car show

when we're not shooting portraits or weddings, we like to check out local events. because we're so busy, we usually do not get to partake in what our community has to offer. 

as much as i like taking pictures of people, for some odd reason, i love taking photographs at car shows. i think it's because i like shiny things, and colorful things. at car shows, you find all of the above. a car is somewhat like a person, in that it has curves, and shiny accessories. i understand why guys love their cars as much as their women. duh. 

i don't know what any part of the car is. so don't ask me. all i know is i absolutely love chrome. it's like the accessories on a beautiful woman. ooooo....shiiiinny.   

it was fun hanging out at the car show, and cool of the participants to let us be spectators and admire all the sweet cars. check out your local car show. you'll see what i mean.

<

our lil' neighbor

kylee is about 7 months old, and she already has everyone wrapped around her little finger. our neighbors, eric and denise, who can be seen featured under our Maternity section in our website, invited us to spend a day at the park with their family. we enjoyed playing on the swings on that bright, sunny, almost-spring-day. ahhhh...this is the life!

i made her a mini slideshow, check it out.

america's best dance crew

i was never part of a crew. but i loved dancing, back in the day. in high school, i loved performing for talent shows and choreographing for friends for lip sync contests and school dances. i continued that in college, choreographing routines for shows, entering contests, and one time, for a club that i wasn't even a member for. i also dabbled in hula, and ballroom dancing. so i can totally appreciate dance shows, and love that Randy Jackson, the judge from American Idol, produced this show, America's Best Dance Crew on MTV.

no, this isn't America's Best Dance Crew winners. this is Beat Freaks, the runners up. Quest Crew won, and they were an awesome dance crew. i really liked Beat Freaks because they represented for the females, but more than that, they did what the boys did, and sometimes better. they're not my faves because they are girls, contrary to popular belief, that if they win, it's because they're girls. i don't think ABDC's fans vote based on gender. i felt their performances were consistent throughout the series, both creative and athletic, every single time. to be fair, i do think that Quest Crew 'brought it' the last episode, the Hip Hop Challenge, and their last routine 'killed it,' as they say. if based on the last ep, i have to say Quest won. if based on their collective performances, i have to say Beat Freaks took it.

in the end, i'm glad both crews made it to the end. it was an exciting season, for sure! if you missed it, you should definitely check it out when you get a chance. if you love dancing, even if you don't like hip hop, you will definitely get inspired, excited and entertained.

congrats to Quest Crew!!

elf yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

for my fellow photog freaks!

Hey guys,

i have a lot of fellow photography lovers, and i thought i'd share some fave sites i like. also, if you have any cool photog sites u know of, please share! it's all good!

Found this one (or he found me, actually!) last week. Just a cool photographer guy that has an original blogsite, with audio commentary; does mostly music/concert photography, but also weddings

Jared Polin

Written by a working fashion photographer who shares their insight and inspiration with the masses. Inspiring.

Fashion Photography Blog

The Strobist: Everything you wanted to know about off camera lighting; YES, YOU CAN!

Flickr: the greatest inspiration comes from others...like us!

www.flickr.com/groups/fotogeeks

(forward this to any other photography geeks and join our group!; if you're already part of this group, you need to post your HOLIDAY PIX!!)

Photojojo: This is the perfect site for people that LOVE photography and the different things you can do with it! Check it out, you'll see what I mean. There's new ideas every week! Subscribe to this!

My BLOG!! yes, please subscribe to my blog!! And make comments to know that you were there! It gets lonely in Internet space....I always update this every few days. Check me out, eh!

There's others, like fave photographers, wedding, portrait, dog, and fashion photogs, but that's a different post...and I'm tired of typing now...hahahaha....to be continued.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

fullest moon of the year

this month's full moon is reported to be the "fullest" because of it's closest proximity (distance) to the Earth. this is the best i could do. just reminded me, though, how much fun it is to just shoot nature and your surroundings. this season, i am going to make myself shoot everyday, something that catches my eye. it's been awhile since i've made time to do this, what with the weddings and shoots i've been doing. since i have some down time, this is a great way to post some of my fave pix of the day. 

if you like taking pictures, join our FOTO GEEKS Flickr group! it's all about finding the beauty in everyday life. discovering the extraordinary in the ordinary...if you're not a Flickr member, join (it's FREE and you get inspired by other cool photogs, amateur and pro alike).

