Explore • Alabama Hills 2020

We ventured out to Lone Pine last weekend to check out Alabama Hills. Momma’s Jeep was the vehicle of choice and I’m glad it was; can’t beat the vented seats! We caught the early sunrise during the drive and got to Movie Road with the sun blasting over our shoulders. Juliet kicked her feet around the dirt in her Anna (from Frozen) dress while we set up a tent to grub on breakfast and catch a quick nap. The view of Mount Whitney and the Sierra Nevada was purely amazing. We headed into town after and checked out Lone Pine’s other main attraction, The Film Museum. Hopped back in the truck and ate some PB sandwiches on our way to Manzanar National Historic Site. Manzanar was one of ten relocation camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were incarcerated during WWII (source)

Checked in at Mt. Whitney Motel to rest up before sunset and star gazing. Before heading back into the desert, we drove around town to see what the locals were up to and it wasn’t much. Finished off the evening with a mild hike to catch sunset views. Juliet was already over it and was begging to be carried for a nap in momma’s arms. The sun quickly faded out while we were hanging in the truck waiting.

Had the GRD IV in the glove compartment for some quick shots. I’m still getting used to my custom settings when needing to make quick adjustments on the fly. Yeah it’s a ten year old camera and agility isn’t in its nature. But I’ve noticed if I cut it some slack and lower expectations, it flies! It was also nice to use the EM-1 again. That little beast has so many features, I forget it’s readily equipped. Brought the 12-40mm thankfully and set the camera mode to Live Time for some night action. Lens dialed in at its widest and wide open at 2.8. Couple test shots for sharpness and boom, Milky Way.

Olympus O-MD EM-1
M. Zuiko 12-40mm
Ricoh GR Digital IV

T4R • GRD IV

Got the T4R dialed in by my dude Jason. Headstrong Off-Road 1/4” spacers to fix the rub in the front, but the rear spacers didn’t work out. Debating on a bigger spring or might have to do some custom work for an inch rear coil isolator. First time running the GRD IV in RAW and the edits turned out. Only downside is the buffer speed, but what can we expect from a 10 year old camera.

Ricoh GRD IV

Socially Distant • GRD IV

So, t’s been over a year since my last post and currently about a month without shooting. Couldn’t find anymore reasons to post. Nothing really seemed to inspired me to write or had any solid intentions to make pictures. Flash forward to now, we’ve been spending a lot of time at home, and an outing for me the last couple months is just work. Been running around with the GRD IV in JPEG mode, taking pictures of my little girl every chance I get. Yesterday my wife was the enabler to get me out to shoot. We hit up Chicano Park Skatepark after she dropped off a care package to her uncle recovering from Covid-19. It was bittersweet.

Caught a lot of lines and contrasts, paired with inconsistent highlights from the wonky metering the GRD was giving me. Jumping from manual to aperture priority didn’t seem to fix the issue, but the pictures came out pretty good SOOC. The overall mood out there was nice; all good hearted conversations, camaraderie, and mask-less smiles.

It was nice to see the liveliness in these gems of San Diego. I think everyone is craving for that norm to return back for the summer, I just hope we all continue to prioritize our safety and be good citizens. Juliet woke up from her nap so we dipped right after. Cruised through our beloved Downtown to find nothing going on. I knew that’s what we would expect, but seeing it to believe it was a different story.

Ricoh GRD IV
Snap Focus Mode

Explore • Palomar Mountain 2019

Olympus OM-D E-M1.2
M. Zuiko 12-40mm

Portraits • EthosOne

Sony a7iii
Tamron 28-75mm
Zeiss 50mm

EthosOne x TheFreshYard

Sony a7iii
Tamron 28-75mm

Not much to say here, the pictures say it all. Awesome turn out for EthosOne and The Fresh Yard. Definitely a proper SD collaboration!

The Rest of 2017

Couldn't believe how quick August flew by.  Shot a wedding for a beautiful couple early on in the month.  Took a visit out to San Clemente to see if I can get some drone footage.  My brother offered skybox tickets to checkout Kendrick Lamar, that was dope.  Visited a good friend out in Venice and checked out his gallery at Samy's.  My wife and I had to do a little exploring while we were up there.  What better excuse to get in some snaps.  Then back home, scoping out the regular spots.  

September and October were both hectic.  I had my brother's wedding to celebrate, which coincidently fell on the hottest day of my life.  Got a couple shots out in OB before his big weekend.  Went to visit more of the regular spots, itching to grab a shot looking up at the planes.  JMSN was out here at UCSD with a low-key  show.  My wife and I love catching them whenever they make it down here to San Diego.  Took a spontaneous trip out to Lake Cuyamaca during a new moon to catch some stars.  That same weekend, we took the truck for a little 4x4 up to Julian on a mild trail.  Of course it was another scorcher. Before I knew it, October made it's way and we tripped back to Arizona for Lantern Fest with the family.  It was great spending quality time with them, sending special messages to our angels.

Donna and I took some maternity photos to start off November.  We're so anti these types of shots, but we sucked it up because we wanted to add this to Juliet's little photo album.  Our baby shower came soon after.  Our family is growing and the ratio of babies to adults is out numbering us.  Visited OB for photography on a day off before Thanksgiving.  Lighting was flat and pulling out the details from the EM1 is more of a challenge versus the a7RII.  Thanksgiving passed, Donna and I took family photos of our nephews and niece.  I put the vintage Canon LTM 50mm to use for the first time for portraiture.  The soft details were gorgeous, but not sure if I'll ever do that again with little ones.  Finished off that weekend with a drive to the beach to witness all the crazy San Diego sunsets.  

And there's December.  Squeezed in a few more photo sessions before Juliet arrived.  Got some aerials from Imperial Sand Dunes and over in Del Mar with the Mavic.  My wife and I went for breakfast out in PB and snuck in some photography at the pier right after.  We decided to make the day of it and stopped over in La Jolla for a few more looks and alone time.  My life is going to change they say.  It sure did.  

July Recap • Arizona Trip

DJI Mavic
Olympus Tough TG-5
Olympus OM-D E-M1 MkII x M. Zuiko 12-40mm

Dusted off the cameras, packed up a few bags, loaded the truck and the wife and I were Arizona bound.  Road trips are one of our favorite things to do together.  Whether its a day away or a complete get away, it's how we disconnect from the real world... exploring the real world. Driving thru the night, we hit the Arizona border by sunrise. After a quick fuel stop with the new family mobile, we jumped on Historic Route 66 towards Peach Springs.   Checked in at the Hualapai Lodge, purchased our one day permit, and we were down the Grand Canyon to touch the Colorado River.  It was a good 20 miles down the Canyon. Took a little over an hour with all the stop and go from the endless sights.  This is a definite must do again in the near future, maybe during the winter?

Olympus Tough TG-5

Left Peach Springs, Az the day after, en route to Phoenix to meet our brother Josh.  We got sidetracked a few times taking some random unpaved roads, but there were a couple stops to highlight.  We actually ran into Radiator Springs, the actual inspiration for the movie, Cars.  We wished our nephews Abel and Adam were there to witness it, #realfans.  

Chased a few rain clouds while we were at it, a perfect opportunity to get some shots of my babes.  Wrapped up and headed south through Coconino National Forest to Sedona.  

Olympus Tough TG-5

DJI Mavic
Olympus Tough TG-5