Here’s a video from our trip to the Salton Sea. Enjoy!

A partially submerged car in Bombay City, on southern edge of the Salton Sea.

Last friday, I finally decided it was time – time to visit the Salton Sea. Jessie and I had been talking about it for most likely years, but like cleaning the house or getting the oil changed, we never go around to it – until now.

Located about 125 miles east of San Diego, the Salton Sea is approximately 220 feet below sea level. Due to salt levels, farm runoff, and lack of drainage, the sea is slowly dying. During the 60s, it was a thriving resort area with cities popping up along it’s shores. As the salt levels and pollution increased, the resorts and towns died off. Now, the sea is home to abandoned buildings, campers, birds, more birds, and a smattering of people still living in the various towns.

Read more about the Salton Sea here, and see a timeline here.

On Saturday morning, we got up around 2:30am to start the approximately 2.5 hour drive to the sea. We wanted to catch the sunrise and beautiful morning light. Our first stop was Bombay City, on the southeast corner of the sea. From there, we headed up to the North Shore and then into Palm Springs. On the way back, we stopped at Salvation Mountain – which I’ll be writing about soon.

After the break, take a look at a few more photos from the Salton Sea…

(more…)

A few weekends ago, Jessie and I went whale watching. As usual, there wasn’t much to see or do. We did see a few whales, but what you see above is about as much as we saw. If it was your first time whale watching, it could possibly be exciting. For us two whale watching veterans, not so much.

Take a peek at a few other photos from the excursion after the break. Did I mention dolphins?

(more…)

Most sane people ask for normal things for Christmas: DVDs, Books, Clothes, Tools, etc. Me? I asked for a Magic Arm. Oh, yes – a Magic Arm.

What is a Magic Arm, you ask? It’s a “arm” that allows you to attach and position a camera in places cameras normally don’t get attached to. In this case, my bike.

In the photo above, I attached to camera to the handlebars using only a Super Clamp (the clamp you use to attach a magic arm to something). I found this setup much more stable.

In the photo after the break, I attached the Magic Arm to the post below the handlebars, which allowed me to get the handlebars in the shot. Unfortunately, everything bounced around too much to get a steady shot of me.

Take a look at the second photo after the break. Also, don’t ask for a bigger photos. No need to see my nose hairs up close.

(more…)

2009 is going to be the year of photography. For me, at least. I’m working on a new portfolio website, and aiming to take more photos this year. In that spirit, I persuaded my girlfriend Jessie to let me take a few photos of her for my portfolio.

We started off in the kitchen with our red wall, and then moved into my office with the blue wall. Both locations were cramped, but I think we came away with a few keepers. (peep her new glasses!)

Take a look at two more shots after the break…

(more…)

Last year, Jessie and I took our own version of a “Amazing Race” vacation, traveling from San Diego to New York, then to Washington, D.C., and finally back home to San Diego. It was such fun, we’ve decided to do it again.

This time, we’ll be visiting cities on both the west and east coast over the course of 9 days. We’ll start by flying from San Diego up to San Francisco for 4 days. From there, we’ll fly to New York and spend another 4 days before flying back home to San Diego.

During the trip, look for photos and possibly videos right here on your favorite not-so-frequently-updated blog.

Christmas is over, New Years is over, and things are starting to get back to normal. Here’s a quick version of how it went down… For Christmas, Jessie and I went up to both my parents in Santa Barbara and her parents in Newbury Park. Then, a few days later, we went up to my aunt and uncle’s house in Anaheim. That’s over 620 miles in 4 days.

On the way down from Anaheim, we brought home a little bundle of joy – my 3-year-old nephew. Breakfast, Zoo, Lunch, Dinner, Bath, Breakfast, Balboa Park, Lunch, Dinner, Bath, Breakfast, Mall, Lunch, and a train ride later and he was back with mommy and daddy. It was more work than I imagined, but we all had a good time. Did I mention kids are out of the question now?

Now that the new year is here, things are starting to get back to normal. You know, that Breakfast, Shower, Work, Lunch, Work, Dinner, Bed kind of normal.

Above: A shot from my new Nikon 10.5mm fisheye lens. It has about a 180 degree field of view. Any wider, and I’d probably be in the picture for once.