Patty Griffin

Patty Griffin is a respected folk / country singer songwriter perhaps best known for being the writer behind several hits for the Dixie Chicks, Martina McBride and others. While I'm not a fan of those other music acts, Patty is one of my favorite singers because she has the most expressive voice of any singer that I have ever heard in my life and her voice isn't produced. It's real singing from soul. Needless to say, I think I have a fetish for female singers that play guitar haha. I discovered her music a few years ago and can't stop listening to it.

I was browsing YouTube today for Patty Griffin videos and came across:

Rain

Racing in the Street

BTW, Patty Griffin's newest CD, Children Running Through, is coming out next Tuesday, February 6th. I know a lot of kids out there have never bought a CD before so this would be a great time to buy their first! And for you photographers who read my blog, this would be a great companion for your next road trip.

"Discovering" Gems in Your Files

Picture: Young Kids Enjoying the Lighting of a Giant Hot Air Balloon at the Kentucky Derby Festival Balloon Glow, Louisville, Kentucky

Here's a great quote. "In absence the heart grows fonder."

While looking through long-tucked away unprocessed files for stock photo submission material last week I found a number of images that I had overlooked in the past. I remember shooting most of those images but I never really "seen" them til now.

This picture was taken last May. I was underneath this under-inflated hot air balloon and all these kids were grabbing it and jumping up and down while doing so. The cops were telling them to not touch the balloon because it might rip but it did little to dissuade them. I had fun being around them though my "touching" of the balloon was limited to the balloon hitting me on the head repeatedly. I've probably been suffering from the concussive effects since then but it was worth it.

The expression on the kids faces and on the parent in the upper left made me realize the joy in having kids. I don't have any myself, but I realize now that happy moments like the one captured in this photo make the struggles of being a parent worthwhile.

Click the photo to see their facial expressions in more detail.

Enlightenment

Photo: Joshua Trees in Shadow, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Taken Sunday at Joshua Tree National Park. It was about 35 degrees and windy. I kept forgetting to put on my fleece sweater from the car so I was feeling a bit stiff while trying to shoot.

There were no clouds in the sky and the light didn’t look particularly interesting around sunset so I wanted to use the shadowed trees to my advantage. I saw this huge Joshua Tree make for a great opportunity to frame the sunlit boulders. I would have liked to have included the entire tree (actually a yucca plant) but by moving back other Joshua Trees started creeping into my composition from the left and the right. I think enough of the tree is shown though so people get the idea. The great thing about photography and the human mind is that we can fill in the missing information when we know what is there.

The enlightened one himself, Gary Crabbe was over to my left somewhere shooting climbers with his telephoto, of which you can't see in this small file at the base of the big rock but they are there in the full resolution file. I'm sure Gary got some shots like this too as well since it was his idea to shoot this location.

I hadn’t been to Joshua Tree National Park in three years so it has been on my to-go list for a while though I think I will shoot the park in spring next time since it can be quite cold during the winter in the high altitude Mojave Desert. I’ve always wanted to get photos of the park in snow though…

Saltwater Without the Taffy

Picture: Powerful Wave Crashing Against Rocks, Venice Beach, California

After taking pictures of the lifeguard tower in the previous post, I walked over to edge of the beach where I saw big waves hitting these pile of rocks. Since I'm focusing on shooting tide pools this year I knew this would be a great photo op as there were mussels and anemones in the water and on the rocks. However those were difficult to shoot as the rocks were past the tide line and a blow hole was blocking my way so I focused on capturing the big splashes. You could see all the waves coming from over the rocks, but when really big waves start forming out in the ocean your eyes grow bigger to a point where it's an "Oh s***!" type of moment. That expression was certainly on the minds of these three little kids walking on the rocks. They were dropping F-bombs and all sorts of four letter words as pronouns and verbs the entire time I was there. I had never heard of such young kids using that type of language as a regular part of their vocabulary. Yes, this is L.A. and it is a tough town but 6 or 7 years old is way too young for that stuff. I'll be the first to admit that my vocabulary isn't much more sophisticated than that at times, but if I was a parent I would know better than to allow that sort of crude language from my children. Their parents were nowhere in sight by the way.

