Thirteenth Entry: 10/14/2009

Its been a while since my last blog entry, quite obvious. I have been a bit on the busy side, but my year is slowing down with 8 weddings scattered through out the remaining 2 1/2 months of the year. It has been awesome and I am stoked as ever with my improvement, experience, knowledge gained over the course of the year and those are things I never want to stop.

This fall I joined a competitive softball league that was pretty cool. Last night was our last game and we won 19-6, best win other then our only other one all year. Bummed its over, but it is getting a bit cold.

Also last night I booked my trip to Hawaii, I will be on the North Shore of Oahu for this winters surf season from February 9 - March 2. Needless to say I am pretty darn stoked! Just got one more trip to book for this winter.

Coming up on the 27th of this month I head out to San Diego where I will immediately stop in my friends family owned taco shop, one of the best in all of southern California, Lolitas, where I will be scarffing down a highly missed and much anticipated California Burrito!!!! Then that Thursday we leave for Halloween in VEGASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed my update. Cheers!

Twelth Entry: 7/17/2009

WOW! SLACKER! I honestly cannont believe how fast the past 2 months have gone. Its been an incredible ride.

Tomorrow I turn 23... I am not a fan considering the 2 biggest birthdays (18 &21) are a time of the past and now its just me getting older, but on a positive note, with a vigorous workout routine over the past few months I am possibly in the best shape I've been in since I turned 18. So on that note.. I am stoked!

I do have a wedding tomorrow and I am super amped on that! Awesome couple, beautiful location, and looks like the weather will be in our favor with mostly sunny skies!

So whats been going on over the past couple months, my loyal fans may be asking... ha ha ha... well I have completed over a 1/3 of the weddings I have booked for this year and can't believe it. All the couples, families, locations, have been a blast. Every week my passion and love for photographing weddings continue to grow and I keep pushing myself to continue progressing towards an elite photographer.

I purchased a new computer, I finally got the Canon 5D Mark II and will be getting a waterhousing for it soon. Pretty pumped on shooting water this fall.

I've been to atlantic city now twice... currently I am sitting at -40 bucks or so, but both times were a blast! I also booked my trip to San Diego for this October and will be traveling from there to LAS VEGAS!!! for HALLOWEEEN!!!!!! So pumped... costume suggestions welcome! so please email me!

Okay thats all for now.

Eleventh Entry: 5/10/2009

Busy times, busy times. Been a couple weeks since my last post, so I apologize to the millions who frequent my blog on an hourly basis hoping for the 411 on my daily happenings.

The past two days I finished up a 2-part wedding, my fifth of the year and it wes awesome. We lucked out both days with partly cloudy skies and no rain, big shocker since the first week of the month was depressing with rain and no sun after that wicked heat wave to end April on.

My next wedding is this Saturday in the City of Brotherly Love and I am very very excited and looking forwards to it, as I do for all the weddings that I have been asked to be apart of. I am really starting to get locked in and get a great work flow/comfort zone now that I am getting on a more consistant stretch of weddings. I really feel more focused then ever and really looking forwards to making every wedding my best wedding ever. I don't worry about what other photographers are doing, I work to push myself, to be better then myself because simply put I believe I can and will be the best. I feel thats what all the couples who booked me deserve and they will get.

I got to surf this past Thursday and Friday, and although I lost my board to the inlet on Thursday, I borrowed one of Stoehr;s and it worked out really well as I felt my riding now with the water warming up is really starting to improve. I feel very comortable with my style and judging of the waves that I go on. Still a lot to work on when it comes to my surfing ability, but I am definitely starting to show some realy progression. Phildo shot water on Friday morning so I am stoked to get some shots to put up on facebook.

Early Early Saturday morning if you were lucky enough you could of found me at the Starboard in Dewey Beach straight owning the dance floor, it was a darn good time with the fellas down south.

I got pulled over on my way home Saturday morning in Bethany Beach because I forgot to take my car through inspection. DHOOO. Get that taken care of tomorrow. guhhh I hate the DMV.

Lets wrap this up with...... actually I'm out of things to write so I'm just gonna stop there. Till next time. I am OUT.

Tenth Entry: 4/22/2009

Whoa up to my 10th entry, must be reason for celebration. For now it can wait until after the update.

