rizzarizphotography » san francisco wedding + portrait photographer

Just wanted to wish everyone a belated Merry Xmas! I hope everyone made it safe and sound through the holidays whether you decided to stay local or travel far. 

Though I’m not a big fan of Xmas (nor am I a bah-humbug either!), I will say that Santa was good to me this year. I still have my wonderfully wacky family, my health, my good friends, and the desire for my business that has kept going this long and strong – always leaving me hungry for more in life! In addition to all that, the soft-bellied man with the big red hat still decided to throw in a few really cool extras.

For years now, my partner in crime has given me (and I have to admit) some of the most THOUGHTFUL pressies, ever! This year alone I’ve been blabbing on and on about buying a Holga camera for our trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming (tentatively scheduled for ’09). Well, you’ll never guess who got one? One day I’ll be able to blog some of the images that come straight out of this baby. I can’t tell you how happy this little camera makes me! What a blast from the past!

My father was a photojournalist in the Philippines in his heyday. He decided on passing this lens on, a lens which, is OLDER than me by a couple years but we SO won’t go there. This Micro-NIKKOR-P Auto 1:35 f 55mm lens is what I’ll be using to capture those awesome detailed ring shots. Just look at the images it’s been able to produce for the first time in a few decades! This is one serious butt-kicking lens!



Gift cards were a few among some really cool things I got this year. Out of necessity over any other thing I desired this holiday, I trekked out to Keeble + Shuchat in Palo Alto and decided on getting an ExpoDisc. Color is such an important aspect of my work and now that will get triple enhanced with this lil guy in my arsenal of gear goodies. And yes, I did use the ExpoDisc to color correct for all the shots on this post.

I think I may have mentioned this way too many times by way of blog, but it is something I can’t seem to come to grips with or even wrap my head around. I have to say that 2008 has been quite a year of discovery, redirecting my life, big time decision making and pursuing a passion that is still a huge dream. I have been SO lucky and blessed to have a tight support and network of peers and family cheering me on in my endeavors as a photographer.

In 2008 alone I’ve worked with a talented pool of photographers, met a lot of amazing couples, have been to places I wouldn’t have otherwise experienced and have developed a fond appreciation of the tiny objet de artes (sp?) that are often overlooked. It’s been a blast! For now, I’ve picked out a few of my favorite moments, couples, photos, etc., to remind me how far I’ve come and how far I’ve yet to go!

I headed to Phoenix a couple weekends ago to visit my good friend and ‘then often’ partner in crime at his lovely-slightly-new-but-ever-so-fabulous-digs. Before my trip out I had never been to an ugly X-mas Sweater Party (seriously). Unfortunately I don’t have much evidence of me dressed in obnoxious Christmas spirit. What I do have are some rather heinous photos that evening. Let me tell you, the sky is the limit on what constitutes as an ‘ugly X-mas sweater’. Our friends Lindsay and Andrew hosted the lovely event at their home in Chandler. As you’ll see they have quite the eclectic bunch of friends.

The ho-ho-hostess with the mostest (ma girl Lindsay)!

Lindsay and Andrew have two dogs Radar and Burton. I can’t recall which one this is, but both are equally as cute!


I was tickled pink I made it onto someone’s Naughty List this year!


And the oddball winner of the Ugly X-mas Sweater is……….*drumroll please*

That’s my good friend Brian dressed as Jesus after he decided his award-winning sweater was too heavy to tote around…

And the gal who originally came in as part of a nativity scene…

Bright and early the next day Brian and I decided we’d trek out to Sedona, a place I had only heard of or ever read about. It really is a magical place. Driving into the gorgeous range is a breathtaking experience. Seeing the redrocks all at once will hit you like a ton of bricks! Just a quick and dirty grabshot as we drove in from flatlands.

I was amused by the Pink Tour jeeps. So cute!

Everything in Sedona is bright and rich in color. Its amazing how trees still manage to turn in the desert.

That’s my friend Brian. Life is fun and so much better with him in it. Cheers to you, friend! Can’t wait till the next one! Rr.

I know it is Sunday but my email is down or at least has been all day. If you need to get in touch, you can contact me at my alternate email address at: rmsanagustin@yahoo.com. Happy Sunday! Rr.

*Edited to add: So looks like the email situation is far more involved than I thought. Looks like email will be down for potentially another week and a half (boo!), but alternatively you can send me a note at the Yahoo! addy as noted above. *big sigh* Oh well…it’s the holidays. Cheers and egg nog! Rr.

Maybe losing my previous posts during my blog transition might have been a good thing. Going things over in my head a second time leads me to believe what I wrote in my last post about these two might not have been sufficient enough to encapsulate who this couple is and how much they really mean to me.  For starters Patty is my sister and best friend. We were roommates around the time she and Carlos met while working at the car dealership he decided to buy from several years back. When they started dating, it cut into a lot of time we would have otherwise spent doin’ a whole lotta no-good shenanigans! While I was ending a rather serious relationship in my life at the time, Patty was about to step into the beginning of one. It was a hard time for me, losing two things at once…..

In retrospect, I wouldn’t exactly say I ‘lost’ Patty to Carlos – if anything I gained another brother. Another great aspect of that is now his family is much an extension to ours and visa versa!  Patty and Carlos are getting married in the Philippines next February (on Valentine’s Day) and it is going to be quite an extraordinary day! I can’t wait to blog my journey while I am there! For now, a few photos of my silly sister and her silly hubby-to-be.