Events | Crystal City Diamond Derby

I am really excited to post this entry! A couple weeks ago I attended the Crystal City Diamond Derby in Maryland. It was held underground inside a parking garage and it was filled with cyclists in all types of fashions, sporty to pedestrian to old-fashioned. What was really fun was watching the races! The garage was transformed into a winding obstacle course of stacked hay, tires, and vans to jump through.  I gotta hand it to the riders.. they were beast! Yes, I said beast. :) I attended with my boyfriend, Sergio, and a couple of our friends who took part in the leisurely ride earlier that kicked off the event.  I took a lot of photos, so below are some handpicked faves. Check out the rest on my FB page :D Enjoy the excitment!

Hope you enjoyed them! To see more, check out my Facebook Fan page for the complete album :)

Events | SNEAK! Crystal City Diamond Derby

Here's a sneak of what's to come!

A medic taking part in the Rally race in an underground parking garage for the Diamond Derby

Personal | Meeting lovely photographers @ Reston Town Center

After attending Jasmin Star's The Fix in DC recently, I have been staying in touch with all the photographers who attended through Facebook.. gotta love FB :) A small group of us who helm out of the NoVA area decided to meet up, share what our goals are from this group, and update our headshots in the end :) We all met up at Reston Town Center and lo and behold! a huge food and music festival was taking place at that very same time.. parking was crazy to say the least! haha.  I wished I had more time to actually check it out but wouldn't replace it with the time I spent with the lovely photographers I met! Though the 2.5 hrs flew by, I had such a great time getting to know them all.  I am so excited to grow our friendships and forge new ones with future meet ups!  Check out the photos below:

I quickly snapped a pic of Eric and Donella Smith of DESIstudios as they were leaving to attend a workshop in DC.  They were so kind and had such different styles! Opposites finding harmony, I know they can do it :)

Lexi, on the right, is soooo sweet! She is the daughter of Jill Samter and super smart talented! Her mother Jill is the fearless leader of our group and is completely self-less! Is that a word? haha What I mean by that is that she's so eager to share and contribute all she can for a greater cause! So happy to have met them!

Now this lady above is the beautiful Sheaulee! I can't say it enough, but I loove her hair.. it's so full of body and thick! It suits her face very well. She's got great style as you can see and it's well reflected in her photography!

I really adore Marirosa! This girl is so fun and incredibly approachable! You can tell she loves life and surrounds herself with people that do too! I'm looking forward to getting to know her more

Check out this youngin! Jon is the man! He's one of the youngest in the group along with Lexi and knows what he loves to do and wants to do! He's coming right out of the gate (high school) and sharpening his skills. I totally respect him for being a go-getter and pushing himself to be better and exposing himself to new things and people. 

OMG! This gorgeous lady above is Krystle! She's gorgeous! I know I said it twice, she deserved it haha.  I'm in love with her photography and she's incredibly sweet.  She's another person who is selfless and willing to help where needed.  She readily volunteered herself as the model for an upcoming meet if all else fails and totally rocked this photo!

Jenny Rain. I'mma be cheesy, but it def does not rain when Jenny's around. She's a bundle of joy and lights up with enthusiasm! It doesn't hurt that she's wearing my fave color either haha. What a beaut! :D

And of course Greg! He refused to have a pic of him, but he was one funny and Keepin-It-Real guy! Always gotta KIR! right? :D

Until next time! I got tons more of other events to share with you soon! Keep checking!

Events | Bloggers Night Out DC

I am currently catching up on some *seriously* overdue posts! Life took over, so bad haha. I've been meaning to put up this particular post. Last December, I was invited to shoot Blogger Night Out along with my dear friend Ica Images. It was a really nice networking event for fashion bloggers in the DC metro area to just get together, drink champagne with yummy bites, and talk fashion with laughter.  An event for bloggers by bloggers - amazing! Caitlin and Erika coordinated and planned the entire thing and hold regular BNO events across the nation. I really enjoyed covering the event! We were surrounded by stylish, smart, and fun ladies and I loved shooting them! Below are some pics of the event.

Ica and me with the fabulous brains behind the operation, Caitlin and Erika.

