Mending

From a recent walk on the Santa Barbara Pier.

I’ve been doing a lot of recent shooting with the 17-40mm f/4. It is super sharp and very demanding for street candids. However, it is quite rewarding. First – you must get close. Second, there is no perspective foreshortening / flattening to smooth out the image. I usually shoot somewhat closed down too (this one at f/7.1). I was really happy on this one to get just the right position of her arms and thread. I was draw to the nets laid out and wanted to use them for a slightly wide perspective. She was such an uncommon sight amist the tourists.

Happy Birthday Jerry

Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday to Jerry.
Happy Birthday to you.
(and many more)

Brent’s Deli, Westlake California

Women Talking

Pink Flamingo

Another from the Santa Barbara Zoo. They just sit there blinking really slowly.

Decisions

Taking Mom and Dad out to dinner for Mother’s Day and Dad’s Birthday. See more.

Red Eye

A visit to the Santa Barbara Zoo and my continued question to see things differently.

Beach Figures

Faces of aAngel

Faces of aAngel, originally uploaded by I Nancy.

aAngel was kind enough to let me photograph him during his chess match at Chess Park in Santa Monica just south of the pier.

Inspiration Point

Inspiration Point is probably one of the most photographed places on Anacapa Island. Anacapa Island is really a chain of three small islands. Inspiration point is at the top end of the western most island in the chain and looks across to the rest of the island.

The johnnies are probably one of the most visited places on Anacapa Island.

Anacapa Island – Like no place on earth

Western Gulls and Ice Plant, originally uploaded by I Nancy.

Yesterday I visited one of the five Channel Islands off of coast of Oxnard/Ventura (ok, that is half way between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara).

As are typical of islands, even though these islands are in close proximity to each other, each has a unique habitat and feel. I visited Anacapa Island, the smallest in the chain. All five islands are “cliff” islands (think Alcatraz) and have few (if any) natural predators to the species on the island. On Anacapa this time of year, during the brief precipice between the barely wet spring and the dry dry summer, the island is covered in a red flowering succulent commonly known in southern California as “ice plant” and a huge colony of mating and nesting Western Gulls.

From the looks of the island, we were just a couple weeks late for some of the other blooming flowers. It has been an extremely short spring this year in So Cal.

This image is my first installment. I will be posting several over the next days/weeks.