Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Making Christmas music with my friends...   Harlis Sweetwater and I doing our own rendition of Rudoph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas!

Kiss the Girl

Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day.  I saw this on the dash of an old 70's van.  It was parked under the bridge at a local park in Orange County.  Somehow I got the feeling that not only was this van his transportation but also his home. Well at least he's got a job with the U. S. Postal Service.  That or he just likes to collect hats.  I know these guys get Veteran's day and Memorial Day for us to reflect and give thanks for their commitment and sacrifice.  But why don't we take it upon ourselves to take this week to remember and thank a Veteran for our freedoms that we take for granted every day.  Thank a Veteran.

Heather - Colorado First Time Home Buyer

Heather describes purchasing her first home through Colorado First Time Home Buyer. What she looked for in her first home, the process of CHFA and down payment assistance.

Submitting an Offer to Purchase a Home

Heather selects the home she would like to purchase and submits an offer to the seller.

Castle Rock Home Tour

Colorado first time home buyer Heather takes a tour of a home in Castle Rock Colorado.

Castle Rock Bank Owned Home Tour

Colorado first time home buyer Heather takes a tour of a  bank owned house in Castle Rock Colorado.

Castle Rock Foreclosure

Colorado first time home buyer Heather takes a tour of a HUD home in Castle Rock Colorado.

Colorado First Time Home Buyer Interview with Heather

Heather Smith and Randy Bell discuss her experience purchasing with the Colorado first time home buyer team.

Peach Cobbler - Sammy's Kitchen

Sammy PaJammy and Sous Chef Bella show us how to make an easy Peach Cobbler recipe.

RED9 - Cocktail

The song is Cocktail off our "RED9" CD. Shot by Greg Garcia at The Bomb Shelter in Westminster. Edited by Jeff. 

The song is called Cocktail from our album, "RED9". You can get it on iTunes or from us at a show in your area. If your area is Southern California. If not, iTunes...

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/red9/id475020746

Love us in person, but Like us on facebook: www.facebook.com/red9band

Colorado First Time Home Buyer - Home Ownership

Curtis discusses the freedom of Home Ownership.

RED9 - Something Wrong (Killing Spree)

Live footage of "Something Wrong" taken at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. Thanks to Greg Garcia, Nora Frislie, Esmeralda Fuentes, and Beth Lyons for taking over the cameras. Also included is footage directly from the band's iPhone cameras.

Just Wanna Be Your Man - Harlis Sweetwater Band

Hot off the Plata!  Video shot of the Harlis Sweetwater Band at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa California.  Rockin' their new cut, "Just Wanna Be Your Man".

Shot on the Canon 5Dmkll, freestyle by yours truly.  Enjoy!

How to Take a Picture

Being a fan of the Ok Go videos and then to have my friend Rj share this video with me, I had to share it with you.  I hope you enjoy this!

Sammy's Kitchen Attacked by Lion!

Wednesday, June 27, Sammy's Kitchen was attacked by Lion OSX.  I have waited to latest possible moment to upgrade from Snow Leopard for fear of exactly what has happened.  With the deadline to convert from Mobil Me to iCloud looming just days away, I made the jump.  Now, with this "upgrade", I am unable to upload this weeks episode from Final Cut Pro X or Compressor 4.  After investigating online, it seems that I am not the only one having this problem.  I am getting QuickTime error -50, but I have not been able to figure out exactly what that means or how to remedy the situation.  I plan to visit the Geniuses at Apple tonight to see if I can fix this issue.  It seems that I can burn DVDs ok and the DVDs play fine, but I cannot share online for some reason.  I've tried different Compressor settings as well as trying to send directly from FCPX to YouTube.  Is there anyone out there that had an idea of what the problem could be?  Everything worked fine before the Lion upgrade.

I hope to have a solution by this evening so I can have the new episode up by tomorrow.  Please cross your fingers for me!

Sammy's Kitchen - Green Chile Enchiladas

Orange County Photographer Greg Garcia has been working on a cooking web show called Sammy's Kitchen!  
Hey everyone!  I haven't had any blog entries lately because I've been working on a project with my niece.  It's a web cooking show called Sammy's Kitchen and it can be found on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/offtheplatetv      Here's our debut episode for Father's Day.  Green Chile Enchiladas.  Enjoy!

Colorado First Time Home buyer

Orange County Photographer Greg Garcia is shooting video for Colorado First Time Home Buyer!

Here's a video I shot for Curtis at Colorado First Time Home Buyer.com

50 Greatest Cameras of All Time

Photography Monthly posted this list of the "50 Greatest Cameras of All Time".  Click on the link in red, check out the list, and let me know what you think.  I know this is an impossible list but i do have to agree with some of the comments regarding the Canon 5D mkii.  This camera was really a game changer and could be higher on the list rightly so.  Another thing I noticed was, I failed to see the Nikon FA on this list at all.   This was the first camera to introduce Matrix Metering.  Surely since all cameras now have some sort of multi zone evaluative metering system there should be a nod to the old trusty Nikon FA.  What do you think?

