Waves ...

Last weekend brought me back to Los Angeles visiting friends and family ...

I was guest in this picture-perfect coziest hide-out perched high above the Pacific Coast Highway ...

Talking all day about life, love, friendship, art, wants, needs, expectations, catching up on what's important on this journey while listening to the crashing waves of the ocean and seeing the light change throughout the day ...

A walk on the beach ... watching the sun set ... harvest full moon ... the quietness of it all ...

Wine, cheese, gourmet olives ... chocolates ... it doesn't get more perfect then this ... sleep was sound ... dreams were sweet ... waking up ... well ... the waves were still there ... so was the perfect company ...

One of the most livable places I've stayed ... no care in the world ... escapism at its best ... this also reminded me how much I miss the ocean, the fresh salty air ... one day though I'll have my own nest high above the ocean ... my own red barn ...

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Fortune cookie wisdom ... your kindness is surely to be repaid ...

When your don't care who gets the credit, there's no limit on how high you can fly ...

Boston ...

Traveling this week ... during the day in training and in charge of content management for a sizable web site overhaul ... all other hours are dedicated to editing and retouching images for my second photo book

A couple of teaser images are included in this post ... the whole concept was photo-journalistic with the models having the option to "pause" at any time ...

I shot this a little over a year ago, mulled the retouch/edit process over for a while and finally got the impetus to get this going ... all lighting is natural ... no make-up for a very natural look ... yes, I did change my mind about the all B&W approach ... ;-) .. the retouching process runs from B&W to a variety of color processes ...

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I was cleaning out my wallet of receipts today and came across two forgotten fortune cookie notes I picked up in early September ... I keep those religiously as I'm constantly working on improving my Chinese vocabulary ... ;-)

Your career will soon be enhanced by a new friend ...

A beautiful person is with you, confide your problems ...

Variations on a theme ?

Time for real coffee ... continued ...

China Dragon

 ... is no more ... closed their doors because they couldn't afford the new lease anymore ... figure it out ... the lease owner increased the lease fee rather than adjusting it to business ... 

Three empty locations now in the same strip ... doesn't make sense in a depression ... 

I will need to find another source of good fortune cookies ... they were the best ;-)

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Model in the images is Deb F ... we did a full day portfolio shoot in studio and on location a while ago ... wonderful work of the model ... make up by Lauren Warner ...

Not a fortune cookie ...

Getting sloppy with the blog ... nahhhhh ... lots of events during the last couple of weeks have me pre-occupied with writing, research and photo retouching ... so lots of new goodies coming .. promised ;-)

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A friend send me this quote yesterday ...

"Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth" [Ludwig Borne]

I was not familiar with the quote so I read up on Ludwig Borne ... he hits home ... ;-)

A very similar quote with a slight twist ...

"Getting rid of a delusion makes us wiser than getting hold of a truth"

I wonder why this is resonating so much ... hmmmm .... continued ?

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In LA doing a variety of things except shooting ...

Wet camera photography ...

... this is how my D3 saw the Alameda Creek when it switched to auto-shoot after I fell in the creek ...

Only way to stop the shooting was to pull the battery out ... admire the beautiful "water bokeh" ... ;-)

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Fortune cookie of the day:

Enthusiasm can change the current situation

What situation ?

There is no situation ... only denial ...

Will not be continued ...

Carly Erin ...

... showed up about a year ago at the studio just when I was setting my first steps with my Nikon D3 ... time flies ... 

This was the first shoot where I finally got a grasp of what it meant to be able to full frame photography in almost any lighting condition ... there's no going back  ... 

From the after-sunset outdoor shots where the diffuse lighting proved sufficient for beautiful portraits to the darkened studio work where the only light source was a 250 Watt incandescent in a baffled and gridded softbox ... it all worked ...

No regrets ... Thanks Carly for knocking on my door that day and giving me a taste of how it feels to work with full time traveling pro-models ... ;-)

I had the privilege of working with quite a few pro-models since then and I'm always pleasantly surprised by the professionalism, the injection of creativity, collaboration and the personal growth ... 

Continued ...

