Carlos Rivera

Her name is “Dawn, but in Italy I’m called Alba (it means Dawn…)”. This beautiful lady is the force behind Alba Fiore. I have my hands full holding a camera. I don’t know how she can manage two devices, other than that she is very talented as she is beautiful.

Quisiera que baile y que tuviera un buen rato no importa qué está sucediendo en su vida, ayer, hoy y mañana; DANCE BABY DANCE. Que La Passes Bien!!! Jump and scream baby as the stuff hits the fan and the market crashes, people die, people stab and steal to get ahead I’ve decided to play it hard and play it loud. Time to make a move and FTW Gin and Tonic baby!!

I hate being in front of the camera. I think this is true for many photographers. We feel safe behind the lens, telling people how to pose and where to look. 2009 is the year of personal experiments for me, and here is one that I want to share with you. I’ve decided to record myself interviewing a few friends with the objective of letting the Sacramento market know where the best vendors are and this conversation will force me from behind the camera and into the hot seat. The video below is my first stab at this experiment. My personal goal is to feel confident and find my voice, thank you Vu and the crew of Camera Dojo for this idea.

Yup it’s my Birthday; I’ve just entered into a doorway of a new decade. I’m now part of the forty something crowd. Yup the smarter crowd, the one the understands beauty and knows how to do it right! Yup and this time it falls on Friday the 13th!!! Nope I won’t be hanging out late this year. I will be celebrating at my Compadre’s house with a few close friends and my lovely wife. I have a Wedding to do at Arden Hills on Valentine’s Day so I got to be good for that. I also have a few friends that will be sharing a drink with at WPPI on the 15th. I definitely can relate to Kravtiz when he says “I’m older enough to see behind me but young enough to feel my soul”. Thank you God for this day and for my Country, my Family, my Friend, my Wife and my Mom. Happy Birthday Clarissa

Kerry Garrison and David Esquire of Camera Dojo, Lan & Vu Bui, Ron Dawson from F-Stop Beyond, Aaron Dieppa are my inspiration. It has always been battled for me to sit in front of the camera; I can’t even do my own self portrait. So you can image how hard it is for me to sit in front of a video camera. I look stiff, my voice sounds funny, I talk too fast and I totally, TOTALLY ramble, I hate it! The other day I was listening to the Vu Bui interview on the Camera Dojo and he said it’s perfectly ok to feel the way I described above and that once I get comfortable with being in front of the camera, I will find my voice. Those words were so encouraging that I decided to continue working until I find THE VOICE. So why am I doing the videos, am I going into video production on top of photography? Nope, I’m not a videoagrapher, I only play one on TV. However, what I wish to accomplish with the videos is a connection with my clients, friends and the wedding community; consider it a virtual handshake. The video below was put together by Dawn Spinella of Alba Fiore and I hope to have others in the near future. I would like to impose and ask that you help me on this project. Comment below and tell me what I should work on. Should I slow down, should I speak louder,what type of beginner (HD of course) camera should I buy, but don’t forget to give me props also, encouragement is allowed. Man doesn’t grow by being bashed alone.

Soy un hombre Puerto Riqueño. Naci en la Gran Manzana de Nueva York y ahora vivo en Sacramento California. A mi me gusta hablar en Spanenglish, como arroz con chicken. Hoy me encontre con el show “Latin Nation”. Que linda son mi gente. Ok a que viene el Spanglish.

The boys recorded this video with the Rumba of my old neighborhood. Check out the group Tres Coronas - their sound llama la sangre Latina.

The little things are the most meaningful. I went over today to see my little one class sing “You Are My Sunshine”. There is nothing better for the blues than a the voice of a bunch of 3 year olds singing. She makes me feel wonderful and she has that way with everyone at home. Another way of shaking the blahs away is dancing. I’ve become a fan of Daft Punk and I hope you enjoy the music.

It’s tough and getting harder, enough to make a grown man cry. But after the tears and the fears what else is left? I hate these emotions but they service a purpose. Today they remind me of how alive I am and they, these feeling, made me a promise. They tell me that if I move with the same passion of that of a man underwater, like one that is fighting for breath, that I will get through it this.  Liz I am underwater and though I see the light, but it looks far away, it’s unreachable and feel the heat of the devils whisper and he says “you too deep”.  I’m kicking, I’m reaching, I’m panicking, I’m clawing. I need it, I want it, I love it; I’m getting stronger.

Love ya