Maybe I've been doing it all wrong...

An interesting comment left by Anonymous (all the good ones always are).

no offense, but you don't deserve kudos for eschewing the automobile in LA.

use of bicycles is admirable, but not 100-percent of the time -- that's just being foolish.

all your publicity is giving cycling advocates a bad-name.

do us all a favor and move to portland already.

sheesh.

Firstly, I've never advocated that everyone should get rid of their car and bike around. ("I'm not anti-car, but I do believe that we need real transportation options."...it's in my profile.) That's just foolish.

Hey, I'll be the first to admit, carfree might not be for everyone. You've got kids in tow or you've got a job that's 60 miles away. Fine. Some people have some constraints that they either can't change or don't want to. But at the same time, there are lots of people that hop in their car to go to a store that's less than a mile away, or work less than five miles away (a distance you could easily bike to, bus to, or walk to).

What I don't get is how all my publicity is giving cycling advocates a bad-name. How's that work? I ride like a vehicle. I follow traffic rules. I use hand signals. I'm working directly with my community to create bike-friendly events and raise awareness. I've helped educate people on how to ride safely in traffic and shown people how to commute.

I show, through my actions and not just a lot of talk, that a bicycle is a viable mode of transport.

Is it possible that a cycling advocate can ride a bike too much? Should I rent a car now and then and show that I'm "normal"? (Maybe I should write to Ed Begely Jr. to lose the vermiculture bin and solar panels cause that's too eco-friendly and he's creeping people out.)

I think we've had enough of arm-chair "cycling advocates" that don't walk the walk. Or maybe I'm just being foolish.

Back...and tired..

Well, Laura and I just got back a few hours ago from another weekend wandering. We set out to see if we could find a weekend tour in The OC and I think we've succeeded. We rode our bikes form Long Beach all the way to O'Neill Regional Park. We had a bit of weather but it was prefect because it made it seem less Southern California-like and also scared away other would-be campers. We practically had O'Neill to ourselves!




It was a great (albeit short) trip. Some good roads. Camping. We made corned-beef hash (our camping staple). Had a campfire with some hot cocoa. Nothing like a good weekend adventure. The total mileage for the weekend was just a hair under 100. Not bad.

District Cover..

Got the cover and a few other portraits inside. I also get profiled inside! Grab a copy :)

Robert Garcia for 1st District

I was asked by a friend of mine whose opinion I respected, Brian Ulaszewski, to shoot some images for Robert Garcia's campaign for the 1st District in Long Beach. I knew of Robert but hadn't actually spoken to him. I knew that he had gotten the nod from Alan Lowenthal, which was a pretty big deal. But for me, the more important endorsement was from Brian. We set up a meeting and talked a little and it was enough to convince me that maybe this time, there was a real chance for change in the city of Long Beach.



So with that, I agreed to shoot for Robert Garcia's campaign. Here are some of the images. You'll be seeing more, no doubt, in the coming weeks all around the city.




He's a good guy and I hope he wins.

Bill Viola

I got a chance to do a portrait of well respected video artist, Bill Viola. For all the visual drama and powerful imagery of his work, Bill himself is a gentle and soft spoken person who was easy to work with. I shot a few available light shots of him in his study and some lit shots outside his studio.

More State of Long Beach...

State of Long Beach

I got to photograph mayor Bob Foster for the State of Long Beach this year. I was able to shoot a little behind the scenes, which for me, is a lot more interesting. You realize that behind all these events, people are people. Even very public figures can get a little nervous right before a speech.

Portrait at City Hall

Did a portrait for DW this morning of lobbyist Carl Kemp. He was laid back and easy to work with. I shot with two cameras, first I did some dramatically lit photos with my Canon G10. Then tried a real simple intimate feeling portrait with the Nikon D300. I think they came out great, especially the ones from the G10. I'm getting my settings dialed in to shoot portraits with it and the images are coming out better.

Mmm....Beer

Laura and I just got back from our Here to Beer tour. The mileage came out to be about 100 miles for the weekend. Overall, it was a fun ride, although I did NOT enjoy riding through Laguna Beach at all. Some of the crabbiest drivers ever. It reminded me of the stretch from Pepperdine to Santa Monica. What is it with big houses on beach front property and an absolute lack of patience/common sense/courtesy on the road?

Some snaps!

State of Long Beach...behind the scenes..

Aside from photography, I'm also involved with the local bike advocacy group, The Long Beach Cyclists. We've been asked to provide bike valet services at this years State of Long Beach address. I attended the pre-production meeting at the Carpenter Center. It should be a neat event. I brought a camera and took a few snaps of the mayor surveying the venue and the planning committee putting it all together.

Back from SLO

Got in a few hours ago....put up some snaps from the trip in a Flickr stream.