So… it has been a while since I have added a blog entry. It has taken me some time to collect my thoughts as it has been a rather eventful summer.

I managed to do a lot of shooting this summer, not only on a personal level but also shooting episodes of Sexy Photo Trip. July came and saw the beginning of a lot of changes in my life. My long relationship has come to an end and made me take a step back and re-evaluate things in my life.

I have always wanted to move West and have decided to move out with my partners in crime, Matt and Emily. Our friend Bailey is coming out with us as well. We have settled on Las Vegas and are moving to a great house in Henderson, NV. There is a lot of shooting space in the house, including a 3-car garage that has “studio” written all over it so we are going out there to make Las Vegas our bitch.

So, be on the lookout for a lot of new photography from me and also for episodes of Sexy Photo Trip, as well as a pretty kick-ass website that we are making for Bailey.

I will leave you with a photo update from some of the shoots I did this summer.

[View with PicLens]

I am working on editing images all day and doing Sexy Photo Trip stuff… then tonight I am going to check out CitiField with my parents and my aunt. With the current state of my interest in the Mets, I can’t really say I care all that much about the game, but going to the ballpark will be kinda cool.

Oh yeah, I should address the title…

I woke up a day older than yesterday, a year older than last year on this day, and thirty-five years to the day I caused my mother what had to be the most excruciating pain I could imagine. Yes, it is my birthday today… 35th to be exact. Being the baby in my family growing up, 35 seemed fairly inconceivable, but it’s here. I don’t feel all that different… I mean, certain things have changed I suppose. There’s a few to list:

• considerably more gray nose hairs
• uncontrollable urge to complain about crappy weather

Wow… okay so maybe there are only two things. There have to be more, but I guess a list of observations like this should be left to those that spend more time observing me than I do.

There are some things that I know for sure… and one is that I am doing what I love. I have finally figured out what I love to do and knowing that makes everything more than just fine.

I suppose I can leave you with a photo since that’s what all 5 of you come here for mostly anyway…

This is Sylvia. She is a friend and a great model… I am posting this because this pretty much sums up how I feel about shooting and how I hope people feel when they work with me.

Nice subject, right? I am not going to subject you to a long spiel about life and blah blah blah… it was just a subject line that made sense to me when I was thinking about how to describe my latest shoot that I just had to write about.

About a month-and-a-half ago, I was contacted by a model on Model Mayhem by the name of Engel Schrei (that’s her model name of course, her real name is Natalie). Engel is a bit of a gypsy, wandering around the country, modeling for photographers, and couch surfing all along the way. She is a free spirit to say the least. Anyway, Engel contacted me about setting up a shoot when she was coming to town in June. After looking at her work, I said something along the lines of “umm… yes please!”

Some time had passed, and the date slipped my mind. When she was in town, she contacted me again and we set up a date to shoot in the studio.

When shooting fashion and beauty work, which is all about the concept or the apparel, for me it is easy to lose sight of why I do this and have committed myself to shooting for the rest of my life (however long that may be). I do this because I am completely enamored of people. Everyone has a story and faces intrigue the hell out of me. The great thing about shooting portraits is the time you have together with the subject. Everyone is different… some people are extremely guarded, others are an open book. Those differences are what make every person so uniquely interesting.

Engel shoots a lot of different work… she is a beautiful person, inside and out. She is a total chameleon. She completely changes appearance when she is wearing makeup… she just has it. When I met her at the studio, she was wearing rimmed glasses, a rather hippie skirt and a t-shirt. She kind of reminded me of a modern day “Adrian” from Rocky… and if you know how much I love Rocky, I had an instant crush.

We had no makeup or hair for the day, no concepts in mind… she just came by and we just hung out and took some pictures. We talked a lot, had Chinese food, listened to her really eclectic iPod playlist and we even managed to spare enough time to squeeze in a few photos.

Here is the result of our afternoon together.

Here are some links to see more of Engel:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/326608
http://mannwarumist.blogspot.com/
http://www.engelschrei.net/

In case you haven’t heard by my updates on facebook, twitter or previous blog posts, I am working on a show with my good friends Matt and Emily called Sexy Photo Trip: Road Advnetures. I wanted to share a clip that is a little peek into just how fucking crazy I really am sometimes. Go to http://sexyphototrip.com to see more of us in action.

So I have been here in Scotland since last Friday and it has been such a nice time. Shay and Chris have been incredible hosts, despite their best efforts to ruin my liver. It is amazing how much my capacity to drink increases when I am here. From what I recall last summer when I was here for the wedding I did a whole lot of drinking as well…

The first weekend here was spent traveling to the Isle of Skye. Shay, Chris, Chris’ mate Mark and I all hopped in the VW and took a very scenic trip up on Easter Sunday. It was amazing… here are a couple of shots from the way up. I promise to post more images as soon as I get home and spend more time going through them.

