tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68352819488048948082024-03-07T22:22:48.376-08:00JME PhotographyCapturing Moments | One Click at a TimeJME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-18597315049853268572011-03-21T12:02:00.001-07:002011-03-21T12:03:39.323-07:00New Website/New BlogMy New Blog has found a new home! Please visit: <a href="http://jmephotographie.com/">http://jmephotographie.com </a>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-31891534610704556312010-08-04T01:37:00.000-07:002010-08-04T01:49:53.169-07:00Oregon Trip<div style="color: yellow; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/TBcq0GCR1FI/AAAAAAAAC4w/-YE8Kuf_MK8/s1600/IMG_2534%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/TBcq0GCR1FI/AAAAAAAAC4w/-YE8Kuf_MK8/s320/IMG_2534%20copy.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="color: orange;"><i>"If you show somebody their future, they'll have no future.<br />
You take away the mystery, you take away hope.</i>"</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Wow, it's been a while since I blogged. I've been really busy with other things that I didn't get a chance to update my blog. I guess that only tells one thing... I spent less time in front of the computer and more outdoors. That's right!!! It's summer! The sun doesn't set until 8:30PM, I will take advantage of the sun as much as I can. Well, let me start talking about my trip to Oregon. If I were to describe Oregon in one word in the month of March, I would say...."FREEZING". But I enjoyed it since I don't really get to experience 12inches of snow and zero degrees temperature. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I am not sure if I can remember every single detail that happened during the trip but I'll try my best. The trip was scheduled from March 30 - April 3. The night of March 28th, I looked in the mirror and had the urge to shave my head. I stared in the mirror for a few minutes and finally opened the cabinet, grabbed the hair clipper, a mirror and began cutting my hair. But of course, something had to go wrong!!! I couldn't line up the back of my head. Here's the bad news, the bad news is that the time was around 10:30PM. The barbershops were all closed! The good news is... I just saved a bunch of money by switching over to Geico! LOL.. Here's the real good news, my friend Jeff was still awake and he agreed to fix my hair! So I drove to his place so he could fix my hair. It looked really nice except I looked like a thug from the projects. Even I got scared! LOL. But that's not the point of this blog, so I'll stop talking about my hair and begin talking about my trip.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">- The night of March 29, Richard and I drove up to San Francisco.. Okay, I'm not gonna lie, he drove! lol. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- We left at midnight and arrive at his brother's apartment around 7AM. We had a few stops.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We rested for about an hour and got in the car and off to Oregon.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- The drive was about 7 hours but I slept most of the time. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- We got a little lost but after about 30 minutes, we finally found the place we were staying. I forgot the name but it's something that ends with Creek. lol</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We started unloading and we decided to checkout the little restaurant across the street from the cabin. Their pies were amazing! Richard had Boysenberry pie (He got it because it started with Boy. LMAO)</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We checked out the creeks around the cabin. I felt at home! Lots and lots of trees! I like the great outdoors so I really feel relaxed when I'm outside surrounded by trees. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- After about an hour, we decided to head back to our cabin. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- Our cabin had no cellphone reception! No Internet! at least most of the time!</div><div style="text-align: left;">- The next day, we decided to go snowmobiling. I've never been on a snow mobile so this was really fun!</div><div style="text-align: left;">- At first, the guy renting out the snow mobiles didn't want to rent it to us since it's a bit dangerous. The weather was unpredictable and the snow was really thick and mostly powder. He was scared that we might end up in the lake. So he told us that the only way he'll rent out the snowmobiles was that if we had a tour guide. So we all agreed since we were already there and wanted to get on a snowmobile. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- Our tour was about 3 hours, I think. I can't remember but I know it was pretty long! (that's what she said!. lol)</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Our tour guide was really good! He allowed us to free play in the meadow for about 40 minutes. He also let us borrow his snowmobile. That thing hauls! I went all the way up to 50mph. I was scared to go any faster since it felt like I was going 100mph. The snowmobile can go up to 120mph.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are the pics of our snowmobiling adventure!</div><br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat scroll left center transparent; height: 194px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/OregonSnowFun?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/TBcqvHb5mYE/AAAAAAAAC5g/KYqlqKBRWR4/s160-c/OregonSnowFun.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div>This is getting pretty long so I'll have a part 2 of this trip :)JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-42297858611181542842010-04-23T00:20:00.000-07:002010-04-23T12:53:45.131-07:00Mt. Baldy Hike<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S9CesOMTIxI/AAAAAAAACj0/1b42lxBTKFE/_DSC4881%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S9CesOMTIxI/AAAAAAAACj0/1b42lxBTKFE/_DSC4881%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><i>While you are young,<br />
While you have time,<br />
While you have energy,<br />
When you have the opportunity, try it!<br />
even if it's not for you, <br />
the important thing is you are trying.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We planned this hike within a week and we really didn't know what to expect but a 7 hour strenuous hike to the top of Mt. Baldy through a trail called "Devil's Backbone". Anyway, we had a few drinks the night before and planned on going home early to get some rest and also get our stuff ready for the hike the next day. But did it happen? lol.. Nope, we ended up coming home around 1:30am. The first thing I did was emptied my Camelback and packed it with some warm clothing, first aid kit, knife, survival kit, warming blanket, and water proof matches. I also went online and searched for Topographical maps of the San Bernardino Mountains. The maps I found were a little bit blurry but it's better than nothing right? haha. Then I looked at the clock and it was already 3:30am.. I needed to get up in a few hours. I setup my alarm at 6:30am so we can be on the road by 8am.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Sunday - April 18, 2010</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">- My alarm went off at 6:30am but just like any other day, I hit the snooze button. Finally got up around 7am.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Called everyone to make sure they were awake and ready to go. Their phone rang a few times before they picked up. Except for Vera! WOW!!! </div><div style="text-align: left;">- I took a shower and got ready within 15 minutes. It was around 7:30.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- I double checked my stuff and checked the weather report and said that it was going to be in the 30s and low 50s</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Around 7:40, I received a call from Richard asking if we had already left. If not, he will be joining us. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- First person to arrive was the last person I expected to show up... guess who?.... Vera! Wow... again.. haha... </div><div style="text-align: left;">- A few minutes later, everyone arrived at my house and ready to go.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We ate breakfast at Jack and the Box.. We wasted a good hour eating at this place I think.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- After that, we headed to 7eleven to get our snacks, water, etc.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Finally on our way to the mountains. I think it was 50miles away from Burbank. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- After 40 minutes of driving, we finally arrived at the Visitor's center to purchase our mountain adventure pass. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- Here's where the bad news came... The ranger had informed us that we are not allowed to go up to the top of Mt. Baldy unless we have crampons and ice picks. The Devil's Backbone trail is the size of a regular table and if it's full if ice, it is going to be slippery and dangerous!!! Luckily, there were alternate routes we could take to get to the 2nd highest peak, which is the Ski lodge/restaurant. I think it was a 4 mile hike one way with an elevation gain of almost 2000 ft. from Mankers flat (the parking area).</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Since we were already there, we might as well make the best of it and go wherever we can go.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We finally arrived at the parking lot at Mankers Flat.