I'm excited to announce my new blog and new name.
This will officially be my last post to this blog.
From now on, you can find me at: www.lifewritingphotography.com.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Janie Gonzalez Koike
(PS...while I am super excited about the new site, know that it is a work in progress, just like our lives).
It is exactly one month until Christina's wedding.
A little less than one month ago, several of her closest friends took a little trip to Orlando to celebrate the end of her bachelorette days. We had a blast!! Although hundreds of photos were taken, these are some of my favorites because, as Kenzo pointed out, they looked like SNL photos. As we entered our various destination points, I introduced myself as their "photographer" and was able to go in ahead of the group to snap their entry photos. Enjoy!
Jeff's cool cat's cool photos.
This is us right after the starting line.
Yesterday I completed my first race and had a lot of fun doing it! It was part of my new year's goal to have a healthier mind, body and spirit in 2010. What made it even better was getting to run with friends and knowing that others were there cheering us on (and had just run a much longer race right before us ... 15K for them, 5K for me).
Carter and Jeff ran the 15K, and Brittany, Will and I ran the 5K. Jane, Byers and Kenzo were all there to cheer us on (and to take photos). The weather was cold and rainy, but definitely still worth it.
We had a great rest of the weekend hanging out with our fun Davidson friends! A few more photos to come from the weekend.
(All photos, except for the last one, were taken by Kenzo).
Will getting ready to finish!
Me, in blue, crossing the finish line! (The time says 42:27, but we started at 6 min, so I was happy with the 12 min mile pace).
Will, Brittany and me after the race.
Davidson runners of the day (green=5K; black = 15K) . . . that's a lot of miles!
Can you tell where we went to college?
Have you ever been blown away by someone else's love? That happened (again) for me yesterday. It actually made me cry. I was sitting at home and someone knocked at the door. Delivery. Package for Kenzo. I was curious, so I went into Kenzo's email (men- you might not want to share your passwords with your ladies) and read: Canon 70-200mm, 1.2fL. That is this lens:
I started to cry. I was overwhelmed by my husband's thoughtfulness, love, and belief in my dreams and goals for photography. I didn't open the box until he came home to open it with me. And I thanked him, and apologized for being a curious little cat and not being able to wait until he got home to see him open the package that was addressed to him.
I had been thinking about this lens. Thinking that I wanted it for the upcoming weddings that I will be taking in March and April. But seriously, that is a huge investment! He didn't care...he thinks it is worth it and believes that in the end, it will pay for itself.
Kenzo, thank you. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for loving me. Thanks for this new lens.
Regarding the title, f-stop is where photographers choose their depth of field when shooting (ie...blurring the background and in-focus subject or all in focus, etc). So I thought that what I was literally thinking when I read the email (right before crying) would be more easily taken on the internet if I changed a four letter "f" word into a photography pun.
And, you cannot get a new AMAZING lens like this without playing with it . . . so, some first shots with the lens (another thanks to my husband for trying to ruffle the feathers of the peacocks. It was to no avail, but still a funny photo!)
And then I went and took some shots outside of our house . . .
I had to send my computer away last week. I don't know what is wrong and am hoping that it will be fixed when it comes back at the end of this week. Wow. How attached I have become to it. How used to the ability to get on, edit a photo, write a story and post, I have become. I miss it. My brother let me borrow his computer while he has been in town. So, wanted to share the three images that I had already uploaded for tonight. Again, this is my aunt Laura and Caitlin. We had a fun photo shoot before Caitlin left for Equador in January. I have more to share . . . someday. Until then, I will probably be MIA for a little while, which is probably a good thing since midterms are coming up.
PS . . . I'm working on a new website to launch in March . . . so get excited!
Happy Sunday!
I came across this photo in my Guatemala album as I was looking back through my work over the past couple of years. I really like the image for so many reasons. You might feel like it it familiar since it looks somewhat like an image I captured of the same man and his shop (posted here). However, I think this one is completely different and has a unique photographic story to it. (PS . . . I discovered that there are several images from our trip last summer that I still want to share and just haven't had a chance to go back and edit them and get them posted . . . I promise I will . . . one day).