From g j spiller photography

my goddaughter, and cousins

had so much fun photographing my goddaughter and cousins' kids. jaylyn did a great job her first time at a photo shoot (although she is immobile and can't move around as much, haha!). chloe, her cousin, is about 10 months, and will be running before we know it! i think by the time we got the girls together for a shoot, they were had it for the day. everyone was crying in unison, it seemed. but that's ok. to me, i'd take real life moments over fake, posed ones, anyday! i love taking portraits of babies in their environment, the environment that makes them happy. whether it be in their crib, bath tub, or backyard. to get the most naturalistic photos that say something about your child will not be found in front of a plain white backdrop in a cold studio.  it will be found at home. at a place they are familiar with. with you. interacting with them is the number one way i get great pictures. i'm there to capture the precious moments, and document them so no one will forget. 

if ya wanna see more cute pix of these girls...ya gotta see 'em in their halloween get ups!! click here to view the halloween slideshow

happy halloween!

pix of our child, popo! 

last year we got him a dinosaur costume, an extra small, because he's well, a small dog. well, it didn't fit him and we have painful looking pix of him standing in one place (because he couldn't move, it was so small). so this year, we upgraded to a costume that fits! he's a jack-o-lantern!!

my chihuahua doesn't wear clothing, so when he does wear a sweater (or this costume) he does not like it. he acts un-popo like. he mellows out, as you can see in this picture (i was at a 60th of a second taking these pix...the dog did not move!!!) he looks unhappy. but cute. 

Fiesta Slideshow

salsa, tacos, and a plastic donkey

Bravo Tumbao Dance Company provided the free salsa lessons, and the exciting dance exposition (see slideshow for more pix of their dancing!)

This is Fred!!! 

Tierra y Libertad provided the ballet folklorico performances. Colorful, energetic...beautiful. See more in the slideshow!

j. and i got married last year, in south pasadena's Holy Family Catholic Church. that church holds significance, because it was the church that inspired j. to renew his faith, get baptized and confirmed, and he says, it also inspired him to "upgrade" (i hate the word "settle down") and propose to me. (j. and i had known each other for 11 years before we got married. we were 'babies' when we met). we absolutely love this church. the community is welcoming and warm. you really feel like small-towny there. the church, of course, is beautiful and reminiscent of the churches i attended while i was young, with the smell of old missalettes, incense, and old wood, not like the new, spacious, marble-esque, cold modern churches popping up around los angeles.

we recently moved 22 miles away, to covina, and miss our parish. we don't get to go as often as we should. so we were jazzed that we were able to volunteer our photography services and donate a bingo prize (a $250 valued session) this weekend at the parish festival. we were especially excited when we were told they needed someone to man the photo booth, and take pictures of kids and families on top of a burro (donkey). so i brought my digital SLR and powered up my batteries because i was excited to shoot a real live burro. i've seen them rented for birthday parties, before, but never was upfront, close and personal to one.

when we got to the photo booth, we saw a donkey all right. a plastic rental donkey. our lil' booth looked lonely, with our white tent, polaroid camera, and "Fred" (we named him!). we thought, ok, we really need to pump it up and encourage some kids and parents to take pictures at our booth. it was only 5 tickets. so everyone that passed by, we sold Fred like he was the next best thing since...the cow. it didn't take but 5 min., that we had our first customers. much to our surprise, we had steady business for at least 3 hours! Fred was a hit! who knew? 

we had so much fun, meeting new and old friends. it made us miss our church more. we really need to go at least 1x a month and attend mass here. 

the entertainment was great! folklorico (Tierra y Libertad), salsa lessons (Bravo Tumbao), and a salsa band (Latin Sol). who could ask for anything more! i love the dancing pictures, especially, because you can see the joy and fun in a dancer's face. it's so exhilarating to watch and even more fun to photograph! i'll post more pix about the excellent salsa band, Latin Sol, on my next blog entry. they were sooooo good! their music made you want to shake that thang! there's nothing like LIVE music!!! see pix of them in the slideshow!

thank you to Juan Jimenez, the entertainment coordinator, for being such a cool guy, even though Fred was worked like a horse (we didn't know we couldn't put kids on Fred! yikes! busted!).  we would also like to thank Barbara Wagner, the event coordinator, for giving us such a cool, fun job! we hope to have the opportunity again!

above are some pictures of the event! click here to view the slideshow!

