http://blog.thebecker.com/ the becker photography blog en-us http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/962/utterly-engaged-turns-1 http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/962/utterly-engaged-turns-1 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:37:00 GMT Utterly Engaged, an online wedding magazine, celebrated it's first anniversary yesterday by hosting the "ultimate hoedown bbq throwdown" at Irvine Park in Orange. It was a gorgeous day and a nice location for doing some networking with other wedding vendors. The food was amazing. 3 different types of barbecue and all kinds of sweet treats. I snagged a few shots with my point & shoot camera.

Sweet and Saucy provided this cake as well as a plethora of other tasty treats (like Whoopie Pies!).

I ran into Amy from Wedding Chicks:

Jessica Claire was the official photographer of the event:

[ b ] School member Heather Kincaid is also a good photo friend of mine.

FInally, here are the ladies of Utterly Engaged. Congrats ladies on a great first year!

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/960/rancho-sol-del-pacifico-wedding-photography http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/960/rancho-sol-del-pacifico-wedding-photography Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:22:00 GMT Joe Photo. It was my first Indian wedding and I was thrilled Joe asked me to tag along. It was a gorgeous day at a beautiful location, Rancho Sol Del Pacifico. Bloom Box provided the amazing florals.

This wedding was so interesting & rich with details. Here are some of my favorite images from the day. Please vote for your favorites and leave a comment too!

I had no idea that the expression "tying the knot" came from the Hindu wedding traditions.

The had a map of the world, and all of their guests stuck a pin in where they were from. People came to this wedding from all over:

Their first dance was a tango.

Contact Becker. View Wedding Portfolio

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/959/another-blog-facelift http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/959/another-blog-facelift Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:50:00 GMT The [ b ] School 2.0 launches this fall (I can only handle so many projects at once). I'll be taking advantage of the latest HTML5 elements to give my viewers a better browsing experience.

I also wanted to just mix it up a bit. I wanted to make it easier for clients to contact me and easier for all of my viewers to get to know me better. Once it launches, I'll share more about what we did and why we did it. In the mean time, be sure to follow me on Twitter so you'll know the second the new blog is launched.

As per usual, the fabulous Brock Martin from Infinet Design is doing the programming. He's amazing!

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/958/a-wedding-in-los-angeles http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/958/a-wedding-in-los-angeles Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:08:00 GMT
"Some may say this couple met by accident..."

In fact, the bride actually rear ended the groom on a busy Southern California freeway. No one was hurt, info was exchanged, and there was some sort of spark. The rest, as they say, is history.

I have no idea how he pulled that off, but I'll be honest with y'all... I've seen a couple cute girls driving here in SoCal that made me think about crashing into them just so I could get their digits. Don't worry... I never did that... although I did follow a few of them home- KIDDING! I KID, I KID!

The wedding took place at St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church in Rowland Heights and the reception was at the Pacific Palms Resort. Here are some of my favorite relaxed portraits, amazing details and real moments. Please vote for your faves:

Hello ladies...

Just one more of the girls since they were all so gorgeous!:

I wish I could tell you what happened to make the groom laugh so hard, but this is a family friendly blog post:

Smoking may not be good for you, but it sure does look cool! Here's a different take on groomsmen portraits:

The had a Korean ceremony during the reception.

I want to thank [ b ] Schoolers Amy Teegan & Cody Meyer for shooting with me. You can see more shots from this wedding on their blogs.

Contact Becker. View Wedding Portfolio

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/957/a-wedding-in-dana-point http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/957/a-wedding-in-dana-point Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:36:00 GMT Cannons Restaurant.

I try to show up at each and every wedding I shoot as if I were an old friend with a fancy camera. This weekend it was really easy since I've known the bride for about ten years. You may remember her from past blog posts, she's a breast cancer survivor that I photographed several years ago. It was so great to be a part of her day. She looked stunning and I am so happy for the both of them.

Here are a few of my favorite relaxed portraits, amazing details and real moments. Would you be so kind as to vote for your faves?:

I love the casual portraits.

