Celeste Cerna

Happy Birthday Milo.

I realized there was a blog that I never did get to post saved in my draft regarding Milo's passing.I decided not to post that one and instead share with you a very special day for myself and Milo.

Today, Milo would have been eight years old. I had many ideas and places I wanted to take him when I found out he had cancer. Unfortunately, I never did get a chance to make a video with him as I had intended. Even though he is gone I still wanted to do something for him, so I had asked my dear friend Karen to help me with shooting scenes I had visioned. This vision truly did come to life and I'm very satisfied and honor to share with you. Enjoy.

We were dapper and successful.

"On Sunday September 25th 2016, tens of thousands of distinguished gentlefolk in hundreds of cities worldwide will don their cravats, tweak their mustaches, press their tweed and sit astride their classic and vintage styled motorcycles to raise funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer research and suicide prevention." - DGR About page.

It was such a pleasure to be a part of a great cause to gather with riders who have established groups of rides to raise money for prostate cancer and mental health. Los Angeles had raised $80,000 and DGR was announced to be the fourth largest fundraising motorcycle community. All together DGR had raised $3,335,057 with a goal of $5,000,000.

As a passenger I was able to capture some fun shots of other riders as we rode with for two hours throughout all of Los Angeles. It was quite a show riding throughout the city and was escorted by police motorcyclist, which was an amazing experience. There were large crowds and some people who would wave hi to all of us as we rode by. It was my boyfriends first time riding in a very large group and I'm sure there were others too. I was just so proud of how everyone rode. Let's just put it this way, everyone was being a gentlemen/lady gents and we all had made it to our destination safely.

Yet, the most exciting part of this event for myself was seeing all the classic motorcycles and some that I have dreamed of seeing once we all parked to attend the after party. At the after party we did hear from the speakers who shared some touching stories and encouraged all of us to keep spreading the word. This event really did inspire my boyfriend and I and hope to be people of principle for the motorcycle community someday.

Dogs battle cancer just the same way as humans do and today is one of those strange days where Milo isn't quite himself. Just yesterday we took him and our other dog out to the park to get some fresh air and Milo was having a grand time catching the Frisbee, although he would get tired faster than usual.

Today Milo has been slow and his attention span isn't as sharp. It's really difficult to see him like this and although I'm trying to remain strong, knowing that I will be leaving to Portland in two days makes me feel stressed knowing I wont be around for a few days and not knowing what will happen.

Friends and family will tell you how much love there is between my dog Milo and I. I have had many pets growing up but this dog in particular really did become an important part of my life. There's a difference between a dog and a "human" dog. Milo to me isn't just a dog, he has these human like eyes and can read your energy whether your having a terrible or joyous day. He doesn't like the general dog commands and prefers you talking to him like a human. I can't explain to you how much this dog loves me. I would always tease my mom and tell her that Milo loves me more than my own boyfriend.

When I moved I wasn't able to take Milo with me but I always found ways to sneak him into our apartment for a couple weeks. He eventually suffered from separation anxiety so I decided to keep him longer. It was then when I started to notice strange things about him. First, having an unfortunate rectum relapse that is minor and have to deal with from time to time and second, his neck had small swollen bumps. When I took him to his doctor he told me to just hope it reduces in size because the news isn't good if it doesn't.

Three days ago I took him in because they hadn't reduced in size and I prepared myself for the worst. Milo was diagnosed with Lymphoma. It's when the lymph nodes become inflamed and can no longer fight any infections or bacteria that your body is trying to fight. Therefore, cancer. It was not only on his neck but had swelled up his other lymph nodes on his chest and legs, (dogs have different areas of lymph nodes than humans).

Never tell a man he can't get a motorcycle.

A few months back I went with my boyfriends family to Solvang to explore the area and get ice cream at our favorite spot, which had bourbon whisky, yum! There was a museum that his dad had told him about with rare motorcycles on display. We decided to check it out and long and behold, it was a beautiful sight to see.

The museum was fairly small but had many bikes as early as the 1700's that looked like bicycles. Each motorcycle had a displayed frame with its story for the visitors to read. There was one in particular that stood out the most, a 1900's Indian motorcycle. If I could remember the story clearly it was about a young man who wanted a motorcycle but his girlfriend wouldn't let him get one. She decided to leave town to attend college and the young man know this was his opportunity, so he immediately went out and got himself an Indian. A few days later she tells him that she's coming back home and had changed her mind about leaving to school. He hid the bike under some hay stacks in the barn so she wouldn't find out. They got married, had children, and soon the discovered the Indian fifty years later.

I bet that man was so proud to have seen his bike under the hay stacks in its pristine originality knowing he has a part of history. So ladies, if a man wants a motorcycle make sure its a classic.

Who knows what's going on.

The 1970's is one of my favorite eras of music, fashion, and history that was formed during those decades. I wanted to take the rabbit concept I did before and post/edit with a different approach, something "out of this word," if you know what I mean.

See the before and after at celestecerna.com

I'm either having way too much fun with this rabbit concept or I'm just letting my creative juice flow with new ideas. Stay tuned for more work to be posted soon!

Here's a joke to laugh at in the meantime:

What did the carrot say to the rabbit?

Daydreaming can lead to unexpected outcomes.

Photography can be a fantastic career that can generate good income. However, when you work too much there is hardly any time to explore creative concepts for personal use. A couple of weeks ago I went to visit my folks and gathered a few items that I left behind when I moved. I had packed my One Step Polaroid land camera, a couple of comic books, some old college books, and a rabbit mask. The rabbit mask now sits at my working desk and one day I began to daydream of ways I can use it for a creative approach with photography. I wanted to use it as a way to express a certain emotion or experience I was feeling at the time. The following day I decided to take on my own challenge and make it come to life.

See the before and after at celestecerna.com

I met her in our advertising class. Now she's married at last.

Life has a funny way of setting a plan for people without you knowing what will happen next.

I met Elsie during college in our advertising class and our friendship had lasted ever since. I knew she was searching for someone who was compatible with her interests in music, style, humor, and faith. There was a time when I didn't hear from her for a long time and then one day I received a message from her asking if I could take her engagement photos. It was then when I was in disbelief and elated for her!

After meeting her fiancè I knew life had set a plan for the both of them and they were a match made in heaven. It was an honor when they asked if I could take their wedding photos. I couldn't be happier with how they turned out.

When it came to posting, there was one image that stood out the most and I have to say its my absolute favorite photo. I'm a harsh critic with my own work just like any other artist or creative out there. Were never happy with our work and always want to improve it. However, this photo was just flawless and truly told the story through her eyes. If you look close enough you can see her husband in her eyes. I literally shouted with ecstasy and couldn't wait to share this capture.

I can't thank them both enough for the opportunity to be a part of their wedding day and capture an every lasting memory to share with their family and future family they will have someday.