Goodbye and HELLO!

My new site and blog are up and ready for your viewing pleasure!

From this point forward, you can see my work and latest blog posts at www.catalinaphotography.com

Thanks and see you on my new site!

Life's too short. You've gotta laugh and have fun!

We've been doing a lot of thinking lately. A LOT. About where we are, where we want to go and where we see our lives from 1, 3, 5, even 10 years down the road....I can assure you that my husband and I are dreaming BIG and are excited about 2009!
(no, no babies just yet).

In the coming days, you will see a brand-spaking new website, a new blog and a whole new identity for Catalina Photography.
I can't wait to share it with you!

I leave you with 3 photos taken by my brother-in law, Herman, on a recent visit to see him and his girlfriend Mariana in Washington, DC.

I think I take life too seriously sometimes, so the reason I love these images is because my husband and I are laughing and being completely goofy.

Life's too short. You've gotta laugh and have fun!



Thanks to http://epaperpress.com/psphoto/ for the 35mm film border used in this image.

WPPI 2009!

Hello!
I have recently returned from the 2009 WPPI - Wedding & Portrait Photographer's International convention in Las Vegas, Nevada!

This was my first trip to Las Vegas and to WPPI and I have to say I have returned pleasantly saturated, inspired and looking forward to shooting TONS this year and striving to constantly improve my work.

During my time at the WPPI, I had the honor and pleasure of meeting and attending lectures by Yervant, Jerry Ghionis, Bambi Cantrell, Michele Celentano, Tamara Lackey, Jesh de Rox, Joe Bussink, Skip Cohen (only THE organizer of WPPI and Rangefinder President!!), Jeff & Julia Woods, Laura Novak, Mitche Graf, the Sallees, Jim Garner, and Ecuadorian photographer Roberto Falck, who attended the same high school as my husband back in Quito, Ecuador - small world!!

I also had the chance to reunite with the fabulous David Williams, whose "Almost Alone" workshop I completed in Raleigh last September.

I also had the pleasure of meeting many fellow wedding and portrait photographers as well as a large number of vendors for both albums and online proofing galleries.

Needless to say my mind is swimming in many different ideas and ways to market my work and grow my business.

On Saturday, during one of the many platforms I was listening to, a lady sitting next to me left rather quickly, and when she told me she was leaving because she had a shoot at the "boneyard," my curious self asked her what that was - and she quickly proceeded to explain AND she told me that there was an extra spot - so i tagged along! Off we went, driving through Las Vegas, to the "boneyard," which is a VERY cool place where all the old flashy Las Vegas hotel & casino signs go to rest. This place is also known as the Neon Museum.

We had 1 hour to photograph several brides & grooms all over the place.
I was in HEAVEN!!!!

Here are some of my favs from the Neon Museum.

Argentina Favorites

In earlier blog, I mentioned that to celebrate our 3-year wedding anniversary,
Juan and I hopped on a plane and went off to Argentina for a few days.
I have already posted my ABSOLUTE favorite photos (tango), but here are
a few other neat images I captured while in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

All I can I say is "I WANNA GO BACK!!"

I thought this shot was interesting. There's one uber modern hotel, right
next to - literally - a very very old residential building. I like the modern and
old contrast in this image, as well as the beautiful purple flowers on the tree.
These purple flowers were EVERYWHERE and in full bloom wherever we went.



Juan is standing at a street called Avenida 9 de Julio.
Now I can safely say that I have traveled a good bit, but NEVER had I ever
seen a street that had TWENTY (20) lanes of traffic.

YES, TWENTY!

Juan is standing smack dab in the middle of the twenty lanes of traffic.
Behind him is the obelisk.



While exploring, we made our way to Puerto Madero, which
- if you know Charlotte -
reminded us a lot of the South End District. This place underwent major
renovations back in the 80s, after being abandoned for several decades,
and there are 11 residential buildings, which used to store corn.

This is a very cool bridge in Puerto Madero.



And how could I resist? The rest of these images are from our
trip down to La Boca, where we watched some incredible tango dancing.

Chile Favorites, Part 2

Here are some more of my favorite photos from Chile.

This is a photo of the Pacific Coast - we continue our trip with Sandra and Renee up and down the coast, visiting many small towns,
including another one Pablo Neruda's homes.
These trees are something I've never seen before and seem very specific
to this part of the Chilean coast.
They're almost like perfectly drawn swirls and circles that one sees in graphic design work.




As we continue down the coast, we found ourselves at Quintay, which is a small
village that lived off whaling. The kind where sailors caught whales,
killed them, processed them and sold much of their parts.
Fortunately, just a few decades years ago, whaling was banned and
this place became a museum, with photos throughout the area, showing
images of what this whaling plant used to look like in the 1800 and 1900s.







I caught this awesome blue door on our way out, after having
explored the Quintay whaling museum.



This colorful convenience store advertised french fries and rotisserie chicken



One of the great things about visiting Chile (the Southern Hemisphere, for that matter)
is that we went during our winter, which is their summer.
That means that the sun didn't set until around 9pm, so we maximized
daylight hours down to the very last minute.
This is a sunset photographed from Sandra's house.
What amazing rich golden yellows and reds.



Once back in Chile (after our Argentina getaway), we celebrated
Javiera - Sandra's youngest daughter's First Communion.
Sandra hired a chef to cook some incredible meat, and with
many family members, we celebrated Javiera's special day.

Chile Favorites, Part 1

I am finally ready to share my favorite photos from our trip to Chile!


This is where it all began, waiting at the Charlotte Douglas International
Airport, for what would be a Charlotte - Dallas and Dallas-Santiago de Chile
trip. It was an overnight trip, thankfully, which meant we got *some* sleep
on the flight. We left Charlotte at 3pm on a Friday and arrived
at Santiago de Chile on Saturday morning, 9am.


