EDGE PHOTO

The Long Way to Half Moon Bay

2009-10-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I have an urge to get away. Life is full of so many distractions that sometimes you need to unplug yourself from the matrix to remind yourself there's an existence beyond your daily routine. Armed with my camera and a fully charged iPod I set off without a time frame or destination. I make frequent stops, I take unfamiliar roads, I strike up conversation with strangers.

Here are a few images from one of these recent getaways.

Bradley Pasienski

2009-08-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month I made a special trip to Texas to visit a new addition to my family. My cousin Greg and his wife Andrea are settling into parenthood with their son Bradley. Unfortunately I don't get to see this side of my family often, so I was surprised and honored when Greg and Andrea asked me to be Bradley's Godfather. We had a wonderful baptism at their church and Bradley made sure to put on a performance that people won't soon forget. I expect big things from him in the future.

It was great getting to spend some quality time with my relatives in Texas. We might all live far away from each other but we manage to stay involved in each others lives. Its really special when you can reunite with family you haven't seen in a long time and immediately feel like you're at home. At least now I have one more reason to visit.

Logan Swirsding

2009-03-26T00:57:00.000-07:00

I'd like you to meet baby Logan David Swirsding. Last month I got to meet him for the first time with his parents Katie and Dave. I can't wait to see him again once he gets a little bit older and Katie is able to take him around more. Here's a few pics from our session.

Ranjan & Subodh 50th Anniversary

2009-03-13T01:53:00.000-07:00

Last month I had the honor of photographing the 50th wedding anniversary of Ranjan & Subodh. In this day and age its an accomplishment to make it to your 50th birthday, so to survive 50 years living side by side your spouse is definitely a means for a celebration. Obviously every marriage experiences its fair share of ups and downs, but its a shame that so many people in our society view them as disposable. A successful marriage requires a great deal of hard-work, sacrifice, understanding, friendship, support, and a conscious decision to love one another regardless of the circumstances. The second I met Ranjan & Subodh it was instantly evident why these two have maintained such a successful marriage. They both exuded genuine warmth and kindness and you could feel the outpouring of positive energy in their presence.

It was a wonderful celebration full of family, friends, drinks, laughter, and my favorite....traditional Indian dancing. This group sure could dance! People were glued to the dance floor the second the music started. Subodh was also kind enough to show me some of her moves, so watch out ladies....I'm ready to hit the Indian club scene.

I also wanted to thank my good friend Sarah Powers for coordinating this awesome event. She took care of all the details and made sure everything went off without a hitch. If you ever need an event planner or a wedding coordinator I'd highly recommend her.

Congrats to Ranjan & Subodh on such a momentous occasion. Hopefully I can match this accomplishment one day, although I guess I need to find a soul mate first. At this rate I'll be pushing 80 years old if I make it to a 50th Anniversary! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

WPPI 2009

2009-02-24T21:50:00.000-08:00

Last week I joined tens of thousands of photographers at the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) Convention in Las Vegas. This is hands down one of the biggest photography conventions in the country and anyone who is anyone in the business is sure to attend. It's 6 days worth of networking, talking shop, learning about new trends, finding inspiration, re-connecting with friends, making new friends, and my favorite....partying! I've been wanting to go for the longest time and this year the stars finally aligned in my favor. It was a little overwhelming and definitely exhausting, but it was well worth it. Hopefully this will become a yearly tradition.

The above picture was taken at the photobooth at the Bludomain party at the Hard Rock Casino. Hands down the best party at WPPI. Fun times!

Thanks again to the Vegas Entourage for such an awesome time.

Emily & Jeff Wedding

2009-02-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

Back in September I had the pleasure of second shooting Emily and Jeff's wedding with Kelli Nicole Saunders. The wedding took place at Hans Fahden Vineyards in Calistoga. The venue was gorgeous and the ceremony took place in the middle of a cave. Normally, shooting in a dark cave is a photographer's nightmare, but the intimate setting and candlelight made for some stunning images. Emily and Jeff were a really fun and exciting couple to work with. They are from one of my favorite places in the world, Denver. Virtually every guest at their wedding was from Colorado so it was really special to have them all visit the California wine country. Here's a few images from the day. Thanks again Kelli, it was great working with you!

Olivia Higgins

2009-01-03T22:44:00.001-08:00

Back during Thanksgiving....yes I realize I'm a bit behind here...I got to spend some time with my good friends Polly & Jeff and their new baby girl Olivia. At the time Olivia was about a month and a half old and she was enjoying the laid back lifestyle of being a baby. I think she was pretty happy that she wound up with such cool parents. Polly's father has been helping out for the last couple of months and he'd walk Olivia all over the house while speaking incessantly in Spanish. I asked Polly what on earth he could be talking about for so long. Evidently Andy tells Olivia all of his deepest darkest secrets. I thought this was hilarious. Hey...it beats spending all that money on a therapist!

Congratulations Polly and Jeff. Welcome to the world Olivia!

Oh yeah...and you can't forget about Miles. He's been dethroned as the baby of house but he's still a cute little guy.

Ella & Carson

2008-12-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving I did a little impromptu photo session of my nephew Carson and his little cousin Ella. Carson is going to be 2 in a couple more months and Ella will be turning 1 in a few weeks. They're already the best of friends and they get so excited when they have each other around. It's going to be great seeing these two grow up together. I can't believe how fast they grow. It seems like it wasn't that long ago when I was taking Carson's baby pictures. Since I only get to see them several times a year its amazing how much they change from one visit to the next.

