Photos
Photo galleries of places I have been
Last night a meteorologist (or two) on my Twitter feed mentioned that today west facing beaches would have some high surf advisories. I immediately noted on my calendar that I would need to head over to said beaches to see what kind of photos I could get. I have to admit, I really did not expect temperatures to hit the low 80\’s; I guess that is why they call it Decem-brrrr.
The main obstacle I was to encounter is that high tide was going to happen around 1:00 AM and, truth be told, I have never photographed surf in the middle of the night. I decided to see how lucky I was by heading out a little before noon, with my first stop being the breakwater in Redondo Beach. Sometimes when we get big surf, the waves crashing on the rocks can be pretty dramatic. It may have been dramatic at 1:00 AM, but it was not that impressive when I arrived. There were several surfers to photograph and I could see the swells were getting bigger so I moved up the coast a mile to the Hermosa Beach Pier to see what I might find there. The surf was no bigger and there was a lone surfer that looked like he was a beginner, so I left and headed off to Manhattan Beach.
The Manhattan Beach Pier is photogenic no matter what the weather is like and there were several surfers and boogie boarders enjoying the active surf. All in all, it was a great winter day in the South Bay; it is feeling a lot like Christmas. Continue reading
These photos are from Sativa\’s graduation party which was held Saturday. From what I could see, Sativa has a very large extended family and a lot of friends that all wanted to congratulate her as she prepares to go to school back east in Boston. As I was leaving, her mother mentioned how many times they had large family gatherings and no one takes any photos that are seen by more than a couple people. I am sure she is going to cherish these for a very long time.
In addition to taking the photos, I am able to host them for you as well; of course, you get a copy of the originals without any watermarks. If you ever want to memorialize any event, I am there to help. Continue reading
As the summer tourist season is approaching, I thought I might spend a little time wandering around the South Bay to photograph popular tourist destinations for those that might be coming to visit the Torrance and Redondo Beach area. Since the Redondo Beach Pier has been in the news lately due to it being the 25th anniversary of when the Redondo Beach Pier had a major fire that destroyed half of the Redondo Pier horseshoe, I decided I would start off with a walk around the Redondo Beach Pier and the International Boardwalk.
The Redondo Beach Pier is a really fun place to bring the family; in fact, even though I have lived here since the mid-1960\’s it was a place that I took my kids when they were still in strollers and continued to bring them as they got older and could appreciate things like the Tilt-A-Whirl at the Redondo Fun Factory. Besides the games and rides at the Fun Factory there are a couple very nice restaurants, with my favorite being Tony\’s on the Pier; also known as Old Tony\’s because there was a Tony\’s Fish Market Restaurant which, as I recall, was one of the restaurants that was destroyed in the fire of 1988. They have very good food at a fair price, but are probably best known for their Mai Tais. They are very tasty, even if you do not drink.
If you are planning a visit to the Redondo Beach area, I highly recommend you make a stop at the Redondo Pier and plan on making a day of it. The arcade games, various food stands as well as the great seafood offerings make it fun for the entire family. Even the locals come to spend time there, so that should tell you something. Continue reading
Saturday was the beginning of the long 2013 Memorial Day weekend and since Tanya has been working pretty hard getting her new book, Faces of Juicing, ready for publishing, we decided to take advantage of the great weather and pay another visit to the South Coast Botanic Garden on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The South Coast Botanic Garden is huge with over 40,000 trees and 200,000 plants, so we are able to return several times a year and it always looks at least a little different as different plants bloom at different times of the year. There are several species of birds there with hummingbirds that seem to enjoy toying with my thoughts of being able to get a good photo of one.
Tanya enjoys the time since she has been pain-free for the last few months, so we will take advantage of it while we can. The watermark on the photos is donated to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation since it is the only charity looking out for those with Rheumatoid Disease and it is Tanya\’s favorite charity. Continue reading
My regular readers are probably aware that our business networking group, Business & Beer, recently joined Meetup.com in an attempt to build on the number of attendees at our weekly gatherings. For those unaware of what Meetup is, it is an online social media site that allows people with common interests to set up offline gatherings. In other words, a social media portal that actually encourages you to get away from Facebook and Twitter for a while. Whether you are looking for a business networking group or people to hunt butterflies with you, there is a good chance meetup.com can help you. When I was perusing the many Meetup groups in my area, I came across the Original Sinners RC (Riding Club), which is a subsidiary of the Original Sinners MC (Motorcycle Club).
I had to ask how a motorcycle club found its way to using social media and discovered that a few of the Original Sinners previously joined another group of motorcycle enthusiasts via Meetup. For some reason that I do not recall, these few splintered off and formed the Original Sinners MC. They then decided to utilize Meetup to find additional people to ride with and hopefully find new members to the actual club. Continue reading
The almanac says spring does not begin this year until March 20; but with the weather we have been having around here, you could have surprised me. It was almost summer-like around here over the weekend. Since Tanya\’s RA/RAD has not been bothering her lately, she has wanted to take advantage of the great weather and the lack of pain by spending more time outside. Sunday we took another trip to the South Coast Botanic Garden on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Palos Verdes Estates.