(if you would like to have additional info on any of the groups above, please let me know! info@gjspillerphotography.com)

Kajukenbo Studio: Softball Game

johnny's martial arts studio. check out their site: www.bundaskajukenbo.com/

can't rain on this parade!

j. just recently joined a martial arts studio called Bunda's Kajukenbo Self Defense Institute. he joined because he has always wanted to learn a martial art, and also get back in shape. unfortunately, since we got married, even though our life has gotten busier and more prosperous, we have been getting out of shape in the process! so he thought he'd take that step to exercise. he absolutely loves going to the  classes 3 times a week.

we attended the annual "Ohana Picnic" this sat. now, you'd think the forecast of rain all sat. would stop this bunch. as you can see with the pictures (and the slideshow), that this was not the case. it was definitely a fun-loving spirit among the members. "Ohana" means "family" in hawaiian, and this was absolutely a family affair. husbands, wives, and children are members of this studio. they were all so friendly, and seemed to be having a great time, even with the gloomy weather looming overhead. 

the craziest thing was the softball game in the rain, no less!! this was j.'s first time playing softball, and he did really well. his team won! yay! check out the slideshow. there's lots of action shots! here are just SOME of the pix i liked. too many to choose from. 

also, if you're looking for a martial arts/self defense class, check out the studio! they take all ages! 

a good cry

so...i stayed home sick today. dr. j.'s order (my hubby), i'm not allowed to work in the office or go on the computer. i'm supposed to be in bed.  resting. 

so here i am.

anyway, i was watching this week's "biggest loser," and it was so good. it's all about family teams, losing weight together. i know it sounds corny, but i got hooked on this show because of the back stories. because you know me, and loving to "talkstory." 

there was this one father-daughter team that had to decide who was going to be eliminated and who was going to stay and compete (they had to be eliminated because they lost the least amount of weight that week). it was so sad, because naturally, i thought, the dad has got to go. he has a lot of health issues, that would hurt his team, and he has some physical ailments that need treatment. i thought, decision was so clear cut. but when the daughter started listing all the reason why HE should stay, i was a water fountain of tears. bawling and grabbing tissue from the box. she told him that if he didn't get guidance and professional attention, he was going to die. that he needed to be here the most. but this is the line that got me, she said that she wanted to get married, and that she wanted her dad to walk her down that aisle. i was a mess. (hey, i'm a sucker for weddings! that's why i'm a wedding photographer!).

at least i can say now, my sinus are a lot more clearer. sometimes you just need a good cry. even if it's about total strangers.

now i feel like taking a walk, and baking some skinless, boneless chicken. 

sent this pic through a cool site called PixelPipe. if you're like me, and post pix on multiple sites, like FaceBook, Picasa, Twitter, and of course, Blogger, this is a cool site for you. this allows you to upload your pix just once. PixelPipe "pipes" your pix to all the sites you contribute photos to. How cool is that? 

bday cake (made and created by cake artiste, christine p.)
Posted via Pixelpipe.

3 words: FREE ICE CREAM

If you like Cold Stone Creamery, y'all, ya gotta jump at this chance. Cold Stone Creamery is giving free ice cream. Check out this link for more info! I love the cake batter w/ caramel, and the cheesecake w/ blueberries. Yum-O! 

Hawai'i's Daughter's Guild Luau Pix

we had such a good time at the HDG's luau last weekend! good food, good entertainment, good fun....it was so positive and uplifting, we went home filled w/ the spirit of "aloha".

here is the slideshow of pix!

what better way to celebrate the end of summer!

...and it's for a good cause.  

Hawai'i's Daughters Guild is hosting a fundraising event to raise funds for scholarships. The scholarship funds help further the education for women of Polynesian background. 

Their annual luau is: 

Sat., Sept. 6, at  

Nakaoka Community Center, 

1670 W. 162^nd St., in the city of Gardena. If anyone has been to a luau, you know there's going to be good company, good food, and great entertainment. Come, if you're looking for a way to say "goodbye" to summer. It's $25/person. 

For tickets and more info, please contact: Adele Tipon @ 310-597-6525 or email her at koa_tipon@hotmail.com. They would appreciate your support. And I'll be there, taking photos! Hope to see you there!

this one for the old skool

some pix of us...back in the day! my, my, my....we've changed! hahaa

my new cousin!

my new cousin was born on a lucky day, 08-08-08. she is truly the miracle baby that we all prayed for. 

here's a slideshow of some of the upcoming women in our family. 

new blog look!

check me out!!!! this is the first blog i "designed" myself. i am very proud of myself. although i was up until 430a doing it (started at 1230a) and trying to figure out how to copy/paste code. 

i have to rave about this site that gave me these cool blog "elements" to dress up my blog. it's called  Shabby Miss Jenn Designs. if you're a scrapbooker type, which i used to be, before i had this business,  you'll love her designs. AND the cool thing, is they have video tutorials on how to add these cute elements to your blog site. it's so easy. well, once you get the hang of it. but if you already have a blog or site, you'll pick up quickly. i bought this package of files for about $6. 

this is great for people that also like to change up their blog look. i get bored with my blog and is constantly changing the look. i change my blog regularly, rather than my homepage, because it's more interactive and gets more traffic. plus...it's purrrr-ty.

have a go at it!