wedding ceremony.
After the wedding ceremony & the usual hugging session, we headed out to Ventura Fair Ground. We all parked at Ventura Fairground parking lot and walked across the street to the beach. The Sun was so intense that taking photographs under the full Sunlight was not ideal. Everyone would squint. Also, people would sweat bullets under this weather. With this kind of weather, some people become hard to manage (especially the young ones). So, I located tiny patches of shades under the palm trees. I setup the remote flash system there. Setting up lighting system was a little tricky. It’s somewhat technical to explain.. all that matters is that I know customers will like the results.
The bride had some specific posed shots in her list. We took care of all her list first than I took charge. Then we moved onto some couple shots. I did all I can do to keep the bride and groom in the shade. Despite the temperature the bride and groom looked very fresh. Soon, we were ready for grand entrance.
During the reception, I begged the bride and groom for “One last pose for 1 minute”. And I photographed that Fish Truck shot.
Ventura Fair Ground:
Ventura Fairground has a lot of halls to rent. Today’s bride and groom rented Santa Rosa Hall, but there are more wedding halls at Ventura Fairground. Ventura Fairground is located right by the beach. Also, you get an ample parking space. Wedding guests can park their cars at the parking lot and walk across the street for formal wedding photography session on the beach. The beach has a sandy area as well as grassy area with a lot of palm trees.
Burned 5100 Calories?:
My heart rate monitor measured that I burned 5100 calories in 8 hours. Considering most people burn 2500 calories in 24 hours, you can see how active I was. It was indeed a very physical day. Most people just don’t realize how much work it is.
On the second thought. I think 5100 calories is too much. I cannot trust this heart rate monitor. I shall purchase a better heart rate monitor for future wedding photography use.
Our Lady of the Assumption
3175 Telegraph Rd., Ventura 93003
Ventura Fair Ground
10 W. Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001
Adoption Photography
Adoption Photography
(My first adoption photography job)
The client contacted me for adoption photography at Ventura County Juvenile Courthouse in Oxnard. They were finalizing an adoption of a baby boy. The adoption finalization was scheduled for Friday 1:30pm. I have never done an adoption photography before so I was looking forward to this job. Some of my friends also showed special interest on adoption process in Ventura County. They wanted to know what the adoption process was like.
County of Ventura Juvenile Courthouse - where adoption ceremony took place
Everyone arrived at the courthouse plenty early. We took care of the formal photography before we went inside. I looked everywhere for possible formal photography location. I also asked people who worked there at the courthouse. The only suitable location for formal photography was the front lawn with the Courthouse as a background. The baby was very cute, he had his mother’s hair. He was already fitting right in with the family. He was demanding his father to stand up while holding him. So the father had to stand up during the adoption finalization process (cute).
Adoption Photography - Formal Session
Above Picture: Photography wise my job was straight forward - “Deal with the situation.” It was very hot, over 90 degrees at Oxnard, and the Sun was piercing my skin. Heatwave was the top news in Southern California. I told everyone to stay in the shade while I was setting up the light. The only existing “small” shade around the Courthouse was at the entrance of the building (shown left side of the picture). The flash had to be strong in order to get rid of the deep shadows on the faces. A wireless flash was setup manually with a light-meter. White balance was adjusted on camera, so above image is pretty much straight out from camera. It may look simple, but above image was highly technical.
Soon the ceremony (court process) began. The whole process was quick. The judge was very funny. After signing some papers everything was complete. The Judge gave the baby and his sister candies and toys. I took the group pictures with the judge as well. Then we went go to a different office to take care of some more paperwork. The entire event took about 2 hours.
Web album was completed within 24 hours for the client to review.
* It was REALLY hot today.
Ventura County Juvenile Court
4353 Vineyard Ave. Oxnard, CA 93036
Hot Weather - 3 Jobs Coming Up
We are in a major heat-wave.
If I turn on the TV, temperature is the number one news. It will be super hot during the weekend.
I have three jobs coming up this weekend.
Friday: Adoption photography, Oxnard
Saturday: Wedding at Ventura.
Sunday: Wedding at Simi Valley.
I don’t worry about Friday’s adoption photography. It’s only a 2 hours gig mostly indoor. But there will be some outdoor photography. Still, it will be for a short time. I can come home quick and take a shower.
I worry about the Saturday’s wedding at Ventura. It will be a full day of labor. I’ll have to gut it out for 3 full hours. At least we will be by the beach. I hope there will be some cool breeze.