One of my personal highlights from this session was Ella's eyes. I just couldn't get over how big and blue they are. She's gonna be trouble with the guys. As you can see, Carson's a little Casanova himself. I think he takes after his Uncle ;)

Coit Tower

2008-11-20T00:35:00.001-08:00

Lately I've found myself doing a lot of touristy stuff around San Francisco. Since I don't technically live in "The City" I guess its okay. Besides, there's a crapload of stuff to see and so much of it I've never explored.

A few weeks ago I decided to visit the famous Coit Tower. According to Wikipedia it was built atop Telegraph Hill in 1933. I've never wanted to visit this attraction before due to its geographic location in the city. Since it's perched atop a hill, its not exactly easy to get to. You can drive to it, but its pretty miserable due to the small parking lot and hoards of people waiting in traffic. Your only other option is to walk up a seemingly endless set of steps originating at the edge of the Presidio. For whatever reason I was feeling extremely ambitious this day and decided to take the steps.

It was definitely touristy, but the extreme workout and $4 elevator ride up to the top were worth it in the end. It was a gorgeous day and I managed to grab some interesting shots at the top. If you've got an hour to kill, add this to your list of things to do on a quiet weekend.

The Cassidys

2008-11-05T23:22:00.001-08:00

Way back in May I did a family portrait session for my good friends The Cassidys. You might recognize Cole from a baby shoot I did back in October of 2007. Jeff and I used to work really close together and unfortunately they made the decision to move back to the Lone Star State. They're originally from Texas and now that Cole is getting older he gave Mom and Dad an ultimatum. "Either we move to Texas to be closer to my grandparents, or I'm never learning to walk!" He didn't get the name "Cole-Monster" for nothing. Fortunately as you can tell from these pictures Cole isn't a monster at all...I just like calling him that :)

Jeff went to college at Santa Clara University, so we figured what better way to commemorate the family's last days in California, than to do a shoot at his Alma Mater. The campus has so many gorgeous locations and it made for a great session. As you can tell Cole was having the time of his life. I don't think this little guy stopped smiling the entire time. I suppose his days at Santa Clara were numbered because he's destined to become a Longhorn.

Hope you guys enjoy your photos. Can't wait to come visit.

Check out the slideshow for more pics.
Click HERE for a full size version.

Highway 1 Drive

2008-11-02T23:56:00.000-08:00

Gosh...I'm extremely behind on my blogging, but I'm doing my best to catch up. Things were a bit crazy for a time there, but everything seems to be settling down. Its funny how our lives ebb and flow, but nature seems to have its own course for us.

I've been doing a ton of shooting recently (which I'm way behind on) and about a month ago I headed down to Paso to shoot a wedding. The next day I was feeling pretty lazy and I wasn't in any hurry to get home so I decided to take the scenic route....beautiful Highway 1. This route from SLO to Monterey is hands down one of my favorite drives. You pass so many incredible sights and gorgeous coastal vistas. This road has a personality of its own. I'd consider it one of California's greatest attractions. Since I was already armed with my photo gear I decided to take my time on this drive and stop anywhere I could get a chance. The weather this day was a bit on the gloomy side, but I still managed to capture some great images. There's literally 100's of unique places to stop along the route, so I did my best to cover a few.

First stop was the quaint town of Harmony (Population 18).
There's not exactly a ton to see here, but its worth a stop. Be sure to peruse the local pottery and glass shop.

Somehow this beat up red truck manages to maintain it's charm over the years.

On the shores of the beaches near San Simeon the Elephant Seals gather each year to do their "business". Its quite a site to see hundreds of these creatures sprawled out along the coast. I would have loved to get some closer shots, but access to the seals is restricted to ensure their privacy and your protection.

Not far after San Simeon you reach Ragged Point. This is one of the few places you can stop and grab a bite to eat on your drive. They've got a nice sit down restaurant and an outside grill for people in a hurry and on a budget. This place is also one of my favorite coastal vistas. If you're brave enough, there's a shoddy footpath that will take you all the way to the shore. Its a bit of a trek, but worth it if you have the time.

Last but not least, one of my favorite destinations, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in Big Sur. Unfortunately this area was recently ravaged by a series of forest fires, but they can't take away from the beauty of the famous beach with the 80 foot waterfall that cascades directly onto the shoreline. I'd give my right arm to be able to run along that beach one day...too bad I'd probably crack my skull open in the process. People die every year trying to get down to this piece of paradise. I guess we'll have to settle with looking at it from afar.

I would have loved to cover more spots on this trip, but unfortunately I had to work the next day. In the meantime I'd highly recommend the drive if you've never taken it before. You won't be disappointed.

Farmers Market San Francisco

2008-09-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I decided to head out to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market to get my fill of fresh fruit and veggies. This is hands down one of the best farmers markets I've ever been to. Its massive and the assortment of foods is incredible. People aren't stingy on the free samples either which is a huge plus in my book. The only thing better than eating the food is taking pictures of it. As you can see there was quite a display. If you've never been to this farmers market before I highly recommend you check it out.

Fun times!

