Sony World Photography Awards 2014

This is really cool.

At the Atlantic.

A knight and his steed—from the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards http://t.co/Y2kOVrsnLt pic.twitter.com/Vb0jzdYlZO

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) February 5, 2014

Former Pro Scott Hostert Picks Up Skateboarding After 35 Years

My mom tipped me off to this article in the Los Angeles Times, which was buried way down inside the newspaper, at the Saturday wellness feature: "Middle-aged skateboarders defy family skeptics, and falls.

I laughed because my old skateboarding pals posted this picture of Scott Hostert on Facebook, at the Big O group page. I used to work at Big O Skatepark when I was in high school. Spent nearabouts every day at the park while it was open during its roughly three year run.

Hostert was on the Sims Skateboards pro team back in the day. That's me (at bottom left) just sitting, watching the action, next to the park's capsule pool, one of the greatest skatepark pools of that era.



Big O built a water slide sometime around 1981, and that was the beginning of the end for the park. The novelty wore off fast. And the water slide not only leaked all over the skateboarding pipes and pools, but it ended up being a death trap as well. See this old Los Angeles Times article, "Water Slide Victims Settle for More Than $300,000."

I would have been about 16 years old in the photograph, and going into my senior year in high school.

Not sure when, but I plan to get a new skateboard soon, and all the requisite safety gear, and head out to some of the great new skateparks that have opened up these days. I won't be looking to rekindle my former glory. Mostly, I just want to get some exercise and feel young again. I'll keep you posted.

Crisis in South Sudan

At the Big Picture:

Political disputes last month created a volatile situation in the young nation of South Sudan. Violence has spread killing more than 1,000 and has driven hundreds of thousand from their homes. Talks continue and UN peacekeepers were mobilized to try to stop the crisis from escalating further.

Be sure to click through.

Fabulous Rhian Sugden Photoshoot

Very nice.

From JD Anwar Photography in London.

New PICCIE!!! @Rhianmarie pic.twitter.com/jQLs4LQBq7

— JD Anwar (@JDAnwar) December 16, 2013

Click around at the Twitter profile for additional photos.

And here's the website.

New Emily Ratajkowski Photos from New York Filmmaker Jonathan Leder

Very nice.

At Egotastic!, "More Emily Ratajkowski Photos by Jonathan Leder."

The dude's blog is here.

All Ready for the Fall Semester

I was at the office on Monday finalizing my syllabi for the fall semester, which begins August 26.

The top photo shows my office as I was leaving, and below is the view looking east from the main entry to the new administration building toward the new parking structure.

And this article features a photo of the new classrooms in the same building, "At Long Beach City College, summer enrollment on the rebound."

I'm looking forward to getting back to work. It's been a great summer.

Roger Ballen Interview at Der Spiegel

This guy's got quite the body of work.

See, "Photography Legend Roger Ballen: 'Photos Are Like Fossils'."

Kopp-Etchells Effect

The corona effect from helicopter rotor blades in Afghanistan, and named the "Kopp-Etchells Effect" by war correspondent Michael Yon, after Cpl. Benjamin Kopp and Cpl. Joseph Etchells, who were killed in action.

Not sure why now, since Yon was writing about this back in 2009, but London's Daily Mail reports, "Mesmerizing halo effect caused by blades of landing combat helicopters named in honor of two fallen soldiers."

Lightning Strikes Behind the London Eye

At Telegraph UK, on Twitter.

Lightning strikes behind the London Eye, which is coloured red, white and blue to mark the #RoyalBaby's birth (PA) pic.twitter.com/p0EtptQcyA

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 23, 2013

More here.

New Images From NASA's Cassini Spacecraft

Amazing.

At LAT on Twitter.

Earth, as seen from 900 million miles away: http://t.co/s3hJRfLeCh pic.twitter.com/moEii9asnA via @deborahnetburn
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 23, 2013

Cool Instagram Account for U.S. Department of the Interior

I love this.

