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a decade of digital part 2

07.31.2011

Warning: This post contains just shy of 100 images and may take a while to load.

I got my first digital camera a little over 10 years ago, and if you missed part 1 of "a decade of digital", you may want to check it out here before proceeding.

Ok, let's continue our trip down memory lane...

2006 was a great year. i had been shooting digitally for about 5 years, and this was the first year where I was completely back on a full frame camera (I got a Canon 5D in October 2005), and I feel the quality of my work really stepped up because of that.

This could be my favorite sunset photo of all time. It was taken in Bermuda and the reason I like it so much is because it hasn't been enhanced in Photoshop at all.

(Please vote for your favorite photos, choose as many as you'd like):

The (RED) campaign launched in 2006 and I was very much on board with it. Unfortunately they never let small business officially partner with them, but I still managed to sell a few books of my art prints and donate the proceeds to the cause. This was my (RED) title image. It was taken in the back of a church in Santa Barbara.

Jamaica Mon! I shot a destination wedding at the beginning of the year and took several photo field trips around Negril afterwards. This reminded me of the good old US of A.

I love the texture of this grill I found in an old fishing village:

Instead of shooting the sky for this sunset, I shot the reflection off the water (taken with my point & shoot camera):

My office manager Kathleen ties the knot.

Linda from the Cake Studio was the best cake designer in SoCal until she recently retired:

As you can tell, I am quite funny:

Um... I just shoot whatever goes on. I never actually suggest to my clients that they should take a shot of Patron out of a rented shoe:

In my slideshow, this is the images that pops up when the lyric "look ugly in a photograph" plays. I still think she is pretty hot! Erica is one of my favorite brides off all time.

Another one of my favorite brides. Yessi & I both feel compelled to stick our tongue out when being photographed. This was taken in Bermuda and I am excited to be going back there for another wedding in a couple of weeks:

2007 started out with the "Great American Road Trip" where we cruised out Route 66 through the Southwestern part of the US for a week and a half long photo safari. This is Fridge-henge outside of Santa Fe, NM and yes... it's just what is sounds like. 200 old refrigerators arranged like Stonehedge. Unfortunately, it is no longer there, but thankfully I got to photograph it before it went away.

Just a random texture that we found along the way on the G.A.R.T.

Early in 2007, I started playing poker and in my very first casino tournament, I came in first place and won a seat to the WSOP. While this doesn't have anything to do with photography, it is one of my favorite moments from the last decade and thankfully I had a camera on my to record this memory forever.

Fira, Santorini. Awesome place for a destination wedding and photo field trips:

What can I say? I, like most photographers, am a sucker for sunset photos:

You also know how I love texture & color:

My photo BFF Joe Photo:

This was the friar that preceded over my 07.07.07 wedding:

Took a trip down to Little Havana in Miami and photographed some folks making cigars by hand:

Here are a few of my favorite realized portraits from 2007:

2007 marked the first time I went to Burning Man. All I gotta say is it's a life changer and I plan on going back every year (however I did miss in 2008):

I really gotta start doing yoga:

No judgement bro!:

This was taken in San Diego harbor as I was on a break "enjoying" my vendor meal at a wedding:

A couple more beautiful Becker brides:

2008:

Well, technically this wedding started on New Years Eve 2007, but this shot was taken 2 seconds after midnight, and the meta data said it was 2008, so here ya go!:

On June 21st, the summer solstice, I shot a mid-summer's night themed wedding.

The groom was a Jackass, literally (he was a producer on the show).

Love the late light in Napa Valley.

Another classic example of relaxed portraits in this 4th of July wedding in Huntington Beach.

One of my favorite bridal portraits ever. The background is just grey cement out of focus, but it appears yellow because of all of the ash in the air from the Big Sur fires from the summer of 2008:

The Redwood grove at the Santa Lucia Preserve is one of my favorite venues to shoot weddings at for obvious reasons:

The Four Seasons in Maui ain't so bad either:

My niece Addison Jane arrived in April of '08. I've shot more images of my sister's family than all the other families combined. They have their own hard drive of images and I just had to add a second drive.

Death Valley. It's hot out there and quite a drive, but it's gorgeous and peaceful.

Chinatown in San Francisco

We finally launched The [ b ] School in 2008 after working on it for two full years.

I must have got 30 calls for 08.08.08, but I am so thankful that these two hired me for their wedding in Napa. It was an amazing wedding... like sample album worthy!

I love the real moments:

Right after we launched The [ b ] School in October, we headed down to Antigua for a wedding. Again, killer sunset shot with point & shoot camera:

I had to take this shot since it describes me to a T:

2009 was another year filled with lots of travel. I'll never forget the time I just popped down to Cartegena for the weekend for a wedding. I also managed a half day photo field trip inside of the old walled city.

A couple of cool engagement session locations. A forest in Big Sur:

Then the Brooklyn Bridge. I love flying in for engagement sessions, If you've got a cool idea and a fun location, give me a call!

Back at the Santa Lucia Preserve. They hold their receptions in this old barn. The light is magic!

A Father's Day wedding. I love the 1.2 portraits. not every shot is in focus, but when they hit, they hit!

This shot was taken in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington.

It's all about the moments!

Super fun attending Jessica Claire's wedding as a guest, but of course I brought my camera for a few bridal portraits.

