Cafe LA

If Los Angeles isn’t actually glowing with heat these days, then it sure as heck feels like it! A transition from sun-streaked patio to unrelenting blue sky got me on my feet and on the street, to snap these photos of a coffee shop on Ventura Blvd. in Encino CA.

Lattice Detail

Blue Sky Detail

The photos, on-the-spot layout, and Photoshop finishing (back home) are all about working as quickly as possible to capture the "Look & Feel" of the place. I don’t know if the composition "works." I’ll leave that to you.

Zoom ~ Get the wallpaper

It seems to take me about 15 minutes to relax enough to really see nature. On a windy day, the breeze passing through these trees sounds like the surf breaking on the shore.

Over the last few years digital cameras have overtaken film photography. I like the way I can immediately evaluate images, on the spot. Back home, computers offer tremendous image editing capability.

Coast redwoods, Santa Cruz Mountains

Pacific madrone interspersed with vertical sequoias

European red mite on fallen tree

This photo was taken at Universal Studios CityWalk in Los Angeles with a cell phone camera. The current generation of built-in point-and-shoot cameras are actually better than the earliest digital still cameras I used.

I can send a picture message to another cell phone, but the device will also exchange files with a computer that supports Bluetooth.

The idea of a space ship crashed into the side of a building probably makes perfect sense in LA. Passersby acted like it was weirder for me to be taking a picture.

CityWalk, Los Angeles. MotoRazr V3xx 1.3 MP Camera

Dozens of ArtCars converged on Silicon Valley for the day, at the San Jose Museum of Art. The vehicles, transformed by their owners into mobile, public art, moved on to Berkeley the next day to complete their 10th anniversary festival.

The cars ranged from re-worked wrecks to polished, custom-made designs. In fact, one of the exhibitors was gluing more do-dads to her car when I arrived. Watch the slide show captions, because I included some photos from a few years back. The red, high-heeled shoe and guitar-shaped motorcycle were not at this year’s event.

The fm mini-player was specially coded for this exhibit. You can swap between slide show and panorama. You should know how to work the buttons by now. Please leave a bug report comment if you "break" anything.

A panoramic view of Moss Beach
Jagged rocks, tide pools and fog are typical of Northern California beaches. Moss Beach is situated just north of Half Moon Bay.

A panoramic view in Castle Rock State Park
Outdoor panoramic view of wooded rock formations at Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz mountains of Northern California.