landscape | YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN-tz

Rainy day landscapes

Dec 302012

Rainy but delightful days between the holidays were spent in Pismo Beach and the Santa Ynez/Santa Maria valleys tasting wines and then tasting some more at the area’s numerous vineyards with Erinn and her visiting parents. Between tastes and downpours I managed to bring out the camera to capture the abundant, beautiful landscapes the region has to offer. As they say, bad weather makes great photos! I was recently reminded of this when I took two separate trips to Death Valley National Park to work on an ongoing magazine assignment that will run in the spring. The first trip had beautiful, cloudless blue skies and I came back with some rather boring landscapes. The second trip was partly overcast, adding instant drama to the shots and yielding much better results. These aren’t so dramatic, but the skies definitely lend a quiet, wintry mood that I like. Bring on the clouds!

Wishing everyone a happy new year!

Happy birthday to me - Catalina Island

landscape, Nature, travel 2 Responses »

Oct 102012

An amazing birthday was had last weekend when my girlfriend Erinn treated me to a trip to Catalina Island. We’ve been meaning to go since moving to LA and finally had the opportunity this year. Our site was boat-in only, so we rented kayaks in Avalon, loaded up our gear after wrapping it in double trash bags, and made the 6-mile trek to Goat Harbor on the northeast shore. Since it’s past the prime camping season, we were especially fortunate to have our own private beach for our entire stay. A few photos from the trip, the first of which being of the light coming from the Huntington Beach area to the east from our site…

Rural California

landscape, travel 1 Response »

Apr 132012

Santa Ynez Valley farmland

A few weeks ago we made another trip up to wine country, this time staying in Santa Maria. I have to admit I spent more time tasting wine than taking photos, but here’s a landscape I like taken some time between sips. There’s a lot of beautiful farmland in California as soon as you get out of the city!

Venice Beach sunset

landscape, venice 1 Response »

Dec 202011

panoramic of child leaping off sand dune at sunset, Venice Beach, Calif.

Venice Beach sunset

Caught this moment this evening when I stepped out to check out the sunset. The sand dunes created on the beach always make for interesting photos.

Quiet scenes from Tucson and the Salton Sea

landscape, Nature, random No Responses »

Dec 052011

View from Mt. Lemmon

The Salton Sea

Erinn and I had a great trip to Tucson for the Thanksgiving holiday. Along the way I took numerous photos that had a rather quiet tone to them. Thought I’d pull them together for this post. While in Tucson, Erinn and I had a great time feasting with my sister and friends, trying out local breweries and visiting some pretty amazing locations, such as Ted De Grazia’s Gallery in the Sun and Mt. Lemmon. On the drive home we cut north on Rte. 86 for a very brief visit to the Salton Sea, which neither of us had visited in our three years living here. Only having seen images of decrepit trailers and short clips from the film Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea, I was surprised to see how many people lived there, primarily in the town of Salton City. We drove up the north shore looking for interesting sites and came across an interesting mix of abandoned furniture, dead fish and numerous birds. The chair I’d seen photographed before in different locations. It must be moved around as needed by the numerous photographers who have visited the site. The dead fish, it turns out, are a result of the ever increasing saline percentages in the water, which are making it harder and harder for the fish populations to survive. We had to stay on schedule to make it home by a certain time that evening for the arrival of some house guests, but I’d like to look into this area more. In addition to the eccentric people who live in the area, there are apparently some significant ecological issues going on there.

More photos after the jump!

Ocean on fire

Fine Art, landscape, Nature, venice No Responses »

Sep 022011

Flames in the sand, Venice, Calif., 2011.

I was browsing through some photos and found this miscategorized gem in a folder from a portrait shoot I did in January. Erinn and I apparently went out for a walk that evening and came across this cool pattern in the sand just north of the Venice Breakwater. I loved the suggestion of flames where the water recedes, and all the better that the flames were accentuated by the warmth of the setting sun. Lesson learned to either stay more organized or at least go looking through your old photos from time to time to see what you missed.