This past Saturday was my final wedding in April and it was absolutely gorgeous. They held the reception at the Franklin Institute which was really awesome, oh yea did I mention it was 75 degrees and sunny, with a nice cool breeze. PERFECT. I really lucked out this month, the two weddings I had were both held in sunny weather, so hopefully my luck hold out for ohhhh another 35 times this year. haha But being a good photographer means having to handle any situation thrown at you, especially from mother nature... so I am always ready for anything.

I just made the addition of 5 images from this past wedding to my 2009 wedding portfolio so be sure to check them out!

The past week has been super busy, last Thursday and Friday I went bodyboarding, and Friday morning was just perfect! 6-8 foot groundswell, groomed to perfection. Unfortunately, it was usch a nice day that the seabreeze kicked in my noon and our groomed perfection turned into complete mush and rips.

Monday evening I had front row seats to the Braves vs. Nationals game down in DC. I was stoked cause I havnt seen the new stadium, but unfortunately they delayed the game an 2 hour and I left after the first hour, glad I did cause it was a rather boring game and the Braves did what they have been doing quite a bit of recently, losing. Very frustrating, but its a long season.

Last night I went to see the Bronx (myspace.com/thebronx) in Philly with my girlfriend anbuddy Phil and like always they don't dissapoint. Super goodtime and a killer show.

Finally, new Plastic People clothing line dropped late last night. Check it out.

www.plasticpeoplenewyork.com

All for now. Time to go to the batting cages.

Ninth Entry: 4/9/2009

Seems like more and more people are actually paying attention to these blog updates, so I figure I would update a little more often, and being that times are getting busier.. I have more things to write about... some may even be exciting.. YIPPEE

So this past Saturday was my 3rd wedding of this year and it was beautiful as expected, could of done without the 40mph wind, but hey when it comes to weddings I am learning more and more that you have to be ready for anything and everything. The wind worked to my advantage for a couple photos, so I was stoked.Look for me to get a few of the photos up in my portfolio by this weekend.

This past Sunday marked opening day of the 2009 baseball season where my Atlanta Braves defeated the Phillies 4-1... if Derek Lowe can pitch like that this year, ohhhhh watch out ESPN, you might actually have to write good things about a team that is not in New York. I got to go to the Braves game on Tuesday night where I caught my 4th batting practice homerun ball in my last 3 games, my second off the bat of Jeff Francouer, this one skidded off this guys bald head and landed right in my glove, I felt a little bad but hey you shouldnt be out there trying to catch balls with your bare hands... I also enjoyed a 4-0 victory and a chipper Jones longball... And much to my schigrin yesterday of getting a 3 game sweep of the new world champs, the braves bullpen ruined my day as I got to see some of the most pathetic pitching I have ever seen.. and thats as far as I'll go into that... oh year keep your eye on our Rookie center fielder Jordan Shafer, kid is a rockstar!

Moving on, last entry I posted about the Philadelphia Inquier running an article on my upcoming wedding, the bride originally was told it would be printed last week, then they told her first weekend in May, but I now have confirmation that is will be printed THIS weekend. So look for a image of mine from there engagement session in there. STOKED!

My final rant of this entry is the fact that after 2 long months without cable, we now have Verizon Fios hooked up and it is awesome! way better then Comcast!!

New Plastic People Spring/Summer 2009 Clothing Line will be available April 15th!!!!

www.platicpeoplenewyork.com

Thats all folks

-Kalen

Eighth Entry: 4/2/2009

April is finally here and I am getting set for the bulk wedding season to begin, bulk meaning from now till the end the year haha. I have two weddings this month, starting with a beautiful one right here in northern Delaware on Saturday. The second one is being held at the Franklin Institute, and the bride today informed me that the Philadelphia Inquier is featuring the wedding and they will be using a photo that I took from their engagement session with me this past weekend in Philadelphia. The article is to be ran in either Friday or Sunday's edition of this upcoming week, so I am incredibly stoked to see it!!!

In other news Sunday evening is a hugh day, its opening day for the 2009 baseball season and it kicks off with my Atlanta Braves vs. the World Champion Phillies, and don't judge me because I am a Braves fans, there were two teams to watch on TV when I was growing up and I happen to pick Chipper Jones as my favorite baseball player and have been hooked to the Braves organization ever since. I will be attending Tuesday's game in the 2nd row of the Left Center field bleechers. I caught two batting practice home run balls last year so I am looking to add to that collection before all the games I go out to see this season.

