Best Weekend EVER

Well I certainly haven't updating in a pretty long time. Around here it's been a lot of the same boring days with out a job and long days of looking for one. Although this last week has been pretty darn exciting. My friend Adam Watts is a singer/songwriter and is working with a pretty new artist by the name of Joel Piper. They're both pretty amazing and super duper talented. Anyways, Joel was having his second ever concert on 7/23/2011, so I thought I would go down to Anaheim and have a listen. I decided to ask my cousin along considering she loves music just as much as I do. My Mom was awesome and rented us a hotel room for the night so we didn't have to drive back the same night because it's a 3 hour drive...so the hotel was SO great. Now on to how our day went. I woke up at six AM so I could try to leave my house by 7:30 to be there to pick her up at 9AM like I had told her but one thing led to another and I didn't actually leave the house till 9AM...(mornings aren't my favorite...) I got to Santa Clarita to pick her up and then we were off to Venice Beach. I had never been there and neither had she so it was going to be an adventure for the both of us. And one small reason I chose Venice to start out the day is because the Shaytards hang out there ALL the time. If you don't know who they are you totally should. They are an LDS family that is just SO amazing. They are HUGE on youtube for making their daily vlogs. This family has made me realize what a true eternal family is, how a marriage should be, and how a wife should treat her husband and vice versa. They are truly an inspiration and a wonderful example. Now that I got that covered back to the day...We arrived at Venice beach started walking toward the shops and venders and such and I kept telling my cousin how awesome it would be if we actually did run in to Shay and his family and going on about it...lol We started looked around in the shops and then walked over to a Henna booth and started looking at the designs. (I'm LDS so we don't tattoo our bodies) My cousin decided she wanted to get a Henna design so she handed me her purse as she sat down to get it done and I mentioned again "Man that would be so cool to meet Shay and his family. (By this time I'm probably bugging the crap out of here because I keep mentioning it.) And then I turned around and saw a chubbyish man with a large beard wearing a hat standing behind a stroller messing about with his iPhone and then I noticed a blue surf board next to him, then I notice a little girl riding a bike around him with brown hair and he turned slightly towards me and my heart stopped. It was the Shaytard family. I turned to my cousin and almost squealed with glee as I told her that they were standing behind us looking at the sunglasses. All I could think was "Oh my gosh, Oh My Gosh" I knew they hung out there all the time but never did I actually think I would get to meet them in person. My cousin finally convinced me to go up to them and say hello and I am so happy I did. They were the NICEST people ever. We talked for a couple of minutes and they Shay asked if I would like to get a photo with them and I was like YES!! haha. So I got a photo with Shay and his wife and then we went on our way. We spent probably another two and half hours wandering up and down Venice beach and then decided to leave to get to the hotel and find some scrumptious food to eat. It actually took us longer to get to the hotel than expected to it was a very good thing we left Venice earlier than expected. We took everything up to our room and then sat there for about twenty minutes just relaxing and then we were on our way to Anaheim to Joel's show. We pulled into the parking lot and I noticed Joel was standing next to his car and I showed my cousin and she literally squealed with excitement. (Ever since I told her who we were going to see, she looked him up and immediately said "He's a Babe" haha. So we sat in my car for a while and then got out to see where we would pick the tickets up at and what not. Realized we couldn't do anything for another hour so we left and got something to eat so we didn't die of starvation and made our way back to the venue just in time to stand in line a couple of minutes at will call to pick up the tickets and walk in. We walked in and sat down on the only place to sit down in the whole place and stayed there for most of the night because Joel was the last to perform. The bands that went up all pretty much sounded terrible, the acoustics in the building were some of the worst I had ever heard but we were still having a pretty good time. Then about fourty five minutes before Joel was going to go up on stage my friends Adam and Natalie Watts walked in. I couldn't believe it. I had no idea there were going to be there and was completely surprised. I hadn't seen them since December so I was pretty darn excited to see them. And my cousin is a HUGE fan of all of Adam AND Natalie's music so she was literally coming out of her skin. I yelled Adam's name and they turned and I must say Adam's expressions make me laugh out loud. They were excited to see me and I introduced my cousin to them and we all started talking. Then Adam introduced me and my cousin to Gannin Arnold, another GREAT musician and songwriter, Adam went to do something so he handed his gigantic amazing beautiful I wish I had one Canon 5D Mark II camera to Natalie and did whatever he was going to do and I mentioned to Natalie that I LOVED his camera and wanted one SO bad and she was like "Have you ever held this thing? It is SO heavy!" and she handed it to me and I got to hold it!!!! That was almost as great as meeting the Shaytards. I couldn't believe I was actually holding my dream camera AND it was Adam's camera. HE IS AN AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHER!! HAHA Right there my day would have been complete. We all talked a little more and they mentioned Joel Piper and then they asked if Carissa and I had ever met him and we had not. And then they said oh we'll have to introduce you to him. I though Carissa was going to just die. For Joel's set we went up to the stage to get some photos and hear the great music. I did get some great shots and the music was really great. His voice is amazing and he has great stage presence. After the show we went and talked to Adam and Natalie again and then Adam took Carissa and I up to meet Joel before he left and Joel was really nice and easy to talk to. After all the amazing fun from ALL day we made our way to In N Out which is a tradition of mine after ever live music show I go there and then we made our way back to the hotel. And finally had a wonderful nights sleep. The next day we went to Santa Monica Pier and 3rd Street Promenade. I SO wish I had tons of money. I could have spend thousands and thousands there. I got some great photos and it was beautiful.

