Nanotech 210 Teaser

Like I mentioned in a previous post, UMG linked up with Bailey who heads up MY Media and Ray from Komifoto to shoot a new project for Nanotech 210.

It was really refreshing to do something different that is sure to get people's attention and put the watches on the map even more. The Nanotech guys really gave us creative license to do what we needed to do on set which made our jobs a little easier. Anyway, here's a little teaser vid I threw together while I wait for some video material and the audio recordings from the studio. Enjoy!

Nanotech 210 x MYMG x UMG x Komifoto (Teaser) from Mike Maravilla on Vimeo.

New York, New York

Click here or the image to watch the full photo slideshow

I posted a little preview of my recent NYC trip on my personal blog, but I figured I'd post up the full series of pics here too. More than just capturing New York from my perspective, I haven't gone out just to shoot for the sake of shooting in quite some time. In addition to that, I wanted to challenge myself in a couple ways:

1.) to capture the city that never sleeps using only my Canon 35L f/1.4 lens rather than traveling fully armed with all my gear.

2.) continue to shoot in .jpg rather than RAW to not only be kind to my lack of hard drive space (haha), but also make me increasingly strict towards my exposures right out of the camera.

In the end, I was incredibly happy with not only my photographic pursuits, but the trip as a whole. It was cold as heck, but that wasn't about to stop us from seeing the city top to bottom. It was an amazing amount of fun to finally visit New York, indulge in great food and really embrace the identity of a city so world renowned. I can truly understand why people love New York so much after they visit.

Here are some snaps from the trip, though if you want to check out all the pics from NY, check out the slideshow above. Enjoy!

2010 BDPA Awards Banquet

Click here or the image above to watch the photo slideshow

In lieu of the ever-expanding scope of UMG and what it will become in the near future, I wanted to continue the trend of collaboration that really took off in 2009. That being said, I (along with Bhargav from Channel Awesome and Mark Reyes) linked up with Justin from Mix Media to cover the 2010 Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) 21st Annual Awards Banquet here in Chicago.

The event was flawlessly pieced together - from the food, music and general ambience to the eloquent speeches and professionalism that this organization and its sponsors exude. Huge thanks to Millie Liggins (the event coordinator) for having us out for the event and congratulations to all the award winners and newly elected president - Pamela Sexton!

In typical UMG fashion, I put together a photo and video slideshow and included some snaps below. Enjoy!











BDPA is a global member focused organization that serves the professional well-being of its stakeholders. BDPA remains committed to excellence and providing a wide spectrum of resources to members, corporate sponsors, businesses, educational institutions and the community. The organization is a catalyst for professional growth and technical development for those in the IT industry. [Via BDPA Chicago]

Also, be sure to check out the video edit that Bhargav did using our collective footage here - good stuff!

Never Too Late for an E-Session

Just because the winter season is upon us, doesn't mean it's too late to shoot a beautiful engagement session - here's some proof:

Special thanks to David Lai for his help!

Ethnikroots Holiday Videos are HERE!

Hey all, it's officially 12 days until Christmas, can you believe it?? Anyway, if you missed out on my previous post about the Ethnikroots and UMG collab, check it out. Oh, and before you click play on the vids, I just wanted to remind you that Ethnikroots is offering FREE SHIPPING for the holidays so order up quick! I know I'm going to snag a few more shirts before we all say goodbye to 2009. But anyway, I had so much fun filming that I had to do two different cuts for EKRS, so feel free to let me know what you think. Without further a-do, ch-ch-check out the videos:





By the way, huge thanks to Phil from 360VM for helping me out with the Shin-ski track. Since I'm back in the motherland (and the song is a rare find/sitting in my external back in Chicago), he was nice enough to up a copy and let me DL it. Serious life saver!

Anyway, as I keep saying of late, it's been amazing of late to mesh minds, do work and collab with people who really want to put Chicago on the map in their respective areas - Ethnikroots, Equilibrium USG, Mix Media, KOMIFOTO and G Handle. Thanks for thinking of UMG and I hope we all continue to work together and grow in 2010.

OKAY the aww sappy stuff aside, hope you all enjoy the vids. I'll continue posting up from the PI as my month-long hiatus from the snow and below freezing temps continues. Happy Holidays from the FUTURE!

Midcoast F.Show: Are You Going??

So if I didn't post enough about the Midcoast F.Show and how cool it is, maybe this post will finally get through to you, haha. Anyway, the show is TONIGHT TONIGHT ZOMG FREAKOUT at Lumen Nightclub. Everything about the show is sick - the venue, the set up, the hosts, the clothes and of course the models. It'll be amazing to see Chicago's best mixing minds (and wardrobes) with the most renowned designers from the coasts. Oh! Speaking of models, here's a little sneak preview of them strutting their stuff at a casting we had over at Jugrnaut awhile back:



If you missed the photo session behind the vids, don't worry I made a little slideshow of the pics for you all here. But seriously, the show is bound to be a really good time, so I hope you already bought your tickets and you're just reading my blog for leisure, right? Hahaha. Anyway, the doors to the show open up at 10pm so don't be late and dress fresh. Oh, and if you're still a youngin' under 21, you'll have to catch the show on YouTube later, sorry! But seriously, if not for the fashion itself, roll through since a portion of the proceeds will be going towards Autism Speaks. Now how can you say no? That's what I thought.

Midcoast F.Show is TOMORROW!

As you should know by now, the Midcoast F.Show is TOMORROW, December 10th at Lumen Nightclub. Only the heaviest hitters in the game will be showing up and if you haven't heard, Jaslene Gonzalez (the winner of America's Next Top Model: Season 8) and Julian on the Radio (from B96's morning show) are hosting this inaugural event. So cool!

Unscene Media linked up with Justin (one of the guys who heads up the f.show), Jaslene and Julian along with DJ Speed to chat about the show and how excited we are that something like this is finally coming to Chicago. Here's a little love from Jaslene and Julian themselves about the show:

Justin getting down to business with Jaslene and Julian

DJ Speed

The hosts themselves - thanks for your support, guys!

Ethnikroots x Holiday x UMG

My friend CJ from Ethnikroots hit me up a couple weeks ago to sit down to talk about how we could collab for the holiday season and into next year. We bounced around a ton of ideas and its great to see another mover and shaker in Chicago looking to do things up fresh and rep the city hard.

The night before I left for the Philippines, I had the opportunity to shoot some behind the scenes pics and video for the holiday. Aside from being amongst some of the most passionate people in the game, it was a blessing to shoot one of the most fun sessions I've ever been to. If you hadn't seen already, here are some behind the scenes photos from the shoot:

























Oh and before I forget, Ethnikroots is offering FREE HOLIDAY SHIPPING right now! Before they run out, gear up - their whole line is proper. CJ, you up for shipping to the Makati?? Hahahaha.