Every once in a while, you get involved with an non-profit organization that you can't speak highly enough about.  Kollaboration was that organization for me.  Started in 2000, Kollaboration was a small show held at the USC Bovard Theatre with only a few hundred attendees.  Today, 6300 people rush for tickets to the Shrine Auditorium to get a chance to see some big names in entertainment for their 10th annual show.  Primarily started as a Korean American organization, it has since branched out to become a Asian Pacific Island (API) Organization with people helping out from communities and cultures from around the world.  This year, marks their first time that 10 cities will be hosting their own events including Atlanta, Toronto, San Francisco, Houston, Tulsa, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington DC.  Videos from past events have popped up on Youtube and other video viral websites with combined views of over 20 MILLION times.  These talented performers have broken through into the industry and some might even say they owe it all to Kollaboration.

With dancers, singers, musicians, and comedians all competing and performing, Kollaboration is always a hit no matter who's on the list.  Some past performers have included Boa, David Elsewhere, Fanny Pak, Kaba Modern, Jane Lui, Paul Dateh, Team Milenia, Jo Koy, Quest, Roscoe Umali, Colby O'Donis, Darren Carter, Kevin Shea, and many more. 

For Kollaboration 10, the performances were amazing as always.  Bhangra Empire danced a colorful and fun Bollywood routine.  Sam Hart sang his funny and original Mario Kart love song which has been viewed on YouTube over 4 Million times. Paul Jisung Kim beatboxed and looped his vocals with an amazed crowd staring and cheering on. Clara sang a wonderful piece and played guitar with beauty and grace.  Jason Yang played his unique soundless electric violin, as electronic beats played in the background as the crowd clapped along.  Other competitors included Will Volume on guitar and vocals as well as Mike & Alfa on guitar and vocals, both with equally talented performances.  Mixed into this talented list, other special guest performers entertained the packed crowd like comedian Rex Navarrete, dancers from America's Best Dance Crew We Are Hereos, the Dancers of Prepix from Korea, Hip Hop artist Pigeon John, R&B singer and New York Kollaboration winner Vudoo Soul opened the night to screams and cheers.  A funny film by Just Kidding Films played on the big screen and Oprah Winfrey Show winner Abraham McDonald sang loud as his dream of performing at the Shrine came true.  Also towards the end of the show, ANBU Black Ops dancers performed an amazing story telling dance routine with perfectly choreographed music and style.  The guest judges of Kev Jumba, Rex Lee, Joesph Kahn, Lisa Ling, Michelle Phan, Nita Song, and Patty Yoon were in for a challenge.  But at the top of the list, Clara's singing and guitar playing rose to the top as Kollaboration 10's big $2000 winner.  Runner up was Bhangra Empire's amazing dancers taking home $1000 and Verizon's Viewers choice award went to the Violin playing of Jason Yang.  An eventful night as things headed into the afterparty where Jinro Soju and Hite beer were given out for free until Midnight.

Also announced was creator Paul "PK" Kim's decision to step down from Kollaboration's Executive Director position this year to focus more on his stand up comedy career.  With a sad but accomplished decision, a final video of fond farewells and appreciation went out to PK from just a small sample of people he's helped over the years.  PK will greatly be missed as his inspiration and dedication to the Asian Entertainment community is 2nd to none.  PK has inspired many people to follow their dreams.  Myself included, as he has even helped me advance in my photography career outside of wedding photography.  Without his connection to KoreAm journal, I would have never had gotten a subscription, known about their cover Contest, and would have never entered and won my first published Magazine Cover.  Thank you PK for helping me to connect with my community more.

And thank you to the hard working staff of Kollaboration.  Christine's full time efforts and Roy's leadership are also a HUGE part in the success of Kollaboration.  That with the tons of volunteers that help out for every show, makes Kollaboation a proven fact that the Asian American community is there to support each other.  With that, new friends and connections have been made, which makes joining Kollaboration a recommended activity for all.  Congrats to the staff and performers of Kollaboration 10!!!

With 10 years of outstanding entertainment, Kollaboration 10 started with a bang at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.  5000 fans came to watch the amazing singers, dancers, musicians, and comedians perform for the top prize of $2000, with $1000 2nd place and a $1000 Verizon viewers choice award.  With talented performances by all, Clara Chung came out victorious, voted by the celebrity judges of Lisa Ling, Kev Jumba, Patty Yoon, Michelle Phan, and more!!

