The shooting death of a local man spurred anger and anxiety throughout this neighborhood and riots ensued. My message of safety to all of my friends in the area. The Big Picture has amassed a collection of photos from the two nights of continuous riots in this area.

Read more here.

As all of you are probably aware by now, we have migrated all articles (pages, and posts) from our old Darkroom address to the new main site. While the move took a while to transition, we felt that it was the best thing to do. Within the next few weeks, we’ll take down the old Darkroom site completely. If you have us bookmarked, please make note of the change. Here is the new location of the Darkroom.

Thanks everyone!

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to the launch of the improved site. Visually, nothing much has changed. We’re still keeping the minimalist look that we’ve had ever since we launched the site in 2010. So what’s different? We’ve added some cool features that will make your visting experience even more awesome!

• An integrated search bar is now located where you can find it the easiest – the upper right hand corner of the site.
• Whether you would “Like” our Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, or  add me to your “Circle”, it’s now even easier.
• Ever since we added the e-store, it’s been a great success. With the launch of the revamped site, we changed the e-store and we’re now calling it “The Shoppe”. Wherever you are on the site, you can always access your shopping cart at any time. Click on the shopping cart on the upper right hand corner to review your items in your cart.
• There’s no need to visit our Facebook page just to “Like” us. If you like what you see, simply click on the “Like” button on the upper left hand side, and you’re in.
• The Darkroom is now fully integrated in the site. Now search requests results in cross-over between the two distinct sites.
• We’ve added an integrated “Popular Image” gallery. Each image will have a link that you can click if you like the image. The popular images are immediately posted as feature images by the main site masthead for everyone to see. Invite your friends to see the articles and ask them to rate their favorite images. Rating images and articles gives us a better understanding of what type of materials we’ll be posting on the site in addition to the sessions and sneak peeks we provide.
• Check the new menu bar. It now contains great links to articles and posts that might be of interest to you.

Hi guys! Well, the new site has been up for almost five weeks now and it’s been a blast so far! It is such a departure from the previous “static” design that I had with SmugMug. But, don’t scream ‘traitor!’ just yet. SmugMug is still a partner but more on that later.

So what do ya’ll think so far? Do you like it? If I were to ask you what the best change has been what would you say? If you ask me, I think my favorites so far are the sizes of the photos in every post and the little “Join In” tab on the left. If you haven’t done so, click that little tab on the left. It’ll show you a photo of Ollie and my daily updates on Twitter. There is also a link for you to register on the site. There are a lot of surprises so feel free to browse the site. Stay for a while.

So is it a blog? It sure is! But why a blog you might ask? It’s simple. The blog format allows me to create constant updates about my activities which I can post and share with everyone. It allows me to give you guys a “sneak peek” preview of the shoots. It’s relaxed and has a casual feel to it which is exactly what a static site doesn’t have. Sure it has all the pretty photos but managing those galleries takes time… a lot of time. This seems a lot easier and, hopefully, it comes across that I’m an easy going person to work with as well (with crossed fingers).

You might ask why I named this post“the rebranding process (again)…”.If you remember a few months ago, I went through an initial rebranding process but it was mostly for the logo, colors, and feel of the graphics. My wife, Melissa, a talented graphic designer and fashion/design blogger, helped me through the aches and pains of choosing just the right look for my business.

However, this time the focus was more on the client and visitor experiences rather than the graphics. Of course, the new look wouldn’t have been possible without the folks from ProPhoto Blogs. The templates they create and sell are powered by WordPress. I bought the template from ProPhoto after I found them through my search for wedding photographers.

Melissa and I found Joey Reyna, a fantastic photographer, during our search for our upcoming Philippine wedding in October later this year. I was so impressed not only with his photos but also by his blog that I started thinking about my own website. After a few days of discussing whether or not I should purchase the template, I finally decided to spring for the cash and dive right in. I think what impressed me the most was the ability to customize the blog to my heart’s content knowing my site will look unique.

