Mornings over Kaneohe Bay
Sunrise view from the back porch
A recent move to Hawaii has me crashing a colleague’s place until I get my own apartment. His back porch is parked right on the edge of Kaneohe bay. It’s an unbelievable spot. In the time being, this is what I wake up to the mornings.
Breakfast on the porch.
Black and Whites – Cali and Canada
Shots from a black and white roll that I recently had developed in LA. Most shots taken in California, with a few from Canada. All are from my Nikon FM.
Kramer on a hike.
Ross and Finola sitting on the stoop in Los Feliz, Los Angeles.
Mel Barber gazing out to the surrounding mountains in Whistler, BC.
Watching a storm roll in as I’m sitting atop the Pinnacles trail in San Bernardino.
Surfer watches another surfer as he’s about to enter. Malibu, Ca.
Malibu point fending off the incoming ocean fog.
- Sitting in LAX airport.
Westjet flight to Vancouver, BC.
So Cal ain’t that bad…
Malibu point. A pillar of California's surf culture.
California has a lot to offer. I’ve generally considered myself a bigger fan of the northern part. That is, the greener mountains, the lesser crowds and the crisper air. However, as I’ve been spending time in SoCal I’ve been discovering new places and getting acquainted with the LA life, and it ain’t that bad. Sure, some of the women prioritize their shopping and looks higher than what is probably healthy, but wasn’t that to be expected? And yes, most kids in LA find it difficult to carry a straight eyed conversation without their itchy fingers on their smartphones, ready to ‘slide to unlock’, but isn’t that soon to be everywhere? So, I decided to accept it and see what else SoCal has to offer.
I rediscovered that the SoCal beaches are indisputably beautiful. Warmer and more inviting to the beach-goers than the north, it was great to watch surfers at the famous Malibu point. More confusing than anything, it was incredibly entertaining to watch the ‘people show’ of Venice. However, it has been the alpine mountains of SoCal that have really impressed me. Sometimes barren as just a few sage colored bushes on a hike to giant pine forests sprouting through snow fields, they provide the wanderer with such diversity.
Climbing Pinacles trail in the San Bernardino national forest. On the leeward side the view is dry as bones, and then full of evergreens on the windward side.
San Bernardino national forest
Pinnacles trail view
A view from highway 18 that heads down the mountain towards LA. 5000 feet below those clouds is LA and its counties.
Deep creek hot springs. After bathing in the hot springs, hikers can take an ice plunge into deep creek, which is fed by glacier melt.
View of San Bernardino mountains.
Hiking in San Bernardino, Cali
self portrait
Shots taken from a solo hike close to the house up in the San Bernardino national forest. The forest went up in flames a few years ago leaving behind eery burnt bushes you see above. The forest lost all of its tall trees in the fire, completing transforming the landscape.
I had to jump this rock over 10 times trying to get the timing perfect. In my left hand I have my remote trying to trick the shutter while in air.
Southern Sagebrush Lizard
Snowboarding at Bear Mountain
After more than 5 years of not snowboarding, its been so much fun messing around in the So Cal mountains. Heading off to Mexico this week so I decided to see if i could get some clips together.
I brought my tripod and hiked a few hits for about 2 hours. With the elevation, and the temperature at about 55 deg, I got worked fast. The angles I got with the tripod are off, but hey, it was my first try. I’d love to do it again but I’m not sure if there’s going to be any snow later this season! Bear Mountain resort is over 7,000 ft high and should have more snow than they do, but this winter has been really hard on the west coast. There’s just no snow…
Definitely not my best, but it was still fun getting back into the groove of riding:
Portraits of an albino boxer
Kramer sits and contemplates
Kramer became jealous of the chair and so sat next to it waiting for another portrait.
Kramer flies
I spent the weekend dog sitting for a friend and this is who I met. A clumsy, more comfortable inside than outside, loves to pose, albino boxer. His character was to much, I had to put him up on the blog.
Morocco, Rome, Ghana + California black and whites
I finally developed some rolls of film that I had in my camera bag for months. Developed them in San Francisco but I’m not to happy with the outcome. A little too contrasty and grainy but nonetheless still fun to get back.
Most of these are 35mm black and white film. A couple are 120 film shot with my plastic Holga.
MOROCCO
Roommate, Said, and friend Matt. We're waiting at the Tangier, Morocco ferry. This is the beginning of our roadtrip from Rabat, Morocco to Seville, Spain. Nothing but trouble.
Shot of the bar at the Tangier ferry pier. My lower half at the bottom and my sandwich maker at the top.
