Bob Lajes Photography

James' Halcyon Tea Habit

2011-05-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

So, if you really enjoy tea and you live in the San Diego area, do yourself a favor and stop by Halcyon. They've been open for over two and a half years and have made a great impact on San Diego's tea culture. They carry a great selection of teas- something for everyone, truly. If you like oolongs, they have it, if you like Chinese greens, they have it, if Japanese green is your thing, they have it, and if you just need a good English Breakfast to get started in the morning, they have it too! Not only will you find lovely and lively teas, but they carry select teawares as well, from pots to gaiwans to trays to books, and even chocolates. I just picked up my first scale there. Yes, that's how nerd core I am. (Between that and my iPhone Tea app, the old masters would be proud).
The place is tucked into the Southpark community and its understated signage, a black flag sporting a fine lined white tea leaf signal to all who enter, "Calm." The place is peaceful. It's homey, it's simple, it's inviting...not too cluttered, there is some low seating around a single table perfect for intimate conversation over a warm cup.
When entering the shop, you might be greeted by Christine or James (the owner). I've known James for about 2 years now through a shared passion for tea as well as art and design. We've been loosely connected for several years prior. I stopped by recently to share some oolong I brought back from Taiwan and to catch up. James graciously served up the oolong from a porcelain gaiwan and I photographed as James, a friend, and myself all enjoyed several brews.
Here is James' Halcyon Tea Habit.

(click on any image to see it larger)

Angel

2011-05-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Kim can fly.
: D

The Dukes family portrait

2011-05-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

I've been focusing much of my attention on photographing portraits, and much on family portraits. I've re-geared the website with a gallery of family portraiture as well as a page discussing our process for working with people to produce timeless and memorable portraits. Recently, I met up with one of my childhood best friends, John, and he asked if I'd be interested in photographing his family. John has been married to his beautiful wife Codie for a few years now and they have the cutest little girl, Cheyenne. They've got another baby on the way and thought it would be a good idea to capture some family photos before her arrival. We talked a bit about what they would like for their photos and from that I decided to take them to one of my favorite "secret spots" to shoot...

"You captured the essence of my family and not only did you get great posed shots, but you also captured great candid moments."
-John Dukes

Thanks Dukes'. It was an honor to photograph the family.

Early Documented Attempts at Levitation

2011-04-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

I've started working on a series of photographs having to do with magic... not so much as card tricks and pulling rabbits out of a hat, but magic that has an apparent otherworldly nature. Ideas are bubbling and the project is evolving. Here are a few test shots done in my back yard. Maybe a flipbook is in order? If you have ideas, I'd love to hear them...

Subjects-turned-photographers exhibit powerful images of the lives of women in post-earthquake Haiti

2011-04-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

For a while, I've been following this amazing blog called Cool Hunting. They feature everything from Design, Tech, Style to Travel, Culture, and Food- all things dear to my heart. Today I read an article by author Karen Day about an art show called The Way We See It. According to Karen Day, the show is "a collection of photographs shot by 30 Haitian women living in a devastated nation where privacy and security are nearly nonexistent. Spearheaded by Abby Goldberg of Digital Democracy, the program started with the mission of shedding light on the issue of gender-based violence, which has become increasingly prevalent in the camp lifestyle resulting from the 2010 natural disaster."

With the ubiquity of cameras and quick and easy access to sharing images, we take photography and technology for granted, but reading this article and seeing what people like Abby Goldberg of Digital Democracy and co-curators Erin Kornfeld and Erika Leone of Elk Studios are doing to educate and empower people with art and technology is revolutionary and inspiring. Please follow the links and show some love!

Photographer Monica Hoover's Rescued Cards

2011-04-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

I recently had the opportunity to shoot a portrait session of my friend Monica Hoover along with her husband Justin and their two rescued pit bulls Trinity and Sandi. Monica is an accomplished photographer, artist, gallery owner, and teacher. She has been an inspiration to me since I've known her and she has inspired many fortunate enough to get to know her. She has always been a passionate woman and it shows through her work and her character. Not only is she passionate about her work, but she cares deeply for her dogs. She cares about the well-being of all animals, for that matter and that compassion is part of what has led her to create Rescued Cards, a company whose aim is "to support the valiant efforts of animal rescues across the US through unique greeting cards that feature photographs of their rescued animals and a link to the rescue’s website." I caught up with Monica and her husband Justin for a photo shoot and we got to talk a little bit about Rescued Cards and its mission.

Monica Hoover: My challenge: how can I create collateral for these organizations that I’m working with. How can I create something for them to sell? How can I make money for them?

