Las Vegas after Thanksgiving

I’ve been wanting to go to Vegas for the past few months so I decided to go Thanksgiving weekend. It was a quick 24 hour trip as I had to work Thanksgiving evening and then again Sunday morning. Planned on hitting the road at 8am, but didn’t get underway until 11am. Hit traffic on the way so I was on a bit of a time crunch as I had to meet my mom and stepfather for dinner. Wish I would have had more time because the sky was gorgeous. Scattered clouds in the sky around sunset while driving through the mountains. Such a great sight! If I had more time, I would’ve stopped to take some pictures along the highway. None-the-less, got to Vegas, ate dinner with the fam, then headed out to the strip to take some pictures. I’ve been on this small project, “Tales of a Red Light” and so that’s mainly the pictures I got.

Finally parked and wanted to take some pictures that people don’t normally take on the strip, but wasn’t too inspired. This is what I got:

Decided to head out and gamble at Fiesta in Henderson. On the way out, here’s what I got:

Steering away from the photographer side, it was great to put my headphones on and drown out everything around me. I got some shots and gambled a little. It was a great time away from the norm even though I almost lost $100. Granted, I don’t gamble much and only play the penny slots, craps or black jack. This time, no black jack. I left my moms house at 5pm but didn’t hit the road until 9pm. Put my last $10 in a slot machine and won $140. Ended up putting $60 of that back into the machines but, either way, it was a great time breaking away from the monotony.

Next up… Phoenix!

SD to Ensenada

One night, I got a little more intoxicated than I wanted to and definitely should not have driven home (I do not condone this behavior). Well, attempted to drive home anyway. What should have only been 10 minutes, ended up being 60. Sixty long minutes of getting lost in TJ (Tijuana for those that don’t know). But that’s a whole other story. What prompted the trip to Ensenada stemmed from seeing signs to Rosarito as I was trying to get home that night.

Originally, the plan was to take a day trip to Rosarito. After getting there about 45 minutes into the day, it would have only taken up a couple of hours so heading down to Ensenada seemed to appeal even more. 

I drove through Rosarito looking for a spot to eat, but nothing really stood out to me. 

Headed back on the scenic route towards Ensenada. Didn’t realize there are 3 toll booths each way. Glad I had some cash on me. 

There was a road that ran parallel to the highway which had restaurants along the way, so I exited and came across a little area called Puerto Nuevo. Ended up eating at a restaurant called Angel Del Mar. My server, Armando, was great. Allowed me to enjoy the day and was always available when I needed anything. Apparently Puerto Nuevo is known for their lobster, but I had the fish instead. It wasn’t a lobster kind of trip just yet. But it sure was a Bloody Mary kind =) 
The food and the view were good. Even though it was a little chilly and breezy that day, I wanted to sit on the upper deck outside to enjoy the sun and just take in my surroundings.

After eating, I walked around a bit to check out the area and take some photos. 
Got back on the road, kept on to Ensenada ending up at the port side instead of going central and went down some random roads.  

After a few hours, headed back towards the border. Thought that I would make it back home by 5pm, but I got in the medical services lane and had to double back to the border line. Except… I got lost in TJ again and ended up at the Otay side of the border about an hour later. One day TJ, I’m gonna concur your streets! Til then, I need to learn Spanish and look at a map.

All in all, it was a great day and being at the Otay border didn’t end so bad.

Release

It’s an incredible feeling to be able to do what you love. I went from being in the dance community to now pursuing photography. Although it’s hard work to be successful as an artist, it’s definitely worth the effort. As a choreographer, I was never confident in my ability. I remember being asked to choreograph for a cheer team when I was in high school and not having the confidence then, which wasn’t like me. At that point, I was confident in who I was, but I never considered myself a choreographer. That stuck with me throughout my dance career and eventually got the best of me in the end. I even started to doubt myself as a dancer which was never the case. I hit a wall and went on a downward spiral from there, not knowing if I’d recover. Then one day a friend of mine invited me on a photoshoot and put a camera in my hand to take behind-the-scenes pictures. From that moment, I regained myself. I felt alive again.

Today, I’m thankful for all that I’ve experienced. The trials and tribulations that have gotten me to this point. The feeling of losing yourself and regaining the strength to keep pursuing. It’s overwhelming, yet freeing. I’m, by no means, at a point where I should be, but I know I’m on my way. Through persistence and determination, that level will be obtained.

Living List

We all have those things we wish we could do, places we want to go, people we want to meet, etc… Some call it a bucket list, to-do list, or whatever else they name this list of things to accomplish. One day I was chatting with a friend and we were talking about this particular subject, but instead of Bucket List she called it Living List. Since then, it has been called just that. So here is my Living List for photography in no particular order!

-Shoot at least two weddings a month
-Travel through photography
-Have my photographs published in top magazines; particularly sports, fashion and National Geographic
-Own a specific building in SF which will include a photography studio
-Publish a book

This is just a start and will be updated regularly along with dates of completion next to each one that has been done. Let’s see how long it takes to accomplish these goals!

I understand that I’ll need to be diligent in pursuing my dreams and am no stranger to putting in work. There’s a saying out there that goes “Always a student” and that is what I believe. Always keep pushing to be better than the day before. Learn all I can. Never take for granted anything that comes my way. And keep doing.

Here’s to Living!