Afternoon in Balboa Park
Balboa Park is the largest urban park in the US and it was built up in 1915 for the World Exposition. Almost 100 years later the park still holds most of the marvel and beauty that it had when it was originally created. I spent an hour or so touring the park on Monday afternoon and it is a very nice place to go in the middle of the week. There were very few people there and it was fantastically lit in the late afternoon sun.
Beautiful Autumn Day in Canada
I just returned from Banff in Canada and browsing some pictures that I took. What I liked best about the trip was seeing the early evidence of fall, something that we do not get to see in San Diego. This particular stretch of highway, about 100 kilometers above the Lake Louise was stunning. There was absolutely no one on the road and had the most beautiful stretch of highway driving you can imagine all to myself. It was so beautiful.
Lake Louise
One of the prettier places in Banff National Park Canada is Lake Louis. It is a small lake where people can go and canoe on the very calm and still water. What makes the lake interesting is that the water is Turquoise blue. The water gets is color from minerals that are deposited by the glacier above. Right after I took this picture, I heard a loud roar and saw a huge avalanche on the glacier above. It was quite awe inspiring. What a peaceful and nice place this was to visit in the morning. It was empty and no one was around.
Rainy Day in Banff
I took a little last minute trip to one of the most beautiful places in Canada – Banff National Park. It truly is stunning however I seemed to have arrived just as a big rain storm brushed through the area. There were periods of snow and of rain. The snow was hard to believe as I just left San Diego in what appears to be an Indian Summer with nice weather. Banff is a very large national park here and it is quite popular but it is virtually empty this time of year given the fact that most people do not take their vacations now and kids are back in school.
This photo was taken during one of the very brief intermissions of rain which seemed to constantly fall every time I exited my car to take a photo. I am looking forward to taking much better pictures tomorrow and thursday as the rain is supposed to leave the region. It is beautiful regardless.
Oliver’s Awesome BatMobile
My nephew Oliver celebrated his 5th Birthday yesterday. The party was held at their house in Encinitas and it was a blast – there were lots of kids, chickens, superhero’s and a real life BatMobile. Now this was not just any Batmobile but a unique one of a kind custom build by his dad Michael. The custom build took over 40 hours (probably many more) and involved a lot of blood sweat and tears. The result was the most awesome looking kids car that I have ever seen. Michael designed and built the car himself using fiberglass, paint and other materials. You have got to see this car. I took a picture of Oliver in the car after the part ended. Oliver said it was the most awesome birthday ever. He has some great parents I must say and now he has a really awesome new car.
Helicopter Shooting
My brother owns an R22 Helicopter, a 4 seater which can prove quite handy for getting a unique vantage point for activities below. Every so often he invites me up to take pictures of yachting and boating events that are happening off the coast of San Diego. A few months back he invited me to shoot a race that several of his friends were participating in. The day was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky and the ocean was a deep and rich blue. It made for a spectacular day of shooting. He even took the doors off the helicopter to reduce the glare on the photos. Have a look.
San Diego has Architectural Genius
Many people say San Diego lacks culture. I always laugh when I hear this because San Diego has large Latino, Filipino, American Indian, Asian and Hawiian influences which can be seen in many parts of the county. Check out a San Diego Chargers game at Qualcomm on any given Sunday in fall and you will see that the predominant makeup of San Diego is people of color and not surfers as most people would imagine.
San Diego also has one of the most influential and masterful pieces of architecture in the world in a place called the Salk Institute. The Salk Institute was designed by Luis Kahn and it consists of two symmetric buildings with a stream of water flowing in the middle of a courtyard that separates the two. The buildings themselves have been designed to promote collaboration, and thus there are no walls separating laboratories on any floor. There is one floor in the basement, and two above it on both sides. Talk about “open plan” in today’s business world – well this is it. It is a tremendous location and believe it or not sits right above some of the best coastline in the world. If you look beyond the infinity water flow that goes through the building it seems to flow directly into the Pacific Ocean.
This is a magical and wonderful place in San Diego.