This past wave event was rather dissapointing, but it looks like this upcoming Monday/Tuesday could hold some promise. We have actually had quite the active wave pattern recently, although nothing epic by any means, but plenty of ridable days, and now that the water is warming up I am pretty optomistic that we will see a couple epic days this spring season.

Thats really all of the ranting I have for the moment. Till next time... I am out.

Oh yea, I am back on facebook... look me up!

Seventh Entry: 3/22/2009

SPRING IS HERE!!! About time.... I am ready for some warmer air, warmer water, and signs of life! Speaking of spring I just got back the other day from my own spring break. Myself, girlfirend and a few other friends went down to OBX for the week to enjoy some fun surf, warm weather, and goodtimes... which came in a great abundance! We got to stay in a hugh house right on the sound thanks to my friends Aunt, it even had an elevator! Super sweet, and made for getting to the second and third floor a lot easier. Anyway I have updated my site with a number of images that I scored on the trip, one of which is the background image to my blog showing all of us soaking up a sunset along hte sound in Corolla.

Moving on, it appears that the end of the week has the potential for a good sized swell heading our way and I have a clear schedule to head down south and do "work"

I just picked up a new lens and I have a very special and unique filter arriving this week that I am really looking forwards to doing some cool stuff with and hopefully expanding the possibilites of outside the box shooting at weddings. So stoked!

All for now. Enjoy yourself.

Sixth Entry: 3/13/2009

March madness is now in full swing, I am not talking about college basketball either. It is more like the weather has gone mad, and is driving me crazy. First weekend we get 9 inches of snow and it is brutally cold out, by the next weekend I'm out in jeans and a t-shirt throwing the baseball around, then back to cold, then on Wednesday scored some fun surf, 75 degree weather, and I got a tan. W-T-F- mate. Make up your mind March, just get on with the warmer weather already!!!

March 8th marked one of my favorite days of the year, the clocks moved ahead meaning that there is an extra hour of sunlight now... AWESOME!

Lets see, in other news, I am headed to the Outer Banks on Sunday for the week, hopefully mother nature doesn't dissapoint and offers a fun week of waves. Some warmer water sure would be nice. Wednesday made me a bit bummed that I did not fork over 200 bucks this year and get a 5/4 wetsuit, but then again I was perfectly content shooting photos with my shirt off in 70 degree weather, I posted up a couple photos under the East Coast USA section so be sure to give them a look, and no there are no shots with me and my shirt off, sorry if any of you feel shorted.

I have been hitting the gym on almost a daily basis in recent weeks and really starting to see a difference in strength, its great motivation when you finally start to see results. I will also add that the YMCA is packed with people, which is awesome. Stay fit Delaware!

I am running out of things to rant about so I will finish off with the fact that tomorrow is my last day at Buy Best, I have worked there for 13 months and it definitely helped me out of some tough financial spots while I was starting to gather the pieces of my photography business and put them in the puzzle.

Thats all folks.

Fifth Entry: 2/25./2009

Crazy how fast a month goes by. Since my last entry I have moved into my new apartment, which is awesome! Very stoked with it.

On Sunday I shot my second wedding of the new year and like all of the previous ones, it was awesome and beautiful, beautiful wedding. My next wedding isn't until April 4th and I am very much looking forwards to it, but I have a month of down time to get things in order with the bulk of the upcoming wedding season.

I have been putting together a weekly blog styled article on www.swellinfo.com, theres also an interview of myself up there so be sure to check it out. I also received the new Crysis bodyboarding magazine, which I had four photos published in and the first time I have been published in that specific magazine. I also got confirmation that BZ PRo Boards will be using a invert shot I took of Brian Stoehr for a 2 page spread in the next Bodyboarder Magazine, which I am stoked on!!

My time at Best Buy is slowly coming to an end as I put my two weeks in the other day. I have been there just a little over a year and everyone I have met and worked with there are awesome! It has provided me with a new perspective on the retail industry, one that I fully respect.

I wanted to give a BIG CONGRATS to a couple good friends Latasha and Fabio, now officially engaged. I will be looking forwards to hopefully being a part of their wedding.

Lets see..... ummmmm thats really all I got this time around. Till next time, I am out.

