Donegee Media

InterTrend’s Lunar New Years & 25 Year Anniversary

Event Coverage – Los Angeles, CA
Photographer & Writer – Dannie Phan

I had the delightful opportunity to take pictures at the Japanese American National History Museum in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo for InterTrend’s company Lunar New Year Party.

interTrend is an award-winning full-service communication agency based in Long Beach, California, helping corporate America target Asian American segments such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian and Filipinos nationwide. They have a huge team that was all super warm and welcoming, which is quickly seen in their photos.

They were also celebrating their 25th anniversary as a company, and oh boy did they go all out for this party. The food from the fusion appetizers to desert bar was amazing, and like always I could not shovel enough during my downtime. They also had the one of the best and heaviest stocked bar that I’ve seen at a company party.

The beginning portion of the night consisted of light cocktails, dinner, and slideshows of the history of the company.Followed by light hearted team building games and challenges. There was also a surprised lip-syncing video done by the company’s CEO to express her appreciation for the company.

The rest of the night consisted of what seemed like over a dozen raffles from sunglasses, to fitbits, and go pros. Then the rest of the energy was put into gambling. Where everyone was aiming to win the flat screen TV which was meant to be awarded to the winner of the Casino night. That where I got to catch most of the candid moments of the night.

One of the highlights of the night was that one of the building coordinator and bartender commented on how I was the happiest and most enthusiastic photographer that they’ve ever worked with, which honestly took me off guard since by that time I was quite exhausted. I simply responded to them that “I just really enjoy my work.”

Dabbling in Still Life Photography

Donegee Media – Garden Grove, CA
Photographer & Writer – Dannie Phan

During our brief hibernation period in December I was getting back to using my instagram account and began following other photographers in my local area. I noticed there was a growing trend of Still Life Photography.

While I personally consider myself a portrait photographer, I have been getting more inquires about product photography this past year and I certainly love a challenge. Once I go into doing Still Life Photography I started understanding why other photographers chose to fill their Instagram with Still Life.

I CAN GO AT MY OWN PACE with still life which is nicer than being under someone else’s schedule or in some cases, many peoples schedules.

It forces me to be more of an ACTIVE PHOTOGRAPHER and get comfortable with staging and art direction. Making micro adjustments with every shot. One of my personal weaknesses, but Victoria’s strengths is posing people. While I prefer to take candid’s and have everyone act naturally, there are potential shots that I am missing out on but now I have been able to apply still life into moving life.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT to post besides another photo at my desk about editing. It’s also a great opportunity to play around with colors which I can’t simply do because I don’t want clients to look like alien or that they’ve eaten too many carrots.

It’s easier to LIKE PHOTOS OF THINGS AND PLACES. It’s much harder to like photos of unfamiliar brands and strangers.

If you haven’t tried Still Life Photography I highly suggest giving it a shot. There’s a lot to learn from it that you can implement into other areas.

If you have any of your own favorite Still Life shots, share it with us in the comments below or on social media.