Training with Jesus Chavez photos

Recently I got the opportunity to photograph Jesus for an article for Pam LeBlanc's FitCity column which can be found here.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/15/09

Jesus Chavez at the boxing gym annex at the RunTex on Riverside St on June 15, 2009.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/15/09

Jesus Chavez at the boxing gym annex at the RunTex on Riverside St on June 15, 2009.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/11/09

Jesus Chavez works out Pam LaBlanc and other students in the boxing gym annex at the RunTex on Riverside St.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/11/09

Jesus Chavez works out Pam LaBlanc and other students in the boxing gym annex at the RunTex on Riverside St. on June 11, 2009.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/11/09

Crayton Carrozza, 9, (left) gets his hands wrapped by Jesus Chavez while his brother Coby Carrozza, 8, watches and waits for their training session to begin at the boxing gym annex at the RunTex on Riverside St. on June 11, 2009.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/11/09

Jesus Chavez wraps Crayton Carrozza's hands as they prepare for a training session at the boxing gym annex at the RunTex on Riverside St. on June 11, 2009.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/11/09

Jesus Chavez works with Coby Carrozza, 8, in the boxing gym annex at the RunTex on Riverside St. on June 11, 2009.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/11/09

Jesus Chavez works with Coby Carrozza, 8, in the boxing gym annex at the RunTex on Riverside St. on June 11, 2009.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/11/09

Crayton Carrozza, 9, (left) punches a bag with his brother Coby Carrozza, 8, at the boxing gym annex at the RunTex on Riverside St. on June 11, 2009.

Ben and Faith's wedding

Last Friday I had the pleasure of photographing Ben and Faith's wedding in Arlington, Texas. Congrats to the gorgeous couple! :)

My cousin's wedding in Seattle

Flowers from Pike's Market.

Lobster

Gma and relatives preparing the gifts for the tea ceremony.

My cousin, the groom, Tim

Pinning on the boutonniere.

Tim with the bouquet.

Going to cars to load up and head to bride's house.

Plum wine for the tea kettle.

Delivery.

Ceremony.

Doan, bride, on phone with lost limo driver.

:)

Congratulations Doan and Tim! :)

Vi and Chris at the park

Vi Nguyen and Chris Tong hanging out at the park near Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas.

Some editorial work from the past few months!

02/04/09 Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Danielle Salon a music teacher who was on TLC's What Not to Wear shows off her new wardrobe and her new look on February 4, 2009.

02/04/09 Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

A few pieces of jewelry from Danielle Salon a music teacher who was on TLC's What not to Wear shows off her new wardrobe and her new look on February 4, 2009.

02/10/09 Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

In the next 3-4 weeks the Austin PD will be testing out a small handheld bluetooth enabled fingerprint scanner that will allow the officers to check the fingerprint database for any matches on people for post arrest or for those who consent. Holding the Blue Check system device is Jerry Pena.

02/10/09 Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

In the next 3-4 weeks the Austin PD will be testing out a small handheld bluetooth enabled fingerprint scanner that will allow the officers to check the fingerprint database for any matches on people for post arrest or for those who consent.

2/20/09 Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Craig Toungate, a local singer/actor, has produced a one-man show about his great great grandfather's adventures to the Alamo when he was 18 years old.

April 2, 2009, Photo by Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Wimberly residents Mark Krotzer, his aunt Barbara Timko and Phil Krotzer sit out on the porch and enjoy their wine and beer while Mark's wife takes the wine tasting class at Clifford's Original Wine Bar. The owners made it a private club open to all so that they are able to serve alcohol while being in a dry county. The are open Thursday through Saturday 4 pm through 11 pm.

April 30, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen For Austin Fit Magazine

Berry parfait

April 30, 2009. Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Jennifer Nettles (left) and Kristian Bush of Sugarland performs at the Frank Erwin Center on April 30, 2009.

April 30, 2009. Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Jennifer Nettles (left) and Kristian Bush of Sugarland performs at the Frank Erwin Center on April 30, 2009.

April 30, 2009. Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Jennifer Nettles (left) and Kristian Bush of Sugarland performs at the Frank Erwin Center on April 30, 2009.

