“Love comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms.”  -David Esquire

Good afternoon from Newport Beach at Esquire Photography HQ in Orange County everyone!

I’m one Newport Beach Photographer who is totally flattered and honoured to share a note I received on my Facebook Page recently from a previous Bride & current awesome friend & event planner at A Blissful Affair; Monique regarding a celebration of life I photographed for her family before I left for my Workshop in Berlin, Germany.

Photographing this celebration of life was very difficult for me as I knew Mike who recently passed away and I’ve known Monique, her husband Cesar and their family for several years.  So to be invited to capture the day was very moving for me, but at the same time quite bitter-sweet.

Here is the note I received from Monique on Facebook & I think it really sums up how much it not only meant to several people who were there, but to the family and friends as well.

Feel free to read on.  I’m moved every time I pour over her words.

I’m totally flattered by comments like this & it truly means the world to me being able to help families celebrate those who have moved on!  Also, if you or someone you know is thinking… Hey – I’d really like to get to know this Newport Beach Wedding Photographer (Previously a Huntington Beach Wedding Photographer) that loves music & fashion, photography and art, feel free to contact me anytime.

I’m available just about 24/7 via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, the form on my contact page, or the old fashioned phone as well at 888.ESQ.PHTO (888.377.7486) or 562.225.5915.

I hope you’re having a great start to your week and stay tuned for some amazing events that I’m sharing.  From San Diego to Newport Beach, Ventura and all the way up to Oakland – I’ll have some fantastic Weddings and events that I’ve had the honour of photographing.

PS, If you haven’t already seen on Twitter & Facebook the Valentine’s Day promotion I’m running through the entire month of February – totally check it out HERE.

PSS, Check out this awesome quote I shared on Twitter keeping the “Butterfly Effect” moving forward – spreading positivity.  It’s a totally new one & I really think it is so very true.  “Ability is what you’re capable of doing.  Motivation determines what you do.  Attitude determines how well you do it.” — Lou Holtz.

• Tweet

I’ve been wanting to give back on a much bigger scale to the world and over the past week I’ve created a program that is very very close to my heart.  Without further ado, I will come out & say it…

Effective immediately – I am taking 50% OFF ALL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGES for ALL active military people until the end of this year, December 31, 2011.  Whether one or both people are in the middle, it doesn’t matter – you’re totally able to get 50% Off all my wedding photography services.

In fact, I had the honour of recording Ali & Justin yesterday when I was with them and both of their parents at Edward’s Air Force Base yesterday as they are the very first couple to receive my gift.  Here is a video of the experience – check it out!

This is by far the biggest thing that the family business has ever done in more than 28 years from Los Angeles to London, England.  Can I say… WHOLLY NACHOS & NEWCASTLES!!!

So!  If you’re thinking…  Hey – I’d really like to get to know this Newport Beach Wedding Photographer (Previously a Huntington Beach Wedding Photographer) that loves music & fashion, photography and art, feel free to contact me anytime.

I’m available just about 24/7 via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, the form on my contact page, or the old fashioned phone as well at 888.ESQ.PHTO (888.377.7486) or 562.225.5915.

I hope you’re having a great weekend & stay tuned for some amazing events that I’m sharing this week.  From San Diego to Newport Beach, Ventura and all the way up to Oakland – I’ll have some fantastic Weddings and events that I’ve had the honour of photographing.  And of course soon to come; LA Fashion Week, the VIP Party Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao had at The Supper Club in Los Angeles and the American Music Awards Pre-Party at Ben Kitay Studios with the Kate Mesta Crew – Cheers!

PS, If you’re a photographer & looking to hang out with me and my good friend; Danny Mendoza during Christmas break, come & join us in PARIS FRANCE for our first ever Lighting Workshop.  WHEW HEW!!!

Sharing is (Almost) Sexier than Nachos & Newcastles!! Be sure to click the Google+, Facebook Like or Twitter buttons below
to show some love for the 50% OFF Military Discount!

• Tweet

This country has one of the most sophisticated and locked down tight, fear and war mongering governments seeking the same level of Orwellian control reminiscent of leaders in the past along with the twisted and cruel over and undertones of Hitler and his Nazi regime from World War II.

