SnOMG 2011

January 15th, 1979 - I remember saying OMG on the way to school because of all the snow that came down over the weekend (18.8 inches according to history).  Ok, ok - back in 1979 we didn't have OMG but you get the point.  Here is what I remember from the 1979 blizzard...

During the blizzard I'm thinking a bunch of neighborhood kids got together at the schoolyard and created a giant snowball.  This snowball must have been 10 feet high!  Well, probably smaller but to a 5 year old it sure did look like it!  Anyway, kids were climbing/jumping off it and I wanted to join in but I could not get on top of it.  My cousin helped me up and I felt like I was on top of the world!  Then the bell rung and kids (including my cousin) lined up to get inside.  I looked around and everyone was gone! Stranded and alone on top of King Kong's snowball - I thought I was going to be left alone to freeze!  Then my kindergarten teacher came and rescued me.  I'm going to ask my mom to see if she has an photos from that blizzard.

Fast forward to February 2011, 20.6 inches ranks 3rd highest in Chicago history!  My boys were excited for some Snow Days (I don't remember having those) because they wanted to go and play.  They had a great time - here are some of my favorite pictures from the day after the snow came down.

Be Like Mike

I've always been a huge fan of the Air Jordan shoe.  This love dates back to when I was a kid - growing up in Chicago and watching the Bulls - every kid wanted to be like Mike!  For many of us, the only way to be like Mike was to buy his shoe.  Thank god my cousin worked for Footlocker and got me 40% off - so each year I was able to cop a pair.  I kept every single pair of original Jordans.  Then I went away to college and one day I came home to visit and noticed my shoes were gone.  What happened to them?  It ends up that my mom and grandmother sent the shoes to the Philippines for my family.  In my opinion, that is equivalent to a mother tossing a valuable collection of baseball cards in the trash.

Every now and then Jordan comes out with "retro" shoes, although they are not as good as the originals - it will have to do.  I don't buy every single pair (since my cousin does not work for Footlocker anymore) but I do buy my favorites.  I also got my sons into them - LOL!  

I decided to mess with the camera and took pictures of my toddler's Jordan Retro III's.  Here are some of my favorite shots....

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Hi-Sound Music | Lasalle Power Co.

For the past 4 years a friend of mine has thrown a yearly bash called, "And We Don't Stop."  There are 2 reasons for the bash:


1.  As we time goes by it gets harder and harder to catch up with friends.
2.  To honor friends that were born in January (one that is my brother Mike).


This year I was hired by Hi-Sound Music to take pictures of the DJs during the party.  The party was held at Lasalle Power Company.


The vibes were flowing throughout the floor all night long and and Hi-Sound Music did not disappoint.  The crowd most definitely "did not stop!"  


Here are a few pictures from the night:  

 Some action caught on the turntables.

 Harold Hiso on the tables.

The Franchise throwing down.

 Harold Hiso of Hi-Sound Music.

Jam packed crowd.

Fashion Show - MBH Mafia

In the early part of last year I worked with my cousins and shot a Fashion Show where they designed great looking outfits and jewelry.  The designs were showcased during the Nocturna 2010 Fashion Show Held at The Metro in Chicago.  Here are a few pictures from that day:

I really enjoyed hanging out and seeing both of my cousins designs!  It was a great learning experience for sure!  Here is a link to MBH Mafia's Information Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MBHMafia

4th Grade Science Project

Everyone in my family knows that I really love taking pictures.  I try to shoot everything in sight and that includes taking pictures of my family every chance I get .  I'm pretty sure my sons were getting sick of being in front of the camera.  So I was very surprised when my oldest son told me he wanted to do photography for his science project.

He wanted to experiment with shutter speed and how it changes a photograph.  After explaining to him what it does and how to change the shutter speed on the camera I asked him what he wanted to photograph.  He said he wanted to experiment with something moving.  So I had an idea with movement and lights - so after dinner when it was dark we jumped in the car and headed towards the city.  

We mounted the camera on a tripod and he took 5 pictures at different speeds.  Here were the results:

 @ 2 Seconds

 @ 3.2 Seconds

 @ 6 Seconds

 @ 15 Seconds

@ 30 Seconds

I really enjoyed working with him on this project and he told me he had a great time as well.  He also said that all of his classmates loved the pictures.  More importantly, he received an A for this project.

::Journal:: 3.6.5.

On 4/28/2007 I started a project called, ::Journal:: 3.6.5.  I started this photo journal for a couple reasons: to get better at taking pictures and to capture events and thoughts of my life for 1 year.  Unfortunately, I did did not complete the journal.  I got to Day 144 and stopped.  So from time to time I'm going to pick a random day between 4.28.2007 and 9.19.2007 and post the picture I took along with the journal entry so here goes....

Appreciate - 5.2.2007

Journal Entry:


Today is my older sister's birthday.  From the day I was born until today she has taken care of me and I really appreciate that.  There are many things in my life that I appreciate and here are just a few that come to mind:


I appreciate my wife for being my inspiration.
I appreciate my kids for their creativity.
I appreciate my parents for giving me life.
I appreciate my grandmother for raising me.
I appreciate my grandfather for teaching me how to work with my hands.
I appreciate my brother for his kindness.
I appreciate my wife's family for accepting me into their own.
I appreciate my friends and family for letting me be myself.


I may not say it much, but I truly appreciate things, events, and people in my life that help me make the person I am today.


Lap 5 out of 365 complete.

A Happy Life Awaits You In Matrimony...

When my friend Matt told me he was engaged I was very happy for him and Dana.  Then during their engagement party, Matt asked me to stand-up in their wedding!  I was very honored that they wanted me to be part of their wedding.  Although I was ecstatic to be part of their wedding, I was slightly disappointed that I would not get the opportunity to capture their story through my camera.  A couple days after the wedding, Matt called me and asked if I can take their pictures the following weekend - I quickly said yes!  We started taking shots in Palatine then jumped in the car and made our way through Skokie and ended in Evanston.  I had so much fun taking pictures of this great looking couple!  They truly deserve each other.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures...enjoy!!!