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We grabbed our gears and started hiking towards San Antonio Falls</div><div style="text-align: left;">- After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the falls and took pictures. My socks got wet but oh well, that's expected going to places with water. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- After taking a few pics, we started our journey to the top. There were snow patches on the trail but we were determined to get to the top.. haha. "If there's a will, there's a way!"</div><div style="text-align: left;">- After hiking up for 5 minutes, "some" of us needed to take a break since "some" of us are not used to hiking. lol. I'm not pointing fingers...i'm just saying. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- I think we took close to 10 snack breaks before we reached the Ski lodge. (We could have taken the ski lift going up to the lodge but we were there for the exercise and the experience so why take it right?)</div><div style="text-align: left;">- After a couple of hours hiking up, we finally reached the top.. by this time, all of us had taken the extra layers of clothing we had earlier. I was wearing shorts and a tank top. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- Here's the funny part, we couldn't find the exact trail to get to the lodge so we made our own trail. We ended up at the slopes where people were snowboarding, skiing, and tubing. Everyone of them were wearing jackets, gloves, ear muffs/beanie and we were wearing tank tops and shorts. hahaha.. Only in California!!!</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We finally sat down at the restaurant and ordered our food. The price of food was expensive!!! I think a can of coke was $3! and a burger was $12.. Oh well, we needed to fuel our body to go back down.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We got there just in time to see the last few minutes of the Lakers game. They won! yey! </div><div style="text-align: left;">- Then we took our time eating and by the time we finished, it was already 4pm. So we decided to head back down. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- We took a different trail on the way down. The trail was very steep and slippery but it saved us a lot of time. It must have saved us at least 30 minutes of walking. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- After an hour and a half of walking (maybe more), we finally reached the bottom and headed home. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The hike was definitely fun! It's nice going with a bunch of people because it makes a difficult hike easier because everyone is having fun. My goal for 2010 is to hike as many mountains as possible. In June, we are going back to Yosemite but this time we are hiking the half-dome. No excuses!.. That hike should give us enough practice to hike Mt. Whitney in October. I also plan on doing a few local hikes in the San Gabriel Mountain within the next few weeks if my schedule permits. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<center><b style="color: yellow;">Click the album below to see the rest of the pictures</b><br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat scroll left center transparent; height: 194px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/MtBaldyHike?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S9CeL7VzcuE/AAAAAAAAClQ/D9S2ga0LP8U/s160-c/MtBaldyHike.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/MtBaldyHike?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Mt Baldy Hike</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></center>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-55236011584127576032010-04-15T22:45:00.000-07:002010-04-15T23:04:41.653-07:00Crocker Club - Michelle's Birthday Celebration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S8foTgdL9PI/AAAAAAAACUY/na-TXVayfu8/_DSC4347%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S8foTgdL9PI/AAAAAAAACUY/na-TXVayfu8/_DSC4347%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;">"When you were born, you were crying and everyone else around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're smiling and everyone else is crying." </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Crocker Club is located in the basement of the former Crocker Citizens National Bank building in the corner of Spring St. and 5th St. This place reminds me of those old gangster movies. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I usually write a lot of stuff but I don't feel like writing today. I just went through 400+ pics and edited 146. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Most of the pictures were repeats and some of them were blurry! If there's alcohol present, expect some of the pics to be a little bit blurry and if your friends get a hold of your camera, expect to see some photos that umm... yeah. haha. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Crocker Club definitely challenged me in getting the right camera settings. This place is dark!!!! But I am glad the pictures came out nicely and not over/under exposed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> Click on the album below to see the rest of the pictures in higher resolution:</div><br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat scroll left center transparent; height: 194px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/CrockerClubMichelleSBday?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S8foOqMZqJE/AAAAAAAACdc/59V7bdY56Ro/s160-c/CrockerClubMichelleSBday.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/CrockerClubMichelleSBday?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Crocker Club - Michelle's Bday</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></center>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-6561568426956838162010-04-07T16:16:00.000-07:002010-04-07T16:20:07.415-07:00See What's Coming!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S70OHEQulrI/AAAAAAAACRU/qRbKolCDSls/CraterLake_Pano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S70OHEQulrI/AAAAAAAACRU/qRbKolCDSls/CraterLake_Pano.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><i><span id="intelliTXT" name="intelliTxt">"We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered. "</span></i></div><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><i><span id="intelliTXT" name="intelliTxt">- Tom Stoppard</span></i><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span id="intelliTXT" name="intelliTxt"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I am finally back in town and let me tell you... I had an awesome trip! I thought I was going to get sick since I went from sunny Arizona to blistering cold Oregon. If you think that the panoramic picture of Crater Lake above is beautiful, imagine standing on the crater and looking at the view with the cold wind blowing on your face and a little bit of snow fall... and most of all, it is a very quiet place. Not so much when we were there though. haha. Snow shoeing was definitely fun! but that's not the highlight of the trip. The best part was getting on the snow mobile and letting it loose and go as fast at 65mph. I will tell you the rest of the story when I upload those pics.</span><br style="color: #cccccc;" /><br style="color: #cccccc;" /><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have taken so many pictures and I really need to find time to edit those and share them with you. We also stopped by San Francisco for two nights and I had an opportunity to take pictures of the city and the Bay Bridge. </span><br style="color: #cccccc;" /><br style="color: #cccccc;" /><span style="color: #cccccc;">Here's a picture of the city at night!</span></span><i><span id="intelliTXT" name="intelliTxt"> </span></i></div><br />
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</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S70RwpHDpxI/AAAAAAAACSM/jKB7w7Povlo/s1600/_DSC4213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S70RwpHDpxI/AAAAAAAACSM/jKB7w7Povlo/s320/_DSC4213.jpg" /></a></div><div style="color: orange; text-align: left;"><i><span id="intelliTXT" name="intelliTxt"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S70RsCHxEEI/AAAAAAAACSE/Oy_cVnbhWo4/s1600/_DSC4210+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S70RsCHxEEI/AAAAAAAACSE/Oy_cVnbhWo4/s320/_DSC4210+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div style="color: orange; text-align: left;"><i><span id="intelliTXT" name="intelliTxt"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="color: orange; text-align: left;"><i><span id="intelliTXT" name="intelliTxt">Check back in a few days! I should have the rest of the pictures uploaded!</span></i></div>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-78817468289414000652010-03-29T01:30:00.000-07:002010-03-29T01:30:19.790-07:00Lake Havasu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S7Bia7IbTTI/AAAAAAAACPI/NTMhJwwqvtg/s1600/_DSC2869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S7Bia7IbTTI/AAAAAAAACPI/NTMhJwwqvtg/s320/_DSC2869.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><b><span style="color: white;"> LONDON BRIDGE | LAKE HAVASU, AZ</span></b></span><i><span style="color: orange;"><br />