FYI, the Bush family has DIRECT ties with Hitler.  So direct, that George Bush’s grandfather funded Hitler.  Here’s one link to get you started:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep/25/usa.secondworldwar.  Frightening.

So to think that we’re supposed to drink the Kool Aid about two jets we didn’t see coming fly into the twin towers & ultimately collapse due to super-heated jet fuel.  A jumbo jet crash into the pentagon leaving not a trace of debris, bodies, or parts anywhere.  And another jet plummeting out of the sky and disintegrating into a small blackened, charred piece of land again without any debris, bodies or parts anywhere.  I say; “Are you effin kidding me!!!!!”

What have we gained as a country and at what cost?  Year by year, month by month, day by day and hour by hour we are losing.  We are losing what should not be taken for granted.  Our constitutional rights, our constitutional right to privacy and our constitutional right to freedom.

Those costs are insurmountable.  They and all in the name of greed.

Abraham Lincoln had many brilliant and poignant things to share and help build this country’s foundation with.  One of them was: “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves.”

Benjamin Franklin, another great and brilliant founder of this country once said: “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

This was written by Franklin, with quotation marks but almost certainly his original thought, sometime shortly before February 17, 1775 as part of his notes for a proposition at the Pennsylvania Assembly, as published in Memoirs of the life and writings of Benjamin Franklin (1818). A variant of this was published as:  Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

This was used as a motto on the title page of An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania. (1759); the book was published by Franklin; its author was Richard Jackson, but Franklin did claim responsibility for some small excerpts that were used in it.

An earlier variant by Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanack (1738): “Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power.”

But to share Benjamin Franklin’s words in plainer terms to make it easier for those who may not quite understand or to speak bluntly, choose to not develop their grammatical abilities for whatever reason.  Many paraphrased derivatives of this have often become attributed to Franklin:

• They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
• They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
• Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.
• He who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security.
• He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.
• People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.
• If we restrict liberty to attain security we will lose them both.
• Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
• He who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither.
• Those who would trade in their freedom for their protection deserve neither.
• Those who give up their liberty for more security neither deserve liberty nor security.

So many people need to be held accountable for their actions, their deeds and their greedy, murderous actions.

A lot of questions and documentaries have been made from brilliant and creative minds around the world.  Here is a small list of documentaries available online for free to help dilate your mind:

• 102 Minutes That Changed America
• 9/11 and the British Broadcasting Conspiracy
• 9/11 Eyewitness
• 9/11 False Flag
• 9/11 Mysteries
• 9/11 Revisited, Were Explosives Used?
• 9/11: Ground Zero’s Responders
• 9/11: Missing Links
• 9/11: Press For Truth
• 9/11: The Falling Man
• 9/11: The Road To Tyranny
• A New Standard of Deception
• Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11
• Anthrax War
• Core of Corruption: In the Shadows
• Dust to Dust: The Health Effects of 9/11
• Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime
• Fabled Enemies
• Fahrenheit 9/11
• Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11
• Improbable Collapse: The Demolition of Our Republic
• In Their Own Words: The Untold Stories of the 9/11 Families
• Loose Change: Final Cut
• Martial Law 9/11: The Rise of the Police State
• National Security Alert
• Oil, Smoke and Mirrors
• The 9/11 Chronicles: Truth Rising
• The 9/11 Conspiracies: Fact or Fiction
• The Elephant In The Room
• The Great Conspiracy
• The Ultimate Con
• Towers of Deception: The Media Cover-Up of 9/11
• War and Globalization: The Truth Behind 9/11 (Lecture)
• Who Killed John O’Neil?
• Zero: An Investigation into 9/11

In a day & age when it’s not “popular” to have an opinion unless you’re a figure head and/or puppet in the media, I have one, I will share it and I will form it based up a variety of facts available to me.  Should you not agree with it, that’s ok – you’re not me, I’m not you & there’s no possible way we could ever both have the same opinion on anything because of that.  You’re; you, I’m; me and bluntly – it’s OK to disagree.

BUT!  As long as I am able to exercise my natural born, constitutional rights, I will continue to question authority and my governments.

Especially in today’s day & age when freedom of speech & freedom of religion and freedom of press are rapidly being pulled out from underneath me.  If you think I’m wrong, do some research on what’s going on in San Francisco.  Or even closer; in Long Beach where we have the Long Beach police to decide what I am photographing is deemed “art worthy.”  Yes, you read that right & they’re proud of being charged with that duty.

