mila | stray thoughts . modeling

i'm a photographer.  curtis is my favorite subject.  that's the formula.  i've taken soooo many pictures of curtis that he's gotten very used to having a camera in his face.  throw in 20 more cameras and he won't even bat an eyelash unless it makes for a good look.  i've created a model!  an incredibly photogenic one i might add.  i on the other hand hate getting my picture taken.  i can take my own picture via timer or remote (i had to do this for my 365 project on flickr).  and i'll take about 96 of them just to find the one of me i'm ok with.  i can handle curtis taking the occasional picture as well but generally speaking i tend to contort my face into some "funny" to detract from my discomfort.  i just can't stand it.  


a few weeks ago i was on my way to a photographer get together to shoot some models out in riverside.  curtis was dropping me off on his way to a basketball game.  my friend hanssie (who was coordinating the whole thing) pulled the FRIEND CARD and asked curtis and i to step in as models because the real ones weren't able to make it.  groan.


thank god i had something decent on.  (i'd been working so hard on curtis' new mandate to not dress like the carpenter's assistant.  long story there.  i'll tell that one another time.)  i got to the venue and the makeup artists pulled some major magic (her name is kacee and she is awesome!).  she glammed me up real good!


curtis, mr.diva was not about to be outshown.  when he saw the makeup work he ran to the car where he oh so conveniently had a change of clothes sitting in the trunk.  out came my spectacular model ready to play.  he's such a sport!  i just love him.


it was a fun afternoon with a great set of people.  i worked hard not to contort my face for all those photographers and i guess i ended up talking instead of making faces to hide my discomfort.  curtis had to keep reminding me that "models don't talk".  lol!  can you believe it?  


well... here's some of the shots from that day.  if you're on my facebook you've seen these make the rounds.  there were 10 photographers that day but i couldn't get all the photos and some of them didn't have watermarks.  i'm sorry if i missed anyone :(

mila | portraits . chi

her name is sroechinee.  yep.  that's exactly what i thought... and her last name is twice as long and just as complicated so we'll call her chi.  lol.

chi was one of those friend of a friend that i met over the glorious internet and via email.  she was in town last week  from minnesota vacationing in "sunny" california.  too bad she left the warm sun back there and walked in to june gloom over here.  it didn't stop us from rockin a quick shoot at the newport hotel she was staying at though.  

mila | 20.20.20

20 bucks . for 20 minutes . on the 20th

have you noticed how EVERYONE you know is on the net now? facebook, twitter, myspace, eharmony, chemistry, linkedin, IM .. the cyber community is taking over the world. people even access their networks via phone these days. face time is replaced by electronic communication and your profile picture is your handshake.

what does your profile picture say about you? do you even have a picture or did you post one of a cute puppy coz you couldn't find one you liked? hmmm? if you don't have one, need a new one, know someone who needs one or just want a spare one for yourself... come join me for this special session.

the pimp out your profile session

i've got the studio booked and i have 10 slots. for $20 you, me and my camera spend 20 minutes havin a blast jazzin up that profile. we'll get a new picture of you that says "oh yeah!!" on the next cyber handshake.

interested? here's the details...

• THE DATE | 06.20.09
• THE TIME | you decide. i have slots from 11 - 3
• THE PLACE | fullerton, CA

• THE PRICE FOR A SWEET NEW PROFILE?? $20 -- it's a great deal... promise!

you know you want to! just send me an email at michelle@milaPhotography.com and i'll send you ALL the details plus answer all your questions. hurry hurry! don't wait too long. 10 slots fill up super quick.

mila | stray thoughts . tripping over words

i guess the words "sweep" and "close-out" are not the same as "blow-out". i'm trying really hard to keep up with the basketball terminology. hell, i'm trying to keep up with basketball period. i was getting into an engaging conversation with curtis over how the lakers won the 6th game of the semi-finals (curtis just corrected me again, apparently it's called the western championship).... and we were talking about how they kicked some major a$$. but this is how our conversations always go.

i'm constantly reaching for the words or the proper colloquialism to express my thoughts. somehow i hardly ever get it right. i'm always shoving the wrong phrase into the right sentence. i totally get my point across coz curtis knows what's up (people i talk to usually do). in fact, he'll smilingly correct the verbal trip and we can both hope that i'll remember it the next time but it's not likely that i will. but that definitely means that he understood my point. i like to attribute it to my american pop-culture age (since i arrived here at the end of my teens i missed out on all the foundation years of TV, music and pop-culture) or it could be my ESL but it's most likely my awful memory. it's been pretty bad lately. anyone got a pill i can take to cure that?

took this picture with my phone. we were at the costa mesa speedway yellin an hollerin after dirt bikes with a bunch of fun friends. what a great night! sux that i can't make it bigger :(