Kollaboration is a non-profit organization that holds an annual event and movement produced by young Asian and Pacific Islander professionals and students, volunteering their time and skills to celebrate the vast talents of their community and hopefully bring them into the mainstream.  Currently there are 10 nationwide Kollaboration shows from New York to Seattle as well as including other cities such as Tulsa, Houston, and Atlanta.

For more information please check out www.kollaboration.org.

Congratulations Clara Chung!!!

More photos to come....

10-10-10

As engaged couples flock to the flower store on Valentine's day, many also find themselves near jewelry shops, Tiffany's, and a few other expensive windows displays.  Because this year marks an important date that many won't want to miss.  October 10th, 2010 will be a lucky date not only for anyone into numerology, but for many couples in love.  One such couple will be yours truly!  That's right, as many of you have heard, I am engaged and plan on getting married on 10-10-10.  My venue has been booked, caterer set, and the remaining wedding day items have started to fall into place.  I just want to thank everyone for their support and best wishes, as Allison and I couldn't be happier.

With the excitement coming up, I couldn't be happier to spend the rest of my life with anyone else.  Allison is the perfect person for me as our 2 years of dating has finally turned into a promise that will last a lifetime.  I proposed in Tahoe after a perfect day of skiing, hot tubbing, walking near the lake, and an amazing dinner.  10-10-10 has now been taken off my calendar as possible days for anyone to hire me, and even though two inquiries have already come in, I had to gladly pass them on.  Some things are just more important, and my wedding is definitely going to be one of them!!  Cheers to all and can't wait to see everyone there!!!

I have had a dream of having one of my photos on the cover of a magazine.  I am now close to that dream.  I would appreciate any votes towards my photo at the website below.

http://iamkoream.com/koream-cover-contest/

The theme was about Third Generation Korean Americans and having a cover that best illustrates that topic.  Are they Korean, American, or both?  What do they eat, listen to, speak, know about the heritage.  I felt the best and most impact was through a photo that showed a Korean on the inside, but an American flag layer on the outside.

Thanks for all of your support!!  You can vote Daily!!  Spread the word!!  Contest ends Feb 12th, Friday!!!!

UPDATE: I WON!!!  Thanks to everyone for their support and votes!  You all really pulled through and helped me win my first Magazine cover.  Thank you.  The issue comes out in May, along with a short artist bio and photo inside.  Their estimated circulation is around 45,000 magazines, so I'm going to try to get a bunch for those who helped me out.  Thank you again!!

http://iamkoream.com/

Well even though it's not a printed magazine, it's still the front of their online version.  The Korean American Journal or Koream, recently published my photo and a little interview of me in their most recent update.  Not only did I enter that contest, but I'm also entering the contest for their front page cover of the printed edition.  Wish me luck and feel free to leave me comments about what you think!!

Cheers,
Nathan

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!  This was unfortunately not the case for tonight, at least not for folks in Los Angeles.  With the yearly visit of the Leonid meteor shower, some years are better then others.  It depends on how much we brush through the tail of the comet Tempel-Tuttle.  The meteors appear to be coming from the constellation Leo, which is where they get their name.  In past years, this has been an amazing meteor shower.  With the most spectacular showers in 1866, 1899, and 1966 when thousands of meteors fell ever minute making the sky look like it truly was falling.  North America was expected to get 20-30 an hour, but I only saw 6 in 2 hours.  Asia was supposedly going to get 200-300 an hour.  Wonder if they did.

Tonight, or this morning really, Tom and I ventured out and away from the blazing lights of Los Angeles and headed North.  We got on the 405, then 5, then 14 and headed towards Palm Desert.  Knowing that looking East and North, would be our best bet.  62 miles away, we started taking backroads and finally ended up on a dirt road up near these hills.  The lights of the city were off in the distance but our eyes soon adjusted and we could see this would be a good spot.

