Tagged!

I got tagged by my friend Ross Tanner in this photographers Blog game where you have to share 8 interesting things about yourself. So for pure entertainment purposes, my wife decided to write my list of 8 interesting things. Are you ready? (**I do not support nor adhere to any of the following statements!!** :)).

Ross...this is for you baby!! With great respect, sincerely....Julie....my wife!

1. I play the drums, guitar, trumpet, & twiddle on the piano...oh and I sing too. But don't ask Simon Cowell!! :)

2. I moisturize my face everyday with SPF 15 lotion for sun protection and to avoid aging wrinkles. (The wrinkle part doesn't seem to be working)

3. All my teachers, my wife, friends and co-workers have all been annoyed by my incessant tapping. (I practice the drums on my chest and stomach.........desk, pockets, car, cat, dashboard, steering wheel, guitar, oh.....and on the drums too!!)

4. I WANT A CONVERTIBLE!!!!!! BAD!!!! (I whine about it every beautiful summer evening....like tonight)

5. My major in college was "Music Therapy". (please don't ask)

6. I am a HONDA man. I've owned 5 Honda's from my 1984 CRX to our current 2007 Odyssey.

7. Last year, I got trapped in the girls bathroom by mistake at my sister-in-laws wedding rehearsal dinner at an upscale restaurant in Houston, Texas. (PLEASE DON'T ASK!)

8. In heaven I'll be the one singing in the middle of the Black Gospel Choir....you can't miss me....I'm the white guy!! :) With a tambourine!!!

So now I have to tag some other photographers:
Louis Palos
Julie Weaver
Deb Hewitt
Ron Storer
Steven Troell

More Textures

So a few days ago we shared a few images that were pretty good ( I can say that cause their mine :) ) and with some available textures that I've captured lately in my surroundings, added a new depth or look to each one.

Lately I've been shooting alot of metals. Rusted steel!! I love the old painted rusted steel, especially bright colors! I'm not using that today..but I did happen to capture a great rusted bright colored texture just two days ago that I will share in the near future. The textures used below are just a piece of new galvanized sheet metal, the other, the top of a beaten metal work bench. Most of the marks in this texture look like they were created by a hammer or other object striking the table. Who would have thought it would bring flare to a photograph?

Anyway as promised...here are two more for you. Hope you enjoy. If you like the texture examples we've posted...leave us a comment and let us know if you are interested in seeing more!

Here is the original image (Click on image to view larger)






















Here is the galvanized texture we applied (Click on image to view larger)
















Here is the final image with the texture applied (Click on image to view larger)






















Here is the original image. (Click on image to view larger)
















Here is the texture we used (Click on image to view larger)
















Here is the final image. (Click on image to view larger)

Textures

Galvanized metal, old rusty pipes, broken bricks...these don't sound like magic makers, but they do open a avenue to create something more interesting. For example, take an already great photo, apply a layer of texture over it, and poof...perhaps an art piece has evolved! There are so many amazing creations around us. Rust, metals, stones, paints, colors, grass, soil etc! The possibilities are endless and these textures are plentiful if we look for them. Best of all..they are free!!

Here are some examples of how textures can change a beautiful picture into an interesting, multi-dimensional work of art. Here is the original Photo.
The Texture used.

Here is the final product. Looks aged with scratches, but with a bit more depth to it.

Original Photo #2

The Texture we used

The Final product. Almost looks like we re-colored all the marble in the floor.

As you can see the possibilities are endless and the process is really simple in photoshop. Stay tuned in the next day or two for more examples!

Barker siblings

In your mind's eye, imagine a relaxed, comfortable photo shoot on a beautiful southern CA summer evening--slight breeze blowing through the trees, in a picturesque setting--all punctuated by the laughter of siblings who enjoy each other...that's what this portrait session was like! It was a joy being with Melody, Sarah, and Steven as they laughed at each other and messed around. It was nice to see siblings who actually love each other and were enjoying picking on each other! This time spent together was extra special as Steven is stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas and was able to take a short break to come visit his family before being deployed.

Melody, Sarah, and Steven--thanks so much for letting us take your photos. We truly enjoyed hanging out with you and getting to know you better! Hope to see you all soon again!

Cristina & Bobby's Wedding

This past Saturday was an very special day for us. We have been waiting for this day for almost an entire year. Of course as you can tell by the title, it was Cristina & Bobby's wedding. We have so enjoyed this past year getting to know the both of them and their families. We ended up in Las Vegas for their engagement photos and had such wonderful time with their family. We frequent Cristina's families pizza joint, San Biagio's, more often than we like to admit....but hey.....its the best pizza pie in town!!!!

The day started and ended well with a bit of rushing here and there and a little medical emergency in the middle...but hey....you expect these things at a wedding (So glad you are o.k. Kerry.) After 13 hours straight on our feet and 3,600 photos to sort through from 3 photographers, we are so happy with the end results!

The ceremony was at the beautiful St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Upland. It is a beautiful site with huge windows facing the mountains. Then, the party moved on over to the Victoria Gardens Cultural Center.