With all this said and shared, I will close with this: To blindly follow the government and not question or speak out is unpatriotic! Taking part in the free process, through debate, consensus and disagreement IS being an American Patriot.

Thank you for reading and may we all join in helping make this time in our lives and other’s lives better.  Build upon a positive butterfly effect and remember those that are gone, so their murders were not in vain.

David

• Tweet

Here’s a little something that I found on the internet that was published by Mad Magazine in 1960.  It’s not the same one that I had from the 80′s, but it’s still quite humourful and takes a different spin on the holidays in a razzmatazz way.

So from our humble abode in Huntington Beach to everyone we know – Katherine and I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas.  May your holiday be overflowing with love and laughter and here’s looking forward to a fantastic 2010.

Also, if you want to keep in touch with me, feel free to Contact Me through the website or email me directly at david@esquirephotography.com.

You can also stay in touch with me in “real time” on Twitter, Facebook and my Facebook Fan Page too.  If you’re reading this tonight, you’ll probably catch me online right now.

We’ll be ringing in the New Year from Big Bear and we hope you have a memorable one too – cheers!

PS, It even showed last night after the 2nd fireworks show that they did just for us!  We felt so special that Disneyland would do that for us.  LOL!

“Twas the night before Christmas, and all thru the pad
. Not a hipster was stirring, not even old Dad.
 The chimney was draped in that stocking routine,
 In hopes the The Fat Man would soon make the scene.

The wee cats were laid out all cool in their beds,
 While sounds of “The Sugar Blues” wailed thru their heads.
 And my chick in her “Castro,” and me on the floor, 
Had just conked out cold for a 40-wink snore.

When out of left field there came on such a ribble,
 I broke from my sack to see what was this dribble!
 To the glasspane I cut like a B-western movie,
 Tuned in on the action, and man, was it groovy!

The moon and the snow were, like, faking together,
 Which made the scene rock in the Day People weather,
 When what to these peepers should come on real queer,
 But a real crazy sleigh, and 8 swinging reindeer,

With a hopped-up old driver on some frantic kick,
 I was hip in a flash that it must be St. Nick.
 Much faster than “Bird” blew, this group was no drag,
 And he rocked, and he rolled, and he pegged them by tag:

“Like, Dasher! Like, Dancer! Like, Prancer & Vixen!
 Go, Comet! Go, Cupid! Go, Donder & Blitzen!
 Fly over the shack! Make it over the pad!
 Now cut out, man! Cut out, man! Cut out like mad!”

As sidemen in combos pick up as they stomp,
 When they swing with the beat of a Dixieland Romp,
 So up to the top of my bandstand they flew,
 With a sleigh full of loot, and St Nicholas too.

And thin in a quick riff, I dug on the roof
 The jumpin’ & jivin’ of each swinging hoof.
 As I pulled in my noggin and turned around fast,
 Down the chimney came Nick like a hot trumpet blast.

He was wrapped up to kill, man, a real kookie dresser!
 And his rags were, like, way out! Pops! He was a gasser!
 A sack full of goddies hung down to his tail,
 And he looked like a postman with “Basie’s” fan mail.

His lids — man, they sizzled! His dimples were smiles!
 His cheeks were like “Dizzy’s,” his beak was like “Miles’!”
 His puckered-up mouth was, like, blowing flat E,
 And his chin hid behind a real crazy goatee!

The tip of a butt he had snagged in his choppers,
 And he took a few drags just like all cool be-boppers;
 He had a weird face, and a solid reet middle
 That bounced when he cracked, like a gutbucket fiddle!

He was shaking with meat, meaning he was no square, 
And I flipped, “cause I’d always thought he was “longhair!”
 But the glint in his eye and the beat in his touch
 Soon gave me the message this cat was too much!

He blew not a sound, but skipped right to his gig,
 And stashed all the stockings, then came on real big,
 And flashing a sign, like that old “Schnozzle” bit,
 And playing it hip, up the chimney he split.

He flew to his skids, to his group blew a lick,
 And they cut out real cool, on a wild frenzied kick.
 But I heard him sound off, with a razz-a-ma-tazz”
”A cool Christmas to all, and like, all of that jazz!”

