Back From Hello

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Lindsay and I drove up to the Bay Area for Thanksgiving this year and spent some time with my family. My brother Todd and sister-in-law Moka live in Mountainview so my mom, brother Edgar, and other sister-in-law Anne all flew in to spend the holiday out West. The seven of us went hiking in Muir Woods, took a trolley tour of the city, and had ice cream at Ghirardelli Square all on top of getting to stay in Moka’s sister’s amazing house. We had a great time, and of course a great meal and I’m really glad we all got to be together.

Beyond all that, I don’t really have all that much to say and I really just want to share the pictures I took, so I’ll get on with the show. I picked out a bunch ones that I liked but if you want to wade through all of them (I know I would) you can find the gallery here. Anyway, on with the show. Enjoy! (Click the images to enlarge.)

On Friday, we all drove around the corner from where we stayed to St. Mary’s College and took some family photos. The colorful leaves provided us a great backdrop for some really pretty shots.

After the photoshoot, we returned home for some wonderful food at a beautiful table.

The next morning we cleaned the house and got ready for our trip out to Muir Woods. Given that it’s a redwood forest, I had to take the opportunity to catch a few more shots of the colorful leaves before we were surrounded by evergreens.

We made a stop at the end of the Golden Gate Bridge to take a couple of pictures, I mean, since it was on the way and all.

Upon arrival at Muir Woods, we were greeted by what appeared to be, at first glance, a California condor, so I quickly snapped a picture. A little googling later, I realized it was just a turkey vulture. I like the shot nonetheless.

Next, of course, came the trolley ride of the city, complete with complimentary Santa hats, a gingerbread house, and “caroling”.

To close out the night, we walked from Fisherman’s Wharf to Ghirardelli Square for some sundaes.

Well, that’s it. I hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed taking them. Thanks for stopping by.

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It’s that time of year again. It’s time for giant birds and calorie bombs, football, family, and friends. This is the time where so many reflect on what they have, what they’ve gotten, what they’ve done, and take the time to appreciate their blessings. For some, it’s a struggle to look at life and find much to truly be thankful for. For others, the struggle is keeping track of all wonderful things that have come their way. For me though, this year, it’s easy to decide what I’m most thankful for.

This year, I was lucky enough to marry an incredible woman. My wife Lindsay, as many of you already know, is wonderful. Loving, caring, beautiful, smart, funny, creative, playful, sexy–the list goes on. So often people say that someone brightens their day or lifts their spirits or goes on about not knowing where they’d be without that person and it’s frankly a little hard to believe. I mean, we’ve heard all the clichés before, right?

Well, I’m firing up the cliché machine, because I came here to gush. Lindsay really does make my days so much better. There’s an intangible there that just can’t quite be explained, at least not in any words I know. As soon as she walks into the room, I just feel better about life. Even when I’m not having a particularly bad day, she’s the perfect pick me up. It takes me aback sometimes.

She’s also great at pulling me out of my shell (I know, right? Yes, I do have a shell). Since I met Lindsay I’ve climbed rocks I never would have climbed (mostly because I’m worried she’s going to fall). I’ve danced to songs I would never have even heard (I can do a mean Cowboy Cha-Cha). I’ve been places I never would have gone (Hemet, I’m looking at you). Think about this: I now own and know how to use both ice skates and rollerblades. What is that about?!

Credit where credit is due, the woman knows how to get what she wants out of me. Most importantly, she knows how to get me out of me and I think that’s something to be thankful for. I love you, Lindsay Mae, and I’m eternally grateful to have you in my life.

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First of all, I want to throw up a huge congratulations to Jason and Rose Martin. Their wedding was beautiful and Lindsay and I are so glad we could be a part of it. Second, I finally got to meet all of the Martins that I’ve heard so much about. Now I fully understand why they are so important to my wife. Just an awesome family.

This wedding was another in a series of firsts for me–not my first wedding, as I have a little experience with those already–but my first time shooting with my new SB-400 flash. This little flash is as awesome as I had read and I’d definitely recommend it for anyone wanting a little more flexibility in their shooting without having to spend much money. It allowed me to pull of some great shots in the low light of the reception hall.

Anyway, back to the most important thing–the wedding. It was at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in, well, Rancho Bernardo (natch), and everything looked great. The weather cooperated–which is always a nice thing when your wedding is outdoors–the food was great, everyone seemed to have a great time, and most importantly, the couple looked like they couldn’t wait to get started with the honeymoon. You could really tell that they make one another incredibly happy. I’m just glad I got to capture it and share it here with you. There are a lot, so I hope you enjoy!

