Perez Studios

Okay, I don’t want you to look for Waldo in this photo but instead look for Manuel Perez in the following photos.  If you can find me in both pictures I will give you access to something nice.  Maybe a Demonoid Invite or if its something else you want then let me know! 

The photo on the left is of my platoon in Corporal’s Course in Camp Pendleton, California.  Our platoon Sergeant was Staff Sergeant Moss.  The photo taken on August 12, 1998.  Right after I got promoted to Corporal the First Sergeant wanted to test me and see if I would fail Corporal’s Course.  I passed with flying colors. 

In Corporal’s Course they teach you Leadership, Weapons and Small Unit Tactics, Management and Drill.  Drill is probably one of my most favorite tasks.  You are on a large parade deck with an entire platoon to lead and you are given a drill card that has a list of different movements to put the platoon through.  You begin with presenting the platoon to the judge and then begin with the movements.  The key to drilling is to get the platoon in and out of the movements.  That way you only use a small portion of the parade deck and it is over quickly.

They also inspect you very thoroughly so that you are capable of inspecting your platoon.  Overall the course was great.  I got to stay with a friend and his wife that I knew from communications school.  My wife came over and we spent the time together.  I love Oceanside and the weather is almost as perfect as San Diego. 

The photo on the right is from Marine Combat Training.  This is the training that they put Marines through right after Boot Camp.  Here you learn a lot about Weapons, Infantry Training and other Combat Skills. 

This photo is of Golf Company – 3rd Squad – 3rd Platoon in Camp Pendleton, California.  I took this photo in October of 1996.  I was only 18 in this photo. 

Remember, if you can find Waldo, I mean me, then I will reward you!  Leave your answer in the comment box or either email me.  I will send the winner the reward of their choice.

That’s all for today!

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

This is a photo of a United States Marine manning the radio wearing full Mission Oriented Protective Posture Gear.  This was my last exercise in Okinawa, Japan before finishing my tour.  I was with 1st Stinger Battery from Camp Futenma.  This Marine and I were on Radio Watch when we got the siren to go to MOPP Level 4.  The command is Gas, Gas, Gas and it is nothing to ignore.  Manning the radio can be tough with all this gear on because you can barely hear anything through the mask.  I remember going through Nuclear Biological Chemical Warfare School and we had to play basketball with all this gear on.  Luckily it wasn’t too hot only about 80 something degrees. 

That’s all I have for today and thank you for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

One day while I was in Okinawa, Japan back in 1999-2000 my friends and I all decided to go rent some underwater gear to check out this one area that the scuba divers use.  I rented an underwater camera housing unit and some snorkeling gear and we took off.  I was kind of curious to see how the camera would operate but it was fairly simple.  I used one of those disposable cameras and it worked fine. 

The photo on the left is of me underwater with the snorkeling gear on.  We had a blast at this place.  In fact a couple of months later some other friends and I went back to check it out again.  We found some underwater caves that took you over to the other side of a big cliff.  We held our breaths and dove in and raced over to the other side.  When I came up I came up too soon and scratched my back on some coral.  It was very painful after I got out of the water. 

We explored the other side of this cliff and found some caves that were above ground.  One even went in about 20 feet or so.  It started to get very tight at the end and we had to crawl out. 

I had a blast while in Japan but it does get kind of sad when the other half of you isn’t there with you.  I eventually left the Marine Corps after serving four years on Active Duty.  I think of the Corps as a place that anyone will transform into another person that has lots of self respect, respect for others, discipline, and time management skills. 

Until recently, I used to think that all the jobs I got were because of the discipline that the Corps instilled in me, but when I interviewed at two different jobs recently and didn’t get the jobs, I began to think that I am losing those traits that the Corps gave me. 

So, I began working on getting those traits back by giving my all at my work, my marriage and my life.  I started on an exercise program back in April called Beachbody’s Insanity and I went from 240lbs to 223lbs in 60 days.  I must say that Insanity is probably one of the toughest programs I have done and remember, I went to the United States Marine Corps Boot camp.  After the 60 days I tried some other programs but none of them gave me the performance like Insanity.  I have also started using my Bowflex to build muscle which they say burns fat.  I have seen a big difference.  I am now at 218lbs and have had to buy a new belt that is smaller than the other one because the other was too big. 

My goal is to get to 175lbs eventually but I am just trying to get to the 200lb mark first.  I know I can do it with a lot of hard work and dedication.  I am drinking water like it were candy and trust me the cravings for soda is almost unbearable. 

I know I can do it and if you are on some kind of diet, then I would love to hear about it.  If you have any questions about the photos from Okinawa, Japan or the Insanity program please feel free to let me know.  I would love to work with you all.