Jalama

2008-05-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month I dusted off the camping gear and headed down the 101 for a fun filled weekend with a few good friends. After living on the Central Coast for four years I thought I had experienced everything worth experiencing. I was wrong. Who would have thought a beach oasis would exist 20 miles down an obscure road in the quiet town of Lompoc. After following this windy road through luscious green hills and picturesque vistas we reached the coast. The white sandy beach known as Jalama extended for miles in each direction protected by sheer cliffs and the rocky coastline. The pristine swells just off the shore make this a surfers paradise, and since it's well off the beaten path its a well kept secret by the locals. Aside from the Jalama Beach Store and Grill, home of the famous "Jalama Burger" you won't find any signs of civilization for miles.

If it wasn't for the wind I don't think I'd ever want to leave this place. Tent camping on the beach + tornado like winds = sand everywhere. Let's just say that the next time I break out my tent I'll be bringing the beach with me. Unfortunately round 1 went to the wind and we had to cut out a day early to take refuge at a friend's house in San Luis Obispo.

In the end it was a good time had by all, and I managed to grab a couple of sweet pics. Hopefully we'll go back to battle the wind another day.

Day In The Life

2008-04-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

A couple months back I came across this program called Gawker and decided to make a time lapse video of a "normal" day of work with the camera on my Mac Book Pro. As you can see, life behind a desk in corporate America isn't very thrilling, but it is slightly entertaining to watch. In case you're wondering why everything is shot from the side, my laptop is hooked up to a 30in display so I can stare at really gigantic spreadsheets all day long. I also took the bus into work this day which is a rare occurrence, so I decided it was the perfect day to take a video.

Fortunately I started a new job at the fruit company a couple weeks back, so my days aren't exactly this boring anymore. Unfortunately, as a result, my days of surfing the web and screwing around with stuff like this are probably long gone...at least for now.

Hope this is more entertaining than it is pathetic :)

Download Gawker and try it out for yourself:
http://gawker.sourceforge.net/Gawker.html

Happy 15th Birthday Dad

2008-03-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the pleasure of flying down to LA to help my dad celebrate his 15th Birthday. 15th...you're joking right? No I'm not. My dad is one of the select few individuals to be born on February 29th. He joins the ranks of Dinah Shore, Anthony Robbins, Antonio Sabato Jr, and JaRule. Ya....there aren't exactly a lot of cool people born on Feb 29th, but it is the rarest birthday.

Since the actual Solar Year is 365.24219 days long, every 4 years we get an extra day in February. This ensures that our calendars don't get out of whack, so winter won't start happening in the summer months. etc. My dad is actually 60 years old but he only celebrated his 15th birthday (60/4 = 15). Kind of a bum deal if you ask me. Growing up we'd usually celebrate on either Feb 28th or March 1st, whichever was closer to a weekend.

So since he actually had a birthday when he turned 60 it was a means for a party. We celebrated with tons of friends, family and food. The night finished off with an obligatory roasting of good 'ol dad by yours truly and my brother. I put together a little slideshow of him growing up and set it to some of his favorite music in iPhoto. Yet another reason to buy a Mac.

Here's the show. There's a lot of classics in here.
Enjoy.

LaRue and Brian Engagement

2008-02-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

I did this session with LaRue and Brian in the middle of January and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. I know....that's pretty bad. For some reason I have such a tough time remembering to put images up after I edit a shoot. Lord knows I have hundreds of things in the queue waited to be posted, but it always seems to take such a long time to write something up and throw it on the internet. So I guess I need to A) Get my rear in gear, B) Pay someone to write a blog for me (do these people exist?), or C) You'll just have to bear with me and read about things months after they've happened. Unfortunately C is probably the most likely choice, so if that's what you voted for you're a Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! I will however promise to try harder in the future.

Anyways, back to LaRue and Brian. I know LaRue through work and her and Brian are an awesome couple. They actually knew each other as kids and wound up crossing paths later on in life. It's so funny to learn about the different ways people meet. They are both from the East Coast, but San Francisco has become a huge part of their relationship. They seriously have the quintessential San Francisco lifestyle. They live in an awesome part of town thats walking distance to tons of great restaurants, bars, parks, and corner markets. I would trade my frumpy Fremont apartment for a stylish urban SF flat any day of the week. If only I could afford it. As you can see we had a fantastic time hitting up their favorite city spots. We finished the day off with a scrumptious dinner at their favorite restaurant Range. They showed me a great time and I hope to hang out with them again soon.

Click HERE for a full size version of the slideshow.

Goodbye Friend

2008-01-28T20:19:00.001-08:00

Two weeks ago I had to part ways with a very near and dear friend....my first car :( We've been together since I was 16 years old. She was very loving and reliable in her long and fruitful life. Like a dog she was man's best friend, always with me through thick and thin. She got me through high school, was with me on my first date, drove me off to college, took me on many awesome road trips, went with me to job interviews, helped me move countless times, sheltered me on camping trips, and she never gave me a lick of trouble. She was a fantastic car and I hope she will enjoy her new home with the Air Conditioning Repair Man :(

With that said, I have the pleasure of saying hello to a new friend. As you can tell they look very similar, as if they were somehow related. I guess I couldn't completely let go of what I had before. Kinda like dating someone that's your "type". I figure if it worked once, it'll work again. Toyota's are extremely reliable and they've got great resale value. I don't think you can go wrong. I guess the fact that I gained power steering, automatic windows, automatic locks, automatic transmission, air conditioning, 4 doors, and a tow package, will make it fairly easy to get over my lost love. I'll miss her, but her replacement is a heck of a lot sexier. What do you think?

