Happy Halloween!

Rodolfo Arpia Photography accepted as a member of the WPJA

Rodolfo Arpia Photography has recently been accepted as a member of the WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association), an International organization that represents professional photographers skilled in the documentation of weddings and events in a candid, unobtrusive style. The WPJA was founded to uphold excellence in the area of wedding photojournalism. The WPJA is a highly screened, critical organization accepting less than 5% of the photographers who apply.

Leading the way in Wedding Photojournalism, the WPJA represents the most discriminating talent around the world technically, creatively and visually. Qualified members hold industry-leading standards, skills and business integrity.

The WPJA sponsors educational programs including seminars, conventions and workshops geared toward wedding photojournalism. The WPJA also hosts wedding photojournalism contests, judged by top working photojournalists and news photo editors actively in the photojournalism industry. The purpose of these contests is to celebrate the photographers who document and record the found moment.

Google fascination

Other Google things that most of us don’t see/get. Again, some of these pages are indeed still public, but either have not been seen by many people, have been missed or are just very hard to find. The rest are just NOT public (linked) anymore.

Google’s Secrets part 1

Google’s 56 forgotten (secret) pages, part 2

Unseen parts of Google

Test-drive your website to see how it's gonna look on searches done in mobile phones.

Blogging from the road... literally!

No hands on the bike and typing on the Pearl (#1 on map)

I enjoy going to the gym but very often I get bored on the treadmill or the elliptical machine and I step down way before I should just because it gets boring... now, this is way better than a stairmaster. Raging Waters-San Dimas in the background

A nice calorie burner... I couldn't feel my legs running on the way up... I didn't look that happy a minute after this photo (#2 on map)

Here's an aerial view of the little stair


I haven't ventured into the bike trails yet but I will soon... BTW this is the area where I got the shots of the Red-tailed Hawk not long ago CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RED-TAILED HAWK POST

and I did this one for a UK magazine around here too

Downtown L.A. looks peaceful from here too...



If you're in the area and want to go for a ride send a line.
My fitness category: COUCH POTATO

New products and services - MiniSites

I'm starting to implement the wedding MiniSite to select packages. The wedding minisite consists of a webpage where you and your friends and family can find everything about your wedding photography as well as important information about your wedding.

The wedding minisite will open to your engagement session slideshow so that your family and your friends can be part of that but it will also provide them with useful info such as stores where you are registered, wedding itinerary, directions, etc.
A very convenient way to keep everybody informed in one place and accessible anywhere in the world via the Internet.

An "Email To A Friend" form is included at the bottom of every page so you can share all the information with the click of a button.

Click here for a sample MiniSite

October 14 Wedding, San Pedro, CA.

Heather & Reggie got married on Saturday at Marcello Tuscany Room in San Pedro, CA.

Click here for slideshows

We got to the hotel where the bride and groom were getting ready around 6am since it was an early ceremony.
I had so much fun shooting Heather's dress during the whole day starting with a fisheye lens in the suite... coincidentally Reggie was getting ready in a suite right underneath


Then some details



I got this one during the ceremony



This was around 7am and those are rain drops hitting the window



Marlon got this one of Heather getting into the dress while I was shooting the guys on a different location

by mmg

He also captured this one of the girls holding hands in prayer before leaving the hotel for the ceremony

by mmg




The wonderful bride



We drove to this beautiful spot by the San Pedro Marina to get some shots of the guys. It was overcast and the open shade was great for portraits.

The groom looking great






Reggie receiving some "friendly advice" from the guys ;-)






Husband and Wife



Reggie is an actor/writer/director and of course a very creative guy... he came up with ideas the whole time and I was very lucky to be there to shoot them






They chose this shot from the engagement session for a signature frame ( see engagement session )
The couple surrounded by love

Scouting in San Pedro

Asked for location suggestions on OSP and here I am.
This is a great location... Thanks Sean!!!

*Blogging on the road via BlackBerry Pearl

Custom wedding album design

I've just added a new page to my website with more information about our wedding albums. Nice large photos so you can get a feel about the features and quality of our products and a slideshow showcasing a sample album design... stay tuned for more products coming soon.

