I’ve found one of the great ways to love @HolaDeya is to make a list. I ask her about adventures she wants to have in her life, specific ones and I make a list. My memory is bad, but @evernote does an awesome job at it. With the help of Deya’s sister, Viole, and my @SamsungCameraUS photographer friends @mrcippy, @themrscippy, @techdadreview & @mdflores (in spirit), we gave Deya a memorable marriage proposal. Below are thirteen photos from our adventure together leading up to the proposal at Battery Spencer.
The @MysticHotelSF Fire Escape Fun
“I’d like to ride a cable car.” – DONE!
“I’d like to go to the top of Lombard Street.” – DONE!
A ride on the cable car, then we’re in Chinatown!
Lychee Cotton Candy at The Slanted Door After Lunch
Coffee at @BlueBottleRoast Coffee in the Ferry Building
Cupid’s Span Troublemaking
Painted Ladies Made Famous by Full House
“Ride Across Golden Gate on Bikes” – Done!
Proposal Complete!
Dinner at @ChefChiarello’s Coqueta with a Surprise Bottle of Cava from My Sister and Jesus
A Fun Ride to the Airport Thanks to @Scout!
Deya Gets a Surprise From @VirginAmerica!
Do you want to see the actual proposal shot by @mrcippy, @mrscippy & @techdadreview? Head over to Facebook! You can read the story about Deya and me on the Samsung Camera blog.
Look below for the rest of the photos from the proposal weekend!
At a Starbucks in North San Antonio I get an email that Samsung is looking for 25 people to be Imageloggers, people who are interested in shooting with their new smart camera, the NX300, for a few months. Who would say no?
A few weeks later, my shiny NX300 arrives. The camera came out of the gates with great reviews. I have an appreciation for large sensors in small bodies. Samsung’s latest has an APS-C sensor, similar to a Canon Rebel or a Nikon D3100 with a crossfit physique – it’s lighter and compact, but equally powerful. Your full suite of PSAM settings are there, too. The wifi feature on the camera lets you pair it with your iPhone or Android, then use the app to offload the photos wirelessly. You can also use the app on your phone to fire the shutter remotely. They’ll be your finest looking selfies EVAR! Ladies, refrain from using this in the car with your seatbelt on. Duckface? Also a no-no. If you prefer, use the apps on the camera to send photos directly to Facebook or Picasa.
In a month, I shot photos of the San Antonio Magazine White Party, the Kopecky Family Band concert, Cayucas concert and Pearl Brewery as well as our 4th Annual Beer Ice Cream meetup at Freetail Brewing. Again, an invitation arrived. Would I be interested in joining a small team of global photographers in San Francisco to shoot the sights in the city and the surrounding area. I screamed. Not like a girl. Not like when I’m being attacked by birds, but a real scream. A good one. Very manly. LOOK, I DON’T NEED TO EXPLAIN MY SCREAMS TO YOU, OK?
In San Francisco we saw some of the most breathtaking and fun shots. The planning of the event was spectacular. The accomplished photographers came from California, NYC, Italy and Korea. Samsung cruised us around all day. I mean ALL DAY. We photographed Union Square, the Ferry Building, Bay Bridge, cable cars, took a bay tour around Golden Gate and Alcatraz. I got the bejeebus scared out of me by the crazy bushman at Fisherman’s Wharf…while I was looking for him. *shakes head in shame* Were we done? Heck no! We went to the marina for America’s Cup, Lombard Street and Russian Hill, I had a chai latte as big as my oversized skull, celebrated our late 80’s excitement at the Painted Ladies made famous by the Tanner family on Full House – HAVE MERCY! Done? NOPE. *takes a deep breath* Golden Gate Bridge, Portrero Skate Park, Castro where ROY G. BIV lives, got psychedelic at Haight-Ashbury, the beach, Fort Funston for freaky flying fun with hang gliding fanatics, MOAR Golden Gate, a crazy Korean dinner with soju where I was told “I’m going to make you an atomic drink.” Is it time to rest? No way, bro. Let’s go to see Fine Arts, visit Sonoma and the raceway, stroll in Sausalito and wrap it up with a baseball game at AT&T Park with an urban UFO bubbleboat, to boot.
This team knows two speeds – sleep and turbo. It was amazing and an absolute joy to spend time with such talented, smart, funny, sharing and kind people. A gigantic thank you to the team at Samsung (proper and extended), the photographers that came from near and far who changed me for the better and the staff that put up with my goofing off. Enjoy the photos below from the adventure. If you’re interested in seeing more, look for the following hashtags on social media – #samsungnx300 #nx300 #imagelogger The other photographers are world class shooters and humans.
We were recently booking travel for the Fortune Small Business Sales & Marketing Summit in New Orleans. The rooms at the host hotel were going for $159 per night and we have four people going. Thanks to my secret weapon, we were able to get the exact same hotel room for $60 per night.
What if you knew what hotel you were going to win via Priceline and Hotwire before you placed your bid and sent off your credit card number? Would it make previously impossible trips possible again?
I’ll walk you through the process on how to take the guesswork out of Priceline and Hotwire to make those trips a reality again.
With the Internet becoming an increasingly social place and people being willing to share more about their experiences, there are numerous forums (Web sites where people share information) that provide details on what travel accommodations a person was able to secure.
For a step-by-step walk-through on how to cheat at Priceline with Betterbidding.com, take a look at the video below (full screen is suggested). I use the Marriott in New Orleans as an example.
Are you a fan of Hotwire? To learn how to cheat there with Betterbidding.com, have a look at this video (again, full screen is suggested). This time, we’ll look for a 3-star hotel at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
Now that you’ve learned how to apply these tactics, why not take the time to register on betterbidding.com and post your travel deal wins there? The more people that join and add their information, the better the experience is for all of us!
If you have a question or comment, please feel free to drop me a line here. You can also find me on twitter.