Wesley Kron

2007-12-24T13:52:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks back I had the opportunity to take some pictures of Wes and his parents Chris and Paige. His dad and I actually met on the first day of orientation at my new job. He works in Sales and I work in Finance, but we've managed to stay in touch ever since. It's kinda funny the places where you meet new people.

The Krons are a beautiful family and I captured some adorable moments. I can't wait to spend some more time with them and see this guy get a little older.
Hope you guys enjoy your photos.

Click HERE for a full size version of the slideshow.

Joey Raggio

2007-11-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

The weekend before last I had the privilege of photographing Ashley and James Raggio and their 1.5 month old son Joey. We had a blast hanging out at the park next to their home and enjoying the uncharacteristically hot and sunny November weather. If only the summers days were that hot and gorgeous in the bay area.

It was great getting to spend the afternoon with you guys and getting to know you. I hope you enjoy your images!

Click HERE for a full size version of the slideshow.

Luke Uffelman

2007-10-27T20:06:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday I got to spend the afternoon with this bundle of joy (Luke Uffelman) and his parents Karen and Brian. Luke is quite possibly the happiest baby I've ever met. He had an enormous giggling smile on his face the second I walked in the door and he was ready to have a good time. As you can see we captured some precious moments.

It was great getting to meet you guys. I hope you enjoy your photos.

Click HERE for a full size version of the slideshow.

Cole Jon Cassidy

2007-10-10T09:06:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks back I had the pleasure of photographing my co-worker's first child. Cole is a beautiful little boy and Jeff and Beth should be extremely proud. Thanks for inviting me into your home to meet the little guy. I hope you like your pictures.

Click HERE for a full size version of the slideshow.

The New Face of Edgington Photography

2007-09-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to introduce you to the new and improved look for Edgington Photography. This logo was designed by my uber-talented cousin who works for an elite design firm in Texas. Chances are you've probably purchased many of her designs on products sold in stores throughout the country. This logo is clean, it's fresh, it's easily recognizable, and it conveys exactly what my business is about. It has everything you'd look for in a great logo. I love it!

I'm also excited to introduce you to the new and improved EdgingtonPhotography.com. I finally came to the realization that my html skills weren't cutting it anymore. I decided I wanted to be more like the cool kids so I went out and got a flash website template from the super cool Colleen at 5DogProductions. Unfortunately she just stopped selling do-it-yourself templates, but you can still contact her for a custom site design.

I hope you like the new look and the new color scheme. Head over to the new site and let me know what you think. Stay tuned for many cool new things to come.

The Pasienski Family

2007-08-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

Last month I had the pleasure of photographing my cousin's family when we were down in LA for the weekend. I'm the youngest of eight cousins so it's kind of funny that his daughter Kaitlyn was the first to dethrone me as the baby of the family. I guess the baby making factory was on strike for a couple decades, but fortunately things are fixed and babies are being born left and right.

I had a blast spending the afternoon at the beach with 3 generations of the Pasienski clan. Kaitlyn definitely got the award for having the most fun. As you can see from these photos she loves the beach! It makes me miss the fact that we aren't a 3/4 mile stroll from the ocean anymore. I guess we'll just have to make the most of it when we visit.

I hope you guys enjoy your photos.

Click HERE for a full size version of the slideshow.

One Year of Blogging

2007-07-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Wow time flies.

It's been exactly 1 year to the date that I decided to start this blog. My main motivation in starting this blog was to challenge myself physically, artistically, and mentally. I originally set a goal of posting at least once a week, and I can now see that I failed miserably :(

Little did I know how difficult this would be when I started out. I wish I could just jot something down right away and click "publish post", but the ideas don't seem to flow from brain to fingers very fast, and it's soo much easier to plop down on the couch in front of the TV with a beer in hand. I guess the fact that I have a full-time day job and a plethora of hobbies doesn't help out much either. Although, anyone that knows me knows that one of my favorites sayings is "Excuses are like assholes.....everyones got 'em....and they STINK!!!" So I suppose I need a good dose of my own medicine. I did manage to post at least once each month and somehow I managed to scrounge up 36 posts in the last year (counting this one). Thats a C average!!! Well.....I guess that isn't exactly something to write home about is it?

Probably the coolest thing about a blog is that as time transpires, you have a mini written history of events. It's discouraging starting out, but when you look back after a year you realize, HOLY CRAP I wrote all that??!! Kinda makes all the hard work worth it in the end, even if no one else reads it. It's definitely given me a new appreciation for authors and all they go through when writing a novel.

It's also going to be interesting to see how this medium changes over the years. Journals that used to only consist of pen and paper now have limitless potential with the advent of the internet, digital photography, and modern technology. I just hope there's a way to archive all this information for safe keeping. The scary thing about the internet and computers is that if we somehow ran out of electricity our entire modern historical record would vanish. At least the Egyptians were smart enough to build pyramids and carve things into stone. What the heck is gonna happen to us? People will be digging for fossils and all they'll find is a bunch of metal computer scrap and CRT monitors. Hopefully that'll be way past my time, so I'll leave it to the politicians to debate for now ;)

Well, for those of you who have joined me on this journey I hope you stick around. I plan to continue this blog especially now that I have a goal for next year....36 posts! There's a TON of stuff I didn't have time to post about over the last year and lord knows there's an equally large TON of stuff coming up in the future. Stay tuned for more happenings in my mediocre life. I'll do my best to keep it exciting (for both of us!!!)