That’s all for today!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

While I was in Kuwait back in 1997, we had an experience that was amazing.  When we arrived back home, I had a promotion warrant for me.  I had gotten promoted to Corporal.  It was a big thing for me because ever since I first signed up to be in the Marine Corps, I wanted that Blood Stripe and I knew that I had to work hard to get it and to keep it.  The ceremony was short and sweet but it was cool to get promoted in such a surprise.  I eventually got promoted to Sergeant in 2000 just about a month or two before I got out which was another key step for me because being a Sergeant is something else. 

That’s all for today.

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

Today is our last day to share my experience of Guanajuato, Mexico with you.  I am going to share some photos of Leon, Guanajuato, which is a very large city that has a lot of things to do.  Food at almost every corner sold by local street vendors. 

Tacos al Vapor were just one of my favorites.  My wife has a cousin that sells every morning on one of the popular street corners.  They have a large variety of tacos.  From chorizo to beans and on one of the last days I was there I had him invent something he still sells today.  A torta de tacos.  We went and bought a couple of bollilos (bread rolls) and opened them up to reveal something like a sandwich.  Then we laid a couple of tacos inside the bread and added some cheese and chile and closed it up and it was heaven. 

There is just so many different things to see in Leon.  From El Centro (Like the City Mall) to the parks and just the streets.  Over on the left you can see a house that has a motorcycle hanging over their front doorway.  Interesting.  There is even a hill that you can drive up to and see the whole city.  It kind of reminds me of Los Angeles.

  The local vendors have so many ways to make things work and improvise in ways that I wouldn’t have thought of.  On the right you can see a photo of a vendor that rides a horse and carriage with rubber tires selling fruits and vegetables.  They carry a horn speaker and microphone to let people know they are coming. 

I still remember the propane sellers.  They have these large trucks that race through the streets yelling on the horns announcing, “El Gas!”.  Since there aren’t any gas lines in the homes they have to purchase propane tanks and the salesman go through the neighborhoods announcing their presence.  People that need gas run out to stop them and get their refill.

I also remember a scene that I don’t have here but it is still in my mind.  The scene of dogs eating crunchy tortillas lying on the floor.  I guess since Dog Food is probably too expensive so they just get the leftover tortillas and throw them on the floor for the dogs to eat. 

Mexico has a lot of culture.  One that I miss very much and cant wait to go again.  I love getting up early in the morning and heading over to the market to get a fresh milkshake or “liquado” with all kinds of delicious fresh fruit and all the good nutrients a grown boy needs. 

The market has so many fresh produces.  From freshly cut pigs to fresh fruits and vegetables.  The market is the place to be, unless you are a pig or other type of animal.  Over on the left you can see a photo from inside the market looking down at some fresh cut pork.  They skin the pork to make pork grinds. 

That is all from my trip to Leon and Guanajuato.  Next week I plan to share some more of my photos from other trips.  Remember, if you have photos of your favorite Mexican hangout please share them with us and let us know what you love most about Mexico.

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

Today is Thursday and we are almost finished with the week and also with our week honoring Mexico.  I didn’t get much feedback from the readers on any posts from this week but I imagine will get some later.  Remember, if you have any photos that you would love to share with us to see please do so. 

Today we are going to go through our final day in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.  Tomorrow we will see some photos from Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.  The photo on the left is from inside Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico but I am not quite sure this morning what it is of.  If any of you readers know what it is please let us know. 

I love seeing photos in black and white.  It seems that they appear more artistic and interesting.  I love history and I think that it has some amazing things that happened in Guanajuato. 

  The photo on the right is of the statue just outside of the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato which is a church that has some very amazing architecture features. 

I love the architecture in Mexico.  It seems that the United States has so many issues with safety that they forget about beauty anymore when creating a new building.  There isn’t anymore of that oomph that interests me and I imagine others.  I think the buildings are more of art than they are buildings in Mexico.  They have so much detail and beauty.

This is my last photo from the capital and it is a photo of an alley that had some amazing light coming through and caught my attention.  I stopped as we walked by just to capture a couple of shots.  This alley shouldn’t be confused with the one that a girl and a boy lived across the alley from each other and their parents forbid them from seeing each other but the alley was so close together that they were able to kiss each other without ever leaving the house.  That alley was on another street.  I would have loved to see that one but maybe next time.

That’s all that I have today and stay with us tomorrow as we conclude our trip to Mexico and see some photos from Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Remember, if you have any photos you would like to share about your favorite location in Mexico, please do.  It doesn’t have to be in Guanajuato but it has to be in Mexico.

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

I know that you might notice a few changes to the look of the site and I am going to try and explain all of them today. 

I recently stretched out the page to make it a little wider.  This allowed me to display all the features of the Upcoming Events Page.  Before the change only the days from Sunday through Thursday would display.  I had to change the css code to allow me to get more information on the page. 

The next page I want to discuss is the Interview Questions Page.  This page is something I setup back when the previous blog was working.  I wanted to do questions and answers with other photographers in the area and around the world and just ask them some key questions about them and their work. 