I am really worried about Sunday’s wedding at Simi Valley. Simi Valley is known for its hot temperature. Simi Valley is located on the “Other Side” of the Conejo grade. We are expecting over 100 degrees in Simi Valley on Sunday.
I am ready to take on this weekend. It will be a tough weekend. I hope nobody will pass out from the heat. A lot of older folks will be forced to sit under the full Sunlight for 20-30 minutes or more. I hope nothing will happen. I know I will sweat bullets inside my formal
I will never forget to accommodate the wedding guests and keep them smiling.
Let’s do this…
Pet Photography
I have photographed many animals in the past.
But, today I had my first official pet photography session of my career.
(pictures & more story coming up - very busy)
Valle Lindo Park - Camarillo
Dog Photography
Ventura to Santa Clarita
The web album of this wedding is open to public.
Click for wedding at Yellow Umbrellas.
Remember, all my images in the web album are in “proof” quality.
The Yellow Umbrella Company, Ventura Beach
Yellow umbrella is a cute little section in the Ventura State beach. People can have a wedding on the beach. It was my second time photographing wedding at The Yellow Umbrella Company. It was a hot day but the Ventura beach breeze made it easier for me. The wedding was beautiful and short that wedding guests didn’t have to suffer from the heat.
Beach Wedding, Ventura California
After the ceremony, we all drove up to the reception at Santa Clarita. Ventura to Santa Clarita is exactly 1 hour driving. The temperature at Santa Clarita reached well over 90 degrees. I was ready for a hot weather today. I put on a think coat of Sun-block lotion. I brought water and towel so I can refresh myself on the spot. The bride was keep asking me to eat, but I just couldn’t find the time to eat. The house was looking down at Santa Clarita valley. I took a few shots of Santa Clarita freeway, so I can look at them later to test my lens. As you can see below, my lens quality is amazing. I am very happy with my lenses.
Lens test: photograph of Santa Clarita valley
Back to reception at Santa Clarita:
The Sun was setting over Santa Clarita mountains and I had my last chance for some cool shots of bride and groom. And the rest was flash photography - of people boogieing down.
The Yellow Umbrella Company
San Buenaventura (Ventura) State Beach Ventura, California
Contact: 805-794-8427 info@TheYellowUmbrellas.com
www.theyellowumbrellas.com
Melody Bridal on Fire (Los Angeles)
Melody Bridal, in Los Angeles, caught on fire in the morning of June 5, 2008.
This will effect a lot of weddings. This will effect a lot of brides who have their wedding gowns getting ready for their weddings. I know a lot of brides from Ventura County (far back from Fillmore) go to Los Angeles and Glendale to get the best picks of their wedding gowns. Melody Bridal is a big business, considering it’s a bridal shop. It’s been in business for 25 years.
Melody Bridal on Fire, Los Angeles
Melody Bridal is located in the garment district, down town Los Angeles, on Olympic (and S. Main Street). This large two story building contains about 10 businesses. Most of the business owners were hard working immigrants trying to build American dreams. Most of them, including Melody Bridal Collection, didn’t have insurance.
Melody Bridal Collection has a retail store on the first story and a warehouse on the second story. The owner of Melody Bridal was absolutely devastated. First floor was spared a little, but the warehouse was a total loss.
This was a big fire. At first, there was a big power transformer explosion and the manhole cover got blown off. It looked like the entire building was a total loss. Traffic was effected in downtown Los Angeles area for many hours.
The building was built before 1933 - This is significant, because pre-33 buildings are not being enforced with modern safety code. For example, you are not required to have sprinklers in old buildings. Firefighters will approach older buildings with extra caution. This can mean conservative approach to fight fire. Los Angeles has a lot of old buildings.
If you are a bride, something like this happening to you is highly unlikely. I would even say it’s a good luck because of its rarity. But, fire safety of your bridal shop may be a deciding factor when it comes to deciding your bridal shop. I display my Liability Insurance Policy on my website. I also bring my insurance policy to the meetings. I will probably never need my insurance. But I religiously pay my dues. So, why not bridal shop owners? I don’t blame Melody Bridal for anything. All I’m saying is that people with insurances look at life with different eyes. This can be ultimately used to judge people’s work ethic and belief system. People have different set of priorities…
Melody Bridal Collection
1034 S Los Angeles St # B
Los Angeles, CA 90015-1707
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