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Bookstore Flirtations /  by Mike Daclan

This was definitely one of the funner shoots I did. It started with the thought of a stolen glance in a book store. The idea was that she spotted someone she had eyes for and wanted to entice him into following her. Once he realized her plan it would’ve been too late as her trap was set and he was hers.  

She immediately took to this idea and ran with it all the way.  I love how concepts and ideas turn into looks and feels evoked in the photos. By putting her in the subject of power she was able to put forth some great looks and poses. In the end I think it came off a little more natural and slightly voyeuristic which adds a better element to the shots. 

There are a lot more concepts and ideas that I want to shoot so reag our and let’s create something fun together! 

Metro Night Ride /  by Mike Daclan

So my buddy Q asked me if I was interested in joining him, his girlfriend, his daughter and his cousin on a journey on the metro.  His girlfriend needed to figure out which route to take to get to her evening college classes.  It was just a simple evening ride but looking back on these photos there were so many that I love from this set.  

Over the course of the evening we met a woman proud of her beautiful earrings despite having matter hair from her hair net after a long day of work, a fight breaking out in which one man swung a metal sign at the other, and solitude at many stops.  People riding together but being alone.  

The metro was and I suppose always will be an interesting cross section of the local population.  The sights (and smells) tend to linger in your mind for a good period of time even after you reach your destination.

The Ghosts of LA /  by Mike Daclan

I've tried starting this blog entry several times but no matter how I try to phrase it something about it seems off.  Maybe I'm reaching too far for what I want to express.  I wanted to reference the past and how ghosts are all around us if we can keep our eyes open.

The collection of photos I have here represent what I feel to be the everyday ghosts that haunt LA.  Spectral trails of light that pass through the night while we sleep and mainly go unnoticed.  I had a great time capturing these and I really can't wait to get back out there to catch a few more ghosts.

Thankful /  by Mike Daclan

So recently I just posted a link on my Facebook Page about 10 National Geographic photographers who gave thanks for a photo that they took.  My aunt (who herself is a great photographer), asked "What's yours...?"

It was such a simple question but it forced me to go back through a lot of my old photos to look back at one I was thankful for.  I combed through several albums looking back at what photos stood out and what they meant to me.  It was tough to pick out a single photo from the thousands (yikes I need to post more!) I've taken.  Eventually I realized I had to go back to a very early photo.

The photo below is one of the first photos I took with my new camera.  I decided to go in on a new system from a company called Fuji.  It was part of the new wave of mirrorless camera's which were thought to be part of a fad.  As soon as I took the photo I was absolutely in love.  This small and unobtrusive camera helped me to capture a great candid moment without being noticed.  This small and seemingly random photo helped to reignite my love for photography and really steered me into the direction I was to head down.  

It may not seem like much, but this photo really is the source for all that followed.  There are more photos that I've taken along the way that I am thankful for and I'm sure I'll go over them in further detail as time goes by but for now, I wanted to start back towards the beginning.

Cheers.


Consistency /  by Mike Daclan

So much for that huh?  

There's been a lot going on and many changes have taken place since my last update.  I'm happy to say that they have been for the better.  The most significant change was moving from a job that caused me heartache, stress and pain to one of positivity and HAPPINESS.  I think that this change will also help fuel my drive to be more active here as I feel the fire begin to burn and inspire.  

Despite my lack of updates here, I actually have been somewhat active shooting.  Over the course of the next few weeks I will be adding in photos from recent street sessions, model sessions and random day/night documents.

For this first update, I'm moving through some street photography I shot back in August.  It was a nice cool day with a little bit of cloud cover.  It made for a nice cool day of walking around and I tried to match the tone with the feel of the day.  Overall I think it came out well and I'm very happy with the results.  

I started off the day at a nice little scenic park which overlooks downtown.  I've seen it in a few other photos and wanted to explore it myself.  Unfortunately it was a bit too crowded when I got there so I didn't spend much time.  I will definitely be heading back and would love to schedule some shoots there.  Afterwards I decided to head to Santee Alley.  It was a crowded day there but unlike the park, this was exactly what I was looking for.  I needed to get back into walking through a vibrant crowd and feel the energy of the crowd as it moved from shop to shop.  Despite having done this many times before, I still felt a bit timid as I began to weave through the crowd but as time passed, all the familiar instincts kicked in once more.

The photography day wound down as a light sprinkle began to move into the area.  With the crowd dispersing I headed back to my car and went home to edit (but not upload!) the photos.  Flash forward three months and here you go!