• Tweet

Check this out & help spread some love around the world and make someone else’s holiday special too – cheers

XEROX IS DOING SOMETHING COOL for our Troops!

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com – you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in  Iraq . You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!  It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?  Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.

This takes just 10 seconds and it’s a wonderful way to say thank you.  Please take the time to pass it on for others to do.  We can never say enough thank you’s.

Thanks for taking the time to support our military!

• Tweet

I received an incredible email from my good friend Scarlett Lillian about all the things that she was thankful for and it inspired me to share a couple of thoughts with you as well.

One of the things she shared was a killer video of Glósóli by Sigur Rós from the United Kingdom (Where all great and creative things come from of course!) that she had seen at Partnercon that my other good friend Dane Sanders from Fast Track Photographer in Newport Beach shared.

It’s a very inspirational song from Sigur Rós instilling motivation and chasing after your dreams against all common knowledge and odds.  Kinda like tilting against windmills.

I also want to share another inspiration video that I love and it’s a simple Apple ad.

Where is all this going & what’s it got to do with Thanksgiving?

I’m thankful for a couple of things like:

• Creativity
• Inspiration
• A blank canvas in the view finder of my camera
• Hope
• Faith (most challenging at times)
• Art
• Music
• Beauty
• Health
• Ability to dream in colour
• Courage to chase my dreams (sometimes against all odds)
• Having survived life-changing obstacles
• Hope (Twice, because hope is what get’s one through the day and especially the night)

But before I present you with this week’s Thanksgiving Day inspiration videos and you’re thinking… Hey – I’d really like to get to know this eclectic Orange County Wedding Photographer in Huntington Beach, California, feel free to Contact Me or send me an email direct at david@esquirephotography.com.  You can also stay in touch with me in “real time” on Twitter, Facebook and my Facebook Fan Page too.

And since I seem to express my thoughts best in art, music & video here are the two videos that I was talking about & have a terrific Thanksgiving – cheers!

• Tweet

So armed with my flip flops, Esquire Photography sweatshirt and my micro four thirds GF-1 – I set my sights on Main Street in Huntington Beach.  I figured there wouldn’t be much going on, but there’s always something to capture.  Whether it’s a lamp post in glistening in the night mist, a street sign or even an empty alley way.  There is always something.

But before you check out the photos that I took tonight and you’re thinking… Hey – I’d really like to get to know this Orange County Wedding Photographer in Huntington Beach, California, feel free to Contact Me on the Website or send me an email direct at david@esquirephotography.com.  You can also stay in touch with me in “real time” on Twitter, Facebook and my Facebook Fan Page too.

I hope you’re having a great week & I’d love to hear your thoughts about the photographs.  Feel free to leave me a comment below – cheers!

• Tweet

I got to pop over & say hi really quick & after Felicia & John’s wedding, they came back over and we were able to hang out for a while.  In fact, we popped across the street to Charlie Palmer’s at Bloomingdales (one of my favourite stores – yeah!) at the South Coast Plaza.

It was super great to be able to get some post wedding chillax on with my friends catching up on our summer and being able to try some new beverages too.  I even had my new micro four thirds camera – the new GF-1 with me from the wedding and took a few fun snaps while we were there.

Before I share some photos from our chillax session at Charlie Palmers at Bloomingdales and you’re thinking… Hey – I’d really like to get to know this Orange County Wedding Photographer in Huntington Beach, California that enjoys the holidays.  Feel free to Contact Me on the Website or send me an email direct at david@esquirephotography.com.  You can also stay in touch with me in “real time” on Twitter, Facebook and my Facebook Fan Page too.

So without further ado, here are a few photos & have a super weekend – cheers!

• Tweet

After I got back from Alexandra & Jay’s Wedding at the Wedgewood in Ventura, we rapidly got dressed into our costumes & jammed to the British Club for the party.  The entire club was totally decorated from the entrance and throughout and there were more people dressed up that I expected.  I even bumped into my friend; Steve – the mad doctor & his wife; Sexy Nurse Ophelia, who made the Esquire Photography Crew TShirts and is going to be working on a little something else as well for me for the spring.

Everyone that came to the party in costume lined up for the contest – which was totally funny.  The most mistaken costume was Jabba The Hut from Star Wars.  The only thing was, the costume didn’t really look like JabbaThe Hut.  LOL!  The Mad Clown took the costume contest and Katherine won a prize too – the DVD of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  Very cool indeed.