Here are a few of my favorites, but for the full set, click here.

Click any of the images to enlarge.

Congrats again, you two!

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The title of this post comes from the show that put my production company on the map. The Real World has been running continually since 1992 and given that MTV has signed on for four more seasons, it’s not exactly showing signs of slowing down. Now, say what you will about the shows we make, but the people I work with are, as a general rule, very talented, very creative, and very funny. Nowhere else is this better on display than at our annual Halloween party. This year was certainly no exception as we saw a nun, a mouse, Quailman, Tony Stark, Mr. Herbert from Family Guy, and even T-Pain.

In years past, I’ve dressed up for the party but this year I was saving my costume for the extracurricular festivities. I’m not going to go into detail about it here, but I strongly suggest that you head over to Lindsay’s blog and read about our Halloween.

So anyway, here are a few of my favorite shots from the 2009 Bunim-Murray Halloween Party:

You should really check the rest of them out because there’s plenty more where that came from. Happy haunting!

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Wow, it’s been way too long since I posted here. To those of you who come here for a literary fix, my apologies–I’ve clearly been quite the disappointment. But, if photos are what you seek, have no fear. My D90 and I have been fairly active, snapping shots of everything from kids playing football, to friends getting married (more on that later). I actually managed to add five new galleries worth of pictures to my photosite.

I figure you’re here to look at pictures and if so, you’re in luck, because this post will be pretty photo-heavy. I’ve got four galleries worth of pictures to choose from–Jason and Rose get their own post–and a lot of good shots in each one (I mean, if I do say so myself). So anyway, enough babbling. On with the pictures!

To start things off, here are some shots from a little Pop Warner game that Lindsay and I were fortunate enough to attend a few months ago. Lindsay’s sister, Summer, used to nanny for a family that lives in Poway, CA, near San Diego. The boys, Adam and Cameron, play peewee football and proved to be very good subjects for some sports photography. (As usual, click the images to enlarge.)

Now, this was my first attempt at capturing fast-paced action with my D90, so I spent a lot of time just trying to get a feel for the rhythm of the game. Even for someone who played football, it was quite the challenge. My hat goes off to those who do it for a living.

Next up, Lindsay and I got to spend some much needed quality time with some great friends of ours. I’m pretty sure it was the first time that all of the members of the Multicultural Connection™ (Alysha, Claire, Lindsay, and Valoria) were all together with their spouses and it’s likely going to be the last time for a while. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to capture some of the magic.

I’m showing off a lot of these because the colors and lighting at Valoria and Brian’s made for some really fun shots.

It was also the first time I really got to try my hand at low-light shooting with my new camera and lenses. I spent a lot of time fiddling with settings and tweaking exposures, but I think it paid off. I also challenged myself to try to shoot without a flash because I was already that guy with the big-ass camera–I didn’t want to be the guy with the obnoxious flash, too.


Are you tired of these yet? Yeah? Okay, fine. Here’s the last one from this set.

Next up on the busy Dapremont schedule was a visit to the pumpkin patch. This is a something that Lindsay and her family do every year and it’s a tradition that this extension of the Dapremont family hopes to keep going. This year we had the pleasure of gourd hunting with Alysha and Clifford as well as Summer and she and Lindsay’s parents, Barb and Greg. The weather was gorgeous and the photos came out great. Yes, I plan on showing off again, but if that bugs you, why are you here? With that, onward we go.

Aaaand just a few more.

I think that’s as good a place to stop as any, don’t you? Sometime soon I’ll throw up some of my favorites from our company Halloween party and Jason and Rose’s wedding this past weekend. In the meantime, here’s a teaser from those two upcoming posts, and links to the galleries, you know, if you like spoilers.

BMP Halloween 2009

Jason & Rose

See you again soon!

I’ve been feeling pretty under the weather since about 9 on Thursday night, when, as I waited in line at Tito’s Tacos for the delicious Mexican food my wife so craved, I was struck by a particularly violent, let’s call it, gastrointestinal tremor. Like a good husband and manly man, I rode out the epic battle being waged within me and got the aforementioned greasy deliciousness (even though they were out of chicken tamales, which, quite frankly, should be a crime). I made it home safely, my appetite the first casualty in the war. The funny thing about this is that Lindsay was supposed to be the one who wasn’t feeling well and I was merely going to take advantage of the opportunity and enjoy the food. I’ll spare you the details but the rest of the night, following day, accompanying night, and next day, I became well acquainted with our bathroom (it really is quite lovely) and bed.

