2012: A Year of Highlights

The first days into a new year are always so exciting! It’s like coming home from an art supply store excursion, with armfuls of new canvases, fresh brushes, and tubes of paint to restock the studio, and I am just eager to put them to use to reveal their potential.

2013, I like you already — mostly because I can appreciate what 2012 has brought: unexpected discoveries, unbelievable opportunities, and sheer happiness in doing what I love — and I know this year has more of this in store for me. 2012 will always be remembered as the year I followed my dreams and never looked back. Below, I’ve compiled just a few of the highlights that have made 2012 the best year so far. 2013, you have one tough act to follow.

• Junk & PO has participated in 15 art shows in 2012! Here are a few of them:

L-R: Arte Fresca’s “Good vs. Evil” Show,  Arte Fresca’s “It’s Not Easy Being Green Show”, and Fashion Week San Diego + RAW Artists “The Art and Beauty Behind Fashion”

Top: Graffiti Beach Showcase, RAW Artist’s “Activate” Showcase
Bottom: Pacific San Diego’s “The Art Event”, Chrome Digital’s One Year Celebration Show

• In March, I stumbled upon the world of Fashion Photography and fell madly in love with it. Here are some of my works within the first couple months of jumping into this new medium and some behind-the-scenes shots:

• Turning 26! I always consider my birthday a highlight because it’s an excuse to get all my lovely friends together for wine and nomnoms. ;)

• A rewarding part of this incredible journey is meeting incredible people. Working with the creators of FashionGun.com has been a blast!

• My fashion photography website launched in May! Meowza!

• Ok, this next highlight should really deserves its own blog! (Edit: Oh wait, there already is one: MahalStyle.com!) In July, Mahal Style has recognized me as being “one of the best new fashion photographers in San Diego” and asked me to join their team as Principle Photographer. I was, and still am, extremely honored to be a part of SD’s most talented and innovative group of creatives!

Since then, I have been involved in  projects that have all been boundary-breaking and life-changing for me, including a promotional series of photography for Spanish director Miguel Angel Font Bisier’s fashion film, “Heraion: In Search of Life”. I have grown so much (both creatively and personally) in just a few short months with working my Mahal Style family! Here is just a taste of it all:

• Being published was an added bonus of this year, too! Though it’s not my main goal to get published, it definitely is a great feeling to get recognized for my team’s hard work and passion. :)

• Have I mentioned that meeting these people were one of the best things all year?! I have an abundance of gratitude for them as many things would not be possible without this fascinating pool of awesomesauceness. I love them all.

• Last but not least, the greatest highlight of this year is that the kitties and I are all in good health! None of the events above would matter, nor would they be even possible, if we weren’t mentally and physically balanced. This goes unsaid most days, but I am very grateful for our health. :)

Cheers to another amazing, fruitful year ahead of us! :)

JUNK & PO Published in Graffiti Beach Magazine

The Graffiti Beach Magazine Holiday Edition is here! :) Check it out! It features tons of holiday gift ideas, fashion, and local artists — including yours truly! I received the opportunity to shoot the cover along with an editorial spread in pg. 7, and p.73-79. Working with the GB team was a fun experience and I can’t wait for the next shoot!

Read the full mag here:http://tinyurl.com/cxodd6p

Photographer: Krissy Fernandez / Junk & PO
Lighting Asst.: Gabriel Grover
Coordinators: Lauren Adams & Susanna Liang
Model/Illustrator: Valfrè
Makeup: Carla Kirkpatrick
Hair: Mish Mucho
Location: Special thanks to Melanie Michaud, owner of Graffiti Beach :)
Dress upcycled and hand-cut by SheGreetsTheDay

Illustration Friday – “Tree”

I know, it’s been awhile. Life has its way of distracting me from writing a blog post!

Here is my first contribution to Illustration Friday, something new I’m trying in order to stay in touch with my love for drawing/painting (fashion photography consumes me these days). This started out with a pencil sketch and I brought it into Photoshop to add color. It’s also only my second time to “digitally paint” something, but I do hope to improve my skills with more practice!

Topic: Tree

Hello Fashion Photography Website!!!

Whoa there! Excuse my WordPress haitus, dear friends. It’s been a crazy month, but I am back.

