![<span id="date">_07/12/10_</span> <span id="title">Sunset Window</span>
My friend Al from Vancouver is in town today! As is the custom with visitors, we ate our way around the Westside. First it was ice cream sandwiches at <a href="http://www.diddyriese.com/">Diddy Riese</a> (Westwood), then margaritas and quesadillas for happy hour at <a href="http://www.eltorito.com/">El Torito</a> (Marina del Rey) and finally tiramisu and cheesecake at <a href="http://www.cotrattoria.com/">C&O Trattoria</a> (Venice Beach). Needless to say, I'm stuffed.
This shot was taken via iPhone 4 at Marina del Rey outside El Torito. Behind this glass was one of the most obnoxious groups of people I've ever seen in my life. Happy hour started pretty early for them. We talked about sending over a round of Valium-laced margaritas for the benefit of the whole restaurant.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#589470466_Jf9ge">[last year]</a> <em>so tickle-y...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-9JBrVTJ/3/0c80d8d8/L/2010-07-12%20Sunset%20Window-2-L.jpg)
_07/12/10_ Sunset Window My friend Al from Vancouver is in town today! As is the custom with visitors, we ate our way around the Westside. First it was ice cream sandwiches at Diddy Riese (Westwood), then margaritas and quesadillas for happy hour at El Torito (Marina del Rey) and finally tiramisu and cheesecake at C&O Trattoria (Venice Beach). Needless to say, I'm stuffed. This shot was taken via iPhone 4 at Marina del Rey outside El Torito. Behind this glass was one of the most obnoxious groups of people I've ever seen in my life. Happy hour started pretty early for them. We talked about sending over a round of Valium-laced margaritas for the benefit of the whole restaurant. [last year] so tickle-y...
boatclouddel reylanternmarinamastreflectionsunsetwaterwindow
![<span id="date">_07/23/10_</span> <span id="title">Grillin'</span>
An accurate depiction of my evening. After a crazy - <em>crazy</em> I say! - week at work, I was very happy to go home and have a nice dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs with my lovely wife. As the lighter fluid burned, I decided to take a shot to see how the iPhone would handle fire. It certainly threw off the white balance - this is actually <em>less</em> blue than the SOOC photo. I liked the framing, though, and since I didn't have any other keepers for the day, this is it.
Tomorrow - I'm doing Scott Kelby's <a href="http://worldwidephotowalk.com/">Worldwide Photo Walk</a>! Anyone else doing that? Should be interesting...
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#600174232_4QBLb">[last year]</a> <em>Surfin' ...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-prztnhk/3/e075f802/Ti/2010-07-23%20Prepare%20to%20be%20Grilled-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/22/10_</span> <span id="title">Two Triangular Towers</span>
Went to the <a href="http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/">Annenberg</a> tonight to see Stanley Greene give a talk. That guy sure has been places and seen things that I probably never will, and don't really want to. I'm really glad people like him are out there doing it, though. He just got back from Haiti.
These are the Century Plaza Towers, which you probably can tell are symmetrical. They look neat, I took a photo of them...
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#599150589_CxvJf">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-rNrLHfx/3/65d01c41/Ti/2010-07-22%20Two%20Triangular%20Towers-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/21/10_</span> <span id="title">Lilies</span>
Today we took a 'field trip' to visit a former colleague and see the sights at <a href="http://www.csuci.edu/">CSUCI</a> (California State University Channel Islands) in Camarillo. The site used to be a state mental hospital, and most of the buildings are very Spanish mission style and were built in the 30s. Apparently One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next was filmed here. Luckily I did not get crushed by a sink as a knelt down to get this shot.
The window seen here is the exact same color and style of window you see all over campus. I only noticed the lilies in this particular spot, although the landscaping was pretty nice throughout. Great place for photos. Too bad that wasn't the reason I was there. Perhaps I'll go back.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#598108157_PLBtj">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-FmGT7j7/3/79521fe8/Ti/2010-07-21%20Lilies-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/20/10_</span> <span id="title">iBeams</span>
Recent construction along the 405, shot with my iPhone. Get it? iBeams instead of I-beams? Like it's an Apple product? Hilarious, I know!
I probably could have gotten a better composition, but I didn't stick around long because there were signs saying the sidewalk was closed. Of course, at 5pm no one was working, so the chances of getting crushed by a crane or giant steel bar were pretty slim.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#597248967_wqBSq">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-72kHn6S/3/39e0c94b/Ti/2010-07-20%20I-Beams-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/19/10_</span> <span id="title">Fixture</span>
UCLA is hosting the UC-wide UCCSC conference today and tomorrow. Lots and lots of U's and C's. It's an IT conference, in case you're wondering.