So this monster wave starts forming and as it's approaching I'm using my 17-35mm lens at 17mm to try and capture the whole thing wide in your face style. BOOOM!, and the entire wave comes flying at me and my camera while I'm shooting on rapid fire. I turned my back right as it hit me and got soaked. My new coat got drenched, my hair wet, and my mouth full of saltwater. Yuck. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

There's nothing quite like spending a day shooting pictures at the beach.

That's soooo like a stereotype.

I had an interview at an advertising agency in West L.A. yesterday morning so I decided to go to Venice Beach afterwards since I hadn't been there in about five or six years.


Image: Lifeguard Tower and Beach Patrol Truck, Venice Beach, California

This scene reminded me of the tv show, Baywatch and of the stereotype that Southern California is all about beaches and fake breasts. Maybe in some places like Malibu and the Grove that is true but for the most part that's just the media for you. Venice Beach isn't glamorous like it's made out to be. Its rather dumpy, has tough-talking thuggish-looking people everywhere and has graffiti everywhere. Southern California is home for me though. Just love it for what it is. Rough around the edges, but charming in it's own way.

Main Street, Locke, California

Photo: Main Street, Locke, California

Locke is the last remaining rural Chinese town in the United States. At the time of it's establishment in the early 1900's, the Chinese were not allowed to own the land on which they lived on and forced to lease the property from their white landlords. At one time there were 1,500 Chinese living in Locke and predominantely male due to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which made it illegal for people from China to immigrate to the States. As a result, the Chinese gold miners and railroad workers in America were forced to live apart from their families who remained in China. It wasn't until 1943 that the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed therefore clearing the path for the majority of the Chinese in the country today.

Subsequently, during the 1940's and 50's the majority of young Chinese-Americans moved away from rural Locke to get an education and professional careers in urban and suburbia. In 2004, the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency finally allowed the sale of land to those who had been living on it for many years. A great gesture to the elder Chinese residents, but very late in timing as today there are only 10 Chinese left in the population of 90. The majority of the population today is white.

The Locke Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971. In addition, it was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 14, 1990.

Late XMAS Present for Everyone

For those of you who have websites or have an interest in creating one in the future, this is for you. There is an opensource freeware web design editor program on the Internet called NVU that is almost identical to Dreamweaver and MS FrontPage. Better in some ways. Like the aforementioned programs, it allows for easy creation of websites but also has features to do complex programming as well. If you know HTML, you have that option as well to tweak the code if you should be inclined.

I have been using this software for almost a month now and like it a lot. Click the link below for the website.

NVU - The Complete Web Authoring System for Linux, Macintosh, and Windows.

Hanging by a Moment Here With You

"Giant Kelp Splashed by Incoming Tide, Cabrillo National Monument, California"



I took this photo after leaving the Tijuana Slough NWR, California, which I wrote about two posts ago. As I pulled into the parking lot for the Cabrillo NM, I was surprised to see the tide pool parking lot nearly filled. Having never been there before, I thought Cabrillo might be some obscure regional park but it turns out that Cabrillo is one of San Diego's biggest scenic tourist attractions. Who knew? I've been to San Diego many times in my life but hadn't heard of the national monument until Friday when I saw it on a map.

This photo was taken while approximately at -0.8 feet tide. There were no mussels on the beach from what I saw, but many anemones, barnacles, hermit crabs, and several large clumps of kelp. I saw this single strand of kelp on a rock near the tide line and liked how it resembled a rope knot. I took two pictures before a wave washed ashore at this moment as I was clicking the shutter. This was the last shot of the kelp I got as the kelp was swept away back into the Pacific Ocean. The photo captures a glimpse of a brief moment in time, but one that has repeated itself for millions of years throughout the history of the planet. The ocean gave us life all the while reclaiming life in the process.

