Sunset at the Getty

I took my oldest son to the Getty Center yesterday afternoon and we had an awesome time. He had so much fun riding the tram up, exploring the grounds, and even looking at the art inside. When the weather is clear you can see well out into the Pacific and it was a gorgeous evening. To top off this special time we got to see a magnificent sunset.

Contemplating

We took a trip to the L.A. Zoo today. My older son got to pick where we went on his birthday and the zoo won. It was a beautiful cool day and most of the animals were out and about, along with a few thousand of our fellow Angelians. I didn't take many pictures but this one really jumped out at me when I got home and saw it on my screen. I love the pose and the solitary nature of the setting. Comments most welcome.

Day after

Happy day after Christmas! Or for those who don't celebrate Christmas, happy Wednesday. These are Christmas ornaments hung on an outside tree with the sunset behind them. What a lovely evening.

Winter evening

On a walk around my neighborhood a few evenings ago I saw this colorful tree set against the beautiful blue sky and it seemed to capture the moment perfectly. While I am not a fan of snow or drastic seasonal changes, I do love the changing leaves and cooler temperatures that winter brings.

Life is a balance

I found this leaf precariously perched atop another leaf across the street from my work. It was so perfectly situated there that it didn't move even in the wind. I enjoyed not only the curiosity of how it had come to be there, but the simple and strong composition that it provided.

Light and form

I took this in the moray eel exhibit at Sea World San Diego. I just loved the way the light was streaming in from the top and all the form and mystery that the eels were creating.

Straight to the moon

This is an old smokestack outside the Hotel Del. I wanted to find something interesting to put with the full moon and I thought this worked out nicely.

A perfect end...

I've been wanting to take this kind of picture for quite some time. I love silhouette images and the setting sun makes a beautiful backdrop. My two boys looking at each other makes this something special for me.

Coronado sunset

I took this on our first night in Coronado. It turned out to be the nicest sunset of the whole trip.

Fungi fun

Something a little different from my recent posts. I was having some fun in my front yard trying to capture these mushrooms in late afternoon light. I used our purple house as a backdrop.

Happy hands

We took the kids out to the beach one morning during our stay at the Hotel Del. All the kids had a great time getting dirty and splashing in the water. This is a shot I had pictured in my mind before we went out. It turned out even better than I'd hoped.

Giving thanks at The Del

Well, I didn't quite make my post a day for the whole month of November. Thanksgiving showed up and I got out of my routine. Thanks to my parents, we spent Thanksgiving in the Beach Village at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. It was an awesome time and I'm sure I'll be sharing many images from there over the coming months. Here's the hotel on our last night there.

Tree with a view

Another from our trip to Ethiopia. This is in a national park that contains three lakes and many other interesting and beautiful scenes.


Happy Thanksgiving!

Ok, last one...

The last of my pictures from the fog (for now).

Foggy night

It was so surreal being out in this thick fog; quiet, cold and constantly changing. I found it very inspiring.

Foggy morning

It's been fairly foggy around here lately, and this morning was especially so. I thought I'd take a walk around the neighborhood and see what moments the fog had created.


And who knows, I might have even gone out after dark too. To be continued...

Spotlight on America

Another from the morning at my parent's farm. Wonderful to find these little vignettes.

Frame for my flower

This is the Sepulveda Dam again. This time playing the part of frame for this delicate yellow flower.

California summer

Remembering the warm California summer.

Texture

A tree just down the street from my house. I love the texture of the bark and the contrasting of foreground and background colors.

My girl

My little girl is growing up so fast. I took some pictures of her this past weekend wearing some clothes made by a friend of ours. The clothes were beautiful and so was she. The light from the setting sun worked out just as I had hoped it would. This is my favorite one from that shoot.

Pastoral

Taken on a recent visit to my parents' farm in Louisiana. It was early, but well worth it.

Wherever imagination takes him...

Boy was he driving that tractor. That was the most fun he had the whole day. I believe that in his mind the whole world opened up in front of him. He was steering and shifting and bouncing in his seat like all that iron was under his command. Someday his feet will reach the pedals and his body will catch up to that imagination, and there'll be no stopping him.

Two friends

Found these wildflowers while wandering around the Sepulveda Dam. The just seemed to glow with the sun behind them.

Ethiopian Rainbow

One of the rare times the sun peeked out during our trip to Ethiopia. And what a beautiful sight it was.

Only a matter of time

Well, I couldn't go too long without using a picture of my kids. They are a continuing source of joy and fascination. My little man is growing up so fast.

Fall in the city

Fall is certainly here, even in the city.

A rose by any other name...

Simple, beautiful, a rose.

Old favorite

One of my favorites from our trip to Ethiopia. This scene is very typical of the farmlands of Southern Ethiopia.

Spooky tree

Another post that might seem a bit late for Halloween, but I didn't take this with the haunting holiday in mind. I noticed this tree while taking a walk in the neighborhood near my work. The sun was going down behind some stormy clouds and I liked the gradation in the sky and the way it made the limbs stand out.

Sherbert ceiling

This was taken at the entrance to the subway that I posted some images from a while back. I loved the colors and shape and the way the light added some texture at the bottom.

NoHo Methodist

I got up early to go check out this church that I see everyday on my way to work. I thought it was an old Spanish Mission type church but it turned out to be the North Hollywood Methodist church. It was beautiful to watch the sun rise and start highlighting all the detail and beauty in this building.

Bloggy month

November is National Blogging month. Yes I know, it seems that every month has something associated with it, but I'm using this as inspiration. My goal is to post an image every day this month to kick start me into posting more regularly. My first image is one I took for Halloween but I think it's still appropriate the day after. Oh, I have the comments turned on so please feel free to leave a message or comment.

Evening at a party

A few weeks ago we went to a birthday party over in the Hancock Park area of town. We had a great time and it turned out to be one of those beautifully mild Southern California evenings. As the sun was going down I noticed how the light was casting beautiful shadows and soft warmth on the side of the house and I had to try and capture some of that.

Sublime

This past Friday was a very overcast day in the valley and the late afternoon brought some very even and subtle color. I was at the airport practicing the technique of panning with a moving subject to get that great motion blur of the surroundings while keeping the subject sharp. I noticed the color changing and the clouds opening up a bit towards the north and thought that would make a nice backdrop for an arriving plane.


While I didn't get any great shots of blurred backgrounds, I did learn a lot about the technique and it was great to be out watching the planes coming and going.

Day at the fair

This past Wednesday we decided to pack up the fam and make the trip out to Pomono and the L.A County Fair. The kids had never been to a fair and my wife and I hadn't been since we were young. We of course waited until the weather got hot again, because going when it's cool out isn't challenging enough! Heat or not we had a lot of fun and the kids have some great memories to keep with them.

A donut chicken sandwhich?

Before the storm

We finally got some rain here this past Friday and Saturday. It was such a welcome sight after a long and brutally hot summer. I was so excited to hear the forecast for rain and see the clouds building up that I grabbed my camera and drove out to the Sepulveda flood basin. This is the closest place for me to get a wide view of the valley and sky. It got a bit cold standing out there, but it was well worth it. These were all taken just a few minutes before the rain started. I'm sure anyone who's been reading this blog for while knows, but if you click on a picture you'll get a slightly larger version.




I call this one "In the mouth of the storm". That's a commercial airline just beating the storm to land at Burbank airport.

L.A. Subway

I took the opportunity while having my car serviced today to walk down to the North Hollywood Metro station. I've never photographed here or indeed in this type of environment at all. I found a lot of inspiration from all the symmetry and highly polished surfaces. The movement of the trains coming and going was energizing as well.