</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: orange;">We all tend to trust things that are known let downs.</span><br style="color: orange;" /><br style="color: orange;" /><span style="color: orange;">We trust consuming manufactured products with unknown ingredients. We trust the consumption of beef when cows have been known to go mad, pork and chicken when facts support influenza.</span><br style="color: orange;" /><br style="color: orange;" /><span style="color: orange;">We trust to live by the letter of the good book (bible) that has all along been written by men of historical failures, swearing that their influences are heavily supported. We trust that a baby's breath doesn't stink. We trust our world leaders to not let us down when they're only human just as we are. We trust in our hopes and doubt our faith.</span><br style="color: orange;" /><br style="color: orange;" /><span style="color: orange;">We trust animals of the wild to be our pet. We trust the boarding of an aircraft to soar the skies or the engine in a car fueled by an explosive product. We trust the air we breath, being polluted daily by factories creating more things for us to trust in. We trust doctors to make the right diagnosis or the surgeon to have a steady hand. We trust medicine. We trust electricity but fear lightening.</span><br style="color: orange;" /><br style="color: orange;" /><span style="color: orange;">Believe in yourself and all your capabilities and abilities. Believe in YOU!"</span><br style="color: orange;" /><br style="color: orange;" /><span style="color: orange;">One thing we tend not to trust in is ourselves. I encourage you to TRUST in YOU. Each of us was born with a gift of trust and trust coming from yourself is a sure guarantee. Believe in you and all your abilities. Trust yourself without thought or doubt, just trust in you.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">My friends and I went to Lake Havasu in Arizona for the weekend. It was our second visit and I think we had more fun this year than last year. First, we didn't crash a jet ski.. Second, there were more of us.. Third, we found out that the casino sells Corona's for $2.75!!!!.. That's right!!! $2.75!</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I will be going to Oregon this week to see one of the world's clearest lake, Crater Lake. I will bring my camera with me so check next week for the pics from my trip. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I took plenty of pics from my trip this past weekend but I will not be able to upload them until next week so check back soon. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">In the mean time, click on the links below for a little history lesson on:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.golakehavasu.com/history-of-london-bridge.html">History of London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm">Crater Lake National Park in Oregon</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's another view of the London Bridge:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S7BlDqTtnwI/AAAAAAAACPQ/iTiAJ2ptXwc/s1600/_DSC2872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S7BlDqTtnwI/AAAAAAAACPQ/iTiAJ2ptXwc/s320/_DSC2872.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-31853909774437223472010-03-24T14:53:00.000-07:002010-03-24T14:53:16.247-07:00Las Vegas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S6qF_Xpw-DI/AAAAAAAACNA/d0s0AE4oEP0/_CSC2503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S6qF_Xpw-DI/AAAAAAAACNA/d0s0AE4oEP0/_CSC2503.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: orange;">"Truth: You can bend it and twist it...You can misuse and abuse it...But you can never change it! "</i></div><br />
It's been a while since I've taken pictures of the hotels in Las Vegas so I decided to bring my camera on my last trip (about 2 weeks ago). I didn't get to walk around to take pics of all of the hotels so I only have a few from Bellagio, Mandarin Bar (part of the new City Center), Aria, and Paris.<br />
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<b>This cocktail drink has 24k gold sprinkled on it: </b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S6qGCShPrYI/AAAAAAAACNk/ccdw9Q68JmY/_DSC2398%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S6qGCShPrYI/AAAAAAAACNk/ccdw9Q68JmY/_DSC2398%20copy.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<b>At Bellagio:</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S6qF_5yeoLI/AAAAAAAACNE/t3zL4XddF1U/_DSC2327%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S6qF_5yeoLI/AAAAAAAACNE/t3zL4XddF1U/_DSC2327%20copy.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
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Here's a link to the album:<br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat scroll left center transparent; height: 194px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/LasVegas2010?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S6qF-2H2_eE/AAAAAAAACOM/B7YKupUDZ1c/s160-c/LasVegas2010.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/LasVegas2010?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Las Vegas 2010</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></center>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-21927236527871687522010-03-18T20:44:00.000-07:002010-03-18T20:45:25.346-07:00View from Mulholland Drive<div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><i>"You will get there but it is up to you and you alone. It is what you are willing to do and how you are willing to get there. It has to be relentless, you must never deviate, and pursue at all costs; so that one day, you will bring your dreams to life"</i></div><br />
Every time I go up to Runyon canyon to run, I see a lot of tour buses going up Mulholland drive and stops at this one particular location with a parking lot that fits maybe 6-8 cars. Around May of 2009, I decided to bring my camera to snap some pictures. I really didn't know how to work my camera that well at that time so my pics came out over exposed. Fast forward to two nights ago, I decided to bring my camera at the same place and took some pics. Here's a pic I took two nights ago:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S6LyiFDK9-I/AAAAAAAACLs/LMLh9uvuNWA/s1600-h/_DSC2567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S6LyiFDK9-I/AAAAAAAACLs/LMLh9uvuNWA/s320/_DSC2567.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
and here's a link to my old Flikr album: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesplana/sets/72157617980268754/with/3520717259/">Click here to see my old pics</a>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-83618406190135171332010-03-15T00:47:00.000-07:002010-03-15T01:26:56.666-07:00New York Trip - Part 5 (Last part)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S5TaVy1-PGI/AAAAAAAACHw/10bHKNoNIIM/_DSC1581%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S5TaVy1-PGI/AAAAAAAACHw/10bHKNoNIIM/_DSC1581%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><i>"If you’re always thinking about the things you could do or would do then you’re not actually doing the doing. So stop thinking and start doing! Disappointment can only come from thinking about what you could or would do! Live, dream and most importantly DO."</i></div><br />
<div style="color: #3d85c6;">Our trip has finally ended! It has been a good 5 days away from work and away from everything else. Experiencing the east coast weather was definitely the highlight of our entire trip. Snow, rain, cold, coffee, wet socks, food, etc... were the words that constantly came out of our mouth! But everything was definitely worth it! New York, you've been good to us! We will definitely come back and visit soon but only after I finish planning my trips for this year... but then again, plans always change, so we'll see...</div><br />
<b>Day 5 - February 28, 2010</b><br />
- Woke up late!!! We got up around noon and we were supposed to get up around 8am so we can at least visit the Empire State Building.<br />
- We got ready really fast and skipped the Empire State Building and went straight to the Grand Central to meet our friends Cindy and Vince.<br />
- Destination.... Little Italy!<br />
- We got lost and so we walked an extra mile to get to our destination.<br />
- After walking for 30 mins, we finally met with our friends.<br />
- They showed us around Little Italy. I noticed that Italian restaurants have "sales" man standing outside their doors to bring in customers. Some of them are really entertaining.. One of them should seriously consider stand up comedy! I forgot his jokes but he made me laugh....but then again, I'm a happy person and I laugh at everything :)<br />
- The time is already 2:00PM and our flight is at 6:15... We really need to rush and find a good place to eat!<br />
- Cindy took her iPhone searched for nearby restaurants and sorted it by ratings! She found a place that's 2 blocks away from our current location. *Clicked Navigate* iPhone GPS started to direct us to the place...<br />
- Found the place and quickly ordered so we can move on to other places...<br />
- The food was delicious! I ordered some green pasta.. I forgot what they're called but it was good! umm umm...good..<br />
- After an hour, I suggested that we have some Gelato.... so we had to walk about 4 blocks to go to this really good bakery/ice cream place.<br />
- Ordered our Gelato and started walking towards Lombardi's pizza.<br />
- DId I mention that the weather that day was cloudy and in the high 20's? oh and with a little bit of wind, maybe 10mph.<br />
- After walking a couple of blocks, I started getting cold and my hands were starting to get numb. But I did not want to throw away my Gelato!... in short, I finished it but my body started shaking!... "My mind was telling me No....but my body....my body was telling me yes!!!" - I don't know why I started singing that song in my head.. lol. For those of you that are lost in the sauce like a meatball... that was R Kelly. lol<br />
- We finally got to Lombardi's and got seated right away...Ordered our pizza and waited...<br />
