LAX "Space Age" Landmark

Just returned from a business trip tonight, and got into LAX about 8 PM.  I was parked on the 4th floor (rooftop) of lot 1, and had a great view of what is now called Encounter Restaurant, so I snapped this shot with my iPhone.  This structure has been here for years, and I can only guess that it was built to have a "space age" look back in the day.

Does it remind you of something from 

the Jetsons??

After the Rain...

Hope your week is getting off to a good start.  We got a little rain in S. CA today. As the storm clouds started to break and the sun came out, we were treated to a beautiful rainbow!

Family Reunion in the Desert

We enjoyed a near perfect weekend out near Joshua Tree this weekend... temps in the mid-70's, light breeze, and blue skies! The best part is my wife and I were joined by my mom, sister, my cousin and his wife, and my aunt for a mini-reunion. I say "near" perfect because my other cousin and his wife weren't able to join us this year, so we really missed seeing them. But there's always next year, right? (or sooner??).

My wife, mom, and aunt enjoying a desert sunset!

My cousin and his wife, Geology Tour Road,
Joshua Tree

My sister and aunt, hiking along Geology Tour Road.

Desert blooms in a wash behind the house...
linking to Macro Monday

Pondering a black hole... a mine opening along
Geology Tour Road

Tailgate lunch (provided by Lap Dog Knits... thanks!!!) along
Geology Tour Road in Joshua Tree

Exploring an abandoned desert homestead cabin.

Night shot... looking west towards the village of Joshua Tree

Night sky last night (2/25/12)... I think that's Venus next to
the moon, and Jupiter at the very top of the photo.

F8, 50 sec. exposure, iso 400, 25mm focal length.  Hope 

your weekend was a good one!

Scanning Old Negatives & Slides

I've made a discovery and feel like perhaps I'm the last to know... is it common knowledge that you can buy photo scanners (relatively inexpensively) that will scan 35mm film negatives (B&W and color) and even 35mm slides? It's very cool, especially if you're like our family and have boxes and binders full of 35mm film negatives and positives. So I purchased an Epson V500 Photo Scanner from Amazon and I'm very pleased. It gives you lots of options with regard to image quality, and the end result is great. And in today's digital world, you can take your scanned image and touch it up in PS and make it look even better than the original!

One of my favorites... left to right, my Mom, Grandmother and Grandfather out for a drive in their Buick Roadmaster (1949?). What a beauty, and look at all that chrome!! Scanned from a B&W negative.


Another fun photo... scanned from a print I've had in my office for about 15 years... that's my wife, son, daughter, and pet dinosaur out at Cabazon (notice dino's nice smile for the photo and "hand" on my wife's shoulder; and my daughter is missing some front teeth... fun times!).  

The next two photos are from 35mm Kodachrome slides. I used to shoot a lot of Kodachrome, and I have a bunch of binders full of slides in my office. At one point I was going to throw them away because I didn't know what else to do with them. Thank goodness I didn't!

Both of these photos were taken years ago from my Sister-in-law's deck overlooking Kona. So beautiful... almost makes me want to go out and start shooting film again!!

Have a great weekend. Linking to 

Skywatch Friday. Heading out to the 

desert this weekend for a family reunion...

hope to have some good desert shots to post.