Sunset in Casablanca.
Apprentice surfboard shaper. Works at Kai shapes in Dar Bouazza, Morocco. www.kaishapes.com
Rhita in the freezing river near Chefchaouen, Morocco.
Rhita's sister, Sakina posing for photos
GHANA
Palm wine seller on the beach front near Kokrobite, Ghana. After i took this shot i tried the palm wine and noticed the water they were using to ferment the wine and clean the bucket. Water as brown as the dirt. I ended up with the worst stomach flu I've ever had. 120 film
Portrait of my colleague, Kia Guarino near Kokrobite beach, Ghana. 120 film
ROME
This guy snuck up on a pigeon and grabbed it at the Roman Forum.
double exposure of a flower and statue. Roman Forum
CALIFORNIA
Gary Yarbrough. Lake Arrowhead, CA
To California and a New Life!
So after 5.5 years of working at Operation Smile I’ve made a dramatic change of pace and direction in my life. I’ve moved without a plan to find myself among the open hearts, towering redwoods, rolling golden hills and dramatic ocean cliffs of Northern California. I plan to be wandering these parts until my next trip to Bangkok, Thailand in December.
I am in complete awe of the beauty here in this part of the country. It is great to discover such gems such as this. Soon however my mornings in the tents will be gloomy and wet as the inevitable cold winters roll through these parts. I have to make use of the rare sunny warm days now!
I haven’t been taking too many pictures as I’ve been busy with farm work but below are some pics of the outdoors and the surrounding areas.
early morning coffee on a hill
Playing in the backwoods with Spots and Jyesha.
Camping trip at Sinkyone National Park. The most amazing view from the barn we stayed at. The barn was only 10 meters behind from where i took this photo.
Bull Roosevelt Elk at our barn doorstep.
a rare herd of Roosevelt Elk
A view from our campsite.
It was a tough day sunbathing at the cove
hiking
America in black and white
Bud Light and Jean Jackets. New Orleans Fairgrounds track
I spent the month of January in Virginia. It had only been 4 months since my last visit but it was real nice to be back. I had the privilege to visit Jimmy in New Orleans. It was my first time to the Big Easy and I was not ready for it. What a place! They say NYC is the city that never sleeps but I found ‘Nawlins’ to be city that ran on red bull and vodka after the sun went down. Good lord my body hurt after that visit but nonetheless it was completely worth it. The music was incredible, the food to die for and the partying was top notch. You can say i’m a fan.
Here are some pictures of New Orleans and Virginia. Taken with Nikon FM2 35mm 400ASA film
‘NAWLINS’
cityscape from a glassed in view.
Fairgrounds starting gates
Gambling
Hats to go with those outfits
Bar scene
Floats get prepped for the coming Mardi Gras
street performers
New Orleans Zoo
House struck by hurricane Katrina
NORFOLK, VIRGINIA
At sunset, a boat sits above water as if in anticipation for the next ride
'Phyliss' the commander waits for his ride to play capture the flag.
Phyliss stalking in the woods
Banjo and Claire
Gorgov and Phyliss getting ready for capture the flag
Where I Find My Peace
Asilah, Morocco
Mt. Ranier, Washington
my hide away in Roma, Italia
Lighthouse Park Vancouver, Canada
My Bike
4 Generations – Ocala, Florida
My great-grandmother, Rosa Vialenzuela is 97. She's walking, talking and is 'full of piss and vinegar'. She's my inspiration.
After 2 weeks of meetings in Norfolk, VA I flew down to Ocala, Florida to spend some time with my grandparents and my great-grandmother. We were also blessed by my visiting cousin, crazy Noreen. It was really something to have 4 generations of the same family under one roof.
Rosa Vialenzuela, my great-grandmother, is truly a special woman. She’s 97 years old and sharp as a whip. Just before Christmas she flew from Panama to visit her daughter (my Abuela) to spend 3 months hanging out. I asked her to tell me some of her life secrets and especially her secret on longevity. Her answer was, “I don’t smoke, I don’t drink and God.” Then she took a sip of her wine. I guess I’ll ask her again.
Anita and Rosita. My grandmother and my great-grandmother.
I took these shots outside behind the house. I had my grandpa hold a windshield sun reflector so that we’d get the lighting right. They all had kick out of it. I got a kick out of how the ladies took so long to get dressed up. They were perfect models. Below are some shots i took while i got carried away cooking the steaks for dinner… whatever it was 5 in the afternoon and perfect light. – GSY
- PAM makes the BBQ angry
i may not have cooked them right, but they sure look good