Before we took the trip up to Skye, I decided that I would try to book some local models to shoot off of Model Mayhem… I figured why not and Shay turned me on to a studio in Glasgow that she shot in before. The studio is called Contrast Photography in Glasgow and if any of you are shooters and you happen to be in Glasgow, you will not find a better deal or a nicer person to deal with. Con Carson, the owner, was extremely hospitable and I ended up booking two days and three models there.

The first model I shot was Michelle McDonald. Michelle is an agency model in Glasgow… she is shy and all sorts of adorable. Siân Lidgate did a great job with makeup and Shay was on drums. Here are a few shots…

The second girl I worked with was Emma Ashby. Emma is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. She is a 30-year old mother of two, agency model and actress. Emma wanted to shoot some lingerie shots and who am I to say no?

And finally came Morvin MacAllister. Morvin is a new model and this was only her third shoot or something like that… I am a complete and total sucker for redheads (or Ging-ahs as Chris calls them) and she might be the cutest thing ever. I haven’t gotten around to editing much of her shots yet, but here are a couple.

Something about this place that feels so much like a home away from home. There’s a lot I love about NYC… but there is easily as much (or more) that I can’t stand about it. I love the history that surrounds you everywhere you go here. Today we went to Stirling Castle and Bannockburn. It’s a pretty amazing thing to stand on grounds where blood was spilled in the name of real freedom (whether or not the grounds that the Bannockburn museum occupy are the “real” grounds or not). I guess I am just more excited at the prospect of having a choice of what castle you want to see vs. going to look at the brownstones in Park Slope or the IKEA in Red Hook.

Today we head up to Edinburgh to see the Castle, go to Mary’s close and drink some more… I believe the order of the day is Scotch. Should be a good one…

Tomorrow I leave for NYC. I am sad to leave. Chris and Shay have been so awesome to hang out with and have been incredibly hospitable. They are two people I am really happy to have in my life. I am happy to be getting home to Mariola. Her not being here has been the one thing that has made the trip a little bittersweet, so I am happy to get back home to her. I miss her face.

Okay… this has gone on long enough. I am going to get back to my coffee and prep for the train ride to Edinburgh.

Yes I am the kind of person that usually shows up way too early to functions or appointments. I know it is an annoying quality to some people, but it’s a part of what makes me… well, me. Needless to say I arrived at JFK airport a good 2 1/2 hours before my flight so I am sitting here with some time to kill. So, consider this my killing time entry.

I thought I would take a moment to talk about a new project that I am working on… it is the most fun I have had as an adult and I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life doing this. The name of the project is Sexy Photo Trip: Road Adventures. It’s a web-based travel show where me and my partners, Matt and Emily, travel around the country (well, the Northeast for now anyway) meeting with models, interviewing them, getting to know them and their cities a bit – putting all in a nice TV show format. Right now the site exists as just a blog, but will become a premium membership site shortly. The premium membership part is necessary due to the fact that the girls get (drum roll please)… NAKED! We have shot four episodes to date and there are many more to come.

It is, without a doubt, the most enjoyable project I have ever been a part of. I get to kid around, pick girls’ brains, and take cool photos on location in different cities… okay, the girls aren’t half bad either. I know… what a terrible gig.

You should go to the blog and check out the videos we have posted thus far. It’s been a blast and will only get better with time. Stay tuned for the full site, but in the meantime, go to:

SEXY PHOTO TRIP

I am heading to Scotland once again to see my friends Shay and Chris. I went last year to photograph/attend their wedding and had such a great time. This trip will be a true test of my liver as the indigenous people love to drink. I will do my best to keep up.

I am planning on taking some photos while I am there. We are going to be doing some exploring and I plan on uploading some photos/videos from the trip.

See you soon,

Marcos

P.S. Here are some photos from the last time I was there.

What a great time Mariola and I had in San Juan. It was amazing to just take a break from everything and not think about all that has happened in the last six months. It would be complete denial on my part to say that getting laid off didn’t affect me. I was emotionally spent after building a career for 10 years and seeing it all go away in a day. When it happened, I kept my head up and talked about all of the positives that would come out of it. I was going to start my photography career full-time and it was all for the best. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite take off right away as I’d hoped.

I think it affected me at home as well… losing your job can be an isolating feeling, and even a loving partner and family isn’t the answer. Support is always great, but eventually we all need to pull ourselves through and find out what makes us truly happy. Luckily for me, I found that in taking photographs. It’s the closest thing I have ever had to a “calling” and I feel like I am finally on my way to making it happen now. No more malaise or hangover from the past… it’s time to move on and just do what I feel I was meant to do.

All that being said, the timing could not have been more perfect for our little trip to Puerto Rico. Mariola works her tail off as an RN in Brooklyn and was very much deserving of a break as well. We were both in such a perfect headspace leading up to the trip that the foundation was there to have a great time.