State Urban Wilderness Areas?

Photographer, Jim Goldstein posted a message on the Nature Photographers Network about the San Diego Gas & Electric Company pushing to re-write laws to develop power lines through a popular portion of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park Wilderness. I read about this elsewhere but this article here explains it better than what I'd read previously. It would be a sad day for all of America if our State Parks gave way to the demands of urban development. Our state parks and national parks system in California is what separates our state from the rest the country. They are pristine, and protected by strong environmental laws. Our state parks aren't "state resort parks" like they are in Kentucky.

The de-classification of Anza Borrego Desert State Park.



The California State Parks and Recreation Commission will be holding
its only southern California public hearing on the proposed powerline route on 2/8/07 at 7:30 PM at the Borrego Springs Resort.

P.S.: Added 1/9/07: Jim posted a link under "comments" to the legal ruling but it won't show up on my computer, so here it is just in case. Sunrise Powerlink Legal Ruling, Comments, and Testimony

Border Line

I’ve been going through a lot of personal matters lately so I decided to escape from all the stress yesterday by going to Tijuana! Well actually the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, California which is on the Pacific Coast along the U.S. and Mexico border. I’ve never been south of San Diego before and since winter is prime birding season in California, I had to check it out. The lady at the visitor center suggested two trails that I would find the most birds. So I took them both. One of which was ¾ mile, and the other was 2 miles one way from the parking lot. Birds seem to not mind my presence usually so I’m able to get rather close to them with my modest telephoto lens at 300mm. I grew up with a pet cockatiel named Tweet so perhaps that’s why I’m a chick magnet photographer. Bad jokes aside…

Last week, I wasn’t as fortunate at the San Jacinto Wildlife Refuge. As I was driving in and next to the dirt road was a hawk eating another bird. I pulled up right next to it and was looking at the large bird from my car with the window down as it was ferociously devouring its meal. Being the genius that I am, the camera bag was in the trunk! I was so desperate to shoot a sequel to my “Red-Tailed Hawk Protecting His Meal, Rockaway Beach, Pacifica, California” photo that I pulled the car up a only few feet ahead and got out of my car to open the trunk. Bone-headed move on my part as the hawk flew away because of that. Sometimes I get too over-zealous and don’t think clearly. That was one of those times. I should have pulled up a lot further then come back for the shot.

Image: Great Blue Heron (Ardeas herodeas) Searching For Fish, Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, California

Back to Tijuana. After I took the picture of the Great Blue Heron eating the fish, a stupid little kid came running up and scared the bird away. The mother and her friend said, “Oh, we should have been more quiet.” Need I say more?

Photo: Great Blue Heron Landing (Ardeas herodeas), Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, California

Further down the trail, a young, attractive red-head woman was walking her dog and giggled to me, that her dog is scared of cameras. All I know is that my camera wouldn’t be scared of her… There’s nothing more eye-catching than a beautiful red-head woman. Nicole Kidman for example. I should have brought a business postcard or two along to compensate for my lack of charisma, darn.

So I finally made it to the mouth of the Tijuana River Estuary where the visitor center lady said I’d see a lot of birds. Well I did see a lot of birds. Unfortunately they were on South Imperial Beach which was located on the opposite side of the mouth. Dejected, I made the long walk back to my car. But not before snapping a few photos of Tijuana with my telephoto lens. Notice the poor air quality on the other side of the border, whereas San Diego never looks smoggy. Both are coastal cities.

Picture: Tijuana, Mexico as seen from the Tijuana River Estuary

After leaving the Tijuana Estuary around 2:30, I went to Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. Which I’ll save for next time.

Photo Tips:

1. Try heading over to Seacrest Drive and head south to the end at Imperial Beach. Follow the beach for a mile down to the mouth of the Tijuana River. A large number of birds were flying in and out of the water along the beach.

2. Bring at least a 300mm telephoto lens. Not just for birds, as there are interesting grass patterns and reflections in the water that you can single out with the longer lens.