Mark, Martin & Stella
I’ve known Mark since my university days in the Philippines at the University of Santo Tomas, before I dropped out. Mark was always such a good friend to me during those years—one of my favorite memories is how he would still come with me to eat lunch, even if he’d already eaten, just to hang out and chit chat. Now, somehow, we’ve both found our way to the Bay Area again.
Mark moved to the Bay Area from New York with his partner, Martin, and their cute dog, Stella, in 2024, and we’ve been catching up ever since. It had been a long time since we’d seen each other after college. Yesterday, Mark celebrated his 10-year anniversary of being in the US, and I’m so proud of the community he’s built here and all the people who’ve become his California family—I’m really glad to be a part of that.
Mark and Martin usually do a portrait with Stella once a year, and since I opened the studio in January, we finally made time in March to shoot their portrait here. I can’t wait to do this more often. Thank you both for trusting me—and here’s to more photos and more fun dinners together.
