30 DAYS OF TABIJE- SPRAYGUN WAR PHOTOSHOOT-DAY 16

WELCOME TO DAY 16- I wanted to piggy back off of yesterday’s post, being that both shoots were during the same weekend as Day16. Today’s feature is for my homie Namor- who I met working at P.F. Chang’s in Walnut Creek- When I first met him, he was a drummer for many different bands and toured all around the U.S. In 2016, he was recognized through social media by Josh Todd and Stevie Ducany of Buckcherry. These band members released a side project called Spraygun War and needed a drummer, and that’s where Namor comes in to play- The band performed at Shiprocked- which was a sold- out 4 day rock’n roll cruise that set sail from Miami. Before they left for the cruise, they rehearsed in LA for a week, so I drove down from the Bay to meet the band. After the first day of rehearsal, we snapped a few photos inside the studio before heading out.

I was excited for this week because this was the first time I was able to photoshoot an authentic band. Before I met up with them, I did some research the week prior to get an idea of how and what to photograph. I was told that there was no flash allowed during their rehearsal, so this was an additional challenge for me because I knew it was going to be in a low-lit room. If I had another opportunity to do this all over again- the things I would have done differently! But that’s part of becoming a better photographer- practice, patience, and trial and error are mental notes that I took away from this week.

Overall, I was able to get a few photos before sending them off. Meeting the band was dope too. They were very welcoming to me and made me feel comfortable the whole time. It was a great experience and am looking to photographing music with someone soon!

Thank you to Spraygun War for letting me hang out with you guys!

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- THE BOZEK’S, DAY 15

I’m at the halfway point for #30DaysOfTabije (Yayy)- Today’s feature is for Tim and Aubrey Bozek! These were taken in January 2017 at their house. During this visit, I was in LA to shoot for my Friend’s band who was about to go on tour. When Aubrey reached out to me for a shoot, I was able to knock out 2 birds in one stone in that trip.

When I got to their house, the family was still getting ready. I used this time to scout the areas of the house that I wanted to use. For those who have never met Morgan and Jake, they are very friendly and social kids… so even though I didn’t see them that often, they opened up to me fairly quickly. I was new to shooting family portraits, so I didn’t have to worry too much about giving directions with the types of poses that I wanted them to do. Aubrey and Tim were always nearby to help me find a good pose to photograph, so thank you for the help!

One of the areas that I wanted to make sure I captured was inside their home on the couch and also in front of the house. When I think of family portraits, I think of the traditional pose of Mom and Dad on both ends of the couch, kids in the middle. As for posing in front of the house, I think it’s a nice to look back at this moment later, especially as the kids grow older or if they ever move to another home. This was one of my favorite photo sessions that I have taken. Can’t wait for the next session!

Thank you for always making me feel welcome at your home

and can’t wait to use your swimming pool soon!

JT

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- SHANAY AND EDWARD GET MARRIED, DAY 14

HELLO- IT’S TABIJE O’ CLOCK! Today is a beautiful day in Southern Cali! It has been rainy and gloomy this past week, so I decided to write to you outside in my backyard. Also, in relation to this nice weather, I decided to write about my cousin Edward and Shanay getting married in sunny San Diego.

The location of the wedding was at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse, at the edge of Harbor Island with a beautiful view on every corner. The couple only had 1 photographer that day… Without hesitation, I helped shoot as the secondary person, while the primary photographer still did his own thing. This was in 2017, and I was still new to wedding photography, so this was a perfect time to not only give these sentimental photos to Edward and Shanay, but to also allow myself to practice and shoot while under pressure…To top it off, this was an outdoor ceremony without a single cloud in the sky- I consider myself a natural light photographer, so I’d be a fool not to use this opportunity!

One thing I did well was dress appropriately but still comfortably. It was a warm day and I wore a short-sleeve buttoned shirt, so this was very beneficial to maneuver around. I also recently purchased a photographer backpack to make myself easily mobile and accessible to my equipment without having to leave anything behind. Since this day was impromptu for me to shoot, I didn’t have any notes on me for poses or angles, so every photo I took on this day was by instinct and trial and error. The main photographer had a list of poses that he wanted to capture- so I took a few mental notes from his ideas…To this day, I used what I learned that day and have applied it in some way with weddings I did in the future.