Click here to check it out!

If you have any questions regarding pricing, please call Rudy at 626.922.3135 or via email at rudy @ arpiaphoto.com

Details, details, details

One of my brides that is getting married next year is putting a lot of effort in all the details at her wedding and she wanted to see how details look on a large print. She asked me to put some photos on a layout and print a 20x30 poster... I don't know what she's planning to do with images so big but it looks great!
Here's the web version of the poster I printed for her:

Products

One product that I really like is the Kingston 4 GB ElitePro CompactFlash Card. I have 13 of them and just took delivery of 16Gb more. I never had a problem with any of them and while they may not be the fastest cards, I never had a problem with speed transfer on my D2X either.
They're inexpensive, they're great.

Just arrived:


I have no idea what they had in mind when they came up with the new design but who cares... what's with the geckos and weird animals anyway?!

Got mate?

I promised that after the millionth time someone asked me 'what the heck is that you're drinking?', I was going to write down the response and have some printouts with me at all times... it has happened... but now all I have to do is hand out a business card and direct them to my blog ;-)

Mate and Yerba Mate
First of all, mate is more than a drink, mate is a cultural phenomenon. It's social role: intimacy and friendship.
Also, yerba mate is not tea, at least not in the strictest sense of the word.

An easy answer will be to describe it as the container that holds an infusion that argentines call...a mate. Confused ? Well, both the container and its drink carry the same name so whenever you ask for mate, you'll be given one...or both.

The little, hollow pumpkin, decorated sometimes with silver ornaments as if it were a piece of jewelry is actually much more than a drink for argentines. It is not only a social ritual, it is part of everyday's life for us.

In essence, it is a tea brewed from a plant grown in the northeast called yerba. This bitter green tea is obtained by adding hot water to leaves held in a seasoned gourd (the 'mate' container).

The mate will do several circuits before it is deemed washed out (lavado). Then, someone usually adds more leaves and starts a new round of mate (the drink). If you are still confused, then, I recommend that the best will be to try the experience yourself. In Argentina, there will be plenty of opportunities for this... if you can handle cooties that is... we actually share this thing... not for everyone.

The main point is that the thirst-quenching properties of this herb -said to help in weight loss control- are of secondary importance to its social role. Passing the mate around is a decorous ritual, a convivial part of life, not only in the countryside, but ANYWHERE in the city. Even in airplanes throughout a trip!! It is about intimacy and friendship

The gourd (mate) containing the brew is passed to each participant in a circle, who drains it through a metal straw (bombilla), before refilling it with hot water for the next participant.

Wikipedia definition for mate (beverage) and yerba mate.


Gracias Cuca por el mate!!!

And if you still don't get it, don't worry. My prediction is in the near future you will be able to get some at the drive-thru window of your local Starbucks @ around $3 bucks which is what I pay for 1kg (2.2lb) of Argentinian finest.

Oh, one more thing... it's completely legal ;-)

The Perfect Smartphone

I've been reluctant about getting a phone with full internet capabilities... until now.
I got the new BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8100™ smartphone less than a week ago and I couldn't be happier with it.

The features I've been using the most so far are:

Blog reading with Bloglines Mobile

With PocketMac for Blackberry version 4.0 I can easily sync my Pearl with my Mac... well, with a few bugs in the software since it's the 1st version including the Pearl.

Blogging directly from the phone by sending a simple email with or without a photo attachment.

For this very cool feature I have to thank Jefferson Todd and David Jay from OSP, here it goes... your Blackberry can act like a modem for your laptop and you don't have to pay anything extra if you already have the unlimited blackberry plan.
Check out this article: Use your BlackBerry Pearl as a Bluetooth Modem under OS X

Google Maps for Mobile

Email: getting inquiries the second the submit button from your website contact form is hit is always nice, specially if you assign a distinctive tone to it. I also love to get instant emails when you post comments on my blog so, do so NOW!

I'll post more about it as I discover new features.

--> Click for a short video



To know more about the BlackBerry Pearl go here.

Y! Tech's Gadget Hound gives the Pearl a thorough test drive. Read review