- after 5 minutes, our orders came but I wasn't really that excited to eat the pizza since we just ate.. It has only been 30 minutes since our last meal! lol.. but somebody wanted to eat at Lombardi's *cough*myson*cough*... I can't mention his name but *cough*myson*cough*. lol.. I'm kidding dude, we all wanted to try it! haha<br />
- After 20 mins, we decided that we needed to get back to our hotel so we can head to the airport.<br />
- We said our goodbyes to our friends.. Cindy and Vince, take you guys for taking your time out of your busy schedules to take us out! We enjoyed your company and we hope to visit you guys soon! I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Almendras brothers for making this trip possible. They arranged everything from booking the plane ticket and hotel reservations to our daily itinerary. Thanks guys!.. *sniff sniff* haha.<br />
- The time is now 5PM and we just got back to the hotel to gather our luggage. <br />
- Got in the cab and asked the driver to take us to airport as quickly as possible.<br />
- Our driver was Haitian and he was very entertaining! He had all kinds of story from when he was single to the time of his marriage. He gave us lessons about women. He basically said that the longer you are married, the less time you spend time talking. haha. He said that women always win the argument! He reminded me of something that Chris Rock had said from one of his shows. - Chris Rock talking about Married life. LMAO. See below<br />
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Anyway, LOL.. Let me finish what I was saying...<br />
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- Finally got to the airport and checked in...<br />
- Waited for 10 mins and boarded the plane.. Our flight is about 6 hours! sigh.... <br />
- 2 hours on the flight, I heard somebody snoring... I looked back and it was Edgar. LMAO... IT WAS FREAKIN' LOUD!<br />
- Landed in Burbank and went home :(... ahhhh.. what a fun trip!<br />
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If you haven't seen the pics I've taken from the trip. Click the albums below:<br />
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<center><b>New York Trip - Part 1</b><br />
<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjohnm.esplana%2Falbumid%2F5444123603196864289%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="192" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="288"></embed></center><br />
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<center><b>New York Trip - Part 2</b><br />
<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fjohnm.esplana%2Falbumid%2F5446217141177797601%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="192" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="288"></embed></center>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-17928199850807889022010-03-10T02:32:00.000-08:002010-03-10T02:37:31.711-08:00New York Trip - Part 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S5TaQhJnBkI/AAAAAAAACG8/KXtvNFhBNUI/_DSC1512%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S5TaQhJnBkI/AAAAAAAACG8/KXtvNFhBNUI/_DSC1512%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="color: orange;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><i>"What is the most important thing in life? Necessity. People do whatever is most necessary to them at any given moment."</i></div><br />
Our trip was nearly ending and we still had so much grounds to cover. We wanted to wake up early but our body did not want to move out of the bed. Andrew even tried to wake us up as he was trying to get our tickets ready for the following day's trip back to L.A. As I recall, he woke us up around 10am.<br />
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Anyway, we planned on going to one of the most depressing site of NY, Ground Zero. The place where 7 world trade centers used to stand. We also planned on going to Brooklyn Bridge since it's just a few blocks away from Ground Zero.<br />
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<b>Day 4 - February 27, 2010</b><br />
- Woke up around Noon. Even though we had enough sleep, we still felt really tired.<br />
- The snow finally stopped falling but it was still cold outside. I think it was around 30 degrees.<br />
- And to get our day started, we had............................not coffee. Instead, we had lunch!<br />
- We decided to go to the Grand Central Terminal dining area as one of our friends had suggested that serve some really good food.<br />
- Edgar and I decided to have Indian food and let me tell you...... the curry was just delicious! The chicken tasted like chicken.. like how it's supposed to!<br />
- Myson and Andrew had some Cuban sandwiches. They gave up rice for lent. Too bad guys! You had to sit next to us enjoying our curry with rice!<br />
- After eating, on our way back to up to the substation, a man in his 50's asked us if we were tourist.. Geesh, I don't know what gave him that idea but I was thinking it was my camera. I was taking pics of every corner of the station. LOL.<br />
- Anyway, he showed us a really cool thing right underneath the station by the dining area on Lexington and 42nd. It's called the "Whispering Wall". Basically, he asked me and Myson to stand in opposite corners of the large arched entryway. He told us to face the corner and whisper........WOW!!!! I heard his voice as if he was right next to me!<br />
- Because we were both excited, we called Andrew and Edgar told them about the cool thing we learned! We all went to our separate corners and started whispering. LMAO. Imagine four grown men standing in 4 corners faced against the wall whispering. Hahaha.<br />
- And off we go to ground zero!<br />
- After a 20 minute ride, we finally arrived at the WTC location. First thing we noticed was the new building! It looks really good.<br />
- After walking down the steps and on the street. We met a very nice gentleman holding books and a tip jar. We originally thought that he was a regular bum but later learned that he was actually one of the survivors.<br />
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</div><div style="color: cyan;"><i>"We met a gentleman in his 60s while looking at ground zero and he stood out of the crowd because he was loud and wanted to be heard. He looked at us and asked "How many buildings are there in the World Trade Center?? How many?" Myson answered: Seven! There were 7 buildings! The man approached us with a smile and said, "Correct! There were 7 buildings! </i></div><div style="color: cyan;"><i>Him: Where are you guys from?</i></div><div style="color: cyan;"><i>Us: We're from L.A.</i></div><div style="color: cyan;"><i>Him: My west coast people!!! I am glad that you guys know this as some people who live in NY don't even know that there were 7 buildings. They've always thought there were only 2.</i></div><div style="color: cyan;"><i>After telling us a brief history of the WTC's and what had happened. He told us that on 9/11 at 8:46am, he was working in the building next to the twin towers. When the first building was hit, his gut instinct automatically told him to get out of the building and go pic up his son from school. He hurriedly left the building and ran towards the Brooklyn Bridge. By this time, I can see and feel the man's emotions and I just gave my undivided attention (For those that know me, it is really hard for me to do this. lol. I tend to go from one topic to the next and interrupt with questions. haha - but this time was different). He then continued his story when he heard the next attack and he noticed that a lot of people were going towards Manhattan and they were going underground to take the subway. During that time, all trains were halted to a complete stop and so people were trapped and had nowhere to go. When people panic, some know exactly what to do but most people freeze and breaks down. He then told us the worst part... When the building collapsed, a lot of people were underground and as we all know, these underground tunnels were not built as a bomb shelter. I think you guys know what happened there is no need for me to go into details. The man was in tears and I closed to giving in but I had to control myself.. I was in public! lol. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the man's story and he thanked us for listening to him and to keep "representin' westcoast".. lol.. His exact same words, I swear!. "</i></div><br />
- After listening to the nice gentleman, we went to ground zero preview site where they have a nice model of what the WTC would look like in the future.<br />
- By this time, we were tired and needed coffee. So, we headed over to Starbucks and learned about the earthquake that hit Chile and the Tsunami that is going to hit Hawaii and other countries near the Pacific.<br />
- We then walked to Brooklyn Bridge to take some pics. We only went to the first arched foundation since they all looked the same anyway. lol<br />
- After about an hour, we decided to head back to our hotel to get some rest since we are going to have a long night.<br />
- After resting for a few hours.... We met up with Amy and Marc to have dinner at a nice hidden Japanese restaurant called "Saka Gura".<br />
- After dinner, we decided to walk to a bar a few blocks away and had a few drinks. At first I thought I was at the MTV show "Jersey Shore". People were fist pumping all over the place!.. I gotta say though, the music was good that I started doing it too! I was dressed for it!... Tight shirt that I got from baby gap.. it was size 6-12 months.. lol.. I sporting a spike hair and got a nice tan.. All I needed was to find a dolled up girl to dance with me and it was Jersey Shore dance off!... here's what I noticed though.. Why is it that men that work out tend to wear the smallest shirts! I saw this guy picking his shirt at baby gap!..... okay I didn't, but it would have been funny! lol.<br />
