More tilt-shift video

OC Roller Girls video I made from last Sat

~dw

About 2.5 weeks old

My brother's cat.





~dw

One of my favorites from DJ Krush

~dw

Amazing video I found using a 5d Mark 2

Banksy

I found a Banksy on a wall in Park City Utah. I am a fan of his work- very original stuff.




~dw

My 1st kendo pic of many more to come

Im turning into a kendo baka.

I love this sport.




ps- wow, I need a haircut.

~dw

I want!

~dw

One of my favorite scenes

~dw

Dana Point Harbour

A small break between raining at Saturday's wedding, I took this shot.



~dw
darren wellhoefer photography

Tsunami warning

Saturday I shot a wedding that was postponed for 3 hours due to a tsunami warning. Wow. Never saw that one coming.

Turned out to be fine. No tsunami, just a couple who laughed it off & now have a great story to tell the kids.

~dw


Darren Wellhoefer Photography

Dustin Brown

My favorite King.

~dw

Big Sur

A trip to Big Sur CA in summertime '09. Stood on a cliff & the big condors swooped by looking you over. They are numbered (tagged) as they are close to extinction & efforts are being made to save them.

Lucky 13 flew by very close. He looked hungry, lol.

The average wingspan on these birds is about 9 to 10ft. Very beautiful bird.


`Darren Wellhoefer Photography

Hurley Open- HB 2009

Off the Huntington Beach pier.

Darren Wellhoefer Photography . com

~dw

Esteban- an amazing kendōka

My kendo dojo had an amazing visitor- Esteban. He's from Columbia & has been training in kendo for the last 8 years. He's extremely good & is lightning fast.

I was able to talk to him the night my dojo had a farewell party for him. He's a very cool guy, but what really stood out for me is his love of kendo. He's very passionate about kendo & very respectful to people- it was a honor meeting him.

Its great meeting people who have the same love for kendo as I do- anywhere on this planet. It all seems to be the same- people who come together for the love of the sport.

Best of luck to you, Esteban. Next time I meet you, I'll be in full bogu and ready for the challenge :)

Great video about shooting

For those of you wanting to start taking better pics, or better yet- make a living taking photos, I found this guy's video. He explains everything very well.



~dw

New York

New York is a great city if you are a photographer. Any photographer will tell you that, especially how they fell in love with the city as they caught life in NYC from the lens of their camera.



This photo brings me back to a strong memory of walking around Manhattan for over 10 hours- walking, looking & snapping away.

Pure bliss.

~dw

More proof....

that Shaun White is pure punk rock.

~dw

One of my favorite clients

One of my favorite clients: Andrea

Light source- simple softbox pointed at her about eye level pointing down at a 40 degree angle.

~dw

Kendōka desu.

After class Thursday, my Kendo sensei told me that I am ready to buy my bogu (Kendo armour). You have no idea how excited I was. You don't start out with the armor day 1- you have to learn the basics & get to the pt you graduate to wearing it. It was a very big day. I didn't sleep much that night & had dreams of Kendo. haha. jeez.

I only get to wear the do (stomach/chest protector) & the tare (upper leg/crotch protector) until I prove myself to eventually wear the entire armor, but I'm on the right track.

I love this sport.

剣道家

~dw

A lot of my friends reading my blog keep asking me what Kendo is. They keep thinking its karate. Here is footage from a Kendo tournament.

Glen E. Friedman

I met Glen E. Friedman in Oct 2009 in the East Village in New York. We shot Friday & Saturday around the city. He's a vegan so he even took me to a vegan pizza joint before we took pictures (the ultimate irony was me hungover on overabundance of Sapporo + sake the night before meeting up with a vegan- I was barely comprehensible- sorry Glen!)



I am a big fan of his work so it was great meeting him. I especially loved what he did with the anti-war protest at Ground Zero.



~dw

My best moment in Japan

My best moment in Japan was in Wakayama. My girlfriend's brother in law found out that I had practiced Aikido & since he was a black belt, warmly invited me to his dojo & introduced me to his sensei. Granted, it had been over 12 years since I last studied (with the expection of a 6 month let's-skip-every-other-week-practice-due-to-work 1 year ago)- I warned the instructor "ok, let's not go crazy- I haven't rolled in a long time).

It ended up being one of the hardest nights of my life physically- the sensei used me to demonstrate new techniques on- sparing no toss, sparing no strength & it was very brutal. I got very dizzy a couple times but just pushed through it because there was no way some gaijin was going to throw in the towel & go waa waa waaa in the corner. Hell no. I stuck to it & it actually ended up being one of the highlights of my life.

At the end, we shared laughs & jokes & I felt the sincerity of the dojo. & that is an amazing feeling. I even got all the black belts to pose with me. They were seriously the 6 toughest guys I ever met in my life.

I have this picture on my wall. It hangs proudly by my door. I look at it every time I leave to go outside. It serves to remind me to never give up in life & push to get what I want no matter what it is.

You only live once so make it count.

~dw

Los Angeles

I think Los Angeles died a little when Charles Bukowski passed away & I don't feel its recovered since.

~dw

One of my favorite interviews

This has got to be the best interview ever.

'O Toole is always amazing. Letterman- best of the best.

~dw

HD Hero Calm

These guys take it to a whole new level of pure awesome.

The HD Hero Cam rocks, btw. I love mine.

Love Hurts OC Roller Girls derby vid

I made an OC Roller Girls video last night. I strapped a HD Hero Cam to one of the top derby girls- damn amazing results. I wish I got more footage with it, but I waited to the 2nd period to strap it on her, which I should have done right when I got there.

The Hero Cam really does an amazing job. I can't wait to make my snowboarding vids with it.

~dw

Shaun White

If I have a favorite athlete, its definitely Shaun White.

Everything this kid does is amazing.

~dw

OC Roller Girls vid I made

I made this at a San Diego bout they had.

As you can see, I move around a lot. I'm all about different angles. They allow me center access, which I'm usually holding up the video about 5 ft by holding onto my monopod.

~dw

Top of the Rock- Rockefeller Center, NYC

The Top of the Rock is the top of the Rockefeller Center in NYC. I had never been but my kickass cousin recommended it (thanks, Martin) because it doesn't have bars or any other visual blockades like the Empire State building does.

A quick PS change & now it looks like this:



~dw

The unknown surfer

Danny Choo

A stormtrooper dancing in Tokyo. Can it get any better?

I like what Danny Choo does. I don't understand or get doll anime stuff, but I think what he has done to relocate & be successful in Nihon all while doing so with his own company is amazing. Very inventive, intelligent guy & he inspires me to read the Nihongo book more when I get lazy & want to put it down.

~dw

Charles Mingus

I remember the 1st time I heard Charles Mingus- I was hypnotized, engaged, wide-eyed & listening. I was a fan from the first note I heard.

That led me down a path & a new found love for jazz.

Mingus, Mingus, Mingus.

Amazing.

~dw