I was happy with the outcome of a few of the photos that I actually inspired myself (I lacked self-esteem with photographing at the time) that this is something that I can possibly pursue in the future! I photographed my first wedding last year. This wedding was a more casual setting in comparison to most, but was perfect for me because I’m still new to this. I’ll be writing about that day as well- stay tuned!

Thank you to Shanay and Edward for letting me be part of your special day- Next photo session will be group family photos!

With love,

JT

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- THE GOMEZ SIDE, DAY 13

Happy Monday, Ya’ll! Hope your day is going well. I’m going to write about Momma Bear’s side: The Gomez Family. It’s not often when all see each other under the same roof…and when we do, it’s usually on Christmas. But there’s always a particular comfort when I see them…it’s always picking up where we left off…which is something that I don’t take for granted because I know for certain families it’s even difficult to do that.

My parents have always taught us the value of family being the core of life- Life is too short to hold grudges or any negativity, and in some way, our family knows and understands that. This is not an overnight thought process either. Just like any other family, we have always gone through our ups and downs but in the end we’ve realized what’s important, and that’s sticking together. We were supposed to have a family reunion this summer, but is currently on pause because of the Coronavirus.

Soooo….back to these photos-This was during our 2018 Christmas gathering at my Ate Myra’s house in the Valley. I had brought my camera that day (like I do for most family gatherings). After our traditional prayer, we took group photos first, followed by a few individual family photos next.

I was even able to set up old videos from the 1980’s and 90’s that were converted from VHS to digital files (Thank you and love you, Pops). I connected my laptop to the TV and let it run throughout the day for everyone to watch as we caught up with each other’s lives. And that’s why we were all laughing and pointing at the TV- We were watching a younger version of ourselves! I even had even had a few embarrassing moments of me dancing by myself. That was the first time we were able to see these videos in decades, so it was another great way to reminisce about the old days and revisit family members who have passed away.

PSA: I haven’t showed most of these photos to the family, so I apologize for taking so long! I also have many more wonderful stories left to share. Peace and love to the Gomez side- I’m always thinking of you.

JT

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- EASTER SUNDAYS, DAY 12

Hope everyone is having a nice Easter Sunday! Although hanging out with family on Easter Sundays are common in our family (Aside from the many years that I had to be working on this day), we don’t take photos often on this day. Originally, I wanted to write about my own family…But when I thought of people I know, I thought about my friend Heather who raised 3 boys who are all around the same age range as my brothers and I. She is a great example of the word “family” and the hard work it takes to raise 3 boys.- So decided to write about them instead!

Today’s photos are from a photoshoot that I had with Heather and her boys. This was the second time in 2 years shooting with this family, so I was able to get a good vibe from all of them right away and knew what to look for during this session. Damien, the youngest out of the 3 boys, is a funny and hyperactive little boy, so naturally, most of my attention had to lean towards him. He was very camera shy the year before when we first shot…but this time around, he was more playful and smiled often. I found a nice park in Antioch, nearby where she lives. It was a nice sunny day that day, their bellies were full from pizza, and my style of photoshoots are very candid captures- so they basically just had to be themselves!

Here are a few of my personal favorites of the photoshoot- Enjoy! And also, enjoy spending quality time with your family while you can.

Much love,

JT

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- LOS ANGELES, DAY 11

Hope your weekend is great so far! The number 11 is my favorite number- So I decided to write Day 11 about me!

This photo was taken in 2014 by my old friend and roommate, Danny Vigil. I was visiting from the Bay Area and wanted someone to take a few photos of me for my website. I wanted to go to Los Angeles to represent my hometown. I love the Bay but it just wouldn’t be the same if I did this shoot up there. We met in Downtown LA with Leslie -his girlfriend at the time and are now married. Before we got started, we went to Angel City Brewery to catch up and try out a few of their local beers. Since I was visiting at the time, I had a few friends stop by as well to say hi.

About an hour later, we scouted a few streets nearby and started shooting. It was my first photo session in front of a camera so I didn’t really know what to expect…which is why I didn’t think to have different facial expressions (sigh). Danny directed me to a few different backgrounds, all walking distance. Aside from that, he let me do my own thing with the poses. We didn’t have much sunlight left during this time, so the photo session only lasted for about 30 minutes but I got a decent amount of photos to use. I was new to photography at the time, so this was also an introduction to me of what to expect when shooting my future clients.

Danny and I are still good friends to this day and help each other excel in photography. I also kept one of the photos in my “About” section of this site.

