I went on a tour of Peru with LaloFitness and the MacaTrim team.  Below are some personal photos from the trip, with a little video at the end.

The roads were SCARY.  I thought I was going to die only about…16 times.

A kid driving a car full of ladies!  Hahaha.

I’ve always wanted to do this on a train.

Met up with some friends in the Sacred Valley. 

Lalo & Eugenio.  BFFs.

The best shrimp soup EVER!

Alpaca burger.

At Chi Cha de Gaston Acurio in Cusco.  Yum yum yum!

My favorite fruit – Granadilla!

Elevation in Puno: 12,500 feet.  Chewing on cocoa leaves to minimize altitude sickness.

The kids were selling something in a bag and said, “Vizcacha?”  We asked what Vizcacha was.  They opened the bag.  Ohhhh….

I want a pet Alpaca!

Guinea Pig – It’s what’s for dinner.

Making friends.

Here’s a short video from the road trip.  Thanks Lalo, for putting it together, and making me look “cool.” 

For more scenic photos of Peru, click here.

Below are the answers to last week’s Q&A on Facebook!  Hope you all had a great weekend.  The wedding that I photographed with Carla Choy on Saturday was loads of fun, and on top of that, they fed us really well. 

1.  Ruth R.:  How did you know when you were good enough?

You should always know that you’re good enough, but I know from personal experience that this is seldom the case!  I felt like I was a good enough photographer when blogs started to contact me to publish my work.

2.  Tim S.: #1  When you’re out abroad traveling for long periods of time, what are the top 3 things you miss about home?  #2  From you’re travels abroad, what are a few things you think Americans could learn from people in other countries?

I miss 1. My dog 2. Brussel sprouts 3. Coconut water.

I think the main thing Americans can learn is to relax and enjoy life more.  Also to connect with your surroundings.  We’re so disconnected here.

3.  Christine C.:  What do you do if you run out of ideas for posing people for engagement shoots or individual portraits?  Especially with individual portraits when they don’t have another person to work off of like a couple.

Always have go-to signature poses that you love.  Have at least 5.  A lot times, having an individual do 5 different things is enough.

4.  Dinah R.:  Who is your best friend?

Hm, I think I have more than one (how lucky am I?!) but I’ll talk about Jessica.    She has a TON of integrity and pushes me out of my comfort zone.  She doesn’t always say things that will help me feel good, but instead help me grow.

5.  Abigal S.:  Emotional photographer first or technical photographer first?

Emotional.  It’s easy to learn the technical stuff but opening up to be an emotional photographer is extremely difficult.  As Joe Buissink says, There’s no such thing as a perfect picture, only a perfect moment.

6.  Rosie H.:  In terms of going to a wedding venue prior to the wedding to check it out, how do you go about that and what do you look for?

I go on my own or if possible, I stop by the wedding rehearsal (this is very helpful).  If the venue is far away, I will go to the wedding site early on the day of.  I look for areas to take formal portraits, and I also look at how the lighting is going to be at particular times of the day.

7.  Martina R.:  How do you handle people who are blocking important shots during the wedding ceremony (such as someone standing in the aisle, someone blocking the kiss, etc).

I unleash my karate skills (*insert karate chop emoticon).  I try my best to work around them. Sometimes it’s a blessing and forces me to get a more creative shot. If they are REALLY in the way then I will say, “Excuse me.”  Once they see your camera they will gladly move.

8.  Vency M.:  Do you bring a tripod on every shooting assignment, or do you prefer to shoot handheld?

I never bring a tripod.

9.  Hannah T.:  What are your thoughts on having just a higher-end wedding photographer as opposed to both a photographer and videographer should the wedding budget not be able to sustain both?

I would personally prefer to have only a higher-end wedding photographer.  Pictures are much more important to me than video, but people are different!

I’m not sure what I was thinking when I decided to bring my film camera on a rocking boat.  It made me woozy looking through the view finder attempting to manually focus (big shock), so thank you to Jana Williams and Jeremi Peck for helping take photos.  I love geeking out with other photographers. 

Photos taken with Kodak Portra 400 & Ilford Delta 400 B&W film.

I decided to change to B&W film as the fog was rolling in.

I always imagined steering a boat to be easy but it’s not!  Did you know it’s possible to lose control and have the sailboat make a 180 on you?  I learned the hard way.    #AsianDriver

Every time a healer, coach, or intuitive person tells me, “Based on your energy, something BIG is about to happen in you life,” I get really excited.

I imagine I’m going to meet the guy of my dreams, or Angelina Jolie is going to call me to take pictures of her family, or maybe I’ll save a puppy who fell down a gutter and be on the news!

But instead, every single time someone says “something big is about to happen,” what ends up happening is some sort of massive challenge, followed by an emotional breakdown where I lose my shit.  Was that the big thing?  Geez.  Thanks.

I hate it until I remember that:

It’s true.  Following the struggle has always been something positively life changing.

When you look back, you see how everything that has happened worked out perfectly to open the necessary doors for you.  The bigger the struggle, the bigger the opportunity to follow.

If you are going through a sucky time, welcome it with open arms, and get ready for something big. 

Beautiful couple, beautiful neighborhood.  I shot Brenda & Alvaro’s engagement photos in their neighborhood of Barranco, Lima.

Brenda is an amazing photographer too!  Check out her work at www.bravoimage.com.

Mutual primping.  Now that’s love.

Piggy back fail.

Heyooooooo!  Here are answers to last Friday’s Q&A on Facebook.  Hope you all had a great weekend.  I went sailing for the first time in LA!  It was gorgeous and I didn’t get seasick – yay!

Photo taken with iPhone, edited with Camera+ App.

1.  Pamela X.:  What do you typically wear to weddings?  I will be a guest at one but also shadowing a photographer at the same wedding!