Bob Lajes Photography: How did you figure out that it was greeting cards?

MH: With the Barking Lot, I had them sign up for a smugmug account so we could upload images and with Smugmug you can sell photos at any price you want and you can put photos on everything from tee shirts to coffee mugs and that was getting me thinking.
Truly, the basis of Rescued Cards was just trying to figure out a way to get the word out because I felt that calling my friends and the press and media wasn’t enough. It wasn’t personal enough and I do believe photography will give the personal experience, if done right.

BLP: Tell me about the design factor for your cards.

MH: Coming from my background in working with bigger corporations I recognized the potential of how powerful it would be to get our cards into a national level pet store chain. Once in stores, we could travel to different rescues and do the same thing I’m doing here but do it on a national level and ultimately that’s the goal.
The photography does speak for itself, but I knew I couldn’t do this alone and I needed a team. Some of my best friends are some of the best designers in California, I think. I called my favorites up and said, “Hey here’s this idea, this is what I want to do, this is what I’m doing, are you in?” They were all into it, but one in particular, Justin Clark of Clark Studios absolutely fell in love with the idea and he was behind it 100% from the beginning. For Justin to get behind something says a lot. He’s very selective with who he chooses so the fact that he was so into it right away and he was like, “Let’s do it. Let’s make it happen.” So, we did. Every day between our busy jobs, we are just plugging away, designing cards and editing photos and we just built this brand!

BLP: Between the photography and the design, it’s very elegant and I don’t think that when you think “pet portrait” you think elegant, but it really is.

MH: It had to have an artistic vision. I want these photos to be creative and, you know, photographing animals isn’t easy.

BLP: No it’s not. I’ve done it. It’s not easy.

MH: Trinity is my supermodel. She’s a pro. (Laughs) But, I’ve had a lot of experience. I do photograph animals. I’ve done fine art panels of dogs. I think that with what my husband Justin and I have been through with our dogs, we might understand dogs more than maybe the average person.

BLP: Definitely...and I think for you as an artist and photographer, having captured your dogs so many times and so many great ways, you’ve developed that patience and understanding.

MH: I do feel through the whole Dog Whisperer experience, and what we’ve been through with our animals, I’ve learned to handle animals better and as a photographer working with my animals, I get it and I do a pretty good job. (Trinity licks Monica’s face).

BLP: Clearly, Trinity agrees.

MH: (Laughing) Trinity agrees.

BLP: Now, for these different non-profits, they’re not branches of a larger organization, they can just be any non-profit?

MH: Yeah, our goal is to get into a major national chain. We have the right connections with some of the bigger players in the pet store world on the national level. When we have that go through, then we’ll have our cards in all these stores in every city in every state and once that happens, we can expand and travel to 501c3 non-profit rescues all over America to photograph their dogs that are up for adoption. For now, any organization that finds us and wants us to come out for a photo shoot, we will. We'll do our best to help as many rescue organizations as we can.

BLP: Do you want to turn Rescued Cards into a non-profit?

MH: No, Rescued Cards will remain a for-profit company. The plan is to donate 15% of net profits from each card sold to the rescue organization that the animal is from. We’ll be tracking the sales and on the back of the card you’ll see the animal’s name, the organization the animal is from, and their website. It’s like this, either I volunteer for one organization or I use my talent thinking from a business perspective, ‘How can I make this huge? How can I get the word out for so many deserving organizations that need to get their word out? How can I get them more attention, expand their marketing and get them money?” Another huge factor that’s very important to me is that every part of the Rescued Cards is going to be made in the USA- from our recycled paper to our environmental inks. This is important to me. I was laid off from a job, my husband was laid off and about 20 or more of my immediate friends were laid off.

BLP: You’re creating opportunities for people you care about.

MH: Yeah and people need to support that. This is a company based on good morals and values and is genuinely for the greater good through education and awareness...to get dogs adopted. We’re not just stopping at dogs either. I don’t care if you rescue guinea pigs or ferrets or frogs or dogs or cats or pigs...we’ll do it all.

BLP: There’s that passion and that aspect that you are giving back, not only to your community, but to this larger community of people doing rescue work that goes unsung.

MH: There’s a lot of passion and love and belief in what I’m doing and I genuinely see a very big need. This is my way of helping to garner more support and hopefully more donations and get people going to their websites and ultimately adopting an animal. That’s the beautiful thing about it. Everything about this just feels right. I’m gladly just bowing out of the rat race. I love fashion photography. I enjoy it. The difference is when I sent the photos out to to some of the women that volunteered in Tijuana, they sent me email back saying that they were crying and had chills. I mean, they were crying and they were so thankful. Not that I’m looking for that or need that, but I’ve taken photographs for 15 years of my life and nobody is that thankful (laughs). But giving them these photos and to see them so moved and so thankful...Its going to help. Powerful imagery will help. It makes a difference.

