San Diego Family Portrait Photogrpahers–Happy Birthday, Matey!

Filed under : Event, Portraits by Ben and Kirin on 13-07-2011

Nathan was about to reach an important milestone: his fifth birthday. His parents, Sally and Allan, were going to throw a big theme-party to celebrate: a pirate-themed party! They asked us to shoot some portraits of Nathan in his pirate costume, along with photos of the rest of the family, including their cute-as-a-button daughter, Ally. They also asked us to shoot photos of Nathan enjoying himself with his friends at his party. We were happy to help them out.

Nathan’s party was great: so many cute kiddos! It was hard not to snap a good photo there.

Happy birthday, Nathan!

Miss Philippines California

Filed under : Event by Ben and Kirin on 13-09-2010

We recently had the honor of covering the Miss Philippines California 2010 Pageant last month. We were invited by our good friends, Cheryl Daen and Tiffany Hernandez, who both put this organization together and ran a terrific Pageant.  Cheryl is also a top-notch make-up artist who runs her own company, Cherie & Co.

All the girls who participated are, or course, beautiful. But they are also all very accomplished. Many of them hold or are working towards completing advanced degrees. Our good friend and former BKM client Paola Rodelas, current Miss Philippines San Diego, was a guest visiting beauty queen.

Here’s our friend Paola, Miss Philippines San Diego County. Hi Paola!

Dejah Urbanovitch, Miss Philippines California Regional, 2010.

Huliana Poyrazoglu, Miss Philippines California Cities, 2010.

And Frances Pascua, Miss Philippines California National, 2010.

The lovely organizers of the Miss Philippines California Pageant, (L-R): Cheryl Daen and Tiffany Hernandez.

Double Dragon Opening for E-40 at the 4th and B

Filed under : Event by Ben and Kirin on 29-03-2010

We first met Zealous and Lamont of Double Dragon last year when they hired us to shoot some publicity shots for them. They were just starting out then, having just played at a few free gigs at some small clubs around town. They’re really cool guys, laid-back, humble, polite to my wife–good people.

We had a fun shoot and got some good images out of that session. Well, earlier this month they asked if I could shoot some concert shots of them at their first big gig with a “name” act, opening for E-40.

I was amazed at how far they have gotten in such a short amount of time. When we first met them, they knew nothing of the business. Ya, they’re talented at what they do: they got some good beats (listen for yourself). But, more than that, they’re hungry and they hustle. Zealous tells me that a lot of their free time is spent selling tickets to their shows. And, through networking with other people in the biz, they’ve managed to make contacts with promoters and producers, people who would be able to help them move their music. They’re going to be playing at some shows in L.A. in the near future, and they hope to be shooting a new video this year. In early May, they’ll be opening for Too Short. Successful entrepreneurship: it’s a beautiful thing…

Here’s Zealous and his beautiful wife, Jeanette.

And Zealous right before he hits the stage with his bro.

Bad-ass image of Lamont…

Right after their set…

Kiss the wife…

Obligatory shot with collaborating artist, Lady X-Plicit…