Final day of the Denis Reggie's Seminar

Denis Reggie Conclave On Wedding Photojournalism two days seminar was astonishing. The hospitality and warmth of Denis Reggie and his team were very impressive.

The seminar covers lighting techniques like the one named as "Foofing" by Denis Reggie (used in the attached photograph).  It provides some concepts to help you to identify your prospects and  expectations, different types of photographer mindsets, business plan, marketing strategy, software and hardware overview, etc... This seminar definitely adds value to any photographer who is looking to provide outstanding and differentiated services. 

Thank you Denis for your dedication and attention to the Gwinnett Tech students.

Denis Reggie Wedding Photojournalism Seminar

I was honored to be one of the three students selected to attend Mr. Denis Reggie's seminar this week.  He was named as "the hottest wedding photographer of the moment" by New York Times. He has also photographed 20 Kennedy weddings since 1980. I am very excited about this two day seminar. Click here if you want to access more information about the upcoming seminars with Denis Reggie.

Field Trip to visit Mr. Charles Jing's Collection

Last Friday our Photography History teacher invited us to visit Mr. Jing's residence and his amazing photograph collection. Among several well known photographers there were photographs signed by Ansel Adams and Sebastiao Salgado like the attached one. 

Presidential Inauguration

This was a historic moment for the United States of America. For the first time in the history of our country a black president was elected. 

Over two million people attended the Presidential Inauguration Day. It was a very exciting and peaceful moment for all. 

President Barack Obama and his family appear to represent a new era. Good luck Mr. Obama!

If you want to access my Flickr account and see more photographs from that special day please click here.

Special Thank You to Reinaldo and Lucina Hui Ho

Reinaldo and Lucina have been  my friends since almost 10 years ago. They live in Virginia and kindly hosted 5 other friends from Gwinnett Technical College and myself during the Presidential Inauguration. I took the opportunity to take few pics of their beautiful kids Melissa and Lian. 

Thank you Reinaldo and Lucina!

Back to Atlanta for Mrs. Ann Nixon Cooper 107th Birthday

I came back from Brazil on January 11th straight to Mrs. Ann Nixon Cooper's 107th Birthday. There were at least 200 guests and among them some of CNN team members. She was looking great. Congratulations Mrs. Cooper!

"Carnaval" is comming

After the Holidays it is time to work hard for the Brazilian "Carnaval". Today, I stopped by "Rosas de Ouro" Carnival School (that how it is called here). There are several throughout the country but the main ones are located in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Aurora Seles is the Public Relations and she was very nice for allowing me to photograph the members. Costumes are available for sale between $250.00 - $500.00. It is necessary to participate in few group practices. Rosas de Ouro site has some extra pictures available. Click here if you want to see more about Brazilian Carnival and how hard they work to have everything ready for the parade.

Contrast

Walking through Sao Paulo main Avenues we can see contrasts between modern and old styles, ...

Simone and Jonathan

I decided to add two extra pictures of them just to show how cute and sweet they are. They followed me inside of the church and asked me to photograph them in front of a Christmas Tree. Simone looks like an angle. It was hard to say goodbye to them.

Homeless Kids

Today, I was walking on the streets close to where I was born and I noticed that the number of homeless kids is decreasing. However, we can still see some cases. I captured a very emotional moment. There was a family in front of  a Catholic Church where the kids were begging for money. The mother was seated on the floor with her baby. She has already 15 kids.  Actually, she tried to sell one of her kids for $15.00 last month, according to a volunteer. The Social Services Department is trying to get an authorization to send the kids to an institution.