Oregon Beach Self Portrait

Set up my tripod and the self-timer to get this shot. Brings back some great memories about traveling on the open road with no particular place to go.

A Bear Inside a Tree

I took this shot in the Lower Dusy Basin in Kings Canyon National Park during a backpacking trip from July 28 to August 4, 2010. To me it looks like a bear emerging fully formed (although with an adult head and a cub's legs) from a tree.

I took a shot of another tree in Colorado a couple of years ago that resembled an old man's face, so I keep an eye out for these kinds of photos now.

Goalie Surrounded by Alien Spaceships

Isaac C. -- a good goalie, fun dude and great man -- playing at Panorama City's Valley Ice Center Ice Skating Rink... and apparently surrounded by small alien space ships.

Kayaker on Twin Lakes, Mammoth, California

Shot on August 30, 2009. Sometimes, all you need is to get away from the city. Or get away from other people. Or get away from yourself. The most difficult of all three.

A Hawk and a Post and California's Fault

This red-tailed hawk rests on a metal post in a vineyard near the Carrizo Plain National Monument, 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Todd McCormick, a high school friend of mine, introduced me to a wide variety of predatory birds and a few pronghorn antelope in California's largest remaining single native grassland. The San Andreas Fault cuts through it -- on one one side of the road is something that looks like a miniature Grand Canyon -- and on the other side of the road, there's no evidence of it at all. That's because all of the land west of the fault on the Pacific Plate moved to the northwest as all the land east of the fault moved southwest, and the miniature Grand Canyon was cut off from its across-the-road twin. Bizarre, yet VERY cool. This is all explained by plate tectonics, something I casually studied in one of my favorite college classes -- the fascinating science of geology.

San Diego, Framed

I shot this portion of the San Diego skyline through an art exhibit near the Embarcadero. One of these days, I hope to return to live in the San Diego area. First, however, I need to get out of Los Angeles. I never wanted to live and die in L.A., and right now, that looks like the way things are going. Let's get past this *#!+#@ recession, America!

Not Pretty, But Real

This is one of those photographs that you only get when you are at the right place at the right time, have your camera equipment at hand, and are aware of your surroundings. I saw this hawk helicopter down with its talons extended to the concrete bed of the Los Angeles River (some river), but before I could take a shot, he was out of my line of site. I waited a while, and then I saw him fly to a nearby fence and sit for a moment. As he flew off, I took a series of photographs and caught this image.

Lake Hollywood

Who knew? Certainly not me. I live within a reasonable bike ride of this reservoir in the Hollywood Hills, but I'd never been there until I read an article in the Los Angeles Times that mentioned that the half of the perimiter road around the lake would soon be opened to pedestrians and cyclists. When I finally visited the reservoir, I was astounded by its beauty, as well as the wildlife in its vicinity. In two trips to the lake, I saw a four-point buck, a great-horned owl, and several turtles basking on tree stumps at the edge of the water.

Mouse. It's what's for dinner.

I shot this photograph in October 2009 when I was house-sitting for a friend. I kept my camera handy and attracted Piccolo, my friend's cat, to my computer's mouse by moving the mouse by its tail (cord) with my left hand and holding my camera in my right. I might have to send this shot to icanhascheezburger.com.

Mineral Deposits, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone

Morgan Potter, a long-time friend, liked this shot of mine. I took it at Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs in the summer of 1994.

Travertine is sedimentary rock formed by precipitation of carbonate minerals from geothermally heated hot springs.

Yes, I had to look that up.

Toluca Lake Sunset

I shot this from the roof of my apartment building. There's no photo manipulation going on here, and I took it before the recent Station Fire that made for some fiery sunsets. Nothing spectacular here. I just like the colors.

Mammoth Bluesapalooza, August 2009

I took this photo of Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his bass player Devin Michael at Bluesapalooza in Mammoth, California, this past Saturday night. It was hard work trying to shoot above the heads of the audience and avoiding the minefield of stepping on blankets, tripping over lawn chairs or standing in front of anyone. Still, all my dancing around seemed to pay off with this shot.

Tahoe Gazebo and Dock

I had to double check this slide to make sure it wasn't shot in Japan. It's a boat dock and gazebo-like structure in Lake Tahoe, California.

Heart Bypasses All Borders

I hate goaltenders as matter of principle (they tend to stop me in my tracks), but Brett Leggat of the Tour Mudcats is a cool guy, despite my prejudices. Rock on, Brett.

Great Wall of China

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao-tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Monet in the Mini Mall

I like this photo for a couple of reasons. It reminds me of a painting (Monet?), and it was shot in the courtyard of a retail mall near Temecula, California. Art is where you find it.

Ramona, California

This was the setting for the very first Highland Valley Studios Music and Arts Festival, held in Ramona, California, on June 6, 2009. Several bands set up on the back porch of the house and had this view for inspiration as they played. Many talented artists, from jewelry makers to sculptors to painters showed their wares in the nearby barn. A lonely bull grazed in the fields nearby. A good time was had by all.

Surfer, Venice Beach Pier

I've been shooting with a Nikon Coolpix L2 for the last couple of years, a camera a good friend gave to me to help me get back into photography. Most of my equipment had been either stolen (in San Francisco) or destroyed (after I rolled my Toyota RAV4 in 2001 just 15 miles outside of Victorville). A few days ago, I purchased a used Nikon D50 digital SLR that will accept my two remaining Nikkor lenses, and I'm having a blast with it. Here's a shot of a surfer, taken from the Venice Beach Pier. He rode a wave, whipped around and slid down the backside.

Christo's Umbrellas, Tejon Pass, October 1991

Some of the 1,760 umbrellas that conceptual artist Christo had installed over the rocky and undulating hills of Tejon Pass, situated between Los Angeles and Bakersfield in 1991. When I scanned this slide, I kept the slide borders, as it reminded me of looking out a window. I took this photo during a short trip my friend Breck Wilson and I took to see the umbrellas. I was impressed. Sadly, a woman viewing the umbrellas on a windy day was killed when one of the umbrellas fell over.

TJW

TJW
(Song lyrics inspired by Tony Joe White)

by Richard Graham

Long ago he’d moved away
Time blew through the fields and trees
Years long gone felt like yesterday
And he fell down to his knees

He clutched an old book, fingers clasped
As the weathered shack creaked in the breeze
Short of breath, he wheezed and gasped
Raising his head, he whispered, “Please”

He smelled the bayou’s whisky musk
A frog croaked not too far off
An owl hooted in the dusk
And he started to shake and cough

Gathering sticks and dried moss
A hand-rolled cigarette burning down
He started a small fire
And stared at it with a frown

Wondering why he felt so bad
Thinking about goodness and sin
He reached for a beer
As his cigarette burned down to skin

Shaking his hand and setting the bottle down
He grabbed his scratched up guitar
Picking and slashing out a song
He sent a tune out to the stars

Slinging the guitar over his back
Throwing the empty bottle away
He walked away from the shadowy shack
And turned the key in his rusty Chevrolet