Impossibly AfloatBella floating in the desert. New DayJared in the dunes at greeting the rising sun. Got an honorable mention at SDCF photography exhibition. Jonas in FlightJonas with a beautiful jump captured at Canela Photography studio in the Arts District, Liberty Station. Summer FogTona in silhouette.

Two of the entries got an honorable mention! Results Which means I am doing something right, right?

New DayJared in the dunes greeting the sun.

Jared is one of my first dance muses. Since he is my son he has been a muse his entire life. I am grateful for his generosity and patience with me in indulging me with my creative ideas and adventures. In this image we traveled to the desert, woke up at 3:30 am to drive further into the desert to the dunes. Dawn was at around 4:30 am. The lighting changes so fast we had no time to waste. It was true creative collaboration that is possible when all parties trust each other. We didn't stay long as the temperature rises as the sun. However many of the images we captured that morning are some of my most favorite.

Jonas in FlightJonas with an excellent jump captured in studio at Canela Photography in the Arts District of Liberty Station

Time flies when you are having fun. Time flew in this session and so did Jonas. This was my first time working with Jonas outside of San Diego Ballet. We had a great time creating some wonderful images in studio. I am grateful for his generosity and for indulging me with some of my wardrobe selections. You can see more from this photo session on my instagram page @canela_photography or at Jonas' @jonas_olivera98

I always tell myself I will join more competitions and then time gets away from me. Obviously I have plenty of room for improvement and that is motivating. Thanks for reading and I hope you follow along as I continue to improve the craft I enjoy so much! Please, comment and let me know if you would like to see the other 4 images that did not make the cut.

The Peninsula Beacon

ShoutoutSoCal

Back in the Summer of 2019 I submitted some photography work to the International Photography Awards. I had just decided early that year that I should put myself out there in the world of competition. This was my first entry. I quickly forgot about it as I didn't much expect anything to come out of it. A few months later I received an email that I had won an honorable mention. Now that might not sound like much, but it floored me! Little me was completely humbled and beside myself. That is it. That is all. Thanks for reading!

View photos here.

To all who have lost their lives in search of a better one.

To those still unidentified in warehouse mass graves.

To the undocumented living a half life for survival.

To the immigrants living in the margins of society.

All because they didn't win the birth lottery of privilege either here or there.

It is important to use your voice no matter how small you think it is. I am very thankful to our friends Jeff and Kay from Lightheart Danceart for reminding me that I have a voice and should use it.

Back in 2017 Jeff suggested a collaboration on the border of our City with Mexico. I had long retreated into the world of beauty. My views had not changed but my faith in humanity as a whole had been dashed away for many years. Lightheart's collaboration was a beautiful concept of bringing our friends in the dance world to use their voices for a good cause. This was something I could get on board with. To put our voices together gave me the boost I needed to hear my own voice again if only for a moment.

I hope you enjoy the new improvements in your gallery views and ordering services.