![<span id="date">_11/01/10_</span> <span id="title">Venice Dusk</span>
Happy November!
Today was the last full day my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#749113464_xb6oq">sister</a> is in town, and I'd say we made the most of it. We grabbed coffee and danishes at <a href="http://www.labreabakery.com/">La Brea Bakery</a>, checked out the bubbling asphalt at the <a href="http://www.tarpits.org/">La Brea Tar Pits</a> and Page museum, did a little driving tour of Hollywood, ate lunch at <a href="http://www.pinkshollywood.com/">Pink's</a>, saw Mario Lopez taping Extra! at the Grove, bought far too much chocolate at the <a href="http://www.farmersmarketla.com/">Farmers Market</a>, toured the grounds of <a href="http://www.greystonemansion.org/">Greystone Mansion</a> and finally indulged in delicious garlic knots at <a href="http://www.cotrattoria.com/">C&O Trattoria</a> after catching the sunset on the Venice Pier, pictured here.
Woo!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#700364108_43RAc">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-9NZvLBP/2/87acc3d4/L/2010-11-01%20Venice%20Dusk-L.jpg)
_11/01/10_ Venice Dusk Happy November! Today was the last full day my sister is in town, and I'd say we made the most of it. We grabbed coffee and danishes at La Brea Bakery, checked out the bubbling asphalt at the La Brea Tar Pits and Page museum, did a little driving tour of Hollywood, ate lunch at Pink's, saw Mario Lopez taping Extra! at the Grove, bought far too much chocolate at the Farmers Market, toured the grounds of Greystone Mansion and finally indulged in delicious garlic knots at C&O Trattoria after catching the sunset on the Venice Pier, pictured here. Woo! [last year]
![<span id="date">_11/20/10_</span> <span id="title">Sea Turtle</span>
<em>Hawaii Day 1</em>
Today we flew into Honolulu! My cousins picked us up and took us all over the North Shore. This turtle (and several of his friends) was on Ali'i Beach in Hale'iwa.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/Hawaii2010/14883306_hHp9Z">More Hawaii Photos!</a>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#719329668_4UwjC">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-TTH2Q9w/5/fb8b3638/Ti/2010-11-20%20Hawaii%20Sea%20Turtle-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/19/10_</span> <span id="title">Rotunda</span>
Here's my first super wide angle daily, using the Tokina 11-16 I rented. I had promised another for yesterday, but I did my entry for <a href="http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=183504">DSS #64</a> instead.
This is the rotunda in Powell Library at UCLA. It's pretty vast, so it's a good subject for an ultra wide lens. I shot a few other places on campus that I thought might benefit from this lens, but conditions were pretty bad.
This is the last SLR daily photo for a week - tomorrow we fly to Hawaii! Thanks for all the well wishes. I'll try to keep posting daily photos via iPhone during the trip.
Cheers!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#718573502_DvNZq">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-2nL59WX/2/b142b868/Ti/2010-11-19%20Rotunda-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/18/10_</span> <span id="title">Coworker Mashup</span>
This is my entry for <a href="http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=183504">DSS #64</a> - Nine. Check out <a href="http://challenges.smugmug.com/Other/DSS-64-Nine/14676359_FvfAp">this gallery</a> to see how others are interpreting the theme. I've always wanted to participate in the dgrin contests but somehow I just never had.
I work with or near all these folks, and they were all kind enough to pose for the project. We have quite a range of ages and ethnic backgrounds going on, so that's pretty cool. I used my 50mm lens at f/9 and got close to fill the frame. I used red eye reduction on the flash to make sure the pupils weren't too big. Then I spent a long time tediously cutting each of these squares from each person's portrait and put it all into a Photoshop document using Smart Objects so I could easily swap out nose/eye/mouth to get the best balance. Finally the B&W conversion gave an overall sense of much-needed continuity.
HUGE thank you to my models - Alicia, Ayumi, Dayna, Ivette, Judith, Juan, Kelli, Melina, Russell, Sayan and Teresa - and my apologies to those whose lovely faces I didn't use in the final draft.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#717751836_wLMbF">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-Tk9gkHs/2/273a078f/Ti/2010-11-18%20Coworker%20Mashup-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/17/10_</span> <span id="title">Sprouting</span>
This plant looked cool anyways, but it was extra interesting the way the sun was only shining on the top. I added vignetting in Lightroom to exaggerate that. Cool colors, no?
