Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I spent a great day shooting around the Colorado Plateau near Page,
Arizona. The air was dry and still until late afternoon, when a storm
passed through and really popped the colors of the river and rock. A
few long exposures near Lake Powell at dusk too.

Arizona road at dusk

Mighty Colorado River last night.

Friday, May 22, 2009

I felt gross this morning...

I am in Zion National Park for a few days and I couldn't help but feel a little gross by having waste in my hands...

I bought a deli sandwich today and was given a free bag of Lay's chips, which looks healthy because a big '0 trans fat' label is on the package!! yahhhh! right?

Well, the packaging is the problem and there needs to be more thought about making products better upstream. Making products friendlier from the onset and not relying on recycling or 'send us your bag' campaigns so that the environment is not harmed by land-fill filling packaging...

I opened this foil/plastic bag and found maybe 15 % were actual chips, while the other 85% was packaging. Thanks! How gross is that? Wasteful!

Something to think about when buying snacks no??

To be fair to Lays, they are hoping to roll out a compostable bag that will degrade naturally in 2010. Let's hope they are true to their word and this helps keep millions of pounds of packaging waste out of the landfills.

I ate the measly 13 pieces of chips and still had this BAG in my hand, feeling guilty about where I should put it....

Gross.

An interesting link about packaging.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/biodegradable-recyclable-packaging-solution.php




Friday, May 15, 2009

Appreciate...

I'm at a surgery unit in Santa Clara for a family matter, and
thankfully all is well. Photos below are of consultation room where
many families have received bad news.
I can't help but think about all the pain experienced in this non-
descript, generic room.

Enjoy every sandwich.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

No words necessary...

t

I've been in LA a couple days pitching some new travel show ideas to
production companies. This picture is from last night at a good buddy
of mines' house near Burbank. I forgot about all the craziness I was
down in LA for, as me and my compadre sat in his backyard, had a few
cervezas and listened to thin lizzy and the waterboys at volume....

I love getting lost with one of my brothers...

Sunday, May 10, 2009

This is the Sea Yeah....

Wrapping up a beautiful couple weeks of warm surf and good times, on a cool boat called Nefarious.... Heading East soon.






Thursday, May 7, 2009

Can't Do Business on a Dead Planet....

Another great morning in the water on a beautiful stretch of the North Shore. I had at least 10 delicious waves in just over an hour, with a handful of other surfers and a couple paddle boarders.

It was clean with just a hint of wind holding up crystal-clear head high water.
A perfect morning.

I wandered over to a coffee shop with a content smile and was kind of bummed out about a bit of green-washing going on at this popular, well-trafficked coffee joint.
I understand completely that it is not all black and white; a grey area exists for every issue and every action has a reaction…

At the coffee counter, there is a stack of old-school styro-foam cups, which are the default vehicle for one’s coffee. Next to this stack there is another load of organic cups with a small sign about the importance to go green and save the environment, but it will cost you 15 cents if you want the ‘friendly cup’.

C’mon guys…. This a non-committal way to jump on the green bandwagon no? Is this just your attempt to offset the stack of styros which have been used here for eternity?

It just seems to me that business needs to operate in conjunction with the environment, not the other way around. At what point did we, I, you, decide that we were above the general eco-system? We have operated so long without acknowledging our coexistence with pacha mama (mother earth), and still argue today that it will cost too much to run a business in a responsible way as it relates to our natural world.

How about this? There is no business to be done on a dead planet… David Brower said this ages ago and it such a simple idea to embrace, it seems to me.

Just a bummer to see this, especially in a place like the North Shore of Oahu where the environment is such a large theatre for the lifestyles of many.

I’ll probably go catch a few more waves this afternoon and let it all fall off my mind for a while until I go get my coffee in the morning, and pay my 15 cents for what, in my opinion, should be included in their cost of doing business in 2009.

Hasta Pronto Amigos





Monday, May 4, 2009

A Roar in May....


This was a day for no wahines to be sure.
It began soft and grey in the 5 o’clock hour as the dawn broke. Groggy-eyed boys and one girl fell onto the beach, waxed boards and gave cool nods to the not so innocent by-standers at glorious Pipeline.


I came this morning to shoot as the forecast called for 8-10 feet this morning; and this is Hawaiian measurement my friends….which isn’t a sunny San Diego on Cinco de Mayo!
I wondered if perhaps the weather guy was mistaken because the surf wasn’t that fierce, and being it was May, this made sense. I shot a bit, sipped some coffee, and watched more people pour into the water. I got antsy, shoved my camera into the trunk, grabbed my fins and I too fell into the blue. I figured I’d catch some waves with my body a while and see if this swell was going to show up or not. I glided, tumbled and felt the sun breaking through the bog, ray by ray until my nose was on fire. I high-kneed it up the beach and turned around to see the waves looking a bit thicker and more menacing than the last few sets that marched on in.

I grabbed my gear from the car and returned to find the ocean had awakened, and she was roaring…! There was a handful of the tribe floating at the lip of Pipeline, waiting to drop in and ride. In an instant it seemed as if it was December, and all the boys were here to shred, compete and dare. I could not believe how fast and how large the sets became, as I shot furiously the gunners dropping into and riding beautiful pieces of energy!

The waved poured in for about an hour; surfers rode, some swam over mountains and a few boards had their last day at Pipe....

I never get tired of seeing this wave do her dance.











Sunday, May 3, 2009

North Shore Green and Blue...





I'm on the North Shore of Oahu for a couple weeks soaking up the flower-filled air and lush, green trees set up against the big blue. Fierce and beautiful water.

more soon.