New Blog Address!

I've moved.

Please visit my new blog at http://www.sonialena.com/blog/

Thanks!

Happy Holidays!

I went to the Mission Inn in Riverside with a friend to view their Festival of Lights. It was the perfect way to spend the day after Christmas.

Here's wishing everyone a great new year!

Portraits: Jen and Richard Maternity Photos

I met Richard at AFI - the American Film Institute - back when I was an aspiring screenwriter. I was honored that Richard asked me to take maternity portraits of him and his wife, Jen. Jen was about eight months pregnant when we took these photos; since then Jen and Richard have welcomed a healthy baby boy into the world. These photos were taken at Jen and Richard's home in Los Angeles.

Tips: Pogue on Photography

David Pogue is the technology columnist for The New York Times, and one of my favorite geek guys. I have a few books from his Missing Manual series and am a great fan of the way he makes technology accessible to the technologically challenged.

His latest post is about digital photography, and it has some helpful tips for anyone that wants to take better pictures. Tip #5 was news to me!

Portraits: Blended #17

I met Annemarie through Mike and Candice, another couple that I photographed for my multiracial portrait project. Annemarie and her husband, Adam, live in Sherman Oaks with their two very adorable sons. We took these pictures in Oxnard, California.

Portraits: Blended #16

Tanya is another friend from UCLA. She currently lives with Jacob in Berkeley, California. We took these pictures four months ago (yes, I am very behind in my blogging) when Tanya was about six months pregnant. She and Jacob have recently welcomed their new son into the world.

We took these pictures in the SOMA district of San Francisco.

New Logo - Third Time's a Charm?

I would make a terrible interior designer - first painting the walls white, then dark gray, then bright yellow. But it's so much fun changing the colors of my website!

I have experimented with different looks and color combinations, but I know this one is going to be it for a while. I love yellow and I love warm colors; they make me happy, happy, happy.

I'm in the process of completely redesigning the website. It will not be an all-Flash site. I have grumbled before about my ambivalence towards Flash sites. They are beautiful with everything glowing and blinking and sliding around, but I find them difficult to navigate. You can't use your back or forward buttons, you can't bookmark anything, and sometimes they're agonizingly slow.

I will still have Flash slideshows, but they will be embedded in an HTML site. And this site is going to be simple, which I think better suits my aesthetic. Look for the new site later this month.

Portraits: Blended #15

I took photos of Andrea and Linh while I was in the bay area. Linh and I went to UCLA together many years ago - more than I care to say! Linh was born in Vietnam and grew up in Orange county. Andrea is of Japanese descent; she grew up in Richmond California. Her father's family is from Peru and she is fluent in Spanish. We took these pictures in San Francisco.

Political Pilgrimage

I'm headed to Washington D.C. for Barack Obama's inauguration in January. I have no idea whether I'll get a ticket or not; it goes without saying that demand for tickets is through the roof. But I'm excited to travel to another part of the country and take pictures!

I'm already planning which lenses I want to bring with me. While I would love to take my 70-200mm f/2.8 beast, I do not want to be lugging that around with me all day. As of now I'm going with my 10.5mm fisheye and my 50mm f/1.4, both of which are quite compact.

And I'm finally going to get Nikon's 18-200mm VR II lens. This lens was all the rage when it first came out. It was sold out for months. It's not a professional lens, so it isn't really suited for portrait or wedding work. But from what I hear it's a great walking-around lens.

I can't wait to walk around DC with it!

Portraits: Robert and Neil

I took a few pictures of Robert and Neil together. These were taken at the Presidio in San Francisco.

Portraits: Blended #14

Neil is the third person in my bay area trifecta: as with Regine and Robert, I met him through my aunt Pamela. They all went to Stanford together.

Neil is of Barbadian and Polish descent. His grandparents on his father's side are from Barbados, and his mother's grandparents are from Poland. He currently lives in Vallejo, which is northeast of San Francisco. We took these photos at the Presidio in San Francisco.

Photo on Parents.com

A big thank you to Kelly, who submitted this photo to Parents.com. The photo is from the maternity session I did with Kelly and Scott over the summer. It is now part of an article on how to take pregnant belly photos.

P.S. Kelly and Scott had a healthy baby girl in September.

Portraits: Blended #13

Robert is another subject that I met through Pamela - he's her husband! And my uncle. Pamela and Robert live in Ohio with their three wonderful children. Robert gew up in Dayton and is half black and half white. We took these pictures at the Presidio in San Francisco, CA.