May 8, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen for Austin Fit Magazine

Mark Blumenthal- Founder and Executive Director, Editor, HerbalGram & HerbClip

May 1, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen for Austin Fit Magazine

Dr. Slaughter from the Nasal and Sinus Center of Austin.

April 29, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen for Austin Fit Magazine

Jogi Bhagat, yoga instructor for Yoga Solutions

May 15, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

A silver Aston Martin DBS as seen at the John Eagle European dealership on 12989 Research Blvd., Austin, TX.

May 15, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

A carbon black Aston Martin DBS as seen at the John Eagle European dealership on 12989 Research Blvd., Austin, TX.

May 15, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Writer Pam LeBlanc sits in an Aston Martin DBS silver, red, carbon black as seen at the John Eagle European dealership on 12989 Research Blvd., Austin, TX.

May 28, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Susan Lubin, Nina Seely, Marcia Levy, and Janice Ryan look through a personal photo album that Karen Spellings, a friend of Farrah Fawcett brought for the evening to share with others. Guests gather for a Farrah Fawcett charity event in order to help raise money for Locks of Love on the evening of May 28, 2009.

May 28, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Lisa Bradford fills out a contribution form for Locks of Love at a gather for a Farrah Fawcett charity event in order to help raise money for Locks of Love on the evening of May 28, 2009.

May 28, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Nina Seely (right) announces to the guest that the American Cancer Society had sent over a poster of Farrah Fawcett and she wanted guest to sign it so they could send it to the family. The guests came to gather for a Farrah Fawcett charity event in order to help raise money for Locks of Love on the evening of May 28, 2009.

May 28, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Gail Chovan checks all the trivia sheets to determine the winner of the Farrah Trivia Contest that they put on as part of a gathering for a Farrah Fawcett charity event in order to help raise money for Locks of Love on the evening of May 28, 2009.

May 28, 2009. Photo by Thao Nguyen/For AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Hosts Nina Seely, Gail Chovan, and MP Mueller all gather for a Farrah Fawcett charity event in order to help raise money for Locks of Love on the evening of May 28, 2009.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 05/30/09

Joel Beard, 28, makes an orange screen printed beet with the help of Ashley DeVille, 24, during Skillshare Austin's 2nd Annual Full Weekend Event on May 30, 2009 at Space 12 on 3121 E. 12th St.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 05/30/09

Finn Skuldt, 5, with the help of his mom, Cory Skuldt, 29, teaches the Handknitting session during Skillshare Austin's 2nd Annual Full Weekend Event on May 30, 2009 at Space 12 on 3121 E. 12th St.

Thao Nguyen/ FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 06/06/09

Jessie D'Aoust, 39, and Shawn Bryan, 43, stand and talk about the watering hole they had planned to spend the afternoon at while Julianna Potter, 23, and Avery Holton, 28, (center) climb out of the dried out Twin Falls in the Barton Creek Greenbelt on June 6, 2009.

A few random photos of Vi

Skill Share Austin

I spent the weekend hanging out with a great batch of people and documented and produced an audio slideshow of the Skillshare Austin Workshop weekend.

http://thaophotography.com

Click. Visit. Watch. Listen. Enjoy! :)

The hard workers of Skillshare Austin: Chris, Virginia, Cory, Charity and David.

Graduation Party

This is just a random photo from a graduation party I shot this weekend! I love how the cowboy hat contrast with the ladies in white :)

Midori sours

Underwater photography :)

Chris and Vi.

Kevin.

Oz.

Rachel's senior photos

You gotta have some by the tower right? :)

My favorite from the whole take... something about the colors and composition that I love about this image!

A little robe action on the Drag!

Updates

Lots has changed for me lately when it comes to my photography. Something dawned on me about last week and the way I function and do business has changed a bit and already I'm seeing changes and even had contact and/or booked a shoot or two. 

So that always brings some sort of happiness! :) I've also finished my postcards, flyers and business cards. By next week hopefully I'll start to put them around town a bit! 

Also did I mention you can also find me on theknot.com? 