Woz at Valley Fair Apple Store

2007-06-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here's some shots I got of the iPhone release at the Apple store in the Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara, CA. The crowd was enormous and Steve Wozniak (The Woz) was there leading the charge to get his hands on the first iPhone. Even though Steve Jobs had already given him a phone earlier in the day, he was there to support Apple and pick up some extra phones for his family...soo cool. This guy is awesome. I can't wait till I get mine!!!

Update: My pics made it to the front page of the Apple cult website Appleinsider. You can check out the post HERE.

Happy iPhone Day!

2007-06-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

Great Gorilla Run 2007

2007-06-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I headed to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco to witness the 1st ever Great Gorilla Run in America. This is an event sponsored by the Gorilla Organization which is a charity working to protect the survival of gorillas in their natural environment. This wacky 7K run started back in 2003 in the UK and is slowly starting to gain popularity across the world. The cost is $100 to register, but you get to keep the gorilla suit and the money goes to a good cause. Unfortunately I missed the registration deadline, but luckily I was able watch all the craziness in person. As you can see from the pictures, people really got into it. Hopefully it'll be back again next year.

Check out the slideshow for more pictures from the day.
See the full size version HERE.

Here's a quick video I got of the action.

Happy Father's Day

2007-06-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a shout out to my pops.
Happy Fathers Day Dad!

San Jose Photo Shoot

2007-06-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

Wow...it's been quite a long time since I took these pictures but I've finally gotten around to putting them up on the web. About a month ago one of my photo friends Nichanh coordinated an awesome shoot in downtown San Jose. As you can see from the pictures, Nichanh has some pretty hot friends. Stephanie and Jason & Kristi were awesome to work with and we got some incredible pictures. Thanks again Nichanh for planning everything. I can't wait to do it again.

Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

Check out more pics in the slideshow.
See the full size version HERE.

Livermore Rodeo

2007-06-10T20:12:00.001-07:00

On Saturday I was longing for a good old fashioned country experience, I we headed out to the Livermore Rodeo. This is the first rodeo I've been to since my college days in San Luis Obispo. It made me miss being around the the cowboy hats, the boots, the wranglers, the smell of livestock, and that good ol' country boy mentality. You definitely don't get a whole lot of that working at a corporate job in the silicon valley. It was great to see such a unified group of people that had so much love and respect for this country. The highlight of the day was at the opening of the Rodeo. They flew a plane high above the arena and this guy jumped out with this massive American flag. It was incredible watching him grow from this tiny spec and maneuver his way down to the center of the arena. A bunch of military personnel and cowboys were even there to catch the flag before it touched the ground. It was one of the coolest things I've seen in a while.

Another reason I decided to head to the rodeo was because I wanted to try out my new 70-200 2.8IS lens. I tried to weasel may way into the "press pass" area, but unfortunately the security guard gave me the boot....DARN IT! Next time I may have to resort to bribery. Even though I was confined to the bleachers I still managed to get off some pretty decent shots. I think this lens is a keeper. Too bad I had to put that new car purchase on hold as a result of it. New cars are overrated anyways. Tell that to the guy who has an hour long commute each way with no A/C, no power steering, no power windows, and no power locks. She ain't pretty but at least she's paid off!

Bareback Riding

Tie Down Roping
I love the "Beef" signs in the back of these shots.

Barrel Racing

Bull Riding (Everybody's Favorite)
These guys are out of their friggin minds

Big Fat Drunk Gross Guy with a Wig (My Favorite Event)
3 hot chicks on each arm....he's gotta be doing something right!

My Brother the Fireman

2007-06-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give a shout out to my older brother Matt who recently completed his paramedic certification with LA City Fire. LAFD happens to be one of the elite fire departments in the country, right in line with FDNY, so this is quite an accomplishment. Matt's been working his butt off for the past 6 months going through all the coursework and training to acquire his certification. In the middle of this whole process his wife Sarah gave birth to their first child Carson. The last couple of months have been a whirlwind for them, but they're enjoying their new jobs as parents.

You can rest assured that we'll be toasting over a cold beer the next time we're in LA. Congrats big bro!

Here's a couple of pics I snapped of my brother's home away from home when I had the pleasure of visiting his station a couple years ago. I'm honored that they actually wanted to blow a couple of these up and use them to decorate Carson's room.

Here's a shot of my bro in action.

Here's a picture they sent me of these shots up in Carson's room. Now Carson can grow up admiring what his daddy does for a living. Too cool!!!

Sabrina and Greg Wedding

2007-05-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

Last month I had the privlege of shooting a wedding with Colin Michael. He's a super cool and talented photograher from one of my favorite places in he world, Paso Robles. I helped him shoot Sabrina and Greg's wedding in the small town of Crockett. I'd never heard of the place before and come to find out it's a super tiny town just south across the bay from Vallejo. According to Wikipedia it was once best known for being the corporate headquarters of C&H Sugar Company which is now closed.

Anyways, Sabrina and Greg were a blast. I had a great time photographing their wedding alongside Colin and Sara Heindrichs. Here's a couple of the photos I nabbed throughout the day.