Maybe it’s because I am older now, but a great time just doesn’t consist of me getting shitfaced at a bar and vomiting all night back in my hotel room. I’ll leave that to the young travelers looking to find Mr./Ms. Right Now that were there en mass. I was content with doing some sight seeing, getting some great shots of the Ocean and Mariola… and just relaxing.

The last time I visited Puerto Rico was after my 15th birthday when I went down to a timeshare that my Aunt and Uncle had on the South Coast of PR. While I could appreciate the pool, the beach and not having to share bed with my cousin, it didn’t quite have all that much of an impact on me. Going back as an adult, having had a lifetime of experiences in between visits, made this trip a lot more special.

My family is Puerto Rican. It was easy to forget that sometimes as my parents moved us out to the suburbs when I was 4 years old. Before moving out to Long Island, I speak little to no English… it wasn’t long before Spanish was a distant memory. I wish now I had done more to keep the Spanish language in my back pocket, but we were still able to have a good time as Americans.

Going there this time with my eyes wide open, it was so easy to see where I come from. The cooking, the music, the people. Going to certain places, like Camuy and Luquillo reminded me of time spent with my grandparents and seeing my family almost every weekend for the first 12 years of my life. There’s a part of me that wishes I wasn’t so good at assimilating to “American” culture, but I think my wife and friends can appreciate the fact that I am not driving around in a Scion XB with Reggaeton blasting while I drive.

I guess I just never realized that I came from such a beautiful place with such amazing people and culture.

On that note, I leave you with photos from the trip. Enjoy!

So today is the last day of the trip. I am going to do a full post-mortem in the coming week, but in the meantime I thought I would take a moment to write a quick entry.

We left the hotel in Condado this morning. The stay there was great. Overall we had a great time. We have until 7PM when our flight departs so we took the car rental and headed over to Luquillo for a little peace and tranquility on the Atlantic before we head back. This place is amazing. I realized that in the last ten years I have never really taken time to relax and just enjoy doing nothing. I am happy I did it. I feel 1,000 times better than I did when I left NYC.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I leave you with iPhone pics from Luquillo.

On Thursday evening at 11:59 PM. I boarded a plan to San Juan, Puerto Rico with my wife Mariola. I haven’t been back to the “Old Country” in nearly 15 years. We were both sorely in need of a vacation and going to a beach paradise in March to escape the harsh temperatures of Winter in NYC seemed like a great bet… plus there’s a casino in the resort we are staying at and I am always up for having my ass handed to me in a little one-n-one Blackjack with a dealer who looks just like my dead uncle Ismael.

Anyway, we got in at around 4:30 AM to the hotel and were told that if we wanted to check-in to a room at that time, we would have to pay for Thursday night as well. We decided to roam the hotel grounds a bit. By the way, the hotel we are staying at is the Condado Plaza Hotel and Casino. We walked around a bit outside and layed down in a couple of beach chairs along one of the pools. It was beautiful listening to the ocean, and while it was getting chilly, it beat the hell out of the New York weather (even when it is an unseasonably and balmy 50 degrees).

Mariola does not have the layers of natural warming protection that I have (verbose fat joke) s she got cold in about 15 minutes so we ventured inside to spend the remaining 90 minutes on a lounger inside the nightclub hotel that was closed for the evening. After watching a very funny video on vimeo, I passed out. When I pass out it is never pretty. You know how you look at a baby sleeping and say something like “aww that’s the cutest thing ever!!!!”… yeah, I am pretty much the exact opposite of that. I woke up with drool on my face at 6:28 AM. We went over to the front desk at 6:30 AM and asked if a room was ready and they gave us a room with two Queen beds instead of one King. At that point we were so tired we just wanted any room that had a bed or beds.

As it turns out the room is great. Modern with classic touches. We got the Ocean Vista room so we have an amazing balcony view of the ocean. Its so nice to sit on the balcony at night and listen to the ocean.

On the first day (yesterday) we did the following:

• - Slept in
• - Had lunch
• - Went to the beach
• - Came back to the room and took showers
• - Departed for Old San Juan
• - Went to Fuerte San Cristobal
• - Ate dinner at Raices
• - Went back to the hotel
• - Sat in the hot tub
• - Watched a retarded movie with Jaoquin Phoenix (Two Lovers)
• - Went to sleep

I can’t go through everything in detail, but Fuerte San Cristobal was amazing and I absolutely recommend Raices if you want to eat Puerto Rican food that is better than my Mom’s. Yes Mom, I am sorry to say it, but this was the best PR cuisine I have ever had. They make a Mofongo with Skirt Steak that is insane. The single best PR dish I have ever had.

I plan on doing a post-mortem of the entire trip, so come on back know ya heard?