2018 Year in Review

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I’ve been having a lot of ideas about what I would write before showcasing my photographs from the last year. I had a notion about going through each month and making sure I could pick out a highlight event for the month (mostly so I could grumble about turning 25). Unfortunately, I couldn’t condense to just 12.

2018 was a lot for my family as we got to celebrate life, both at its beginning and end. My cousin Mavis (or “Chublet”, as she’s lovingly referred to in the family group chat) was welcomed into the world, and my uncle Carmelo left his memories with us behind as he departed. In the wake of that, I realized I wanted to live my life more — and that would mean there would be times where I’d need to do things with no one at my side. I had adventures that might not seem very crazy, but for me to go alone it certainly felt like a big deal. Often it felt scary and I wished that my people were with me, but I’m thankful for the experiences I had. It was another big change year as I moved back to Long Beach after 7 years in Orange County.

My photography has taken leaps forward since my last review. I shot one wedding by myself in 2017 and quickly realized that there was so much more to learn, and was given the opportunity to do so with some absolutely incredible artists over 2018. Huge props go out to Hom Photography, iamkennywong, and Rayne Duronslet Photography for taking a chance on me. I was encouraged to truly think about and capture what wedding photography is and what it means, not just what looks beautiful. And perhaps this year I’ll actually be on top of posting images here since I’m off Instagram…

To my family and friends that supported me in life and in my work, thank you.

To all of the couples, families, and individuals that trusted me to document your moments, thank you.

To my Savior above all for this life and every blessing and trial within it, thank you.

To 2018 — thank you, next.

2017 Year in Review

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If I'm being honest, I really wasn't looking forward to 2017. What I saw was my closest friends moving away, leaving the home that I had known for the last 3 years, and navigating the waters of an uncertain future. I was sad that so many things were changing in such a short period of time. I felt alone and terrified of the unknown.

And yet throughout all of those feelings, God carried me to this point. Here, on the brink of a new year, I've found that my closest friends are still my closest friends despite being the farthest away, a new community that has cared very deeply for me, and many new blessings to be thankful for. Each day, I've come to see more of how the world is shattered and that in His love, God chooses to repair and redeem it back to Himself. I see more of my brokenness each day and appreciate so much that my identity isn't in my flaws, it's in being part of God's family. I understand that being a follower of Jesus is the most difficult thing that anyone can do -- to choose to put away your own desires in pursuit of a greater calling. And while I don't do this perfectly and never will, I'm thankful for a Savior that empowers me to do it and that it's a lifelong process of reconciliation.

In addition to this, I've grown in my love for photography and to see that God blesses us with small moments and interactions that pass in an instant, all of which I've graciously been able to capture. These are some of my favorite moments I've been blessed with and I'm very excited to see what the next year has in store.

Here's to 2018

Becca + Taylor

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My pastor and his wife are probably two of the coolest people I've met. They're filled with the love of the Lord, magnetic, compassionate, patient, insanely goofy, and always a blast to be around. Also they were so loving and playful in this amazing session. I'm no wordsmith, so I'll let the images do to talking.

Washington

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For Thanksgiving 2017, my buddies and I chose to spend a week together in our nation's capital. It only took about a trillion "Have you bought your flight yet?" texts before we were all united together again for the first time in almost a year. After lots of catching up (which according to Andrew is "like binge watching a show on Netflix, only better because it's real") we got to experience the city where our political system operates -- along with trying to find an open restaurant last minute on Turkey Day, playing House of Cards (that might've been just me...in my head), and walking around a city that has more history packed into in that you could imagine. It was a bit chilly, but I'm proud of how well I handled it as weak Southern California native. Also I saw legitimately the largest rat I think anyone has ever seen.

Ever.

All in all, it was a solid 11/10.

Joshua Tree

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For a long time I've heard about how people say the desert in enchanting. Amid the blazing heat, arid conditions, and distance from "civilization", there's truly something special about it. Plants fighting for survival, critters living in the shade of tower rocks, and zero cell service show you that even when you think nothing is happening, something really is. I guess I'm slowly getting why God had the Israelites wandering the desert for 40 years.

And yeah, I'm already scheming on the soonest I can get back to exploring this awesome place.

1 Day in Tech

So I've been wanting to do this for a while but for some reason it was difficult to find the time (and remember to bring my camera when I'm rushing out of the door in the morning). On June 20th, my one year anniversary of working full-time at my company came and went. Nothing special happened, but I guess it kind of hit me that I had been out of school for a full-year. And yet after a whole year, it's still hard to answer the question "What is it that you do?" when folks ask. My official title is "Product Manager", so you can look up what I do if you're truly interested. And since all of the Wikipedia contributers can more succinctly describe my position, I'd rather show you what I see when I head to the office everyday.