Hello Nicholas,

This year has started off pretty fast with some fun photo assignments and a fantastic trip to New Zealand. All of that translates into much to share.

Hopefully you enjoy these newsletters as much as I like creating them. It's a great way to keep in touch with clients, friends and family as well as give my work a second life before being archived. I feel very blessed for being able to continue doing what I love to do in retirement. Well, maybe it's not really retirement if I'm still running my freelance business and shooting photo assignments.

And once again I'm amazed at how quickly these newsletters fill up. I have awesome clients to thank for that. There is quite a bit of High School sports mixed with performing arts and of course, New Zealand.

Enjoy the latest ... as always, it's an interesting mix of work. And if you have the time, shoot me an email and let me know what you think. It's always great to hear back from the people who receive these photo centric emails.

Recently Published in the Riverside Press Enterprise and other SCNG Newspapers

This was my first assignment after returning from New Zealand and it made the Sports cover! This was a little different than the girls wrestling assignment I photographed last year.

Last year when I photographed girls wrestling, all the lights were on in the gym during the competition. This time there was just one big bright light directly above the action which made for some pretty dramatic lighting.

CLICK HERE to see the story and slideshow online

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This image ran as a 4 column photo inside the Press Enterprise Sports section. The game was tied at the half, but this player, Brayden Burries, literally took control of the game scoring 44 points and won it for Roosevelt. Exciting game.

CLICK HERE to see the story and slide show online

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Wow, what a game this was. Ramona was down by 22 points in the third quarter, I thought it was going to be a blowout ... but Ramona started chipping away at Elsinore's lead and ended up scored the winning bucket with 5 seconds to go. I happened to be on the floor (shooting) right next to the Ramona cheerleaders ... you can just imagine how loud that got. You've gotta love high school sports.

CLICK HERE to see the story and slideshow online.

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This is from the same game as above, but ran at a later date. It's a feature on Ramona's Andrew Green. This photo is right after he scored the winning basket with 5 seconds left in the game.

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An awesome match between two pretty equal soccer teams vying for the Division 5 Championship. Jubilation photos are almost always lead photos in championship games. This one works, but it was a little difficult to catch since the girls were running all around the field with their well deserved trophy.

CLICK HERE to see the slideshow online

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It's almost baseball season! This image, from last year, is part of a pre season story pointing out how talented Corona's baseball team is.

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This is another baseball photo from last year that was published recently online. Inland boys athlete of the week!

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Found recently on the OC Register website recently as part of a Cathy Thomas story about what to serve while watching the Oscars. Cathy always says that our food photos make people drool .... this one makes me want to get a big bowl of chips!

CLICK HERE to get the recipe and directions online

CLICK HERE to get to the Cathy Thomas cooks website

KODO

Any time I get to shoot in the Renee and Henry Concert Hall, it's a good day. I not only photographed that building being built, but also have photographed countless concerts and events both inside and outside in the plaza area. It's such a beautiful venue.

I have the Philharmonic Society of Orange County to thank for this assignment. Yes, it was loud, but wow, it was also very impressive.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Kodo

Laguna Beach Music Festival Prelude

This assignment was also from the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. This was a kickoff event for the Laguna Beach Music Festival and was held at the Laguna Art Museum. After the cocktail hour, there were some outstanding performances by Caroline Shaw, Danni Lee, Salastina (String Quartet) and dancer Jake Tribus.

CLICK HERE to find out more about the Philharmonic Society of Orange County

New Zealand

I know this montage looks like a lot of family vacation photos ... well, actually they are! This was one of those trips of a lifetime vacation that is just too incredible not to share.

This is from a recent facebook post about our trip. As soon as I get through the hundreds of photos, I'll post a gallery on my website.

New Zealand! What a fantastic trip and awesome place to celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary.

Following a similar model as we did in 2018 with Italy, we were with three other couples and planned everything ourselves. We rented a big van, stayed in Air BnB's, VRBO's and hotels along the way from Queenstown to Auckland.

What you see here is just a sampling of some of the crazy things we did on this trip. The Queenstown Luge, class V whitewater rafting in Rotorua which included the highest waterfall drop in New Zealand, Zip lining over the highest gorge in New Zealand along with the longest Zip line in New Zealand (a series of four ziplines), Hobiton, a Maori history experience, and driving a big van on the wrong side of the road. Quite a few firsts for us on this trip.

We ended up way north in Paihia for a couple nights at the Bay of Islands where we took a half day boat trip stopping at a couple of the islands and ended up at the well known Hole in the Rock.

After that it was back to Auckland for a night before a long flight back. So much fun and such a beautiful place.

Lastly

Well, that's it for this time.We'll see what kind of photography the next quarter brings. In the meantime, stay safe and feel free to drop me a line if you have the time ... it's always great to hear from people who receive these newsletters.

Also, feel free to share them with anyone you think might enjoy them or may be looking for a photographer. Contact info is below or I can also be reached through my website at www.nicholaskoonphotography.com.

Take Care,

Nick

Nick Koon

Nicholas Koon Photography

www.nicholaskoonphotography.com

nkphoto@aol.com

714.932.1714

714.932.1714