A Day at the Beach

On our last full day in SoCal, we took a quick trip to the beach for a few photos.

We made sure to go during low tide to catch all of the sea life in the tide pools. Here are pictures of a sea anemone, some mussels and quite a few crabs. Each one of those shells are homes to the tiny crustaceans.






I really like this shot of my aunt on the beach. Even though the weather wasn't the greatest, it made for a great dramatic portrait.



We finished up with a few more cheer pics. You really can't go wrong with models like these girls and the Pacific Ocean as a back-drop.

Enough Already!!

Alright.... Someone has got to talk to Mother Nature. What? No volunteers? Fine. I guess it'll have to be me.

I realize that you like to poke fun at me on occasion just to remind me who's in charge. I get it!! Even though I don't like the snow, I know that I will have to at least tolerate a few inches every winter. But this is getting out of hand. Just give us a break and let life move toward the inevitable happiness of spring. It's coming whether you want it to or not. So please relax, let a few rays of sun hit this snow covered city and watch the joy spread.

With no school this week, due to the twenty plus inches of snow that has fallen over the past week, I have had plenty of time to do..... Well, not much of anything at all. Except, of course post a few blogs and take a few pics that will be showing up very soon on this blog.

Here is one from the front of my house.

Anyone Need a 'Rock Band'?

Santa was pretty nice to Sarah Jane this year. She got 'Rock Band' for Christmas and all of the kids were rockin' out. I have to say that it is a pretty fun game. Even Gracie (their dog) got into it.

Here are a few pics from one of their jam sessions.

Oh, What a Beautiful Day?

If you live here, you don't have to be told. But if you don't, this has been a very snowy weekend. It started yesterday afternoon and hasn't let up yet. I measured a little over ten inches on top of my car.

The Hot Shots were supposed to be playing in the regional tournament today, but it was canceled. I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who would be thrilled to bypass all of the shoveling for a few games of ball. Oh well.... At least we made it to the state championship tournament.

Here is a quick shot of what it looks like in my driveway.

A Rainy Day in Hollywood

Although I lived in Orange County and have visited pretty frequently over the past few years, I have never been to Hollywood. Shawnia, Sarah Jane, Emily and I took the train up to Union Station and did a walking/subway tour.



We saw quite a bit...... The stars were scattered along the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard from end to end. I had to grab a shot of one of the greatest bands to have ever played and one of the greatest authors to have ever picked up a pen.




We stopped in at Cafe Audrey for lunch. Shawnia is a big Audrey Hepburn fan and we were all impressed with the food and atmosphere that was provided.





I wasn't able to get any shots of the hand prints or foot prints of the stars since the weather had turned pretty ugly by then. It was interesting to see all who had immortalized themselves in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater. From the cast of the original Star Trek series to Will Smith to the Marx Brothers. Oh well.... Maybe next time.

The subway was very cool. It made me wish for an easy and efficient mass transit center for Spokane. The train ride back to Irvine was a little stressful though. You'll have to ask me about it if you're interested.

SoCal Cheer

My cousin has been on a cheer squad as long as I can remember. She and her friend Emily were nice enough to pose for some cheer portraits. Here are the results.

Hopefully I will be able to shoot the full squad this summer.

The Most Popular Park in the World

Shawnia and I took my cousin Sarah Jane to the most popular theme park in the world (I can't type the name due to copyright issues.... cool, huh?). We had a great time. Sarah and I are pretty close. More of a niece and uncle relationship than cousins due to our age difference. But she and I are all business when it comes to theme park rides and Shawnia kept up nicely.

A couple of days before, Shawnia and I braved the New Year's Eve crowds to enjoy (or maybe endure) an early entry day. That means you get into The Park an hour before it opens to the general public. The Park is also open until 2 a.m. (two hours later than normal) for the end of year festivities. So that totals nineteen hours of rides and crowds. Yeah....... I did say nineteen.

Over the course of the day we walked over 23 miles, that were measured by a pedometer that wasn't counting every step. No wonder our feet were sore. With driving, the day totaled 22 hours. I think I was more tired at the end of that day than I have been after any bike race, basketball game, or backpacking trip.

It always amazes me how well The Park is run even on the most chaotic of days.

Here are a few pics of the day with Sarah Jane.

Behind the Scenes at the Rose Parade

While Shawnia and I were down in Southern California, we had a rare opportunity. My Aunt Jan and Uncle Craig took us on a behind the scenes tour of the annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. Jan's family used to own one of the companies that designs and builds floats for the event. What an incredible sight these creations were.

Each and every square inch of every float must be covered by something living. We saw floats covered in any combination of flowers that you could think of. From kumquats for the bright orange coloring to various types of seeds, all parts of a flower were used in surprising abundance.

The size of the floats was just as impressive as the design. The tallest of them stood over fifty feet high and had to be folded in on itself so it could fit in the warehouse.

A huge thanks to Craig and Jan for the afternoon (and spectacular dinner too).

Here are a few pics of the tour.

Save the Date!!

Here are a couple of Save the Date cards that I designed for Amanda and Taylor. They liked them so much that they ordered both. WOOHOO!!

Amanda and Taylor

Amanda and Taylor are my first couple to have booked a wedding in 2008. They wanted a winter engagement shoot and I was happy to accommodate them. We walked around downtown Spokane on a chilly afternoon to capture some of the snowy scenery. They are a lot of fun to be around and I am looking forward to their July wedding.

Here are a few of the pics from the afternoon. You can see the rest here.