Save Bergamot Station !!!

For those of you who frequent the LA art gallery scene, you may have caught wind of the discussion floating about that intends to turn Bergamot Station into a light rail maintenance facility. Bergamot Station is one of soc cals best and most culturally rich sites, featuring the Santa Monica Museum of Art and about 20+ smaller galleries that feature amazing local LA artists.

I, like many advocates of public transportation, am thrilled to see progress with LA's EXPO rail line. However, I also feel there are plenty of open spaces (or corporate plazas that have gone under in this economy?) where the city can plan a rail line maintenance yard. Bergamot Station used to be a rail station pre-twentieth century but has been defunct since 1953. Santa Monica purchased it originally intending it to be a light rail site, but turned it into an arts complex after the rail construction failed to materialize. Its too valuable an asset to lose now. Lets write, call, and email the project planners and city officials to let them know how we feel!

Below are the email addresses of project officials:

EXPO LINE STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS:
Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority: gcollins@exporail.net
Herb Wesson, City of LA 10th District Councilmember: councilmember.wesson@lacity.org
Bernard Parks, City of LA Councilmember: councilmember.parks@lacity.org
Mark Ridley-Thomas, LA County 2nd District Supervisor: seconddistrict@lacbos.org
Zev Yaroslavsky, LA County 3rd Distrcit Supervisor: zev@lacbos.org
Pam O'Connor, Santa Monica City Council: pam.oconnor@smgov.net
Scott Malsin, Mayor of Culver City: scott.malsin@culvercity.org

Or email me and I will send you a pre-written letter in which your can sign and easily email out.

Thanks so much !!!

-Paul

Mt Baldy Trail hike Tuesday

So I decided I needed to get away for a bit ... and what better way to get away from everything than to climb a mountain. So I woke up (way) early for a sunrise hike up Mt. Baldy in the San Antonio mountains. Its an absolutely gorgeous trail with so much to see: including wildflowers, deer, bighorn sheep, waterfalls, and in yesterday's case snow! It was 37 degrees before the sun came out. I dressed warm but was wasn't expecting that kind of cold. The normal route is about 12.5 miles from summit and back and pretty steep ... so if you're a big fan of walking up stairs for 4 hours, this one is for you.

This photo is of a tiny rock that appears to have "snowballed" its way down the slope over the course of winter. I had to stop and admire it. Slowly turning over from its own weight and gathering more snow to form a beautiful spiral. Amazing. For the photographers out there, the photo was taken with a Canon G9 in RAW mode. The perfect camera for being outdoors/on the go without compromising quality.

Meredith+Armando : with recent addition Presley!

This is why we do this!! We photographed Meredith and Armando's wedding at Rancho Capistrano more than two years ago. Engagement session, then wedding, now their new baby girl Presley, we feel truly privileged to stay in touch with them over the years and know our art is adorning the walls of their home. Congratulations you two ... we look forward to documenting family's growth in the future! Oh, and once the sun went down, the light became wonderful but it got cold pretty quick in Ladera Ranch (hence why baby Presley is all wrapped up like a little peapod in a bunch of photos. We think it's adorable).

Jazz Festival this Sunday March 15th!

The Long Beach Shakespeare Company is putting on an event full of live jazz performances and art in the culturally rich neighborhood of Bixby Knolls, Long Beach. Should be a lot of fun! I know there will be jazz exhibits by LA Jazz Institute as well as plenty of art on the walls. I have two friends showing work as well, Chris Smith and Alexis Gregg ... can't wait to see what they're up to.

Doors open at 4. Music at 5. More info here.

Anavie+Mike : Maternity Portrait

Two of the most brilliant and genuinely sweet people we've ever met. Anavie and Leanne have worked together for the last three plus years teaching children art at KidsArt. She always greeted everyone with a warm smile and will be missed behind the front desk. But now she has plenty of time to dedicate all of her love and attention to their new baby girl Ever (who should be here very soon!). Mike helps run his family's bakery / decorative cake business ... and amazingly I might add (we used Goldilocks Bakeshop for own custom wedding cake, we had guests going back for seconds and thirds). 

It was a fantastic day to shoot together in the hills north of Laguna Beach. After the sun went down, the yellow from the mustard wildflowers began to glow and the sky had that "post-rain-storm" kinda awesome look to it. Congratulations to you two and your soon-to-be daughter!