We had a little family dinner, and for his birthday he got the best birthday present ever: a Thomas the Tank Engine rolling backpack!

For those who know him, you know that it’s the perfect combination. He couldn’t let go of the bag to open other presents!

Today was the first of a series of three crawfish boil events at Angeline’s to celebrate the season. I spent a fun afternoon photographing the staff while they prepared the fresh crawfish from Louisiana. They were a very dynamic group of people, and it was a delight working with them!

Don’t be too sad if you missed out on this tasty event today; there will two more this summer, on May 19 and June 16.

P.S. I love the newspaper-lined tables; they were so inviting because I’m quite a messy diner!

Someone made a joke about how the pile of doll parts came from this Beatles cover.

(I’m on my way to Tahoe with my family right now, so I won’t be posting while I’m gone. Happy Holidays!)

Thought you had seen all the treasures from the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire? Here’s more!

I know it’s not news, but it’s funny how glasses that have been around for decades are coming back into fashion. I only saw hipsters at this booth…

These are the items at the show that I definitely related to an older era.

I wanted to get myself a film camera, but just couldn’t decide which one to go for; I loved every single one of them!

And I spent about 20 minutes just sifting through the table with printing block letters. I was looking to get the perfect letters for a special someone, but couldn’t find any…

The portrait with the guy in plaid is my favorite from that day. He already had the perfect ensemble — the plaid jacket and newsboy cap, and the handlebar and chin puff facial hair. I was walking past him when he picked up a pipe from a vendor’s table. I raised my camera, and he turned to pose for me!

There’s a fabulous antiques show in Alameda held on the first Sunday of each month. I had heard so much about it, and I finally went to check it out on December 6.

It was a really cold day, and as you can see, there was a thick, ominous layer of rain clouds hovering over the show. The near-freezing temperature didn’t deter anyone, including me, from browsing through rows and rows of antique toys, furniture, housewares, and anything more than 20-years-old.

There are too many interesting items I saw that day, so I will make this into a multi-part post, each part with a theme. Enjoy!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, and I miss it! Things have been very hectic outside of my photography life, so I haven’t been productive. But, if you’re in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving, be sure to come and hang out at Mama Buzz Cafe in Oakland next Saturday! My friend Erik Spencer is performing there, and I’ll be showing a new project at this artsy cafe! This free show will begin at 7pm; see you there!

Let me stop my shameless plug and go back to the images for this post. These were taken at the amazing Exploratorium. I had never been there before, and we spent all day there checking out every single exhibit until we ran out of time because the museum had to close. I’m completely jealous of the kids there on their field trips; it was such a fun place to learn. I’ll definitely visit again!

My (huge) extended family had a barbecue in South Bay on Sunday. The weather was perfect for a day of food, piñatas, and dodgeball. I love how there were two piñatas — one stuffed with candy and stickers for the younger kids, and the other for the “big kids”, decorated with Yoda’s face, and contained paperclips and what-not.

It was great to see everyone on such a beautiful day. I swear I’ll be better at dodgeball next time!

Please click here if you’d like to see a bigger selection of photos from the day.

Saturday night, I went to Beckett’s on Shattuck in Berkeley to check out my friend Erik’s band: Nine Wives. After my last post, Erik actually asked if I were interested to shoot some promotional photos for the band. I jumped to the opportunity of shooting their soonest show as practice.

I had never photographed anything at Beckett’s, but knew it was going to be challenging right from the start. There was minimal light in the pub; the only decent light source was an overhead that shone only on Erik. It created some pretty dramatic shots, but I’d like to get better shots of Will and Brian.

Anyway, it was great fun to explore the space for good angles, and also to enjoy a great evening of rock and roll!

Yes, please bear with me that this is more than 2 months old. After all, this blog didn’t exist at the time!

We hosted July 4th barbecue this year, and more people turned up than expected! It was a wonderfully warm day (until the sun went down) — perfect for enjoying the food, drinks (cooled in a wok), and a few games of four square.