Archive for August, 2009

Tean + Chanda: A Cambodian Wedding

August 30, 2009

Just this last weekend two very close friends of mine tied the knot and I had the honor of not only being a part of the wedding but I also had the distinct pleasure of shooting it as well! Now while I’m sure it’s not a first for someone to be part of a wedding as well as photographing it, I was asked to cover Tean and Chanda’s shortened traditional Cambodian Ceremony on Friday morning before participating as one of the groomsmen during the Western Ceremony on Saturday. And while this was not my first time as a Cambodian Wedding Photographer it was definitely a first for me to shoot a wedding and then participate in it!

Now before I jump ahead to the photos, I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Tean and Chanda as I am truly happy for them. Over the last 9 years that I’ve known Tean and Chanda they’ve been some of my closes friends who have always been there for me when I have needed them. And while I can tell you that words can’t describe what that truly means to me, I can tell you they have showed me what the true meaning of what friendship really is. And for that, I am truly thankful. Thanks guys.

To love, friendship and a long healthy life together. Congratulations once again Tean and Chanda! I hope you enjoy your photos!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Events, People, Weddings | 4 Comments »

This one’s for Sabrina…

August 16, 2009

No I am not a Hello Kitty fan, my friend Sabrina is. I was out with Julie enjoying the evening at The Surf City Nights Street Fair in downtown Huntington Beach a few weeks ago when Julie spotted this Hello Kitty bike and we both immediately thought of Sabrina. Honestly if Sabrina lived in California instead of Boston, this would be the bike that I would imagine her to be on while cruising down the beach on a hot sunny day. All kidding aside, it wasn’t just the theme of the bike that caught our attention, it was the level of “Hello Kittyness” that was found in the details of this bike that amazed us the most. So much detail in fact that even the tread on the tires themselves were made out of imprints of Hello Kitty’s face! Talk about some amazing creativity and some great craftsmanship!

Anyways, because of the craftsmanship of the bike and because Sabrina is such a big fan of Hello Kitty I took a quick photo of the bike with the sole intention of posting this on my blog so that Sabrina could see it. I hope you enjoy this one Sabrina!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Travel | 1 Comment »

Out West in the Plains Hotel

August 14, 2009

So every year I am required to attend a yearly recurrent training class at my company’s headquarters up in Cheyenne, WY. The purpose of the yearly recurrent training is to refresh our memories of all of the important things of our job that we may have forgotten over the past year. It also serves as a great platform to make sure that we understand any new changes and are still proficient at what we do for a living.

Anyways during our 4 day stay, the company usually puts us up at the Historic Plains Hotel right near the middle of downtown Cheyenne. The Plains Hotel was built in 1911 and has a very storied past. For those of you who are fans of the supernatural, the Plains is one of Cheyenne’s more ghostly places as it’s well known as a place that houses several spirits including the spirit of one named Rosie.

A few years ago while staying at the Plains, I had the pleasure of talking to the then Historian of the Plains Hotel who told me the story of Rosie. Apparently Rosie and her husband were newlyweds who had checked into the hotel while on their honeymoon shortly after their wedding. One evening Rosie’s husband decided to head downstairs to have a drink in the lounge and after a prolonged absence she went in search of him. Upon arriving downstairs Rosie saw that her husband was busy chatting up a “lady of the night” at the bar and went into a jealous fit of rage. Rosie quickly returned to her room where she found her husband’s sidearm and returned to the bar where she promptly shot the two before returning to her own honeymoon suite to turn the gun on herself. Neither of the 3 survived and story has it that all three spirits still roam the hotel today.

Now I won’t get into the whole discussion of whether or not one should believe in ghosts and if the supernatural really does exist, but I can tell you that I have seen some rather strange things with some of my co-workers and have heard some crazy stories from some of the hotel workers during my stay. All I can say in the end is if you’re looking for a quick adventure in an old Western town in an old Western hotel, the Plains Hotel is the place for you. Check it out sometime if you’re in Cheyenne and ask the workers about the story of Rosie. Also, if you happen to see a coffee table book about antique furniture lying around the hotel lobby, pick it up and flip towards the first 3rd of the book and look for a photo of the old bar that is now the ballroom in the Plains. I think you’ll be quite shocked at what you see and you can be the judge of all the stories yourself!

Oh and before I go, here’s a quick photo out the window of my room during my recent stay.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Travel | 1 Comment »

Portraits of an Apsara

August 7, 2009

Welcome to the new Sojourn Foto everyone! As you may last recall, I hinted towards a major change coming your way and here it finally is!

Ok now that we’ve got the big announcement out of the way, I’m sure some of you are wondering what the real changes are aside from a new look. First of all Sojourn Foto has gone to a blog only site versus the old flash site that we used to run. I decided to make the change to a blog only site simply because it was much easier to update and much easier for the majority of the readers out there to view without the long wait. Plus I’ve decided that this site should finally live by a motto that I’ve always believed in: simplicity is sophistication.

The second and most important change is that Sojourn Foto has re-branded itself to concentrate primarily on my one true passion: Travel Photojournalism. Initially when Sojourn Foto was created, I had decided that while I loved travel photography, wedding photojournalism was the path that Sojourn Foto was headed towards in the future. However, after working as an assistant for two of Southern California’s top wedding photographers and covering a few weddings myself I decided that while I loved being a wedding photographer, my passion was still in travel photography and I could no longer deny that. It was a tough decision to re-brand Sojourn Foto but it’s one that I know is right because that’s where my heart truly belongs when it comes to taking photographs.

Now that doesn’t mean I plan to stop shooting weddings, other events and portraits forever. As a matter of fact you may see more of the aforementioned posted here than ever, it just simply means that my main focus will be on travel photography as I plan be more selective about which weddings, events and portraits I will shoot so that I can concentrate more on creating my own unique style of travel photography.

So what does the future hold for Sojourn Foto? Well as of now I can only simply tell you that I will be studying, learning and working hard to hopefully create a vision that will be unique to other travel photographers out there in an attempt to do what I’ve always wanted to do with my photographs: tell the story. And once I feel that I have reached a comfortable level, I plan to then publish my own photo book containing my best work in hopes of telling my story to the rest of the world. So with that said, keep an eye out for updates and I hope you enjoy the new Sojourn Foto!

Oh and before I go, I would like to introduce my new limited edition fine art series called “Portraits of an Apsara”. The first ever set was printed just this last month and auctioned off for charity at the 2009 Cambodian Heritage Camp for adopted Cambodian children this last July. Thankfully the series was a big hit with the families and hopefully that’s an indication of what’s to come in the future. If you’re interested in purchasing a set for yourself, each of the four 8×12 prints will come matted and framed in an 11×17 flat black frame and will be signed by myself and the dancer in the photos. The limited edition series will be limited to 100 framed and signed prints while non limited edition sets can be purchased as well but will only come as 4×6 prints in a 5×7 matte. Please contact me directly for more details.

Portraits of an Apsara

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Fine Art, People | 1 Comment »