The Upcoming Events Page is actually a display of my Google Calendar.  It allows me to display my events that are scheduled so far.  If you would like to schedule an event with me please contact me and we can discuss your plans. 

The Gallery Page is simply that.  It is a gallery of only a couple of my photos that I have for sale.  I plan on adding more but it is all done in time.  All checkout is done through PayPal.  PayPal is legit and allows you to pay with trusted security in a quick and timely manner.  If you don’t have a PayPal account you can visit their site and signup for one.

The Subscribe Page is a page that allows you to enter your email address and FeedBurner will automatically send you an email of any new posts that I add.  You can also use the Subscribe to get updates button located at the right of the page just under the search box. 

On the right you have the You Shopping Cart Widget.  This will display the total number of items you have in your cart or will display that it is empty.  If you use the Gallery Page and add something to your cart you will see that your cart has items.

The FeedBurner RSS Widget displays the total number of readers that are currently subscribing to my posts.  This will automatically change and the amount of readers increases and decreases.  So if you want to increase the numbers please subscribe via FeedBurner.

The Ask Me Anything Widget simply allows viewers to interact with me.  After signing up through formspring you can ask me any questions and I can answer them and display the answers and questions here on the page. 

The Google Members Widget allows other Google Members to follow the site and display their profile picture so other viewers can see who else is following the site.

The next features I want to discuss are the ones located within a post.  These features are usually located at the bottom of the post.  These features usually allow you to interact socially with other social networks such as facebook, myspace, twitter, etc..  I am no longer using facebook and twitter as I made it a point in myself to publicize my page without the use of these networks or any other social network.  I am counting on all of you to spread the popularity of my page and share your experiences with others.

The Share/Save button allows you to share the post with others via the tons of social networks that are out there.  Please feel free to share my content with others.

The Related posts: feature allows you to look at a post and see what other posts on my blog are similar to the one you just read.  It is all based on Categories, Tags and keywords.  The Categories are just below that that always contain All and other categories.  To the right of that is the Tags.  Click on either a Category or Tag that you want to see all posts that are related.

The next feature is the Comment section.  This is where readers can leave a comment and I do usually get a lot of spam in the comments that I have to go through but I promise if your comment is legit I will approve it as soon as I can.  I will also try to respond to every comment I get in a timely manner.

Just below the comment box is a Subscribe to comments feed button.  This allows you to use RSS or Really Simple Syndication or that feature in Internet Explorer to keep track of what changes are made to the comments.  If you haven’t heard of RSS, trust me you need to find out as much as possible about it.  A lot of cool things happen with RSS and if you haven’t signed up for Google Reader you need to so that you can get all your feeds in one area and read them.

Those are all the features as of today and I do plan to update you regularly on any changes that do come up.

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

Today we are going to view just a couple of photos that represent the scariest looking things in Guanajuato.  Los Momia’s de Guanajuato is an actual museum that allows visitors to stroll through the new exhibits that display actual mummy’s.  I say new exhibits because the actual museum before used to be underground and the mummy’s weren’t in glass cases, they were actually standing in coffins side by side right next to you.   Today the mummy’s are displayed for thousands and thousands of tourists to see. 

The museum has many different mummy’s from the world’s smallest mummy which is an actual fetus that was taken out of the mother’s womb after they both died, to a woman that was actually mistaken for dead and buried.  The dirt under her fingernails and the way her body had moved explains that she was buried alive.

The museum actually even has the world’s oldest mummy, according to the museum, but don’t take my word for it.  The museum is really something that you should see if you are in Guanajuato, Mexico.  It might not be for the whole family but it is something else!

That is all for today and stay tuned tomorrow as I will share some more photos from the capital and some photos of Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez

Today is the second day of our trip through Guanajuato, Mexico.  Today I will take you through some of the villages that we visited while we were there and share with you some of the photos that enjoyed taking like the one on the left that I photographed.  This photo was taken with my Minolta Dimage 5.  We visited the village that my mother-in-law grew up in and it was an amazing experience.  The photo in the left contains the donkey looking at us as we walked through the village.  The farmer had some hay burning in the background and it just seemed amazing.  I converted the photo to Black & White using Adobe Photoshop.

The photo on the right is of some dried corn that I got down on the floor to take this photo.  The village has a lot of things that just seem to be lying around on the floor.  I guess the corn is for the rats and chickens to eat.  Not sure but we did come across a dead mouse.  No photo of that here but I do have it if you would like to see it.  Just let me know.

This photo to the left  is of one of the houses my mother-in-law grew up in.  In the backyard they had an old structure that looked like a small home.  It appeared to be run down now and the roof caved in, but the light was shining through this doorway and the flowers were just amazing.

That is all the photos I have for today but stay tuned for tomorrow as we continue our tour through Guanajuato, Mexico.

Thanks for reading!

Semper Fidelis,

Manuel Perez