SURFS UP!

Driving to a seminar this weekend, I thought that there were so many things that I would like to photograph. Places to discover, people to meet. I stayed on the beach in Ventura, at the Holiday Inn, it was very nice. I was surprised...
In the morning, I woke up and couldn't resist going down to the water for the first time this year, yah, I know, and I live here.. no I don't get away often. There were surfers all over the place, and I couldn't help myself, so I helped myself! This is Gene, he retired after working for 35 years, and now is having the time of his life. This was just a typical morning for him, I thought it was really great to see someone having so much fun!

NO SMINT.. NO PHOTO

It was another crazy day for me today, which in the end, ran away with the daylight... and then editing ran away with any possible free time that I could find to get my Holga fix for the day. I'm sorry JB... I will make up for it though. I think the "fall back," change of time has something to do with it.
Today I had to cover two water polo games, not one, but they were both really good and that always makes great photos, at least I hope it does. That was the highlight of my day.
As for Mark, I'm sure he'll be getting me back for yesterday's post, but it's all in good fun. And now I'm too tired to think, so I'll see you tomorrow for our weekly Bfest! And then it will be a full day of STUFF TO DO!

A DAY LATE ... A LITTLE SHORT?

I regret that I missed the first day of November, I had too much work, and too little energy. And today, it appears that JB kicked my ass. But that's ok. If I didn't think she could, it wouldn't be any fun. With that said, I will spin a little story about a Man and his Fish.

One of the reporters I work with has a collection of fish on his computer, and as it happened one day, I decided that they should be moved around for not only my amusement, but just in principal. At first Mark took offence to my "hand of god," way of putting them in different parts of an imaginary sea. Then, as time passed, he came to enjoy the surprise positions he might find waiting for him. I almost always leave after him, so last night I left the last cookie..(he is a cookie monster in (disguise) with the fish circling, waiting to attack. I think it amused him.
I am looking to add to his collection, and when it expands, I will post more images of new sea creatures that might bear more cookies as the days go by.

BEWITCHED or NOT...

I saw images everywhere today, of everything from a walking banana to a tea cup from "Beauty and the Beast," to this witch, at Whole Foods, more than happy to scare the case out of you. Another words, check you out... so to speak. But everyone was checking her out, she made a great witch, green and haggard, warts and all. What was really scary today was my mid-term.. but I didn't take a picture of it, I was afraid the teacher wouldn't understand and kick me out of his class for something like lack of respect. Is there such a law? Well if there were, he would know it, seeing how it's a Law Professor. Ouch!
My daughter, dressed to the nines is cruising around tonight, I think she just dropped in to say Hi, or else ask for a $20.

HAUNTING

Halloween is approaching fast, but I encountered a ghost of my own making today. I must confess my sins, I took this image in a strange way, and yet it wasn't so strange, but it stuck with me. Something I will carry with me into the future. I saw this man pass by once, and then again, I was trying to photograph a pigeon. O.k. so I was desperate. As I was walking back to the office, I approached the man one more time. He had stopped to make a phone call. The thing that struck me most about him was that he looked like Johnny Depp, only down on his luck. He was wearing makeup, that looked pretty good. I wondered if he wore it all the time. As I walked by I took this image. He turned and said "all you had to do is ask, I would have looked into the camera." Yes... at first I thought, no.. that's not what I want. But then I thought, yes that is what I wanted. And I felt bad, in a way that I rarely feel. I felt like I had taken something that didn't belong to me.

Yesterday, I took pictures of those silly boys with their skateboards and they got a little huffy saying, "hey you can't do that." I was working (sort of) yesterday, and hey... yes I can.
But today, even though I am working, and was on a lunch break, I am wishing I didn't take the picture of my pirate the way that I did. I think it's good to re-examine every now and then how and why we take pictures. I know that I will be thinking of this and hopefully learning something from it.
Funny how one man on the street, can bring such focus on responsibility. I wish I could find him again to ask him his story and all the other things I should have done. But all I know is that he was having a good day, because that's all I asked. I still have a long way to go down Brand Blvd.