Why the change? A lot of people have asked me why I made the switch and if I was still partnered with SmugMug. Yes. I still work with them. The old site, which is now known as PrintsByRikki, serves as my shopping cart and proofing page for my clients and for those who would like to purchase my prints.

So, that’s basically the story of how I got to this point.  Thanks to everyone who helped along the way. Thanks to those who send me constant feedback to let me know what works and what doesn’t about the site. Thanks to those who call me back time and again to help capture their memories. Thank you, too, to those who have told their friends and family what it’s like to work with me. Thank you for letting me in your lives.

I like it. It’s simple, clean, and most of all, it’s a reflection of my personality. It’s me!

Hi all! First of all, THANK YOU! It’s been a big hit since the launch of the rebranded website and we still want you to tell your friends you’ve enjoyed our posts, news, reviews, and the overall experience of working with us. If you think someone would be interested in our work, let them know. We want the word to get out so here’s the idea.

Encourage three of your friends to be a fan on Facebook.  Once they’ve joined the Facebook fan page, have them visit this website, click on Contact and simply use Referral Code SPRING. Your friends must include your name as the person who referred them to the site.

Our tracking system allows us to know once we have three referrals from you. Once you do, your name will be entered in the contest for a chance to win an 11×14 print. Like our previous giveaways, this offer won’t be around for long so it’s best to hurry.

You’ve got until 10pm PST on Sunday April 18^th

I was feeling a bit creative this evening so I decided to refresh the standard Twitter design with my own little twist. I’m not fully sold on this one yet but it’s definitely an improvement over the old version. What do you think?

I had been planning this transition for some time, but first had to find blogging software that allowed me the maximum flexibility to customize my website’s look and feel. There are so many templates out there that are great but limited in their individualization. I happened upon WordPress while looking for a photographer to cover my upcoming wedding in the Philippines and was impressed by the clean look of his website. After much research, I decided to try it out. With WordPress, design integration and personalization was a breeze. I can now display my photos the way I always intended to show them –larger and easier to navigate through. To complement this blog/gallery, the SmugMug site is still up and running. In fact, it’s where my prints and proofs will be located, with the new domain of www.printsbyrikki.com. I hope the links and transitions are seamless and you’ll find it easy to navigate between the sites.

I am curious to know what you think of this latest upgrade. For those who have followed me for a while, it’s been quite the journey. I’m looking forward to working with with all of you again, and to meeting new people as well. Please drop a note in the Guestbook to let me know your thoughts. These allow me to understand how to make the site better for you and your friends to frequently revisit.

Cheers!

Rikki

You’re not seeing a typo folks. I just registered the domain this evening to augment my original website. There are a lot of changes that will be happening behind the scenes and registering this domain will be the first step.

I’m excited to say that I’ll soon be leaving Blogger and migrating my blog using a different blog template. I’ll be using the latest version of WordPress which will give me a larger range of flexibility to show my latest work.

The new blog will be the main stay of my site. This will be the place where people can reach me and see the latest news. The new blog format will also allow me to change the blog’s appearance instantly to provide you with different and fresh looks from time to time. Don’t worry. The blog entries here won’t disappear. They’ll be completely integrated into the new site.

This will be it for now. I’ll still update this blog and finally launch it when the other one is ready. Be on the look out for it. And as always, thanks for checking in with me from time to time.

Congratulations Rikki,

The photo you submitted to ArchRecord.com, titled “Sundial Bridge,” has been selected to appear in “Architectural Photographer Showcase”. You can see your photo, and the others in this gallery here.

Architectural Record is an American monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design, published by McGraw-Hill Construction in New York City. It is over 110 years old. While the magazine is aimed at professional architects and engineers with news, commentary, criticism and continuing education sections, it features numerous articles exploring cutting edge designs by leading architects with glossy photos and articles that are accessible to non-experts.

Stay tuned!