Why sometimes does it seem that a single day takes forever to get through and other times a week can go by in a blink of an eye? I guess being all over the place really makes a difference. Since I have a lot to talk about I will just jump right in.
1) A big THANK YOU goes out to my boy Greg and his girl Michele for giving me one of the best birthday gifts ever. They treated me to the Talib Kweli concert at the Key Club in LA last Friday. I had such a great time hanging out with them, it was a blast and if you haven’t heard of Talib Kweli I suggest going to his site, the dude is a Genius. GO ASTRO BURGERS!!!! LOL Thanks G for being the bomb dude!
2) Before the concert I was actually in San Diego for the ASR Convention shooting for the magazine. I have to say it was my first time there and I absolutely fell in love, the action sports industry has always been a big influence in my life having grown up here in Southern Cal, but seeing first hand all the cool stuff coming out for 2010 was awesome. The companies that really made a big impression on me were all the companies that are now thinking “green”, but one organization in particular, the ASEC (Action Sports Environmental Coalition) stood out from all the rest. These people are doing great things, here is a quote from their website, “ASEC is about progressive eco-education and empowering people to adopt a sustainable lifestyle in a way that embraces their existing lifestyle and enhances it. We think sustainability is fun and sexy; simply put, we throw a better party!” What I love about them is they are pushing to help educate our youth, the future of our country. They have programs to change how we teach P.E. in our school systems through skateboarding on skateboards that they actually make themselves. It’s just a great thing, so having said all this I have been in touch with one of the key people there and offered what I can to help build the organization. I truly believe if we start now with our kids the better we will be off in the future. Please check them out and sign up at ASEC.
3) Shot an event for InLab Ventures on Wed. down in San Diego at the SDVC Venture Summit. Turned out to be a great success for InLab, we have definitely taken a step in the right direction. With the help of my good friend Kathy Pyle, along with of course Chip Parker this would have never of happened so hats off to them! I have to say our team looked awesome down there, we had people there talking and creating buzz, it was perfect! Go Jenn Karlman and Bill Ludwig for kicking butt with the live interviews, you guys rocked it!
4) What What LA Smug Mug on Thursday was awesome! Thanks to Peter Garr for hosting the event and Candice Cunningham for putting on the event! Talk about being a photography nerd, I was super pumped about this event, basically there is a group of photographers that meet up in LA and they get together to learn about photography. On Thursday they offered a simulated wedding/couple shoot along Ventura Blvd in Studio City. In fact there were like 3-4 couples, some girls were in wedding gowns some weren’t. Basically there were several groups floating around and you could choose to be part of any group and take pictures and learn from the “instructors” I will say Roberto Valenzuela was my favorite, see picture below. Anyways I had a great time and met some really cool people. Thanks Lily for driving, you got us there safe and sound even though we took a Jack in Box detour, lol….
5) On Friday was the Hurley Open in Lower Trustles (aka San Clemente), I was stoked to go down there to shoot the event for the magazine, I got there down there in the early AM only come to find out they canceled the event again due to no surf. I was pretty bummed, but I got free breakfast and lunch and some really cool shots, so I got over it. Who remembers Tom Curren? I do, he is a surfing legend! Back in day he was the Kelly Slater. Well he was out there during the free surf as he came back in I got some shots of people interviewing him and getting his autograph. That was cool to me, growing up seeing him in all the magazines and videos it was like seeing a movie star, yes I will admit I was star struck. Anyways check out the pics I took, I’m pretty stoked on a few of them, especially of the aerial shots. Those dudes are so talented.
6) Finished off the Friday shooting the Taste of Newport. Totally pissed, so the event was ok the only thing saving it for me was Sugar Ray was headlining, not that I am Sugar Ray fan, but it was better than nothing. So I sit there and wait for him to come on, probably like 30-40 mins and right before he comes on the security guard tells me I am not allowed to shoot him because I had a “Pro” lens. I was like SERIOUSLY, it’s Sugar Ray??? But he was serious so I said whatever and went to the other side of the stage, BTW as I was walking away he was watching me the whole time (dork). So when I got to the other side it was packed so I took some shots from the distance and called it a night. Sorry not going to add pics.
These guys are responsible for the change we are seeing in our school system. They Rock in my book!
InLab Ventures, this company is going to change the game, keep an eye out for these guys…
I took this shot in back of gas station on Ventura Blvd., Thanks to Portia for being just a rad model with a great attitude! (I LOVE THIS SHOT BTW)
Tom Curren signing autographs
For real?
My favorite shot of the day!
Even though the week can get hectic at the end of the day I absolutely LOVE what I do! I wouldn’t change it for the world…
© 2009, thomas frank photography. All rights reserved. Thomas Frank Photography :: Lifestyle Photographer
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