Topanga State Park, January 1, 2014. Shot with the Samsung NX300.
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Tag: santa monica mountains
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Not A Bad First Sunset Of 2014. Happy New Year From Topanga State Park. 01.01.14
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I Win I Win!! (Sort of…) – The Results (And Lessons) Of My First Ever Photo Contest
So I threw a couple entries into this year’s “Spirit of the Mountain” photo contest, a contest sponsored by the National Park Service for images taken within the Santa Monica Mountains. Being as how I live in Topanga Canyon, right in the middle of that mountain range, I spend a lot of time exploring and making images around these hills and peaks and valleys. Anyhow, this past weekend was the opening exhibit so I headed out there with a couple of friends and to my surprise and elation, I walked up to see both of my images placed. One of them, “A Set Path,” placed 2nd in the competition’s challenge category ‘Shadows & Highlights,’ and the other, “Century Lake – A Portrait,” came in 3rd in the ‘Scenic’ category.
This was the first time I’ve ever entered a proper physical printed photo competition, so I have to say, that was really encouraging and neat to see and experience. The cool thing is that the images were judged by a pretty distinguished panel, including area legend Tom Gamache, photographer for Matthew Jaffe‘s iconic book “Range On The Edge,” as well as professional photographers Jim Shoemaker and Van Webster of Webster Communications.
One lesson I did learn however…matte your submissions! Mine were the only ones that weren’t matted with a border, which I didn’t even think about or realize until they sorely stood out amongst literally all of the other submissions. So yeah…next time…matte the buggers!
Also, there’s one award left…the ‘People’s Choice.’ Voting for that one doesn’t end until the 24th of November, so if you’re in the area, check it out. Make a day out of it. It’s right in the middle of the hills, surrounded by California State Park and National Park land. The exhibit is located at the Anthony C. Beilenson Interagency Visitor Center located at King Gillette Ranch at 26876 Mulholland Highway, in Calabasas, California, 91302.
Anyhow, here are the images in a higher resolution for your viewing (hopefully) pleasure.
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Vote For Me!
This is just a quickie…so I entered a couple photos into a contest sponsored by the National Park Service. The opening exhibition is tomorrow, November 2 at 1pm and it will be open through November 24 for viewing and voting. You should go vote for my images. It’s nice out there. Grab some wine, a sandwich, and some Oreos. Have a picnic. These below aren’t the ones I entered but were taken within a half mile of the place just a few days ago. Voting and the exhibit are at the Anthony C. Beilenson Interagency Visitor Center located at King Gillette Ranch at 26876 Mulholland Highway, in Calabasas, California, 91302 (more…) -
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…
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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…) -
From Frustration to Elation – Photography Therapy
Just another small reminder that patience, adaptation, and going-with-the-flow can pay off. Finished a gig yesterday and turned to get on the freeway to get home. It was packed. Nothing but an endless sea of red brake lights. My only other option was to add an extra 15 miles to my trip by driving through the hills on a side road that runs parallel to the freeway. So I said screw it…that’s what I’m doing. Would rather look at the hills than a million other cars on the 101. Not only that, but the sun was getting ready to drop behind the mountains…and that’s enough to turn on any photographer. (more…) -
Twice In One Week!?? Yosemite You Gone Done Spoiled Me!!
a slice of yosemite layer cake. Yosemite National Park, California. Wasim Muklashy Photography TWICE IN ONE WEEK! This is crazy exciting for me on the inside…so earlier in the week one of my favorite photography podcasts picked one of my images to critique. That was my oak tree image that I was using to bring attention to the non-native borer that is threatening to rid california of all of its oaks. It was featured on the April 1 episode of the Digital Photo Experience podcast and that blew my mind.
Well, earlier today, I was sitting here editing photos for work, listening to another of my favorite photography podcasts, this one is the April 5 episode of Frederick Van Johnson’s ‘This Week In Photo,’ and all of a sudden, at about the 51:04 mark, I hear my name (butchered, but they gave it a good effort) when they announce their first ever photo critique on the show. They picked my image ‘a slice of yosemite layer cake,’ and they dug it. They had professional photographer guests Jeffrey Totaro & “Fro Knows Photo” Jared Polin all give their thoughts, and it was all positive. Frederick went so far as to say that he could see the image printed large and framed on a wall with a nice light. I mean, I can’t think of a higher compliment.
I know it may sound like I’m boasting or whatever, but I’m not. I’m just genuinely hyped. Please understand, this is the first time in my life that I’m doing something that I actually feel I’m supposed to be doing. Like everything I’ve done before has been leading me to that thing that just feels right and it’s starting to come together that way, and at age (almost) 36, that’s pretty damn exciting for me. While the next steps once, very recently, felt ridiculously daunting, they’re all of a sudden starting to feel exciting and encouraging instead.
It’s always been an ultimate goal to help people that need it and be able to lend my skills to try to help make things even a little bit better than they are for those in unfortunate situations and regions and areas in life, and I feel that I’m getting closer to a point where that can become a reality. Using the skills I’ve honed over the past 15 years – video, writing, publishing, and photography – and somehow bringing it all together into something that actually makes some sort of a difference. I don’t know exactly where and what this is going to lead me, but for the first time in perhaps, well, ever, I feel like at least a path, albeit a rocky one, is being laid out in front of me. So long as I don’t think about it too much and just keep paying attention to doing what I feel is right in the moment – right now – perhaps, perhaps, the rest will sort itself out.
There I go thinking about it too much again. Ah hell.
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DP Experience
So I’m kind of hyped. The new episode of one of my favorite photography podcasts was released today, and every week they choose a few photo posts from their Google Plus community and talk about and critique the photos. This week, they chose one of mine, the second time that’s happened, and I couldn’t be happier about which one…it’s the oak tree from the earlier post about Malibu Creek State Park and the borer that’s threatening California’s oaks. Any attention I can bring to that I’m happy about…it would be an incredible tragedy if we lose those iconic oaks.
Anyhow, check out the podcast, it’s called Digital Photo Experience (http://dpexperience.com) and it’s hosted by two extremely well-respected names in the photography industry, Rick Sammon and Juan Pons. If you download it, I highly recommend listening to it all, it’s the April 1 episode, but if you just want to skip to the photo critiques, they start with mine at the 1:02:45 mark. -
Beware The Borer!
So after all that, they didn’t even remember to have us present our projects…but that didn’t stop me from moving with it. Not because I felt I needed to prove anything but because I truly want to do what I can to help out the park system. Budget woes are apparent all over, but that’s driving the passion of the volunteers, myself included, to make sure people are aware of the parks and these public spaces. They’re frickin’ insanely beautiful and they’ve basically saved my sanity and I know that anyone that shows up will feel the same. It just does that. So I created a Google Plus page for the Malibu Creek State Park Docent program, started posting to it, and plan on getting it going. So if anyone’s reading this and is on Google Plus, add us to your circles. If you’re not on Google Plus, well, you should be…just sayin’. (more…) -
Working Better Under Pressure – A Malibu Creek State Park Docent Story
It’s strange how my life has turned into a series of photo taking and processing. Sure, not getting paid for all of it, so can’t really call myself a true professional, but all of my income is coming from this stuff, which is actually kind of…eh…neat. For the first time in my life, I’m actually feeling like I’m doing something I’m supposed to be doing. 36 hot damn years old and now I’m figuring this out?Anyway, woke up with the intention of spending all day today working on editing the Megan Racing videos and processing those photographs so I can get a paycheck before rent-time creeps up in a hurry, but remembered that my docent project is due tomorrow at the final interpretation I’m required to go to as a new Malibu Creek State Park docent. (more…)
