Anja is beautiful.
This image is part of a larger set that can be seen at the location of that single image. … I used this image out of all the others because I find Anja’s face so compelling. The little smile, the eyes that go on for days. … And I like the sunset and the lighting.
Anja has her own business of dancing, fire, Isis wings, and a whole set of other items. You can check them out at her site location. …
Anja Indriani Web Location http://indirani.com/
I love colors. We see with colors. The world is colorful.
This little canyon along interstate “8,” just a small distance outside San Diego, caught my attention one day as I was driving towards the mountains. It is the life experienced in transit that matters, not the target of the transit that matters most. “Journey verses Destination”
By being open along the journey, I found this wonderful little place that captured my eyes for a short time. If I had been focused on the mountains, I would not have seen the trees.
I love life, and the travels.
Enjoy what I have captured in transit.
When I shoot weddings, I shoot with a team of three photographers. Patricia Cabezas, Cameron Gary, and myself. … This is one of the images I shot of the gathered family. …
Honestly, I shot a thousand images, and I am sure Patricia shot that many as well, so we have a lot to choose from.
I love weddings. Everyone is always super nice, and it was the same with this wedding.
Congratulations Medelyn, and Almario!
And a little Nerd Speak . “Live long, and prosper!”
The Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by architect Frank Gehry, is designed to be one of the most sophisticated concert halls in the world.
It is that, and more. Frank Gehry designed a concert hall wrapped beautifully in stainless steel cladding that stands, glistening in the sun, fending off the elements as if it could stand a thousand years watching, as Los Angeles grows around it. I love this building.
Why do I talk about a sextant today? I have always loved tools. And a sextant is one of those magical tools of the mariners, but that is not the whole reason.
Most people know the sextant as a tool to find ones latitudinal location on the planet, it does do that. But practically, it is a measurer of angles. Usually, it is seen used in the upright vertical position measuring the angle of the sun, or a star by navigators of the ocean, but it can also be used horizontally on its side to measure the angles between known things, like a couple mountain tops, to find a precise location on the planet.
So this posting is really about location. … My location, where am I going, and what am I doing?
Today, I am thinking about this sextant, and plotting my course for my future in photography. … I could use a few hands along the way. … And for all my friends, “Fair Winds and Following Seas.”
It has been a little busy lately, what with my little side trip to the desert, and a few other real things. … Like the April 11, 2010, Concours d’ Elegance at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills.
A lot of people are involved, check out this -> Google search
I will be there with some matted and framed images. … And with a little luck, I will be able to meet some very nice people that like my work.
This lone Saguaro looks across the land of the petroglyphs of the Painted Rocks Petroglyph Site east of Gila Bend, Arizona USA.
Because Sentinel has one branch and is as tall as it is, the age of this cactus is estimated to be between 40, and 70 years old. This cactus could be my age, having seen what I have seen, and knowing what I know of life. But, this cactus is far smarter than I will ever be. He stands in the sun, year after year, watching the world, smelling the seasons as they move through time. This lone sentinel watches the stars at night, as they mark astronomical time.
This sentinel marks the shadow of the sun across the desert floor, while I run around scraping together things needed for my life to continue. He feels the water course down his flesh, pool at his base, and swells when it is ingested, expanding his structure so that he can pass the dry times. … I cannot go more than a few hours without water.
But, Sentinel cannot drive my Toyota.
I was wandering around Gila Bend, Arizona, and saw this rusted old water tower that was standing right beside the railway lines.
It no longer functions as a tower, but it surely does look good in a photograph. The light is from mid afternoon. And the clouds are the remnants of last nights rain.
A couple days ago, I headed out to the Anza Borrego desert to take some pictures of the wildflowers.
This is the reason that I usually like to travel to targets, and be the driver. When I got to the turnoff on interstate 8, I kept heading east. We wound up in Gila Bend Arizona. … 😎 …
Yeps! Gila Bend.
When a very good friend of mine was going to school at the University of Arizona, Tucson, I used to drive between San Diego and Tucson quite frequently. Gila Bend had a very cool Motel that looked very spacy, and I got it into my head that I wanted to visit it again. Forget the flowers, “Spaceward Ho!”
The original burned down quite a while ago, but it has been replaced by the Space Age Motor Lodge and Restaurant. This image will jump you into the middle of some images. The new one is still very cool. … 😉
This is one of my hopes for tomorrow, Ocotillos. Odds are really good that I will not get such a nice bloom, and will have to settle for other things. For example, smaller things, very small. That is just the way things go when you are headed into the semi-known. 😉
One thing I do know. There will be things to take pictures of, lots of things with pretty lighting. For me, this kind of drive is open ended, without a specific target, just general directions and hopes. … Generally, the desert. Hopefully, Ocotillos, partially cloudy sky, a complete carpet of small flowers somewhere, racemes of nodding …
We will see what we will see. … Tomorrow.
