A Sneak Peak at Alpha Method's Release Party

Had the great privilege of capturing the craziness of Alpha Method's first ever (!) album release the other night :) Another congratulations to you, my friend! And lucky us, he's posted his songs online here for our listening pleasure. Couldn't stop listening...won't stop listening :)

Brian + Amy teaser

Hello friends!

I've been away for far too long. Hi :) How are you? Apologies for being MIA. Life has been crazy and honestly, had me shaken up a bit. Life's still kind of crazy, but God's really been blessing me with tons of peace as He reminds me of His love, greatness, and the value He sees and always has seen in me. It's so good to rest in that :)

It's also so good to photograph good in people's lives. This is Brian and Amy. I had the great privilege of spending time with them a couple of weeks ago to shoot their engagement portraits. Can't you just feel the love as you look at this photo? Not going to life, I could NOT stop smiling as I sat editing the photos from their session. Big huge cheers to you guys-- the way you treat each other, the way you believe in each other, and the way you love others together :)

photoshoot: Tiffany

Hello my beautiful reading friends!

I've just moved into a new place in San Diego and am soooo loving it! The people I'm living with are fantastic and the space is just awesome. It's a nice new change to have a room to call my own when I just need some alone time :) (Lydi, special shout out to you! I've totally loved living with you. I'll miss you!) Anyway, can't wait until everything's unpacked and made personal. Any DIY ideas you've personally enjoyed that gives a little special touch to your space?

On another personal note, today ED is three years old! :) David and I celebrate our three year dating anniversary! Tehehe :) He's picking me up in about an hour for a surprise date. Yahoo! What a ride these several years have been as we've learned tons about ourselves, about each other, about forgiveness and joy, and about grace, kindness, goodness, and love. Tons to still understand and learn to live out, but it's been good :) Hehe. I'll fill you guys in more a bit later. Till then, enjoy a glimpse of this awesome senior portrait session of an awesome lady as we celebrated her high school times and future joys and hopes!

Thanks for being a joy to be around Tiffany! Congratulations and happy summer!

an update & a shoot with Alpha Method

Hello hello reading friends!

These past several weeks have been insanely busy so apologies for not updating you all recently. How are you? What have you been up to? Though the weeks have been crazy for me, I'm so grateful for it all. Graduating, spending quality time with friends and family, and practicing driving have been such a joy :)

[clockwise]

1. behind the wheel with the best instructor ever!

2. my commencement!

3. the family :)

4. lovely grad gifts

And man, Field Gems Photography is really on its way with my website almost ready to go public, portrait sessions in Chula Vista, San Diego, and Los Angeles, and two amazing opportunities to shoot at Billabong's Design for Humanity & Steppie's 3rd year anniversary! Crazy! With all this, I can't help, but pause and say thanks. So...thanks! :) Hehe.

Now, I leave you with the long due favorites from a photo shoot of THE Alpha Method. He's quite talented if I may so myself. And I can't forget to mention the awesome ways he puts his heart, soul, and mind into composing his music. Find him on Facebook and ask him about it :)

Zee big news!

Helloooooooo! Top of the mornin' to ya!

Well, faithful reading friends, I have something to tell you. It's a little secret I've been keeping. Tehehe. I've actually been itchinggg to tell YOU! And alas, the time has come. Ready? Are you ready?? Hehe. Hm...Actually, I wonder if you can guess. Here's a hint :)

Did you guess? Did you see my new watermark? Guys, it's official-- my business that is.

Field Gems Photography, it's here and so, so glad to stay :) After waiting patiently for the perfect business name that would express my heart well to come to me, I jumped on the opportunity to hire my wildly talented friend, Chris. You might remember him from his previous entry about starting up your own Etsy shop. He has been designing and coding away to get my logo, business cards, and website off the ground. And it's been such a fantastic journey. The logo is done, the business cards have been ordered, and the website is turning out beautifully. Gah, I am terribly excited! Chris, thank you for your creativity, speediness, and support!

Everyone else, I have two things for you. For one, my Facebook fan page and Twitter are up and running; I'll post the contact info at the bottom of this post. Hope you find me! It'd be awesome to chat with ya. And second of all, I want to give you a present. I've really appreciated your guys' support and so for you, my faithful reading friends, I give to you 25% off my photographing services for a portrait session or special event*. Just e-mail me with your name, event type, desired date of shoot, and this promo-code ("blogLOVE2011") and we'll start chatting! The promo-code will expire June 28th and can be used for photo shoots in July until the rest of 2011.

So here's all the contact info...
e-mail: FieldGemsPhotography@gmail.com
Facebook: Field Gems Photography by Elisha Fong
Twitter: helloFieldGems
website: coming soon

That's it folks! Have a great, great day!!

*regular packaging details apply.

teaser: Alpha Method

Hi guys! I mustn't write too much today. I've got a crazy day ahead of me. However, you're going to want to stay tuned; I've got some big news to share with YOU! :)

For now, enjoy one of my favorite photos from a shoot I had last week with the highly talented, up and coming, music producer, Alpha Method. Wander over to his Facebook fan page. I'm sure he'd love to have ya.

