Sometimes I think maybe this should be the “Sophia blog” instead of the “tosti studios” blog.  It’s hard to take a bad photo of her, she’s so beautiful and loves the camera, well I like to think that she loves the guy behind the camera, her “dada.”  There are certain times when I take a photo of her, and I can’t believe how connected I am to it.  I can’t stop staring at this one.  The light in her eyes, her sweet spirit shows right through, and there is a little  bit of that “it’s mine”  in there too.

Ok, this is sappy and I like it.  I’ll go now and let you look at the photo without anymore commentary.  Thanks for stoppin by the “Sophia is the most beautiful girl in the world, blog.”

OK, Jaimee a friend and photogapher, called me and really wanted to do a session.  She and her husband Josh, hadn’t done a shoot together for years. I can relate, being a fellow photographer, its easy to let a bunch of time fly by, without having pictures of yourself.  It was Josh’s birthday and so it was a bit of a “valentines/birthday/ we haven’t had good shots of ourselves in like 10 years,” session.   It was chilly and overcast, but i love that. Good atmosphere, and well, the couple always tend to hold on to each other more naturally!  The first shot is a “polaroid” i just thought it fit best. I think we shot for about 40 minutes.  We got some great stuff, quick.  But then again, always remember, the subject matter is half of the photo!

A philosophical tangent….

The more i shoot, the more & more i go back to black & white.  I’m not stuck on it, I also loved color! However, it just seems to me, that there are surges of styles (i.e. photoshop mania) and that’s a good thing. There are so many photographers that i deeply respect, who have pushed the envelope and made what i do much more acceptable, and for that I am SO grateful.   I just keep thinking that i don’t want my images to look completely “2008″  in 10, 20 or 50 years.  Fashion, music, photography, is about making a statement, expression, and so i do effort to do something different, to really connect with the souls that i’m working with, and bring out the best in them.  Hope not to bore you with this thought, i tend to just post things quickly and move about my day, but it’s good to put thoughts out there and maybe some will even comment, ha!  after all, this is a blog….

There were so many more shots, but then you’d be scrolling down the page for a mile.

CIAO

I’m a few days behind on posting so here i am on a sarturday night. Valentines day was really special, Alli and I decided to go out the night before so we could go out with Sophia and my mother on the 14th. We went to Ruby’s on the Balboa pier. It was so nice to be out on the pier and have hardly anyone around. Of course i was with camera in hand, ready to get a few shots of Sophia’s second V-day experience. Here are some shots from the night. I’m lucky to have 3 valentines.

I’ll be posting a little shoot i did with a photographer friend of mine, tomorrow.

OH and good news, the new TOSTISTUDIOS.COM is up!

Lastly, February 17th has always had a special place in my heart as 9 years ago today, i released my first album with PAX217.  It was an amazing time in my life, what a high.  Funny thing is, on the day of our record release show, we broke down on a highway in MI., sat on the side of a freeway for about 9hrs, absolutely freezing, and missed our concert.  Oh life’s irony.  Never the less we were all so proud of this creative endeavor.  Nine Years later, i’m proud of this new work i’m doing, my family, and well, i’m in a warm place instead of the highway, yes! it is getting better!

Saturday, David, Rio, Sarah, Devyn, Alli, and I headed for California’s most beautiful Disaster aka, the Salton Sea, for their engagement shoot. This was a wardrobe, hair, make-up, location collaborative. This is one of my favorite things about working with couples who want to do something “spectacularly different.” This shoot was not only just different in that we went out to the Salton Sea, but it had it’s roots as well. Rio’s family own’s a ranch out in the desert closet to the Salton Sea, they both Surf, David is a videographer Sagerproductions.com, and well, we all loved the idea of the journey to some place new. These two looked incredible! Congratulations, you two, can’t wait till May 3rd!

I’m really excitied about shooting Sarah and Nick’s wedding on May 17th, especially after spending some time with them today!  Sarah and Nick are both apart of the the famous Pageant of the Masters.  Sarah has been performing for the past 8 years and they are both amazing!  I really like to work with the couples that i work with and have their true lives incorporated into the engagement session.  We didn’t have much time today as the light falls quickly and it had rained a bit (we almost had to cancel).  Thankfully we didn’t cancel! I think it’s vital to be able to shoot together, to get to know each other a bit, and it gives me a great insight into how to photograph them best, for their wedding day.

Here are a few of my favorites, congratulations you two!  i’ll see you at Tivoli Terrace!