The voice of contemplative observer

This is me, your contemplative observer.

Emily

Today I had the chance to head out to the beach with my Nikon D40. Emily has always wanted me to take pictures of her and I also thought it would be a great idea so that I could practice using my camera. My goal during this photoshoot was to try and find a happy medium with being different and representative of what I want to portray as a photgrapher, while still being pretty for Emily to frame and keep with her. Emily really is so great to work with because she will do whatever I tell her as well as provide me some insight into what she wants to do.

I wanted to portray two side of Emily that I have come to know. The first side was a collective side, a side that is more grounded and reflective. The second side of Emily that I wanted to capture was a happiness that is carefree and purely joy. The reasons why I love to portray sides of people that emulate them is simple; when you take a photograph of someone's real emotions or real personality those are the photos that come through the best. My goal as a photographer is to elicit an emotion inside the viewer that causes them to feel a raw human emotion. In this photoshoot it was happiness and collectiveness.

pinkberry, the new craze i swear.

pinkberry, tried the white chocolate chips
Originally uploaded by jleighb

have you ever thought to yourself, "I wonder why frozen yogurt doesn't actually taste like yoplait yogurt"? Good. Neither have I. Although when I brought the pinkberry spoon to my mouth and sampled what they called "ooey goodness" I nearly had an epiphany.

So what makes pinkberry so different? Well it doesn't taste anything like what you would find at a Goldenspoon. The yogurt at pinkberry has a mild tart flavor to it. Garnished with fresh fruit, cereals, or even yogurt bits will make this a flavor-texture sensation. A friend of mine says that Pinkberry was born from two asian entrepeneurs and from what I was told this new U.S. phenomenom is totally a "has been" in Asian countries like Korea where you will find a frozen yogurt place next to every starbucks.

I will be honest however, Pinkberries cannot technically call their product yogurt because it does not contain the right amount of bacteria culture to be qualified as "real" frozen yogurt. However! The answer to all you folks out there that are yearning for even higher concentrations of bacteria culture still have your options. Places such as Beachberry and Yogurtland are popping up all over the nation. I have even found my own fix of froyo (frozen yogurt for all you non trendy food freaks) in south Florida! So rush, rush, hurry hurry lover you have to witness this.

i heart laguna

i heart laguna
Originally uploaded by tuanyes84

This is where I used to live before I moved to Florida. You see, i love Florida, really, I do. In Florida I can always find a club or a bar that seems to promise a good time loyally and faithfully. However there is a certain emotion I miss from Laguna. I guess it is the feeling of "home" a feeling of belonging or a place where you feel like you are actually understood and the surroundings embrace you. I just can't quite put my finger on it.

The best day of my entire life is in Orange County. Please don't be misled by the media. The Orange County I grew up in wasn't pulled tightly by scalpels and trendy "fashionistas". No, the Orange County that nurtured me has become "the OC" and a tragedy it is, really. Once you take away the over-priced inflated homes and the people who only seek to climb higher up on the social ladder to feel like their lives are finally worth something you have a beautiful place to live. Interesting topography, limitless heart-warming, breath-taking sunsets are the real things that Orange County is known for.

So what has that left me with? Orange County has fizzled away and now I feel like when i come home i'm not really coming "home", but there are some spots, some sweet escapes, that I can run to. A place where I can relive all the things that I knew.

Mazdaspeed MX-5

Before I arrived in Florida my father told me that it would be best to get a SUV in case I had to evacuate and take all my belongings with me. Advice from my fellow Floridians has now led me to believe that getting an SUV to escape the hurricanes would be a situation that is unlikely to happen. Upon graduating from my doctorate program I would like to purchase a convertible, but not just any convertible. You see, I am not your run of the mill homosexual that loves paris, britney, and madonna...I am more than that. I am your homosexual that has an undying passion for motorsports.

I present to you, the Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata. The mazdaspeed mx-5 boasts a lot of goodies that will tickle this pickle. A tighter suspension, better air-flow management, and brakes that could stop this heart in its tracks. I throughouly intend on purchasing this car after I graduate, well...after I pay back my monumental student loans, if I manage to make it out alive (hurricanes)

The start of a new blog.

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