November 2009 – Ari Photography | San Francisco Based Wedding Photographer

Ari: My Life in Action || Jai Lao Foundation | San Francisco, Ca

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, spent with your loved ones and filled with tasty food. It amazes me that even under today’s hard economic times many families are experiencing, people still have the heart to help others who are less fortunate. If you are one of these people, give your self a pat on the back and HIGH FIVE from me.

Last week I was invited to Jai Lao Foundation‘s “ThanksGiving From the Heart” charity event in San Francisco. The event was organized to help raise funds to donate necessities for the school kids in Laos and the people who were hit by the typhoon in Southern Laos. I am in absolute admiration for the members of Jai Lao. They’ve given so much of their time and energy to help others who are less fortunate. I am truly blessed to be apart of this effort and to have met the Jai Lao family. The members of Jai Lao recently left for Laos to deliver the necessities in person, so please wish for them to have a safe trip.

I donated a portrait session in their silent auction. Congrats to La for winning the bid! I can’t wait to photograph you! 😀

To read more about Jai Lao’s cause, please visit their website (http://www.jailao.org) and add them to your facebook.

~Ari

Ms. Asian American, Amy Chanthaphavong performing a traditional Laotian dance.

A master khan player who rocked it despite being blind. The khan is a traditional Laotian instrument.

The girls getting ready to perform a traditional Laotion dance.

`Ari

*Thank you for visiting Ari Simphoukham Wedding photography blog.
*Feel Free to visit my portfolio website.
*Contact me. 209.981.9820

Ashley x Scott || Cypress, CA

Thank you Ashley & Scott for coming out. You guys are born natural and were fun to photograph.

`Ari

*Thank you for visiting Ari Simphoukham Wedding photography blog.
*Feel Free to visit my portfolio website.
*Contact me. 209.981.9820

Ari: My Life in Action || Apertura at Cypress College

A few weeks ago, I had the honor to second shoot for Ray Soemarsono at a wedding in San Diego. I had blast and learned a lot from shooting with Ray. However, Erwin Darmali wasn’t there, so I didn’t get a chance to meet him. Today, I got to see both of them at Greg Bumatay’s class. Yay! If you don’t already know, this dynamic duo who call themselves Apertura are one of the top ten wedding photographers in the country by PopPhoto magazine. That’s a pretty awesome title to have and these two totally deserve it.

In their presentation, Ray and Erwin gave us a few valuable pieces of advice and walked us through their process when photographing a wedding. I walked out of there pretty inspired.

Thank you Greg Bumatay for hosting them and thank you Ray and Erwin for sharing your knowledge with us!

Erwin cheezin it up.

Ray explaining why he’s so awesome.

Greg told everyone to jump, so I jumped. Fail! Ray and I were the only ones who moved, so we’re blurry. 😛

It’s ok, I made up for it.

`Ari

*Thank you for visiting Ari Simphoukham Wedding photography blog.
*Feel Free to visit my portfolio website.
*Contact me. 209.981.9820

Ari: My Life in Action || Los Angeles, Ca Shoot-out

Watch out. Photographers coming through! I organized a shootout in downtown L.A. Two words: hella fun!

When you get a group of awesome photographers together in one place, there’s bound to be creative-fun of ginormous proportion. These shoot-outs are great because it allows us wedding photographers a break from our normal wedding work to experiment with new ideals and styles. We also get the chance to meet other photographers and make more friends along the way. It’s a win-win for everybody.

If you missed this shoot-out, don’t worry, there will be more. I will anounce it on my facebook, so keep your eyes peeled.

I also wanted to give a special thank you to: The leaders- Jason Q Tran, Greg Bumatay, and Conrad Lim. The awesome makeup artist- Christina Chen (She does weddings as well!) The models: Kristine Rae Payongayong, Michelle Honey and Elizabeth Rodreguez

Here’s a short video of the shootout:

Enjoy-

`Ari

*Thank you for visiting Ari Simphoukham Wedding photography blog.
*Feel Free to visit my portfolio website.
*Contact me. 209.981.9820

Mother’s Day – Everyday.

It doesn’t have to be mother’s day or your birthday for me to say “Hey Mama, I love you!”

Hey Mama, you’re so beautiful to meeee!!!

“Hey Mama, I wanna scream so loud for you, cuz I’m so proud of you!
Let me tell you what I’m about to do, Hey Mama
I know I act a fool but, I promise you I’m goin back to school
I appreciate what you allowed for me
I just want you to be proud of me.

I said mommy Imma love you till you don’t hurt no more
And when I’m older, you aint gotta work no more
And Imma get you that mansion that we couldn’t afford
See you’re, unbreakable, unmistakable
Highly capable, lady that’s makin loot
A livin legend too, just look at what heaven do
Send us an angel, and I thank you. Hey Mama!”

-Kanye West (Hey Mama- College Dropout)

…because everyday should be Mother’s day.

`Ari

*Thank you for visiting Ari Simphoukham Wedding photography blog.
*Feel Free to visit my portfolio website.
*Contact me. 209.981.9820