Sabrina was a gorgeous bride.

Isn't this the coolest tux you've ever seen?

Can you tell that Greg is in to bikes?

Carson's Baptism

2007-05-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a slideshow I put together for Carson's Baptism.
If you'd like to view the full size show then click **HERE**.

Mission Peak

2007-04-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

The Haunted Stanley Hotel

2007-04-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

One of my thousands of projects to do is transfer my home movies from tape onto DVD. For those of you who have edited movies before you know just how arduous and time consuming this task can be. First off you need to transfer your videos from tape (MiniDV or Hi8/VHS for you old schoolers) onto your computer. This process takes as long as the length of tape you've recorded. Fortunately you can set your computer to capture the files and go do something more productive.

Once this is done then you need to start creating your movie in a program like Windows Movie Maker, Vegas Movie Studio, Final Cut Pro, or iMovie. Since I am now an Apple disciple I figured I'd give the iLife suite a whirl and use iMovie since I have yet to test drive the software. The process of reviewing and editing footage was just as long and painful as using Vegas Movie Studio.

Even though iMovie didn't quite have all the bells and whistles of a full blown movie program, its set up in a way that is simple enough for your parents to understand and use. It's real claim to fame is its customizable templates and music/sound effect library which make your movies look like they were produced by Stephen friggin Spielberg. This coupled with awesome menu templates available in iDVD result in a pretty kick ass end product. I just wish Apple would come out with more templates for iMovie. Hopefully they have that on their list for the new version of iLife everyone is eagerly anticipating :)

In the end I'd give iMovie 8 out of 10 stars because it was easy to use, it had a reasonable amount of features and adjustments, and the templates make your home movies look like a work of art. I'll probably wind up using Final Cut Pro on my next project so I can see how it compares to it's better equipped rival, Vegas Movie Studio.

Here's a short clip from the movie I created. This is from my trip to Colorado in 2005 where I stayed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. This is the Hotel where Stephen King got the inspiration for his book "The Shining" and yes it is actually haunted. They even have a station on the TV that plays the movie "The Shining" all day long. I DO NOT recommend watching this at night before trying to go to bed. I think I slept for about 2 hours because I kept thinking a ghost was going to attack me. It was a fun time nonetheless and the place was gorgeous. I'd probably go back even though it freaked me the hell out.

Golden Gate Bridge

2007-03-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it, I haven't exactly been very good at keeping my blog up to date. Maybe it has something to do with the multiple hours I spend in my car each day trying not to kill myself or someone else on the way to and from work. If only I had internet access in my beat up Toyota pick-up and a person to drive me around, then I could get some real work done. Who's kidding who....I'd probably be passed out in the passenger seat if I had the luxury of a personal cheauffer. If only there were 8 days in a week, then I'd have a full extra day to work on my extra-ciricular activities. Ya right...my luck, the corporate world would require you to work 6 days a week instead of 5. You can never win. The bottom line is that you need to work on things whenever you get the chance. Instead of plopping down on the couch like I normally do when I get home on a Thursday night, I went straight to the computer and edited some photos. Ya I realize I'm missing out on elimination night on American Idol, but thats the beauty of Tivo. Tomorrow, I can zoom through all the commercials and Ryan Seacrest's monotonous commentary and save myself 45 minutes of a 1 hour show. I don't know how we survived for so long without this miraculous invention.

Anyways, I decided to share some pics from a weekend adventure I took a couple weeks back. It was the most gorgeous day I've experienced since moving to the bay area and I decided to make the most of it by doing some sight seeing. I headed to the Golden Gate bridge and spen the day basking in the atypical February heat and sunshine. I think I actually managed to get a sunburn that day. Enough with my banter, enjoy the pics!

OSP West - The Unconference

2007-02-19T18:48:00.000-08:00

The weekend before last I stepped out of my comfort zone and did something a bit extreme. I woke up at 4:00am on Friday and drove to a girl named Jillian's house who I'd never met in my life. I got into her car and we drove to pick up two other girls, Nichanh and Melissa. We then proceeded to drive 3 hours south to one of my favorite places in all of California...the Central Coast. What the hell was I doing you ask? Meeting up with over 100 photographers from across the country to attend a conference sponsored by BigFolio.

It was basically a conglomeration of photographers where everybody pitched in to to put on a 3 day event jam packed with seminars, model shoots, studio shoots, and networking. It was an awesome time and wouldn't have been possible without the generous efforts of some great people: Erik Dungan, Colin Michael, Robin, John Michael Cooper, Jose Villa, and Jefferson Todd.

I learned a crap load, met some great people like: Ricardo Tirado, Manus Chau, Shannon Hodson, the Stewarts, and David & Ham, and took some SWEET pictures. I almost fried my 30D since we were shooting in the rain 90% of the time, but it was well worth it. It was great meeting so many new people and I can't wait to do something like this again.

Here's some of my shots from the weekend complete with my snappy new Edgington Photography border I whipped up in photoshop. Enjoy.

Carson Edgington

2007-02-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share some pictures I took of my new nephew Carson when I went to visit the week before last. It's so sad that the next time I see him he'll probably look totally different. I wish I didn't live so far away up in the Bay Area so I could spend more time with him. I guess I'll need to bring my camera with me every time I visit so that the tender moments of him growing up will last forever.

