Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Day 90 - Reflections

















Three months and 90 pictures down, nine months and 270 more pictures to go.

Day 89 - Reflections

The sun was reflecting off one building onto this one.

Day 88 - Reflections

Who, if anyone, is responsible for wiping the water marks off this sculpture?

Day 87 - Reflections

Polished stone is almost as reflective as glass.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Day 86 - Downtown

This is a good transition from the general "downtown" architecture theme to the more specific "reflections" in downtown.

Day 85 - Downtown

The top of the Los Angeles Central Library is a tiled pyramid with a golden hand, entwined by the Serpent of Knowledge, holding the Torch of Learning at its pinnacle.

Day 84 - Downtown

There's more open space around the high-rises in downtown L.A. than in other cities.

Day 83 - Downtown

Apparently this Alexander Calder sculpture called "Four Arches" in front of the Bank of America building is famous. Never saw it before today.

Day 82 - Downtown

City Hall is one of the most iconic and recognizable buildings in all of downtown. It's the primary design on the badges of the LAPD.

Day 81 - Downtown

Another view of the AT & T building.

Day 80 - Downtown

This is a tower on top of the AT & T building.

Day 79 - Downtown

I've been in production shooting a couple of new Hondas (production photos coming later) but yesterday we were on location in downtown L.A. Since most people who don't work downtown merely pass through, and rarely leave their cars when they do, it was nice to see some of the more aesthetically pleasing sights up close.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Day 78 - Shrimp


The Information Systems department at work is unbelievably cool - every few months or so they host an after-hours seafood boil. Today's was with shrimp, and even though I'm allergic to shellfish and couldn't eat, IS sure knows how to throw a party.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Day 77 - Refraction

There's a large glass globe holding flowers in the entranceway to my office. The flowers aren't very compelling, but the water in the globe is . . .

Friday, March 19, 2010

Day 76 - Flowers

These aren't the poppies that are California's state flower, but they're pretty nonetheless.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Day 75 - Alphabet

Day 74 - Alphabet

Day 73 - Alphabet

I've given myself a new assignment: shoot the entire alphabet off building signs.

Day 72 - Angles

Over the patio at In-N-Out

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Day 71 - Transportation

The weather's nice, and it's still light when I leave work . . .

Monday, March 15, 2010

Potato Pancakes






Or latkes, depending on what culture introduced you to them. But recipes, more than anything else, when passed down through the generations, bind us together as families, and as people.

I don't remember ever having my grandmother make potato pancakes for me. But when my Aunty Lou made them last week, she made them with a certainty and authority that could come from someone who not only had been taught how to make them, but had made them herself that same way many times before. She made them Grandma's way.

Something as simple as shredded potatoes, some dried onion, eggs, flour, and salt, when fried in a bit of vegetable oil, carried such a wave of nostalgia with it, that it was hard to take the pictures. I almost wished a had a video camera to record the whole process.

It's a simpler way to cook, but those potato pancakes sure weren't simple in flavor.

The Donut Man





The Donut Man in Glendora (on the old Route 66) is one of those places that always seems to wind up on the "Best Places to Eat in L.A." lists, primarily because of their famous strawberry donuts.

Since my cousin John lives in Glendora, I decided to combine a visit to his house with a trip to The Donut Man. Yes, the strawberry donut was good, with plenty of fresh strawberries, but really, in all honesty, it was a plain glazed donut with strawberries. Nothing all that special, but then again, I'm not really a donut person.


Day 70 - People I Dig

My cousin John's son Cam is exactly what I would have expected Calvin to grow up like. He's a total little hipster with his skinny purple jeans, but when Oma makes fresh whipped cream, he still likes to lick the beater.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Day 69 - Production

Lighting a car is one of the trickiest things to do. Or should I say, lighting a car well is tricky.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Day 68 - People I Dig

Not only is Jerry Garns one of the most talented photographers I've ever met and had the pleasure to work with, he's an incredibly nice person. Plus, his seventh grandchild was born yesterday.

Day 67 - Production

Ever wondered what the inside of a steering wheel looks like? Without taking your hands off the wheel, a driver can:

1) Select an audio source (Radio, CD, iPod)
2) Switch radio stations, CD tracks, or iPod songs
3) Adjust the volume
4) Set and operate the cruise control
5) Place or answer a cell phone call
6) Give verbal directions to the navigation system
7) Scroll through the myriad of options on the Multi-Information Display
8) Shift the automatic transmission up or down

With all that going on, how can a driver be expected to actually DRIVE?

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Day 66 - Hunger

Keeping with the theme of things not often seen around L.A.

Day 65 - Clouds

Again, very atypical for Los Angeles.

Day 64 - Clouds

It's not often L.A. has clouds like this . . . it's just too dry here.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Hank Gathers

It was 20 years ago today that I saw Hank Gathers die.

I was a freshman at Loyola Marymount, midway through my second semester of college, and Hank Gathers, a fifth-year senior who had led the nation in scoring and rebounding the previous year, was again among the Division I leaders in both categories.

On that Sunday afternoon, he collapsed and died on the court during a West Coast Conference tournament game at Gersten Pavilion, LMU's on-campus arena, in front of a good portion of the student body, including me. Turns out he died from hypertrophic cardiomyopothy, a heart-muscle disorder.

I still have the remembrance card that was passed out at his memorial mass, along with the "Hank Hanky" that the students got for the NCAA Tournament.

And it's hard to believe that it was 20 years ago today.

Day 63 - Santa Monica Pier

Day 62 - Santa Monica Pier

Day 61 - Santa Monica

Day 60 - Santa Monica Pier



Day 59 - Santa Monica Pier



Day 58 - Santa Monica

This hasn't been the best week for me . . . either I don't have time or I'm just not motivated to go out and shoot. So I'm reaching back to the archives to keep up. And I'll try and do better next week.