At London's Daily Mail, "Inside story: Photographs from U.S. Department of the Interior's Instagram account reveal the stunningly diverse landscapes of the United States."

22 Excellent Reasons to Drink More Whiskey

A quick diversion from immigration, at BuzzFeed "As If You Needed Any..." (Via Instapundit.)

That's Famous Grouse, seen at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa.

About Those 32 Revealing Photos of New York City in the 1970s

Louise Mensch tweets:

Buzzfeed calls these photos of #NYC in the 70s "stunning". I say thank God for Reagan and the Republicans #tcot http://t.co/bsUzanJ5YZ

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) June 20, 2013

Latest Trend? Women Stripping Down for Group Photo Shots

This was even featured on GMA this morning (not my favorite, but my wife was watching ABC).

At the New York Post, "The latest girl-power trend? Getting naked in front of the camera for a sexy group photo shoot."

Also at London's Daily Mail, "The brides-to-be stripping off to pose nude with their girlfriends in risque 'boudoir bachelorette party' shoots."

'I’ve had dogs run out at me on bikes before and you sort of get a feel for the distance the speed you’re going, but it was pretty tight...'

A dude up in Canada, Tim Bartlett, gets chased by a wolf while riding his motorcycle, and takes photos.

At the Washington Post, "Banff motorcyclist pursued by ‘massive’ grey wolf along stretch of B.C. highway, takes pictures" (via Althouse).

Photographer Matthew Christopher Documents America's Decaying Architecture

An awesome photo-report, at London's Daily Mail, "Abandoned America: Haunting images of the crumbling schools, decaying churches and rusting prisons that have been lost to time."

Freedom, Privacy, and Boston

We've lost a lot of our privacy with instant dissemination of the terror.

From Nicole Gelinas, at City Journal:

Much has been made, since the Boston Marathon bombings, of how social media have transformed policing and counterterror techniques. A less-remarked aspect of social networks is the way they have changed how individuals respond to disasters, whether man-made or natural. In particular, some who think nothing of snapping and instantly posting photos of themselves around the clock also have no compunction about snapping and instantly posting photos of the view outside their office windows or across the street during an attack or disaster. What they’re viewing and enabling others to view may be not only gruesome but also intensely personal—images of people gravely wounded or dying. Do people have the right to endure their suffering in private?

A decade ago, this problem didn’t exist. On September 11, digital cameras were still new, and uploading photos was cumbersome. Today, of course, everybody has a digital camera embedded in his phone, and it takes just seconds to send pictures around the world. Minutes after the Boston bombing, before cable news and newspapers had begun reporting it and before emergency responders had “cleared the scene,” as the euphemism goes, social-media users were already redistributing graphic photos of blood-soaked sidewalks still populated by victims with horrific injuries...

Continue reading.

Never Before Seen Beatles Photos From 1964

From Leslie Woodhead, at the Daily Beast:

They’re one of the most documented bands ever, but once and a while we get to see them in a new light. Documentary filmmaker Leslie Woodhead uncovered these photos he took of the Fab Four back in 1964 when they were recording in Manchester. He tells the story of the photographs in an excerpt from his new book, How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin.

Skateboarding Photos From the Old Days

I dug out some old photos to show my youngest son.

Here I'm skating at Paul Schmitt's house back in 1985. Schmitt was featured in the Los Angeles Times in 2008: "SKATEBOARD MAKER STILL ROLLING ALONG."

At Paul Schmitt's backyard half-pipe, Costa Mesa, 1985. twitpic.com/cjegss

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) April 14, 2013

The Sperminator

I took the boys up to Santa Monica today and we got back a little while ago. After I dropped off my oldest at the Third Street Promenade, I took my youngest over to Venice Beach to check out the skate park. I'll post more photos tomorrow, but I couldn't stop laughing when my son called me over to this effigy of Arnold Schwarzenegger as "The Sperminator." Gawd, this is hilarious:

More from Santa Monica later. We had a blast. And a nice break from blogging too.