I'm an Uncle

2007-01-30T22:36:00.000-08:00

Introducing my new baby nephew, Carson Thomas Edgington, born this Sunday. Congratulations to my brother and his wife. Can't wait to see the little bugger in person. This poor child has no idea what he's gotten himself into being born an Edgington. He's in for a lifetime of crazy Goonie adventures and surprises around every corner. He's already screwed with me as an Uncle and we're not even going to talk about his father :) Better get that child baptized fast!
Welcome to the world Carson....hang on!

You can see more of him at my .Mac website HERE.
There will be plenty more pictures to come once I get him in front of my camera.

MacWorld 2007

2007-01-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I attended MacWorld 2007. One of the perks of working for Apple is the ability to get into these events free of charge. This was my first experience at a MacWorld and honestly I was blown away at the number of people and vendors in attendance. Pretty much any company that has anything to do with computers or electronics was there. It truly is a week long conference devoted to Apple products and 3rd party innovations. People were hawking everything from iPod covers to professional DSLR's. It is amazing to see how many companies structure their businesses around Apple. If it wasn't for Apple many of these companies wouldn't have anything to sell.

Not your typical Apple Computer.

Just when you thought they had covered all the bases...

The largest iPod dock I've seen in my entire life.

It's pretty sweet that a lot of DJ's now do their mixing digitally with Apple Computers.

The real star of this show however is the newly intoduced iPhone. This is hands down the most revolutionary phone ever produced. I had the privledge of working on this product when it was still a "hush hush" secret. It was very interesting reading what all the rumor sites were saying about it when they didn't even have a clue. I think it's a great product and Wall Street responded accordingly after it's introduction. Yeah there are a few area's for improvement, but for a first run, this phone blows the competition out of the water.

Here are some close ups I was able to nab amidst the hoards of people waiting to grab a sneak peak. There were two on display behind inch thick plexiglass and security guards standing by ready to deliver beat downs to anyone crazy enough to try steal it. I can't wait to get my hands on one!

Merry Christmas from the Edgingtons

2006-12-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

Not your typical Brady Bunch family portrait courtesy of Apple's Photo Booth software.

Christmas

2006-12-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to relax and enjoy this Holiday season with your family. If your family stresses you out, bring wine....lots of it. Hooch always takes the edge off any family gathering. Here are some pics from the evening.

"Oh Christmas Tree"

Pay no attention to the fake plastic needles.
Still looks nice and you don't need to water it.

We are not a carb conscious family.
I love my taters!

Deeeelicious.

That's a whole pear sitting on top.
I love pears....nuff said.

A meal fit for family.

Here is sweet Cassie being such a good girl.

She didn't beg for anything the entire night.
All she wanted was love and a good belly scratch.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful that I survived my move without killing myself or someone else and finally it appears that I'm settled in my new home. I'm not sure how long this place with remain home, but it will have to do in the meantime.

Enjoy some pics of my new home!

Creek that runs behind my apartment.

Fall is in the air.

So are the geese!

The Folks by the Lakes behind our Apartment.

Mmmmm.....Salad.

Mmmmm....warm Apple Pie.

Colorado

2006-10-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

The Clam Daddys

2006-09-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of a much needed Colorado vacation. This is going to be my 2nd Annual trip to attend the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. It's a new tradition I've started and hope to maintain for years to come.

Since I won't be attending the festival until Friday I decided to catch some R&R yesterday in the town of Golden (home of the Coors Brewery). I arrived early in the afternoon yesterday and decided to attend happy hour at the infamous Buffalo Rose. This is where I came across this kick-ass duo called the Clam Daddys. They're two old timers named Thom and Moses who look like ZZ Top with a folky bluesy edge. They were the nicest guys in the world and they had an awesome sound. Listening to them was a great start to my vacation. I highly recommend checking them out. Here's some pics I snapped of their performance.

Jeff and Polly Higgins Wedding

2006-09-08T23:49:00.000-07:00

My good friend Polly got married August 26th. Their ceremony was at St. James Catholic Church in Redondo Beach and their reception was at a private beach in Portuguese Bend, Rancho Palos Verdes. It was a truly unique and wonderful day. I've gotten to know Polly and Jeff very well over the last year and I will miss them a lot when I move up to the Bay Area. You can see more pictures from their day HERE.

Going to Work for a Fruit Company

2006-09-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

Starting October 2nd, 2006 I will be moving on to greener pastures. I’ve decided that the defense industry has sucked enough blood from my veins and it’s time for a change. I’ve accepted a job with Apple Computer as a Financial Analyst managing all of their Software R&D efforts. It's kind of ironic that I’ve been a PC user my entire life and now I’ll be working at the place Mac users refer to as the “Mother Ship”. I’m sure I’ll quickly be converted into a Powerbook yielding, iPod wearing, Aperture using, PC hater!

30” Cinema Displays here I come….woo hoo!!!

If only I didn’t have to find a job that happens to be in the one place that is actually more expensive to live than Redondo Beach. Looks like my dreams of owning a house and a dog are probably going to be put on hold a bit longer. Such is life!

Last day in my old job with be Sept 14th, and then we’ll be making the move to the Bay Area. Wish me luck.

Captain Jack Sparrow

2006-08-25T00:20:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my friend Polly's wedding rehearsal. Since I recently invested a chunk of change into a new camera, she asked me if I would photograph her rehearsal and the dinner afterwards. I'm still breaking this camera in, so I decided to head over to the church after work and take some test shots.

