ELLE

I met the beautiful Elle at The Fashion Event 2018, a local fashion show that showcases local boutiques and designers from around the world all for charity. Keep in mind that the show was LAST YEAR and I have been DYING to work with this gorgeous girl ever since then, but my girl moved to LA and it seemed like it was NEVER going to happen.

But one fated night at Santa’s Wonderland, a very tired and drunk Blanka (PSA: Drunk Blanka and Sober Blanka are COMPLETELY different people), runs into this sweet angel and SHE DOESN’T RECOGNIZES HER AND HAS THE AUDACITY TO ASK HER IF SHE IS REALLY ELLE!!!??! LOL like i said, Drunk Blanka is a weirdo. 

After almost 9 months of meeting, I finally got to work with this beauty and I am so incredibly glad! 

Not only is this girl stunning and adorable, she is also incredibly down to earth, talented and HILARIOUS! I seriously had so much fun working with her. From great crazy dance moves, to silly faces and her lack of shame to changing in front of strangers, she truly is a PLEASURE to work with. 

I legit almost died when she told me that she worked with my all-time girl crush, Nina Dobrev, in her new sitcom, FAM! I literally fell to the ground lol.

But enough of my rambling, enjoy this girls face. 

-Bxx 



1st Beauty Shoot

I had an absolute blast working with the amazing Megan Miller of Made up by Meg creating this fun shoot. If you know me, then you know that I have been wanting to do this sort of shoot for THE longest time! 

I will be doing more of these shoots- so if you know of any model who might be interested please tell them to send me a message! 

Photographer + Editor: Blanka Leal Photography

Hair + Makeup: Made up by Meg- Megan Miller

Models: Mary, Mariah + Samantha

Dresses: Belvie Bridal 

-Bxx


Thirty Seconds to Mars Concert- 7/7/18

This blog post has been a long time coming folks, because, if you know me then you know 3 things about me. 

  •  I am obsessed with concerts and in fact, Live Music Photography is what got me into photography in the first place. 
  • I have been obsessed with Thirty Seconds to Mars since the first time I listened “Closer to the Edge” when I was 15 years old. 
  • Jared Leto is one of my all-time favorite musician, actors, and human beings. That man can punch me straight in the face and I would whole-heartedly thank him. 

Anyway, my sweet boyfriend, Robert, got me the tickets to see them live as an early birthday present and it is by far THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT ANYONE COULD HAVE EVER GIVEN ME. So before I even begin talking about the concert, quick shout-out to my amazing boyfriend. Thank you. 

The concert was everything and beyond what I could have ever imagined. They had 3 opening acts, but I unfortunately only made it to the last act, Walk The Moon, who are AMAZING live. I had seen them previously in ACL 2016 so I was more than happy to see them again. Their energy was well- to the moon,  Nick’s vocals were spot on and you could hear the passion and energy that he gives in every song. There was not a single audience member who was not dancing or singing along to their songs. 

While we were waiting for 30STM to take the stage, we met a sweet couple who came all the way from Arkansas to see them live and they are by far the NICEST people I have ever met. My favorite part of concerts is meeting people you normally wouldn’t have met who share your same love or passion for a band.

It is now 9:27 PM and we are all impatient until Jared and Shannon take the stage when out of nowhere “Monolith” starts playing. Everyone started losing their mind and then the power goes out and we see Jared and Shannon leaving the stage! No one knew what was going on, most of the people in the audience thought that Jared wanted to change his outfit, or that he was having some sort of issue but no one knew what it was. Everyone in the pit started singing on their own and chanting for them to come back, and 10 minutes later our wish was granted and Shannon comes into the stage and Jared starts singing “Up in the Air” as if nothing had happened. Everyone was happy and they were singing hit after hit and my 15-year-old-self was alive and jamming with each and every song. 

But to be completely honest with everyone, when Robert mentioned to me that he got me tickets for them I was excited but kind of skeptical as well. I am not a huge fan of their new album. Don’t get me wrong, AMERICA is a decent album, but it lacks the boom and power that Thirty Seconds to Mars are known for. AMERICA sounds like a deluded version of Imagine Dragons sound which is some sort of grungetronica sound… but needless this concert changed my perspective on this album (I don’t hate it as much as I used too lol).  

Although this is the Monolith Tour, they only performed 4 songs from their new album (part of me was thankful for this). They mostly played their hits such as; ‘Up in the Air’, ‘Kings and Queens’, ‘This is War’, ‘Do or Die’, ‘The Kill’ and ‘Closer to the Edge’.   

The Echelon

‘The Kill’ is probably Thirty Seconds to Mars most well-known song and it’s definitely my favorite song to listen them perform live and I knew it was coming after seeing Jared got on top of the stage. We were all screaming as soon as the song began and out of nowhere the power died again. Jared was stuck up there with no way to get down and no way he could perform, so the entire crowd began singing the song while Jared was directing us. This was probably the most beautiful and amazing moment in the entire concert, I got literal chills. 

What made this concert even better was the fact that during Closer to the Edge, Jared let almost everyone from the PIT section to get on the stage. I was one of the lucky 100 people that they let up on stage and I swear I do not remember how I even got up there. It was all a blur, all I remember was touching Jared’s feet when I climbed on stage, staring at Shannon Leto and him laughing at my expression and sticking his tongue out trying to be playful with me because he saw that I was highly freaking out.  Naturally, I started ugly crying as soon as Closer to the Edge started. Thankfully security did not remove my camera or SD card as soon as I got on stage like I feared and I was able to capture some awesome photos + video (you can see it at the very bottom)


I give this concert 10 out of 5 stars! The entire concert was amazing, Jared knew how to keep an audience highly entertained and he gave his soul and energy into each and every song. His quirky and funny personality shined through in between songs where he would talk to the audience take photos with a reusable camera that an audience member had and showing his dance moves. Even if you’re not a big fan of them I would still recommend you going to see them. Robert is not the biggest fan, and he loved it and is now a small fan! 

Until next time, 

-Bxx 

p.s. watch the video in HD, it looks WAY better!

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