New Mexico's Top Model Competition, Albuquerque Fashion Photographer

New Mexico's Top Model Competition, Albuquerque, NM
Sponsored by: Hotel Andaluz, Club Ibiza, Roc Body Angels, and Ell Photography

One Th evening at One Up nightclub in downtown Albuquerque I started talking with a gentleman got to talking and discovered we both had a love for the fashion industry and wished that we had an Albuquerque Fashion Week!  Currently he hosts Wed nights at One Up, and throws an uber chic Film and Fashion Industry Night mixers for all the stars, directors, producers and fashionistas to get together and network.  For the Month of September, his company is holding a city wide model search.  With 3 individual and one finale competition, models can win runway and modeling classes, personal fitness packages, and a I donated the grand prize of an $800 modeling portfolio to launch their career.

 

I went down to help out on the registration night and took some digital "polaroids" of the contestants, then turned the floor over to them to do some creative freestyle shots.  This top image of Julia Gallegos is my favorite.

Urban Yoga - Commercial Photography

Oreste teaches at Infinite Yoga in Little Italy, San Diego.  He discovered Ashtanga Vinyasa in 2000 when recovering from a back injury. In just 3 weeks the pain, which hadn't responded to 2 months of medication, completely disappeared. Oreste has studied extensively with Indu Bala Bhardwaj and many other prestigious teachers and is a certified yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance.

Oreste wanted to shoot his portraits in an urban environment and add a twist of his own personality into the images.  We traveled on location to UCSD in La Jolla, where he also teaches photography, and setup portable strobes to compliment the architecture and natural light.  The poses may come from classical yoga, but these are definitely contemporary portraits.  Here's just a taste of tonight's photo shoot.  More to come soon!

Update: In Jan 2011, Oreste went to study for one month with Desikachars at the Krshnamacharya Yoga in the Viniyoga.  He had many trials, tribulations, and epiphanies that changed his way of life (and thinking) forever.  You can check out his blog, "From India, With Love" to laugh, cry, and be thankful he's home safe at: http://india-with-love.blogspot.com/

Circus Fund Summer Camp - Event Photography

This week I blew off all adult responsibilities and went to Circus Camp with my little sister at Kit Carson Park with Circus Fund in Escondido.  Technically, the camp is for kids ages 7-17, but I snuck in there, and surprisingly I fit in a little too well.  They have one more camp at the end of August.  I HIGHLY reccommend it! 

Here are a few snapshots from the show on the last day.  First up, Emily learning silks.

Little Callie is a rising star with so much potential. Here she was standing on the bar, then dropped into an ankle hang.  It takes a lot of guts to huck yourself off of a perfectly good trapeze bar.

Michael was also a stud.  He even came prepared to came complete with a mohawk!  Here he did a plange (which you have to be very strong for) and the dropped into the catcher's hands.

Hula Moves on the Beach - Commercial Photography

Hula Moves came out for a shoot of the group on the beach.  Here are just a few.  Some are posed and some from their beach workout.  Jen's husband helped to direct during the shoot.  I asked him if Jen was always as positive as she is in class and he says that he lives with a little ray of sunshine.  She is a great friend and role model.  If you ever get a chance to take her class, you will get your dose of sunshine for the day, no matter the weather outside!  It's a great workout for guys and gals alike!

Center Your Chi - Commercial Photography

Jen is an engineer by day and math tutor and yoga instructor by night.  Somehow she has energy to do it all.  She's starting up her own side business in Pacific Beach.  Here's just a few of the shots.  I DEFINITELY need to take some lessons from her!