Although capturing meteors may seem hard, it appeared more patience then anything.  I had my Canon timer remote and 2 cameras.  I setup one looking directly above with a fisheye, as to pretty much cover most of the sky.  I set it to go off for 30 seconds and then repeat.  I should have angled it a little more East, but this still seemed like the area I could get the most coverage.  I moved the other camera around, trying different angles, exposures, spots.  We even had some fun with multiple exposures and painting with light.  Not using too high of an ISO, as I wanted the shots to not have too much noise.  Trying not to shoot wide open, I ranged between F3-5.6.  I tried some at 2.8 as well, but never broke out the F1.2 as I didn't think it was worth it.  I should have tried some at F22, as the sparkle effect might have been cool.

Although I only captured a few shots with meteors, the night was fun.  It was nowhere as many meteors as we had hoped, but I guess seeing 6 and photographing a few was good enough.  We headed back to LA around 2:15AM.

Enjoy the photos and I hope to try this again someday, maybe when there are more meteors.

The photo above is NOT a Meteor, as the bright then dim portion signifys it was an airplane going by.  But still kind of cool.  :-)

A car came by when I was taking one of the photos, kind of turned out cool.

I photographed Toni and Jon's Engagement Session back in April and was very excited when I got the call to photograph their wedding as well.  My only concern was it was on the same day that I had Danny's Bar Mitzvah in the morning.  I explained my situation and would normally never double book a day, but Toni was dedicated in having me capture her wedding day.  So I worked things out and made sure the timing was right, bought extra memory cards, and hired the talented Brian Fletcher from Orange County as my 2nd photographer to make sure everything was covered.  We started out at the Double Tree Hotel in Carson, right next to the wedding and reception site of the Carson Civic Center.  When I arrived, I was amazed to see a large gathering of 12 groomsmen and 12 bridesmaids.  Now this was a wedding party!!  As Jon headed down with Brian, his entourage, and a bottle of Dom Perignon, I headed into the brides room to start getting my own photos.  Beautiful dresses, flowers, and everyone in good spirits, I could see this was going to be a fun wedding.  With tears all around, they toasted to Toni with some champagne and headed over to the Civic Center to join her guests.

After a beautiful sunset ceremony, photos were taken around the area.  Toni even had a custom red carpet backdrop made for her so they could get group photos taken.  Hawaiian Hula Dance, Jon on the DJ turntables, and lots of fun dancing.  This wedding party came to celebrate and a celebration this was.  Thank you to Toni Rose and Jon for trusting me to capture their wedding day as well as Brian for helping out with all the amazing extra shots.  Best wishes and a long happy life with your new family!

Turning 13 was never as much fun as what I just experienced.  Danny's Bar Mitzvah at the Kehillat Israel in Pacific Palisades was not only a religious and memorable occasion, it was an amazing celebration.  With friends and family watching, Danny transitioned into a responsible adult according to Jewish Law.  A ceremony was held and even webcasted over the internet for family across the nation.  With a hockey themed reception, amazing appetizers, and activities for everyone, it was a great experience and a lot of fun.  Glow toys, silly glasses, and games kept Danny and his friends entertained all afternoon and we even got to hear some of Danny's drumming skills on his electronic drum set.  There was a tasty buffet lunch and even an ice cream sundae bar to top it all off.  Thank you to David, Carole, Danny, and Matt for this experience.

 My friend Susan is an aspiring photographer and had talked to me about teaching her some things about photography during a photo shoot in Ladera Ranch.  I gladly accepted as it would be fun to talk shop with another talented photographer in such a great area as Ladera Ranch.  Our model today was Perla and we couldn't have been happier.  Lillyana was the makeup artist, doing a great job of applying 3 different looks for us.  As we began the day, we took photos inside, during the makeup session, and then out front in the open shade.  With a quick bouquet run, we got some beautiful flowers to add to our lovely model.  With different angles, and techniques, we went over lighting, looks, focus, and more.  After a few more shots, we changed outfits and looks.  My friend Suzi was also in attendance, as she is creating her new product of garter holders.  We did a few shots of those and moved down to the Library.  With a natural model like poses, Perla gave us great shots and moved around when we asked.  Susan got a good understanding of what to look for and also got some great shots during the day.  As the sun started to go down, we ended our session but went away more prepared.  It was fun and definitely something I recommend for anyone wanting to get into photography, makeup, or modeling.