Also officially Blue Firefly Studio as seen on Facebook!

Facebook!

The world is advancing... least in my photo world! Thao Nguyen = Thao Nguyen photography = Blue Firefly Studio has a facebook fan page!

Come check out my work consolidated into one place!

Facebook page

the kitty, the red snapper and the salmon

Product shots

So I was given the task of providing samples for a client. They wanted fitness related products. I built a homemade light box and this is what I came up with-

This is actually my snack for tomorrow.

My daily vitamins!
Some sunscreen I bought a long while ago.

My green onion chicken on rice with baked veggies.

The lock that I love from India! (the link it has to fitness is that its the lock I use when I go to the gym!) :)

piggies and horses

Twas a gloomy day, makes for flat images. I picked these two out of the whole bunch as my favorites. The pig reminds me/smells like my old pig Romeo. :)

XFC- February 27, 2009 at the expo center in Austin

Roy Babcock (Lone Wolf MMA) defeats Matthew Green (Round One)

1st rd 2:32 tap out by rear naked choke

Daniel Gibson (Adrenaline Fight Sports) vs Chris Trammel (grapplers Domain) - I forget which one of the two this was, I am almost certain it is Chris Trammel with his manager.

Dodge and Burn blog

It's me! go check it out. It's a blog about Diversity in photography. Enjoy! :)

 http://dodgeburn.blogspot.com/2009/02/photographer-interview-thao-nguyen.html

under the bridge

A random quick portrait under the bridge in the park on Valentine's day.

House of Commons fire

Austin firefighters work to put out the 2 alarm fire on the 3rd floor of the House of Commons Co-op on 2610 Rio Grande St. which caught on fire some around 3 p.m. The cause is fire is suspected to be from a hot glue gun that had been forgotten overnight. 

This was my wonderful house ;'( 

homegrown carrots!

I live in the House of Commons Co-op in Austin, TX. We have a cute little garden in the front yard. These are some baby carrots that were planted a few months back. :)

Austin, my new home!

So I've moved in and been here officially about 9 days. Yesterday was Vietnamese new year as well as a good and productive day for me. 

I finally got a P.O. box in Austin. Then I went and got a DBA (doing business as) for Blue Firefly Studio. Swung over the paper and signed my freelance contract. Got a call later for a gig the following day! yay! 

Then to top it off, mom calls and tells me that my assignment that I had shoot about 8 months ago finally ran in the paper. I had cover art  and some inside art in the Boys Scout magazine Boy's Life (which I can't see yet cuz they are at home in DFW) :)

Productive day! Supposedly according to tradition, what you do on new years, will essentially be what you will be doing all year. So for most people they play and don't work so that they can have a carefree year. I worked, and I loved it. I hope I have a photo filled year! :)

http://boyslife.org/section/magazine

Willy

A quick photo session with Willy, one of the housemates from my co-op the House of Commons.

Matthew Isisah Rodriguez

Marissa had her son Matthew Isisah Rodriguez on December 27, 2008. He was 3 lbs, 1 oz, and 16 cm. 

Brrr...

I dunno how I survived Syracuse! It rained and iced over in Arlington, TX today. 

Winter park

My sister at the park in Mansfield, TX.

websites

I've been productively trying to figure out the logo and website to the business (lovingly named Blue Firefly Studio)... somewhere along the way stumbled upon carbonmade.com... I remember hearing about it... anyhow its a great website for those wanting to make one but not wanting to pay or learn the programs!

bluefirefly.carbonmade.com

Less words, more photo... next time!

I feel like I've been a bit too neglectful of my poor little blog lately. Even though the process of shooting images hasn't been as active as I would like it, I have been busy working backstage at getting everything ready for Austin.

I have a name thought up. I'm creating business card holders tomorrow. I need to work on the new logo. My theknot.com listing is launching tomorrow as well. So look forward to maybe a few shots of card building factory, maybe the 5k run this weekend and some family Thanksgiving shots. :)

Why am I moving to Austin in January?

Well its more a combination of many reasons that makes me think that it is the perfect city for me.