This evening I got my Tokina 11-16mm lens I rented for my Hawaii trip! It's so unbelievable wide! I'm excited to play around with it, so look for some super-wide dailies tomorrow and Friday. After that it'll be iPhone dailies for a week or so while I'm actually in Hawaii.
Oh, and don't forget to like my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/jawsnap-photography/329311657571">Facebook page</a> so you can win a calendar!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#716714280_rEMQu">[last year]</a> <em>one of my favorites...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-z8Z2Vgj/2/9d74438a/Ti/2010-11-17%20Sprouting-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/16/10_</span> <span id="title">Cooled</span>
This [relatively] recently cooled lava lives in the Hawaiian section of the botanical gardens. I will be going there soon! Hawaii, that is. Check out my last week of photos for a few other pre-Hawaii shots.
I tried to do some focus stacking shots, but they didn't work out like I wanted, so this is a single frame shot at f/36. I used an off-camera flash for illumination.
In case you missed it, become of fan of my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/jawsnap-photography/329311657571">Facebook page</a> and you could win a free calendar! It's a holiday giveaway for the ages!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#715615408_ZbioY">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-3PM4qKZ/2/8f4e8cbe/Ti/2010-11-16%20Cooled-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/15/10_</span> <span id="title">Back to Back</span>
Grabbed this shot in the library. I like the symmetry of the chairs with the messiness of the shelves. Most of the shelves are much more homogeneous than this one.
In other news, I decided to give away a calendar to some lucky fan of my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/jawsnap-photography/329311657571">Facebook page</a>. Like it and you could be that lucky fan!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#714089340_CzeMo">[last year]</a> <em>Ain't she purty? ...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-HFmNdt8/2/52b64b78/Ti/2010-11-15%20Back%20to%20Back-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/14/10_</span> <span id="title">Textures</span>
My computer is fixed! Very quick turnaround from the Apple store. I was able to do a complete and flawless restore from my Time Machine backup.
This evening, I went for a walk around the neighborhood to search for a daily photo and found this. The plain wall, vertical reeds, grass and gray gradient tree struck me as a neat composition. Coincidentally, it was right across the street from Frank Gehry's house. Really.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#713421162_LiZGu">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-gwJtMD6/2/fb039130/Ti/2010-11-14%20Textures-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/13/10_</span> <span id="title">One</span>
Between graffiti, massive bushes and large missing pieces, this sign has seen better days.
Shot with my phone as my wife and I walked down the alley near the Apple store after dropping off my iMac. The hard drive bit the dust without warning, but it's under warranty, so some nice Apple employee will be giving it a new one, hopefully sooner rather than later. I have backups of everything and am praying that they'll restore properly.
I used the Best Camera app to add vignetting before I uploaded. Once I get my computer back I'll re-upload it so all the EXIF data is visible, but it might look slightly different (but better).
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#712571749_qkWpP">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-4ZcNqkN/3/6bbc0e9f/Ti/2010-11-13%20One-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/12/10_</span> <span id="title">Hibiscus Closeup</span>
Continuing my non-consecutive theme of Hawaii-themed shots in anticipation of my trip next week, I shot another hibiscus plant in the botanical gardens. This one is <em>Hibiscus arnottianus</em>, native to Oahu and Molokai. The 3rd result on the scientific name on Google is, in fact, a <a href="http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/membgnewsletter/volume4number4/Hibiscusarnottianus.html">page on the botanical gardens' website</a>, how nice is that? Apparently this species is quite adaptable to SoCal's climate.
I wanted to get some sort of interesting non-standard shot, so I got super close to the flower so there were all sorts of out-of-focus stamens. The pink-on-white is pretty neat, it looks like a peppermint candy reject.
