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Saturday, January 31, 2009

UCI Men's Volleyball

Here are some pictures from U.C. Irvine Men's Volleyball games I have shot for the school newspaper in the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Athletes in Action Winter Retreat 2009

This past weekend was the annual Athletes in Action Winter Retreat for the Southern California Region. AIA groups from schools all around So Cal and beyond came down to Vista for a weekend of teaching, worship, and fellowship. It was great to take time to get away from the normal rhythm of life, connect with other people, and re-connect with God.

This was my 5th year coming to the retreat so I am somewhat of a veteran. This year's retreat was by far the best one I have been to! We had a great turnout, the teaching was phenomenal, and there was a great energy. Everyone was being open and real and it set the tone for the rest of the retreat.

On Saturday morning we had some time to get out and connect with God, read the Word, pray, journal, and reflect on the the retreat. The retreat center is at an old ranch and the grounds are beautiful. It would be a great place to do a photoshoot...maybe engagement session or something. I'd love to come back for that someday! I walked around and took some pictures of the athletes as they had their quiet times (felt like a bit of a stalker with my zoom lens but oh well).

In the afternoon we had some free time and of course as athletes we spent it playing football, basketball, soccer, kickball, and a few of us went for a run.
Saturday night, we had the privilege of hearing Celestine Ezinkwo, an up and coming Hip-Hop artist, perform some of his songs. The concert turned into a dance party and the evening was a blast! The music was great and so was the energy. After the concert we had an open mike time and then more dance party (yeah electric slide!).
Here is a picture of Celestine and his wife, Tara. They got married last year and make a great couple! It was fun to see them interacting.
Finally, I would like to give a big thanks to Keri for helping me out with leading Worship at the retreat. It was so awesome to have her there and a huge help to me! Thanks Keri, you rock!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

An evening in Newport

I mentioned in my last post that the weather in Orange County has been incredible lately. Today was no exception..clear and sunny and not to hot (in the 80's I think). My roommate Colin and I went out to the beach right after sunset. It was so calm and warm - kind of surreal considering it is the middle of January. It's hard to describe but it really felt too perfect.

There was a beautiful sunset and the lighting was great so I couldn't help but take some portraits of Colin. I ran out of the house pretty quick so just grabbed my camera with my 50mm prime lens.

I am so blessed to be living in Southern California! My condolences to everyone out there in the rest of the country who is freezing to death right now...hang in there :)

Blue vs. Gold

Yesterday, our track team had its season kickoff - The Blue vs Gold Meet. It's an inter-squad meet just for fun. I was glad to have the chance to get out and shoot with my new camera. I haven't been able to as much as I'd like because I am so busy with school and other responsibilities. The weather has been amazing this past week in Orange County so hopefully I can take advantage of that.

Here are a couple of my favorites from the day. I'm sure this is the first of many track meet posts - especially when our season starts in late February. Enjoy!