When I am working I wear black dress pants with a black blouse and a blazer. For shoes, black flats or boots. If you are shadowing a photographer, a long dress might work, but I’ve had problems tripping over them while working!

2.  Lalaine S.: Do you shoot the wedding all by yourself?  Because there was a time that I was asked to shoot a wedding, and I answered ‘no’ to them because I’m afraid I can’t do the wedding because I’m alone.

I have at least one assistant with me.  Here is a blog post about why you should have a second shooter.

3.  Sophia L.:  What gear did you take to Peru?

I only brought one camera body with one lens – the 24-70mmf/2.8.  This was going to be a pretty active trip so I didn’t want to be carrying a ton of gear, plus I didn’t have a wedding to shoot.  When I travel somewhere for a wedding, that is a whole ‘nother story!  Here is a more detailed blog post about what camera gear to pack when traveling (for recreation).

4.  Jamie G.:  What was your favorite food in Peru?

The FRUIT!  Granadilla and Chirimoya . . . yum yum yum yum yum!

5.  Luna D.:  I’m going on vacation in 3 weeks to Italy.  What is a good small camera to take with me, but can take high quality pictures?

I don’t have a ton of experience with point-and-shoot cameras but I really like the Lumix series.

6. Pamela X.:  I have a Nikon d300 and I want to get a better lens that has a better depth of field (if that makes sense…) – basically so the background is more out of focus and the item I want to focus on is more crisp and clear.  What lens do you suggest?  I know you’re a canon user but is there any advice you can give on moving up to the next level for lens?

If you want better depth of field, get any lens with an aperture of 2.8 or smaller.  The lens I recommend for beginners is the 50mm f/1.8.   It’s only around $100 and with give you awesome depth of field.  If you are more serious about photography, consider investing in the 50mm f/1.4 (around $350).  For Nikon, I think the equivalent to the 50mm is the 35mm.

7.  Michael D.:  What phone do you think has the best camera and do you think a high end camera phone can compete with an actual high end camera?

I love the iPhone.  I think that someday the camera phones will be able to produce quality that is close to SLRs, but the SLRs will always be able to do more in terms of photography.

8.  Sandra M.:  When traveling how do you take care of your health and make sure you don’t get sick? When traveling abroad, do you get any shots/vaccines?

I feel like if you are paranoid that you are going to get sick, you are going to get sick.  I never take vaccines unless it is required by the country I’m visiting.  When I went to Sierra Leone we were required to get Yellow Fever vaccines and take malaria medication.  It gave me crazy nightmares.  I hated it.

9.  Courtney E.:  If you are the lone person shooting a wedding, where do you stand/move for ceremony pics without being invasive?

On the sidelines, or I crouch in the aisle.  I think this questions deserves it’s own blog post.  I can map it out like a football play!  In the meantime, here is another blog post about this topic.

10. Juanita L.:  How do you carry all your camera gear to a wedding?  And do you bring everything around with you at all times?

I carry everything in my Think Tank rollie bag.  I love it!  While I am shooting I leave the bag in a corner and have 2 camera bodies hanging on me (one with a 70-200mmf/2.8 lens and one with a 50mm f/1.2 lens).  I also wear a fanny pack with spare batteries and memory cards.

Some photos from Jack & Tawny’s wedding at the Smog Shoppe in Los Angeles!  You can see more photos from the wedding on Style Me Pretty!  I don’t have much to say about this wedding except that it was flipping fabulous!  Oh oh oh, and you can see Jack & Tawny’s sweet proposal video here. 

Wedding Coordinator:  All You Need Is Love Events

Wedding Dress:  Thumbelina Designs

Floral:  All You Need Is Love Events

Make Up & Hair:  Leslie Alejandro

How old am I again?  Oh yes, 31.  I turned 31 yesterday.

A lot of people have told me that your thirties are amazing and I see why.  I’m more sure of who I am.  Things aren’t personal.  I’m honest with myself and put that to action.  Those actions give me the results that I want in life.  Life flows easier.

Thank you to my friends and family for loving me on my birthday, and every day.

Recently I went to the countryside of Peru with a health supplement company called Maca-Trim and my job was to  1. Photograph the textures of the country.  2. Document the search for Maca root.  3.  Have fun (though our job is to always have fun, right?!).

Travel the world, connect with people, and take pictures. . . it’s what I live for!

With pro sandboarder Perro Chacra.

Running at super high elevation – not recommended.

Lake Titicaca – highest lake in the world.

Maca-Trim also gives back to the community so we got to work with the kids living in the Andes!

The clouds – you feel like you can reach out and grab them.

The farmers were the sweetest people.  You can see the love and respect they have for their animals and land.

Near the end of the trip we finally found Maca root – Success!  Funny story with this farmer.  Basically, while he was helping us find Maca, his horses ran away and we watched him chase after them in the mountains like a video game character.  He ran FAST, for miles!  It was amazing.  He eventually caught up to them.  Haha.

The trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.   I took over 2000 photos and honestly, I wasn’t sure where to start when it came to sharing pictures!  Will share more personal photos soon . . .

Two things I do when I get home after a long trip:  1. See my dog.  2. Eat a bowl of Pho.

That’s what I did yesterday when I arrived back in LA after weeks of traveling.  My passport is filled with 4 more stamps and I’m feeling extremely grateful.  I have the ability to see the world while at the same time, coming back to a loving home.

I look at my vision board sometimes and laugh, watching everything fall into place.  I remember years ago gluing on the different travel destinations, the work goals, the love goals.

Things didn’t happen by chance.  Anything is possible.  I’m just an ordinary person who created the life I wanted.  How empowering it is to know that you can do and have ANYTHING as long as you’re willing to focus and work for it.

It’s there for you.  Go get it!