Down Time in Malibu!

The second set of photos from our holiday weekend in Malibu is a compilation of all the side events that occurred while we were gracing the West Coast with our presence!

On the recommendation of our delightful concierge we partook of a local haunt called Malibu Seafood. A little shack by the sea, the outdoor seating area was packed with locals enjoying some fresh seafood, especially the amazing fish tacos!

Later, we enjoyed our $15 drinks poolside at the Four Seasons (yikes! even Vegas only has $10 beach drinks at Mandalay Bay!) although the lobster wrap was pretty awesome. Saturday evening, early Sunday and all day Monday were spent lazing in 85 degree, not-a-cloud-in-the-sky perfect weather.

On our last evening in town, we did an Ogorzalek family dinner at an oceanside classic, Duke's restaurant. Despite our loud and rowdy bunch of 21, our waiter handled us with a quick wit and complementary desserts of the vanilla-cococnut ice cream, covered in hot fudge. I believe they were called, "Hawaiian Moons" and DAMN were they good!

Anyway, just a few travel-shots for you to enjoy. I'll post more wedding photos later this week!

From Down Time in Malibu

From Down Time in Malibu

From Down Time in Malibu

From Down Time in Malibu

Jake & Jen - Wedding Rehearsal

Vanessa and I spent a fantastic weekend in northern California to celebrate the wedding of our friends Jake and Jen. Set within the sharp hills of coastal West Lake/ Malibu, we shared several breathtaking evenings including a mountaintop wedding celebration in a private vineyard.

Tonight I am posting the first of several installments from their wedding. I will send them the entire disk of photos, but these were my personal favorites help tell their story. :)

We love you guys!

Jake & Jen Rehearsal Dinner

From jake&jen-rehearsal dinner

From jake&jen-rehearsal dinner

From jake&jen-rehearsal dinner

From jake&jen-rehearsal dinner

Natural Light and the curse of Manual Exposure!

My comfort zone with daily photography is in "Program" Mode. It is kind of a cheat way to take photographs, as the camera does it's automatically selects Aperture and Shutter Speed, without triggering the flash. It's the most semi-automatic mode on the higher end digital SLR cameras, like my Nikon D300.

I often reading articles on how to better use my camera and to drill into my thick skull the little lessons and nuances about not just creating a "correct" exposure, but in creating consistent results of "artistic" exposure. Sometimes it seems a fine line, and often is! What my tastes are for a particular shot might not match another photographer's mood for a particular scene.

Thursday evening, I took my camera out in our suburban backyard and tried to find some creative lighting to make some ordinary objects appear a little more special. I shot in manual mode and captured multiple shots, each at different exposures. It's amazing how much of a different feel each image can portray with a little more or less light. I find that some of my favorite photos actually have a light source in the background, although carefully positioned so that my photos are not over-exposed.

It takes some practice to find the best objects to meter light from (using the built in light meter) so that you obtain a "natural appearing" dynamic range. Even with all the advances in camera technology, cameras still can only process a portion of the dynamic shadow and highlight ranges that humans see with the naked eye. It takes some artful-dodging to capture the best range for each shot. :)

Enough of my technical banter, here are a few pictures from my backyard ramble to go along with my blog ramble tonight! :)

From backyard-macro

From backyard-macro

From backyard-macro

Jeremy's BIrthday Party - Part 2

I often take so many photos at family events, that some of them seem more appropriately grouped together in sub-categories. About a week or so ago, I posted pictures of my nephew's birthday party when we visited Jenkinson's Boardwalk. Later, there was a whole carnival themed party back at the house for the kids with a cotton candy machine, Ice Cone Maker, Popcorn cart, etc. It was a lot of fun for us adults, too!

Nothing fancy with this photo-set; just some great family pictures. :)

Jeremy's 3rd Bday - Part 2

From Jeremy-3rd bday -part 2

From Jeremy-3rd bday -part 2

From Jeremy-3rd bday -part 2

Simple pleasures...

My sister hass a wonderfully stocked kitchen with so many goodies, we all refer to it as the "Candy Shoppe". :) Pretty much any type of chocolate or jellie or sweet you could want is available in some form or another. It makes for some vacation time binging, that's for sure!

We had a nice sunny day last Saturday and I made good use of some indirect afternoon sun and a triangular diffusion screen to capture some of her more iconic treats and garden vegetables. :) I will make a set of square photos of these. :)

Candy Bowls

From candy-bowls

From candy-bowls