Fourth Entry: 1/28/2009

So the new year is well on its way, I have completed my first of many weddings lined up for this year and it was awesome! A perfect way to kick off the new year! Everyone from the bride and groom to friends and family were super nice and easy to work with. The mother of the bride sent me these quotes from friends and family that have viewed the online gallery so I wanted to post them up here and share.

"WOW!!!

The pictures are OUTSTANDING! The wedding looks so beautiful; the photographer did a great job!"

"Oh my God, Kathleen looks like an Angel! The pic I love the most is Kathleen dancing with her daughter - priceless! Hugs, Syl"

"beautiful!~!!! my favorite one is the one where she is on the stairs!! gorgeous!!!"

I value all of these and so stoked! It really makes me feel like what I am doing is right and this is where I should be. Great motivation for myself to just keep pushing limits and really striving to raise the bar on my photography.

In other news, I move into my new apartment in a few days and so pumped! It was really time for me to make a change from where I currently am. I have been packed for like 2 months so a bit impatient but the time has come.

I will be submiting articles, interviews, etc.. every Monday on my friend Micah's surf forcasting site. www.swellinfo.com So be sure to check that out starting this Monday when I introduce myself and what everyone can expect in the coming weeks.

Entry Four, complete. Till next time. I'm out. SUPER BOWL THIS SUNDAY WOOOOHOOO!

Third Entry: 1/9/2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR! WOOOOOHOOOO.... okay so I am just a little on the late side... sorry, I am still recovering... aren't you?

So its finally 2009, not that I was ready for 2008 to end, but I am so stoked for this upcoming year. I am now up to 31 weddings and its like a dream, but its reality and I am pumped! My first wedding is next weekend and cant wait! From there I will be in a bit of a lull until April and then its showtime!

I went snowboarding for the first time in almost 3 years last Friday, crazy since it only seemed like last year, but I got right back into it fairly quickly and realized once again why I feel in love with it the first time I went. So much fun!!

What else, what else... Best Buy is dead, my hours are few and far between which really isnt such a bad thing since it allows me to really concentrate on my photography and focus on how I can improve this year.

I'm going to bring it back a little bit here and mention my maddness on New Years Eve. I went down to Virginia Beach with a couple close friends and my lady. There we met up with a few more good friends, one of which runs the Jewish Mother which is where the maddness went down! What a night!! Big shout out to Jesse Chong who preformed that night and rocked it!! check him out on myspace or itunes or Virginia Beach!! and if you are in that area be sure to stop in the Jewish Mother, ask for Ricky or Jess and tell them I sent you!!

Okay so that will wrap it up for now! ENJOY!

Second Entry: 12/6/2008

Well so much for keeping up with this blog on a weekly basis. Truly sorry for anyone who I let down. But getting on with it. A lot has happened in the last month, more good then bad and that is always a plus! I am now up to 26 weddings for 2009, a mark I was not expecting to meet at this moment, but I honestly could not be anymore stoked for those who are giving me the oppurtunity to be their wedding photographer!

I work partime at Best Buy here in DE, its a pretty sweet gig and the discounts arnt to shabby either. The reason I bring it up is I worked my first Black Friday, much different being on the receiving end of the craziness, but I must say all the customers that I got to interact with were awesome and it was an enjoyable 4am to 2pm shift.

I thought I would have more to talk about covering the last month... I joined the YMCA recently and have started to get back in shape and after a week my body, although sore at times feels amazing.. so much more energy. Being healthy and fit is a beautiful thing.

A quick plug here to wrap things up... I have surf prints now available on my friend Micah's website ***www.swellinfo.com*** so be sure to check it out and make a purchase! They come signed by me! WOOOOOHOOOOOOO

First Entry: 11/4/2008

First I'll comment on the photo I selected as the background for this page. It was taken down in the catlins of South Island, New Zealand... and yes I know I was revolutionizing hair styles down there...

But lets get on with it. I finally got around to putting together a blog page on my site here. Mainly for self-esteem... kidding!!

This past fall as been amazing for me. Consistent and solid surf here on the East Coast and some absolutely gorgeous weddings that I have been forunate to take a major role in as the couple's photographer. I have 2 more weddings this year and very excited for them both!

Theres a couple other things going on that I am pretty stoked on, but I cant realease photos or information until everything is in print!

I'll be heading down to Cape May the next few days for more fall surf. Yeah, well that will wrap up my first entry because I am running out of things to talk about.

Oh yea I voted for.............

signing out

-Kalen