Los Angeles has been good to me this decade. Find and embrace the good in your hometown.

JT

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- NATIONAL SIBLINGS DAY, DAY 10

HI, IT’S ME AGAIN! In the spirit of national siblings day, I’ll be writing about my brothers and I! Usually, I pick photos first and then start writing. Instead, I tried something different and flipped the two and wrote first…

I’m going to start off by saying that I f*cking love my brothers. We didn’t always getting along, especially growing up as kids. We did typical stuff: Play street sports, video games, beating each other up (well, I would strictly only be getting beat up because I’m the youngest)…A memory that cracks me up now but always got me mad was when they used to surprise-scare me in random areas of the house. We had a long hallway in our childhood home- Sometimes I didn’t want to walk down the hall because I didn’t want them to scare me for the 100th time. On the flipside, it was a great place to play hide and go seek. Those were the fun days.

As we grew older, I became closer with Brian more than with Joe, mainly because Brian and I had to share rooms all the way to middle school, while Joe was the oldest and started doing his own thing in middle school and high school. When Brian and Joe both went to Bonita High School together, they had a good reputation at school, and everyone who played soccer knew who they were. Even till this day I get approached by random people because they knew of them.

Jerry eventually moved up north to manage at Lucille’s BBQ while Brian and I lived together in Upland for a few years. We had some fun house parties at this place- I miss those days! When it was time to sell that house, I moved to Orange County with Joe and Brian moved back to La Verne. I have had the privilege of living with both brothers separately. Living with both of them gave me a chance to connect with them onto a high level of communicating and understanding of each other.

There are reasons as to why I enjoy growing older. One of these reasons is you become wiser- life around you makes more sense… Unique life experiences, happiness, and deep sorrows have run in and out of this family for as long as I can remember. Now that Mom and Dad have passed, our love as brothers have only gotten stronger throughout the years. We say I love you to each other constantly and “check” each other when one of us is wrong. Mom passed away when I was 18 years old and then 31 when Dad passed. So naturally, I had to turn to my brothers (and still do today) for life guidance and comfort. They themselves had to seek out answers sooner than most people do at their age. Our extended family is close on both sides and our small group of friends have been the same people for over 20 years. And it is all of these and many other reasons as to why I’m glad to have my brothers.

MUCH LOVE FROM YOUR BABY BROTHER,

JUSTIN

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- DOCUMENTING IN THE 1980'S- DAY 9

Welcome to Day 9! I wanted to switch it up and write about an old photo that my dad took of us. Since it has been raining in Cali for the past 4 days- I came across these from my dad’s collection and saw it to be appropriate with today’s weather. The group photo didn’t need much editing, so I just brightened and cropped it a little bit to make the rain look more dramatic.

This is Dad taking a photo of Mom, Jerry Jr. (aka Jojo or Joe), and myself. Joe is recording Brian’s soccer game at Bonita High School (me and my brother’s future school). My brothers had a game every weekend. And even though it was raining, that didn’t stop our family from teaming up to record Brian’s game. Do you understand how heavy, inconvenient, and careful you have to be to carry around this equipment in the 1980’s?! Nothing is waterproof (nor even water-resistant), which means my dad was holding an umbrella with one hand and holding his camera in the other to take this photo. And Joe wouldn’t have been able to record carefully without Mom being there to keep him and the equipment dry.

I was about 4 years old at the time- just old enough to run around and climb onto things like a wild child, as long as I didn’t go to far and checked in from time to time…which is exactly what I’m doing with Mom and Joe in the group picture!

We have some of these old VHS tapes stored away somewhere…One of Dad’s projects was getting them converted in to digital, so we’ve been able to look back at a few of them. One of these days, we’ll have all of them stored on a hard drive!

Thank you Dad for making these so accessible for us to remember our beautiful family.

JT

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- 1ST COMMISSIONED PHOTOSHOOT, DAY 8

HELLO! Today, I wanted to write about my very first commissioned photoshoot in November 2015. I met Jeff and Deneen through a mutual connection and when they got engaged, my name was mentioned to them. I informed them ahead of time that this would be my first photoshoot…because I think it was important for them to know…I think you understand why!

Yes this was, my first shoot…but mentally, I treated this project professionally as if I have been doing this for a long time. To begin, I researched possible locations within a 20-30 mile radius. Being that I didn’t grow up in the Bay area, I had to look even harder to find what I was looking for. I read small articles, visited social media platforms, and went on YouTube for advice on how to make a basic location look deceiving but still professional- looking.