My next plan is to bring my tripod and flash and take detailed shots of the lava rocks that adorn the Hawaii section of the gardens. Hold me to it!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#711847598_jsCD3">[last year]</a> <em>So ethical...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-XDCWmfN/2/e3d842a8/Ti/2010-11-12%20Hibiscus%20Closeup-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/11/10_</span> <span id="title">Hanging Cactus</span>
Happy Veteran's Day! If you're a veteran then I hope you had a wonderful day. If you aren't, but know a veteran, I hope you helped them have a wonderful day.
Like many, my wife and I had the day off. We mostly lounged around, but we did run a few errands, and one of them took us to this courtyard that had all sorts of fun plants, including this cactus that was in a pot high off the ground. I got really close and took this shot with my phone.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#710871109_K8jLN">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-4PGNXGh/2/81091f28/Ti/2010-11-11%20Hanging%20Cactus-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/10/10_</span> <span id="title">Rare Hibiscus</span>
I took some photos in the botanical gardens' Hawaii section in honor of my upcoming vacation there. This one's name is <em>Hibiscus clayi</em> (endemic to Kaua'i), and after a quick search online, I've learned that it's incredibly endangered! Check out the <a href="http://www.usbg.gov/plant-collections/conservation/Hibiscus-clayi.cfm">US Botanic Gardens website</a> for some depressing info.
It sure looks nice though, and I plan on seeing and photographing lots of awesome plants while I'm there.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#709696234_iDKFp">[last year]</a> <em>I'd like to thank the Academy...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-vjTDwGh/2/21d52711/Ti/2010-11-10%20Hibiscus-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/09/10_</span> <span id="title">Orange Leaves</span>
Today's desperation shot of fall colors is brought to you by a Japanese Persimmon tree (<em>Diospyros kaki</em>). I can help but notice "pyro" in the name and equate it with the color of the leaves... but that could be a coincidence.
Although I brought my SLR to work today, I was a bit rushed at lunch, so I just grabbed a few iPhone shots of these pretty backlit leaves before running to a meeting. Color effects in Lightroom, specifically the Yesteryear 2 preset.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#708699351_ErNP8">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-D7bFFXB/2/b1c52ba9/Ti/2010-11-09%20Orange%20Leaves-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/08/10_</span> <span id="title">Little Hawaiian</span>
My wife picked up this ukelele-playing, lei-wearing, grass skirt-rocking fellow from Hilo when she visited about 10 years ago. We're going back there in a couple weeks to celebrate our two-year anniversary. We're pretty darn excited.
I haven't yet decided how I'm going to handle my daily photos, but I'm leaning towards the iPhone like I've done for some other week-long vacations.
For this shot there's an off-camera flash to the left, the background is a striped placemat, and I shot at f/1.4. In Lightroom I added vignetting and clarity.
Oh, and in case you missed it, my photos from the <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Misc/2010/Oceano-Dunes/14562441_pqKAF">Oceano Dunes</a> are all up and geotagged. Still gotta write some captions, but I'll do that soon.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#707717797_vHSeb">[last year]</a> <em>we have yet to drink from these...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-5NL8NN5/2/607d8fd6/Ti/2010-11-08%20Little%20Hawaiian-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/07/10_</span> <span id="title">Crab</span>
Happy DST! Don't forget to change your camera's internal clock!
This selectively desaturated crab was my wife's dinner tonight. She said it was OK - it tasted more like fried stuff than actual crab.
This is a desperation shot. After a terrible day yesterday, we spent most of today relaxing around the house - it was a wonderful lazy Sunday!
Despite all of the hardships faced yesterday (heavy rain, travel issues, bomb threats), I got some decent shots. See them in the <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Misc/2010/Oceano-Dunes/14562441_pqKAF">Oceano Dunes gallery</a>.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#706448845_9PUhs">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-XZB9NrX/2/a578ab62/Ti/2010-11-07%20Crab%20for%20Dinner-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/06/10_</span> <span id="title">Oceano Dunes</span>
My photo excursion was more or less a failure! It rained, we spent way too long traveling by train, and on the way back, the train was stopped for 3 hours because of a bomb threat. Craziest day I've had in a long, long time.