I also like the shots of the groom when he's not even aware of the camera.

You can just read this old Marine's face, "Take care of my girl!".

Be sure to check out the blogs of Megan Ann & Jeff Yeon for more images.

Contact Becker. View Wedding Portfolio

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/956/Happy-Sunday http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/956/Happy-Sunday Sun, 18 Jul 2010 16:12:00 GMT
Note to photographers, the images in this GIF were shot at 12,800 ISO on the Canon 1D Mark IV. Impressive eh?

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/952/Soccer-is-boring http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/952/Soccer-is-boring Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:44:00 GMT
Congrats to Spain!. What a boring final game. Could you imagine if the Superbowl went to overtime and a team won on a safety and the final score was 2-0. Yawn.

Soccer is almost as bad as watching the WNBA. Almost.

Ok, now that the World Cup is over, I don't have to watch another soccer match for 4 more years. I really enjoyed watching the World Cup... I watched just about every match (or at least part of them). There's something about the world stage that can make even the most boring sports bearable to watch. Every time the World Cup comes around, people theorize that soccer will finally catch on in the US. Nope. It's still boring. Super boring. We don't watch the World Cup because it's exciting, we watch because the world is watching. If they had the World Cup of badminton, and ESPN made a big deal of it, I'd probably watch. By the way, I think ESPN did a fabulous job of covering the World Cup. It also appears as if South Africa did a wonderful job as hosts. Their stadiums look incredible.

In case the folks at FIFA wanted my opinion, here are some ways to make soccer less boring:

#1- Get rid of the offsides penalty. There'd be more scoring and it would be less boring. If a team is offsides, they have a better chance to score, but if they don't score, the other team has the advantage on the counter attack. And if the defense knows offsides won't be called, they may keep more people back on defense.

#2- No blood, no foul. Sure, there are some flagrant fouls in soccer, and they should be called in effort to protect the players. But when I player flops due to a little contact, there should not be a foul called. Play on pussy! Quit your whining. You don't see baseball players rolling on the ground with their hands covering their faces when they get nailed by a 98 MPH fastball (which I guarantee hurts way worse). Oh no, he stepped on your foot and you fell on the soft, well manicured grass. Rub some dirt on it and take it like a man.

#3- Players who flop and whine and put on an Academy Award acting job should have to go to the "cry baby box" for 5 minutes and make their team play a man down. If you really are hurt "sooo bad" that it warranted lying on the ground crying... you should take a couple of minutes to collect yourself. The box will have a big comfy chair and a box of tissues to dry your eyes. The "mother figure", a middle aged woman will also be in the cry baby box to comfort you and help wipe your tears away. If you get a boo boo, she'll kiss it and make it all better.

#4- No ties. When a team can advance by playing for a tie, that is weak sauce. We want the best teams to be in the round of 16. Two wins and your are in. At least 2 teams in a 4 team group will get at least two wins. Go to the shorter overtime periods if it's tied after 2 halves, then go to a shootout. Tying is boring to watch. That USA v. England match was exciting to watch, but then in ended in a 1-1 tie which makes it so neither of the teams fans can rub it in the face of the others. And let's face it... that's what sports is all about... trash talking your friends before, during and after the game.

#5. Better refs. I'll admit, I don't know all about soccer, but it sure seemed like the officiating was very inconsistent. There were lots of blown calls and there didn't seem to be a standard for which tackles are fouls and which are not. Seems like the refs have too much power and it depended on their mood. Offsides should be a reviewable call. Many times it was called when it shouldn't have been and wasn't called when it should have been called. Inconsistent.

#6. Instead of two halves, why not break it up into 4 quarters like most of the other real sports?

#7. The timing. What's this extra time BS? That seems quite arbitrary. Why not just stop the clock, whenever the action stops due to an injury, penalty or goal scoring celebration. Speaking of the celebrations... soccer players should take a cue from Terrell Owens and do something creative when they score. Running to the corner and diving on the grass is what they do all game long... perhaps they should mix it up when they finally score?

