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!
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.
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!
Nov 172010
Rip Cronk repaints Venice Reconstituted on Speedway Ave. in Venice, California
Venice Skatepark at sunset
$5 massage?
I went out for an aimless stroll along the boardwalk and beach as the sun was going down a couple nights ago. Along the way I stopped by to watch Venice artist Rip Cronk work on the latest incarnation of his famed Venice Reconstituted (1989), which is a large-scale mural on the side of the building that is currently home to Danny’s Deli and the Venice Beach Cotel (no Mom, that’s not a typo). Prior to being reconstituted, it was known as Venice on the Half Shell (1980), an obvious mix of Venus on the Half Shell and scenes from Venice culture, most notably local boardwalk legend Harry Perry. Unlike the previous two versions, this one has been raised above the first floor level to cover the entire three story building. This not only makes it much more visible, but will help protect the majority of it from the relentless taggers that over time destroyed Reconstituted. While Venus on the Half Shell was Cronk’s first mural, he completed the majority of the murals that have become icons of Venice Beach during the late 80′s and 90′s, including the Jim Morrison mural on Speedway and the Homage to a Starry Knight (again not a typo) along Ocean Front Walk. Cool to be able to catch him in action! Check out his work at http://www.rcronk.com/.
Feb 032010
For the assignment from my previous post I decided to rent a fisheye lens to emphasize the spherical shape of the light stage. I picked up the lens the night before and decided to go out and play with it on Venice Beach in the waning evening light. There wasn’t much time but these are a couple frames I liked.
Nov 182008
Yesterday evening I went out for a walk along the beach and ended up shooting for an hour or two after being impressed by the colors of the sunset, a side effect from the smoke cloud hovering over the city as a result of the nearby wildfires. The haze over the Venice Pier made it feel like a surreal dream world. Something like the beach scenes in Dark City comes to mind, if that reference rings a bell. As I’ve just moved here I’m unprepared to go cover the fires directly, so I chose to sit this one out. But I may head up there in the coming days to check out the aftermath. One thing I’ll need to do this spring is build up a personal fire kit and possibly go through some training so I can get in there next season. Hopefully there won’t be anything as bad as these have been for quite awhile.