Note to self: When taking test pictures inside an empty church afterhours, DO NOT walk up on the altar. The almighty lord was not pleased and he let me know it. Out of nowhere alarms and sirens were exploding throughout the church. I just about peed my pants and had a heart attack at the same time.

Since my photo session didn't last long and the church is nearby the ocean I decided to go for a walk. I headed to the Redondo Beach Marina and to my surprize there was a TON of comotion going on. There were white tents and trailers all over the place. Apparently they have started filming Pirates of the Carribean 3 off the coast of Palos Verdes. There were literally thousands of looky-loos waiting to catch a glance of the "Black Pearl" make it's way back into the marina. I was pretty jazzed by all this because I just so happened to be walking around with my new camera. My 30D armed with my battery grip and 24-70 2.8L lens made me look just like the paparazzi, and believe me they were everywhere.

So here I am stoked about the possibility of catching some pics of the "Black Pearl" when out of the blue people go running and screaming the other direction. Naturally I followed suit along with the rest of the paparazzi and to my surprize, Johnny Depp himself was out meeting the heathens and signing autographs. It was utter chaos but fortunately I got off some decent shots. I didn't have the best zoom, but these pics came out alright. It was cool to actually see "Captain Jack Sparrow" in the flesh. I'll be looking forward to seeing this movie when it comes out. I may just have to change my profession and start stalking celebrities for a living...or not.

Weekend in Shasta

2006-08-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

First Photo Contest

2006-08-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

I finally got up the nerve to enter some of my images into a South Bay photo contest. I figure this is a step in the right direction to be a little more proactive with my photography. First prize is a Nikon D200 which I could care less about. I think I'd sell it on Ebay and trade it in for a Canon 5D. I guess we'll see how I do. What do you think?

"Almighty Neptune"
This is my favorite

"Sunset at Torrance Beach"
They don't get much better than this.

"Lifeguard's Sunset"
Another Torrance Beach sunset from a different perspective.

Canon 30D

2006-08-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally broke down and decided that it was time for an upgrade. After days of tormenting between 20D’s, 30D’s, 5D’s, and 1D Mark II’s, I sacked up and made the purchase. $2,527 later and I’m a proud owner of Canon’s newest Pro-level 30D Digital SLR camera with a 24-70mm 2.8L lens to boot. I figured it was straight to the L-glass for me…no point in wasting time with cheap imitations or flimsy plastic parts. I guess you could argue that the lens is more important than the camera anyways, heck it cost just about the same amount of money! Who would have thought my hobby would become so expensive. Hopefully it’ll pay off and I’ll have tons of new pics to share once I actually get it in the mail. The suspense is killing me. The loot is supposed to get delivered today, but I had to fly up to San Jose yesterday for a last second job interview. Damn!

OC Fair

2006-08-01T23:51:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I decided to hit up the Orange County Fair with my folks and my brother and his wife. I guess you could call it a family afFAIR. The O.C. Fair has to be one of my favorite fairs in Southern California. It's clean, free of crazy crowds, and best of all it's only 8 bucks to get in. There's no place better to wolf down a churro, some deep fried zucchini, a hotdog on a stick, a BBQ'ed turkey leg, dippin' dots, and wash it all down with a 32 ounce Coors Light.

I brought my camera along, like I do everywhere, and decided to capture some of the attractions. Naturally my sister-in-law was harrassing me throughout the entire day because I was taking pictures of all sorts of stuff. She's like, "What are you going to do with that picture...put it up in your bathroom?" To answer her question...NO!...I already have pictures up in my bathroom. So in honor of Sarah I decided to post some of these pics up on my blog. Maybe if she's nicer to me about my picture taking she'll make it up here someday.

It wouldn't be a true fair without a "Personality Analysis" machine and a "Miracle Blade" guy.
I actually thought the guy was going to stab me because I was taking a bunch of pictures of him and I think he thought I was actually interested in his knives. He got pretty pissed when I left. C'mon though who needs Miracle Blade when you have Global.

I can feel the joints in my jaw seizing and my arteries clogging.
Taffy and Onion Rings.....mmmmmm

Follow it up with a little more C-A-N-D-Y

These piglets were only a couple days old, adorable.....for a few more months at least

Here's my favorite pic from the day.

Idyllwild

2006-07-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Suicide Rock (Thought I was gonna commit suicide)

View from the top

Something about this tree struck me

Chinese Lanterns overlooking Idyllwild

Idyllwild is such a cool little place

Motte Farms nearby Hemet
The place probably was big in it's heyday...not so much now :(

Welcome!

2006-07-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my experimental photography/schizophrenic rambling blog. It is my goal to post something new to this at least once a week...hopefully more.

As I strive to figure out what I really want to be when I grow up, I’m hoping that putting my thoughts and ideas into words with help me to find my way. At the least I’m hoping this will provide an avenue to share my obsessions with others. I have multiple external hard-drives and CD’s stock full of photos I’ve taken over the years, and I figure it would be a waste for no one to see them. I also have a brain that never seems to stop thinking, so I’ll let you share in my frustrations.

You’ll either be entertained or bored to death...either way I’ve done my job. If you see that it’s been longer than 1 week from my last post, please feel free to shoot me an email and harass me…I’m sure I’ll need the help.

Enjoy!