I can’t wait to take my boys camping and since it’s not quite summer, I thought I would take a trial run! Set up the tent in the living room and my little one hopped in was so excited! Grabbed Larry the Cucumber and watched a little Daniel Tiger. Now we are watching the Red… Read More
Our nanny came by for a visit and got a sneak attack! I was taking various pictures of odds and ends around the house, more specifically working with flash by moving around the light to create new light sources when she came by. I was working with closeups with lights in the background in order… Read More
Tonight my wife and I went to Bottega Louie’s (https://www.bottegalouie.com). Needless to say, it quite delicious! i enjoy the front! –> Last night – I was exhausted – I tried so desperately to get my daily pic in as I was falling asleep and this post certainly reflects how exhausted I was! I enjoy the… Read More
Today was a great day – I started the day off working the dugout in my older son’s first tournament this all star season for baseball. We had a great time and I enjoy watching him play. Afterwards, met a friend for a cup of coffee and visited for awhile, then piled the family into… Read More
Today we celebrated my sister’s graduation last week (again, SO proud of her). But, during the party, I look over to see my son butt naked splashing around the fountain! My older daughter encouraging him on as he would climb up to the side and jump in. Nope, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the… Read More
What a great night celebrating our friend Nate’s impending wedding day! At a time when many enter marriage jokingly referring to their significant other as ‘the old ball and chain’, or celebrate the covenantal vow with a ‘bachelor party’ to celebrate the last time being single, it was refreshing to hang out with a group… Read More
Another beautiful day in paradise! “Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.” -Luke 4:40
I picked up my older son from his high school performance practice and headed down to the pier. Now that Colorado Blvd. is open with the opening of the train, it’s easier to get a straight on shot. However, I was in my car with a brief red light, so I quickly cranked my ISO… Read More
I love this piece -it’s a solid piece of olive wood from Israel, carved into Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. I wanted to continue my practice with off camera flash and while I still have a long t I’m slowly getting the hang of things. Anyway, admiring this piece again tonight has me daydreaming of travel.… Read More
http://gizmodo.com/this-is-how-you-transport-a-65-000-pound-space-shuttle-1778059655 My older kids and I finally took the long awaited Santa Monica to Downtown LA ‘E’ Blue line. The train ride was smooth, the ride was comfortable. We stopped off at Expo Park to have lunch and knock around a bit. I had no idea this was there, but we got to see the… Read More
I still enjoy heading over to the promenade to witness the nuts, homeless, tourists, talent, and locals. Now that the train comes all the way through (and today’s fares being free), it was quite crowded down there! But there at the corner was Rock ‘n Roll Jesus, singing terribly but owning it. The kids and… Read More
My younger sister graduated from college today! We are so proud of her, especially our dad. I captured his reflection in her glasses. He was welling up with pride!
So, this is what happens when things get really quiet with a two and a half year old! He managed to pull out most of the books in our room. I find it funny that he left some evidence behind right in the middle of the crime scene, and ironic that it’s right on top… Read More
My journey with flash is just beginning. This was shot with off camera flash (OCF), eTTL, -2 EV with Mag Mod and two grids plus diffuser. I still have a hot spot on the chrome, I need to practice and learn how to avoid that. None-the-less, my goal was to ‘dramatically’ light a dark subject… Read More
Part 2 of today’s POTD. As mentioned, I want to work with getting more comfortable with flash (pocket strobes). Still playing with on camera flash – but bouncing off a reflector. This is my favorite coffee mug, the 70-200mm mug. However, the mug design is a little top heavy (narrow bottom) and during a client… Read More
I missed yesterday, so today has two posts. As mentioned previously, I’m working towards learning my flash. Before jumping to a ‘studio 3 point setup’, I want to master the on camera flash first prior to off camera flash. I’m learning about bouncing the flash so that on camera flash has the same quality light… Read More
Friday night was prom for my oldest daughter, and today, it’s my oldest boy turning 15. We had a great day, took him to the batting cages and swung the bat for quite some time. I used to hold things back when he was younger, but he’s grown so much that there’s no holding back… Read More
Went to a friend’s 20 year birthday party tonight in Venice and what a great time! Some folks know how to get it done, even sober! 🙂 What a great time – my son was proud of his ability to knock down 8 tacos from the catered taco stand. SOOOO good!
Last night was the junior / senior prom for my daughter. My first born, my little girl; the one who had me wrapped around her finger the day she was born and by the age of 2 realized she had me wrapped and by 3 knew that I knew! 🙂 She has such a fun… Read More
Just a quickie tonight – the lemon tree in front of our place.
Venice High is home to several movies and TV shows; most notably Rydell High from Grease. American History X, Matchstick Men, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Heathers were shot here. Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” was filmed here as was Glee and many other TV shows, videos, etc. Speaking of Grease, the opening… Read More
Today was the last day in Catalina. We had a great breakfast overlooking the vast Pacific and the shoreline of the mainland, then headed down to the spa for an amazing massage. Completely relaxed and rubbed down in aromatherapy, back to the Inn for lunch and rest out on the deck for an hour or… Read More
Today was a great day – we hiked through the botanical gardens up to the top of Catalina, straddling both sides of the island. While taking in the breath taking views, a small fox crept his way up to us and allowed us to get with a couple feet of him. He was so adorable!… Read More
Monday will be my wife’s and I seven year anniversary, so we headed out to Catalina. We are staying at the ol’ Wrigley Mansion (Inn on Mt. Ada) in Avalon. The views are fantastic. We took the helicopter from Island Express out of Long Beach and I thoroughly enjoyed the views coming out of the… Read More
Today is day 2 of practice with Photoshop. Today I played with blending images. Today’s image is a blend of three bracketed shots (median exposure (base), overexposed for shadows, and under exposed for highlights). Images were brought into Photoshop where luminosity masks were used to blend the photos together (no Photomatix or other ‘HDR’ software… Read More
