Wherever I go, she goes!

Ahhhh, so nice!

My New DVD Pre-Order Special!!!

It's here just in time for Christmas!  Be the first to see my coolest educational DVD to date!  I'm offering an amazing deal to the first 100 buyers.  It will go to regular price when the first 100 copies have been sold.

***CLICK HERE NOW FOR THE DISCOUNT ***

Happy Thanksgiving!

God is so good!  This Thanksgiving I'm going to list the top ten things I'm thankful for.  Please comment and tell me your top ten!

1.  My parents who planted the seeds of my faith and pointed me towards God.

2.  My beautiful wife who is amazing and takes such good care of us!

3.  My two super fun boys who have so much personality and bring me so much joy!

4.  My health and the health of my friends and family

5.  My brother who has always supported me and encouraged me to reach higher.  

6.  My sister who always put up with me when I did mean things like make her dog bite her and steal her car with I was 15 :)

7.  My friends who keep me young and pretend I'm a single guy with no responsibilities.

8.  A roof over our head, food on our table, and clothes to wear

9.  A fun, exciting, challenging, and fulfilling career and great people who help me!

10.  Last but far from least... all of you who come to my blog and share in my life!  Your comments and the posts on your blogs inspire me every day!

We Did It!

What a day! I'm here at Blue Skies Cinema with Jeff Wright and we just finished the voiceover work for my next big DVD project! I'm so excited about how great this project is coming out! It's the first time I've hired someone to travel with me and film me at work during a live wedding. Jeff did an amazing job shadowing me for the entire day.  His shooting style and editing skills just blow me away!  As most of you know, Jeff is the one who did my promo video for the Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine cover shoot for 2006.  Today, we added in a ton of voiceover to explain everything from camera settings to my thought process behind the images. It's a behind the scenes look at a wedding that posed many challenges due to rain. I'll be making this available to photographers at a very affordable price soon! Stay tuned for pre-order specials coming this week! All pre-orders will ship in time for Christmas!

Thankful

hello blessed mountain. who do you love?

I was sitting here browsing websites to see what's new in our industry and I came across a photographer who I bookmarked in the past. His work is so unique and inspiring. It's so great to see how cool this industry is becoming! I'm sure many of you already know Jesh de Rox but in case you don't, go check him out! I hear he's speaking at WPPI with some other young guns like David Jay, Mike Larson, and Jose Villa. Click here to see the rest of the talented bunch! I will not miss this!

If you want to see some great images from a photographer outside of our industry, Jeremy Cowart is a favorite of mine!

January 2008 Workshop Seats Now Available!!

Hey guys! I just finalized plans for "The Colón Experience VIII" this coming January 21-24, 2008. We've had such great reviews on the workshop but we've still found ways to improve it! I've reorganized the schedule to maximize the learning experience. I've also added, by popular demand, a night shoot where I'll be demonstrating the use of off camera speedlights and hand-held video light. It's going to be a great experience with updated lectures, my new super fast workflow, and demos of the latest camera equipment including the all new D3! It's a busy year for me and I don't know if I'll be able to do more than one of these in 2008 so don't miss it! I'm posting here on my blog first before I send out the email blast to about 5,000 photographers this week so don't wait.

***CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!***

Julie Amazes Me!

This post goes out to all the moms! Especially my wife! I just got done with an afternoon with my two boys while Julie went out on a much needed "break" shopping and grabbing some coffee with her friend. What blows me away is that after watching the boys non-stop 24/7, when she gets a chance to stay out as long as she wants (like today), she still comes home early because she misses her boys! Dude, if I was her, and had to put up with the craziness of these guys as my main job all day every day with no time to myself, I would stay out as long as possible. Seriously, mothers have a gift! It's the gift of patience, unconditional love, and dying to themselves every day. Julie use to be an 8 hour a night sleeper minimum! She now sleeps between 5 and 6.5 hours a night and doesn't even complain. There are days when she doesn't even get to shower or get dressed because Logan throws off her schedule by waking up early or spitting up all over himself right after she changes him. She left me with the guys on Friday night to go to a baby shower and told me everything I needed to know and I forgot like half of the things I was supposed to do including feeding him a bottle after his baby food. Today she wrote down everything for me :) Anyways... just wanted to say that if you're a mom, you have rewards in heaven! You have the hardest and most important job in the world and you have my deepest respect! As a matter of fact, if you are a mom and have wanted to attend my January workshop, send me an email and tell me a bit about yourself. Include a pic of you with your family (so I can blog the winner) and your day to day duties of being a mom/wedding photographer. I'm going to choose one mom and give her free admission to my workshop. You'll still have to pay for travel, hotel, and you may have to convince dad to watch the kids for a week or find a babysitter, but most meals are included and I promise we'll take good care of you and give you lots of "adult" interaction! I won't be able to respond to everyone personally, but I will read all inquiries and make a decision and post the winner on my blog by Dec. 1st. I look forward to your emails!