DZP in Outside Magazine

landscape, published work No Responses »

May 232011

photo of Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory

A view of Griffith Park, the Griffith Observatory and Downtown Los Angeles

I’m happy to have a photo running in this month’s Outside Magazine. Second one in the past year! The photo shows Griffith Park and downtown Los Angeles and was used to illustrate a story called “Welcome to the Jungle” for a series on weekend escapes. Escaping on a weekend was likely why I was there shooting in the first place, so I’m glad the photo found an appropriate home.

A hike in the clouds

landscape, Nature, travel, uncategorized No Responses »

Apr 232011

Sunset from Charmlee Wilderness Park, Malibu, Calif.

Hummingbird at Charmlee Wilderness Park, Malibu, Calif.

A crazy dive-bombing hummingbird takes a breather

I’m frequently reminded of how much I love living in Southern California. One recent reminder was being outpaced while heading south on the 5 near San Onofre by a 70-plus-year-old woman driving a black vintage convertible Volkswagon. Pushing 85 m.p.h. I still couldn’t catch her. A week before, I was also reminded while on an amazing hike at the Charmlee Wildnerness Park in Malibu. While having all of the benefits of city life, I’m occasionally surprised by just how close we live to some pretty amazing natural environments. Together with our new friends Jason and Kylee, we piled in the car and made our way an hour north along the PCH. The visit was a first for all of us, though Erinn had previously raved about her excursion at the nearby Point Mugu State Park, just a few miles north from our spot. I had read good reviews of the views from this spot, but we weren’t expecting much as we had nothing but overcast skies on the way there. However, as we ascended to the parking area, we found ourselves rising above the cloud layer, giving us an unusual combination of sunshine and a point of view from above the clouds. And so we hiked in the sunshine, encountering along the way a variety of wildlife, including the peculiar desert headstanding beetle and a crazy dive-bombing hummingbird that repeatedly rose to 30 feet above a bush, then swooped down on it before suddenly pulling out of the dive while simultaneously letting out a single, shrill chirp. Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m thinking something was either intruding on his bush, or he was trying to impress a lady. We made our way through a long meadow and past fields of blooming wildflowers before coming to a pretty amazing overlook of nothing but clouds and shoreline mountains, where we watched a pretty amazing sunset. Following that, we made our way back, catching the moonrise along the way. The outing was a great reminder that we don’t have to go all the way to Joshua Tree to see some pretty amazing views.

Sketch of L.A. Skyline 2 at the Venice Art Crawl

Architecture, landscape No Responses »

Apr 202011

L.A. skyline

I recently went back downtown to continue a series of abstract photos I’ve been doing of the Los Angeles skyline at night. The first, taken in December, shows the city from the south, while this angle is from the east. This is one of three photos of Los Angeles that I’ll be showing in a group show at the Canal Club during tomorrow night’s Venice Art Crawl. The show, titled “Land of the Lost Angels,” shows a variety of work focusing on the multifaceted city that is Los Angeles. I’ll be showing two other pieces as well: “Padiddle,” which shows L.A. traffic at night, and “Radio Flyer,” which is my Venetian tribute to William Eggleston. Other photographers taking part include Cerreah Laykin, Robert Yager, Eric Tucker & Rae Scarton, Martin Linss, Jeff Cohen, Christopher Soltis, Imps of Marge and Fletch, Jill Augusto, Josue Zeta Rojas and John Chapple. It’s not officially a part of Month of Photography Los Angeles (MOPLA), but we’re sort of piggybacking the event anyway. If you’re in L.A. I hope to see you there!!

Killing time in Marina del Rey

Fine Art, landscape, Nature, random No Responses »

Mar 252011

Drinking Fountain - Burton Chase Park

Marina del Rey kayakers

A sea lion at home in Marina del Rey, Calif.

I spent some time walking around Marina del Rey the other day and grabbed a few frames. Not too much to say about these, but I think I might make a life-sized enlargement of the drinking fountain and put it on a wall, right around drinking fountain height. The sea lion is from a family of them that calls one of the inlets home. This one appears to be quite happy there!

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YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN-tz

Rainy day landscapes

Happy birthday to me - Catalina Island

Rural California

Venice Beach sunset

Quiet scenes from Tucson and the Salton Sea

Ocean on fire

DZP in Outside Magazine

A hike in the clouds

Sketch of L.A. Skyline 2 at the Venice Art Crawl

Killing time in Marina del Rey

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