Amazingly enough, I am writing this blog post from the Philippines! Wow, that was weird to write. But on Thursday morning, I heard that my grandma (Dad’s mom) was seriously ill in the hospital and that it didn’t look good. I spoke with my mom and my aunt in LA (Tita Wena) and decided that if I was able to go be with the famiy then I would. Luckily enough, we did not have a gig this weekend and Tita Wena was able to book a flight for me. I was on a flight to Manila leaving at 10pm that same Thursday. Talk about a whirlwind.

Well, my grandma (Mama) passed away the same Thursday and I am now here to attend the wake, the funeral and just be with the family. It’s been a pretty heavy two days. My grandpa (Papa) is doing his best. Everyone seems to be in good spirits as we are trying to celebrate her life and honor her by being with one another.

It’s gonna be a fast trip for me (5 actual days here) as I’m set to get back on Wednesday, July 4th right in time to shoot a wedding in San Jose on Saturday (7/7/07). So, I’ll be in and out of touch for a few more days. Please contact Tey for any photography related questions or concerns (Cell: 714-785-8300 or Email: tey@jangarcia.com).

Sorry for the heavy topic, but I just felt like I had to share this. I’ll probably be able to make another post before I go…

This is Mama, Trinidad Garcia. We love you.

On Tuesday, I met up with Phan and Jenson in downtown LA to take their engagement photos. We ended up in Union Station and then across the street near the El Pueblo de Los Angeles area. Really neat architecture and scenery everwhere very similar to what I just saw in Seattle. So, it was fun walking with them and just messing around. They were fun to be around as they were just joking around the whole time. Thanks guys for putting up with me and my funky ideas! It was a blast! Phan and Jenson will be getting married this coming September in Universal City. Some highlights:

It was nice to get back into the flow after a great workshop in Seattle. On Saturday, we joined Lindsey and Sam for their wedding at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. If you remember their engagement session, Lindsey and Sam are just too easy to shoot! They have awesome smiles and expressions and it made it just a joy for us to cover them on their wedding. Add to that, their awesome families who were so welcoming and friendly…it made for a fantastic day. Lindsey’s dress was actually her mom’s wedding dress that they altered here and there for an super look! So cool! Here are some highlights from an awesome day:

I love this shot! That light right at the top of these stairs was just amazing.

Really nice moment together right after they met for the first time. I’m in the chapel and they are right outside the back door.

Lindsey looking quite spectacular!

Sam has got this look down pat! He looked awesome.

Some combo bench and hugging action.

Loved that door on the back side of the church. The grounds of the church had awesome looking buildings and scenes. Definitely my style!

More of those cool buildings in the back there.

Right in front of the chapel entrance.

A Quiet moment right before the ceremony.

Inside the beautiful chapel.

Kiss me please!

So happy. First dance.

There were a bunch of awesome kiddies running around. Here is little Lucas. (That’s a cool name!)

Lucas with his Auntie.

More little cuties.

On the way out…Hope you guys are having a blast in Mexico!

If you were at the wedding and are interested in purchasing photos, please email me at jan@jangarcia.com and I will notify you when they are ready. Thanks!

I’ve been back for a few days now and am still processing everything that went on in Seattle. It was such a crazy fun time with so many cool people but at the same time, I got what I came for. The Boutwells and the Coopers laid down some knowledge that I’ll be reviewing continually for the next few months. There will be some changes going on around here based on what I’ve learned and I’m ready to take our photography and our business to the next level! I totally enjoyed every aspect of the whole workshop from meeting everyone to learning all that I could. Here’s what I enjoyed the most:

1. The Knowledge

The whole ANTI workshop concept was created so that a few ultra creative minds could share their alternative methods in the wedding photography biz. When I first heard about it, I knew it was the workshop to go to. I had a few main goals when I set out in this business. One was to become successful while staying ultra creative. I’m trying over here and the Boutwells and Coopers are helping people like me who want to take that next step and help them maintain a balance between creativity and good business practices. The main things that I’ll take back are how they see light, color and the environment. There are so many other great things that filled up my notebook, but those main things are what will be keeping me up at 3 AM.

2. The People

The other reason to go to any workshop is the people. It was just incredible to hang out and chat with so many different talented photographers. It was fantastic to be around others who wanted to elevate their photography just like I did. I learned just as much from talking with all the other “students” over a 4 day period, than I have reading forums and blogs over the last 6 months. Thanks to Jamie, Kate, Lisa, Shyla, Fred, Jasmine, Dustin, Heather, Kelley, Ed, Jason, Maurice, Jesh, Jennifer, Erin, Jennifer and my roomie Mark for making the trip even more worth while.

3. The Polaroids

One of our exercises was to take polaroid cameras around downtown seattle and complete a 10-photo assignment that centered around one theme. It was such a great assignment that taught us how to compose a shot and tell a story without the complexities of our modern equipment. No focusing, no zooming, no fancy stuff. Just making great images using the most basic camera around and your imagination. Seeing what everyone was able to produces was just awesome! It was an amazing eye opening experience that I can apply to almost anything that I shoot.

4. The Beer

I’ve never drank beer while taking notes before and it was AWESOME! AHAHAHA! Thanks to the Boutwells and the Coopers for the awesome idea of drink tickets as prizes. It was a blast having the workshop at the Pike Pub and Brewery. Totally ANTI! Loved it.

So, here’s a quickie slideshow of some cool peeps, a couple of our model shoots and many other things that caught my eye. Press the tiny play button on the bottom left below.

Seattle has been a blast and I’ve been learning a ton from The Boutwells and alt f. There are so many crazy talented people here and it’s so cool to see them so hungry to learn. I feel like I’m learning by osmosis… pretty cool stuff. It definitely makes me want to work harder, learn more and just go out and shoot.

Here are some photos from around town. All on super wide 17mm…my fav. I’ll try and post some shots of these crazy talented people tomorrow.