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!

Shade - Tucson, Ariz.

Salton Sea

Salton Sea

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.

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.

Wildflowers at Charmlee Wilderness Park in Malibu, Calif.

Merry hikers

Charmlee Wilderness Park in Malibu, Calif.

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!

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!

Venus, airplane or satellite?

Fishing in Sarasota

October started with a great week in Florida, beginning with the grand, French-themed wedding of my friends Cameron Thomas and KC Bosserman at the Orlando Country Club and followed by a few days of relaxing with the folks in Sarasota. There we celebrated my 32nd birthday and spent as much time as possible by the water, whether on sailboat or kayak, pool- or beachside, and of course, I took a lot of photos. Not much in the mood for writing at the moment, so I’ll let them speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Oui oui

They do - Cameron and KC's wedding at the Orlando Country Club

First dance

Sailing Sarasota Bay

Sarasota mangroves

Banana spider!

Relaxing in the hamaca

32nd bday. Winner winner lobster dinner!

Swimming

Rather hideous development along the Boca Vista Marina

Osprey in Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park

Baby great blue heron

Sunning on Turtle Beach

Sunset on Siesta Key

Sunset; Siesta Key

The official line at San Onofre State Beach

Biking at Camp Pendleton

Erinn and I spent a couple days last week camping at San Onofre State Beach and surfing at nearby Surf Beach. The camping, sandwiched between the bluffs and I-5 and an active Amtrak rail, leaves something to be desired, but Surf Beach may be my new favorite place in Southern California. As a novice surfer, there’s really no place better that I’ve found in my limited experience. The beach is a mile or so long with low waves steadily rolling in for most of the day, making it a great place to learn without fear of getting thrashed about.

Aside from 4 trips out into the surf, we also went for an afternoon bike ride on a trail that runs through Camp Pendleton, which begins on the south side of the park and extends for miles down to Oceanside, just north of San Diego. Not really the prettiest scenery there, but it made for a good ride.

We also met up with some friends Erinn knows through work who frequent the beach despite the 1 1/2 hour trek from LA. They do it right though, cruising down in a late-model VW camper complete with a bed and small kitchen. We met up with them on the beach and then joined them at their van, where they treated us to a home cooked meal.

Oh, and despite the beach’s reputation as a nude beach, we saw no sign of it other than numerous signs warning would-be nudists to keep their shorts on.

Nude beach or not, I’m sure we’ll be heading back there soon and often.

Biking at Camp Pendleton

Lunch at our friends' camper at Surf Beach

Erinn at San Onofre State Beach

Walking dogs at San Onofre State Beach

Sunset at San Onofre State Beach bluffs

Windsurfing at Huntington Beach

The Exposure section of the July issue of Outside magazine features a double truck photo I took earlier this year at Huntington Beach. On my way home from a meeting with an ad agency in Irvine I decided to swing by the beach to look for photos. It had been raining unusually hard that day all across Southern California and I figured the late afternoon sun that had started peaking through the storm clouds would make for some great images. When I got there the sun only lasted 2 minutes before an approaching set of clouds darkened the sky, ruining the beautiful light that had drawn me there. To my surprise though, as I walked along the beach near the pier, I saw a couple kites dancing around the gloomy skyline to the north. I figured they were only power kites being flown from the beach, but as I approached I saw that there were actually a couple of daring kite surfers taking advantage of the choppy water and high winds that had probably deterred the majority of their brethren. I figured they weren’t going to be out there for long and started jogging up the beach to get a closer shot. My timing was perfect, as they lasted only another minute before packing it in.

I blogged a couple of other photos from this experience just after it happened, but since this one just made it into print I figured I’d share it as well. The Exposure page is an ongoing feature in the magazine that focuses on unique outdoor photography and shares the photographers’ camera settings and a brief interview about the photographers’ experience. This one, besides being a nice stormy weather shot, I think had particular interest to them because of the recent relevance of offshore drilling. I hadn’t put much thought about it when taking the shot, but it’s amazing to see how close to the shore California once allowed wells to be drilled. Apparently, until 2008 there was a ban on new offshore stemming from a 1969 oil spill that leaked 4 million gallons of crude off the Santa Barbara coast. The ban was allowed to lapse after “drill now” pressures in response to skyrocketing gas prices. However, members of California’s congress are now pushing to reinstate it in light of recent events.

Exposure usually only features one photographer, from what I’ve seen, but this month there are four, all related to water. If you turn the page you’ll see a fantastic aerial photo of the Colorado River in Canyonland’s National Park by fellow Aurora Photos contributor and National Geographic regular Peter McBride. Not bad company to be in!

Production still for "First Dream Called Ocean"

Last week I shot production stills for an independent film called “First Dream Called Ocean.” I’m still not quite sure what it was about, but I had a fun time spending two days on set while they filmed in the Watts neighborhood and out around the California Poppy Reserve in the Antelope Valley, which, as you can see, was still blooming. I’ve recently begun shooting stills for small productions. It’s both something I can add to my repertoire and, better yet, something I’m actually interested in, given the film studies degree I earned prior to focusing on photojournalism in grad school. I’m not sure that I personally want to get back into filmmaking, but I do enjoy being around the process and also shooting video, which is good now that multimedia has become so prominent in everything from journalism to commercial work. Though I did find myself wanting to jump behind their camera during the shoot!  Perhaps I’ll get back into cinematography at some point, but for now shooting stills and some video is good enough. This film just wrapped up last week and I’m actually heading out the door in two hours to attend the wrap party in Culver City. Should be fun! More pics post-jump.

Production still for "First Dream Called Ocean"

Production still for "First Dream Called Ocean"

Production still for "First Dream Called Ocean"

Production still for "First Dream Called Ocean"

Production still for "First Dream Called Ocean"

California poppy fields; Antelope Valley, Calif.

A couple days ago Erinn and I spent a beautiful, though chilly, evening in and around the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserves. I was there to shoot production stills for a friend’s film project, but will share those photos later. The fields are still in bloom and were incredible. Definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in Southern California in the spring. Here are a couple shots of the fields and also one of Erinn in what was probably the greenest wheat (I think?) field I’ve ever seen.

California Poppy Reserves; Antelope Valley, California