Here are some snapshots of the amazing weekend.















I'm so thankful God gives me weekends such as these. Makes everything worth while.

I'm A New Momma!

Well this post is going to be rather short but I just wanted to introduce my new baby girl. I haven't named her yet but she is so sweet and adorable. She is loving and curious and fun. I can not wait for her to feel at home with me and she is going to be loved forever. :)

Check out her Youtube Channel!! ChloeGingerAndMe

A New Light

I haven't had the chance to photograph much lately with a lot of stuff coming up. When I got up Saturday morning I figured it was going to be just another day. It was the first weekend of April so that always means the Kern County Scottish Festival which my brother-in-law always does performances throughout the day. I was up bright and early, we got there and helped set everything up then it was going to be a long day.

I had just been sitting around when my sister-in-law and my niece walked up. This may not seem like some amazing or out of the ordinary thing but it actually is. I had not seen them since December 2009 and I honestly did not know when or if I would ever see them again. It was one of the best days I've had since September 2009. It meant so much to see them that I can hardly put it into words.

The sunset that evening was absolutely beautiful and the perfect end to a perfect day.

A Legacy To Live Up To

How would you describe a man who creates a legacy for an entire family for generations and generations to come? A man that gave immensely yet still felt he didn't deserve praise. A man who served his country, family, community, friends, and strangers tirelessly and willingly. When this man gave his heart, he gave it fully. If needed he would give anything to anyone in need.

You may not know this man by name or even what he looks like, but you'll know his work when you see it. You may have never given him a thought or had the chance to, but he has thought about you. You may have not had the chance to touch his life, but he has certainly touched yours.

You may be wondering who this amazing man is and why you don't know him. This man is Donald Ball and he is my Grandfather. You may be wondering how he could have touched your life, well I'll tell you. He served his country during World War II in the Navy. During the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's he worked with big machinery helping to save the California beaches and the homes built on the ocean in Southern California from severe storms and mud slides. He helped build the Los Angeles freeway systems, the California Aqueducts, and Disneyland. He was dedicated to his work, but first and foremost he was dedicated to his family. He had three daughters and one son, thirteen grandchildren, and many many great grand children all of whom will love him for eternity.

My Grandpa was the greatest man in the world. When I needed the love of a father he stepped up to the challenge. For as long as I can remember he's been a constant in my life. He loved unconditionally and without question. He displayed more Christ-like attributes than any one I know in the world (other than Christ himself).

March 2, he was reunited with the love of his life. His journey on this earth has ended and his new journey has began. I am still not quite sure what I'm going to do without him. I won't be able to take the 2 hour drive to Ventura and spend the weekend with him anymore. I won't get a birthday card in the mail this year, I won't be able to hear his voice, and I won't be able to give him a hug anymore.

This man was more than just a Grandfather to me. He was my best friend, a father, and an example to live righteously.

Today was his funeral and we laid him to rest with Navy Guard Honors. Here are a few photos.









I took this photo on Thanksgiving 2010. I am going to miss him every day of my life, but I will always know he is with me.

And I almost forgot to mention, my Grandpa was so amazing he will be in an upcoming issue of Hot Rod magazine. How many manage that in their 80's?

Now Is Now The Past

So in case you are wondering how to take pictures that look like they were taken in the year 1900, well you need to get a really old camera. For example my brother-in-law gave me a Yashica-Mat which is a twin lense and it's from 1957. Ok, so the camera doesn't have to be THAT old but it still gives the desired effect. I will be honest though, it's WAY different from any camera I've ever used. The display screen shows everything backwards so it's hard level everything by hand, it's all manual, there's no flash, but you get to control the shutter speed, you don't have to wait for the camera to take the picture, and it looks pretty darn awesome. (And ladies it's a great conversation starter...if ya know what I mean.)



This is one of the firsts I took and it's REALLY out of focus. LOL!




This one I love even though it's really out of focus but there is just something so beautiful about it.




This is the last photo I took with the Yashica-Mat, as you can tell I mostly figured out the focus.

I love the feel this photograph gives.



And this is what happens when you let the store clerk load your film and then he accidentally takes the first picture...of the ceiling. haha!



This has only been my first roll of film and I'm hooked. Having to think about every single detail, the composition, focus, and light is going to make me a much better photographer. The challenges this camera will bring are going to be much needed blessings. : )

The Beauty Of A Day

I travel to Ventura quite often because the greatest man in the world live there. My Grandpa. Recently he was diagnosed with lung cancer, so my family has been going there even more. Yesterday on my way back to Bakersfield my Mom and I stopped by the Ventura Pier to watch the sunset. It was exquisite.

A Child's Smile Is A Wonderful Sight.

I had a photo shoot with my beautiful cousins yesterday and they wanted to get some shots of the kiddos playing so we went to a local park next to the Kern River and had some fun! Thanks for such a great time Ryan and Kim!!







Little Leah, I guess, is planning on being a thug for life. She is great!













And this is what you get when not everyone is paying attention!
And mind you there was no one behind me or anything. Who knows why they were looking like that...haha!
Please click to enlarge and enjoy!