The South Coast Botanic Garden is 87 acres of trees, flowers, birds, lizards, squirrels and a pond. At least, that is what we have found so far. On prior visits we were pretty limited as to how much exploring we could do because the garden has a lot of hills and the grades were too steep for her to be able to walk up and down them. For her to be able to carry her camera with a heavy lens and an external flash while walking up and down the hills was quite the fete. She is really enjoying being pain free.
The watermark on these photos was donated to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, the only charity for those suffering from Rheumatoid Disease. Continue reading
Tanya has been feeling a lot better lately; so much better that she actually forgot to take the shots that she is usually counting down the days before she can use again. Trust me when I say, this is a very good thing. We have been tied up at home lately, Tanya especially as she has been doing some website design for a few new clients. Since she had some free time and the weather was in the mid-70\’s, I knew I had to get her out of the house. My friends at BeersInParadise.com told me that Stone Brewing Co was going to be pouring their latest Enjoy By 04.01.13 at the Pasadena store, so I came up with the brilliant idea of heading to Descanso Gardens with a planned stop at the Stone Brewing store to pick up some Enjoy By to bring home and to try the tap version.
After visiting the Stone Brewing store for a while, Tanya decided we should eat, so we stopped by the Congregation Ale House which was a block away. They were having a Stone Week, which made it a challenge to find something for Tanya, but Congregation has a very wide selection of beers, so you can find one for just about anyone.
The watermark on these photos was donated to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, because not everyone with RA is able to enjoy days like today. Continue reading
When you wake up to the fact that asteroids are hitting the planet and people are being harmed, it kind of puts a weird slant on the day. On the upside, the asteroid did not hit anywhere close to me and it was a magnificent summer day in the middle of February. Tanya suggested I take a bike ride up to Point Vicente and try to shoot some whales, which sounded like a great idea . . ., but things happened, Point Vicente did not. After a couple detours I headed out to the Manhattan Beach because there were sightings of several dolphins off the pier.
When I got to the pier I realized I had not shot from below the pier so I decided to try there for a while. When I went up top I discovered that there were several dolphins in the area, but all too far for my lens. I then stopped by Brewco and tried a Smog City Amarilla Gorilla. I think I found my new favorite beer from them. On the way home I happened across a \”Yes on A\” demonstration and since they put out the effort to be there, I put out the effort to photograph them. I don\’t have a position on it as I don\’t live there, so the photos are just that, photos not a statement. The last photos are from Strand Brewing Company, a great microbrewery in Torrance, who is celebrating their third year of brewing. Continue reading
A few weeks ago I saw a status update on Facebook, from my friend Tim, suggesting that he had recently discovered that he was related to the outlaw, Jesse James. I figured he was using Ancestry.com or something like that and like many that responded to his update, took it with a grain of salt. A little over a week ago, Tim posted another status update informing us that he was adopted and had learned of the whereabouts of his birth mother and a sister. This was followed with another update that he had spoken with his newly found sister, and then that his mother was coming to Los Angeles so the two could meet. Two days ago, Tim asked me if I would meet them at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and photograph the reunion. Naturally, I was extremely flattered to be asked and readily agreed to be there this afternoon for the reunion.
As I was walking the dogs this morning, I thought about the upcoming reunion and decided I would ask Tim if he would mind if I told his story as I am sure there are many others out there in his situation and I felt his experience might be of help to them. Tim immediately agreed, saying, \”I want to give props to the people who helped me.\” This is his story. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday at Lot I of the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. Every once in a while, when I photograph a place or event, I will submit an accompanying article to CNN\’s iReport. I have a pretty good idea ahead of time whether or not they will find it suitable for use on CNN and I have a pretty good track record of getting vetted. I know that they have liked my photos from Candy Cane Lane and my coverage of the 123rd Annual Tournament of Roses Parade so it made sense for me to submit a pictorial using photos from my visits to Fiesta Parade Floats showing the preparation of some of the floats for this year\’s Rose Parade. While I was not surprised to be vetted, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my article was named an Editor\’s Pick which resulted in the article being placed on the front page of CNN.com. As one might guess, this resulted in a lot of exposure for both the article and me. Of the thousands that read the report, one was a representative of the California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC).
In my CNN report I had mentioned that my access to Fiesta Parade Floats had been cut off for the float decorating and that I was seeking a float sponsor that could provide me with a media pass. The CCFC contacted CNN, got my contact information and contacted me with an offer to come photograph the decorating of the float being entered by Cal Poly Universities at the Rose Bowl Stadium. They also provided me with some background information that they felt I would find interesting enough to write about; they were right. Continue reading