photography by wasim.

Tag: los angeles

An Afternoon Admiring Ansel Adams At The J. Paul Getty Museum

So for those of you not in my Google+ orbit, I wanted to share a set of images made last week when I went to check out the Ansel Adams exhibit at the The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California. While we were prohibited from taking pictures in the exhibit itself for very valid reasons, I highly recommend checking it out if you’re around…standing in front of a perfect silver gelatin print of “Winter Sunrise” almost brought me to my knees. I found myself walking back in and out 3 different times for that particular image. In any case, after the exhibit, I was able to spend a few hours in the gorgeous gardens that are nestled in the middle of the property between all the buildings, and that’s where I was able to make these images. This marks the second outing in which I ditched the DSLR in favor of a strictly mirrorless camera kit, the trusty shiny happy Samsung NX30. Can’t say I regretted it…one single tiny bit. Loving this mini-beast! Click through the break to see the gallery…

In case you missed my first set of mirrorless camera images from a whale watching outing a few weeks ago, click here if you’d like to check them out.

For more of my madness: Instagram: @wasimofnazareth Twitter: @wasimofnazareth Google+: www.Google.com/+WasimMuklashy Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WasimOfNazareth

April 2, 2014
Apparently I’ll Be Adding ‘Historian’ To The Resume…

So just thought I’d share…this was kinda groovy. One of the homes I shot a few weeks ago for www.ShootingLA.com was apparently of some historical significance. It was built in 1954, and the residents, who have lived in it ever since, were a husband wife team, Albert and Gloria Martin, who not only designed the home, but literally built much of it with their very own hands. Anywho, click here to see the whole piece, the rest of the pictures, and the structure’s history, courtesy Kate of www.RetroRenovation.com. Pretty sweet stuffs…

March 15, 2014
Bad Days Are The New Good Days! Thanks For The Reminder Photofocus!

So I know you’ve probably already seen enough of this set of images, but, well, too bad! Ha! An image from this series keeps getting around one way or another – this time absolutely humbling me by showing up on the homepage for Photofocus.com as this week’s ‘Featured Image.’ This is Scott Bourne, Richard Harrington, Melissa Niu and company! It’s madness! Check it out:

CLICK ME!

The crazy thing is, I thought I was having a bad day that day when I just needed to get out and away so jumped in my car for that ride up the coast where I ran into these buggers on that hill. If it wasn’t for that ‘bad day,’ I would have never been able to make these images, rendering that day not a bad day after all – it actually turned out to be one of the best days of the year. Just another one of life’s funny reminders that you never ever ever ever ever know what’s going to happen and why things happen the way they do. Whether a frown or a smile, just roll with it…after all, neither lasts, but one of them is always sure to return…

Can’t wait for my next bad day!!

January 28, 2014
It’s Official! I’ve Been Labeled! And I’m Totally OK With It!

So this is kinda neat! Remember that beef jerky company from last year that licensed one of my images for their label? Well, they’re now at market!!!

If you’re a beef jerky fan (as I most certainly am), you’ll love this stuff. I’ve had several batches of it and it’s the perfect consistency and toughness. None of that soft madness, and not so tough it’s like biting through leather, it’s right in between.

And tasty.

And juicy.

And spicy.

And gluten-free.

And you even get a free flosser with each pack (clever…).

If you’re around Los Angeles, you can pick it up at Topanga Fresh in Topanga Canyon and a few more stores that I’ll list here soon.

If you’re not in the area here in Los Angeles, you can order directly from the website, www.TopangasFinest.com, where you can also see the image on the label!!

Can you tell I’m sorta excited about this…

January 23, 2014
Photography Lesson Learned – Don’t Fight It, Just Succumb To It (It’s More Rewarding)!

When you feel something, your mind and body are trying to tell you something. Listen. Don’t ignore. Today was just another reminder of that basic instinct that we so often and easily seem to lose touch with in our hyper-‘connected’ day and age. There were a few things going on that were weighing heavy a bit on my mind, and something just kept tugging at me saying, forget everything you’re doing right now and just go. Doesn’t matter where or what, just go. Get out of here.