#8. Not once did I hear the crowd do the ole, ole ole chant. I feel cheated. Instead while watching each match I had to make sure my house wasn't infested with bees. WTF with the vuvuzelas? I imagine if I was there watching in person, I may end up getting in a fight, and someone may end up with a vuvuzela shoved where there sun doesn't shine. At least put a couple of keys on the thing so you can play a damn tune!

Daniel Tosh sums it up best:

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]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/954/A-very-special-wedding-in-Italy http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/954/A-very-special-wedding-in-Italy Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:42:00 GMT Four Season's in Florence. The cool thing about this wedding, is that they couple and I are turning their nuptials into a wonderful learning experience for a lucky few.

In the middle of the 3 day workshop, Dale & Meredith of Benfield Photography will be getting hitched and a handful of photographers will have the opportunity of shooting the wedding with me. We'll also be doing and engagement shoot and a day after shoot. Each day of the workshop will also include some "classroom time" and we'll be sharing our knowledge in an informal and intimate setting. Meals and accommodations are included in the workshop fee. Also, the wedding is going to be styled by Grey Likes Weddings.

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To find out more details and to sign up (there are only 4 slots left), click the banner below: *UPDATE> THIS WORKSHOP IS SOLD OUT!*

Here are some of my favorite photos from past weddings I've shot in Italy. One from a wedding I shot near Bellagio and the other at the Vatican. I've actually shot 4 weddings in Italy so far, but two of them were back in my film days.

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/953/Say-hello-to-my-new-little-friend http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/953/Say-hello-to-my-new-little-friend Sat, 26 Jun 2010 11:12:00 GMT camped out for the first phone back in 2007.

This year, I took advantage of the RSVP system that Apple incorporated and reserved one they day they started taking reservations, but there will still crazy long lines when I went to the mall at lunchtime due to the slow activation process and overwhelming demand. Thankfully my outstanding employee Kathleen wanted a phone too and volunteered to stnad in line for us. I was able to sneak out of my Thursday night poker game and meet her at the mall just in time!

Anywho... after playing with the phone for a few days, I can once again say that Apple did not disappoint. The phone is amazing! I love it. I know there have been some media reports about a few people having issues, and those reports tend to get exaggerated, but I haven't experienced any problems with mine yet (knock on wood).

Likes:

The feel of this phone is incredible. It's solid. When Steve remarked that it has the craftsmanship of an old Leica camera he wasn't kidding.

The new camera is amazing. 5 megapixels. I use my point & shoot camera less and less these days. I also like the front facing camera, which I intend to use often. The flash works really good too. (Except I am blinded for a few moments after each use. It's very powerful). The videos are also really clean!

The screen is gorgeous. So sharp, photos look amazing.

I love the unified inbox, but you don't have to get the new phone to get that. You just have to upgrade to the iOS4 software (FREE).

Same with multitasking & the folders for apps. Nice new features, but you don't need to get the new phone to take advantage of it.

The battery life is awesome. I used it all day yesterday. I left the house at 10am and I didn't get home until 1am and still had about a third of the battery icon remaining.

The new Facetime thing is neat, but I don't know how accessible I want to be for just anyone. I can see using it when I talk to Keats, or a super close friend, but I don't know that I need to talk face to face with just anyone. Also, I got a call while in the restroom yesterday and I had to go ahead and ignore that one.


Dislikes:

It's still on the AT&T network.

Other than that, the phone is awesome and I don't care what DJ says. ;-)

Here's a flash photo of Caden & I seeing Toy Story 3D yesterday:

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/949/Wedding-in-Newport-Beach-with-Jessica-Claire http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/949/Wedding-in-Newport-Beach-with-Jessica-Claire Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:40:00 GMT Jessica Claire in Newport Beach, California. When Jessica first moved to California, she used to second shoot for me quite often, but now she's shooting some amazing weddings on her own and I am always happy to return the favor.