Alpha Method, thank you for such a fun shoot! Boy, were we speedy. I think it was because you just couldn't help but nail every shot :) Cheers to you and your music!

Have a wonderful day, my friends!

inspired by...

Hey folks! How was your Memorial Day Weekend? Anything memorable happen?

For me, I spent tons of time with my girl friends at a place called Pacific Beach. We spent two days in a row there shopping. It was hilariously interesting to me how we could all be such great friends and have totally different styles. Oh, how things turn out :) Wish I had taken a group photo of us to show you all. Oops.

Well, today as we are all getting back to work, I thought I'd pass along some of my favorite photography resources that awaken inspiration, joy, and excitement within me. Get ready to feel it too! :)

May these bring creativity to whatever aspect of the marketplace you find yourself in!

by Max Wanger

1. by Jackie Luo

2. by Clara Nebeling

3. by Cristina Viscu

4. by Marley Kate

all found on Photodonuts

by Yvonne Wong

It seems that I have mostly only chosen saturated photos for ya. Interesting...I like bright and colorful photos too. Don't you? Anyway, this post has made me just wanna jump outta my seat, grab my camera, and shoot, shoot, shoot! Byeee!

featuring: Renewable Crafts

After two product and editorial shoots, my dear friend, Marie, has opened up shop! :) Hip hip hooray!! Check out her Etsy shop, Renewable Crafts, and leave her some love with some Etsy convos. Her hubby tells me she's got the flu :(

a "what if we..." type of weekend

This past weekend was most definitely one of my favorites. Did I already mention that I love, love spontaneity?! The days were full of late night drives, impulsive decisions, culture, Taboo, friends, and family :) Hehe. Good times...What made it the most special was that David so kindly drove me all the way to Los Angeles to see my dear little brother whom I sadly only get to see about 3 times a year. I love David. I love my family :) So, how about you? What'd you do in the last couple of days?

in Orange County on the pier his family spent many a hours fishing on

old high school buddies celebrating a 25th birthday at a jazz club. Happy birthday Hung!

spur of the moment decision to drive to Los Angeles at midnight

after waking up my brothers to play Taboo until 2 in the morning

by Elaine Lee

laughter

by Elaine Lee

my favorite siblings/only siblings :)

crazy end of the year talent show and banquet

with my dear friend after getting her ears pierced

And guess what?! David's getting his ears pierced too. It's going down tonight! We're making an event out of it. Ha! I'll show you the results in due time. Have a wonderFULL night!

collection: doggies

from the State Library of New South Wales

by Leonidas Halkidis

by George Eastman House

Me and dogs? Crazy, but true. I'm with some friends working on e-mails and photos while their little pups jump, wrestle, and run around us. Since I was a wee one, I've pretty much been super afraid of dogs, especially small hyper ones. They're just so fast and abrupt. It totally freaks me out. Ha. Well, I never thought that I'd spend such a long period of time around little dogs and in such close proximity, but it's happening. Crazy. So this new comfort with dogs is what inspired this post. Cheers to overcoming! :)

lessons learned

Big huge hi and hug! :) How are you guys today?

by The Image is Found

Are you new at something? If you are, I bet you're learning tons, huh? As a recent graduate, I'm learning about credit cards, buying cars, writing resumes, and establishing my own photography business! Crazy...I know, I know, I'm quite a bit behind on some of those things. Probably should have learned some of them a lot earlier. Oh well :)

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you all some lessons I've learned related to my new job. Hopefully, you can glean some wisdom from these as well.

1. A respectful "no" takes courage, humility, and consideration. Consideration for the other person that is.

2. There's an easy temptation for inspiration to sneakily mutate into an ugly need to conform.

3. God thinks of all things. He does not forget our emotions, desires, nor our needs. His plans are not faulty nor half-baked.

Funny secret...I totally Googled how to say "no" respectfully :) Thanks, Internet! You're awesome.

a random number of random things about me

1. I love my mom's soups.

2. Four of five of my immediate family members are/were photographers.

3. I'm really into the color of mint right now.

4. I'm still a little bit afraid of our family dog, Cheerio.

5. My ideal day starts off with not waking up to an alarm.

6. A dream of mine growing up was to adopt 10 kids-- each from a different country. We'll see how this dream goes :)

7. I'm a sucker for dresses.

8. I really don't like wearing shoes in the house.

9. It's still a struggle for me not to bite my nails...

10. If I could work at anyyy retail store, it'd definitely be Anthropologie.

11. To me, Jesus Christ is pretty darn cool. I kinda sorta love Him a lot :)

12. I have been to three countries and strangely, none of which were Mexico or Canada-- two countries, extremely close by. Mexico being only 30 minutes from where I'm currently sitting.