Anyway, what sparked this looking back is a silent auction. A group of medical students from USF are preparing to go to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic for their spring break to set up a free medical clinic. Since Jarabacoa is one of my favorite places in the world (I've been there four different times since 2002, one of which I lived there for 6 weeks and my older brother was there with me . . . actually he was there for 3 months), I decided to donate three sets of my images (2 to 4 images per set) for a silent auction that the group is having to raise money for their trip. If we're lucky, Kenzo may be able to go on the trip . . . and if we're really lucky, I might be joining them to translate for the students who do not speak Spanish (Julia, significa que es posible que yo te vaya a visitar en mayo!)
I am narrowing down my selections, but in all honesty, it has been hard to try to figure out which images people would actually want to purchase. I was thinking that maybe you could help. If you have time and are willing, can you tell me your favorite shots you've seen on this blog over the past year? You can try to make a set or just tell me one that you love. The easiest way to communicate that to me would be to just comment on the particular post where you see the image (or if you prefer, you can look at some of my favorites on my portfolio site and comment there, but not all of the images from the blog are uploaded there yet). Anyway, if you have a chance, I would appreciate your advice. I think I will order the prints on Sunday to make sure I have enough time to get them matted before my March 4th deadline.
Thanks and hope you're having a great week!
~Janie
Josette wins for helping to create my favorite shot of the entire, wet, Gasparilla day.
The Sunset Salsa Tent . . . packed and protecting people from the rain.
The annual pirate invasion of Tampa, Gasparilla, is a day Tampa-natives look forward to all year long. It is basically our Mardi Gras. There are thousands of people who flood the waters and streets, awaiting the invasion of hundreds of pirates who willingly share their booty by throwing beads out to all on-lookers (on land and sea). For the past two years, Kenzo and I have been on boats as a part of the invasion (shots from the better weathered event last year). However, this past weekend for Gasparilla, we made plans to stay on land and attend the popular Sunset Salsa Tent Party. We were really thankful for this decision when we woke up and heard of the 3 to 6 foot swells and "advisory warnings for small crafts". I do not know how the invasion actually took place. The tent was definitely the place to be this year and the parade went on, even in the worst weather in Gasparilla history (at least the history I can remember). We had a blast with my friends and family. Here are some fun shots from the day . . .
Jeff . . .
. . . Jocelyn . . .
My baby brother, Joseph. I like his look here, and the rain falling around him.
My husband, post-parade, taking in the madness that is Gasparilla.
Dad with "his youngest set of high school friends".
Kenzo and Jocelyn owning the side-line.
There was definitely a huge rain drop on my lens, right over my mom's face. Still a great shot of pirates and friends!
Pre-party at Ship's house. It was a great way to start the day -- with some of my favorite people and cuban sandwich casserole . . . and mimosas . . . and pirate punch, okay, it was awesome. (Photo taken by Kenzo).
Kenzo and me, staying dry, pre-parade. (Photo taken by mom).
The aftermath.
Post Script: we heard that even though attendance was 50% of the norm, there were still 400 arrests. Wow. Take it easy popo.
On the morning after Thanksgiving (2009), at 8:30am, in cold and windy weather, this beautiful family came out for a family photo session. Our goal was to get the perfect Christmas card photo, as it is an annual tradition for the Strober family. We ended up with the one above for the card but came away with a lot more. It was a morning full of smiles, laughs, some spills (as you will see) and lots of gorgeous curly hair. Now that the card has officially been seen by their friends, it's time to share their fun with you.
Meet (from left to right below & the kids are conveniently in age order) Ben, Jessica, JoAnn, Emily, Caitlin, Tucker (the dog) and Mike.
The sky was so beautifully blue!
I love the next three photos: the sun was behind them so the sky got washed out but it created a softer, cooler feel and some really pretty colors. (I couldn't decide which not to share, so you get them all):
Ben said that I had to share this next one. Jessica was a trooper. Look at the amazing ups she got (shot above) in those heels! I was also very impressed with Tucker.
Ready for a fun series? Okay . . . give me some "attitude":
But don't let Tucker fall.
Love it, love it, love it. I don't know if Emily is fake laughing with the hand up or really laughing, but I love the above photo!
Strobers- thank you for letting me capture your 2009 Christmas Card photo. I'm already excited for our 2010 shoot!
