thoughts « JUSTINELEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

Archive: ‘thoughts’

Out of Office!

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

Not really out but I don’t have one right now! Some of you may have noticed on facebook, but were renovating the office, new hardwood floors, new furniture, new cabinet space, new decor and wall art, new new new. But its taking a toll on my week and I haven’t been able to edit, turn on my computer, log onto facebook, or post on my blog in a few days. So here’s my chance to let all of you know. I’ll be resuming work when my office is fully operational on Thursday, and I might be able to throw up some teasers tonight because I have quite a few. Its a busy busy month and I can’t get behind!

Also I have a special deal for you travelers coming up so if you’re thinking about going on vacation set it for the end of June! More details coming soon.

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Tags: home office, Home studio, Photography, Renovation, Studio, weddings
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Agnes + Daniel | Trash The Dress | Teasers

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

Phew what a week! Warning for this post, this is going to be a vent session as I try to throw up all of my thoughts at once but in an organized way. In an attempt to remodel my office room at my house, I turned 2 of my monitors vertical and stuck them to the ends of a 30 inch dell monitor. I’m pretty psyched about this change as we continue to do some customizations to the room. Here’s an inadvertent preview for Rhia + Allan’s E-session I did earlier and a view of my new set up. Special cameos by my super 70-200 lens cup, Vinylmation Mushu, and poloraid Gaby down there on the left.

For all of you wondering why I need 3 screens! well! i’m about to tell you. Actually I have 4, the one on right is a viewing monitor. (it plays host to my blu ray player… okay okay no lies, my ps3, but we all say we have one because it plays blu ray dvds!) The screen on the right hosts web browsing capabilities to the finest and searches thru the web with lightning speed -__-. The one in the middle is the editting screen and the one on the left is my email screen (thats why I get back to all my emails super fast). Along with these changes i’ll be remodeling the entire room, customizing a new cabinet area, and installing hardwood floor. Its going to be a huge change and I cant wait for it to be finished.

Also if you were wondering about my lens cup: I’m happy to share the wealth so go buy one here!

Anyway I have a few teasers to share with you and a bunch more full posts to get up here this week, so keep your eyes peeled. I didn’t expect to get backed up after the wedding summer crunch but things are busy, so thank you for keeping things rollin. I’m glad to be working :) Spread the word and tell your friends to call or email me. I’m happy to hear about their wedding day.

Okay no more, here’s some more teasers from Agnes + Daniel’s Trash the Dress. They’ll be getting the largest album i’ve ever made, 64 pages of beautiful wedding photos. Its going to be epic. Enjoy!

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Tags: 70-200L, Icup, Lens Cup, Photography, trash the dress, Wedding
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Happy Birthday Gaby!

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Hi babe, thanks for all the help, motivation, and inspiration. Can’t wait to buy you a cream cheese filled pretzel tonight at Disneyland :) Happy Birthday!

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Coming to America

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

27 years ago today my family first came to America for a new start and that decision brought us to where we are today. I was still part of a future they didn’t know was coming, but my life would have been entirely different if they didn’t make that decision. Who knows where I would be if I was born in the Philippines and we never came here. Thank You Lord for all the blessings.

My dad was just a few years older than me in this photo, amazing.

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Tags: Anniversary
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The world doesn’t slow down

Saturday, March 19th, 2011

I’ve been MIA from blogging for a bit which I promised myself would be my #1 rule! I need to blog every other day, AT THE LEAST! For all you photographers and bloggers alike, blogging consistently not only keeps your followers in the know, but it also keeps you active and never gets you behind. Because I hadn’t blogged in a week or so, I have been getting a little behind in my work, but the worst part is, I havent been shooting as much!

Now its not like I’ve been sitting here twiddling my thumbs, I’ve been meeting with clients, helping Gaby start her new blog which will debut soon, and mainly organizing the business side of things. I wish photography could just be all shooting and running around and creating the most creative and unique photographs, but there has to be an organizational side if i’m able to survive right?! Hopefully in the end of all this I can become an expert in all areas.

I also went on a cruise to Ensenada, Mexico with the family and Gaby this last weekend. We had an amazing time on the ship and got to spend some quality time with the nephews and the family. Even ran into a couple friends which made the cruise an all around complete success – especially at the craps tables! Thanks guys! I posted a few photos from the trip below.