Apple Cinema Display Arm

Someone commented in an earlier post about wishing Apple would create a vertically oriented 30" cinema display for ease of retouching portraits. I found this arm that claims to hold a 30" display allowing rotation from landscape to portrait. Hope this helps!

Joe Buissink: Fine Art Prints and Private Mentoring Sessions!

All I can say is WOW! What an opportunity! I just found out from my buddy Mike Caston over at Big Folio that Joe Buissink is offering Fine Art Prints and Private Mentoring Sessions. Joe has been and will always be one of my biggest inspirations in photography. I first saw him at a lecture he did in San Diego back in 2000 or 2001. I heard about this amazing artist who was bringing wedding photography to a new level and I had to make the drive down to see him.

Needless to say, he blew me away! Not only with his unparalleled photography (which literally brought tears to my eyes), but with his humility and openness to share his secrets to success. He inspired me to be a better photographer and to share with others the whole truth when I got into public speaking. He is one of the most genuine people you can meet on this planet and he's got a heart of gold. Since the day I met him in person, he's treated me like a brother and I'm lucky to know him and call him a close friend. He's helped me in so many ways, including his latest referral of Usher's wedding that has really been a blessing in my career.

I'm off to buy some of my favorite prints at his online store before they sell out!
I love you Joe.. many blessings to you and your beautiful family!

It's HOT!

Can't beat this fall weather. Some people call it global warming, I
call it year round surfing :)

The Secret Sauce

I got permission to disclose what I've been doing this week as long as I didn't give any details. I just spent two amazing days with 10 of the world's top photographers from every industry brought together by Apple here in Cupertino at the "Mother Ship" for an advisory panel meeting to help Apple better understand the needs of photographers. After spending this time behind closed doors with Apple's top executives and engineers, I am so impressed with how forward thinking they are and how eager they are to make my life simpler, more efficient, and more effective as a professional photographer. Wow... our industry has changed so much in the past few years and so much of that change was made possible by Apple! Apple's got the secret sauce that turns wild ideas into reality. I can't wait to see what comes from our discussions this week!

I had to hit up the Apple Store before I left for some new toys :)

Professional Photographer Magazine Web Exclusive with Mike Colón

Wedding Workflow: Photographer Mike Colón Plays it Safe
***View this article on Professional Photographer Magazine's Website***

When photographer Mike Colón shows up at a celebrity wedding, he doesn't have to dodge security guards or stake out a spot in the bushes. As a notable celebrity wedding photographer, he is an important part of the event itself, capturing timeless nuptial images for his famous clients.

"If you're trusted to photograph a $3 million wedding that's already making entertainment news, everything has to be under control," said Colón, an international wedding and lifestyle photographer based in Newport Beach, Calif. As one of the first wedding photographers to develop an all-digital workflow, Colón also travels the world teaching other photographers the latest techniques in digital photography. He is a strong believer in a new era of wedding photography in which photographers share their knowledge with each other.

Image ©Mike Colón

Saving the Day

Colón uses the handheld Epson P-5000 multimedia storage viewer onsite at weddings to download, backup, store and display thousands of images without a computer. "No matter what kind of wedding, you've got to have a way to back up images on the spot," he said.

While photographing a wedding, Colón and his assistants have a well-choreographed system of using two photo viewers for multiple backup purposes. After a memory card is full, each photographer quickly downloads it to one of the photo viewers, and repeats the process with the other viewer. The team is able to download, view and store thousands of JPEG and RAW images on each viewer's 80GB hard drive. The viewers' long rechargeable battery life keeps them working throughout the wedding and reception, and beyond the last dance.

"They say that time flies by at weddings, but so might your images—and your reputation—if you shortchange your backup system," said Colón. With all wedding images in his safekeeping, each copied onto both of the P-5000 viewers, he later transfers the images via a high-speed USB 2.0 interface from the viewer to the computer at his studio or the laptop in his hotel room. Colón also uploads the images to an online system that archives them for viewing and printing. There are no stacks of memory cards to mix up. When the job is over, his assistants take their own reformatted cards home with them.

First Glimpse

During the wedding, Colón can instantly scroll through and review the images to review how he and his assistants are doing and zoom in to check the focus and fine detail of RAW files. Epson's Photo Fine Ultra technology has a four-color filter system that displays 16.7 million colors.

Image ©Mike Colón

Colón also uses the storage viewer to back up and display photographs from the engagement or pre-wedding session. After photographing the couple in a romantic setting like the beach, he often takes his clients out to dinner to go through the pre-wedding images, which he downloads to the P-5000 on the way to the restaurant. With the viewer he can organize files, create albums and slide shows, and assign file ratings for easy access.

"Passing around a hand-held photo viewer at dinner is a great alternative to trying to make room for a laptop on the table," said Colón. With a large, 4-inch LCD, they quickly scroll through the images in brilliant 4-color quality and detail. The future bride and groom can then make a trouble-free decision about the shot they want to display at the wedding. Because a pre-wedding shoot is usually a last-minute affair, the photo viewer saves precious time for the photographer and clients.

