I haven't posted much lately as I have been in the process of moving my content to a new server. Please find a link to my new blog site below:

I love buying new camera equipment! Thing have been going very well for me on the photography side lately and I've made enough money now to invest in a 2nd flash. I want you to meet the newest member of my Nikon family, the SB-900:

I got a pair of umbrellas and light stands this past week and wanted to try them out. Jeannie was kind enough to let me try some shots out during sunset.

Strobist Info: SB600 at 1/4 fired via Nikon CLS

I went to shoot a Baby Shower over the weekend and having never been to one I had no idea what to expect. It wasn't all OOOs and AHHHs as I had thought it was going to be.

I couldn't take my eyes off how cool these cupcakes looked with these home made fondant bears on top of them. I felt it added a real nice touch as a decoration. They were so nice looking that not a single one was touched the entire day.

After finally getting all the pieces together, my official website is up and running! I want to thank John Topete of Advancemysite.com for assisting me in this. I couldn't have done it without him. This website is a big step for me in becoming a more serious photographer and I hope you all enjoy it. Please follow the link below:

www.bwleephotography.com

Here are a couple of pictures I took while on vacation in Maui:









If you want some more background on these shots, you can view the Flickr album.

I got an awesome opportunity this weekend to help as an assistant during a studio shoot. I got to learn the ropes and had the chance to shoot some pictures as well. It was was a very rewarding experience and can't wait to have my own studio in the future... I can dream right? Thanks Alan again for the great experience!

Jeannie was great to work with and I hope to shoot with her again.

This was a beautiful stretch of sand in a resort area on the west end of Maui. It was so beautiful in fact that there were two seperate weddings photo shoots going on at the same time! I've always wondered what it would be like to be a photographer in Hawaii, probably got to love doing weddings though.

I got to shoot ring side at an amateur boxing tournament called Battle of the Badges. The tournament fighters were either police officers, corrections officers, or fire fighters. I've never been to an event like this before let alone be so close to the action. There were moments when the boxers ran into the ropes right in front of my face. It was a very awesome experience. I like this shot a lot because of the blow the guy's face was so hard you can see the sweat coming off his head.

Taken with a Nikon D80 and 50mm f/1.8

I'm back! Hawaii was just wonderful and suffering from withdrawal! I didn't take as many photos as thought as I was going too but that's because I was in total relaxation mode. I did capture a couple nice moments like the one below. Sunsets are spectacular in paradise and getting to see them every day never gets tiring.

Chinese Opera is an art form that dates back to the 3rd century CE. I got the chance to attend a Chinese Opera event in San Francisco and got to check out the behind the scenes as they were getting ready. The troupe performing came from the Red Bean Youth Group who did an excellent job. if you're interested in learning more about this troupe I've provided a link below:

Red Bean Cantonese Opera House

I will be on vacation for about a week so don't expect any updates any time soon. I hope to bring some really nice pictures back to share with everyone. I am excited for this upcoming month as I have a lot of shoots planned as well as the launch of my new website.

A buddy of mine asked me to come out to his gym to take some photos of him training a fighter for the Battle of the Bagdes. After watching them spar I realized that I would never want to get into that ring because it looks like one hell of a beating. Taken with a 50mm f/1.8

I worked with Pete this past weekend in Berkeley, CA and got a couple nice shots out of him. It was my first time shooting a male model so I had to adjust the way I normally take photos.

I got the opportunity to shoot with Stef again and it was a lot of fun trying out different poses and looking for exteriors. I got a lot of use of my new MB-D80 vertical grip and I'm very glad I got it.




More photos from this session at Flickr.

I was looking at my blog recently and I noticed that I've posted a bunch of Black and Whites lately. I wanted to post something with a bit more color this time around. I took this photo a couple months ago during my long weekend stay in Lake Tahoe and the colors came out so well that its one of my favorites. Enjoy!

This photo shoot was one of the most difficult ones by far and it wasn't that the children were being fussy but it was the weather. It was well into the 90s in the afternoon and I had came straight from work to do this session wearing jeans and a dress shirt. Sweating and taking pictures of children was not the best mix in the world but I made it work.

It's taken me awhile to get these photos processed but better late than never. I shot these two sisters at J Park in Hayward, CA. The photos that struck me the most from this set were those that expressed family to me.

I shot my first e-session a couple weeks ago with this wonderful couple who I've known for quite some time. We shot in Sausilto, CA and while I was worried that there would be too many people around, there were some nice quiet spots to capture moments like these.



More photos to come soon!

I've always been asked if there was any certain area I was going to focus in for photography and up until now I've been trying out as much as I can. I do have to say that I enjoy portraits and working with people during a photo shoot. This is one of my first set of portraits I've done and I was very happy with the results. It was also easy because it was fun to work with Stefanie. These are some of my favorites from the shoot:







View the rest of the album on Flickr.

My Friday night consisted of the 3Gs: Great Seats, Garlic Fries, and a Giants win! With a tropical system passing through San Francisco creating an unusually muggy and warm Friday night, it provided me with some unique skies to capture. This also marks the first shot I worked with in RAW and I have to admit there's a much larger dynamic range to work with.

You can't be a photographer in the San Francisco Bay Area unless you have a photo of this monument. Taken from China Beach.

So in preparation for an engagement shoot tomorrow, I rented a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. This thing is huge! I will be very excited to see how the pictures come out. I couldn't resist taking a picture of all my gear when seeing this lens on my camera.





One day this thing will be mine...

I spent this past weekend doing a portrait shoot in the Hayward area and found a beautiful Japanese Garden located in the middle of a residential neighborhood. I've also posted a link to the garden at the bottom. I hope to post the pictures from the portrait shoot later this week.

















Link to J Garden

It's been way too long since I last posted but between getting a new computer and spending a long weekend in Lake Tahoe I haven't had much time to sit down and get through my photos. But for those readers that have been waiting here's a teaser:

I'm heading off on vacation for a couple days for some rest and relaxation and won't be posting any pictures this week. I will of course bring my camera and try to take some photos to bring back. I will also be in a phase of transition as I have gotten a new shiny Apple and need to learn the ropes. I finally get to replace my old desktop that has slowly but faithfully edited my photos. I have a busy August ahead of me but I'm looking forward to these upcoming shoots.

I spent another day shooting during the filming of Curse of the Black Lotus and I am very late sharing these photos with everyone. Better late than never right? My apologies of course.








Album located on Flickr.

I was given the privilege of doing a photo shoot for a friend who is a talented designer. I wish I had some of her sewing skills to fix my own pants! Enjoy!













































































































Album located on Flickr.

Carmel is a beautiful jewel on the coast of California with lots of great views. Though I spent most of the time at the Point Lobos State Reserve, I would definitely go back to Carmel to do more shooting int the town itself.




































































Album located on Flickr.

I happen to come upon a bike race in Benicia and was able to get some neat photos. Enjoy!





































































Album located on Flickr.

Every city has something unique about it and this one in particular exemplifies that. Take a guess where this might be:





























































Photos located on Flickr.

It's always easy to over look history, so sometimes we have to slow down and take a look back. I spent some time visiting the Benicia Capitol State Park which apparently was the California State Capitol before its move to Sacramento. Here's a little bit more history:

"Benicia Capitol State Historic Park is a state park in Benicia, California. The park is dedicated to California’s third capitol building, where the California State Legislature and bureaucracy convened from February 3, 1853 to February 24, 1854. It is the only pre-Sacramento capitol that survives."

That's enough education for now, on with the pictures:






















































Photos located on Flickr.