- After a night of drinking, we decided to have some pizza at some place a few doors down the bar.<br />
- After dinner, we decided to call it a night and go back to the hotel.<br />
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I have one more day to blog, so keep checking back! Goodnight :)<br />
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Click the album below to view our pics: Part 1 and Part 2<br />
<table style="width: 194px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat scroll left center transparent; height: 194px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/NewYorkTripPart1?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S41pkqneZyE/AAAAAAAAB74/sCx5J1Fsjac/s160-c/NewYorkTripPart1.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/NewYorkTripPart1?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">New York Trip - Part 1</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat scroll left center transparent; height: 194px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/NewYorkTripPart2?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S5TZonWLy-E/AAAAAAAACJ8/T2R0pagONoI/s160-c/NewYorkTripPart2.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/NewYorkTripPart2?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">New York Trip - Part 2</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-66086662026595113032010-03-08T12:09:00.000-08:002010-03-08T12:11:09.813-08:00New York Trip - Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S5TZpwCTicI/AAAAAAAAB-g/hEvINBfuEcI/s1600/_DSC0510%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S5TZpwCTicI/AAAAAAAAB-g/hEvINBfuEcI/s320/_DSC0510%20copy.jpg" /></a></div><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;"><i>"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."</i></div><br />
So I finally finished editing the pictures from the NY trip. I think I spent about 10 hours editing those pics or maybe less, lol.<br />
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Day 3:<br />
- Woke up and it was still snowing. <br />
- Got ready, put plastic bags in our shoes...lol. Ghetto but it works! (We couldn't find rainboots for men! They all had pattern on them. I was going to get the Zebra patterned boots but the lady wouldn't sell it to me :(.. haha) - Went to Starbucks to get our daily caffeine fix.<br />
- We started looking for a place to eat nearby our hotel and found a Thai restaurant.<br />
- The food wasn't that good.. I still liked the Thai restaurants here in LA.<br />
- After eating, we started walking towards 5th Avenue and it is freezing!<br />
- I really got shutter happy this day and took a lot of pics! There was so much stuff to to see!<br />
- Then we got a call from Vince and he invited us over to his place. (He lives with his gf, Cindy... Thank you guys for showing us around town.)<br />
- His place is nice! You can see Central park, Jersey and Time Square from his rooftop.<br />
- Went to Central Park and just walked around to see the beautiful scenery.<br />
- I took a couple of panoramic shots of Central park (I posted them in Part 1)<br />
- After about an hour, our hands were freezing and we needed to go somewhere to keep us warm.<br />
- Cindy and Vince decided to take us to Angelo's Pizza. The best pizza i've ever had!<br />
- We didn't want to eat a lot since we are also meeting my friend's cousin for Dinner at 9. We finished eating around 8. lol.<br />
- Walked to Broadway and something.. Close to Radio City.<br />
- After walking for 30 minutes, a plate of food doesn't sound so bad.<br />
- We met up with Amy, Marc and their beautiful daughter Trinity.<br />
- Went to a Brazilian restaurant and stayed there for about an hour or so, then we decided to have some dessert.<br />
- On our way to the place to get dessert, we walked on Broadway and saw this guy with a bunch of girls taking pictures with him. I didn't know who he was but for some reason, the little girl in me started screaming and my man body didn't know how to react but to approach him a take a pic with him!. LOL. I found out later that it was Corbin Bleu, a star from High School Musical. I gave him an excuse that it was for my sister but the truth is.... it was for the little girl in me. LMAO.<br />
- Myson and Andrew got jealous so they both decided to take a pic with him.. I guess everyman has a little girl in them screaming to get out. lol<br />
- Back to my story.... after walking 10 blocks we finally ended up at the place. (it was on 3rd and 36th i think?)<br />
- I got a slice of a very chocolaty chocolate cake! I couldn't finish it and I was feeling guilty eating it. lol<br />
- By this time, I think it was already 1am so we all decided to call it a night.<br />
- Walked back to our hotel and rested.... ahhh, what a day... ZZZzzzzz....<br />
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Check back soon, I have 2 more days to cover.<br />
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<b>Click the pic below to go to my Album (NY Trip - Part 2)</b><br />
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/NewYorkTripPart2?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">New York Trip - Part 2</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></center>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-84440579304128947272010-03-06T17:26:00.000-08:002010-03-06T18:57:28.703-08:00New York Trip - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S5L4LqjtEQI/AAAAAAAAB9g/Bmxjxpaqexc/s1600-h/_DSC1597+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S5L4LqjtEQI/AAAAAAAAB9g/Bmxjxpaqexc/s320/_DSC1597+copy.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>View from the Brooklyn Bridge</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: orange;">"Never judge someone unless you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, if you piss them off, they're a mile away and they're barefoot."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I am still in the process of editing the pictures but I just wanted to blog about our 2nd day before I forget and also share one of my favorite pictures. (see image above)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Day 2:</div><div style="text-align: left;">Woke up around 8am and it was snowing!!! It was reported that 17 inches of snow dropped before 8am! We were excited and got dressed in a hurry. We were going to see the statue of liberty.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Went out, walked to Starbucks to get our day started.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Went to the Grand Central Terminal and got on the train to Battery Park.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We got off the train and it was still snowing with a little rain. Our shoes are now getting wet and my socks got wet. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- On our way to ferry, we got approached by a man in a raincoat and this is how the conversation went: </div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Him: Hey guys, are you going to see the statue of liberty?</i></div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Us: Yes!</i></div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Him: okay, that's gonna be $13 each</i></div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Us: *Thinking* Is he trying to hustle us?</i></div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Myson: How much is it inside?</i></div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Him: It's the same</i></div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Andrew: Do you accept cards?</i></div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Him: Yes I do *pulls out a credit card machine*</i></div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Me: *laughed* What else do you have there? Where's your booth? Man, they're making you work hard out here man. What else are you selling? You got coffee? </i></div><div style="color: #93c47d; text-align: left;"><i>Him: Hahahaha.. Man, you are funny.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">- He seriously looked like a bum! lol.<i> </i></div><div style="text-align: left;">- Security inspection was ridiculous! an inconvenience but it's for everyone's own safety.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Roamed around the statue, played in the snow, took pics, ate and bought souvenirs. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- Our socks are wet!.. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- We missed the last boat to Ellis Island! arggg.. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- We were really tired so we went back to our hotel and got some rest.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- After getting some rest, we got ready and headed down to the lobby and met a friend that recently moved to NY.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We went to Lower East Side to have some ramen.. Ippundo NY has the best ramen!</div><div style="text-align: left;">- The wait time was over an hour for the ramen so we decided to have some hot dogs from Crips (it's a hole in the wall type of place but it was good!