Some of the sessions are being held in Kerckhoff hall, which you may recognize from two <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#933991211_6UNss">recent</a> <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#929394325_pnPpq">dailies</a>. Although I've taken photos of the exterior, and walked through it to get to other buildings, I'd never been on the lower levels, so it was all new and exciting to me. One thing that caught my eye was this light fixture, and the iPhone's white balance led to quite a lovely gradient from yellow to blue, which I exaggerated in Lightroom.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#596168407_pk4BC">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-TrJMwvB/3/7adf7f26/Ti/2010-07-19%20Fixture-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/18/10_</span> <span id="title">Revere Eight</span>
This 8mm camera belonged to my dad's family, and I faintly remember hooking up an equally antique projector around 10 years ago and watching some films that were shot on it. It's pretty cool, and it seems to be in great condition - the build quality is impressive. From what I can tell, you'd buy up to 3 different lenses and be able to quickly rotate between them, but we only have the one - 13mm, f/1.9. The camera is a Model 99.
I used an off camera flash to blow out the background (a wall) and used the smallest aperture I could to bring focus to the lens. I've been meaning to do a daily photo of this subject for a while, and this might not be the last...
In other news, I wrote a <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2010/07/4th-of-july-trip-to-ventura/">blog post</a> on our recent <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/Ventura/12863408_qQw6m">Ventura trip</a>.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#595002643_6LZM3">[last year]</a> <em>Rest in peace, Grandad...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-jgk6rkG/3/edc780f8/Ti/2010-07-18%20Revere%20Eight-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/17/10_</span> <span id="title">Downtown Los Angeles</span>
In the distance are the skyscrapers of Bunker Hill and on the right is City Hall. The cables are for the Gold line (light rail) that runs down 1st Street and just opened last year.
We were in the area to see a play that starred <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1734209/">a guy</a> my wife knows, and also <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0806613/">this guy</a> who you'll probably recognize. The play was Tracers, about soldiers' experiences in the Vietnam war. Not exactly uplifting, but it was good.
Earlier in the day, we saw Inception. Wow. Go see it.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#594156184_M3WJ7">[last year]</a> <em>a heavy read...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-7CZb2p2/3/6e7b61fe/Ti/2010-07-17%20Downtown%20Los%20Angeles-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/16/10_</span> <span id="title">Abstract Grill</span>
Had a few friends over tonight, grilled some hamburgers, drank the growler of beer from Anacapa Brewing Company that we got during our <a href="">Ventura trip</a>, strawberries and whipped cream for dessert, and overall good night! These are the coals a while after the cooking was done.
I zoomed in during the 1 second exposure, then inverted and applied many other edits in Photoshop and Lightroom. Although not my original intention, I feel like the final result looks a little like streaks of blood in water.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#593208482_eA3vY">[last year]</a> <em>a good read...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-G5XPCPL/3/fe0d1e73/Ti/2010-07-16%20Abstract%20Grill-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/15/10_</span> <span id="title">Study Break</span>
I was walking through the library today and I couldn't pass up a photo of this. There are plenty of comfy chairs and benches... I guess this guy prefers the floor.
This is one of many iPhone photos I shot today. I've been shooting groups of three using the 3G, 3Gs and 4 to compare the cameras. Obviously the 4 has the best camera, but I thought it'd be nice to see some side-by-side comparison. Stay tuned for the results!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#592374620_Vd9Ed">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-G2bmKcr/3/dd658a24/Ti/2010-07-15%20Study%20Break-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/14/10_</span> <span id="title">Giant Flower</span>
Tonight I went on a walk around the neighborhood in search of a photo of the day. I first settled on a curved bench, but then decided this was much cooler and switched it after it was already uploaded, which I rarely do. I have no idea what this flower is, but it's about 6 inches across. I got the effect by raising the blacks slider to 100 to get rid of the surrounding green leaves, and then doing touch up from there.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#591573860_weQm6">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-8bBCScs/3/00f21217/Ti/2010-07-14%20Flower-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/13/10_</span> <span id="title">Vaulted</span>
Walkway in Kerckhoff Hall, the cathedral-esque building that was <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#929394325_pnPpq">last Friday's daily</a>. I greatly increased the clarity in Lightroom. I'm impressed with how centered I was able to get everything - this shot is not cropped.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#590583664_xPuqm">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-pzS3K4N/3/d5bbfac7/Ti/2010-07-13%20Vaulted%20Ceiling-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/12/10_</span> <span id="title">Sunset Window</span>
My friend Al from Vancouver is in town today! As is the custom with visitors, we ate our way around the Westside. First it was ice cream sandwiches at <a href="http://www.diddyriese.com/">Diddy Riese</a> (Westwood), then margaritas and quesadillas for happy hour at <a href="http://www.eltorito.com/">El Torito</a> (Marina del Rey) and finally tiramisu and cheesecake at <a href="http://www.cotrattoria.com/">C&O Trattoria</a> (Venice Beach). Needless to say, I'm stuffed.
This shot was taken via iPhone 4 at Marina del Rey outside El Torito. Behind this glass was one of the most obnoxious groups of people I've ever seen in my life. Happy hour started pretty early for them. We talked about sending over a round of Valium-laced margaritas for the benefit of the whole restaurant.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#589470466_Jf9ge">[last year]</a> <em>so tickle-y...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-9JBrVTJ/3/0c80d8d8/Ti/2010-07-12%20Sunset%20Window-2-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/11/10_</span> <span id="title">Ann at the Beach</span>
My 2nd daily with the new iPhone. This was taken at a beach in Santa Monica where we went for an afternoon stroll after getting free Slurpees because of the date.