<strong>BUT!</strong> The rain did clear up for a little while we were at the Oceano Dunes and I got some good shots, including this one. We took Oso Flaco Lake Road until it ended near the lake and walked along the boardwalk that led all the way to the ocean. The dunes were beautiful where they were intact. Less so where people did off-roading.
See all the shots - <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Misc/2010/Oceano-Dunes/14562441_pqKAF">Oceano Dunes gallery</a>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#705477560_kj9Wy">[last year]</a> <span id="title"></span>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-P4HVwW8/2/91806cda/Ti/2010-11-06%20Oceano%20Dunes-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/05/10_</span> <span id="title">Glass</span>
Here's a shot of a glass bottle and a glass... glass. What looks like condensation is mist from a spray bottle. I set the off-camera flash at the back/bottom of the bottle to get the lighting, and used a black cloth as the background.
Stay tuned, because tomorrow I'm going on a photo excursion! Through the local community college, I'm joining a class that's headed out to Pismo Beach to photograph sand dunes and monarch butterflies.
In other news, here's a blog post on <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2010/11/iphone-4-hdr-photography/">iPhone 4 HDR photography</a> for your reading pleasure.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#704629690_XxDTr">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-nmmVnS7/2/30fa42e4/Ti/2010-11-05%20Glass%20Bottle-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/04/10_</span> <span id="title">Melty Death</span>
Pictured here are two chocolate-covered gummi bears. Can you tell which one spent 10 seconds in the microwave?
After I was satisfied with the result I ate the subject, but I must warn you: gummi bears don't revert back to the same consistency after they've cooled. It was like eating rubber cement and spiderwebs.
Also, thanks for the kind comments on yesterday's shot - isn't it funny how the spontaneous ones are always the best?
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#703630904_AgaRA">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-7RNhtwV/2/045885fe/Ti/2010-11-04%20Melty%20Death-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/03/10_</span> <span id="title">Tomato Drops</span>
Our dinner leftovers came in a container that had a lot of condensation on the metallic lid. That, combined with a bunch of tomatoes my wife cut up presented a photo opportunity I didn't want to pass up. Edited in Lightroom, with most of the credit going to the Color CP 2 preset.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#702796207_ZVMKS">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-8XMwsM5/2/4756b5e1/Ti/2010-11-03%20Tomato%20Drops-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/02/10_</span> <span id="title">Profeta Rose</span>
Feel free to make up some romantic story about this image and title. In reality, it's just a random rose at <a href="http://www.espressoprofetala.com/">Espresso Profeta</a> where I grabbed coffee with my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Misc/Winter-Portraits/10851763_V5bSN#756952468_xtQFc">sister</a> before she went to the airport and I went to work. We had a great time, as you can see in my previous 3 photos. Now it's my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Misc/Winter-Portraits/10851763_V5bSN#756964994_YxFNX">brother</a>'s turn to visit!
Today was a one-photo day, meaning I took only one photo. In other words, the photo you see here is the only photo I took today. Just one. One photo.
OK, see you tomorrow!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#701611969_QkE9a">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-Z6skGKL/2/15262269/Ti/2010-11-02%20Profeta%20Rose-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_11/01/10_</span> <span id="title">Venice Dusk</span>
Happy November!
Today was the last full day my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#749113464_xb6oq">sister</a> is in town, and I'd say we made the most of it. We grabbed coffee and danishes at <a href="http://www.labreabakery.com/">La Brea Bakery</a>, checked out the bubbling asphalt at the <a href="http://www.tarpits.org/">La Brea Tar Pits</a> and Page museum, did a little driving tour of Hollywood, ate lunch at <a href="http://www.pinkshollywood.com/">Pink's</a>, saw Mario Lopez taping Extra! at the Grove, bought far too much chocolate at the <a href="http://www.farmersmarketla.com/">Farmers Market</a>, toured the grounds of <a href="http://www.greystonemansion.org/">Greystone Mansion</a> and finally indulged in delicious garlic knots at <a href="http://www.cotrattoria.com/">C&O Trattoria</a> after catching the sunset on the Venice Pier, pictured here.
Woo!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#700364108_43RAc">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-9NZvLBP/2/87acc3d4/Ti/2010-11-01%20Venice%20Dusk-Ti.jpg)