I’m pretty excited that the popularity of this photo “Emerge” with triathlete and TV producer Kelly Rockwell based out of LA has made it’s way through the ranks of being published in this month’s issue of Men’s Health Magazine.

The parent company of Men’s Health, Rodale, had purchased the photo months ago and I did not know when or how it was going to be used, until a colleague of mine, Charles, texted me to let me know he had seen it in print at the store. As much fun as this photo was to shoot almost 3 years ago it’s equally fun seeing it in print from Triathlete Magazine to Inside Triathlon and now Men’s Health!

Here’s a quick re-post from my old blog on the makings of this shoot:

2 SB-600s @ full power, bare @ 45 degrees to subject’s right hand side; Triggered by Nikon CLS SU-800 and hand held by my voice activated light stand a.k.a my friend Van as he is doubled up as a water wrangler literally knee deep in the shoot. Sun as back/rim light coming from the right.

Camera info: It was broad daylight and I definitely didn’t want a stark white sky in the background. I knew I wanted it nice and blue, so I used an ND4 filter + a Graduated ND2 filter on a Cokin Z Pro holder to tone the sky down and I stopped down all the way to f/8 @ 1/320 sec, ISO 400. Had to shoot with 2 SB’s on full power in order to get a good exposure on Kelly.

I’m not huge on the self-portrait, but here’s one of the promo shots I took for a new venture. I’ve opened up my own studio for Kris Mendoza Photography and decided to rent it out under the name Philly Photo Studio when not booked for my own shoots.

It will double as a shooting space and production office for three of my businesses, Kris Mendoza Photography, Kreative Mediaworks and Iluminada Photography. Come check it out! Currently hiring for a part time video editor/compositor and a full time studio manager/assistant photographer. If you know anyone interested, please send resumes and cover letters to jobs@phillyphotostudio.com

#68 Jaromir Jagr of the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center against the visiting NY Islanders.

Here’s a shot of pro triathlete Arland Macasieb riding on the open road…this is a composite of two shots — one of Arland in the studio on his bicycle and the background is an awesome HDR photo credited to the great Trey Ratcliff that I’ve used as a derivative work. If you have a chance, definitely check out Trey’s award winning tutorials on HDR on his website!

Anthony Terrell Smith against the ropes while Johnson Jajoute throws a jab. Shot on location for Brazen Boxing & MMA.

Had an awesome time shooting some promo shots for Brazen Boxing & MMA today in Old City, Philadelphia. Big thanks to Kyle for assisting on the shoot and to Melodee and Kristine who were put to work on the spot! It was an action packed shoot and the models and fighters were a blast and so patient to work with . I’m very much looking forward to editing the rest of the photos, but in the mean time here is a teaser of some girl on girl boxing!

I got to shoot my first ever NHL game on Thursday and it was rather exciting, given that I’m not that into hockey. Ironic since it’s the only team sport I ever played growing up. In any case, I met a really nice fellow photog by the name of Kevin Burns while at a sports photography seminar in Colorado last May. Kevin is from Boston and shoots for the Bruins and he hooked me up with Inside Hockey to get a stab at a few Flyers games. I was pretty stoked, but quickly realized how challenging shooting such a fast paced game could be. In any case, peep the handful of selects here!

Okay, so I’ve decided to discontinue my failed Project 365 for 2011 — I could only go on backdating my posts for so long in an attempt to resurrect it before I realized I was only cheating myself with the whole experience. I’ll have to save crossing it off of my bucket list for another year in the future, perhaps when I have more free time.

Nonetheless, it’s a new year and I’m back to blogging again (without the added pressure of daily posts for now!). 2011 was an amazing and fulfilling year and quite possibly the best year of my life– I moved to a new city with my fiancé, business grew immensely, married my best friend (!!), got a puppy, and managed to go on a few adventures and cross off a few bucket list items along the way. I could not have asked for a better year and I sincerely thank my family and friends for all of their support!

As we open our doors to welcome in a new year, I’m proud and excited to also open new doors to my businesses. As of yesterday, I am officially moving out of the home office and sowing some roots in a new space. It’s a modest space but looking forward to growing and getting in lots of productivity and creativity flowing here as I’ve got big hopes and plans for 2012.

Going forward, the official address for Kreative Mediaworks, Kris Mendoza Photography, and Iluminada Photography, is now 2424 E. York St., Suite 326, Philadelphia, PA 19125. Stop by and say hello!

Maximus “having fun” at the Schuykill River Dog Park.
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This photo is part of a series entitled Today, a 365 day visual journal

Cory & Tommy got married at the Palace at Somerset. More to come at iluminadaphoto.com/blog shortly….
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This photo is part of a series entitled Today, a 365 day visual journal