Mastering one's ability to see light and to create it is essential to becoming a great photographer.

In a few days, I will be starting my new 2009 world tour. The excitement from our community is bursting at all sides and we just can't wait to begin our new adventure together. I am looking forward to also learning, growing and being the best mentor I can be. It is amazing how much I have learned over the past year and I have found that I had to revamp all me lectures which I believe are even better than before.

Party in VEGAS

First off, Milyeri is pretty hot and a very classy woman. You gotta love her style. And Neil, the ultimate gentleman, is not bad himself. This couple is very photogenic and so I had that huge advantage going for me. Second, Milyeri is a photography maniac and what I shot in 4 days at my NYC workshop, we did it in ONE and a half!! She wanted photos of the entire NYC area and although she is sweet as honey, no one was going to stop her and her photo agenda!! If you have ever been to NYC you have to admit we covered A LOT of ground. It was great hanging out with Milyeri and Neil, I can't wait for their wedding in less than a couple months.

NYC has got to be one of my favorite cities in the world. Oh btw, a HUGE thank you to my amazing lighting assistant and friend Chris Chen. His help was instrumental for many if not all of the shots, I used off camera lighting on almost every image. Plus Chris knows NYC like the back of his hand, being a lifelong native. Who needs a subway map with him around!

It is exciting to see oneself grow as a photographer, actually teaching photography has made me better, I'm not sure if you can see a difference in my recent work but I know in my heart I am becoming more of an artist with my vision and it fuels a passion to pursue more fine art photography.

I shot over 700 images at this session and it took me probably 30 hours just to put together this show. Heck, I even added some landscape photos! I have this habit of creating a work of art with almost every photo I use in the slideshow. It is not very cost effective for me so I'm not sure how long I can continue doing this type of work, E-sessions, weddings, etc because of the extensive post processing I add to the photos and the time it takes. I have come to the realization that I am a fine art photographer- I love to finish my work with my signature style which is extremely time consuming, yet very rewarding to me- I don't even care if no one likes it, it just speaks to me and I can not stop myself from going down this path. However, if you want me to show up to your wedding, shoot it and hand over files, I'd love to do that too because the workload is so much better and fits my schedule.