Surfing

My friend Richard talked me into riding down to Salt Creek to take some shots of him surfing. We didn't have much success but I was able to capture a few shots of random people tearing it up. After that, we headed down to San Clemente and attempted it again. I think he was having an off day but don't tell him I said that. Once again, I was able to get some like totally rad shredders here too. Last of all, I was able to get a shot of my friend waiting for a wave with the sun breaking through the clouds behind him. He's pretty happy with it and I think it made the trip worthwhile.

Santa Monica Pier at Sunset

So it's one of those rare Southern California days where you welcome the month of March with 80 degree temperatures and packed beaches. I decided that I'd take advantage of it and head to the beach to shoot a sunset. I chose the Santa Monica Pier since I haven't photographed it the way I want. I was hoping for a much more colorful sunset but it was rather blah, so I waited until the later stages of twilight and captured this one. I'll go back in the summer to see if I can capture some reds, yellows and oranges in the sky.

England

Here are a few of my random shots from my trip to London. I didn't pull my camera out as often as I should've because it was so cold and because I was too distracted by all the stuff going on. Yeah, that's not a great excuse but I plan on going back again soon when it's warmer since I have all the good locations scouted out. :) That's ice on the airplane window. A little boy playing in a mud puddle. The Westminster Abbey. An owl and a view from the top of Warwick Castle. The pier in Brighton. Me casting a spell on you.

A Walk Down the Beach

I decided to take a day off and just go swim in the ocean and absorb some rays of golden light. After doing some body surfing and realizing that the ocean could easily bend me backwards and rip my spine in half, I decided to go grab my camera and take a stroll down the beach to see what interesting things I could make photographs of. Here are a few of my favorites.

Rob Dickinson & Golden State

I know I know.... I've been slacking on my blog. I've been busy doing a bunch of stuff. Last night was the cd release show for Rob Dickinson's new album at the Viper Room. The place was packed and hotter than an oven. My good friends Golden State played after Rob and they both kicked butt. I've been a fan of Rob's for like 15 years back when he was singing for Catherine Wheel. He played a lot of those songs too so it was perfect.

Splash

These didn't quite turn out the way I had envisioned them but I thought the end results were interesting. Obviously I shot some more sunset photos at the beach and I was going for the freeze frame shot of the waves crashing off the rocks. I'll probably go back tomorrow and try again to see what I can get.

Baby Feet

I'm moved by these photos. It's crazy how shooting newborn babies can give you a whole new perspective on life. Their hands and feet are so little. I just can't even explain it.

The Last Sunset of March 08

I got these shots tonight in Malibu. It was really cold on the beach so don't be fooled by the warmth in the photo. I think it was 49 degrees when I got back to my car. I love these  photos. I'll be printing them and hanging them on my wall. It's crazy how much they look like a painting or even a piece of graphic art.

camera settings

70-200 w/ 2x teleconverter

ISO200

f/11

1/1000 sec

Nature's Dessert

Took this shot at the beach with my macro lens when I was waiting for the sun to get lower on the horizon.

camera settings

105mm macro

ISO200

f/4

1/250 sec

Ventura Beach

Ventura Beach. Sometimes I manage to impress myself. This one is going on my wall.

camera settings

17-55mm

ISO100

f/11

30 seconds with NDx4 filter

Malibu

I got a new camera yesterday. It's a Nikon D300. Today was my first day shooting with it. These are shots that were dragged out for 25-30 seconds. The camera was mounted on a tripod and I had to avoid the sand where the water comes up because it makes the tripod shift. 

camera settings

ISO100

17-55mm

f/22

25-30 second exposures

The Donnas

Shot this photo for The Donnas 15th anniversary poster. The cake was designed by my incredible artist friend, Janee. This girl has no limits, she always manages to impress me with her creativity. 

camera settings

ISO100

17-55mm

f/9

1/60 sec (for the flames)

1 studio flash with 4 foot softbox

Mono Lake and the Drive Home

Here are a couple shots of Mono Lake and a shot of some windmills I took while riding passenger on the way home. I think we were on Hwy  14 for the windmill shot.