This week, FotoNuova honors all women who bless us with the beauty of motherhood.

Aaron

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

On a visit to Town & Country Rentals in Pasadena today, I stumbled upon this very beautiful Spring time table setting.

Town & Country is a really great place to gain inspiration for your wedding or event.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

When I was a kid, my family and I would frequently travel through the intersection of Fair Oaks Ave and Colorado Blvd in Pasadena. During those times in the early 80′s, this area was so very dilapidated and neglected. I can recall that the area appeared like a run down ghost town covered in layers and layers of soot. Once colorful business signs were faded and reflective of times that once were. I remember that every single time we passed this area in our car, my aunt would emphatically make the same repeated statement; “This is the ugliest area of Pasadena.” Perhaps she said it only once or twice, but this statement stayed in my mind until this day because the visions of the time, matched the statement. Yet, despite the depressed state of this area, one can easily see that in it’s heyday, it must have been a very vibrant and energetic center of the city.

Flash forward to the late 80′s, as an early teen I saw and visited small independent shops and boutiques that began to sprout here at there. A slight clean up effort was taking place but still not a lot of foot traffic. However, this small effort must have made many see the possibility of this area.

Then in the early 90′s, this area which was now becoming well known as Old Town Pasadena began to flourish as a center to shop, dine and hang out. It was an exciting time to see these old buildings receive new colorful coats of paint. Most structures were being revived of their former glory inside and out. Streets were rehabilitated. As a young adult, it was a really great place to take a date, watch a movie and have dinner.

Since this time, Old Town has seen many well known and national retailers move in. It’s face is constantly changing but still maintains it’s energetic vibrancy from those exciting initial days. I don’t visit Old Town as frequently as I did when I was younger. Partly due to the large crowds and partly because at my age, I feel like there is not much there for me. But that story is for another day.

I’ve recently come across a post of photographs that illustrate what Old Town Pasadena looked like in those early 80′s. If you have visited Old Town before, you will see a stark difference. If you are someone who remembers what Old Town looked like before, these photographs will provide much nostalgia.

You can see more from the collection here: Our Heritage: The Revitalization Movement of Old Pasadena

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

We won!!!

So in January of this year, I decided to pursue WPPI’s 16×20 Print Competition. It happens to be one of the most renowned competitions in our industry. It’s judged by a panel of prestigious portrait photographer’s from all over the world. I don’t know if it’s the absolute biggest of all print competitions but I do know it’s the biggest one I know and I have been in this business for 10 years.

Well guess what? We won! We won first prize in the Glamour/Boudoir category and Grand Prize for the entire Portrait division! I am also so very elated to state that our print scored a perfect 100. From what I am told, there have been about 5 perfect 100 scores in the last 15 years of WPPI print competitions. That number is adjustable depending on who I ask so don’t take me to school on that.

Here is the winning print:

In making the decision to enter, I wanted to select just the right piece of work. I decided on this selection from a series that was created and inspired by an Ingres painting. My sister Ximena helped with the make up and styling for this particular series. I sent this image to my master print maker, Jonathan Penney. He created the beautiful magic that was needed to make this baby a winner. He selected the final appearance of this portrait, the right paper to display it on and matting which are all essential ingredients for a winning print.

All of this collaboration culminated in a winning print! I am so, so very honored in the most humbling way to be recognized by peers in my industry. Although I do not know who the judges where as of now, I am eternally grateful to them for this great honor.

Here is the wonderful message I received from WPPI:

Lastly, here are the awards proudly displayed in the studio!

FotoNuova is a family portraits photographer providing services in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Orange County and throughout all of Southern California. For more information, please visit our website at: Family Portraits Photographer | FotoNuova or call 626-588-2445

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Take a look at this amazing time-lapse video of our planet! This video was edited using footage from the International Space Station (ISS). This brilliant editor did an amazing job setting the tone and mood for these powerful images.

It makes me remember how small we really are and how minuscule are all of our problems in the grand scheme of things. Very humbling. Anyhow, this is as close to being an astronaut as most of us will ever be. Enjoy!

Time-Lapse | Earth from Bruce W. Berry Jr on Vimeo.

Aaron

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Do you ever stop and think about the phenomenon of motherhood? I mean if you really stop and think about the relationship and bond between mother and child, it can be mind blowing. Even in nature, the way a mama whale swims closely to her baby, the way a cow provides milk to her calf and when a bird feeds her young in her nest. Where does the love stem from? What part of a mother’s being is now a part of her child?

These are the questions that will hopefully one day be answered…

FotoNuova is a Pasadena maternity photographer providing pregnancy photography in Pasadena, Los Angeles and throughout all of Southern California

Be Sociable, Share!

•