Yesterday I had a chance to shoot in a location I've been wanting to shoot at for a very long time. I drive past it nearly weekly so once I found a model in Pasadena, I knew immediately where to book the shoot. It's definitely a popular spot as there were three other photo sessions that were taking place over the course of the afternoon/evening.

Aolani joined me with her mom as a chaperone and we had a very fun time on this shoot. Her would pop in every now and then to help adjust hair/makeup and swap stories with us while we walked to a different location. She's been at this since she was 5 years old and with her 18th birthday coming up later this year, she's excited to do some more traveling for work and see the world!

We joked and laughed throughout the shoot and she very much felt like the little sister I never had. By the time the shoot was wrapping up, we had already begun to plan our next shoot together later in the year. The themes and ideas she had for that one were things I haven't done yet so I'm excited to try them out!

New Year New Post New Photos / January 19, 2014 by Mike Daclan

My last post was back in October of 2013. This is completely unacceptable. Updates need to happen more frequently and with some consistency. I've always wanted a place to share my photos so why not use this resource that's been available the whole time?

Although I have been taking a lot of pictures since my last update, they often wind up on my Flickr page with little to no fanfare to those I really want to see the images. It becomes an archive in a gallery way off the main street that not a lot of people actually see. Only those that are down that alley for a purpose end up seeing these photos.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be catching up on my backlog of photos and posting and sharing here along with some stories about particular photos. I've made it a resolution that over the new year I'm going to be more active in my photography. Both in taking pictures and making sure that this blog/site gets updated with more images.

These latest images are from early October when my friend Cliff came into town. He's a great photographer and was here in Los Angeles for a few jobs. While in town we spent a morning/afternoon walking through downtown Los Angeles and Old Town Pasadena. Going out for a photo walk by yourself is always a great experience but going out with a friend, and one who hasn't gone street shooting in your city is an even greater experience. You get a different perspective with fresh eyes looking at the city and you can both approach the same shot in different ways. If you ever get a chance to meet up with someone from out of town for a photo walk I highly recommend it!