</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Here's the crazy part! In the hot dog place, there's a phonebooth and when you pick up the phone, somebody will answer and door in the phone booth will open! Through that door is a bar! It's supposed to be a secret! Speaking of secrets, why do people with bad breath always have secrets? They always want to get close to you! lol</div><div style="text-align: left;">- We finally finished eating so we decided to hit up a few bars. </div><div style="text-align: left;">- Walked in a snowstorm and it was fun! This was probably the reason why we didn't get drunk even though we drank a lot.</div><div style="text-align: left;">- After hitting a few bars, we decided that it's now time to end the night and get some rest for the next day.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">To be continued... Day 3, 4 and 5 will soon follow!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-39769460864159374222010-03-02T12:56:00.000-08:002010-03-02T13:34:44.922-08:00New York Trip - Part 1<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S41q0dlIkoI/AAAAAAAAB7Y/AKmnG8JgkYk/CentralPark_Panorama2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="104" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S41q0dlIkoI/AAAAAAAAB7Y/AKmnG8JgkYk/CentralPark_Panorama2.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S41q0COTI0I/AAAAAAAAB7U/yOUYA3oW0u0/CentralPark_Panorama1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S41q0COTI0I/AAAAAAAAB7U/yOUYA3oW0u0/CentralPark_Panorama1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<i style="color: orange;">"When you were born, you were crying and everyone else around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're smiling and everyone else is crying" </i></div><br />
New York trip was definitely a success! We covered so many places in very little time, thanks to NY's fine subway system. It was an experience for all of us since it was our first time in NY. One thing I noticed is that people don't follow street signs. <span style="color: lime;">Green</span> means walk, <span style="color: yellow;">yellow </span>means walk faster and <span style="color: red;">red </span>means Run! lol. Oh, and New Yorkers are really friendly!<br />
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<b>Day 1:</b><br />
- Still in Burbank, we arrived at the Burbank airport at 6am. Ate a breakfast burrito and boarded the plane.<br />
- Sat in the back of the plane but couldn't sleep. We were too excited to fall asleep so we made noises and kept ordering food and beverages. The flight attendant kept asking us if we needed anything else since every time she walks by we ask for something. haha<br />
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- Finally arrived at the airport and got a cab to our hotel (Hotel Hemsley NY on 42nd and 3rd). We each had our own bed to be comfortable and we are thankful that we did.<br />
- It was around 30 degrees and a little windy. <br />
- The hotel is newly renovated and the staff were really friendly.<br />
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- Walked to Time Square and ate at Brooklyn Diner. That placed sucked! It was expensive too.<br />
- We decided to walk back to our hotel to get some rest so we can hit up a few bars.<br />
- Woke up around 10:30 and got ready. Me and Myson tried to call Andrew but he fell asleep. So we decided to go to a bar nearby.<br />
- Went to a bar called "Flannagans" - not sure if that's how it's spelled. We had a good time. Bar tender gave us a shot of Red Label...<br />
- Got hungry and looked for places to eat but everything was closed.<br />
- We ended up at Wendy's. haha..<br />
- And we saw steam coming out of the man hole. lol.. Things we see in movies! Yey!<br />
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Here's a link to the NY pics. I haven't uploaded everything as I needed to edit every single one of them. I took about a thousand pics :( So keep checking my blog. <br />
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/NewYorkTripPart1?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">New York Trip - Part 1</a><br />
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</tbody></table></center>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-71650486140926665002010-02-21T15:11:00.000-08:002010-03-01T18:38:41.834-08:00Malibu Creek Hike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4GnfYCkDwI/AAAAAAAABpA/fbQbJaW6x18/s1600-h/_DSC0151_2_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4GnfYCkDwI/AAAAAAAABpA/fbQbJaW6x18/s320/_DSC0151_2_3.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: orange;">"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: orange;">- Ralph Waldo Emerson </span></i></div><br />
One of the things I look forward to on the weekend is being able to spend time outdoors (hiking, walking, running, biking, etc.). Spend more time with mother nature and less time in bed so I can appreciate the things that surrounds us.<br />
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Before I ask you all to view the pics I took yesterday, here's a quote from Miss South Carolina: LOL<br />
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</div><div style="color: orange; text-align: center;">"<i>I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_%28linguistics%29" title="Filler (linguistics)">uh</a>, some people out there in our nation don't have maps and, uh, I believe that our, uh, education like such as, uh, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa" title="South
Africa">South Africa</a> and, uh, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a>, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, or, uh, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asian countries</a>, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children"</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">Here are some of my favorites: </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G6x0vMwMI/AAAAAAAABpI/L21wgsZpNHo/s1600-h/_DSC0064_5_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G6x0vMwMI/AAAAAAAABpI/L21wgsZpNHo/s200/_DSC0064_5_6.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G7C11Q4cI/AAAAAAAABpQ/qyiGD-y5zk4/s1600-h/_DSC0077_8_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G7C11Q4cI/AAAAAAAABpQ/qyiGD-y5zk4/s200/_DSC0077_8_9.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G7WyWQEvI/AAAAAAAABpY/eKgo3gr0nVo/s1600-h/_DSC0080_1_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G7WyWQEvI/AAAAAAAABpY/eKgo3gr0nVo/s200/_DSC0080_1_2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G7pgG9O2I/AAAAAAAABpg/Whlz_e2POqA/s1600-h/_DSC0151_2_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G7pgG9O2I/AAAAAAAABpg/Whlz_e2POqA/s200/_DSC0151_2_3.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G7_hok_DI/AAAAAAAABpo/BStpts1zBl4/s1600-h/_DSC0323_4_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G7_hok_DI/AAAAAAAABpo/BStpts1zBl4/s200/_DSC0323_4_5.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G8FDpL-xI/AAAAAAAABpw/W8J5btSGY0w/s1600-h/_DSC0327_8_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G8FDpL-xI/AAAAAAAABpw/W8J5btSGY0w/s200/_DSC0327_8_9.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G8ZsNiPpI/AAAAAAAABp4/9bXmyDRZ8w4/s1600-h/_DSC0351_2_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G8ZsNiPpI/AAAAAAAABp4/9bXmyDRZ8w4/s200/_DSC0351_2_3.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G8c6EKSQI/AAAAAAAABqA/KkI6ZhXra8w/s1600-h/_DSC0367_8_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4G8c6EKSQI/AAAAAAAABqA/KkI6ZhXra8w/s200/_DSC0367_8_9.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><i> </i></div></div><br />
Click the album below to view the rest of the pics:<br />
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<tr><td align="center" style="background: url("http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat scroll left center transparent; height: 194px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/MalibuCreekHike?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S4GfmyL6RyE/AAAAAAAABog/Ru8uoJGtNwU/s160-c/MalibuCreekHike.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/MalibuCreekHike?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Malibu Creek Hike</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></center>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-44274989975831824642010-02-19T02:41:00.000-08:002010-02-19T03:05:01.444-08:00Downtown L.A. Night Shots Part Duex<div style="color: orange; text-align: center;">"<i>Become addicted to constant and never ending self improvement." - Anthony J. D'Angelo</i></div><div style="color: yellow; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35ag9XTBKI/AAAAAAAABeo/yxD9gcW6hJg/s1600-h/_DSC0026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35ag9XTBKI/AAAAAAAABeo/yxD9gcW6hJg/s400/_DSC0026.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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A view of downtown L.A. from the Water and Power district near the Disney Concert Hall.<br />
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I seriously can't wait to go to New York and take pics! Only a few more days and my memory cards will be filled with pics from NY. I have always wanted to go to NY to see what the fuzz is about. When I think of NY, I think of "Sex in the City" and I seriously remember the time that movie came out and every woman I know talked about it! They even dressed up just to go see the movie! I didn't get it at that time but after seeing the movie... Yes, I saw the movie out of curiosity and I really think that Carrie should stop hanging around with her friends, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda! and stop asking them for advice! That's like asking a blind man to walk another blind man..<br />
