It was exactly a year ago that I bought a half dozen bottles of Hawaiian Tropic sunblock lotions.  I thought they worked pretty good.  I wore it religiously before I leave home for weddings.  I keep on bottle in my backup gear bag.  Sometime I don’t put on Sun-block lotion when I leave home, because the weather is gloomy.  And then, when I arrive at the wedding site, there may be a full blast of strong Sun light.  So, Sunscreen lotion is an absolute necessity for outdoor photographers.

Anyway, I am now finding out that all my Sunscreen lotions are listed in “dangerous” category.  Yikes.. this is not good.  So, I’m going to have to trash everything I have and buy a whole new batch.  This time I’m going to have to buy expensive stuff, not just the ones that are on sale.

I have a wedding coming up in 7 days.  I need to act fast and get something that will not kill me.  I need to avoid Hawaiian Tropic and stick to “California Baby” or something that doesn’t contain poison.  I cannot believe Hawaiian Tropic would sell such bad products.   The concern is with Oxybenzone. They say Oxybenzone “MAY” mess up your life.

Gunga Din, Bring water…

Above is my water supply I bring to every wedding during the Summer season.
With this; I can drink, wash my hand/face, cool down… it’s a life-savor.  If I want to bring a soda, I make sure they do not contain caffeine (dehydrant).  Caffeine will defeat the purpose of drinking water, because caffeine takes water out of your body (we call it dehydration).

John Park Saves the Day Again:

The bride was getting ready at the second floor suite at Grand Vista Hotel.  I was taking photographs of the bride and the bridesmaids getting ready and having fun.  They lost the groove when they realized that they didn’t have any bobby pins.  The grooms mother was going to go downstairs to get the bobby pins.  That’s when I produced my bobby pins for them.  You see, I always carry some bobby pins and safety pins in my pocket. The bride also needed some safety pins as well.  I wouldn’t say I “saved the day”.  But I came in handy for sure. :)  And we went on with the wedding.

VenturaPhoto.com

Last 4 weeks, I had to go to my work in my jammies at night to check emails.
Oneday, I spent a whole day at a coffee shop so I can use internet.

I am finally connected with Verizon fiber optic connection.

Anyway, I’m back, and I’m faster.

I am enjoying my slow season.
I’m not exactly “Slow” because this is my chance to catch up with my other projects and hobbies.  I booked three weddings this month… possibly more clients will send in deposits.

I had two items in my to do list today.
12pm: Engagement photography session in Thousand Oaks (Job completed).
3pm: Meeting with the potential clients in Woodland Hills (Wedding booked).

The Name Game:
Groom’s name from engagement photography session was Brian.  The other groom’s name from 3pm meeting was Bryant.  Their names Brian & Bryant were somewhat confusing.  I had to be extra careful to avoid a potential disaster (If I get the names mixed up).  Both Brian and Bryant called me before the meeting to juggle their schedules.  I was kept making sure I was talking to the right person.

The engagement photography session went smooth.   The bride brought her parents (I told them to bring the family).  I photographed some family pictures as a bonus.  Oh, they had a one year old daughter.  I wonder if she can be trained to be a flower girl this Summer

1  hour later, I met Briant.  We met in San Fernando Valley.  The bride and groom came from Glendale.  The Starbucks Coffee we scheduled to meet was closed for some reason.  We had to re-arrange the location.  We had a fun meeting.  I felt like I was doing stand up comedy.  They were laughing everytime I said something.  They came to the meeting with the deposit ready.  That’s the kind of meeting I like  .

Oh, by the way, the wedding will be at San Bernadino area.  I expect to drive 4-6 hours.   I hope the wedding will be as entertaining as the meeting we had. 

I had a productive day.  I’m happy.  My customers are satisfied.  It’s all good.
Happy new year everyone.

** 2008 **

I’ve been wearing this watch for over 15 years now.  I lost two of them already.  These are #3 & #4.  I use the calculator all the time.  I don’t know how some people can go out shopping without a calculator. 

I use stop watch and timer almost every day.  Also I frequently use tele-memo function to take short notes (where I parked, bride’s room number, etc).  This watch is a “must have” item.  People think I wear this watch to look different, trying to look “old school”.  But I really need this watch.

Casio has a newer model of this watch, but they only have 12 buttons on front panel.  My older model has 4 more buttons (a lot more calculation power). 

After years of weddings photography, I have developed some rituals.
One of them is coffee.
I always brew a fresh coffee right before I hit the road.
I have a good thermos mug that keeps coffee hot for 8-10 hours.
I always use a Minolta cup.  It’s plastic and insulated.
All my photography equipment is Canon, except for the light-meter and this cup.
I love this Minolta cup.

Anyway.
Today, when I was running tight on schedule (rainy day driving), I have realized that I forgot to brew my coffee.  I was devastated.

I went to McDonald’s and bought a cup of coffee.
McDonald’s’ coffee is pretty good, you know.
This coffee kept me company, but it was not the same.
I will never forget my coffee again.

 
McDonald’s Coffee, September 21, 2007 – Before Wedding

Next day, September 22, 2007 – Before Wedding

There is yet another ritual that I do right before the wedding.
I arrive at the wedding site and get out of the car with my Minolta coffee cup.
I set my Minolta coffee cup on top of my car and I get ready for the wedding.
Sometimes I fix my tie and put on Sun block lotion.
I do the last checkup on my cameras and take the lens caps off.
And I take a few test photographs. 
When I look for an object to take photos of, the closest object is always my Minolta cup.

Below are more pictures of my Minolta Cup.

Carpinteria

Oxnard, Heritage Square

Long Beach

Oxnard

Santa Barbara

Ivy House, an Inglewood wedding chapel, shut down September 11 and took all money from the customers.

Some customers paid $16,000.00 so Ivy House can provide everything (Music, Cake, Photography, Videography, food. flower, etc, etc…).  Considering most people book weddings 1 year earlier, there may be a lot of victims.

This makes us look bad.

This completes my busy weekend.
This weekend, I had two weddings, had two meetings, and booked one wedding.
I ate out almost all meals and I drank a lot of coffee (my ritual).
I was in Ventura, Camarillo, San Fernando, Simi Valley, and Culver City for business.
I ate breakfast at 5pm today (the first chance I've got).

People in Ventura County didn't realize, but San Fernando and Culver City was extremely hot and humid due to The Hurricane Dean. When I was taking pictures, beads of sweat dripped down on my forearms. At least I was able to roll up my sleeves. 

Anyway, the weekend is over, job well done.
I can't wait to go back to work Monday so I can take a nap at my desk, ha ha…
Actually I am not that tired.

I just need to be very careful not to get burned from my busy schedule.
I think positive, don't get angry, eat good meal, drive careful, etc…
If I hear my co-worker coughing, I don't stay at work. 
I just come home and stay home until the sick co-worker gets better or makes a sick call.
I refuse to catch anything funky.

OK back to work.
Thank you all for keeping me busy.  I love it…

Next week's schedule:
2 meetings, 1 wedding, camera repair shop, photo lab, complete 3 web albums, send out 3 print orders, keeping touch with wedding customers.

Mental note:
Watch less TV and sleep at least 6 hours a day.