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Fortune cookie of the day:

Avenues of good fortune are ahead for you ...

There's obviously a new fortune cookie maker in town ;-)

My crows ...

... are back ... they're waiting outside my office around my car ... they follow when I walk the 3/4 mile to get lunch ... the three of them fly ahead ... wait on the fence posts and then fly ahead again ... when I'm on my way back, they do the same thing again ... they are extremely playful ... ;-)

Where have you been ... ;-) ... craa ... craaa ... craaaaahhhhhh ...

Bringing my camera tomorrow ... let's see if you still want to play ...

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Fortune cookie of the day:

You will have much to give thanks for this month

So true ... so true ...

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Kevin, Lauren Warner's husband passed away last Sunday night ... he'll be missed by quite a few of us ... hugs to Lauren, Oliver, Zoe and the rest of the family.

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I like big hair ... the images in this blog post are from my shoot with Kristin ... She's fun to work with ... make-up by Gina Novotchin and hair by Lorenzo ... I always wanted to shoot hair like this ... lol ... thanks team !

Happy Valentine ...

All days are Valentine days and today is no exception ... 

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Fortune cookie of two days ago ;-)

Now is the time for peace in your life.

Go along with other's ideas [in bed]

Adding [in bed] to any fortune cookie makes them sooo much better ... 

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Another pic from a shoot with Jillian Ann ... make up by Lauren Warner ... 

These images were lit with a single tungsten lighting up a dark scene ... no tripod,  ISO 3200 ...

The ability to shoot in pretty much any lighting condition with even make shift lighting is a feature I wouldn't want to miss anymore ...

These images are from the most recent shoot with Jillian Ann ... "The Piano Lesson"

Stay tuned for more ...

I am elated ...

is the fitting name for the "Special Enchilada Del Dia" from Cafe Gratitude ... a delicious dish ... soft vegetable tortilla with sprouted seed filling, topped with spice salsa verde and cashew sour cream.   Mine was served with Mexican spiced coleslaw and Bhutanese red rice ... 

Highly recommended ...

Image from my first shoot with Jillian Ann, now many months ago ...

 Jillian is extremely talented ... beautiful ... lovely voice ... writes great music and lyrics ... engaging ... constantly advocating environmental and health conscious choices ...

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My fortune cookie of today:

Your talents will be recognized and suitably rewarded ...

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Been listening to Astor Piazzolla for the last couple of days ... divine tango music ... the rendition of Gideon Kremer is close to my heart ... Astor is missing from this recording but the powerful violin playing by Kremer of Piazzola's work gives the music a different, totally enjoyable, dimension ... 

To be continued ...

Recession

Layoffs ...

Salary freezes ... 

No bonuses ... no merit increases ...

It's everywhere ...

but ... how much of it is driven by fear because of media negativity over-coverage ? 

*   *   *

Fortune cookie of the day ...

You have a friendly heart and are well admired ...

There seems to be a theme to these

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One of my friends got a new job after months of being unemployed ... the glass is half full ... always ...

The joy of chocolate ...

I'm not the only one who's enjoying chocolate ... 

Ankha wrote:

"It's official.  My number one favorite chocolate in the WORLD is Gianduja by Cote d'Or ... WONDERFULLY AMAZING ;-)

This bar is widely available in the US ... for those who don't know Cote d'Or ... they don't know what they are missing ;-) ... Google is your friend ;-)

*   *   *

Fortune cookie of the day:

You are admired from afar ...

*   *   *

I wouldn't mind being admired from a bit closer ;-)

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Picked April up from her shoot with Jason Fassnacht ... I absolutely love Jason's work and it was a delight to finally meet Jason and J

Sacramento ... crazy drive ... loads of fun ... and my little car got over 29 miles/gallon ... not bad for a MBZ roadster ;-)

Boston

R&D speaking engagement ... snow ... cold

* * *

Fortune cookie of the day:

Your mind is ingenious and you learn easily

Who makes these things up ?

Fortune Cookie

Front:

A real friend asks to spend time with you, not money ...

Back:

Very busy

*   *   *

I was very busy today ... and tomorrow I'll be busy too.

Continued.