This wedding was coordinated by Details Details and Peter Papadopoulos was the DJ extraordinaire.

Here are a few of my favorite relaxed portraits, real moments and amazing details. Please vote for your faves.

Gown by Monique Lhuillier:

Flowers by Enchanted Florist:

The Canon 200mm f2 does special things to the background:

I love the shot of this little girl givng the bride the stink eye! I think she's jealous of the attention the bride was getting.

Jessica was having a little fun with the veil in the breeze.

Fight on!

Contact Becker. View Wedding Portfolio. Follow [ b ]

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/951/handsome-devil http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/951/handsome-devil Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:54:00 GMT

Thanks to Chris from ExaggerArt for hooking me up!

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/950/my-high-school-photo-teacher http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/950/my-high-school-photo-teacher Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:49:00 GMT
Mr. McIllwee is retiring at the end of this school year after 39 years of teaching (just about a week left). I found my love of photography in his classroom. I can remember back to '89 when I developed my first roll of film and made my first enlargement. There was something about putting the photo paper in the developer and watching the photo appear before my very eyes. It was like magic. I was very easily entertained.

Believe it or not... I was also really shy in high school. Mr McIllwee helped me come out of my shell and my camera became my security blanket. I felt so confident with my Minolta X-700 in my hand. I would go up to the prettiest girls in school and ask to take their photo when before, I wouldn't even dream of trying to talk to the popular, beautiful people.

Also, growing up, I never excelled at anything. I was a C student, I was an okay baseball player, and an okay volleyball player, but I never excelled at anything. When I started taking photos, I don't really know how good I was at it, buy Mr. Mac was always an encouraging voice and told me I was doing great. It felt good and my passion for photography grew. I often think back to those days in the darkroom, and shooting for the school newspaper and yearbook and I realize that I am very fortunate to have figured out what I wanted to do for a living at such an early age.

When we walked into the classroom the other day... it was amazing. It looked exactly the same. It smelled exactly the same (mmmm D-76!). So many memories rushed back. Like the time a girl named Alison & I made out in the darkroom. I guess that could be the real reason I started liking photo class so much!

Anyway... I am so thankful to Mr. McIlwee for introducing me to photography. Thanks Jay... enjoy your retirement!

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/948/Can-you-believe-Caden-is-5 http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/948/Can-you-believe-Caden-is-5 Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:46:00 GMT
Anyway, they had his party yesterday at Pump It Up since my sister & brother in law had a 5 day weekend. I woke up very sore this morning after bouncing around and trying to keep up with these crazy kids.

Addy loves the slides:

My sister & I got into the boxing ring to duke it out, just like old times. My parents were cracking up watching this:

Cade could barely stand up with the boxing gloves on.

Don't spit on it:

I know some of you have been following my blog since the very beginning and have watched him grow up with us. I started blogging just 2 weeks before he was born. The evolution:

June 2, 2005, they day he was born. Photo taken at Mission Hospital:

June 2, 2006. His first birthday at my house:

June 2, 2007. He had his 2nd birthday party at a park in Aliso Viejo:

June 2, 2008. He turned 3 and went to his favorite restaurant. Ruby's in Santa Marguerita:

June 2, 2009. His 4th B-Day was spent at the Happiest Place on Earth, Anaheim, CA:

And of course yesterday, after consuming way too much sugar, turning 5 in Lake Forest, CA:

Would you be so kind as to leave Caden some birthday love in the comment below? Thanks!

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/947/poker-post http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/947/poker-post Fri, 28 May 2010 12:24:00 GMT World Series of Poker starts today in Las Vegas. For those of you who don't know... the WSOP is actually made up of 57 events, not just the main event that is shown on ESPN 2 every year. The main event starts around the 4th of July, but the actual series starts today. I played in the Main event back in 2007 and 2008, and I didn't get a chance to play last year. They buy in is $10,000, which there's no way I'd pay that, but I try to win my way in my playing & winning smaller tournaments called satellites. They are only $200 or $300, which is more my speed. I'll be heading out to LV sometime in June to try to win a seat to the big dance. I'll keep you posted on how I do so that you can look for me on ESPN.