Only this evening have I started to feel a little like my old self again and I must say that Lindsay is at least partly responsible for my lifted spirits. You see, while I was fighting Saturday afternoon traffic on the 405 (I left some important paperwork on my desk in my office) my wife went out and got me a little present to cheer me up.  Now, I’m not really big on receiving flowers, but in some situations, I can appreciate their inherent ability to brighten one’s day.  This is one of those situations.  And of course, being who I am, I couldn’t help but take some pictures of it.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  Thanks, honey!

This is just a drive by post, but I just wanted to say that this camera and combination of lenses (Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G AF-S & Nikkor 18-200mm VR) rocks my socks. Here are a couple of quick examples (Click on any of the pictures to view them larger) :

I’m still learning all the controls and settings and toying with absolutely everything, but it’s remarkable how forgiving it is of my failings as a photographer. I can only hope I get better from here.

As you get into photography, you inevitably hear it mentioned that it’s not the camera, it’s the photographer.  There really is so much truth to this.  If there wasn’t, Ansel Adams would not still be heralded as a great photographer  to this day, because inevitably, as soon as someone came along with a better camera or lens kit, he would have quickly been forgotten.  The man was technically brilliant and benefitted from an extraordinary eye for gorgeous shots.  Chances are, if you’re reading this right now, you can’t even compete with the shots he took over 60 years ago.  You have to know what you’re doing and I’d argue, more importantly, what to look for.

I got into photography (and eventually videography, natch) because we always had stacks of National Geographic magazines lying around the house and I was fascinated at how someone could capture so much in just a split second.  The images always spoke to me.  As I got older, the love of photography still lying dormant in my subconscious, I got my first digital point-and-shoot and started snapping as many pictures as I could.  Most of them were fairly uninteresting throwaway shots, but a few stood out to me as something “good”.

As time went by, I got a little better through trial and error. People told me I had a pretty good eye, but I think it was more me getting lucky through my shoot-everything-and-see-if-anything-is-good technique. Senior year, I took a digital photography class and arrived woefully unprepared (still carrying a point-and-shoot). For the vast majority of the work I did in that class, I faked it with my point-and-shoot and borrowed my friend Taylor’s Canon EOS Rebel XT only when I had to. I learned a lot, for sure, but I really wasn’t as interested in the technical aspects as I was in the plain old picture making. I understood that the goal was to increase my ability to make solid, beautiful work, but there wasn’t enough emphasis on actually making solid, beautiful work.

After graduation, I was lucky enough to acquire a Sony A100, which, if you’re intent is learning the ropes of shooting with a DSLR, is a good camera. It’s served me well for the last two years and has shown me that while the camera doesn’t determine whether or not you shoot a good picture, it really helps. I definitely was able to put into practice a lot of the knowledge I acquired (and admittedly, shelved) during my class.

Now, the thing is, my wonderful wife, Lindsay, has never taken a photography class isn’t sure she’s ever taken a photography class, has not studied up on all the various manual settings that I tweak to try to get good photos, and does not really have a whole lot of experience shooting with a DSLR, but she takes amazing pictures. She’s quite consistent with it too. She has an eye that I wish I had and a knack for getting the light (and her subjects) to do just what she wants. I’m always very impressed with her results when she talks my camera and goes off shooting for a while. I asked her a few times what settings she had it on and her answer was always the same, “I dunno.” It’s frustrating sometimes that she’s so good with no real effort, but I love her for it.  I’ll make sure to post more examples of Lindsay’s work as time goes on, but for now, here are some pictures from a trip we took to the beach to babysit for some friends.  They were taken in the “I dunno” setting ;o) :

I can’t wait to see what she can do with my new Nikon D90 (more on that little investment later). Like I said, the camera doesn’t make the picture great, but it helps!

This is me:

Depending on when you met me, and under what circumstances, I’m either Ryan, or I’m Dap. Either one is fine with me.

In March of 2009 my wife gave me the honor of becoming her husband. You can read more about her here.

I love photography (and I’m trying to nurture that) and I thoroughly enjoy shooting and editing video. That’s kind of the thrust of what this blog is going to be about. I mean, sure it will have snippets of the things I do and the people I love and my opinions on this and that, but what I really want to do is use this space as a place to highlight some of my favorite images. I hope to give a little perspective on what I was thinking or doing or trying to capture in certain pictures. Often, I throw my photos up in bulk to my photosite and only those souls with a vested interest in the images (hi honey!) ever really make it all the way through.

So, ultimately, this will be the place for me to post photos that didn’t warrant their own galleries or photos that I feel deserve to be put on display. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy what I have to show (and sometimes say) and come back for more, if not, that’s fine. Thanks for stopping by.

(Yes, I did just copy and paste from the “About Me” page. Meh.)