JT in da house!

My cousins Tod and Johanna have been trying to "book" me for quite some time now, and we finally got a chance to get together to do an afternoon of portrait stuff for them. Mainly for Johanna, cause she's a lot prettier than Tod is (a little family humor there). Great session, and an equally great model! Take a look!


Also, I know that in my last post I said that my new blog is about a week or two away, but as luck would have it, we had to push it back a little, but it's going to be up soon! Serious! I'm so excited about it and can't wait to start posting on it. I'll let you know. Probably another week or two (wait, didn't I say that before?)

Have a great day everyone!

New things to come!

I know, I know, I've actually lagged in getting some new posts up on my blog, but with good reason! As mentioned before, I am in process of getting a new blog custom designed, and I'm happy to say that it is within a week or two of finally launching! Woo hoo!!! I'll post the link when the time comes. Needless to say, I'm excited to get it up and running, cause it's looking great!

Along the same lines of me re-branding the entire business, I finally also received my new business cards! I opted to go for something a bit more unique, and more to my style, so it's different from what you're used to in terms of biz cards, but still totally cool! Check this photo out!


Thanks to the folks at Rabbit Lithographics here in L.A. for all the help in putting these together, and a big shout out to my graphic designer Carrie of Modaforma.net. These look great!

I'll have other stuff coming up to blog about and soon! So stay tuned!

Thanks everyone, and have a terrific day!

The Amazing Amelia and a NEW brand!

Okay, I know. It's been a while since my last entry. Who knew that taking so many photographs would take up so much time?! (Uh, I did, duh). Since my last entry, I've shot everything from family portrait sessions, the 18 MMW, the East West Players dinner gala, and our belated closing party for Cold Tofu's most recent sketch show, Tofu Exposed! Plus, I'm still working on and finishing up some albums for some of my wedding clients (they look great BTW!). To top it all off, my new logo (brand) is finally up and ready for its close-up. Here it is!

(For some weirdo reason, the "m" in the logo is coming out blue on my screen when it's supposed to be yellow. I think it's this crappy monitor I have here at work - sorry. You'll see the real, yellow version in the photos below.)

A new blog site will be up shortly as well that will completely highlight my new brand logo and consolidate the whole "M Palma Photography" business. I couldn't be more excited. Many thanks go out to Carrie at Modaforma.net for her awesome work in helping develop my new logo and brand. Should you guys be looking for a great graphic designer, check her out. Plus, she's great to work with :) Thanks Carrie!

Now I could post a photo from each of the projects I've been working on lately, but that would take way too much time! So here are a few from this past weekend's closing party. The little cutie you will see in the photos is no other than one of my favorite little peeps, Amelia. Enjoy!

Look at this face!

Yes, that IS drool hanging from her chin.

Amelia with her Auntie Helen.

I love their expressions! Especially the little one!

Have a nice day everyone!

I've converted!

It's official! I am now a MAC. No not a "mack" daddy (although debatable), nor Mac cosmetics (definitely NOT), but an Apple Mac Book Pro owner and user! Hooray! I'm joining the dark side (and that's as far as it goes in terms of photography, as I'm not giving up my Nikons!)

Long story short, my mom picked up a Mac book last week, and in the process of helping her set it up, I decided I wanted one. What an easy switch! I orginally learned how to use a computer on a Mac back in college, but once I got to the "real" world, everyone was using a PC. So my aspirations of purchasing a Mac went down the drain, especially since they cost so much!

Needless to say, I'm very happy with the purchase, and after having posted it on Facebook the other day, and getting about 30 replies, I know I've made the right decision.

So here's to my new MBP!!! Woo hoo!!!

Ahh... the Theater

A few photos from our rehearsals for our upcoming show "Tofu Exposed".

John doing his best "Randy 'Macho Man' Savage" pose.

This kinda reminds me of the movie poster from"Platoon".


My favorite shot of the evening. Steve under the lights.

Our terrific lighting guy Chris, and uber-stage manager Kurt, looking out from a "hole" in the sky

Check out our website for more details on our show. We open this Friday, March 27, 2009 at the Avery Schreiber theater.

The Amazing Amelia Heisman Photo Redux!

Remember this photo?

Here she is today!
What's weird is I think John is wearing that same blue shirt from the first time we shot this photo. Must be his "daddy" shirt.

Not only has the "football" grown, but John's hair as well!!!

Landlords of the Ocean

Okay, now we all know that Sharks are by far the scariest thing to worry about while swimming in the ocean, second to drowning of course. And we all know that they RULE the seas, hence the name, Landlords of the Ocean.

As a long time triathlete, and ocean swimmer, I've been hearing too many of these stories lately, and this one made me want to share it with all of you. I've done numerous ocean races, and swims throughout my life, and I've even joked about not worrying about sharks when I'm out there with other swimmers (heck, if there's two of us, my chances of getting eaten are cut in half, if you think about it!). But it looks like Sharks are even more curious then before, and are probably looking for more variety by poking their noses in these large swim events! Yikes!

Will this stop me from doing ocean swim triathlons? Nah. I figure if it's my time to go, it's my time to go. I just hope it isn't from a "friendly" shark mistaking me for a turtle or seal. But then again, in a wetsuit and at the slow rate of speed I swim, I guess he'll think that I'm exactly what I look like - LUNCH!!!