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Anyway, here are the pics I took earlier:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Click the album below to view from my Picasa Album </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35pbksz_gI/AAAAAAAABew/G0eVWHTTswM/s1600-h/_DSC0024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35pbksz_gI/AAAAAAAABew/G0eVWHTTswM/s320/_DSC0024.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35phVdd80I/AAAAAAAABe4/K5ExNTX1xi0/s1600-h/_DSC0041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35phVdd80I/AAAAAAAABe4/K5ExNTX1xi0/s320/_DSC0041.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35pmFCdE_I/AAAAAAAABfA/nTneBAMIN1Y/s1600-h/_DSC0096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35pmFCdE_I/AAAAAAAABfA/nTneBAMIN1Y/s320/_DSC0096.jpg" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35prVqopWI/AAAAAAAABfI/6zkQILpbGxg/s1600-h/_DSC0097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35prVqopWI/AAAAAAAABfI/6zkQILpbGxg/s320/_DSC0097.jpg" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35pxOizUuI/AAAAAAAABfQ/X827zyGZc4s/s1600-h/_DSC0100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35pxOizUuI/AAAAAAAABfQ/X827zyGZc4s/s320/_DSC0100.jpg" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35p3ZLmULI/AAAAAAAABfY/DAYYiBx-7MM/s1600-h/_DSC0111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S35p3ZLmULI/AAAAAAAABfY/DAYYiBx-7MM/s320/_DSC0111.jpg" /></a></div>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-39115311581768648232010-02-15T23:44:00.000-08:002010-02-16T00:31:28.973-08:00Wine Tasting @ Solvang, CA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3o-t8vYeZI/AAAAAAAAA3M/_4IyeZYzfHY/s1600-h/_DSC0364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3o-t8vYeZI/AAAAAAAAA3M/_4IyeZYzfHY/s400/_DSC0364.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div style="color: orange;"><i>"Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it."</i></div><i> </i></div>I figured I'd start with a quote since yesterday was Valentine's day. :) The last time I went to Solvang was 7 years ago, nothing really changed in that little village except for maybe the ridiculously priced cookies!!! $3 each for a cookie that is a little bit bigger than a fortune cookie!!!<br />
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I don't drink wine but I really enjoyed wine tasting on Saturday. It wasn't the wine that I really enjoyed, it was the company of friends that I really enjoyed (awwww...). It doesn't really matter where we go, as long as I am with my friends, I am happy. -- I have a toothache now... this is so sweet.. haha..<br />
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Sometimes when I'm bored, I send my friends text messages that goes like this:<br />
<b>Me</b>: Knock Knock<br />
<b>Them:</b> Who's there?<br />
<b>Me:</b> It's me...your friend, John.. I just wanted to let you know that i'll always be here for you. LMAO.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Click the link below to view my album <br />
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<tr align="center"><td style="background: url("http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif") no-repeat scroll left center transparent; height: 194px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/WineTastingSolvang?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pOC_jkqDE/AAAAAAAABTw/dwIKkms48eg/s160-c/WineTastingSolvang.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/johnm.esplana/WineTastingSolvang?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Wine Tasting @ Solvang</a></td></tr>
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The pictures below are the ones that I really like:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pK2FidWLI/AAAAAAAAA80/nSuIWPFMn1s/s1600-h/_DSC0303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pK2FidWLI/AAAAAAAAA80/nSuIWPFMn1s/s200/_DSC0303.jpg" style="height: 134px; width: 83px;" width="123" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pWeuTJooI/AAAAAAAABT4/KqkFsw08l5M/s1600-h/_DSC0424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pWeuTJooI/AAAAAAAABT4/KqkFsw08l5M/s200/_DSC0424.jpg" width="200" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pDnev2hFI/AAAAAAAAA3U/MMpux3StgDY/s1600-h/_DSC0413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pDnev2hFI/AAAAAAAAA3U/MMpux3StgDY/s200/_DSC0413.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pKIGusghI/AAAAAAAAA78/x2LUuhb0s04/s1600-h/_DSC0201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pKIGusghI/AAAAAAAAA78/x2LUuhb0s04/s200/_DSC0201.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pKQh2rigI/AAAAAAAAA8E/d65QXXHheNM/s1600/_DSC0202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pKQh2rigI/AAAAAAAAA8E/d65QXXHheNM/s200/_DSC0202.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pO0cKknDI/AAAAAAAABFI/Jh98M4WrYIM/s1600-h/_DSC0468.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3pO0cKknDI/AAAAAAAABFI/Jh98M4WrYIM/s200/_DSC0468.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-32782573834319177202010-02-12T09:56:00.000-08:002010-02-12T10:02:21.418-08:00Studio Session Part 2We had another studio session last night and when I say studio session, I meant they went recording and I was only there to support and record videos haha. The good news is that we finally got all the pieces together for two important videos; The introduction of the artists and their first music video "Never Get Me Back".<br />
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Anyways, here's the video. I hope you all like it.<br />
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<object width="410" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2sBaxolJ_Hc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2sBaxolJ_Hc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="410" height="290"></embed></object><br />
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Keep checking the blog for more updates. I should have the video completed by this weekend. <br />
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Also, I will be going out of town this weekend and I never leave without my camera. Pictures will definitely be posted, so keep checking!JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-5604947610102988102010-02-10T00:52:00.000-08:002010-02-11T18:43:48.777-08:00Griffith Observatory<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J0d8tppsI/AAAAAAAAA0s/9_fOypkUtPQ/s1600-h/DSC_0031.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436535758052239042" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J0d8tppsI/AAAAAAAAA0s/9_fOypkUtPQ/s320/DSC_0031.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 162px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
It's been a while since I went to the Griffith Observatory so my friend Richard and I decided to come up here and take some pictures. I would say tonight was a bad night to take pictures since it was so cold (my hands were numb and I could not feel the buttons on my camera) but I didn't want to make any excuses not to go out and take pictures of the beautiful things that surrounds us. People from different parts of the world come to the Griffith Observatory every single day and I bet there are people out there who live locally that have never even been to the observatory.<br />
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If you would like to learn more about the history of the Griffith Observatory, please visit: <a href="http://www.griffithobservatory.org/obshist.html">http://www.griffithobservatory.org/obshist.html</a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J3bj5oXHI/AAAAAAAAA00/mLO6h7KJvrY/s1600-h/DSC_0028.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436539015566744690" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J3bj5oXHI/AAAAAAAAA00/mLO6h7KJvrY/s200/DSC_0028.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 94px; width: 200px;" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J36Zz6kwI/AAAAAAAAA08/VO_fBVau83U/s1600-h/DSC_0116.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436539545434362626" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J36Zz6kwI/AAAAAAAAA08/VO_fBVau83U/s200/DSC_0116.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 94px; width: 200px;" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J4ho7vUHI/AAAAAAAAA1M/7qUrWruefU4/s1600-h/DSC_0031.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436540219508609138" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J4ho7vUHI/AAAAAAAAA1M/7qUrWruefU4/s200/DSC_0031.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 95px; width: 200px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J4PWnm_AI/AAAAAAAAA1E/FLRM6mtQM3o/s1600-h/DSC_0086.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436539905354693634" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3J4PWnm_AI/AAAAAAAAA1E/FLRM6mtQM3o/s200/DSC_0086.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 133px; width: 200px;" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3KX_ys0dyI/AAAAAAAAA1U/_vUEZrt0_eE/s1600-h/DSC_0104.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436574822386923298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3KX_ys0dyI/AAAAAAAAA1U/_vUEZrt0_eE/s200/DSC_0104.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 133px; width: 200px;" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3OqjFH_EtI/AAAAAAAAA14/_2fhWThaSgE/s1600-h/DSC_0046.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436876694814134994" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3OqjFH_EtI/AAAAAAAAA14/_2fhWThaSgE/s200/DSC_0046.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 101px; width: 200px;" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3TAQUSDMQI/AAAAAAAAA3E/xgXec2olwKQ/s1600-h/DSC_0014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3TAQUSDMQI/AAAAAAAAA3E/xgXec2olwKQ/s200/DSC_0014.