In the end, Jeff and Deneen wanted the shoot to be simple and not too far from home. With that in mind, I went to Contra Loma Regional Park in Antioch, which was about 20 miles away. When I scouted the area a few days before, I took practice shots so when it was time to shoot, I had an idea of what camera settings to use. Lighting is very important, so I wanted to know where the sun would be at certain times of the day.

Overall, the shoot went quite well! It did, however, take about an hour and half from start to finish, which is a long time. But in my head, I knew the shot I was looking for, and didn’t want to stop until I captured it!

I was thinking of retouching my original edits, but decided not to do that because I wanted to show my pros and cons with them, and how practice in shooting and editing makes perfect- Let’s face it, I’m still very far from perfect too…BUT WHO CARES! It’s fun to do and it’s a beautiful art.

Thank you Jeff and Deneen for giving me the opportunity to work with you- One of these days I’ll have to photograph you and the new kids!

Peace and Love,

JT

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- RONDA, SPAIN- DAY 7

It’s day 7- I’m taking you international today! I haven’t told many people the story about how I wanted to study abroad to fluently learn and speak Spanish…In 2012, My dad had timeshare and knew that he wasn’t going to use it that year. So, my brother Jerry Jr. and I convinced him to let us use it for him. One of the reasons that my dad said yes is because he knew that I wanted to study abroad and that part of the trip would be me seeking out additional information and to also get a feel for the country before committing to the program.

I didn’t end up going abroad, and instead I invested the money I had to move up to the Bay Area with my brother. Although I have no regrets with my decision, that door of opportunity closed…but from time to time I think about how my experience would’ve been…I am obsessively curious with learning different languages and experiencing a different way of living when traveling. My life goal is to learn 2 more languages, Spanish first, then Tagalog (Philippines) second.

Back to my story of Spain….Our main stay was in Málaga, which is on the Southern tip and right off the coast with perfect weather. A little over an hour drive through the countryside is a small town up in the hills called Ronda. We rented a car and spent most of the day up there.

This town was very quiet and peaceful, with not much to do but had everything you needed- The true definition of simple living. People aren’t glued to their cell phones, everyone is involved in the conversation when dining, sipping on coffee and milk (or even wine), and taking naps in the middle of the day is the norm in this culture. We visited during the weekday in June, so the streets were very quiet. One of the first things we did when we arrived was have lunch. As we overlooked the town’s scenic stone bridge (Puento Nuevo), we saw a few places to eat that had a scenic patio that overlooked everything- so we ate there. We walked passed by a crowd of students walking around and hanging out with each other after school- None of them on their cell phones either- It was honestly a culture shock to me.

This trip was about 11 days and would’ve loved to travel to other cities, especially Barcelona. Nonetheless, we had a great experience will be back in the future.

¡Hasta pronto, España!

JT

30 Days of Tabije- Forresthill Bridge, Day 6

Hello again! Today’s story was shot in Auburn, California in March, 2016. This was the first but definitely not the last time visiting this small city. There are many bridges in Northern Cali but Forresthill Bridge stood out because it is the 4th highest bridge in the U.S., so I made sure to visit the next chance that I got. This bridge is nearly 100 miles away from my house at the time, so I had to give myself 2 days to plan it all out. With some careful research of the area and a list of items that I needed to pack, I first drove to Rocklin in the afternoon, hung out with my Dad, spent the night, and woke up around 4a.m to start driving to Auburn.

To me, scouting a new and unfamiliar area is fun for me because sometimes I feel like a kid doing a treasure hunt, and the prize is the photograph that you had planned to capture in your head over and over again. Once I reached the bridge, I drove back and forth on it a few times to see what side I should park my car on. With the extra time I had to spare, I waited in my car for a little while because it was cold and to also figure out where the sun will be facing when it was time to execute my shot.

I had about 30-35 minutes until sunrise- I started hiking towards my destination. What I did not expect to see but not surprised at the same time, were the signs on both ends of the bridge with a suicide hotline and a prevention barrier to avoid any future attempts. After walking past this, I followed a common pathway that led right under the bridge- which brought me to the first location of my photos! I hiked down even lower to get a full capture of the bridge. Turns out that this last photo happened to be my favorite. I couldn’t stay too long because it was already getting warm and insects began flying everywhere, so I made the hike back to my car and took the scenic drive back home to enjoy views a little more.