The Sweden trip was a highlight of my year. It was the furthest someone has flown me to speak to other photographers. The people were amazing. Both Stockholm & Gothenburg are gorgeous, and we had a blast and a profitable time at the Casino Cosmopol which was walking distance from our hotel:

These were models for the workshop in Sweden:

One of my favorite parts of the Sweden trip, was the impromptu trip to Istanbul. We literally showed up at the airport without plans or tickets, then jumped on a flight to Turkey a couple hours later. Istanbul has to be one of the most interesting cities I've ever been to. We had a couple back to back, all day photo field trips.

The colors at the spice market were a photographers dream:

This was in side the Blue Mosque:

They have a cool flag.

Garvin Garden's in Arkansas is a wonderful location as well!:

Hope, Arkansas

My second trip to Burning Man. This time we had 11 photographers with us in our Camp Photon.

You just never know what you are going to see on the playa:

Hi Mom!

I was just cruising around Time Square one night being a tourist, and I ended up shooting a bunch of street portraits for some local youths.

I went to a photography workshop near Santa Fe, and they just have the most gorgeous light out there.

2010 started with my first trip to Nashville for my first time at the PPA photo convention (I'm more of a WPPI guy myself). I spoke at the WHCC booth (my lab). It was 9 degrees outside, but thankfully it was plenty cozy inside of the Opryland convention center.

20 years later, I also went back to my old high school to speak to the students. This was the same classroom and the same photo teacher, Mr. McIllwee that first inspired me to become a photographer.

Found this rad old door in downtown LA:

Here are a few of my favorite wedding images from 2010. This one was taken at the Holman Ranch in Carmel Valley:

This bride is an old friend of mine and a breast cancer survivor:

I got to shoot an amazing Indian wedding up near Malibu with my friend Joe Photo:

A little rain couldn't dampen the spirits of this gorgeous bride:

This was taken just north of Santa Barbara:

A foggy day at the Ritz Carlton:

Yet another wedding at the Santa Lucia Preserve. Did I not tell you that this is one of my favorite venues?

Another sunset during cocktail hour at a wedding in Scottsdale:

And finally closing out 2010 with a few more from my 3rd trip to Burning Man:

When I told this guy that he looked like The Lord, he told me he was.

This 60 foot statue had something like 75,000 welds and it's supposedly anatomically correct:

So far 2011 has been an amazing year with lots of fun adventures. I started off the year speaking at SWPP in London. I was my first trip to the UK. I'll be speaking there again this January:

From London, Joe Photo and I went one a week long photo safari in India. The Taj Mahal is actually way more impressive in person. The photos just don't do it justice.

The time we spend in Varanasi was incredible. We took more photos there than in the other 3 cities we visited combined. I found this boat on the Ganges right before sunrise on our last morning in town:

The people in India were so nice and welcoming. Just about everyone we asked let us do a portrait of them. This guy was literally sitting in the dark, I could barely see him, I used my flash and then it wasn't until I processed the photos did I realize he's sitting on some cardboard with the M&Ms logo all over it:

A local shopkeeper:

The color over there is so vibrant:

I did a whole series of portraits of people at work:

Just a couple months later, Keats & I were in Italy for a wedding, a workshop and a mini vacation. This is the Duomo di Siena:

This is the lock screen image on my iPhone. It was taken in Cinque Terre:

Dale & Meredith, some photographer friend of ours, tied the knot at the Four Season in Florence:

These two got married at the Parker Ranch.

You may remember this portrait from May.

Tom & Andrea just tied the knot earlier this month:

This was the last wedding in my first decade of digital. I look forward to sharing images for the next decade right here on this blog:

This image was taken in Randsburg, CA and was shot during my recent Father's Day fishing trip/road trip with my dad.

I'll never forget my first trip to China & Hong Kong. This skyline of Hong Kong was absolutely breathtaking.

And finally, he's a portrait of me that my friend Edmund Prieto took at a recent wedding:

In addition to having a wonderful year professionally, 2011 has been an awesome wedding for me personally as well. I have lost almost 60 pounds and I have no signs of slowing down. I feel so much better, have a lot more energy and I just feel as if I am enjoying life a little more these days. It's amazing what the right attitude can do for a guy! Life is good!

By the time 2011 is over, I will have been in 7 different countries, I will have lost 80 pounds or so and I will have taken a lot more photos in a lot more places.

I am so thankful for the awesome couples who continue to trust me to document their wedding memories. I've got some rad weddings coming up... in fact I am leaving for Ireland tomorrow to shot the 4th daughter in the same family. Then later this month I am speaking in St. Louis, shooting another wedding in Bermuda, then headed back to the playa for my 4th trip to Burning man. That's just in August! Stay tuned for the rest of the adventures of [ b ] by following this blog or on Twitter..

I am also extremely grateful to the thousands of photographers who are a part of the [ b ] School community... we have big plans for The [ b ] School and I am so stoked on where we are heading. I've got a great team helping me and I am so proud of how helpful and friendly our current members are. It's only going to get better.

Anywho... thanks for hanging in there. I know this was a super long post and I certainly appreciate your time and attention. I hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane as much as I did. I'd love it if you left a comment and/or voted for your faves. (You can vote for as many as you'd like).