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I think my next shoot would be in Chinatown or somewhere in Downtown L.A. (maybe the art district.. hmm..)JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-29582871448186995042010-02-08T19:06:00.000-08:002010-02-08T23:50:45.733-08:00Chicago Trip<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3DXCTuXWYI/AAAAAAAAA0U/q_detf2EvBQ/s1600-h/DSC_0077.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3DXCTuXWYI/AAAAAAAAA0U/q_detf2EvBQ/s320/DSC_0077.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436081184890640770" border="0" /></a><br />Since I really don't have anything to talk about right now. I figured, I'd talk about my trip to Chicago a few months back.<br /><br />I've always been a fan of Michael Jordan so Chicago is one of the cities that I really wanted to visit. Back in September, I finally had a chance to visit this beautiful city and at the same hang out with a friend of mine who I haven't seen in 15 years.<br /><br />Chicago is a really nice city with lots of history. The first thing I noticed was that the streets were named after our past Presidents.<br /><br />Three places I wanted to visit: Willis Tower (Sears Tower), Michael Jordan Statue, and the Millennium Park.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">On top the Willis Tower:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3DWMrW3GYI/AAAAAAAAA0M/ryZ0l24QNvo/s1600-h/DSC_0118.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3DWMrW3GYI/AAAAAAAAA0M/ryZ0l24QNvo/s320/DSC_0118.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436080263521573250" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">United Center:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3DXN3PXCvI/AAAAAAAAA0c/LkYrSNeILyM/s1600-h/DSC_0023.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3DXN3PXCvI/AAAAAAAAA0c/LkYrSNeILyM/s320/DSC_0023.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436081383402834674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Millennium Park:<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3DXdMdCeJI/AAAAAAAAA0k/7C77bHn3SvQ/s1600-h/Millenium_Park.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S3DXdMdCeJI/AAAAAAAAA0k/7C77bHn3SvQ/s320/Millenium_Park.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436081646795389074" border="0" /></a>That's it for now!<br /><br />To view the rest of my pictures, click here: <a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=0f578b070d88c7e2&sid=0AaNGLZs3cuGTiQ">http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=0f578b070d88c7e2&sid=0AaNGLZs3cuGTiQ</a>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-74910633182527736262010-02-08T09:44:00.001-08:002010-02-08T11:28:58.409-08:00Studio SessionI was finally able to play around with my new camera and recorded a few videos yesterday. We started filming some footage for their new song "Never Get Me Back" with Marcelo, Wynn and BDB but I'm not posting anything until I have Wynn's part. We are meeting again on Thursday to finalize the video shoot for the song. But before we go in to making music videos, I figured they should talk about why they're doing what they're doing, how long they've been doing it, and what can they do to help others who want to be in the music industry.<br /><br />"<span style="font-style: italic;">We put our creative talents together and make music... This is an opportunity to open up new doors to our crew... We're not tryin' to work 9 to 5 jobs for the rest of our lives</span>" - Marcelo<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"If you put a bunch of creative people all together, stuff like this happens.... We express ourselves with these beats, with these rhymes... If you want something, you gotta get out there and do something... it ain't gonna come to you"</span> - Bryan "BDB"<br /><br />My computer was having some problems yesterday so I couldn't really edit the videos the way I wanted them. I wanted to put more effects and have smoother transition but I didn't have time. Anway, here's a video of what came out of the session yesterday.<br /><br /><center><br /><object width="410" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/NkpwPPGcdi8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/NkpwPPGcdi8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="410" height="290"></embed></object><br /></center><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">*Click fullscreen and choose 720p to view in HD*</span><br /><br />We also did a commercial shoot for Dino's Pizza (without their knowledge).. LOL.<br />I will be editing them tonight and will post later when I get home from work.JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-66123482977252735742010-02-07T16:00:00.000-08:002010-02-08T11:10:45.625-08:00Random NightA few nights ago, my friend Richard stopped by my house to show me his new Canon DSLR. He is also getting into photography and wanted to get the most out of his camera rather than just shooting in "auto" mode and the other camera presets. He also wanted to try out other lenses, particularly the 50mm. (by the way, I am trying to convince him to buy the 50mm since it is very inexpensive and can do a lot of things)<br /><br />Coincidentally, he had his 9mm gun in his bag so we decided to take pictures with it. I've always wanted to create a "poster" like image so I thought I'd try it. I picked up my D40 with the 50mm and started shooting away.<br /><br />I am going to show you two pictures with before and after photoshop edits.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEFORE:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S29W1Avr4jI/AAAAAAAAAzs/_mF6N9yWqfQ/s1600-h/DSC_0353.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S29W1Avr4jI/AAAAAAAAAzs/_mF6N9yWqfQ/s320/DSC_0353.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435658743992541746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">AFTER:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S29XHpkcwZI/AAAAAAAAAz0/N_W4XcKJyck/s1600-h/Say_No.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S29XHpkcwZI/AAAAAAAAAz0/N_W4XcKJyck/s320/Say_No.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435659064188912018" border="0" /></a>And here's another shot.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEFORE:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S29Xc6D7kdI/AAAAAAAAAz8/D65-_6o5vGQ/s1600-h/DSC_0365.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S29Xc6D7kdI/AAAAAAAAAz8/D65-_6o5vGQ/s320/DSC_0365.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435659429393174994" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">AFTER:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S29Xq1gmlsI/AAAAAAAAA0E/Fa_MhMrgZr0/s1600-h/Gun1_Done.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S29Xq1gmlsI/AAAAAAAAA0E/Fa_MhMrgZr0/s320/Gun1_Done.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435659668689426114" border="0" /></a>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6835281948804894808.post-10436440822137022142010-02-06T23:01:00.001-08:002010-02-06T23:51:38.023-08:00My First PostI have been wanting to put up a blog for a while now but I didn't know what to really focus on. I am one of those people that can't focus on one subject when having a conversation and jump from one topic to the next. So staying on one topic would be really difficult for me. Well, lately I have really been getting into photography and so I have decided to make this blog about photography.<br /><br />I have been using my father's Nikon D40 for a couple of years now and I have gotten to the point that I need a bigger camera that offers more features. For a couple of months I have been looking at the Nikon D90. Nikon D90 is a mid-range semi-pro camera that has a built in HD 720p video recorder. My friends and I have been planning on making music videos and a few other comedy skits to post on youtube. We have a few videos posted online but it lacks quality (here's a link to Bryan's youtube videos <a href="http://www.youtube.com/23avila">http://www.youtube.com/23avila</a>). In short, this blog will contain still photographs as well as videos.<br /><br />Fast forward to earlier this afternoon, I finally picked up a Nikon D90 and so far I am impressed with this camera. So far I have 3 lenses that I use and they are: Nikon 18-55 (this came with the Nikon D40), Nikon 55-200 VR and a Nikon 50mm. I have yet to purchase a Nikon speedlight flash and upgraded lenses. I am sure I will get those in the coming months.<br /><br />Tomorrow is Superbowl Sunday and we are doing our first video shoot for one of the songs in Marcelo's album. I have a few ideas in mind but we'll see how that turns out.<br /><br />Here's a cover album that I created for Marcelo: (The picture was taken by Jeff and the effects were added by me)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S25vbGL5PqI/AAAAAAAAAzU/zyh9K_CCpRU/s1600-h/Marcelo.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 310px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RFA63H0Q_O4/S25vbGL5PqI/AAAAAAAAAzU/zyh9K_CCpRU/s320/Marcelo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435404311590420130" border="0" /></a><br />Here's a couple of links to some of the pics I've taken in the past.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesplana">http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesplana</a><br /><br /><a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=0f578b070d88c7e2&sid=0AaNGLZs3cuGTiQ">http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=0f578b070d88c7e2&sid=0AaNGLZs3cuGTiQ</a>JME Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09230008746259591712noreply@blogger.com0