"My ultimate goal is to create images that not only tell a story, but also become a tangible reminder of the feelings and chemistry shared between a bride and groom," Colón said. "The photo viewer is a great way to begin this process because my clients love to see happy and romantic images of themselves as a slideshow set to music." If he later wants to share the images on a big screen, the storage viewer can connect directly to a television, computer monitor or projector.

Image ©Mike Colón

On the Spot

Colón travels everywhere with the Epson photo storage viewer, which he carries in his laptop case or camera bag. He often brings the photo viewer to meetings with clients, wedding planners, caterers, magazine editors, or whoever else is interested in seeing his work.

"The P-5000 is like an instant portfolio," he said. "I always have it with me because you never know when you might run into a potential client." On a recent flight, he sat next to a man who was getting married and looking for a good photographer. "I pulled out the P-5000 and showed him my slide show complete with dissolving images and music. An impromptu presentation right there on the spot," he said.

Colón recently photographed a plethora of gowns featuring this season's dramatic poufs and layers, veils and flowers during New York Bridal Fashion Week on a magazine assignment. The runways featured the latest from superstar designers like Oscar De La Renta, Carolina Herrera, Reem Acra, Monique Lhuillier, and Melissa Sweet.

"I was happy to see so many fashion runway photographers using the Epson photo viewer for backup and viewing," he said. "Last year, they saw my assistant and me backing up to two viewers on the job, so I think the word spread. The Epson P-5000 makes it so easy to store and share images anywhere."

Sharing knowledge is exactly what Colón is all about. "The new school of business is about networking, rather than keeping secrets to gain a competitive advantage," he said. "If you share what you learn with your fellow photographers, they will in turn share their knowledge with you."

You can find more of Colón's work at www.mikecolon.com. His education-oriented Web site, with a calendar of speaking engagements, workshops and instructional DVDs, can be found at www.mikecolon.net.

Image ©Mike Colón

Chillin with David Escalante

My room

Landing at 5:30pm

Don't Say They Are Pink!

My favorite pair of Converse are my vintage red John Varvatos Jack
Purcell's - some people confuse them for pink but they are surely red ;)

2 Minutes Until Take-off

I'm under NDA so I can't say where I'm going but it might be fun to
hear your guesses :)

Secret Mission

Kitchen Sink Bath

The Multi-Color Flashing Sign

Julie Rips!

Can you say professional?

Getin' CRAZY at Skateway!

Skating?

That's right, we're at Holiday Skate!

Train Ride

Train ride at the Santa Ana zoo

New Vans

Sleepy Saturday Morning

Shark Bite

New York Style

Aidan said it was cold and wanted to wear a scarf like they do in New
York.

Surf's up!

Life is too short for a boring toothbrush holder :)

Supermom

Here at Blue Skies

Check out the do!

Hahaha! I look so lame in this shot! It was the best of like 5 pics.
I'm getting better though. My mac genius David Escalante told me how
to take better pics of myself... Hold down the button, then aim, then
release. The iPhone takes the pic on release... Who would have known?

55 fwy

On my way to get a much needed haircut, then headed out to see my
buddy Jeff Wright at Blue Skies Cinema to do some voiceover work on my
new DVD.

Suicide Cereal - 4 down, 6 to go

This should be interesting...

Fire up the tub!

Bedtime Prayers

I'm getting him use to this cuz if he ever wants to run his daddy's
business, he's gonna be doing a lot of it!

La-vie Album Video Feature

I've been using La-vie Albums for many years now. They are super high-quality, stylish books that really make my work look better than it is. Check out this video put together by my buddy Joel Austell for La-vie's website.

When in Romans...

...be sure to read 8:38-39. For I am convinced that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created
thing, will be able to separate is from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.

As some of you know, my mom has cancer. Please pray for her as she
endures another round of chemo this week.

Morning jog

Its actually kinda hard to take a picture of yourself with the iPhone,
especially while jogging.

Who's next?

I'm still hungry, who wants to be next?!

Suicide Cereal

Chex & Oh's with honey. We have like 10 open boxes of cereal going
right now that are severely depleted so instead of opening a new box,
I vow to use up all 10 boxes. 2 down, 8 to go!

Bedtime

Aidan likes to read me my favorite book before I go to bed :)

Logey Bear getting his teeth brushed...

This is way too easy!

I think I will be doing this more often!

iPhone test post

Checking to see how easy it is to post to my blog with my iPhone...

January Workshop Announcement

I will be releasing seats to my January Newport Beach 4-Day Intensive very soon. If you would like to be notified as soon as the seats go live, please email me (mike@mikecolon.com).

Lectures in Kyoto and Tokyo

I can't read a word of it (except my name), but I think it's my bio and program description for my upcoming seminars in Kyoto and Tokyo this December. I've been bugging Yoshi at La-vie Album for like 5 years to take me to Japan to see how they make these insanely beautiful albums and he finally gave in :) I'm planning on filming the trip because I think it will be quite an adventure!

First Kiss

Check out Aidan and his little girlfriend Kiana from across the street. I love how she's totally cracking up.