Archive for October, 2011
Monday, October 31st, 2011
“Want to help me photograph a wedding, up on a house in Mulholland drive overlooking Los Angeles?”
Um. Yes.
A couple of weeks ago, [Dennis Kwan] was awesome enough to let me tag along to shoot Tara & Bill’s incredibly intimate and beautiful wedding. Check out his work, it is amazing.
I love small weddings. This was no exception. The house where the reception took place was undeniably gorgeous. Up on the rolling hills, on the corner of a windy road, overlooking an incredible view that can’t be described.
Tara and Bill…you’re the best!
Thank you for welcoming me like an old friend and allowing us to capture your love. And your friends. And your family. And your dancing. Your wedding was amazing and I was honored to be a small part of the day you married your best friend.
Here are some of my favorites from that day!





























Tags: Beautiful, ceremony, Couples, details, Fun, Gabriel Gastelum, GDX Weddings, international wedding photographer, Intimate weddings, Los Angeles Wedding, Los Angeles Wedding Photographer, Los Angeles Wedding Photography, Love, Mulholland Drive Wedding, small, Wedding, wedding day, Weddings by Gabriel Gastelum
Posted in Photography, Weddings | No Comments »
Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Our time in Siem Reap was extremely special. Not only was it the only place we didn’t stay at a hostel; it was the only place where we stayed with an incredible family. Universal nice guy Greg, had a co-worker who graciously offered us a place to stay with her family in Cambodia. Not only were we glad to be avoiding hostels where horror films are made, we were staying at an INCREDIBLE home. As soon as we arrived and got settled in Siem Reap, our amazing hosts wasted no time.
“You have to see the sunset at the temples of Angkor”
So now, when anyone asks me for advice on what to do in Cambodia, I tell them their top priority should be to see the sunset (or sunrise) at the famous temple of Angkor Wat.
It will blow your mind. Not just the sunset, but walking around the temple grounds will leave you in awe.
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Tags: Angkor, Angkor Wat, Camodia, Friends, Gabriel Gastelum, Gabriel Gastelum Photography, GDX Photography, International Travel Photographer, Los Angeles Travel Photographer, Personal, SE Asia, Siem Reap, Southeast Asia, Temples, Travel Photographer, travel Photography
Posted in Personal, Photography, Travel | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

Out of all the countries I visited in Southeast Asia, the people of Cambodia stand out the most. It is crazy it wasn’t so long ago that these people survived a massive genocide. It seemed as if everyone had a story about how it affected them. A brother lost, children kidnapped, parents tortured, teachers taken away, etc. I remember, one day when I was by myself, a taxi driver was telling me a story, about losing his entire family, that had me in riding in stunned silence.
There is an agreement that they are not to disturb the remains still present in the field. Commonly, bones and clothing surface after heavy rainfalls due to the extremely large number of bodies still buried in the area. It is not uncommon to run across the bones or teeth of the victims scattered on the surface as you tour the memorial park. I really have no words can describe the feeling you get when you are walking on grounds and remnants of one of the worst human tragedies of the last century.
I strongly recommend people watch [The Killing Fields], a heartbreakingly beautiful movie about Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge.
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Tags: Cambodia, Choeung Ek, Gabriel Gastelum, Genocide, Personal, Photography, SE Asia, Southeast Asia, The Killing Fields, Travel
Posted in Personal, Travel | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 21st, 2011

It seems just like yesterday that I took a trip, a trip around the world.
A trip that completely changed my life.
I could go on and on explaining to you why this trip completely changed my life, but I am not a novelist. But, lets just say that it opened my eyes and made me reevaluate everything I was working toward. You could say this is the trip where my photography career began. It started with me, my backpack, my camera and two amazing friends.
It ended with countless memories.
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Tags: Backpacking, Cambodia, children, Gabriel Gastelum, GDX Photography, Los Angeles Travel Photographer, Orphans, Personal, Photography, Portraits, SE Asia, Southeast Asia, The Lighthouse Orphanage, Travel, travel Photography
Posted in Personal, Philanthropy, Photography, Travel | No Comments »
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to snap a couple of portraits for Aiden. Aiden was in town from Philadelphia to perform in Los Angeles and we set aside some time to get some shots. We had a very short amount of time during our session, but we definitely managed to capture some great images in Downtown Los Angeles.
Aiden truly is extremely talented, and has the kindest disposition; and an amazing voice!
I will post a clip of one of his recent songs at the end. I love walking around downtown LA. It was incredibly hot that day, but after some magic in Little Tokyo and near the Grand Central Market, we plopped down for some Mexican food.
The best tacos ever.
Seriously. There were amazing.
Enjoy!

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Tags: Aiden James, Downtown, DTLA, Editorial, little tokyo, Los Angeles Lifestyle Photographer, Los Angeles Lifestyle photography, Los Angeles Portrait Photography, Portrait photographer, portraiture, Singer, Songwriter
Posted in Lifestyle, Photography, Portraits | 1 Comment »