When I arrived back at my Dad’s house, he was able to take a look at my photos and I received some good feedback from him…This was the first time I learned the photographer’s definition, “Rule of Thirds.” This was one of the last trips I took that he was able to critique my photos before he passed away.

Thank you Pops for always making me feel good that I was following in your footsteps. Love and miss you always.

JT

30 DAYS OF TABIJE- SPICY TABIJE, PT 1, DAY 5

Day 5 is dedicated to Spicy Tabije! I chose this picture because I had a lot of questions about how her remaining years of being completely blind were….The truth is that she lived a great rest of her life! This photo was taken in June, 11- This was on Father’s Day and also the day I graduated from Cal State, San Bernardino! We were hanging outside and I randomly walked up to Spicy and took this photo of her pretty doggy face.

For those of you that didn’t know Spicy and her backstory, she was my Mom’s dog and decided to get a dog as a companion for when my mom was diagnosed with cancer. Momma came up with 2 names, Hope- To give my mom “hope” in this time, or Spice- to add “spice” to all of our lives. When Mom told me these names I said, “What about Spicy?” Mom liked that suggestion and the rest is history. When Mom passed years later, my brother Brian and I took care of her at our new house in Upland. When Spicy became diagnosed with glaucoma, we had to make an emotional decision of our next move. It was a difficult discussion with my dad to have her get eye surgery. He was old school and thought the best decision would be to put her down so she doesn’t suffer. I also realized that if we decided to keep her that it was our responsibility to take care of her, so I made a promise to myself and to Mom to acknowledge this and that it wasn’t her time yet to go to doggy heaven yet…so she got the surgery.

Spicy adjusted very well after the first surgery…It actually felt like everything was back to normal and things were looking good. My dad was even happy of our decision for keeping her around… but eventually we had to face the glaucoma transferring to the other eye years later (which is very common with this disease), so again we had to make an even harder decision of agreeing to surgically removing her other eye.

It wasn’t easy for her to adapt in the first months but shortly after that it was amazing to see her adjust her other senses to get from point A to point B. To help her in the beginning, I used a leash to guide her path. I made sure this path was clear and didn’t change anything in the house so that she can use her memory and nose to figure out the rest. I also used doggy treats to motivate her to practice because I know deep down she was a little depressed and I had to make sure she stayed active. I did this a few times a day and every week got easier for her. I know it became easier for her because she soon started walking a little faster and the leash to guide her became a little looser.

One day, I was watching TV and I silently observed her go from her bed inside the house to walk through the kitchen, out of her doggy door to go pee outside in the grass, to then sunbathe in her favorite spot in the backyard. Once I saw her do this, I praised her with a doggy treat and a “Good job, Spicy!” As she adjusted even more…The doorbell would ring, she would bark from the backyard, walk back inside and walk to the front to go see who it is. I would eventually re-train her to come upstairs to hang out and sleep with me at night.

I have more to talk about…but I’ll end Part 1 here! Thanks for reading my stories- I appreciate the love.

-JT

30 Days of Tabije- New York City, Day 4

Today I wanted to take a break and talk about my travels outside of Cali…The last time I went to NYC was in 2015 when my cousin Jordan married Geleen. Before their big day, the family and I did tourist-y things…one of the places that we got to visit was the World Trade Center Memorial & Museum.

The 1st photo was taken outside in the memorial area. Before walking in to our scheduled museum visit, we walked around the North and South Pool, which had names of all of the people who passed on 9/11 and from the bombing in 1993. This area is free to the public, so I was able to visit this area twice.

Truthfully, I didn’t take many photos when I was inside the museum. Even though I wanted take more, it was a different type of energy and it felt more important to “absorb” the experience rather than using my camera. With that being said, I’ll definitely make a separate visit to take more.

With the few photos I took, I was able to capture some good symmetry shots with my fish-eye lens. One of my favorite things to look for with this lens is capturing and exaggerating different angles.

In the 2nd photo, there was a square- shaped walkway that caught my eye. This was a low-lit area and no flash was allowed, so I had to use the handrail to lean the camera on to capture a steady photo.

Nearby was the 4th photo taken- which is the American flag that was rescued near Ground Zero. This flag was a “facade” that hung across the building nearby. In the center of this photo is an employee of the building. The main reason that I wanted to include her was to show my slow-shutter speed, which was at 1/13 exposure time. So I waited for her to walk in to my photo until she was dead-center of the flag-Thank you, random stranger.

