LA - Part 1

We spent Thanksgiving in Los Angeles with family. My dad just got a new DSLR. He got the same camera I have but he got the lens I keep drooling over but every time I get almost enough saved up an unexpected expense pops up and eats it all. He gave his old DSLR to my sister. I am fairly new to photography but my Dad and Sister have been going together on photo shoots for years. I was really excited to finally go with them on one on Saturday. We decided to go out and take pictures of the wonder of art and architecture that is Disney Hall.

We got up early and drove out to the Red Line station in Universal City. We had no idea what parking downtown might be like so we did not want to deal with driving. I just like riding the subway since it is a novelty for me living in a small town (by CA standards).

Waiting for the train, I snapped a few pictures of the station.



One of my favorite things about the Red Line is they did not do the usual boring public works project when they built it. The stations are each a work of art.



We got to Disney Hall a bit later than we had originally planned the day before. It did not really matter. The reflections were stunning and I was in a much better mood than I would have been had I woken up an hour earlier.



I have only seen the building while passing by on the freeway. As I stood there looking at the intense reflections I understood how people could have complained about the original finish on the stainless steel. They had to take off most of the exterior facing steel and lightly sand it to turn it down. You can still see the original finish in the part of the building which do not get direct sunlight.





I read that the heat from the original surface was so intense, they recorded temperatures on the nearby sidewalks at 140 degrees. Even sanded, the steel was giving off warmth on a cool November morning. I spied a bee enjoying the warmth.



Last, an interesting view of S. Grand Avenue before we walked to California Square in search of coffee and snacks.

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Butterflies and Sunsets

On Tuesday we met up at Pismo Beach State Park for an afternoon photo shoot. I was so excited to have time to actually make a meetup with my photo group this month. Most people were getting ready for Thanksgiving and could not make it. I was so glad I did.

Pismo Beach is one of the locations on the west coast that Monarch butterflies migrate to for the winter. Did you even know butterflies migrate? I did not until I moved here. It is a sight that even pictures cannot fully capture. In a grove of Eucalyptus trees near the beach, thousands of butterflies make their home for the winter. You look up in the trees and at first you see brownish leaves all over the trees. A leave begins to move, then fly away and you realize those are all butterflies.



In the mornings, the butterflies are all over in the air and on the ground. We got there in the late afternoon so they were beginning to slow down and cluster back in the trees.



I did find one alone and with its wings spread.



After an hour the light was too low for any more pictures of the butterflies so we walked to the beach. It is amazing to me that every year I am still surprised by how early the sun goes down this time of year. Even though it was beginning to cool off and get dark, the kids were having so much fun.



The clouds were making beautiful swirls of color for us to enjoy.



As we left I looked back and saw the silhouette of the trees against the setting sun and had to snap one last picture.



Days like this make me wonder how I could ever live anyplace else.

See the whole set here.

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Photography 101

I bet you thought I'd forgotten about you poor blog. It think my camera was feeling that way as well. If I thought October was busy, November was even more so!!

I finally got the chance to take some pictures a couple Fridays back. We held a "Photography 101" playgroup at a park and it was so fun. We had moms with all ranges of skill from professional to point-and-shoot in auto mode only. Those of us with more experience helped the newer moms learn the features of their camera as well as how to compose better pictures. We focused on portrait photography.

Even though I was "working" I managed to take a bunch of pictures too. My favorite is this one of G.



Here are some of my girls.









I took so many other fun ones of any kid I could get to stay still long enough. Check out the set here.

(BTW, to people I know... add me as a friend and I can add you, then you can see all the ones of other people's kids that I took.)

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Cupcake Girl

Ok... I know,, I have really been slacking on the blog lately. Actually what I have been slacking on is the picture taking. My poor camera must think I don't love it any more. I took so few pictures in October and none so far in November. I need to eget out! The last month has been just crazy busy. I am ready for another vacation!

I do have some fun pictures I've been meaning to blog. The baby discovered the wonder of cupcakes.

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