We would like to thank Marie Bunke with Photo Art by Marie for assisting us with capturing the day's details. She did a fantastic job and really added to our team. Also, if you looking for a fantastic video crew, Dan Douglas & Dan (Yes both Dan's) with Plug Video, covered the motion portion of the day's events and were excellent to work with. I can say without a doubt that they were the best I've worked with so far and I had an extremely fun time with the two of them! The bride's make-up was done by Cheryl Ann Garcia with Nordstrom's in Montclair and Julie Mikel from Salon Pepillon & Boutique in Upland made her hair look gorgeous! Compliments to the Cucamonga Cakery for their very unique wedding cake, a fondant creation in the shape of suitcases, perfect for their travel themed wedding! :) Of course we can't forget who lays down the hottest joints to move and groove to, Todd, with Feet First Entertainment kept things jumping and bumpin thru the evening too!

Hope you enjoy a couple of our favorite images from this special day! To see the slideshow, just click on the picture below!

Bobby and Cristina, thank you so much for allowing us the privilege of accompanying you during such a memorable time in your life. You and your families mean the world to us! Congratulazioni! Buona fortuna!

More pics from Texas

Here are a few more pictures to show you what a great time we had in Texas (see post previous to Harvest Crusade).
But first, we have to show off our new little nephew, Pierce Gonzales, who is over two months old now! Pierce and his parents, Anna and Kyle, have just moved to Tennesee so that Kyle can begin medical school at Lincoln Memorial University's DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, which I've heard is going to be an awesome school! Anna is also ready to begin earning her teaching credential and Master's degree at LMU! Good luck Kyle and Anna!

If you're interested in what it's like to be a young couple starting out in medical school and college, and juggling a brand new baby, check out Anna and Kyle's blog.

Also, don't forget to check back in the next couple of days to see Cristina and Bobby's beautiful wedding from Aug 11!!!! There are some awesome pictures!!





































Livi and Miranda's fun times with Poppa!
Here's our newest little fish...















At the farm out by Lake Sommerville

Harvest Day 3

Well the final and 3rd day of the Harvest Crusade came to an end Sunday evening with 102,000 people in attendance, and 9,521 lives changed forever over the 3 day event. Toby Mac really gave a grand performance and what a band he had behind him. In my opinion he is truly a talented man.

Now I must admit...after three days of trucking up and down stairs and walking around Angels Stadium, I was pretty beat by the end of the night. All in all its always a wonderful experience to be around so many people who are walking thru such a live changing time. I was surrounded by husbands and wives, families, young people, older people, black, white, chinese, hispanic, you name it. Its an experience you cannot describe.

With that said I will leave you with my final video and a few photos from last night. I truly feel blessed that I can volunteer my time and talents to help contribute to such a great event. I look forward to what the 2008 year will bring!!.

HERE IS THE VIDEO

Harvest Day 2

Day 2 has come to a completion and what a night it was. Over 42,000 people in attendance and over 4,000 of those people made a decision that will change their life forever. You'll hear me mention in the video that I didn't know who the music group Leeland was...but as soon as I heard the song "Sound of Melodies" I knew them for certain. The lead singer looks like he couldn't be more than 16 years old (although I hear he is in his twenties) but what a voice he has. Incredible group...go and buy their album on iTunes today! You will love it!

One Amazing moment that really showed me how God can really use people was when I saw Steven Baldwin their last night. If your not familiar with the Baldwin Family, they are a family of actors with the most well known brother being Alec Baldwin. Steven is involved with a Ministry called "The Breakthrough". Click HERE to read more about this ministry and his involvment.

Tonighht should be pretty awesome. My wife and Daughter will be joining me as Harvest has set aside seating behind home plate for them. They both wanted to come tonight as Toby Mac with be in concert tonight.

Check out some of the pictures from Saturday night below.

OH and here is a VIDEO too. You'll need Quicktime to view it.

Harvest Day 1 Part 2!

Ok...so I worked this morning on a little video and was having some technical issues (Mostly user error) and didn't put the video up in the last post because I could't get it to compress properly. ANYWHO!!....I finally figured it out and wanted to past this little video along.

**Warning..there is a part where I taped David Crowder leading the crowd in a song and I am standing about 20 feet from these massive concert bass subs in the infield and the audio is distorting really bad! Sorry :)

Ok so CLICK HERE OR ON THE PHOTO FOR THE VIDEO.

enjoy
Damion.

Harvest Day 1

Last year was my first year being invited to photograph with the Harvest Photo team for the 2006 Crusade. The good news is that they asked me to return this year for the 2007 Harvest Crusade in Anaheim, at Angels Stadium. Harvest Crusades are an amazing event. Click here to learn more.
Last night was the first of three nights the Crusade will be held. It is a free event ($10.00 to park) and includes music from some of the hottest Christian artists. Last night started with Phil Wickham (His Lastest hit "Divine Romance") and the music ended with the all amazing David Crowder Band!! They tore the place up!! David has such an incredible heart.

I love photographing this event. Its an amazing time to challenge your creativity but mostly strengthen your photojournalistic eye! I will try to get some video put together of tonights event. Saturday is the biggest night of attendance. I believe they expect 60,000+. Thats twice last nights attendance. Tonights musicians will feature, P.O.D. and Leeland and of course a very heart grabbing sermon from Greg Laurie.

Below are a bunch of photos I grabbed during Fridays crusade.























































































If you wonder who did the incredible video for our website,
well here he is...hard at work running some of the video for the crusade! Jason is by far one of the greatest guys! He has helped us and encouraged us for so many years!! You rock Jason!!