I am getting ready to head out to the desert this week and shoot whatever the spring has brought to the Southern California deserts, usually aiming at the new growth.
Ahhh But! I am also a very opportunistic photographer. This image was from a previous spring jaunt into the barren land with a friend who also possesses the eyes of an eagle. He spotted this group of Big Horn Sheep from quite a distance, pointed them out to me, like a hunter siccing a dog onto a prey.
So I started walking towards these sheep, at an angle, moving closer towards them every step, but not directly towards them. That angled approach kept them from being spooked, and hightailing it for higher ground. In the end, this is the best I could do.
Notice the flowers, and the green all around the sheep. The flowers were the target of the day, the sheep was the true bonus, and best images of the day.
I just love this image, and thought it was about time I put it on my blog.
This flower is one of many that grow in a planter on the back yard patio. The flower is that color, but the little tinge of blue or purple on some of the petals comes from the reflected sky on a shiny part of the petals.
These flowers always look best in the morning to me. It has to do with them being refreshed from the cool of the night, and the wonderful north light that infuses the patio with a soft glow.
And the fact that I am on the patio, in San Diego, drinking coffee, and feeling great!
The very smallest crescent moon just moments after sunset, called the Cheshire Moon after the infamous cat in Alice’s Wonderland.
My friend, April, mentioned the Cheshire Moon in one of her Facebook status updates. I had forgotten the special name of this moon with the upturned smile. I renamed the image after April’s posting.
Lena, my niece’s daughter, was with me when I shot this in Pacific Beach. She kept saying, “Let’s go home!” and “I have to go to the bathroom.”
I kept saying, “Just a moment.” And, “We will be leaving soon.” Half an hour later, I had this image, and she had relief.
For over a year now, I have been shooting images for the San Diego Fine Arts Society, and in that context I have met some fine artists. It is those artists that have been a releasing influence on my work lately, mostly because I love their work so much. …
This particular day, I was riding around with a friend looking for things photographic. And I happened by this alleyway in Ocean Beach. It reminded me of some of Duke Windsor’s work.
So Duke, this is my alley.
Santa Catalina Island, as seen from the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
The reason Los Angeles was clear, and as beautiful as it was on this day, is that a gentle off shore breeze had pushed all that normally obscures the city out into the sea. There it sits, as a golden haze, obscuring the plane where land and water meets.
Still, it is a pretty picture of a wave wrapping itself around a small point of land.
Two Cheese Enchiladas, Rice and Beans, $9.
Just to let you know that we had dinner here, just after sunset, and I liked it very much.
We sat out on the patio, without heaters turned on, and it was wonderful.
I shot this image from the seat next to where I was sitting, just to get a little closer to the water. … As it is, you can read the restaurants name on the sea wall if you twist your eyes a little. In the background, you can see the Thomas Vincent Bridge, and on the right you can see the larger cranes that were loading a container ship as we sat there.
I was driving from Santa Monica back to San Diego, and decided to drive the total coast road, including the edge of the Palos Verdes peninsula.
It was amazingly clear. Never have I seen Los Angeles like this. Look at this image in the larger size, and enjoy the view.
As I rounded the point of the peninsula, and looked south, I could see Mount Soledad in San Diego. It was way tiny, and I did not take a picture of that because it would look like a smudge on the horizon. … Still, it was a very interesting day.
Today is very peaceful, as the air wafts softly through the leaves of the trees. It is warm, and comfortable when one sits in the shade. I can feel the hairs on my arms as they are gently moved by the low breeze. Soft chirps of spring birds can be heard across the valley.
This flower is part of a plant that sits in two worlds. The body and its roots lie submerged in the small pond, while the leaves and flowers dance in the sun. Leaves sucking the energy out of the sunlight to process the nutrients out of the pond. There would be no flower without both.
There is a balance in nature that we must have for ourselves. … I live, yet I am looking still.
The area around Southern California, and San Diego is beautiful. I love to hop in a car with my camera tools and wander around with a friend for a day trip, just looking at things.
This specific day we stayed close to San Diego. The farthest we got out of San Diego was Descanso, where we had lunch at the Perkins Store. The Perkins Store is the largest thing I noticed in Descanso and it has been around for quite a while in our short American History. The Perkins Store, established in 1875.
While I was walking around taking pictures of the general area, I headed back to my car, and someone had driven up to the store and left this dog just looking out the window. I thought he looked great.
