Taken also in 1986 for the photography class while wondering around Venice looking for things to shoot. A really dug the way the graffiti, the art and the poster came together for this photo. Truly one of my favorites. This is a digital scan of a negative shot with my Minolta X370 on B&W film and hand developed.
Mr. Postman
This is the result of two separate projects and 20 years of technology.
In 1984 my friend and I recorded this song at a semi-pro studio at some guy's house in Northridge, CA. I played guitar and background vocals. We had the song written going into the studio and basically cut it in probably an hour and maybe spent 30 minutes mixing (and it shows). When we wrote the song we never used any real percussions and for this recording we had a drummer and a conga player which I think really brings the song to a different level.
Later in 1985, in a photography class we had to do a final project, so I decided to create a slide "video." Yes, slides in the carousel and everything. I had to time the slides with the music so it all worked out. I did get an "A". The photos were from the neighborhood while riding my bicycle, Thanksgiving dinner at my cousins and a trip to the Federal cemetery in West Los Angeles; those pictures I really liked and a great little field trip.
So for the past 20 years the recording and the slides sat in my closet never seeing the light of day until I discovered, slide-scanning, Windows Movie Maker and DVD burning. Although I had some notes, I couldn't really remember the original order and the timing didn't seem correct, so I had to repeat images in the guitar solo part using the flipping gimic. I couldn't do this originally. But overall I think it came out pretty well, although our vocals are a bit weak.
Taken 7/29/05 from Glacier Point using the panoramic feature of my Canon Powershot. This is cropped a bit but most likely made up of 5 or 6 shots. I turned out pretty damn good if I say so myself. I had a print made as well and maybe someday I'll frame it. Again the clouds were favorable. This picture wouldn't have been nearly as affective if the sky didn't have the depth.
Click on picture for a large view.
Taken 5/14/06 Mother's Day on a visit to J. Paul Getty museum in Los Angeles. There were lots of flowers and plants but when I saw the bees hovering above the flowers, I knew this was the shot. Used Canon Powershot digital camera.
Yosemite Bees
Taken on the same Yosemite trip as previously mentioned, I noticed these unusual flowers in the meadow. When I got closer I noticed the bees. This is almost a perfect exposure and composition. Used Canon Powershot digital camera.
August 28, 2004 at Cardiff-by-the-sea, CA. This little beach town is located between Carlsbad and Del Mar along the coast. Not much to do there but walk along the beach. So while doing so I came across a bunch of rocks as was interested in how symmetrical they were. This picture isn't overly captivating but I liked the composition. The sunlight was harsh and bright; perfect for this high-contrast shot. Take with my Canon Powershot S1 IS and only sharpened a little bit using Photoshop. 
July 2 thru 4, 2004. Taken at Buena Vista Recreation Lake just outside of Bakersfield. Taken with my Canon Rebel film SLR. Hotter than hell during the day but beautiful at night. While drinking by the lake I noticed how the moon was reflecting off the water and wanted to see if I could capture it. However I didn't have a tripod. So I placed the camera on a chair, using a 28-80 I bracketed like a mother f...er with the timer. There are lots of exposures but this really is the best. Yes this has been enhanced using Photoshop or Picassa or both but only the contrast and brightness. The colors are pretty much real. I've been trying different things to try to pull out the details in the shadows but I just lose the black I want.
1995 or 1996 not exactly sure but I could find out if I wanted to dig through boxes of pictures in my closet. This was taken at a park in San Marco, CA down near San Diego. There was a restored old house in the park used for community events, etc. I really liked the texture of the peeling paint. This is a digital scan of a photo placed on a black backgroud using Photoshop. I created this to use as a wallpaper for my computer. I need to rescan this at a highter resolution.
