Las Vegas (and a P&S photo tip)

As some of you may know, one of the largest photo conventions in the world happened last week (or so) in Las Vegas. I went for a few days: I hit a couple parties to see long lost friends, checked out a few seminars (Jared Bauman with Bronson was the best), volunteered a few hours in the Special Kids Photography booth (a non-profit that trains and educates photographers about kids with special needs- awesome group!), and of course checked out all the coolest, latest, and most expensive gear at the tradeshow.

I always start feeling pretty poopy after a few days of not seeing the sun and breathing poorly filtered second-hand casino smoke so this year I brought my bike to check out the riding- it's been a few years since I rode on the convention trip.

The closest riding to "the strip" is at a little town called Blue Diamond- very fun stuff!

A few shots: (please bear with me as these are from my point and shoot again:)
Looking back at Blue Diamond after a quick climb.
And the goofy tourist shot of me- there's actually a little sign just out of the frame that says "Kodak Photo Op." like at D-Land. Just kidding:) Off in the distance to the right is Red Rock Canyon- never been? GO- it's so amazing!
The terrain changed quite a bit- this hard-packed red clay was a welcome sight after riding lots of sandy, rocky trails.
People think of the desert as some barren wasteland like Mars- but it is so beautiful- especially in the Spring.

So, here's a big tip:
I realized at one point that landscape photos in the daytime were always over exposed with my point-and-shoot camera so I used the exposure compensation to under expose every shot by 1 full stop- makes for so much richer colors! If you're not familiar with this on yours have a look at the manual... find out how to set this in the menu, set it to '-1.0' and you'll be all set. Don't forget to set it back when you're done with the landscapes!!

Mountain Biking

I've been riding mountain bikes for over 15 years now (never broken a bone, I'd like to add:) . My excitement for riding comes and goes over the years but I have been super excited about riding for the last few months. This is due partly to the fact that I got a new- SWEET - bike and also to the fact I found some killer new trails (to me) not far from home!

This new area is in the Eastern part of Chino Hills State Park. I've ridden every trail in the Western half for the last 10 years or so but rarely got into the other half- Such fun stuff!

I have been taking my point-and-shoot every now and then- I'm so used to the quality of my real cameras that I end up using the poor quality to add to the feel of the image.

This is on East Fence Line Trail in December- now the plants are over 6' tall and it's pretty much not ridable. I can't wait for it to open up again- there's lots of this type of riding then it drops pretty good for some cool downhill and up again for a killer climb!Powerlines in the early morning fog-
This was sunrise- about seven shots stitched together in Photoshop.

So cool to see horses hanging out right by the trail!



Take a minute to critique- Thanks!

Laura and Scott- Engagement La Jolla

We had great fun at this shoot- Laura and Scott were wonderful. They were a little reserved and uncomfortable at first but they realized they were allowed to have fun right away!

We shot from La Jolla Cove to the seal hangout and everywhere in between! The light was amazing- perfect timing!
The stairs to the lifegaurd station- I just moved the 'Do Not Enter' sign a little and we were all set!

Gotta love the flare in the Cypress trees:
The wildflowers were in full bloom- love the yellow contrasting the blue sky.
And with the handy dandy D3 (Nikon) we were able to continue shooting after the sun was down when the light is so nice!

Mike and Courtney- So Fun!

Saturday, believe it or not, was my first wedding of the year- I went into it totally psyched to do some damage (make killer images:) and was stoked to work with the coolest couple and the coolest decor!

The wedding was at the Jones Estate in Orange and the florist was Flower Allie- always cool to shoot. I had a blast looking for great light in new (to me) locations and we made some great stuff as a result!

Check the slideshow: www.emausphoto.com/slideshows, choose Mike and Courtney.

Sabastian and Gentry: Pre-Ceremony Session

I did a shoot last week with Sebastian and Gentry- they were so cool! We'll be shooting their commitment ceremony later this month and it's sounding like the party of the year!

We had fun at the shoot- we did it where they're having their big celebration: The Muckenthaler in Fullerton.

They said they loved the images and were very excited to get prints... just wait 'till the ceremony guys!