March.. So Far!

What? You thought summer would wait until June, maybe July? Forget it - it's already steaming hot in March! Well, swim teams are gearing up for the season already and this month I shot a few at Thousand Oaks High that came out really well. 

Also, PONY baseball opened earlier this month in Agoura and I was there for the opening ceremony. 

Agoura High held a dance marathon to benefit Camp Kindle!

Dr. Seuss' birthday came early in the month and the kids over at Arroyo West celebrated with storytime, a big book swap and lots of reading-related activities.

Teachers protested proposed education budget cuts in Moorpark. Hundreds attended the rally - it was a massive turnout. They filled the streets!

High school baseball kicked off too. Here, Westlake High competes against Ventura.

In Camarillo, the Pleasant Valley Aquatic Center is getting ready for summer with lifeguard tryouts. Here, a staff lifeguard is playing the part of an incapacitated swimmer for the skills assessment part of the tryouts. 

The Simi Valley Dog Park celebrated its one year anniversary! I went up on a recent afternoon to catch puppies at play. 

This is a Simi Valley singer-songwriter, Anita Coats. I loved all the color in this portrait. 

Agoura High did some fundraising for its Grad Nite with an e-waste recycling event. These have become quite popular fundraisers!

Knights of Columbus in Moorpark celebrated St. Patrick's Day with Irish dancers from Claddaugh Dance school in Ventura.

The Moorpark College EATM program held its annual Spring Spectacular, with a show featuring the zoo's creatures, VIP tours, crafts, and a bunch of up-close and personal mini-shows. 

I attended a wonderful memorial service for five homeless veterans from Ventura County in Agoura Hills, with the VFW District 7 (which includes Simi Valley) doing the honors as color guard. It was really a beautiful ceremony.

Finally, Simi Valley Mayor Paul Miller announced he will NOT see re-election after 8 years as mayor and another 10 on the city council! He really has been around Simi Valley for decades - talk about dedication!

And Moorpark organized tryouts for the "Moorpark Has Talent" show, which will be mid-April. Lots of adorable and truly talented people. I'm looking forward to the actual show!

That's all so far for March... come back soon, as I do hope to keep updated around here!

Highlights from February

Finally we're all caught up here, with the highlights from February!

This was my favorite photo of the month by far - from a Chinese cultural festival in Camarillo. This wasn't actually during the festival performance. She was practicing on the lawn behind the stage before she went on to dance for the crowd. I was photographing other performers and saw her start spinning - it always pays to keep your eyes open on assignment!






Finally, Happy Face Hill in Simi Valley was restored. The guy that sprays the happy face (and heart on the other side) onto the hill in Roundup is a really nice fellow and I wanted an interesting photo to go with his fun personality. Unfortunately, the writer scheduled the meeting right at 1 o'clock - awful midday sun! I was able to cancel it out well enough by cranking up my flash for fill, but it still wasn't as nice as I wanted. He had already done the spraying, too, and didn't want to hike all the way out to the hill again. Ugh! Fortunately, it worked out alright.




Students out in Westlake made blankets for soldiers - what a great idea and a very sweet gesture!




These Medea Creek Middle School students from Oak Park are making an inukshuk - a type of cairn made by Canada natives - during multicultural day.





Here these students are playing a Japanese game similar to Americans' pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, only this game is pin-the-features-on-the-face.



Water polo was winding down in February.




And the boy scouts held their annual Pinewood Derby. Cranking that flash up all the way allowed me to get some pretty cool shots with good lighting, despite the midday sun. 



Water polo again. Water sports are always so much fun to shoot. 




Here the Simi Valley Library celebrated its 40th anniversary. They made puppets, had storytime, reading to dogs, crafts, birthday cake... it was a really fun event. 







Here's an example of what happens when you are unprepared. This school fundraiser out in Agoura Hills seemed like one of hundreds we shoot every year - silent auction, dinner, entertainment by students, etc. Then these aerial silk performers came onstage! I had no lights with me, so I couldn't properly light them for the paper. I needed way more separation between the performers and the background than was possible without lots of noise. But without lights, I couldn't make that happen. So I cranked up the ISO and made some pretty, if noisy, shots anyway.











Softball season is starting and we shot all the local high schools for team previews.












That's all for February! We're well into March now and I already have some great photos to show you.

Lighting Love

I know we haven't yet covered the February highlights, but here's a cool portrait I couldn't wait to share from this past week. This is Maria Hernandez, a parent volunteer at Mountain Meadows Elementary in Moorpark.
It was so bright outside, and when I arrived the kids were already going out for lunch, so I decided to use the shade, crowds of kids in the background, angular buildings a nice white wall to the left to bounce my strobe off for a colorful environmental portrait. I had to use a lot of power but the effect is great. If I had not been working with my lights lately I wouldn't have though of this setup. I'm just bummed it couldn't run in color! Fortunately, because the lighting came out so well it looks good in b/w.



Here's the story, where you can also see how the photo ran: " A first-hand approach to helping educators."

January Highlights!

As promised, here are the highlights from January of this year. Some cool shots!

Early in the month I shot the PAWS 4 Reading program at the Calabasas Library. This is always adorable, even if we have shot it a million times. I still love doing it.





Nearby, at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, a dad and his son played a friendly game of basketball in the early afternoon.





I shot the Simi High Wrestling team. Wrestling is so hard to shoot. You have to get low, onto the mat, or shoot from very high. They move around, feet are flying at the lens, it's sweaty and hot and gross... but sometimes the photos can be nice, especially if I can light the shots well.





Here's another playdate at Brandon's Village, a playground in Calabasas for disabled and normal kids to play together and have a good time in a safe environment.









This was not a planned shoot - I decided to get some wild art, so I stopped by the parks & rec building in Thousand Oaks and photographed a makeup class. Very informative, and the girls were thrilled to be in the paper.









I shot a ton of water polo this month! This is in Moorpark.











Here's a game at Royal High.









And another, Newbury Park v. Moorpark.





Out in Camarillo, I photographed a dog agility class for the first time. They move so fast, and it's very difficult to get owner and dog in the same frame. But it was challenging and fun.









Mr. Tom the music man came out to Thousand Oaks this month. What a fun show! The kids really got into playing all his different instruments, singing along, and even dancing!










Speaking of music, this is the conductor for the Westlake Youth Orchestra, directing his kids at Westminster Presbyterian in Westlake.





Here are some photographs of people very dear to me. John Grzywacz-Gray, on the right in the first photo, was my professor at Moorpark College for the four years I was in the photo department, taking classes. He is such a wonderful teacher and the most mischievous, sweet, silly man I know.




















Some kids at Arroyo West Elementary (I swear, all the cool things happen at Arroyo West!) decided it would be a nice gesture to collect coins for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. How awesome is that?





And finally, at the end of January, the big sports complex in Camarillo, Pleasant Valley Fields, finally opened to the public. It's massive! I went to the grand opening celebration.









Thanks for reading! Highlights of February are coming soon!