Zhiara's 1st Birthday

Zhiara, also known by her Uncle's friends as Baby Z celebrated her first birthday last weekend. Amado and I couldn't make it to her Hawaiian themed birthday party but we were able to spend time with her and the rest of her family for their family portraits.

Mom (Karen) coaching Baby Z to show off her pouty face.

Now with her very proud grandma, Tita June.

One of my faves of the whole family at their front porch. I told Tita June I had to get one of them in front of their house. Amado and I have been watching a lot home renovation shows and I've grown to like/obsess about craftsman homes. 

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Z!

Eggs In A Basket - The Trails Cafe Recipe

After going for a 24 mile bike ride yesterday morning, I thought I'd take it easy and prepare something quick and simple for breakfast. A few seconds of glancing inside our fridge and I saw I had the ingredients I needed to make a dish I saw on The Selby (one of my favorite sites). Then it changed from simple to a very extensive task.

So what was meant to be a quick fix meal turned into a whole messy set up for a photo. I posted a snapshot on my Instagram. I will stage food photos even if it's only for Instagram. Hey, it's either you give it your all or don't do it at all! Behind the white reflector is a whole lotta mess I made just to prepare the shot. The kitchen sink is a whole different story.

Amado and I have been to The Trails Cafe in Griffith Park years ago and I don't remember their menu being as pleasant as it is now. Then again we weren't really the nature/outdoors type at that time and we complained about our allergies the entire hike. We'll have to plan a weekend hike with the girls (Juku and Kami) one of these days and check out the cafe.

This egg in a basket is really savory, with pesto sauce and parmesan cheese on top. Like The Trails Cafe recipe, I made the pesto without pine nuts. It's the one item I didn't have in our kitchen and they are expensive as hell!

Holly's Maternity Shoot

Did a quick maternity shoot with Holly, Sully and Baby Emme. What I love about Holly is that's open to any ideas. Every time we planned a shoot, I can count on receiving texts and emails at randoms hours days before our the shoot. It let's me know what direction and feel she's looking for which makes it easier for me to prepare.

Our Sully is growing so fast! I can't wait to see her play with Baby Emme.

Again, thanks to Grandma Shirl for assisting and Lindsey for Holly's hair and makeup (and the other "things" I couldn't do). 

I'm thinking this is going to be a phase for me but I'm really into double exposure images right now.

Barangay LA

Two years ago a couple of my friends introduced me to Barangay LA, a community organization that has made a huge impact in representing the Filipino LGBTQ community. Working closely with the organization and its members, I've gained experiences which I don't think I would have encountered on my own. In addition, I was also able to meet some pretty amazing people.

Here are those amazing people I speak of. Barangay LA's Board of Directors.

For more information about Barangay LA, you can visit their website or their facebook page.
They have plenty of events lined up this year thats definitely worth checking out. One of those events is the KAPWA Awards which will be on May 5th. You can learn more about this event here.

Pomona College

It was my first time taking the MetroLink over the weekend. I made my way from Downtown LA to Claremont and met with Greg at Pomona College to prepare for this week's event. Q&A and AARC of the Pomona College invited Malaya Project to their campus and put an event together. Some images from the series will be displayed at the student gallery from March 11-15. There will also be a panel discussion lead by Barangay LA on March 14th with a few of the series participants. Check out Barangay LA's event invite for more information.

The train ride itself wasn't so bad. Seats for comfortable and the cars were spacious. A friend told me that they also have a small cafeteria that serves alcohol but I was worried of getting too sloshed and missing my stop. The view gets better once the train is out of the city. I will definitely have to take the coastal one next time with Amado.

ELEV8 Shoot BTS

Some behind the scenes from an ELEV8 shoot I did a few weeks back. Had a great time with the group. I can't wait to see the new site.

Behind-The-Scenes Videos

Greg and I collaborate for Malaya Project. Besides the photo essays, we try to shoot short videos to accompany the posts. It pushed me to want to learn more about shooting videos. There's obviously more to it than just picking up a camera and hitting record. A couple of weeks ago, we worked on a behind-the-scenes video for a designer's Spring 2013 line shoot. This was the longest shoot I've been in video wise and I definitely learned a lot that day.

Here are two edits that Greg worked on.