BLP: I think you’re broadening the scope of whose interest might get piqued, too. If you happen across this card with an awesome photo, awesome design, suddenly you might attract a new person, right?

MH: Definitely, the things that will remain consistent with our cards will be stand-out photography, very artistic, the design will be top-of-the-line, the best of the creative world as well as clever copy when we do choose to include copy. I don’t think its that saturated of a market that we won’t have a place in it. I think we can definitely make a mark and we can be leaders in the greeting card industry because we are building our business around something that creates a social impact, creates change, and promotes education and awareness...and gets animals homes. I don’t think there’s anything better.

Keep your eyes peeled folks: http://www.rescuedcards.com/

Tea Habit: Tea for iPhone

2011-04-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

If you've read my blog before, you might know that I'm a huge fan of tea. In my hunt for kindred spirits, I've come across a few great sites and a cool looking new app. First, there's steepster.com a great community site for tea-minded folk to log and share their experiences. You can input info like brand, steep time, temperature and you can rate it as well as add your personal notes. Others can follow you and check out your profile, your tealog as well as your pantry. Super cool! This discovery led me to http://teashow.tv/ a great webshow hosted by two guys that discuss and rate the different teas they are tasting. I just started watching today. If you enjoy tea, check it out. It's educational and fun and really there isn't as much information available on tea knowledge as one might like. One of the hosts, Samuel Iglesias was involved in producing the new app Tea for iPhone. Now, I haven't downloaded it yet, but it looks pretty exciting. You can set your timer, of course, but you can also take tasting notes, and it comes with 200 brewing suggestions for different teas as well as an inventory tracker for your tea collection. You can also share your teas on Facebook and Twitter! Admittedly, I'm a tea nerd, for sure. I'm pretty excited about this and I'll be downloading this tonight. Check out Mr. Iglesias' Tea for iPhone video down below! If you download it, let me know what you think.
Cheers.

UPDATE:
I've been using Tea for iPhone for a couple of weeks now and I'm loving it! Really, the best new invention for tea. The ancients would be proud. Tea is a science and an art. This allows for consistency as well as notes on each tea type you have as well as the amount you have in stock. Plus, its great for sharing with friends. Sharing like this has brought a few friends interested in the out of the woodwork. I just bought a scale from Halcyon Tea in Southpark today to compliment the @teaapp

Dan the Automator

2011-03-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

Dan the Automator holding onto one of a limited edition of Shepard's Revolutions Box Sets after DJ'ing a lovely set of hip hop classics. Thank you Mr. the Automator for the opportunity. You rock hard.

Mr. the Automater on the ones and twos.

Opening Night, Shepard Fairey @ Robert Berman C2 Gallery

2011-03-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

Big thanks to Mr. Shepard Fairey, the unrelenting artist behind the Obey Giant Propaganda Campaign for granting me the opportunity to photograph his portrait amidst all the circus surrounding the opening of his Revolutions: The Album Cover Art of Shepard Fairey show. What an incredible opening at the Robert Berman C2 Gallery featuring 12" vinyl format music art and hosting a wide array of guests including a DJ set by the amazing Dan the Automator, the genius behind the Deltron 3030 album as well as half of Handsome Boy Modeling School. Shepard also brought along Metalachi. You have to see them to believe them. Shepard, thank you for taking time out to make this happen and thanks for getting us in after closing. Beautiful show, great scene.

Opening Night, James Jean @ Martha Otero Gallery LA

2011-03-13T13:58:00.001-07:00

Mr. Jean graciously granted me a moment of his time to photograph this portrait of him for the public opening of his solo show Rebus, featured at the Martha Otero Gallery in West Hollywood. Amazing work, as always, but my personal favorite was the Lotus Wars series in the back. James Jean also donated proceeds of his OVM scarf to the Red Cross.

Lady Dottie and The Diamonds @ El Dorado

2011-03-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd stop by to say, "Hi" to some old friends Lady Dottie and the Diamonds. I photographed them years ago for their first album "Livin' It Up". Great album by the way and if you haven't seen them live, you should. They played the other night down at the El Dorado in San Diego. This place used to be quite the hole-in-the-wall and not in a good way. They've done a great job of re-vamping the place. I look forward to seeing more shows there! If you'd like to see a few more portraits of Dottie and the Diamonds, check out my Opening Night gallery.

