Hello! After much consideration I have decided to move to Facebook. I’ve posted my last 6 projects on FB and it seems to work great. It’s a more efficient way for me to share my latest weddings and engagement sessions with friends and clients. And it takes MUCH less time. Please visit my page at facebook.com/smithphoto.
This summer there were no major adventures in a foreign country for me. Not even a short trip to the Central Valley to visit friends. I didn’t step foot into an airport. Never drove more than an hour to get anywhere. This year I did something I’ve never done since moving to So Cal permanently 7 years ago: I spent my entire summer in sunny Southern California. What did I do? I shot weddings nearly every weekend and covered a couple of concerts. When I wasn’t shooting or editing images on my computer, I was out fishing with friends and family. That’s really it. Quite simple. Summer of 2009 will go down as the most productive summer ever. I did tons of photography and spent quality time with those I care about most.
Don’t get me wrong. I still have the urge to get out of town (state and country). That’s what the summer of 2010 is for.
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Weddings - Since June I have shot 13 weddings and engagement sessions. I’ve met some great couples along the way and have spent some incredible nights with their family and closest friends. I am thankful that they’ve all chosen me to document an important day in their family history.
Self portrait @ Stacy and James’s home. Pictures from their wedding will be posted this upcoming week.
Dana and Malcolm’s wedding @ The Smog Shoppe. These were the only 2 weddings where I got shots of myself. If you didn’t know what I looked like before, now you do:) Long haired Asian sometimes in glasses.
Fishing - We did all sorts of fishing. Pier fishing, kayak fishing, coastal fishing on a boat, lake fishing from the banks. We almost went offshore, deep sea fishing. It was too warm to fly fish and we’re not in Canada so we couldn’t go ice fishing. That about covers every major type of fishing we did and didn’t do.
We fished off the pier at Belmont Shores a few times. On any given night there are over 100 people out there with their families. One night someone even brought out a play pen for their little kid. Pier fishing is great for kids because it’s fairly easy to catch something. And if their parents don’t have a fishing license, no problem. In California you don’t need a fishing license if you’re fishing from a public pier.
My nephew’s first time fishing
El Dorado Park in Long Beach has 2 small ponds and a big lake. The ponds don’t have any fish. Unfortunately we fished in one of those for nearly two hours. It was my first time there and I didn’t know where I was going. On a positive note, the pond’s huge sidewalk gave Samani enough room to practice casting without snagging his line onto any trees or shrubs. We moved to the big lake after Armand (Samani’s dad) stopped by and pointed us in the right direction.
Samani had swim lessons at 11:30 AM so at around 11:00 AM we decided to cast one last time and then head home to change for swimming. On that very last cast Samani caught his first fish, a 20″ catfish! Catching a fish the size of your entire leg on your first outing? Not too shabby…
I also had the opportunity to go to Catalina a few times. On our last trip there, we caught close to 20 fish. Below is a photo shot by Ortenzio of our surf perch. All you need to catch perch in Catalina is a small hook (#4) and some squid. Get your line on the outer edges of the kelp and you’ll reel them in all day.
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Music + miscellaneous
We are the self-entitled Sons of Catalina. Below are a few pictures from our 3rd annual trip to Parson’s Landing in Catalina. It was a blast and I can’t wait til next year. For more images, visit us at our recently created group on Facebook.
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PBR was the best deal at Two Harbors. Spearguns had great success but a few malfunctioned. Me and my DIY weapons below caught 7 surf perches and 1 calico bass.
Dave and Rob hiked up a mountain of a hill while I cleaned and filleted 30 of our catches. The fillets you see were salted heavily and semi dried so I could preserve them without ice. It worked well as I was able to cook them in the comforts of home a few days later. Next year, my plan is to catch even more fish, smoke some at the campsite, and preserve the rest with sun and salt. I don’t know how to smoke fish with a campfire yet so that will take some Google research. We have a year to figure it out.
Dave putting the finishing touches on the beach freezer. Hector and Ivan biked back to Two Harbors for the ice. Not an easy ride.
I woke up at 4AM because the sky was really bright (at least compared to my bedroom ceiling). What else is there to do but take a self portrait?
Day-N-Night. 5AM + 7PM
a shot in the dark
The Sons of Catalina
Smith Prasirtpun Catalina Parson’s Landing The Sons of Catalina wedding photographer
Here are a few recent snaps of my niece, Chiala. She’s usually up to pose for the camera. She was trained to say “cheese” long ago like I suppose most kids born in the digital age. On this occasion though she got experimental.
And love at first sight
Smith Prasirtpun wedding photographer long beach southern california lakewood bellflower
Just got in from shooting another great wedding. Downloaded all the images off the cards to 2 locations and now its time to…blog about last Monday. I took my nephew, Samani, to a little get-together where he was the only kid. Everyone was wonderful with him. He seemed to have as much fun with them as he does with his little friends and cousins.
