I went for a walk around a very chilly Chicago with a couple of young photographers today, my niece Taylor and her friend Casey, to capture some street photography. We started in Chinatown, then went to the Water Tower, Lincoln Park, and ended up at Millennium Park. Here are some of the images I made…
There were lots of clouds in the sky all day today, which is pretty unusual for Southern California, and I just knew a great sunset was going to come out of it. So I went down to the beach by my house and waited. And I noticed this girl doing the same thing. Contemplative, serene, peaceful.
I Had a chance to take a stroll around one of the oldest part of Dubai today, Bastakiya. Here are just a few of the photos I took on that walk.
The man in gold spoke to me in the kind of English that gave away the fact he was educated. When I told him I liked Dubai, he said “You like Dubai? I hate Dubai.” And then he just walked away.
The Souk is the original marketplace in Dubai and there are different ones for different goods, such as the famous Gold Souk where you can purchase gold without paying tax, or electronics, fish, meat, vegetable, perfume and spice souks, as well as the ancient Covered Souk.Â
Abra is the traditional water ferry, but it is soon to be a thing of the past, relegated to the pages of history as the shiny, new new Water Taxi’s start to take over on Dubai Creek.
Bastakiya is an engaging place with lot’s of narrow lanes between buildings to walk in. It was established by textile and pearl traders from Iran and today it has a lively nightlife with little cafes and shows in the evening, after the heat settles down a bit.
More images from Dubai. Today we shot a Desert Oasis scene complete with camels, Dancers and musicians and Horse Riders. And it all ended with a spectacular sunset. Daydreams of Dubai is a magical journey through some of the most picturesque areas of the United Arab Emirate of Dubai and is being produced by Filmation 3D in Dubai with production support from 21st Century 3D and AeroCine.
I get the feeling that Dubai is the epitome of desert Oasis. In what would seem a terribly hard and unforgiving land, they have built gleaming edifices, Palaces to opulence, magnificent resorts and spa’s to cater to any and all luxurious pleasure. Today our little production company was at the only 7-star hotel in the world, the incomparable Burj Al Arab which has a staff of 8 for every patron staying in the hotel and a butler for each floor. The resort is so exclusive there is no check-in desk, all of the arrangements take place in the privacy of your own suite (oh, I forgot to mention, there are no “rooms”, only suites). Here are a few of the images I made today.
Tech Scout day on Longboat Key in Florida, the afternoon was overcast and at one point it started to rain pretty hard. As the day waned the rain had moved on, but the clouds that had been left behind foretold of a bleak sunset. Most of the crew left but I stayed behind hoping something interesting might happen, and right at the tail end of sunset, the clouds started to break apart and this beautiful scene presented itself.
I really like riding my bike down to the Santa Monica Pier for free music on Thursdays during the summer months. Last week was the final one for this year and one of my new favorite bands, Best Coast was playing. I brought my camera along for fun and made these images. I know it’s out of order, but the first image above was the last one I took that night. It was a beautiful, still night and the colorful lights from the buildings on the right just looked so perfect, and contrasted so well with the powerful orange glow of the city in the background. Check out the gallery for more great images I made from Venice and Santa Monica. Continue reading “Free Music Thursdays in Santa Monica”
I, like so many other people, have a fascination with the moon, some kind of inexplicable, odd attraction. Not that it inspires crazy actions or odd hair-growth spurts, rather it’s a majesty thing. The moon is a celestial body we can see differently from all the rest of the planets and stars and moons in the sky because it is so close to us. I guess it’s like a perennial child in that, it’s ours, it’s always there, and it’s always different. Precocious little thing, isn’t it?
So, when it made it’s closest orbit to us this past weekend I went out and made theses images of it.
[dc]T[/dc]he moon has inspired so many legends and tales and superstitions, but I think my favorite is one I’ve heard when I was on the Amazon river in Brazil. The Caboclos there have a myth that tells the story of how the mighty river was created. You see, it seems the Sun and the Moon were once lovers, but the Moon’s father forbid her from ever seeing the Sun. Like any forbidden love, they couldn’t be kept apart forever, so there are few but far-between times when they can come together. We call it the eclipse. But in those long breaks between their brief meetings, the Moon lamented her love and wept for her lover. And her tears created the Amazon river–a waterway so mighty it rises and falls 40 feet throughout the year. And the scientists say it’s due to extreme rainfall.
Shameless Self Promotion:
If you like that story, there are many more fantastic tales and outrageous myths that I’ve documented in a film I made about Life, Myths and music in the Amazon region of Brazil. You can buy or rent it at Amazon.
[dc]W[/dc]ith clear blue skies and perfect temperatures we lit out of Los Angeles like a couple of rogues after a bender which left a heap of twisted metal and broken hearts in our wake. Well, maybe it wasn’t quite so dramatic, but every once in awhile it’s really nice to just get out of LA in a testosterone fueled way, you know–rattle the bones and shake the cobwebs off, and this weekend my brutha from anutha country, Jakob, was in town from Copenhagen and we got on a couple of Road Kings and headed north on the coast highway, breathing in the salt air, wind on our faces, feeling every bit the Kings of the Road. Continue reading “The Road Kings”