Barbs and I received something amazing in the mail. It was a discount stay at the Encore Las Vegas. The Encore is a new hotel by Wynn. It was an offer we couldn’t decline. Plus it was Vegas. Who turns down Vegas??

Our stay at the Encore was incredible. The hotel room we were in had a great view of the Strip. The bed was so comfy you almost didn’t want to get up. From our room you could see all the pools. Of course, we hit up the pool. With temperatures as hot as 110 degrees, we had no choice.

Walking down the strip was a bad idea in the heat. We quickly agreed to snag some all day bus tickets which were equipped with a/c. We ate at Serendipity and Mesa Grill. To end our stay in Vegas we stuffed ourselves from the Wynn Buffet. If you were to ask me which buffet to eat at.. it would be at the Wynn. The food at that buffet is just so delicious. Top notch. We will definitely see you again, Vegas. Another day..

Shaq was in Vegas filming for his show

Ice Cream at Serendipity

The Wynn Resort Hotel

When shorts are too short.. they aren't shorts anymore

Barbs and I going down the elevator, headed to Mesa Grill

What are your tips n tricks for Vegas?

I have recently acquired a Mamiya RB67. It’s fully manual and doesn’t have a light meter built into it. The RB67 is a medium format camera and with the correct film back you can use 120, 220 or even Polaroid film.

Currently, I am using 120 film and to be specific it is Fuji Pro 400h, Kodak Portra 400NC and Ilford HP5+.

I primarily grew on digital with the Canon Rebel XT and now the Canon 5d so jumping back to film is quite a challenge but it is definitely opening my eye.

What I love most about film is the quality. The noise is very natural and often times forgiving. This of course depends on the film. I am more patient with my shots, allowing me to really think and develop my eye.

If you have not used a Mamiya RB67 you must know that this thing is a beast. Most people call it a “tank”. It’s really heavy and big. But if used to its full potential you will definitely get some marvelous photos.

The Otay Lake and Mountains captured w/ Mamiya RB67 on Ilford HP5+

The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.

I just recently came across a photographer whose work I really admire, Amanda Marsalis. She has a great eye and simple look to every photo she takes. Amanda Marsalis shoots for large budget clients like Adidas and Visa. Here’s an example of her work:

On behalf of Southwest Airlines and the entire crew, I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice day!

Hi Everyone! I’m coming out with a new website that will be home to a host of images. They will be displayed in a blog format and will usually have one image per post. Some posts may have more images but the main point of this photography blog is to share some of the images I capture both on a digital and film camera.

The equipment I use now to capture photos:

• Canon 5d
• Pentax K1000
• Fuji Instax 200
• iPhone

And hopefully I will soon be using:

• Evo 4g
• Mamiya RB67

The purpose of this photography blog is to help drive my creativity and use the web to distribute my portfolio. I look forward to this new adventure!