Caught Between Two Worlds

So, things have been a bit quite busy lately. I've been switching between my love of photography and music. I have two possible upcoming music gigs in Jacksonville. One gig will be this Friday at Maggiano's at the Town Center, thanks to Mhikaella! Thanks for getting us the show! I will be singing two songs, "In My Life" and "Maging Sino Ka Man." If choosen, my other gig would be with American Idol Finalist, Ramiele Malubay on August 15 at Ridgeview High School. I'm really hoping that I am able to book that gig because that would just be awesome, plus it's paid!

Other than that, I was in Orlando last weekend with some friends for another attempt at American Idol. My attempt was failed, but Idol is always a fun experience. I love meeting new people who share the love of music, as I do. My judge said that, "I had a good voice, but it wasn't fit for this season." Oh well...I say it's better to try and fail, then to not try at all and regret on what could have happened.

Lastly, I've been focusing more on the job search while doing my photography on the side. This job market is pretty tough, isn't it? Oh well, I know when the time is right I'll get a pretty awesome job. Suprisingly, the photography stuff has worked out really well and I pray that it continues to grow and get more exposure in Jacksonville. I'd love to have my own business in the future, but right now I'm looking for a stable job while continuing doing the photography. It's also been fun collaborating with local photographers, Wendel Garcia and Anthony Rosales a.k.a. ftw! productions. We collaborated for my first wedding shoot and we hope to do more weddings together in the future. They do amazing photo and video work, you should definitely check them out on Youtube and Facebook!

My most recent shoot was with Anastasia Haney. She was a former classmate of mine at UNF. She's a Delta Gamma and she has a great personality. We had a really fun time shooting in San Marco! We we're going for more of a colorful glamour oriented photoshoot. Well, here are some of my favorite images from that shoot:

Julia Bennet

I had a fun shoot last week with Julia Bennet. Julia is a student from the University of Florida. She has just started pursuing modeling, but she's been doing a great job so far. I think she has a great future ahead of her in the industry. She was really fun to shoot! We played around with the concepts of doing natural themed shots and vintage looking ones. I had a great time and look forward to working with her again. We discussed possibly doing some shots in the Fall with horses. How cool would that be?

To view more images from her photoshoot, visit:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2144518&id=25100484&l=9f87b856db

Become a fan of redner.salonga photography:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jacksonville-FL/rednersalonga-photography/100297879847?ref=ts

Is it my turn?

“Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don't look back at it too long. Mistakes are life's way of teaching you. Your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. No one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without an occasional failure? Never quit. Your turn will come.”

Here Comes The Sun

So, how has your world been lately? If your world is in Jacksonville, your world has probably been fairly wet. But, I am hoping that the sun will come out tommorow. No pun intended. Anyway, life has been fairly busy this week...from interviews and working. I had two interviews this week. One interview was with a local photography company. The other was with a company that creates and advertises their product for a hotel. I totally turned down the later company. They seemed like a totally bogus company. I mean seriously, what kind of company would make you pay for your airfare and make you trade business in order to feed yourself and give yourself accomodations? Can I call BS? Anyway, I have been busy interviewing this week for the photography company. Tommorow will be my third and final interview, so we'll see how that goes. I have also been "working" the streets. You know? I've been going around town to local oriental stores and other establishments hanging up posters to promote Filipino Pride Day. Filipino Pride Day is on June 20th at the Jacksonville Landing. I better see you there, because for one...it's free...and two, because everyone has a little Filipino inside of them. Haha. I've also been helping with the photography aspects of my Uncle's upcoming wedding. On the topic of photography., I went to an amazng seminar led by celebrity photographer, Dennis Reggie. Can I say amazing? I learned so much! So anyway life in a nutshell has been work, interview, work, photography, and getting wet through it all. So, here's to the sun...please come back!

Irregular

I really should try to update this on a regular basis, but time hasn't been really on my side. The next month is filled with exciting events and I am already knee-deep in preparation for some upcoming events. Sometimes, I feel like I don't even know where to begin. It's funny actually, I'm not employed by a company right now but I feel like I'm working a full-time job. Anyway, I hope to update more regularly. This was the point of this blog. I've been irregular.

2 AM

So here I am awake at 2 am. It's probably due to the much needed afternoon nap. The past week has been great. California was amazing, even if Hollywood wasn't as I pictured it to be. For your information, Hollywood is ghetto and the American Idol studio is small. I guess it's true that everything is smaller and ghetto in real life. Las Vegas was another story. The buildings there were beatuiful and as the saying goes "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." But, did we really even do anything in Vegas? Not really. Haha. I remember we were supposed to go clubbing and ended up playing cards in the hotel because we were too tired. Good times! Anyway, this weekend was photoshoot-filled and this week will continue to be as well. God has been opening more doors and opportunities for me to delve deeper into the photography world and I love it! It's been great doing freelance photography on the side. The past few days I had the opportunity to work with Celia, John and Jadee. They all did an awesome job modeling and they helped me create some great images.

Here's a sneak peek at some of my favorite images from the shoots:

Oh and I am excited that my freelance photographer business cards are coming in the mail soon. So, stay tuned! Have a great week!

Moving Fast Paced

Do you ever get that feeling where it seems like everything is happening at once. It feels like everything is moving fast paced. I suddenly got that feeling today, after I got a phone call to do a photoshoot concerning the theme of "date rape." I can guarantee you that is probably my most interesting photoshoot themes to date. But, it is all for a good cause to promote against "date rape" and to help someone who I haven't even met. I was referred by two friends, which is very nice of them. But, I am not complaining. I am just thanking God for every opportunity that comes my way. I'm excited for everything, but I am definitely going to be busy up until the point of departure to California. So, here is my list of things to do tommorow...

Things to do:
1. Jog at the Park in the Morning
2. Yardwork
3. Photoshoot
4. Continue packing for California
5. Edit pictures from Photoshoot
6. Church
7. Watch my Wednesday Night Shows
8. Sleep, maybe?
9. Eat, maybe?
10. Errands (here, there, and everywhere)

April 20th still lingers in the back of my mind. Oh, TFA!

Sidenote: I am also seriously excited for the photoshoots I have lined up for when I get back to Florida! All I can say is I am definitely trying to push myself more creatively, plus I bought some new camera equipment. It's on its way and I can't wait to play with it! If anyone comes across this and is interested in modeling and doing creative images, comment me.