So, this picture is one of my favorites from my drive to Descanso.
I do not know what kind of flower this is. … Do you know?
This is a volunteer flower that jumped into a planter last year, and came back this year. I again noticed it the other day and decided I would try to capture some of its colors. Eventually, all the small purple buds in the middle open like the others that are spread around the center.
It is beautiful. … I will try again tomorrow. This morning it started to get a little windy to capture all the angles I wanted to shoot.
Found it!
Botanical Name: Scilla peruviana
Other names: Portuguese squill, Caribbean lily, Cuban lily, Giant squill, Hyacinth of Peru
Genus: Scilla
Species: S. peruviana ~ S. peruviana is a clump-forming, semi-evergreen, bulbous perennial with a cluster of lance-shaped, mid-green basal leaves and racemes of nodding, deep purple-blue or white flowers in early summer.
A young woman, standing alone on the beach, has written, “I Love You.”
Like honest love, spoken from a full heart of one person directly into the mind and heart of another person, the young woman knelt down, took her finger, and scribed each letter in the sand, one letter at a time. As each stroke of each letter grew with the movement of her hand, the full mantra of her thought repeated in her head, “I Love You. … I Love You. … I Love You.” …
As I look at this image, I see her hope, and feel her fear. Her words are written by her finger in sand that the tide will wash clean in a few hours. Her love, the sand, the sunset, the ocean, everything, is ephemeral, yet. … A clean sandy sunrise will still hold her words.
Once, I had a love. … “I Love You.”
San Diego is a very pretty place. You just have to go out and walk around, and you will see it.
I had never been to the San Diego Convention Center at sunset. … Correction. I have been there, but I have been convention-ing. I had paid money to go inside and look at things. You know, things like boats, autos, … Comicon. 🙂
From this location, I could see Point Loma and define the silhouette of the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado island. … This is shot from the High Point of the Convention Center steps looking Westward, across Seaport Village, towards Point Loma, and finally, the Sun at the edge of the world.
Tides go in, and tides go out. Each tide is different depending on the location of the moon, the sun, and in reality, the rest of the universe. … But mostly, the moon and the sun.
I like the low tides because they reveal secrets of the coast normally unseen. And it is always magical to see things to the far range of their environmental envelope. The grasses in this image are under the ocean, twisting in the currents of the tidal zone 99.9+% of their lives. But on these very special days they live, like mountain climbers on Mount Everest, looking out at a world unknown to them, except in their dreams.
I love cattle, and I love steak. Still, this giant feedlot makes me a little sad.
My Friend David, and I, went for a ride up to San Francisco to visit Jens before he left the U.S. to go to work in the U.K. It was a great weekend, but we drove by this place.
Back to the cattle. … As I was putting this image up and looking around online, I came across this little snippet of information.
“Few travelers speeding along Interstate “5” near Coalinga realize that those cattle they see in feedlots next to the freeway are actually In-N-Out burgers waiting to be processed. Sure, everyone knows that burgers come from cattle, but did you know In-N-Out burgers come from these cattle?”
“That’s because the famous California-based burger chain uses the high-quality beef produced by Harris Ranch, which is really much more than a feedlot.”
On another site, I found this piece of information.
“Harris Feeding Company– the largest cattle feeder on the West Coast and 14th largest nationally encompasses a 100,000-head feed lot. At any given time there will normally be between 70-100,000 head of cattle on feed. Harris Feeding Company feeds about 1/3 of all the cattle finished in California.”
In the large image, you can see their eyes.
I have always thought these Passion flowers were a little bit strange. When I was young, there was an old abandoned house that we could see the roof of from the street. We could not really see more than that.
Young semi-delinquent that I was, mostly just a young guy whose brain was not connected to reality, I picked up a rock with a good feel in my hand. Its weight felt perfect as I gently tossed it my hand. The house was past the very longest distance I had ever thrown anything. … I conscientiously gauged the length of the required throw, and judged that I could not possibly hit the house.
Did I also say that at that time in my life I might have been part idiot, and a major league pitcher? Because, when I reared back and stretched into my gut, I let loose such a spring of energy that the rock, when released, sailed high and far. Farther than idiot me thought possible. … No, I did not hit the house; I hit the window of the house. I heard the unmistakable crash of a rock through glass. I ran like hell and hid for a while.
When the fear of being caught fled, I walked over to see the window. It was smashed really well. But next to the window was the vine growing on the fence, and I saw the scariest flower I had ever seen. A purple Passion flower is what it was. But, it certainly looked like something from the Body Snatchers to me.