Check it out!

Walking among the fishes!

Yup, as the subject heading reads, Sunday was spent walking amongst the fishes at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach with a few of our Cold Tofu'ers. I couldn't even start to tell you how many "Otter" jokes were made, so I'll just show you some photos:

Helen, basking in the sunlight. We are at the "beach" after all. Well, kinda.

Part of our gang, post aquarium visit, right outside the entrance. Note the big guy in the middle holding his tiny leafy sea dragon stuffed animal in his hands.

The gang in front of the sea otter tank. I think they were more interesting to watch.

An actual sea horse! Our friend Steve wants to start betting on these.

Saw this kid up against one of the tanks and had to photograph him.

Steve and Wanru inside the Lorikeet exhibit.

Wanru with a new friend.

Wanru doing her best lorikeet impression.

Aaron and Steve feeding the lorikeets. Steve (on the right) is really happy.

Check out the colors!

All that bird did was eat!

Helen posing.

The first tank you see when you walk in.

Thanks to Denise for the invite and tickets! Great times y'all!!!

Theara & Gail got married!

Yes! The big day has finally come and went, and what a spectacular day it was! Theara and Gail got married at the fabulous French Estate in Orange, Calif. A quaint, French styled bed and breakfast with a beautiful backyard used for weddings. The owner, Sarah, was a cool person to work with, and even gave me a step ladder to shoot from after the wedding. It's the small things that count :)

To make the day go seamlessly as usual, was the incomparable Amafel Andaya from Signature Event Agency, who helped me with Kevin and Tina's wedding back in August of last year! If you need a GREAT wedding planner, coordinator, decorator, shoulder to cry on, or cheer leader to help motivate you through the wedding planning, etc. Amafel's your gal! Thanks Amafel for everything :)

Needless to say, Theara and Gail were AWESOME! And their bridal party was a definite blast to work with all day, saying yes to all my requests, and looking fabulous throughout. A big shout out to both the guys and gals for being troopers all day, and for giving me their best "Zoolander" poses, and "Vogue" looks. All too sexy!!!

Have a great time in Jamaica you two :) And thanks for letting me be a part of your day.

Now on to some photos!

Note to self (and all grooms to be) - THIS is the way to wear shoes on your wedding day. Gail's Nikes. Sweet!

I love this photo of Theara's boquet :)


The groomsmen looking tough holding the bridesmaids' flowers.
Seriously guys, you still look masculine. Seriously.

The beautiful bride :)

Gail doing his best (and even better!) Michael Jordan impression.
Check out those hops!

Can I be so lucky to work with such a beautiful set of bridesmaids for a day?!!


The entourage. Enough said!


My favorite shot of the day :)

Congratulations again you two! Thanks for a terrific day :)

Sneak peak at Theara and Gale's E-session

Had the awesome opportunity to photograph my latest wedding couple, Theara and Gale yesterday at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Here's a sneak peak at one of the images, with more to come soon!


Have a terrific day everyone!

Another Tour of Cali for me!

Stage 7 of the Tour of California. Pasadena Rose Bowl finish. Enjoy!

Not sure who this is, but by the looks on his face, he put in one heck of an effort!
(Post finish photo)

This is my favorite shot of the day.
The rider to the immediate right of the flyer is Lance Armstrong.

The man himself. Kinda hard to catch a speeding bullet!

Lance's Astana cycling team controlling the last few laps of the race.

Let's see, nice bike = pretty girls, right?

I'm not sure if you heard all the hubbub about Lance's bike getting stolen, but this is the actual bike everyone was talking about after it had been recovered. It doesn't show in this photo, but as the day went on, throngs of people were talking photos of this bike!

The same bike, with a special inscription made for Lance by the designers.
Kinda IRONIC don't you think?

I've got an engagement shoot this upcoming weekend for some new clients of mine that I am looking so forward to! We're shooting at the Queen Mary - woo hoo!!! More photos to come from that shoot next week. Have a great week everyone, and thanks for stopping by!

More Super Bowl photos

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

I guess this is how it was during the 40's when 3D glasses were "cool".

Chef Boy-pat-ties.

The all American Super Bowl menu. Jason G. digging in!

Meat. And lots of it.

Our "losers" bracket competitors right before their game. We totally rooted for Tamlyn for this!

Tamlyn getting into it. Pete won unfortunately. You'll see why later.

Our commissioner, Vic with the final brackets of our tourney.

This is Jennie, right before she closed the door on her pantry re-organization project.

Tamlyn wearing the headgear to the losers' prize.

Now if a hot "chick" like this wanted to wrestle you, would you?!!!
The ultimate loser of the losers' bracket had to wear this wrestling singlet, along with the afro. Hence we wanted Pete to lose, and not Tamlyn. Oh well, eye candy is, EYE CANDY!

The Winners' bracket, David and Laura duking it out.

Once again, the Commish with our winners bracket contestants.

Photo op!

CJ, Pete and Jay astounded by the game play they're watching!

And finally, this is Berlin. How cute is this!
That's Lily on the right trying to get B's graham cracker.

Have a great week everyone :)