I had fun too.
Ortenzio giving free lessons. He even did a Figure 4 Leglock on Francis who tapped out in less than 2 seconds.
There was a lot of talk about what sort of creature lived in a hole in the tree pictured above.
“If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.“ - Carl Jung
This time we tried to keep it simple. A couple of years ago it was Big Bear. Too far and freezing. Last year it was Catalina. Beautiful but hard work and a horrid sunburn. This year it was Caspers Wilderness Park located about 7 miles off the 5 FWY in San Juan Capistrano. Local, quiet, nice, and easy. Next year Rob and I are going to follow through on what we’ve always talked about: a week-long backpacking trip into the back country. We’re going to unplug from our normal routines for at least week. Mark my words!
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I finally got to practice with my Lensbaby. I left it on and never took it off the entire trip. Here are some of the shots. For more pics you can visit my Facebook album.
Rob introduced me to disc golf when we arrived at the campsite. We threw his 2 discs around aiming at picnic tables, BBQ grills, and trash bins until one of the discs mysteriously disappeared. Due to the emergency we left the campsite, got back onto the 5, exited in Mission Viejo, and found a Sports Chalet. $30 for my first set of discs. A few days ago I splurged and spent $15 on a driver disc. I am officially addicted. Yes, I enjoy throwing plastic frisbees, stalking it, and tossing it some more in hopes of getting it into an apparatus much like a cross between a basketball hoop and trash can.
The Ortega HWY
Breakfast after breakfast. Really I think we just stopped for coffee. Oh, and directions to Sports Chalet.
An opportunity in the parking lot
Only in Orange County
A view from the ridge on a hike we took. Rob thinks we hiked 10 miles. It felt more like 5 or 6.
The last part of the hike was filled with low lying oak trees. The cover was so thick I could hardly snap a decent photo.
Signature salute
Smith Prasirtpun Rob McClure camping Caspers San Juan Capistrano wedding photographer photography los angeles southern california
Another nostalgic night.
***4-23-09: Today I asked my mom if she’s checked out my latest blog entry thinking she might like some of my shots of the motherland. She replied, “Did you take those or did you get them from somewhere else?” Is that a compliment?
Pai
Chiang Mai
Outskirts of Bangkok
Ayutthaya
Takad Ngow
Songkla: Birthplace of my father
smith prasirtpun thailand pictures images
Each year we have a big party for Samani. It’s the biggest annual event for our family that far surpasses Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all other holidays combined. Of course we want to celebrate the little guy. After all, turning 5 is monumental. So was turning 4, 3, 2, and 1. Equally important though, it gives us reason to hang out with some of the coolest people on Earth, our friends.
Pooh and his dear friend Piglet:
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen that will be exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
“It’s the same thing,” he said.”
It’s exciting to be around friends, and friends of friends. Have a look!
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My mom and her beloved grandson preparing food for his party. He helped peel the egg roll wraps apart until he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. Then he rolled up into his makeshift bed and slumbered until grandma was ready to call it a night (around 3 AM). I think she kinda likes the little fellow. As an aside: Yes, we cook on the kitchen floor. Don’t worry it’s clean. At least cleaner than your kitchen counters! OH!
The day’s first activity was painting.
Then face painting to turn the kids into monsters. If you’re a parent those terms are synonymous.
Mom (right) and my aunt
The dolls were designed and made by my sis. The cake was a replica of the invitation created by her as well.
Kiki thinks this is how you hold a camera because she’s only seen it from the vantage point of the subject. You can grab the camera, flip it around, and hand it back to her. Doesn’t matter. She’ll flip it right back to her normal picture taking position.
Short flix: They have a little connection. See if you can catch it.
Samani Cole Villanueva Smith Prasirtpun party wedding photography Lakewood Long Beach ca Los Angeles Bellflower
“It is an amazing thing to watch people laugh, the way it sort of takes them over. Sometimes they really do struggle with it. I see that in church often enough. So I wonder what it is and where it comes from, and I wonder what it expends out of your system, so that you have to do it till you’re done, like crying in a way, I suppose, except that laughter is much more easily spent.” - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, pg 5
My favorite funny people:
Three bands, free alcohol, and a bunch of people crammed into a spaceship makes for a good party.
It was quite dim at the Tower so I just stationed myself in a few spots and waited for people to walk into the light.
Killer Dreamer headlined the party. I know nothing about drumming but I know this guy was good.
After the bands and most of the crowd left, about 10 of us stuck around. Some of us tried making music. Living the dream…
Dave and Orlando were in the moment.
Ortenzio shredding it 30 minutes before entering the bathroom and never coming out.
3AM in the spaceship (ex-air traffic control tower of the Long Beach Airport)
When no one volunteers to take a picture of you
For more images visit my Facebook. Just search my name, Smith Prasirtpun, if weren’t not friends yet.
