Valentines Day 2009-Moroccan Style

Valentines day 2009....My new favorite restaurant...Tanjia in Oakland, CA a Moroccan Restaurant with incredible food and Belly Dancers! We planned on going to a comedy show...but on a cold rainy night...I was tired...I thought it would be more fun to be in a cozy place...on a couch with pillows eating exotic food and take in the amazing culture...I am not one to bring my camera with me anywhere that isn't a sporting event, for some reason I brought it... I used my new 50 mm lens ....the camera froze when DJ got up to dance with the Belly Dancer and was too shy to get up and do it again for me!....here is our night...enjoy! We sure did!

The Lakers 2009

Wow....these guys played some hard ball....so cute! I was exhausted after just watching them. This is my Niece and Nephew's team...my Niece isn't much into it...but has fun running around none the less. Basketball is a challenge for me and I haven't quite figured out why...I always seem to miss the good shot....here are some of my favorites from this game...My brother in law is the coach...This was my first game of the season.

Day at the Races!!!

My day at the races...how exciting...we went New Years Day...$1 day and I did so well we went back the following 3 weeks....considered putting G.A in a easy to locate spot just in case...lol...it was fun...my $2 bets brought me in about $50 each day...except the last week. yes I vote for the colors and names...actually I wait to see the horses and gage by my intuition....then colors and names! Gotta love the ladies in hats!!!

Pacific Islander Try-outs

I was invited by the President of the Pacific Islander Minor Leauge Football to take pictures of their mini camp/tryouts... I had never really been to a tryout before...our youth football league never had a enough players to cut anyone...only time we cut anyone was for safety reasons. It was interesting...they did some bench presses....jumps....running etc...as you see here. They are HUGE compared to the high school guys...and I thought my high school guys were pretty big...my buddy John Mendoza is probably one of the biggest guys on Concord's team...but if he were an Islander...they would call him Tiny. It was a lot of fun, Austin and Mackenzie went with me... here is a few...you can see all of them on the Pacific Islander's website or click here... http://www.islanderfootball.org/Photo%20Pages/2009_minicamp_photos.html I have to download them on my smugmug...but haven't had the time yet. I will take in some practices...season starts in March...I can't wait! I am missing Football!

CHS Basketball...a first for me!

My first basketball game...happened to have rented the 70-200mm IS lens for the Pacific Islanders tryouts this weekend...brought it to the game to shoot the cheerleaders...one of the team mom's approached me and said no one had taken basketball photos... I was more than happy to oblige... basketball is a much different shoot than football for sure...quicker action...everyone is already so close...lighting is easier...I learned a lot by trial and error...more error...hopefully next game I will do better. I was pleasantly surprised to see a few of my favorite football players on the court.

Princess Tea Party

Today was my nieces Princess Tea Birthday Party....I walked into a room of princesses! Just adorable! I spent the morning shooting football tryouts and had to really shift gears when I got to the party....so light and frilly compared to where I was. My sister Leslie did an amazing job. All the girls got to decorate their own magic wand, they each had their own tea cup with their name on it...and she made them real tea with tiny tea sandwiches and delicious pink cupcakes. Gone are the Pinatas you hit with a stick...replaced by pulling a ribbon...1 ribbon opens the whole pinata...Genius!

SFPD

Can't forget the guys in Blue....I used Matt's 300 strong for these...Very cool if I don't say so myself!