Tea Habit at the Klayman's

2011-02-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

A wonderful fellow and an excellent photographer in his own right. This is Michael's Tea Habit.
Thank you for the opportunity, the tea, and the fun conversation. Now, here are some photos that were long in the making!

Tea Habit- My New YiXing teapot

2011-01-27T15:00:00.000-08:00

We just got back from a trip to Southeast Asia and Taiwan and one of my goals was to acquire a new YiXing teapot while in Taiwan. Kim made it a point to stop at the jade market to find some gifts to bring back. While sifting through the endless stalls of jade, I came across a few vendors who were selling teapots. The first two vendors offered quite high prices for what I considered low-quality items, then while Kim was negotiating a jade purchase, I spotted an old man in faded fatigues with a table full of various YiXing teapots. There were several other men gathered around his table, discussing in Mandarin the finer points of some of the pots. The old man had a pretty varied selection of teapots and each one I handled was well made. As I was handling one in particular, the old man mentioned the price to me... far more reasonable than the other vendors whose selections were comparatively limited. I ended up purchasing that teapot for myself as well as another for a friend and a small stand for mine- all without any haggling...although he laughed that I asked him to throw in the stand. The whole experience was a happy one.
Last night I prepped the teapot by gently boiling it in water with tea for a half hour. This afternoon, I was working at home on a photo shoot and decided to try out my new teapot while I worked. I used an Oolong I'm familiar with and noticed there was a taste of the tea I cured the teapot in, but that should dissipate soon. I loved the way it holds in the hand as well as its pour. It pours so cleanly and smoothly without any leakage from the lid. Yay. Such a joy! Once I completed my photo shoot, I noticed the window light falling onto the teapot. The camera was out so I thought it the perfect opportunity.
I actually chipped the inside of the lid before using it and I was pretty sad about that, but once I used it I completely forgot about it and am so enamored with my new YiXing.
Thank you Taiwan!

Tea Habit

2010-10-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on a series of intimate portraits of tea culture around me. This is an open invitation to participate in a personal project for those that share a passion for tea and its rituals. If you drink tea regularly or ritually, contact me. I'd love the opportunity to photograph you and/or your habit.
My passion for tea began with my wife. Although I've always enjoyed tea and sometimes preferred it to coffee, my growing relationship with my wife is what really spurred me on. When my wife Kim invited me to dinner at her place for the first time, she proudly showed off her extensive teawares as well as the many different teas she had stored away like treasures. Over time, my tastes developed as we explored teas together- Oolongs, Japanese vs. Chinese greens, pu-ehrs, English, etc. Together, we have studied tea as well as visited several seminars, following several blogs (http://teamasters.blogspot.com/) and the passion we share for tea is still in full bloom. Recently meeting with my friend James over at our local tea dispensary (Halcyon) I thought it was time to give back to a culture that I love. Please, join me in a portrait of tea.
Cheers

Mad Michael

2010-08-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

Kim and I have been watching AMC's Mad Men recently and have been loving it- mostly because of the amount of detail put into keeping it authentic and period, being that it's set in the late 50's/ early 60's. They do an amazing job with costuming, set dressing, and set designing. It's a well written story, but you should watch it at least once for the production value alone! Right now, AMC is hosting a competition and the winner gets a walk-on part on the show.
Enter: Michael Daley.
Mike is a San Diego based actor. He's been doing it for years. You've probably seen him on local television commercials or maybe even in some print ads. I've known Mike for quite a while and I've seen him act and, frankly, his work is moving. When Mike is acting, you forget he's acting and you believe he is who he makes out to be. It's impressive.
So, just one look at Michael Daley and it's clear he would fit right in with a 60's era Madison Ave. ad agency among the likes of Don Draper, Roger Sterling and Joan Harris.
Enter: Bob Lajes.
Mike made it my job to help him show Mad Michael to the world. We had a great time making it happen- finding locations, outfitting Mike, getting props- Lucky Strikes, the Impala (big thanks to Marc) and I couldn't be more excited about the shots we got. Mike is amazing to work with.
Thanks to Marc who was really easygoing and enthusiastic, and a big thanks to my wife Kim who was my right-hand-(wo)man the whole way through. I hope you love the shots as much as we loved making them, now go vote!

Tribe Of Kings Photo Shoot

2010-07-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Down in San Diego there is one DJ crew that has withstood the test of time- The Tribe of Kings. They specialize in Reggae, but are a truly versatile crew of DJ's. If you haven't had a chance to see them, they are all over town, plus they do a monthly in Palm Springs, as well as various international events throughout the summer. My favorite place to catch them is at Harney Sushi in Old Town.
I was recently invited to photograph them for the update on their press-kit. Here is what we came up with.
Enjoy!