I recommend visiting both of these places by yourself or even with friends or family. Although it was an emotional experience, it also demonstrated a lot of bravery and love to unite everyone and help where they could during this tragic event.

Peace and love to New York City.

JT

30 Days of Tabije - Day 3

Today I’m going to write about Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ- For those of you who don’t already know, all 3 of us brothers worked for this company in different times in our lives. My oldest brother, Jerry, opened the first Location in Concord (Bay Area) in 2014. The new locations are a little smaller with a more modernized look, while still keeping a lot of the traditional theme and music throughout the restaurant. Jerry worked for this company for almost 13 years and this was his first restaurant as General Manager, so I thought this would be a great idea to document one of his life successes by photographing him at his restaurant. This was also my first time shooting this type of setting- so it gave me an idea of what it takes to execute a successful photoshoot in the future. All of these photos were taken early in the morning before the restaurant opened for the day. Hope you like them!

Thanks Bro for always keeping our friends and family’s bellies nice and full throughout the years and for the great hospitality whenever we stepped foot inside that restaurant!

Cheers,

JT

30 days of tabije, DAY 2- WADE AND GABBI

This photo was taken in June, 2018, just a few weeks after Wade was born. I was visiting Brian’s and Tara’s house and decided to take a few photos and even record a few videos of the newborn. Once it was time for Wade to take a nap, they put him in the rocker. Their dog Gabbi has been really good with having Wade around and actually became protective. And that’s why I like the outcome of this photo because it shows that! Whenever I got close to Wade, Gabbi is always on the lookout. Some of the biggest laughs from Wade is from these 2 playing with each other.

Shoutout to Brian and Tara for deciding to do this- Gabbi is a rescue dog and she is super smart. There are many smart and intelligent dogs out there who also need a home and are also very affordable. Even a particular breed that you are looking for can be at a local shelter!

Can’t wait till this COVID-19 dies down so we can all hang out again.

Besitos!

JT

30 Days of Tabije

Intro:

Hi everyone! I will be posting 30 photographic stories for 30 days- hence the name, 30 Days of Tabije. I was inspired by my cousins, Jordan and Edward, who first worked on this project- Jordan for graphic design and Edward for music production…

Aside from the world issues and events that have taken over this year, I always look to challenge myself in life, no matter what- and this month, my challenge will be with photography. Sometimes, it is easier said than done, but like my hero Kobe Bryant once said,

“You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile and keep on rolling.”

These photos will be of previous work. Some of them I consider my best work, while others had a sentimental story that I wanted to share with you. My purpose is to write about why I took a particular photo and what it means to me. I would love to hear your feedback or answer any questions that you might have during this.

Peace and love,

JT

Day 1:

One of my first accomplishments while living in the Bay Area was getting promoted to bartender at P.F. Chang’s in Walnut Creek. Getting this promotion at Chang’s allowed me to balance a second job in San Francisco to bartend for a private club inside the Giants’ baseball stadium called Gotham Club. I was a little hesitant because I am a huge Dodgers fan, but I knew that taking this job would open up many other doors of opportunity- so I took it!

During one of the many games that the Dodgers played in SF, I went in to work early and brought my camera to Gotham Club to take photos of where I worked and to show how close the players are when I’m working.

The 1st photo is my bartop on the right side and then the MLB scoreboard to the left. Behind the scoreboard is the baseball field (2nd photo). The 3rd photo is the Bullpen section where I would also bartend. When Dodgers were in town, I would purposely request to work down there so I can get that live experience and also to interact with the my regulars (PSA- As bartenders- interacting with the customer is 50% of the job). Another cool thing about the bullpen is the fence opens up and you can walk onto the warning track before the game starts. In the 4th photo, the dodgers were warming up hours before the first pitch. This was the best perk of working here- watching the Dodgers come in to town and watching a sea of Dodger blue take over the stadium- Shoutout to Pantone294! This made Giants fans hate them even more.

FYI- 100% of my regulars never knew that I was a Dodger fan but I was always respectful and always stayed professional. To remain incognito, I always talked stats, and never on emotion, so they never questioned anything I said to them, especially when talking about the Dodgers or even the Giants. Also, one of my favorite things about that stadium are the beautiful SF views in every corner of the stadium! Can’t wait to visit again.