My pirates at the beach in Santa Monica

These photos are from the beach in Santa Monica using my test models.  They happen to be my children too.  I shot them on Veteran’s Day, 2010 – no school and nice weather.  We were at home and they had no idea about my plan – their questions become overwhelming so I always leave it a surprise.  I made them some lunch then, after they ate, I told them to get their shoes on because we’re going on a ride.  They suspect something is up but have no idea what.  My oldest is besides herself during the ride – she must know where we are going or she will die an agonizing death.  My youngest is just happy to be riding and singing songs that she makes up.  This is normal behavior for them.  When we made into LA proper, I let the cat out of the bag.  They were whooping and hollering them.  I even got a few choruses of “We’re going to the beach!”  Needless to say, they like going to the beach.

The first two photos I took with my BlackBerry Bold.  The other 20 I shot using my Canon PowerShot S5 IS.  22 photos, that’s a lot for me to put in a blog posting.  Oh well.

Magnificent

Here are six shots that give a very brief sample of the splendidly magnificent beauty that is all around us if you just care to look for it.  It is the kind of thing that many take for granted.  I know I did before I moved away from California for the first time.  That was back in 1986.  I had dreamed of returning ever since.  I will not take it for granted again.

I shot this in January 2011 from a parking lot in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.  I shot this with my Canon PowerShot A540.  The beast is still putting in good work.  The shot is magnificent.

Heading back from Victorville to Fontana in early February this year, this was a view from my van in the Cajon Pass.  I shot this with my Canon PowerShot S5 IS, my super camera.  The rest of the photos I took with the S5 IS too.  This shot is again, magnificent.

I took this in early February too.  I was in Lancaster in the evening and the sky came alive.  The sight is absolutely magnificent.

I took this photo in a neighborhood in Fontana in early February again.  Again, at night I was lucky to capture this scene in the sky.  That’s right; it is a remarkably magnificent view.

Here again in the Cajon Pass, I shot this using my world renown “drive by photography” technique I perfected in the war in Iraq back in 2003.  Well maybe not ‘world renown’ but you know…  Just the same, this is another magnificent photo.

In Fontana on Cherry Street heading northbound just past the speedway back in April of this year, I shot this photo.  I caught a storm brewing.  All of these shots illustrate the just a small sample of the grandeur that is California.  However, California does not have a monopoly on breadth taking landscapes.  Many are right outside your door.  And I am sure that they are equally as magnificent.