Tea Habit

2010-05-31T10:41:00.001-07:00

Keepin' it Real

2010-03-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

I'm a huge fan of vinyl toy art. Stay Real is a Taiwanese boutique clothing brand that also makes vinyl figures from time to time. Vinyl is an affordable way to get art from artists who might otherwise be inaccessible. As an artist and a fan of vinyl art, I thought it was time to participate and create something with some of my favorite pieces. Thanks to Chloe for smuggling this little dude all the way from Taiwan!
Stay Real.

Hardcore Kid

2010-02-28T22:14:00.000-08:00

Blacklisted show at the Che.

Cash'd Out

2010-02-24T16:49:00.000-08:00

I recently came across an article featuring my work on the San Diego News Network about THE Johnny Cash cover band, Cash'd Out. Really, they are the next best thing to seeing the man in black himself. Douglas Benson's vocal styling and, of course, his look and energy are uncanny and haunting. He is supported by some highly talented musicians; Kevin Manual on guitar, Sean Glithero on upright bass, and Andy Robillard on the drum kit.
Working with Douglas and Andy, I had a chance to recreate a few of the iconic Johnny Cash photos in studio as well as photograph the whole band in vintage '50's costuming. The band loved the shots we got and I loved the opportunity and the challenge.

Lady Dottie & The Diamonds

2010-02-20T23:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I went to high school with several very talented musicians, one being a particularly talented individual by the name of Joey Guevara. This guy has played (and fronted) many well-received San Diego bands including I Wish I, Jejune, Society, and of course, Lady Dottie and The Diamonds. You've probably seen Dottie and The Diamonds down at Henry's Pub or maybe the Tower Bar. If you haven't seen them, GO! They have opened for the likes of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings...nuff said, right? So, being the gluttonous consumer of music that I am, I would run into Joey all the time. The first time I ran into him since high school was at this Cajun joint downtown that, unfortunately, is no longer around. He was the front man/piano man for an amazing dixieland jazz quartet. I was lucky enough to have them play a Halloween party all dressed in tails, top hats, and white face paint. Needless to say, it was an amazing party. So, Joey and I stayed in touch since then and because of that I have had opportunity to photograph his many incarnations- most notably Lady Dottie and The Diamonds.This is the album cover I shot for their limited ep "Livin' It Up." Check them out when you get a chance... you won't be disappointed.

Busy Bee-Oh-Bee

2010-02-05T22:31:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
Its been quite a while since I've been on here but several things have been bubbling as of late. First, I'd like to share that I've been contracted to both shoot and digital tech for Charlotte Russe's e-commerce. So, when you go to their website to do your shopping, chances are you're probably looking at one of my photographs! Check out their site here. Its been a great experience and such a wonderful team to work with.
I've also recently had work featured at FoodChannel.com thanks to an article written on the ever-talented people at Heaven Sent Desserts in Northpark San Diego.
That's it for now.
Cheers,
Bob

Judith & Greg's Wedding

2009-08-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

I recently photographed my friend Greg marrying his lovely wife Judith. We had a great time shooting and it was a lovely day. Here are a few highlights! Big thanks to Eddie at E3 Photography.

http://BobLajes.com/ is Live!!!

2009-06-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
I said I'd get back when the site and logo were ready so...
as you can see, the logo is here on the blog, but go to http://BobLajes.com/ to see the new website!
It took a bit longer than expected because Kim and I just moved. We finally got ourselves a bit more space. We are loving it! Anyways, I've got to run but cheers and enjoy!

Very Exciting Stuff

2009-06-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited...
To start, this is my first ever blog post and I figured out how to add a twitter button all by myself! So now you can follow the twitter-friendly 140 character minutia of this San Diego photographer.
Even more exciting, I have a beautiful website being built by these guys at http://www.bludomain.com/
I selected the George template. It's gorgeous the way the images just fill the screen. There is just so much you can do with it to customize it and its so simple and amazingly affordable. It's pretty much all squared away except for a few touches and not to mention, I'll have a brand new logo beautifully designed by the very talented Erika Thorpe at http://www.5doorsdown.com/
She has done such an amazing job, I really couldn't have asked for a simpler process and at every step she has just nailed it. I can't wait to unveil the finished piece!

Okay, that is all for now...I'll get back when the logo is ready and when the site is all ready to launch...
Stay tuned!