Before I share some of my favourite photos from the annual Halloween costume party at the British Club in Garden Grove, California and you’re thinking… Hey – I’d really like to get to know this Orange County Wedding Photographer in Huntington Beach, California that enjoys the holidays.  Feel free to Contact Me on the Website or send me an email direct at david@esquirephotography.com.  You can also stay in touch with me in “real time” on Twitter, Facebook and my Facebook Fan Page too.

So without further ado, here are a few photos from the Halloween party & have a super week – cheers!

• Tweet

Let me ask you a quick question about the following picture.  Do you see the motorcycle?

At first glance, probably not.  Let me show you another picture & see if you can find the motorcycle now.

If you are like me, you’re thinking – well I see a tire in the wreckage.

In that photo, I saw what appeared to be a body of a motorcycle in the cockpit of the car.

Ok, how about in the next one, do you see it here?

Now do you see it?  When I first looked at this last picture, I was in complete disbelief and thought that it had to be a gag done by the police department or something else.  This thought was fleeting until I read the following true information about the accident.

The  Honda crotch motorcycle rider was reported to be traveling at approximately 85 mph.  The VW driver was talking on a cell phone when she pulled out from a side street, apparently not seeing the motorcycle.  The riders reaction time was not sufficient enough to avoid this accident.

The car had two  passengers and the bike rider was found INSIDE the car with them.  The Volkswagen actually flipped over from the force of impact and landed 20 feet from where the collision took place.

All three involved (two in the car and the bike rider) were killed instantly.  This graphic demonstration was placed at the  Motorcycle Fair by the Police and Road Safety Department.

Pass this on to car drivers or soon to be new drivers, or new motorcycle owners AND ESPECIALLY EVERYONE YOU KNOW WHO HAS A CELL PHONE!!!!!

A  picture is worth a thousand  words.

As an avid Ducati rider, I can honestly say that I personally have had my share of

• People that don’t look first before changing lanes, talk on the mobile phone (not hands free and hands free) bobbing & weaving in theirs and the other lanes
• Road rage people someone was mad that I was in the lane he/she wanted to go in
• Or my “favourite” (and yes this may sound stereotypical, but I see more women then men doing it); the woman in the ginourmous SUV blowing a stop light that has been obviously red for quite some time, with other cars going through it in the opposite direction AND with children (obviously visible) and pets in the SUV.

That last one also happens a LOT more around the holidays near the shopping centers.  So if you’re holiday shopping, keep an eye out for that one.

What’s sad is those are only the first three that come to mind as I’m sharing this with you.

Now granted, there is the other side of the coin where there are a LOT of really stupid motorcycle riders out there.  But the thing is (and there’s numeric proof) that the number of riders that are idiots are less than 15% of us out there riding.  The majority of us (like me) ride because like surfing, it’s in our blood & it’s a way of life.

I’ve even got to the point of researching helmet cams to wear as I’m riding to I can start a website to share with everyone that there needs to be more awareness on the road.

Oh!  And, I just remembered that a few weeks ago when I went down to South Coast Plaza to run a couple of errands, I saw a total of 6 rear-ender accidents on the way to the mall from my home and a really horrible one in the middle of an intersection on my way back.  All 7 of these I saw with a 2 hour period from Huntington Beach to Costa Mesa and back.

Were those rear-ender accidents the result of texting while driving?  I don’t know, but that did seem to be quite a few in less than a 12 mile distance each way.

Well… Now that I’ve gone on & on gabbing about this and you’re thinking; Hey! I’d really like to get to know this passionate Ducati riding, Orange County Wedding Photographer in Huntington Beach, California. Feel free to Contact Me on the Website or send me an email direct at david@esquirephotography.com.  You can also stay in touch with me in “real time” on Twitter, Facebook and my Facebook Fan Page too.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this & I’m signing out for now.  I need to finish getting ready for Anna Marie & Lee’s 2 day Los Olivos Wedding at the Firestone Vineyard.  I’m leaving tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. and it’s already after 10:00 p.m. – cheers!

PS, if the previous photos weren’t enough for ya, check out what was released in August in the UK about texting and driving.  Warning!  This is NOT for the weak stomach.

• Tweet