Oh, I love that the Brownie comes in at the number one position. 

PimsleurApproach.com SCAM

PimsleurApproach.com   SCAM

We’ve all heard the expression read the fine print.  What do you do when there isn’t any print to read?

The Pimsleur Approach is a scam!  Do not get suckered by these scam artists!  

I ordered a $9.95 CD online to learn basic Spanish.   That is all I thought I was ordering because that is all that was advertised online.  When I received my CD and reviewed my receipt and the order details description states I ordered (1) Quick & Simple – Spanish – CDs Custom Packaging for $9.95.  That is all my receipt states and that is all I agreed to purchase. 

Upon checking my credit card statement, I found I was charged the $9.95 as agreed and an additional $64.  I called Pimsleur Approach to find out what was going on and correct the charges.  Apparently I failed to find additional paperwork included in the packaging that states, “You also enrolled in my new Pimsleur Approach Rapid Fluency Program”.  I NEVER agreed to enroll in ANY kind of program.  This program charges $64 a month to your credit card for four months and apparently they send additional CDs to go with your “program”.  I told the customer service representative that I did not sign up for any “program” and I would like a refund of the $64.  It’s at that point she told me about the paperwork I missed.  She would not refund the $64 in charges.  She would only remove me from the program and future billings.

I know it’s my fault for not going through all the additional paperwork in the packaging.  If there was any kind of agreement, you would think it would be stated on your receipt since that is the ONLY transaction I agreed to. So I post this in fair warning to anyone reading this out there.  The Pimsluer Approach is apparently an approach from behind so grab your ankles.  Now where’s that CD so I can write this in Spanish.

Unhappy Customer # 799031

Greg Garcia

Amy

Amy shot with a Kiev 88 on test stock with natural light in her apartment.

My View

Dallas

Orange County Photographer Greg Garcia shoots Dallas in Jimmy Camp's Back Yard!

These images are from the Maid Rite shoot that was posted earlier.  The shot with the bubbles was shot a little later in the day and our daylight is just about gone.  Dallas was just having some fun with the bubbles when I snapped this shot.

2012

Happy 2012!

Some people say and think that everyone needs to touch the flame...  or in other words, make the mistake in order to learn from it.  In a lot of cases, that is true.  In fact I've often made mistakes a few times just to make sure.  Well, in 2012, my goal will be to learn from other's mistakes.  There are plenty of resources out there on just about every subject you can imagine.  Of course you can't read all of it, but I will make a good attempt to make very knowledgable mistakes this year.

This now brings me to lesson one.  If you've read my blog previously, you'll know that I have addressed weight in the past... more specifically my weight and even more specifically my over abundance of it.  What does this have to do with photography you ask?  Mmmm, not much except that it does affect me and a number of my peers.  Maybe by throwing this out there on the table, it will put a little accountability in my court.  Whatever the reason, it's on my mind so it looks like I will express it here.

We all know the story of the Tortoise and the Hare.  It this case, I will choose the way of the tortoise.  Here's where my lesson learnt from others comes in...  My brother, excited and gung ho about the New Year, decided he was going to get into better shape than he already is...  He's in great shape!  So with a new year and new resolutions with a fire to get started, he takes off running.  Nothing against running...  It's a great way to knock off calories and get in shape.  In fact, many moons ago, I ran Cross Country in High School so I have many mile under my belt.  The only thing is, we're not in high school anymore.  Now in my brother's case, maybe this not the issue and maybe he was just the victim of circumstance.  In my case, it is very much an issue because I weigh three times the amount I did in high school.  So as my brother takes off trotting along with his new dog Sade, he finds himself closing in on a guy walking toward him talking on a cell phone.  Edging to the side to make room to pass each other on the narrow sidewalk, my brothers foot caught a relief on the edge of the sidewalk and down he went.  The guy on the phone didn't even offer to help.  My brother found himself hobbling for help and eventually finding a samaritan to drive him home.  He found himself in the E.R. that evening but thankfully without any broken bones.  He's braced up pretty good and is now on crutches and missing work.  Welcome 2012!

So what about this lesson?  I will try to learn from his incident as I do not want to touch that flame.  I will be the tortoise and take it slow and steady.  I'm going to start by walking before I run.  And if I find myself going head to head with someone on a cell phone, they better step aside. When this 300 lbs gets up to running speed, it won't be pretty, graceful or agile.  I'm sure I won't be the only one hitting the dirt.

Garage 79

Garage 79 on route 79 near Palomar Road

Harlis Sweetwater Project

Orange County Photographer Greg Garcia shoots still photography and motion pictures of the recording process for the Harlis Sweetwater Band's new record.

Spending a day at Sound Asylum with Harlis, Chris and Jimmy as they lay basic tracks for an upcoming Harlis Sweetwater Project record.