My website has been up for about a month now, and I only have one thing to blame for the delay in letting you all know: FASHION CHAOS (more on this later).

First things first: cue the spotlight. My beautiful website was designed and developed by my manfriend, Gabriel Grover, who also happens to be the most talented, driven web designer I know. For sleepless nights upon sleepless nights, has methodically composed every pixel and programming code in that entire site, while considering my every desire of how I want my site to look and function. Now, it’s probably best to note here that I am one detail-oriented perfectionist when it comes to anything creative — but Gabe is 10000x more. And that isn’t an exaggeration. He is a semi-finalist in one of Adobe’s international competition, so that speaks for itself. By the way, we’re waiting to hear back if he made it into the finals, so please send good vibes his way! ;)

Bottom line: I LOVE my new website. I seriously can’t stop looking at it everyday, and I hope you feel even just a slight bit of my sentiments towards it. Bookmark it and visit it often, because new photos will be added daily (a rewarding result of the chaos, but really, more on this later)!

Ohhh and how lucky am I that Gabe even created my business cards?! All I had to do was bat my eyes, too. Friends, I don’t even have to tell you to make your way over to his site. You probably already have another window open with his name on it. ;)

The tireless consumption of desire / Photo shoot with Linda

Turning 26 a couple days ago made me realize that, by nature, birthdays/holidays inevitably poses the question “What do you want?” I’m not particularly fond of asking for presents, but I undoubtedly always want something. I’m not talking about tangible things (though I wouldn’t hesitate to give a set indestructible cast-iron pans and a Mark III a permanent place in my home), but mostly things I will never, ever have enough of. Despite how many opportunities have opened up for me this year, I still find myself unsatisfied with where I am in life — like how fire is never satiated with more fuel. I constantly feel think I’m falling behind, that I’m not producing enough material quickly enough, without compromising the quality of my work. It’s only been a couple of months since I completed my last painting to focus on photo shoots, but it pains me that I’m not making equal progression in both art forms at the same time.  Though I am creating something, whatever that is, at all minutes of the day, I wish more hours existed to keep myself conscious, motivated, and ahead of this internal schedule I hold myself accountable to day in and day out. I simply desire to create, without the limiting factor of reality.

And in comes the balance of life… Another strong pull dwells in me to spend less time entirely consumed in my own little world (a.k.a. the studio) and spend more time strengthening relationships with people I care deeply about. Two days before my birthday, I received the tragic news that a good friend of mine has been hit by a drunk driver and immediately died. I couldn’t help but think about what our last conversation was about or how I haven’t made too much effort to keep in contact in the last year. It made me think about my family and best friends I haven’t seen in years since I moved across the world. Even the manfriend and I live and work in the same quarters together, yet time still eludes us. I’m just glad we’re on the same page, as he’s equally (if not more) busy! Still, I couldn’t bare to think about not spending enough time with people I love before their last days on earth — because I’m too preoccupied with my own agenda. Does the desire to work and be successful really consume all the time in the day? Not really. But it’s been feeling like that for awhile now. And all I want is simply the impossible: assurance that it won’t be like this forever.

Photo credits: 
Photographer: Yours truly / JUNK & PO
Model: Linda White
Hair & Makeup: Renee Pesebre 
Jewelry Design: Ardent Reverie

Changes abound. Changes afloat. Changes everywhere!

First and foremost, I am excited to tell you all that I am the new graphic designer for FashionGun.com! It was only last week I was on the phone with my mom and brother about how down I was feeling about the financial insecurities of my freelance photography and art career — mostly because money isn’t the driving force behind why I do what I love everyday. I just want to make pretty stuff, that’s all. But I know my obligations and responsibilities as a functional member of society cannot be ignored. Bills cannot pay themselves! I almost came to terms that it may be time to start the hunt for another 9-5 desk job. Almost. Then out of the blue, I saw that FashionGun was hiring a graphic designer. Two days later, I am part of THE greatest innovation in the fashion industry! This site will make project planning and networking more professional and efficient. Think ModelMayhem + LinkedIn + Facebook minus all the unnecessary, cumbersome clutter and creepy crawlers. Plus, it is created by actual people in the industry who know what it means to work with people in the industry. More on this later. In the meantime, I urge my industry friends to go and register on our site before our beta launch on June 1st!

