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.
Dec 202011
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!
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.
May 232011
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.
Apr 232011
Sunset from 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.
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!!
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!
Feb 162011
Pomona cactus patch
Erinn carefully frolicking in the cactus patch
SoCal contrast
Last week I had an assignment to photograph some activity at Cal State Polytechnic, way out east in Pomona. It happened that Erinn was free, so she came along so we could go out to dinner on the way back home. The job had me arriving in Pomona, about 50 miles east of Venice, at 6 p.m., which meant that if we left at 4 we might get there by 6:30. So rather than sit in traffic all day, we decided to take off at 1 and find something to do there before my start time. Leaving that early, we were actually able to make it there in the hour that it should take to drive 50 miles, which meant we had plenty of time to kill. Turns out there’s not a ton to do in Pomona. But we took the attitude that we were happy just driving around and finding places to get out and walk, and before we knew it the time had passed. First we found our way downtown, which turned out to be pretty nice. There’s an antique’s row and a main street area with several restaurants and bars. I didn’t realize until driving through downtown that I’d actually been there before, having visited the Fox Theater to see the Meat Puppets and Built to Spill with friends when I was out here visiting prior to moving here. Met Mike Watt that night too! Just after he’d been inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame with the Stooges. Anyway, after we walked around the town for awhile, we made our way over to the Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park where we found a hillside covered in patches of cacti. So we got out of the car to check them out and take some photos. The photos turned out well, but they cost me a few stab wounds. Two in the shins and one in the butt. It’ll teach you to be aware of your surroundings. Somewhere along the way I also hopped out and took the last photo here, which struck me as something you’d only see in Southern California. After the assignment, we made our way downtown for some grub. We ended up deciding on an amazing Japanese restaurant called Daikokuya in Little Tokyo. If you’re ever in the mood for really good ramen noodles check this place out!
Dec 242010
Sketch of LA Skyline
This is an image I’ve been sitting on, but thought I’d post in lieu of, or for lack of, a Christmas lights image this year. I shot this over the summer while on an assignment that had me at USC. It started as a happy accident with my setup. Once I saw the effect though I thought it was a unique take on the skyline and kept working it until I came up with something I like. I’m heading to New York next month and will try to repeat it there. Should make a nice collection eventually. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!
Dec 122010
North coast landscape 1
Double rainbow (oh my god!)
The gang in the backyard
I just returned from a fantastic week exploring the northern coast of California on a family gathering outside the small town of Elk, in Mendocino County. The area is primarily known for three things – wineries, breweries and landscapes – and we made a point of enjoying all three in mass quantities. The group consisted of my father, his fiance Gayle, her son Geoff and his girlfriend Bianca, myself and my younger sister Lauren, and was more or less a Thanksmas gathering for those of us living in the western states. The drive was about 9-10 hours coming from both LA and Portland, home to Geoff and Bianca, so the location was an excellent compromise. The others flew in to San Fran and had a 3-hour drive north from there. The week basically consisted of lazy mornings around the house followed by day trips to the numerous vineyards, breweries and small towns situated up and down the coast, and then a return to the house where we took turns cooking enormous feasts, including an untraditional Thanksmas dinner (if there is such a thing?) of freshly caught Dungennes crab. Among the favorite spots we visited were the Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville, the Pacific Star Winery north of Fort Bragg and pretty much the entire seaboard, which is among the prettiest territory in these United States. I probably didn’t do as much shooting as I could have, but I thought I came away with a few nice landscapes. The weather was overcast and foggy for all but one or two afternoons, but that was fine by me. The weather made for better photos. With a few exceptions, the landscapes are all I’ll post here, but will probably put more family photos up on the Facebook page soon.
Pacific Star Winery, Fort Bragg, Calif.