It is one of my goals in life to win a WSOP bracelet. Oh yes, she will be mine!

In local news, the poker league that I host at my house came to an end last night. We play the first and third Thursday of every month. And instead of just paying out the winners each night, we take a portion of the pot and set it aside for the final "tournament of champions". Each week, depending on how you finish, you get a certain number of points. The better you do each night, the more points you get. At the end of the league, we take the top 6 players with the highest point totals and compete of the money we've been collecting for the last few months.

This season, I won the opening night, then never looked back and lead the league the entire way. Unfortunately last night, I came in 4th place out of 6th. I am actually really happy with the way I played, but just got really unlucky in a few key hands. Here are a few images take with my p&s camera and processed on my iPad.

How's this for a po-po-po-po-po-po-poker face?

J8 was the hand of the night. Not only did Curtis win with it. He also tripled up with it early on when he was pretty low. He's pretty much the luckiest guy I know.

]]> http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/946/Matt-Foley-Motivational-Speaker http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/postID/946/Matt-Foley-Motivational-Speaker Thu, 27 May 2010 11:39:00 GMT
Ok, so most of my blog readers know that in addition to being a wedding photographer and wannabe semi pro poker player (not), I also have a passion for helping other photographers build their businesses. I founded a community called the [ b ] School a couple of years ago and I often find myself flying around the country and world to speak and inspire up and coming photographers. I love it! I really do and I have more and more speaking engagements coming up this year and next.

The thing is... believe it or not... I actually get really nervous speaking in front of people and even though I am not very good at it right now... I am committed to getting better at it. Just like anything else in life, the more you practice and study something, the better you get. I hired a coach a while back and I think that's helped a bit, but recently, I have been going to seminars and speaking engagements not just to hear what they have to say, but how they say it. I am trying to pick up some tips & techniques for effective speaking.

In general, I personally can't stand a lot of "motivational speakers". Some times their "too happy to be alive" attitudes are just annoying, and they don't seems sincere. I've been to a few events in the last year and walked out the speakers were so bad.

This past weekend however, I went to a 3 day seminar called The Millionaire Mind Intensive and it was great. T Harv Eker who wrote Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, put together a program trying to teach people how to take control of their financial futures. There were two speakers, that alternated every couple of hours, and I took pages and pages of notes. Sure, there were a couple of parts that got a little hokey... but for the most part... I really like how they delivered the information... and... the information was actually really valuable and I have already made some changes in how I handle my finances. If you do go to the $97 3 day seminar... be aware... they will try to get you to sign up for more classes that cost a lot more. I didn't sign up for any of them, but I am considering actually going to one or two (going to depend on my schedule).

Last night, I went to the Business is Booming Tour with Brad Sugars. Joe Photo & I went and we both took lots of notes and had a great conversation afterwards. Brad gave away a ton of great info for small business owners and I liked his way of presenting. I think my style of public speaking is more like his. Straightforward, direct, with a low pressure sales pitch (that's how I roll). At the end of the night, he let people know about his business coaching company... which sounds really good. I am going to research it some more before making any decisions, but I think we could all benefit from a good business coach. Check the website for dates in a city near you.

If you have any questions on either of these programs, you can tune into Study Hall this afternoon at 4pm PST and ask away. By the way, Study Hall happens every Thursday at 4pm and it's FREE to all photographers.

Anyway... If you are interested in seeing me speak, be sure to follow @thebschool or check the [ b ] School blog for details. My next speaking gig is in the Bay Area on July 13th. It's only $20 if you pre-register or $30 at the door (if there's any room left). You can download the PDF below:


download NCPP is proud to present becker.pdf

I've ordered my own caricature from Exaggerart and I'll share it with you as soon as it comes in.

Disclaimer. If you sign up for any of the more expensive T Harv Eker courses, I will receive a small percentage of your tuition. I don't get a dime from the Brad Sugar's thing.


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