Last Sunset

On the top of Mullholland, I thought that today was probably the last day of this season.. since tomorrow it's suppose to rain. So I stayed for the sunset. Five minutes later, it looked like this....


One last sunset this month.



Something ends, and something begins.
According to folklore, October's full moon is called the "Hunter's Moon" or sometimes the "Blood Moon." It gets its name from hunters who tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. The Hunter's Moon of 2005 is due on Oct. 17th. I'll be watching..

Holga Fever... It's Contagious!

"Holga, photography was never this fun!" I said, as Jacqui posed, ready for camera combat.

What do two journalist do for fun on a Saturday morning? Buy a Holga and find out. Ever since I got mine, well, it's no secret that I've been a little crazy, but it's only because I'm having so much fun. My best friend Jacqui, who's a writer, and a creative "tour d' force," decided she wanted to see what all the excitement is all about. We went to the camera store, and she picked out a Holga of her very own. I bought more film.. it's my bad habit now.
When we got back to her house, it was time to play, we laughed so hard while she was figuring out her camera, and mine was malfunctioning, well, I was malfunctioning, I didn't reset my flash. The unpredictable nature of the camera, I find every picture is a surprise. Most of my shots were missed up, over-exposed.. but I got a handle on it and then I was back in business.

There are obvious differences between digital and film, but what's rewarding is that I have to work very hard to get a good image. That doesn't mean I'm a bad photographer, it just means that I have been spoiled by the digital easy come, easy go imaging. Now, when I take a bad image, it literally costs me about one dollar. Ouch! Does that mean that I'm a masochist? If it does, I took a beating today.

Seeds

A dried sunflower marked the change of seasons for me today, though the day was so warm and beautiful. The sun was shining, the sky was so blue.
The colors just seemed to be more vibrate than usual, or maybe it was just my mood, as the breeze brushed across my skin, I felt that a day like this is rare, even for Southern California. Maybe it was just the company I was keeping, we always have the best time.

Her Trophy

"Do my eyes match my car?" I met Rita while having my car repaired, not expecting much more Wednesday morning then a handshake with Bear. Rita came into the waiting room, full of conversation and full of life. As we talked, she began to tell me the story of her Mercedes, the she won it on a bet from he beloved husband.
As an avid golfer, Rita was with her husband and some friends when she did the impossible, or so they thought. Thirty years ago, playing a game of golf up at Hanson Dam, she was on the outside, and was offered by her Husband the bet that if she made the shot, she could have anything she wanted. Much to everyone's surprise, she sank the ball into the hole and at dinner that evening was asked what she wanted. "I want a 450 SL," Rita said. Shocked and surprised by her request, her husband asked if she knew how much it costs? He told her it was approximately, $14,000. The next day he honored his bet and took her to buy the car.

She couldn't make up her mind on the color and so she asked the salesman as she put her head down on the fender, "do my eyes match the car?" Rita said. They did, and the car is still hers, her trophy.
More images to come of Rita and her Green 450 SL.

Say Hello Bear, the shop mascot

Bear greeted me as I came to get my car fixed, he's the new shop mascot. He gives a handshake and then he's off on his merry way.
Vanished, a silent yet effective way to make an image go away, especially a Holga polaroid is to take it.
Someone at my mechanic's shop is clever, really clever, using a diversion tactic, i.e. "carbon monoxide poisoning," my attention was diverted when I stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, just long enough for the "great heist." Two photos were gone upon my return. Where did they go? I don't know? How did they disappear? I don't know.
At first I was confused, then I realized the AWFUL truth, it must have been a case of "I HATE THAT PICTURE."
It will remain a mystery...
The power of immediate gratification and the Holga to incite mischief, strikes again! Beware, next time I'll use digital, and, "no, you can't take that away from me."
I guess I should be grateful, the best image was left behind..... say goodbye bear!

No Fish... Today

I had an idea, a picture in my mind that I saw about a year ago and I thought, "this afternoon would be a perfect opportunity to capture that image."

Sitting on the second floor of the Journalism Department at CSUN, I watched and waited for the golden light to come streaming into the building, through the side and front facade, a wall of glass. As the sun traveled through the sky, and I watched the changing light, I realized that something was different, something was going wrong. The light that once filled the halls, all three stories of them was now hidden by the new parking garage across the way. That garage was long over due, and the students are happy, but now, I wonder if anyone has noticed the change it's brought to this building? It kicked the what once was a view of amazing sunsets, in the ass. I'm sure the architect of the building will be happy to know his work is now in shadows, at least during the fall/winter. I'm hoping that the sun will be high enough in the summer, to try once more.
In the meantime, I wasted the few precious moments of daylight. I also learned a few things... long exposures with polaroids is a bad thing... at least it was for me today. I got nothing on that too. Sometimes you catch a fish, and sometimes you just come home empty handed.
This was the rocket launch from Vandenberg Airforce Base a few weeks ago.

On the job today, shooting a small festival, MY reporter, (we have this ongoing argument, Fred will say, My photographer, and I'll say... ) and I took a short break for lunch. As we talked about the day and listened to the music, I showed him my Holga and he laughed, of course... Until he saw his photograph. Not so funny anymore... very cool. Just another day with My reporter.

Katy was painting in the park, but getting an image for some reason wasn't that easy, the light and the elements, the framing, we spent a few minutes on getting this photo just right, and you know, I'm still not satisfied. Sometimes, you just have to stop and go back to work... she was a great sport though, I must say.