The Weisman crows

I know just about every amateur and professional photographer in Minnesota has shot the Weisman on the University of Minnesota campus. But, you know what? I never had... until yesterday. In the 38 years I have lived in Minneapolis, I have never done much of anything in a typical or predictable manner. So, when I decided to go visit the Weisman yesterday, I decided I would try to photograph the building in a different way. After I arrived, I began shooting a little, and studying the architecture and reflectivity of the light on it's shiny metal surface. After about ten minutes, a lone crow on the roof line caught my attention. I focused on him, but my 105mm with a 1.5x frame factor on my 10D wasn't quite cutting it. After a couple minutes of frantic shooting, hoping to get some sort of interesting image, I was saved. Some of the crows' buddies showed up and made it possible for me the capture the whole gang!

I have been in Minneapolis since Saturday night, and I am ecstatic to be home for the holidays! I have been able to explore some of my old hang-outs and visit family and friends. I still have a few days and hope I can do a lot more shooting and visiting and exploring. There is a storm brewing out west and causing me much anxiety about my return trip to Palm Springs, but I am trying to be optimistic and enjoy my time here as best I can.

Christmas kitty

Merry Christmas

I made this card myself... I composited the santa hat into the shot and added the type. I sent the card out via snail-mail to friends. I am in Minneapolis this week for the holidays. A little snow... not too cold. But I still prefer the weather in Palm Springs.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Another fun day in the studio...

Can you guess what these are?

one for the money...

This is a test shot for a set I was designing for a shoot with a CPA. It was tedious to get the money to hang just right, and the location of the money was critical in relation to our depth of field so we could attract the viewer's eye to our subject.

Christmas coffee

Today I spent a little time at Koffi, which is the nearest equivalent to Dunn Bros. that we have here in Palm Springs. It isn't a franchise, and it is very original to all the other coffee shop chains. I have only been there a few times since my arrival in Palm Springs, but I will probably spend more time there as it has a more urban, yet eclectic vibe... much better than the commercial juice at Starbucks and Caribou and Coffee Bean. But, I do frequent all, depending on my mood and urgent need for caffeine. But, man, I can't wait to get some fresh-roasted beans at the D-Bros.! It's just less than two weeks til I get home for Christmas and can have a real latte!

praying mantis

When I returned home after a week on the road a few weeks back, I found this female praying mantis laying her eggs in the tread groove of one of my truck's tires. I was very excited as I had never seen a praying mantis before. After studying her for a bit, I decided I would take a few shots. I was surprised how close I could get, and if it weren't for the long lens I was using, I could have gotten closer than the three feet my focus would allow me. The next day, when I had some time to peruse the images, I wished I had used the shorter macro lens when I discovered some soft images due to the low light and the long lens. But I think this is an acceptable shot after a little photoshop work. I was amazed to find out how many different species of praying mantis there are. Check it out here. I learned that most species are not harmful to humans, but they are very defensive when it comes to leaving their eggs in your tire tread and you want to leave so you can go home and pass out after a long week of shooting!

(Not) My Neighbor's Holiday Lights

I found this video while surfing tonight. The house is supposedly in Minneapolis at 32nd St E and 41st Ave S

flour mill stacks

Here's another shot from Minneapolis, near the new Guthrie Theater. These silos have been restored to preserve the past integrity of Minneapolis' past claim as the flour milling capital of the world. You can find out lots more about that at the Mill City Museum.

Where's that damn bus?!

This shot was taken in June while I was in Cincinnati on a location shoot. I just happened to be out wandering around downtown one day and this woman attracted my attention as I sensed a certain impatience about her.

Fire, fire...

When I first moved back to L.A.in July, I found a place in Van Nuys with two other roomies. The place was cool, for the most part, but the neighborhood wasn’t that great. It was fine, so long as you didn’t look at someone the wrong way or flipped someone off in a fit of road rage. I did come out one morning and found a pair of sneakers dangling from the power lines over the front yard, but didn’t think too much of it. Probably just some of the local kids messing around.

Then, one day, I came home from work to find my next door neighbor’s front yard torched. There was a high hedge, about chest -high, that encompassed the house. I suppose a spark from a car or some kid playing with fireworks or matches could have started it, but it seemed too much a coincindence in relation to the strung-up sneakers from a couple weeks previous. The weird thing is, they were hanging in my yard, and I doubt my roomies or I had done anything to cause any sort of a retaliation. And our neighbor, who was about 60 years-old and lived alone and pretty much kept to himself was even less likely to have done anything to instigate such an act.

The photos shows the damage to the neighbors front yard. My place was just to the left of this house and was very similar in appearance, since they were a part of the same complex. You can see how the palm tree was scorched by the flames from the hedge, but never really caught fire. The palm leaves were just partly singed. Thankfully, there was no damage to the house and no one was hurt.