Canon A1: Sunset at the beach

I shot some more film and turned it into Costco for processing. There is one film Kodak pro something or other that I had the most awful time loading. I had shot the entire roll (I thought) at Fossil Falls but it never loaded. Okay, I though I might be able to salvage the film and learned via Google how to retrieve the film leader with the good old saliva method ( it does work too). Reloaded the film and thought I shot the roll no problem.

Well, Costco told me the film was blank so either I exposed the roll somewhere or it didn't load again. I had one roll that came out and from the photos, the sunset/beach photos looked really good. But the DVD wasn't included which I paid $3 for so I called and there was a mix up where another customer got my DVD and hers was still at Costco. Took another day for that person to return my DVD but now when I look at it, I'm not sure if it is worth the money.

I thought the DVD would be a better quality than my scanner but it doesn't seem to be the case. Lots of grain when the photo is enlarged on the computer so I think I will try to do an enlargement on one of the photos and see for myself. I do want  an enlargement for my home and display purposes.


Now to decide which one to enlarge...


Photo #1




Photo #2



Photo #3



At least Costco is reasonable for photo processing although I may have to look for other options once I get more serious about my photography.

So what photo shall I reprint?? I'm thinking 5 x 7 size.

Wacky Wednesday

It' Spirit Week at school and today is Wacky Wednesday. Josh chose different socks, shoes, funky hat and wore his shorts backwards.

Tuesday Evening

Last night the kids and I headed down to the Redondo Beach pier for some diversions. I brought along 2 cameras, a film SLR & a DSLR so the kids were wondering why I was taking twice as long. :)

My kids.

I got them dinner and ice cream so that was fine for them. It's kind of funny how Tyler "discovered" calamari so now I can order it and he will eat some also. I can't get over the fact that the boys are only 3 years apart yet the height difference is astounding to me!?! I guess what's more astounding is that Tyler's best friend, G is a year younger than Tyler and the same height as Joshua. I just have to face the fact that Tyler is in the 95th percentile just like when he was a toddler. (He was projected to be about 6'2"). Go figure.


The fish were biting last night as many families come down to fish. One man tossed his fish onto the ground for this bird. I didn't have my camera ready but the bird swooped down & held it in his beak for several seconds before gulping it down.

I've consulted my bird book and narrowed it down to a heron, possibly a juvenile. I'm going to look further into this...





The weather was mild and not at all chilly like it can be around here so that made our evening pleasant.



The clouds were so pretty and the sailboats were out en masse.



Overall, we had a nice evening with the fresh air and ocean.

Photo Story Time

After Veronica introduced me to the beach access at Trump Golf course in Palos Verdes, I went again this time with Sherri to do some more exploring and impromptu hiking.

It was much warmer than the previous time with pretty views of Catalina.



It was still cloudy/hazy but really stunning too.



The coastline/shoreline is more visible this time around and yes, we hiked down to the beach.



Sherri scrambled down like a mountain goat while I carefully walked down since I was carrying my camera gear. :)



The sand looks so inviting but it really soft and your feet sink quite deep which makes walking difficult.



Then to the left of the beach are these gorgeous rocks with Catalina in the background.





and further to the left, a fisherman.




We continued to the left up another trail which led to a lookout point here..



and another higher lookout up there!



Very peaceful and serene. We walked up to the main trail that is paved and came up to another trail leading back down to the beach.





The trail is marked challenging and at the very bottom is a small tent with umbrella.



Here is the camp set up closer. That pile of branches/dried kelp is another shelter/alcove that's a rustic living area. with a rock chair. The tent was zipped up so I have no idea if there was anyone in there or not. I don't think people are supposed to camp overnight but it looks like this person has established him/herself there.





This is the rocky beach to the right of the campsite. Very isolated today and that lone fisherman is way off in the distance.

The challenging part for me was climbing back up this trail but I made it! ;)

When It Rains...

it sometimes pours. :) But this is in a good way. As I continue to work on my photography, more opportunities are presenting themselves to me.

I contacted my friend Veronica who has the twin girls and we set off to Palos Verdes. This is how we spend most of our time together since she is also into photography although that has dropped way down when her girls were born.

We stopped by Joseph's bakery which is a little mom & pop bakery in San Pedro that is very good. Luckily, Veronica knows how they sell out quickly and placed an order at 7:15am. Wow, this pastries are delicious. We had to pig  out since Veronica said it isn't as tasty the next day. Okay with me...

Veronica drove us to the Trump Golf course where there is a small parking lot for beach recreation. The weather is typical June gloom so parking was not a problem but usually can be difficult. Really nice walking path with sprawling lawns and picnic tables. Oh and the stunning ocean view is nothing to sneeze at either.

Lots of bunnies sitting around in the grassy areas near the brush and they seem used to people & dogs. We were hoping to taking portraits of the twins but the weather wasn't cooperating very well and frankly having to work with twins makes it extra difficult. Lots of shots of both where one is looking up or the other way around. The few pictures I had them both looking up, I had focusing issues so I can't use those. Oh well, there's always next time.














No sign of the fog burning off today but I like how these came out...

Have a great weekend!!

Newborn Time

It's coincidental that I decide to build up my portfolio and I get an opportunity to shoot our friends' brand new baby girl.

Meet Lexi:

So tiny.

Born June 1, she is welcomed by her ecstatic parents, big sister and doggie siblings. :)

Bizkit.

and Papi Chulo.

Sweet baby.

It was lots of fun to welcome this beautiful baby and finally meet her! Lexi was very cooperative, well as much as babies can be. We had several clean-up "issues" during our photo time but you could never tell by the photos.

Lexi was a trooper...and a pooping machine. :)

Eyes wide open.

Daddy's little girl.

I'm looking forward to capturing more moments as your baby girl & family grows.

Building my Portfolio

I'm not going into the photography business but I do love it a lot and striving to become the best I can be. I just need to push myself to keep taking pictures.

Recently, I have had more chances to accomplish my goals. I've done a photo shoot of my friend's twin girls because she wanted bath time photos.


One couple just had a baby over the weekend so I offered to take some photos of her this week.

Then another friend wanted photos commemorating her daughter's 8th birthday. She usually goes to Sears portrait studio for that but the studio was closed down. She found a Groupon offer which she said was okay but jumped at the chance to try again.



I've known little A since she was a baby so it's amazing to see how much she's grown into a quite a character. :)

8 years old

Add caption

My little pony.

Overcast day but not a lot of wind which was great.

Beach girl.

Big sis A joined us at the beach so I had to get a couple of her too. I especially like this one. So I will send off the batch and see how they like their photos.

Sister.