Some bloggers from the night include:
Spicy Candy DC / La Petit Marmoset / Nics Picks / Chain Strap Purse / Pich & Roor / Vice As If / Frock Yeah / The Seventh District / The District 1107 / La Belle Vie Vintage / Notes from the Dressing Room / High Fashion 4 Less / Go Kate Shoot /  Comme Coco / Haute Off the Press / The Daileigh

Events | Jasmine Star The Fix DC

Last Thursday night, I attended Jasmine Star's The Fix tour in DC. Yes, Jasmine Star!! :D :D If you don't know, she's an incredible international wedding photographer based out of Southern California.  Her journey of stardom is amazing and truly commendable and respectable.  And that's what the tour was all about, sharing her struggles and how her and her business changed with it.  It was about educating us fellow photographers how to take control of our business and move forward to something great. Pursue it! Without fear. Embracing the change and the struggle. 

I was exposed to Jasmine by my wonderful friend and wedding photograper Ica. When I looked her up, I couldn't stop reading her blog. In fact, I will admit, I read EVERY SINGLE BLOG ENTRY! Including her original blog that she linked to showing her growth when she first started picking up the camera.  I was in awe and maybe mildly obsessed hahaha.  I absolutely fell in love with her, and what really drew me in was her silliness, her journey, her bravery, and her willingness to share! Share parts of her crazy personal life and share her knowledge of photography and the business behind it.  I thought that was something new and refreshing.  Through her, I discovered other venues that loved to share and foster the photographic community, like the B School, Zach & Jody Gray, and creativeLive for example.

By the way, I loved her curls.. and style! So effortless. Anyway! I attended last minute because I was, frankly, intimidated and nervous as heck to be among 250 photographers who know what they're doing and done it longer than I have.  With a work schedule change and a gracious new friend who could no longer attend and sold me her ticket (shout out to Syreena!), I am soooo thankful and glad I did attend!  I learned so much and met so many talented new friends!

Below are some more photos from the night :)

JD, Jasmine's loving/rocking 2nd shooter/dapper/ husband.

  

Beautiful photographer Ashley Stuart Goodwin... her work is amazaballs!

Strike a pose! Me + Jasmine

Ok let's be normal hahaha. Last shot of miss thang herself for the night.

Thank you Jasmine for coming and sharing your charisma, love, passion, and knowledge with us! Thank you also to all the wonderful attendants and making this so easy and fun to get to know you! 

"Let the Monster see me smile" - Jasmine Star

Wedding | Mike x Nioka

It's been a minute (as some people say when referring to a long passage of time :P ) since I've last updated!  I've been mighty busy these past months.. vacationed in gorgeous Majorca, Spain, crazy holiday retail work schedule, and attended 2 weddings... one of which was my first solo wedding shoot!!! You heard right!  It all started with the groom, Mike, being friends with my boyfriend Sergio for several years now.  I met Nioka, the bride, through their friendship and for a couple years we were actually neighbors. 

On a chilly Christmas early morning (just about after midnight, in fact), they both opened all their presents.. but Mike had one more big surprise.  He went down on his knee and presented Nioka with a beautiful ring to propose her with.  :)

Soon after, wedding plans were on the rise and Nioka asked me if I'd be interested in shooting her wedding.  I was happy to do so and nervous at the same time... my first solo wedding!  Let me take this moment to thank Ica from Ica Images for being so supportive and allowing me to second shoot for her in the past. I learned a lot from this little, full of life, lady! Thank you, thank you!

The wedding took place at Notaviva Vineyards in Purcellville, VA in late October.  And man! was it a challenge!!  It SNOWED out of nowhere, very cold, the power went out at the venue and was running on generators, and therefore no restrooms.  But did that hinder the day? Not in any way!  We kept it rolling and we had a great time!  I'm so happy I survived hahaha.

So enough talk, and let me show you the result of the day. Enjoy!

Isn't it such a beautiful snowy setting!?

I really love the guys in the below shot with the combination of the snow.. love it!!

For more, click here to see the rest of the album on my facebook page.

Congratulations Mike & Nioka!  Thank you again for letting me be part of and allow me to document your special day. :)  I wish you both all the best!! keep on dancing ;)