Also because of the horrible rain, i’ve had to postpone 2 of my engagement sessions, so this may give me some extra time to work on edits. I want to get as much done before Gaby and I head to New York for Val and Jarrod’s engagement session over there. So between now and next Thursday, i’ll be finishing up 2 engagement sessions, and shooting at the shootout tomorrow, and Disneyland on two separate engagements. I hope the rain isn’t too horrible on us! So keep your eyes peeled for those coming soon – February to April sure are turning out to be Engagement Months, i’m shooting at least 1 each week!

And recently I just finished Christian Regan’s portraits from his Naval Academy. I’ve shot Christian and his family tons of times now and was glad to see him during his Christmas break back home. Here are some of the shots and the fun DVD cover I made for him. Check it out!

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Tags: blogging, cruise, dvd cover, Headshots, naval, Photography, portraits, regan
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Happy Valentines Day

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

I wouldn’t spend this day with anyone else in the world. I honestly didn’t do anything super sweet or romantic, I just spent time with my girlfriend Gaby and enjoyed her company. I’ve never been happier just spending time with someone who brings me down to the bare bone simpleness of just being with someone. No magic tricks, no super powers, no hidden pockets – just solid love and time. Thanks for understanding me and being so compassionate. Happy Valentines Day, hope you all had as good a one as I did!

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New Blog Design!

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Hey everyone it’s Gaby. Man I haven’t posted in a while so as you can probably tell, Justin revamped his blog today. Again. Yeah, I know he’s redesigned his blog like four times since last year but I think he’s finally made up his mind on a template he likes. I just hope he isn’t as indecisive in his choice of women as he is with his blog layouts. -__- I personally like this blog, I feel like the layout is much more user friendly. To be honest, I think I’m in love with the search engine. Justin’s accumulated so much work over the years and it’s nice to have an easy way to look back at old weddings. And if I’m feeling narcissistic, I can search my name and see how many times I’ve done the make up for weddings. Oh come on, you all know you’ve googled yourselves, it’s basically the same thing! Anyway I helped Justin out a little bit on this because he’s been sick with a stomach virus and I’ve ordered him to bedrest for the past couple of days. See those moving pictures underneath the banner? If you don’t! Hit the HOME button at the top first. YEP. ALL ME. :D Let Justin know what you think about the new blog, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. He’s been sick all weekend so hopefully the feedback will help him forget about his sickness. Now it’s time for me to study!

Love,
Gaby

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Tags: Blog, Template
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Those Moments

Monday, January 31st, 2011

There are times… when I’m working a wedding and I lose myself entirely in the moment. I find myself glued to the viewfinder in my own little world, and as I move in between guests, I hear music playing in my head that carries me to each fluttering moment. In those few seconds, I can’t miss a shot.

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Tags: Engagement, Photography, Wedding
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In Memory of Vanessa Cease

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

ABC News Report.

I tend to forget how fragile life is and how it can end in a blink of an eye. An old friend of mine Vanessa Cease and her boyfriend Alan Reyes passed away yesterday morning in a sudden car crash. Vanessa was an old friend and fellow peer minister in church during our confirmation years. I also took her to my Senior Year Sadie Hawkins Dance in High School. I’m really glad i was able to dig up and find this old picture. Its stunning how a life can be taken so easily. Rest In Peace Vanessa Cease, Heaven just gained a beautiful soul.

One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching

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Finding Inspiration

Saturday, January 15th, 2011

I caught up on my blogs! Mac’s Mail reader has a cool little perk that I think google chrome and Microsoft Outlook offer, they update any RSS feeds you want to follow so you can keep up to date with your favorite photographers.

One of the consequences of this though is seeing your favorite photographers work, on their blog, and making yourself feel, well, sucky. haha

Have you ever look at a photographers work and then think “Man this guy is good” then 2 minutes later, totally feel in the hole about how much you suck? Well i’ve always thought that, that thought process, was something great because seeing other work that you can admire only drives you to want to go out and get better.

So now i’m here again with that big urge to just shoot, to just really refine and shape my style. I’d like to think the way you shoot tends to become a mix of your favorite photographers. I take the best things i like in different photographers and i try to make it my own. From all of this i’ve realized in the past couple months, and in thailand, my photography eye has taken a change. My thought process has begun to take into account a little of each style. Time will tell where it will go.

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Tags: justinelement. wedding, Photography
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