Picture of the Week #427 "Branching Out" Beverly Hills, California 2013 Signed & Stamped

There was something going on in Beverly Hills and as i was nonchalantly walking I noticed this strange character standing on the tree. I have no idea what possesses someone to dress up like this and parade themselves through a crowd. Is he protesting? Supporting? What is his statement? I believe if you are going through all the trouble of making an outfit and putting it on and parading through a crowd there is something you want to convey. I'll be damned if I know what it is, only that he made me smile.

Picture of the Week #426 "Carnivale Crowd" Venice, Italy 2011 Signed & Stamped

I remember standing on the bridge looking down to see the swarm of people coming towards me. I grabbed this one quick shot and love the woman with the floating eye as well as the masked reveler nearest to me. They make the shot in my estimation. The Carnivale is truly one of my memorable photographic excursions and I find it hard to understand why I am having such a difficult time in placing the colorful images into a gallery.

Picture of the Week #425 "Monster Mash" Beverly Hills, California 2016 Signed & Stamped

On my usual walk through Beverly Hills around the holidays I came across this window display. Frankly I didn't give it much thought, I snapped one picture and moved on. Now that I am working on "Pictures That Make You Smile" I thought this fit right in. I'm slowly trying to brand myself as a humorous photojournalist. I see things differently than most photographers. Hopefully my pictures bring joy and smiles to the viewer. I had said years ago that I was tired of portraits of dead celebrities, pictures of Half Dome and images from war, and I wondered why there couldn't be worthwhile pictures that make you smile. Well, maybe, just maybe these will catch on. Stay tuned.

Picture of the Week #424 "Congestion" Venice, California 2016 Signed & Stamped

Ann went with me to the doctors. She said bring your camera and we'll take a walk along Ocean Avenue when we're through. Never would I not do what my beautiful wife demands. So like a complaint and dutiful husband I obeyed. We strolled along the upper corniche and I think to myself that this could have been much worse as the Doctor could have given me bad news. But thankfully this day I was in the clear and glorious sunshine. I clicked off a few shots but nothing to write home about. And as Ann has a penchant to do, she suddenly announces that it's time to go home. She must have hit her "bored" meter redline. I shuffle along behind her. Then for some unknown reason I turn and walk to the railing and shoot off a few more images of the parking lot & the beach. That was it till I go them home and saw that I for some reason I had made them very dark. But I liked them. I put them into the computer and turned them balk & white and that was it. It was like they were meant to be taken only this way. I emailed them to Meridith Baer my biggest collector and sure enough she bought 2 of the parking lot and four of the beach. That was my kind of day, Take the photo and sell it all in one day. If only every day could be like this one.

Picture of the Week #423 "Waiting, Watching, Wondering" West Hollywood, California 2016 Signed & Stamped

I stopped by MOCA in West Hollywood to see this furniture exhibit by Rick Owens who I believe is married to Michele Lamy who gave me my breakout show "Holy Men, Medicine Men, Mad Men" back in 2002 at her gallery "Les Deux Cafe". She also put on this exhibit so I was anxious to see it. Sadly it didn't knock me out. Yes, I did like some of the pieces, but it all felt like style over function. The function may have been purposely ignored but I just didn't get it. The bench these two people were sitting on was one of the more interesting pieces. I'm also not a fan of the image hanging on the wall. These two people were sitting and looking at it and I was wondering what they saw in it or were they just resting?