Aesthetically speaking, any photo of my wife is among the greatest photographs ever taken. Technically speaking, I'm less impressed with this photo that the one from <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#930406545_UEFLN">yesterday</a>. Even though I focused on her face, it's still blown out, and the clouds are a bit grainy. I also adjusted the colors a bit - they weren't exactly spot-on. Still pretty good though! I like how you can pretty clearly make out the far yellow lifeguard tower.
Tomorrow I have a friend visiting! What shall we do? Tune in tomorrow to find out...
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#588582760_AZaue">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-wgrQr3m/3/35f7663f/Ti/2010-07-11%20Ann%20at%20the%20Beach-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/10/10_</span> <span id="title">Berry Trio</span>
This is my first daily photo with the iPhone 4! I'm pretty happy with it's camera, so there will be more to come. Check out my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2010/07/day-1-with-the-iphone-4/">blog post</a> about first impressions and to see a bunch of other fun iPhone photos.
We bought these berries at the farmer's market this morning, and I used a propped-up placemat as the background. I'm pretty impressed with the shallow depth of field for a shot like this.
Also, I recently posted pics from my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/Ventura/12863408_qQw6m">Ventura trip</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#587676987_2mtKS">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-t6n6DsG/3/48e58293/Ti/2010-07-10%20Berry%20Trio-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/09/10_</span> <span id="title">Kerckhoff Hall</span>
This is probably the last daily photo I will ever take with my iPhone 3Gs. The reason, of course, is that I got an iPhone 4 today! I'm looking forward to playing with the improved camera more - it's certainly approaching point and shoot quality.
This shot is of a building on the UCLA campus - Kerckhoff Hall. It looks cool. Also, clouds! It's been so overcast and/or hazy lately, I was happy to see such a nice blue sky and spotty clouds.
Also, my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/Ventura/12863408_qQw6m">Ventura pics</a> are up! Check 'em out :)
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#586881640_bsHpJ">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-BjJz8Lt/3/6adbf043/Ti/2010-07-09%20Kerckhoff%20Hall-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/08/10_</span> <span id="title">Insect on Plant</span>
Sorry I don't have a more creative title for you, but at least it's accurate.
I used the camera at work (Canon S2 IS) to get this shot. I took five shots and it's the only one where the bug was in perfect focus. In Lightroom I modified the yellows to be more green, resulting in a uniform green. I also lowered the clarity on everything except the bug.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#586054509_yqCaZ">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-CKQTtLD/3/a2cd9f80/Ti/2010-07-08%20Insect%20on%20Plant-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/07/10_</span> <span id="title">Pink Flowerballs</span>
No clue what these flowers are, but they are neat looking. I added some serious vignetting and contrast to make the image pop a bit. It was a misty, overcast day here in the Southland - great for macro flower shots. Too bad I only had my phone...
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#585051343_Ax3AH">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-KTVVw82/3/d8bfd434/Ti/2010-07-07%20Pink%20Flower-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/06/10_</span> <span id="title">Spider Fence</span>
This evening I took a walk around the neighborhood in search of a daily photo. I found a neat wrought iron fence that had extensive spiderwebs all over it, and a large bush to provide a sorta-consistent out-of-focus background.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#584268484_YpQKK">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-4zN3dNR/3/aefa9af6/Ti/2010-07-06%20Spider%20Fence-2-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/05/10_</span> <span id="title">Mission Gardens</span>
Before we left Ventura to head back home, we stopped by the San Buenaventura Mission, founded in 1782 by Father Serra. The gardens were quite lovely, and they also have a museum with some really interesting artifacts, including a wooden bell that actually hung in the bell tower - it was the only mission to have them.
Sadly I kind of failed with this shot - I focused on the fountain instead of the flowers, so now the flowers in the foreground are pretty blurry, although it's hard to tell in the smaller sizes. Even so, this was the best shot I took showing the beauty of the mission grounds.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/Ventura/12863408_qQw6m">more Ventura pics</a>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#583179166_X3NR9">[last year]</a> <em>pushpin rainbow...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-MsV6TQ7/3/fe8b20b2/Ti/2010-07-05%20Mission%20Garden-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/04/10_</span> <span id="title">Trestle</span>
Happy 4th of July! My wife and I are on a weekend vacation to Ventura, CA. This train trestle was right behind our hotel, and I thought it would make a cool subject. In addition to playing on the train tracks, we swam in the ocean, walked and played frisbee on the beach, checked out the street fair on Main street, and walked along the Ventura river and past Surfers Point. Sadly we did not watch any fireworks, but only because there weren't any around.
Ventura is a really cool place! I highly recommend visiting.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/Ventura/12863408_qQw6m">more Ventura pics</a>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#582241458_3jjhK">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-fzPLXRC/4/f43d26e3/Ti/2010-07-04%20Train%20Trestle-Ti.jpg)
pointandshoot
on July 16, 2010This is wonderful.I love the detail on the window and lights as well as the beautiful sunset reflection!
Kerry Milkie Photography
on July 15, 2010Superb!
dakotacowboy
on July 14, 2010superb reflection work