Go!

But I had work to do, and I was on the clock, and so I kept pushing back…”No, no, you can’t just go. What are you thinking?” (more…)

December 13, 2013
Oh Just Another Typical Backyard Caboose – Or Not!

Some of you know I shoot for Airbnb.com every now and then. There are a lot of nice places in the area that I’m fortunate to check out, but the ones that truly stand out are the quirky funky unique ones…the one-of-a-kinds. Those are my absolute favorite. I don’t write about a lot of these shoots, but sometimes one comes along that I just feel begs for a few words. I wrote about the charming yurt on the organic farm in Malibu a few months back, and today I ran across another gem that compelled me to share: a caboose…on Mulholland…in the hills of Agoura.

Apparently this thing was once owned by a popular movie producer and used quite frequently as a prop, and this couple, Diana and Douglas Tharason decided to take it onto their property, effectively turning into an “ongoing project.” The thing is awesome! And the property it’s on is equally awesome. Douglas is an incredibly talented artist and his sculptures and wonders are displayed throughout the property, as is his studio, which overlooks the Santa Monica Mountains from within this blessed little hidden valley off the Mulholland Highway. So if you’re ever in the area and need a place to stay, screw the Hilton and the Ritz…you’ll never find a more charming and memorable place to marinate than this thing. A few of the images are below, and if you’re looking to book it or want to see all the pictures, click here for the Airbnb listing. The thing is within striking distance of Malibu Creek State Park, Cornell winery and tasting room, the famous Rock Store, and a fishing lake…

And if you’re interested in Tharalson’s work, check out his site at www.TheralsonArt.com.

Anywho…just wanted to share.

Til’ next time…

October 24, 2013
Just Flow – Pursuing A Life Of Being

In a strange sense, I feel like I’m preparing for something. I spend a lot of time alone, very little social interaction – isolated from the constant deluge of stimulation and media saturation. I’m left alone in my thoughts, in my being.

And I do it to myself.

And there’s an almost constant sense in me of, I’m not supposed to be here. I’m not supposed to be down there either, but I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be somewhere. Elsewhere. Yet, only recently have I begun to accept and embrace the possibility that I truly am supposed to be here. For if I wasn’t, then I wouldn’t be.

But I am.

The distractions, the noise, the static, the relationships from the past, most of which were based on toxic and flawed foundations, would have continued. I would not have been able to see them for what they were. The true essence of man that surrounded me would have continued to be masked by a show or a band or a story or the news or an event or a relationship or a girl or a guy or a lie or the tv or a film or some form of numbing deceit…adding layer upon layer on top of the only thing that truly exists. Layers that you’d eventually have to dig through. One after another after another.

And hence, the cycle would just propagate itself.

Is it easy? Of course not. But it’s not supposed to be. Is it valuable? Absolutely. For understanding what you are capable of and what you are not, is necessary if you pursue a life of being.

So it was necessary, necessary to step away from it all, and be away from it all, and be. Just marinate in being. Feel everything. Allow yourself to feel everything. Allow it to take hold of you. And then allow it to release you. However many times it needs to.

It was necessary in order to understand that the way it was and the way it seemed, is not necessarily the way it will be. It was necessary to begin to understand yourself at your core in order to understand how that core fits into greater moment.

Limitations are a gift. Limitations realized are a blessing. Knowing that those limitations are preparation for limitless expansion is the ultimate prize.

For without those gifts and blessings, you would never know where you stand. Where you should be.

So yes, I’m preparing for something. The only question is…

…what?

July 2, 2013
When you can’t get away from it all…get away from it all.

So it was one of those days, the thought process just goes into overdrive and begins to cloud any reasoning and logic. The past comes up, the future comes up, all of the baggage surrounding both start to rear their nosy and intrusive little lizard heads. Sometimes this would last for hours, then days, then weeks, but more and more you begin to see that there’s a way out…well, at least temporarily.