This is Herman, my brother-in-law, explaining the exchange rate
for Chilean Pesos versus American Dollars. I did my share of asking
Herman "y cuanto es esto en dolares" - so much so that he
actually had a dream in Chile where I was asking him the
same thing "so how much is this in US dollars?"!



After we arrived at Sandra's house, and semi-unpacked our stuff,
it was already time for lunch, so off we went to a very
cool sushi place. I shot the table while we
were waiting for food.


This is La Moneda, the Chilean equivalent the White House.


I love the simplicity of this photograph.
We walked around Santiago one day and walked into one
of several churches. This particular church had a courtyard and
this nice arrangement of plants.
I get a sense of peace while looking at this image.
It's very Zen.


Now this is one very cool leather couch. A very cool RED leather couch.
I shot this in what used to be a train station, and has now been
converted into an art gallery space and reception hall.



This is Bella Vista, a section of Santiago de Chile that is very artsy.
There are a large number of walls that are painted as the one below.
In this district is one of the many homes of the amazing poet Pablo Neruda.


Herman's guidebook for Chile.

Ah yes. Sandra and Renee took us to the Chilean coast, where
we visited Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.
All day - we drove up and down the coast - and stopped for lunch
at this restaurant that's been in business since 1968.
They served some of THE BEST empanadas I have ever had.



Did I mention they were HUGE?



So there you go. Part 1 of my Chile trip highlights.
Hope you have enjoyed reading and seeing these images as
much as I have putting this entry together!

Happy 2009!

Hello and happy new year!!!

After being on vacation for 2 weeks, we are back and ready for 2009!

I am editing and will be posting more photos from our trip to Chile/Argentina, as well as photos from my trip home for Christmas, our trip to Ecuador for New Year's as well as last night's Ashley * Jonathan wedding (which was absolutely beautiful, by the way!).

So stay tuned, be sure to check back (and leave a comment or two!) and I'll leave you with one of my favorite photos I took in Argentina, which was taken at La Boca, the place were I shot some tango photos.

May 2009 bring you much love, health and joy!

-Catalina

Sandra's House

In Chile, we stayed with cousin Sandra and her two daughters Javiera and Francisca.

One of the first things that caught my eye at Sandra's house was this boogie board, which sat next to the pool. I took a ton of different angles of this board, and here I posted my favorite.


This is a bowl filled with blue pebbles - this bowl sits on the outside dining room table. I love the texture and holes in this bowl, the combination of the yellow table cloth with the bowl's pattern and how shinny the pebbles appear.

Club Militar de Chile

For our first night in Chile, Sandra and her brother Renee and their mother, tia Nora, took us to one of Pinochet's buildings, which he originally built for his enjoyment and eventually became one of the go-to places for those serving in the Chilean Armed forces. Both Renee, Sandra and their father have served in the Chilean Armed forces.


this dinner was a TREAT!!

Even better than the army, though, were the photos that tia Nora caries with her. these are all photos that folks need for their National Identity Card - like a driver's license in the US but everyone - no matter how young, has to have one. They call it a "cedula." Well, tia Nora had photos of herself, her husband Renee, her son Renee, her daughter Sandra, her grandchildren and other family members.

It felt only natural for me to take photos of these photos in front of the appropriate family members present that evening. The photos i am holding for Sandra and Nora are from years ago. The photo I am holding in front of Renee is actually of Renee Sr. The father-and-son resemblance is truly amazing. The trio of female photos are tia Nora, her daughter Sandra and Sandra's oldest daughter Javiera.

Tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina

On our recent trip to South America, Juan and I celebrated our 3-year wedding anniversary
(a month early!) by going to Buenos Aires, Argentina for 3 days and 2 nights.
For quite a long time before the trip, while in Chile, and upon arriving in Buenos Aires, all I wanted, I told Juan, was to see some tango in La Boca.

I want tango!

I wanted to hear it, to feel it, to film it, and, of course, to photograph it.
On our 2nd day in Buenos Aires, we met up with a friend of Juan's and off we went via taxi
to La Boca, and specifically to El Caminito, a group of 3 streets that are tourist-oriented,
full of amazing vibrant colors, cafes, and tango dancers at almost every cafe.

And so, my wish came true.

We grabbed an ice cold beer, sat down at a cafe and watched 2 men play some amazing tango music, and I was in absolute awe as the young couple photographed below moved seamlessly across the floor, almost as if they were floating above the ground.

I was in heaven.

I truly can't put these feelings of awe and happiness into words.

I hope my images speak for themselves.












I truly truly hope to return some day and watch some more tango in Buenos Aires.

Chile Abstract

here's another cool shot from our Chile trip.
for as long as i can remember, I have always been drawn to curves of all sorts,
all places and of all sizes.
on our first day - our first lunch, actually, in Chile, was at a cool sushi restaurant.
this was the floor decor, which i thought was pretty neat - simple yet telling.
i love the combination of the lines, the scratches on the wooden floor, the nice curve
the concrete makes, along with the contrasting white and the small rocks
inside this circle.
it's fun to see what you can discover when you look down :)

Iglesia Catedral de Santiago

As I continue to edit my Chile photos, I'll post here.
This is an image of the floor of the Iglesia Catedral de Santiago.
I love it because the shapes are so varied and there's a cool 3D feel that the forefront part of the image is going to jump right out of the frame!

Chile

My husband, brother-in-law and I are back after a 10-day trip to Chile to visit family.
During the trip, Juan and I went to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a 3-day, 2-night stay.
I'm still going through all 1700 images to make my first round of pics and this image struck me. Here's Juan, on the Pacific coast of Chile, after realizing that the water this time of the year is FREEZING. I just love his smile and expression in this image!



more to follow as I edit, edit and edit some more!!!