Flying low above California’s electricity-producing windmills makes for great photography opportunities, this is only one of a large series.
Images
Categories
Tommy Mars playing the Hammond
As a part of the If We Live project, I joined Kevin T. Williams when he recorded Tommy Mars. There are many famous musicians I met but Tommy Mars is one of my favorites, I’ve spent many hours listening to him on Frank Zappa’s albums, but being in the same room with him while he was playing a Hammond was a very unique experience.
All proceeds go to “stand up to cancer.
Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Categories
A nesting sparrow in an abandoned truck
While hiking with friends in the Malibu area, one of the group pointed out a nesting sparrow to me. It was located in an abandoned truck’s frame and was very hard to spot. This sparrow built its nest in a very narrow part of the frame, right above the windshield. The nest was made chiefly from dried plant material but also included feathers, string, paper, plastic, and other materials. House Sparrows use softer materials to line the nest for comfort and insulation.
The Malibu area is home to many interesting places including Paramount Ranch which was originally purchased by Paramount Pictures in 1927 for outdoor filming2. The ranch has been used as a filming location for many movies and TV shows including M.A.S.H2. The ranch was also home to a racetrack that was created during the sportscar racing boom of the 1950s around a Western movie set. The circuit was short-lived and served for less than two years before tragedy forced its closure.
If you’re interested in learning more about House Sparrow’s nesting habits and behaviors, you can check out this source. If you want to learn more about Paramount Ranch’s history and its role in Hollywood, you can check out this source.
Categories
Elevator selfie using my Lumia
I snapped this selfie using my Nokia Lumia. I was going up in an elevator, looking up gave me the idea. I’ve used it as my profile picture is some social sites.
Friends who own some racehorses invited me to the Hollywood Park horse racing arena. This was an exciting scene, I never realized Jockeys get that dirty racing. I don’t gamble, but I do believe I’ll be going to the track again, hoping to get shots of my friend’s horses reaching the finish line first. This shot is of other horses right after crossing the finish line.
Categories
Graffiti in Downtown Los-Angeles
I saw this graffiti while walking into a meeting in Downtown Los-Angeles, I had to snap it, That’s some serious talent sprayed on this wall.
This Vintage boy scout doll is from the early 1900s. this toy was made of wood and then hand-painted.
Taking a portrait of toys and people, have many things in common. I keep in mind many of the things I do when taking portraits of people when I’m shooting toys, having good eye contact is one of them.
Good eye contact makes an effective image because it helps the viewer and subject connect.
As in many of my images, I have an idea when I’m creating the image. But rather than revealing my ideas, I prefer to hear what the viewers have in mind; for me, any interpretation is correct.
Handling these little old toys, while setting up a shot, make me think about the child who first received them as a present.
Was it a Christmas, or a birthday present, or an unexpected surprise because she/he was the apple of their parents’ eyes. It makes me think about the happiness it brought these kids, little sparkles of joy on their life’s timeline, and how they are probably no more… and how a box or a drawer became home for these toys.
I’m happy I can put this Vintage boy scout doll and his little friends in the spotlight again.