You recognize it.

You realize it.

You consciously stop it and remind yourself that none of it is part of your current existence, except the parts you allow to be.

And then just as you think you’re starting to get the hang of it all, you slip right back down. And that’s when you realize you need to step away.

Or maybe it’s just me.

In any case, I figured it’s been a long while since I’ve visited one of my little sanctuaries and what better time than now. So I jumped in the car, headed down to the gardens at Lake Shrine Self-Realization Center, and just sat.

Literally.

Just picked one of the benches and sat.

Watched. Listened. Felt.

And a few other people just came to the surrounding benches and sat.

Just sat.

Watching, listening, feeling…being.

And just like that, you remember what you’re supposed to be doing. And everything else melts away.

Thanks again for setting me straight Lake Shrine.

Until the next time…

June 28, 2013
A bee just stung me in the neck…and I liked it!

Honeycolony. Bee. Wasim Muklashy Photography

So I got stung by a bee today…in the neck…and, I’m not quite sure if this is sadistic or not…but I liked it. I was actually glad it happened. And I knew it the moment that it did.

Something about it, and I’m not quite sure what it was, felt a bit cathartically cleansing to me…not in some weird spiritual sense, but more in the sense that despite the extended period of emotional numbness and madness from the events over the past few years…here’s a bright little reminder that, damnit Wasim…you’re still alive!! You felt that thing land, you felt it crawl around, you tried to ignore it and snap a photo, you felt it sink its stinger into your neck, you still tried to snap a few shots, thinking perhaps that that action alone can mask your emotion – your feelings – the way you’ve maybe therapeutically used photography so many times before – but this time…no…that bugger just stung me in the neck!! (for some reason, I couldn’t help envision Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles: “Little bastard shot me in the ass!”).

I jumped inside, told the host I got stung, she told me exactly what to do, talked me through it, and that was that. All I could think to myself was “You can still feel, and you can ask for help, and people will give it to you.” Heck, perhaps I ought come down from the mountain more often…

Anyhow, regarding the host, was visiting with the folks over at HoneyColony.com regarding some possible work I might do with them, and after the meeting, figured I had to snap a few shots of founder/owner Maryam’s backyard beehive (btw…check out her crazy movie ‘Vanishing of the Bees’ narrated by Ellen Page…this’ll make you think twice the next time you go to swat one of the little buzzers).

And that’s when it happened.

Not sure if that bee was telling me that this opportunity is something I should embrace and jump on or if it was saying stay away…but considering no harm was done, and just a few hours later the swelling is down, and here I am thankful for the experience, perhaps I’m going to run with the former. And hell, at the very least, now I know I’m not allergic…

Anyhow, despite my best efforts to get a solid shot with the Nikon, all you get is this fancy shmancy Kitcam/Snapseed one from the iPhone. Sorry…maybe next time…

In the meantime, check out what they’re doing over at HoneyColony.com, some pretty sweet stuffs and words and pics and information about living healthier and happier going on…

June 20, 2013
Late Night Fun With Photo Filters…and Scotch.

So had a house I had to shoot this week for Airbnb. It was actually the second of two units on a property I shot before, but I hadn’t seen the second unit as it was occupied that first time. Anyway, not important…so after I was done shooting the interior, I figured, no one was here, I was going to take advantage of the moment and just kind of chill for a minute. When you’re standing on a deck with nothing in front of you but a gorgeous canyon that opens up to the Pacific Ocean (see image at bottom of this post), it’s hard not to force yourself to take a break and soak it in. So as I sat down and took a few gulps of my warm ice tea that had been sitting the car since I showed up, I saw this ridiculously quaint and charming little candle holder with a pile of little rocks alongside it, being draped PERFECTLY by a grapevine. And when I mean, perfectly, it’s as if it was staged. For some reason, my imagination took me to the Mediterranean coast, perhaps Spain, maybe Italy, I don’t know, but my wanderlust got the best of me and I started snapping a few shots of it as if I was actually on that coast. (more…)

June 14, 2013