The best part about this new change in my life? I’m doing exactly what I love to do.

I am also learning that change is not only inevitable, but infectious. More and more of my dear friends are taking the step to spend more time doing what they love to do — even if that means quitting their day job! This is never an easy thing for anyone to do, especially if you have a family to support or even if you’re unsure of where this change will lead. But that nervous, anxious, overwhelming feeling of uncertainty that never leaves you? It means you’re living. Just go with the flow, my friends.

Lastly, say hello to runway model Alejandra Soto. Below are some photos from her first ever photo shoot! Since change is the topic for tonight, I thought this was more than appropriate. :)

Makeup by: Emalyn Fumagao

Breaking in the Studio.

Two and a half years ago, I wrote on a Tumblr post that I wanted to turn my extra bathroom into a dark room. I was (and still am) madly in love with the purity of the grainy black and white images, as well as the sound chaos of the development process. I still find it quite silly that I refused to use Photoshop for image-enhancing until the manfriend purchased a dSLR for us in ’10.

I’ve moved since then and I no longer have that extra bathroom, and I never came around to purchasing the photo enlarger and chemicals I had kept in my “Save for Later” list on B & H. Fast forward to present day and my collection of film cameras has formed its own collection of dust while our 2nd living room has been transformed into a photo studio! I’m so excited for all the great things that will come out of this small space. I tested my new investments recently and I think my studio will be No. 938473894 of why home is my favorite place to be. However, I haven’t ruled out the possibility of a dark room in the future… maybe for our next home.

Anyhoo, it’s way past anyone’s bedtime so I’ll keep this short and sweet. Here are some of my fave shots from the first test day!

My amazing team:
MUA: Lauren-Nicole of Completely Flawless
Models: Jessica Carol and Julie Solis

Photo shoot with Yesenia!

Phew. I am exhausted from the weekend! I can’t complain, though — between shoots, editing, and scheming up ideas with the manfriend, I’m just relieved I don’t have to “look” for things to do. In fact, my to-do list seems to be getting longer, not shorter, every day that I’m running JUNK & PO. It’s inevitable, I suppose. But… a busy me is a happy me. :)

Hope you all are having a productive Monday!

Here are some photos from Yesenia’s photo shoot:

Photo shoot with Rodysl!

The fact that I absolutely love working with Rodsyl is simply the reason why this isn’t our first shoot together! I see her as a true artist. Between acting, modeling, and painting, this talent queen stays productive and progressive, without limitations or hesitations. Balancing multiple activities can be difficult when you strive to shine in EVERYTHING you’re passionate about. It can certainly be an uphill battle, and I can relate. For example, some days I want to paint (which starts as an all-day event that leads to an all-month commitment for one piece) … but I have shoots booked or a logo needs to be finalized. And other days, I am torn between what I want to invest my money in — hundreds of dollars worth of printing giclees and art prints OR a single light unit for my new photo studio?

I guess the latter’s decision is easy if you’re loaded, but I can assure you that isn’t the case here. As for the former… the harsh, obvious truth is that there are only so many hours in a day. (WHY?!?!?!?! Curse you, Time, for even existing at all.)

But once again, it’s 3am and emotions run high when I start contemplating time and money management past my bedtime.

So let me conclude my post with how I intended on starting it: I do believe Rodsyl can do it all. I cannot wait to see her on the big screen or in a prolific gallery in the future. :)

Model: Rodsyl Vega Aldebol
MUA: Mae Belarmino

The Vanity: Photo shoot with Dana

Today has been one of those days where inconsistencies have dictated my decisions — mostly in post-production and perpetual thought.

Warm or cool tones? Both sides of the spectrum entice my eyes equally today, so yes, warm and cool tones it is.

And for the greater part of today, I asked myself:

A message of introspection or egoism?

Both, definitely. Here, I want to say something like “we’re all human; I’m sure you can relate”, but would that be just my biased opinion? A part of me strongly believes this because of this obligation we ALL feel to “make it” — to be successful at what we love doing, and be recognized for it. I hope that isn’t a generalization, and if it is, I refuse to accept it. Because at this moment, that thought brings comfort to me.

[Good night and stay prosperous, everyone. It’s been a long day.]

Model: Dana Barba
Makeup by Mae Belarmino.