It's a career move for sure, but even without mentioning my career the town itself fits more of my personality. I firmly believe in sustainability and Austin is a city that makes it easy to be green. And when I am surrounded by a productively green city, it makes me happier.

When I get to Austin I will be living in a housing cooperative which is basically where a group of people co-own the house and live together and function together (cook, clean and everything else) in order to share the profits and benefits. I would put in a few hours of work a week and the rent, utilities and even meals are covered under my monthly rent for a lower cost than it might be to live in a house.

I had a conversation with someone the other night and to him a co-op sounded liked a prison, but for me, I'm a minimalist. I'd rather not own any more that what I can shove in a backpack and pedal away with. When I was in college I lived in a one room studio where my bathroom sink was also my kitchen sink. I didn't mind it because I only came home to sleep and shower. I spent my days doing photo, working or going to school. I'm more content with a back to back schedule of events than I am hanging out at home.

Something that I've always wanted in a city was the ability to be able to ride my bike as a mode of transportation. Arlington really doesn't have the layout, bike lanes, or even knowledgeable drivers for a bicyclist to safely ride on the road.

In Austin and especially around campus and downtown, there are bike lanes as well as trails that make it easy to run errands and daily activities without having to own a car.

In the case of rain or farther trips, the city does have a bus system and I will also be sharing a car with my sister, who attends UT.

Thats another reason to be down there. My sister and I both seem to be at a place in our life, that having each other at a close distance will come to benefit both of us mentally and socially.

Now career wise, I think that Austin is a better fit for me and my shooting style/creativity. The way I see people, the details I want to bring out, the photographs I want to portray all seem to be the exact opposite of what I find in DFW. Three of my favorite photos that I would absolutely love to have printed on my business cards, I had to hold them back because I knew that the clientele here would be turned away from them.

Basically I believe that if I moved to a more liberal city then I would have the capabilities to express myself more freely than I would get to here.

Besides a homemade business card holder consisting of some boards and screws would only look right in a place like Austin! :)

p.s. and no this move is not for a boy, no boy in my life at the moment. Simply a selfish move all about me! :) (maybe sis is thrown in there too)

Spooky Spa!

I shot interiors of a spa for my client and I really liked this one... its got a strange dungeon eerily look to it! I'm sure he's not trying to portray that for a spa! :) But nonetheless I like the oddness of the pic! :)

An impromptu Marissa photo session

Quick sunset photo session at the park in Grand Prairie. 

Mud Run 2008

"Mud Run is a combination of regular citizens, Civil Servants, companies, teams, colleges and some military personnel competing together through a series of boot camp styled obstacles that have been surrounded by (or consist entirely of) mud. The race is 10K and it is unique to the state of Texas."  http://mudrundfw.com/

Don signing into his male individual race.

Lacing up with the chip that'll track his time.

A quick military pull-up session for ole times sakes :)

The low crawl.  **note** I lost Don after a few obstacles... so his friends benefitted in ways of photos instead :)

Over and under.

The Stairway to Heaven.

Tim going through The Tubes.

Albert in the low crawl.

The mud run is meant to be fun! :)

Final obstacle, the last wall and then a hop, skip and jump to the finish line!

Next year... I'm doing it with my siblings and friends. It's right around my bday so I'm gonna hire a photog to document it :) So if you are reading this and want to either join or shoot, send me a message! :)

Updated self-portrait

A self portrait I shot the other day with my new lighting set-up!

Firing range fun!

For my birthday, I wanted to go to the firing range, and my friend Don took me.

Don being taught how to use the rifle by his friend Joe. 

The boys shooting.

I'm a great marksman! I think it has to do with the aiming and holding still that I'm used to with the camera! Was a fun time! :)  Next up is photos from Mud run for this coming weekend!

Some work samples from a few weeks ago.

I was asked to shoot lawyer shots, but to make them seem less like the typical shot of a lawyer in front of books. 

I went with a simple approach at the park, this is my favorite one of the set. 

This is a good example of a headshot!

And of course I had to add a photo in that represented what I thought was the most fun photo! :)