Nygel Lewis, 8, cheers from within the confines of the Victoria’s Secret storefront window while shopping with his mother in Marina Del Rey, Calif.
Jan 312009
Jan 292009
Jaime Armendariz, left, hugs his girlfriend, Rachel Lopez, while paying their respects to the Lupoe family in front of the family’s house, 1051 McFarland Ave., Los Angeles, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009. On Tuesday the bodies of Ervin Antonio Lupoe, his wife Ana, and their five children were found dead in the home of an apparent murder-suicide that took place Monday night. “I’ve been here since I was a little kid and it’s kind of out of the norm for something like that to happen,” says Armendariz, who lives nearby. (AP Photo/David Zentz)
Rosa Bella Senor of Long Beach wipes away a tear while paying her respects to the Lupoe family in front of their home at 1051 McFarland Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. , on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009. On Tuesday the bodies of Ervin Antonio Lupoe, his wife Ana, and their five children were found dead in the home of an apparent murder-suicide that took place Monday night. “It’s really sad. I have children. This is too bad for the children,” says Bella Senor, who did not know the family personally. (AP Photo/David Zentz)
Jan 262009
Erinn and I took a walk along the beach the other day and stopped for a while to check out the waves as they crashed against the breakwater. It was a windy day and the water was super choppy, making for some great explosions that kept the birds jumping.
I was happy to see that the episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” featuring the Grys family of Pekin, Ill., aired last week on ABC. I spent a year following the Grys family’s youngest member, Jake, an 8-year-old with a rare and life-threatening combination of osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle-bone disease) and dwarfism. My original post was lost when I accidentally destroyed my old blog, so I’m posting the story again with a link to the online broadcast of the show. To see it go here. It’s episode 13. I don’t think they keep the episodes up for more than a week or so, so be sure to look before they take it down! I’m also proud to note that an image from my story – a wide shot of Jake on the operating table – was featured on the show. I’m glad I was able to help tell his story to a new audience.
Jan 182009
Jean Hooper, 45, hula-hoops on Venice Beach in Los Angeles on Wednesday. While winter blasts the rest of the nation, temperatures have been in the 80s in Southern California. “This is our winter,” she says. “That’s why I’m doing my happy hula dance.” (AP Photo/David Zentz)
While in much of the country the weather was turning those that dared go out of doors into popsicles we in Southern California were fortunate enough to have a heat wave. Here are a couple I shot on Wednesday. The hula-hooper was one of several shot for the AP, and the other just for myself.
Jan 132009
Southern California’s Taj Gibson displayed a range of emotion during an NCAA men’s basketball game against crosstown rival UCLA in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009. Despite holding the score close through the second half, USC was unable to close the deal, giving UCLA a 64-60 win. (AP Photo/David Zentz)
UCLA forward Nikola Dragovic (41) dunks over Southern California forward Nikola Vucevic (5) during an NCAA basketall game in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009. UCLA won 64-60. (AP Photo/David Zentz)
Jan 132009
Maxine Jung; Santa Monica, Calif.
Jan 062009
Members of the Penguin Swim Club line up before plunging into the frigid Pacific Ocean while taking part in the 49th annual New Year’s Day swim at Venice Beach in Venice, Calif., on Thursday, January 1, 2009. Water temperatures at noon were around 54 degrees. (AP Photo/David Zentz)
Members of the Penguin Swim Club race into the frigid Pacific Ocean while taking part in the 49th annual New Year’s Day swim at Venice Beach in Venice, Calif., on Thursday, January 1, 2009. Swimmers competed in a 500-yard race at noon in water that was around 54 degrees. (AP Photo/David Zentz)
Members of the Penguin Swim Club plunge into the frigid Pacific Ocean while taking part in the 49th annual New Year’s Day swim at Venice Beach in Venice, Calif., on Thursday, January 1, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zentz)
On New Year’s Day we went down to the beach to check out the annual New Year’s Day swim hosted by the Penguin Swim Club. The event was somewhat laughable after witnessing the same thing in much colder climates than Southern Calfironia has to offer, but it was fun nonetheless.
Jan 062009
I’ve been a bad blogger, but I’ve got an excuse! On the 12th of December I flew out to meet up with Erinn at her parents’ place in Emerald Isle, N.C. After a wonderful week there with her family we took off on a cross-country road trip with the purpose of moving Erinn’s belongings from her home in Peoria out to our place in L.A. I’ve been out here solo since September and am glad she’s finally able to join me! Our road trip took us from Emerald Isle through Asheville, where we visited my friend Cameron, up to Peoria, where we were able to catch up with my friend and former housemate Adam and a few of Erinn’s friends and also had the pleasure of packing Erinn’s entire powerless apartment into her car in -3 degree, post-ice-storm weather. From there we headed southwest through Tulsa and Albuquerque en route to a rendezvous with my mom and sister in Flagstaff, Ariz., where we spent Christmas week in an amazing mountain home, courtesy of Lauren’s Tucson landlord, surrounded by several feet of fresh powder snow. Finally, we made our way to our ultimate destination on the 29th in time to be here for what turned out to be a fairly quiet, but memorable New Year’s Eve complete with a fireworks show completely obscured by a dense fog that covered the coast the entire day. It was a great trip from start to finish, but I’m happy to be back home and ready to get back to work. And hopefully I’ll be better about putting up new work now that things are back to normal.
Tree decorating in N.C.
Emerald Isle starfish
An homage to “Planet Earth”
Tail lights
Buffalo Trace distillery; Frankfort, Kent.
Peoria at -3 degrees
No power hair dryer
Erinn’s first tumbleweed encounter; somewhere near Amarillo, Tex.
Tumbleweed pom pom
Canyon de Chelly, Ariz.
Flagstaff bedroom
Wood fires take awhile to heat an entire house
Picture window
Santa!
Snow, snow, snow
Snowman building
5:30 a.m. after a faulty fire alarm woke us all up
Sunshine
Yellow
Yoga
Classic
Sherlock 1
Sherlock 2
Cruising Flagstaff
The trap works!
Quiet time
Crystalline windshield
Grand Canyon!
From the lodge
Sedona, Ariz. chapel