13. I have an awesome, awesome, awesome boyfriend named David. I call him D or Dearzors.

14. I could spend hours looking at photos.

15. I could spend even more hours taking photos.

16. Throughout my five years in college, I've had 30 different roommates.

17. I am absolutely terrified of alligators and crocodiles.

18. I am a god-mom.

19. I have two middle names, both of which start with a K.

20. My mom thought she made up my first name, but it turns out that it's in the Bible and means "God is my salvation" :)

21. Up until I was in the sixth grade, I was a model.

22. I would love, love, love to live in every state of the U.S. for at least 2 weeks.

23. In two weeks, I'll be getting my fourth driver's permit.

24. I do not yet have my driver's license.

24. I really love arts and crafts.

25. I wish I could speak more Chinese.

26. My absolute favorite ice-cream is plain chocolate with milk drizzled on top.

27. I love to dance.

28. I have the same stuffed animal sitting on my bed since I was born. Her name's Stephanie.

29. Stephanie once fell into a pile of poop...

30. I really love my family and friends.

31. I probably have a blended drink every day.

32. My future dream house would most definitely have a craft studio.

33. I don't do well under gloomy weather.

34. I'm still so stoked that I get to have a job that I truly love-- photography.

35. I am an INFP (Introverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving).

36. I used to hide under benches and tables when seagulls flew by.

37. I have scoliosis.

38. My birthday is December 28.

39. People who care for the environment make me happy.

40. I for sure want to go back to Thailand.

41. One day, I'll have Vietnamese-Chinese babies :)

42. I have had surgery under my eye. I was awake and saw the whole thing.

43. I call my mom "madre."

44. I want to learn Vietnamese.

45. David and I met on Valentine's Day.

46. I love singing to my God in different languages.

47. I love watching live high school basketball.

48. I know how to beet box. Well, a little.

49. I eat spaghetti way too much.

50. I once went camping in the snow with only a t-shirt, baseball hat, leggings, thin sweater, and tennis shoes.

51. Dragonflies, butterflies, and hummingbirds brighten up my day.

52. I love live performances.

53. I love to laugh.

54. I love, love spontaneity.

momma's day & giveaway winners!

Happy Monday, everyone! Hoping that you all had a great Mother's Day!

How'd you all spend your day yesterday? For me, I spent the day with the one below. Everyone, meet mi madre! Hehe. It was such a good day sporadically taking photos of and with my mom and brother, enjoying the brilliance of the vendors/crafts-persons at Unique LA (especially Danni, Steppie and Sonia! Hi friends!), and eating an oh, so special dinner! Guys, both David's and my family shared a meal together for the very first time :) Woo hoo! It was definitely a success :) Thanks Lord!

On another note...the winners for the senior portrait session giveaway have been chosen! Yay! Everyone, thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts about your moms and school experiences. Hearing the love you guys have for your moms really made me smile. So...congratulations to...

If this is you, e-mail me and we'll get things goin'! Can't wait! And hehe weird thing...Alison's numbers got drawn three times! Totally should've saved the photos for you all to have seen. Haha.

Well, thanks again guys! Praying that you all have a wonderful week! Goodnight!

the giveaway continues!

Hello all!

Cheers to all you graduating seniors and specifically YOU, Janelle! What an enjoyable day this was. Thanks for sharing the funny, light sided part of you as well as the deeply thoughtful side of you. It was truly great getting to know you better :)

And if you have not yet heard, I'm currently running a giveaway to all (high school or college) graduating seniors! Be sure to check out the post just before this for further details. Hurry, hurry because the giveaway ends at midnight PST tonight! Alright? Cool. Good luck!

a San Diego giveaway

This gift is for the high school and college graduating seniors out there and their parents :) In light of the school year coming to a close and Mother's Day quickly approaching, I thought I'd give away three senior portrait sessions to those in or able to come to the UTC San Diego/La Jolla area. This package will include a high-resolution CD of all images, 20 of which will be of your choosing to post-process, and up to 1.5 hours of shooting time. Yay! So to win, here are some things you can do:

1. Tell me one of your favorite things about your mom.

2. Tell me something really special about your time in high school/college.

3. Become a follower through google and tell me so with another comment.

4. Blog, tweet, or facebook about this giveaway and leave separate links here.

So, you can leave up to 6 separate comments! That's 6 chances to win a portrait session to bless your parents and savor some good times :) Be sure to enter your full name in the comments and to note that this giveaway will end Friday, May 6th at midnight PST. The winners will be chosen at random and announced sometime Monday :)

Alrighty folks, good luck and make it a greatttt day!

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Update:

These stories are so awesome. Seriously, so glad to hear such good things. Wanted to chime in really quickly though and let the rest of you know that the comments can, but definitely don't have to be really in depth or profound. Really would hate for you to be pressured to write something like a personal statement. I think we're pretty much over those, right? Haha. Anyway, the contest is not based on content whatsoever. Be free. Be real :) I'd be happy with just you saying that you love your mom's smile and then ending it :)

photo booth cheesin'

Happy Monday all!

Put on a photo booth last night for UCSD's InterVarsity. Oh man, are they fun! Cheers to real happiness at none other than an appreciation banquet! :)