Sept. 11 Memorial at WesternU

Photographers pin is lasting memory

Long time Little League photographer Russ Tinlsey last year gave me a pin from the 2001 Little League World Series during last year’s 2008 regional opening ceremony at San Bernardino.

It was my first and last time I would cover the event because I no longer work for the newspaper.

Before the ceremony started, while the teams from the Western Regional and the Northern Regional gathered, preparing for the flag waving entry, Mr. Tinsley, caring a camera, came near me. It was like a time when two people notice each other at the same time. We looked at each other. We smiled and I said hello.

With no further conversation he reached into his pocket and gave me a World Series pin.

He told me he wanted me to have this. I looked at it and admired the pin, still wrapped in plastic, and then looked at him and thanked him, all the time wondering how cool is this. I also wondered why me.

As he left to do other things and meet people, I looked around and noticed my colleague at the time, Al Cuizon, nearby. He looked at me with that nod of how cool and lucky are you. He said something to the fact that he would have liked to get one too.

This was a day I also brought an intern Kai Le with me. We were covering the opening ceremonies with cameras. Al was there for video and Will was there setting up his computer in one of the "rooms" so he could be ready to send photos of the first game on deadline.

The 2009 Regionals begin August 7 with championship games on August 15 and 16. For more information visit www.eteamz.com/llbwest.

Photo of Crash in Highland

A photo I took today on my way to work. Luckily no one was seriously injured.

Clifford catches some light

This morning, Sunday, was may day to sleep in. I have not been taking my camera out much over the weekends except to take photos of my favorite model, Clifford. This morning, after pouring a cup of coffee, I noticed Clifford hanging out in a patch of light coming through one our windows. He's done this before, and every time I go get my camera and start to work some shots out, he moves. This morning, he just hung out and occasionally looked over at me. I had about 10 minutes to work angles. I tried standing on my couch, laid on the ground, moved my camera high and low. Then I moved to the other side of a coffee table. I was thinking this table is in the perfect spot - in my way!
So, I tried a low-to-the-ground photo and I tried to squeeze between just under the table and a bar of wood that went across to stabilize the table. It seemed like everything was in my way for that shot. So I squeezed some more, angled my camera under the table and guessed at taking the photo. I was happy with my first try. So here you see the two angles, plus a photo of Clifford licking his paw. I did not include the high angled photo from the couch because It just did not like it as much. If you want to see it, let me know and I'll add it.

Photo of my cat, my monorail cat

I love my cat Clifford. He's always looking so serious. He also likes to hang out on our rail on our stairs, which is why I call him a monorail cat. I like to take photos of him and today I captured him in deep contemplation.

Boy, 12, admits to starting Highland fire.

Here is a story from The Sun, confirming rumors that a young boy had started a fire in East Highlands Ranch area on June 07.
Click here for story.
See my previous story to see fire photos from the day.

Fire Burns Mountain near East Highlands Ranch

Today was quite the scare. I kept hearing sirens and after a few more came along, my wife hollered down from the stairs as to what what going on out there. I ended up looking out the sliding glass door and easily spotted smoke billowing from beyond our backyard and in the mountains just above. We calmly got some stuff together into bags, told my wife and daughter I love them. I checked with neighbors, took a few photos and then re-checked with my family. I got my limited gear in order, because I needed to tackle my news bug and see the fire for myself, and off I went, around and up a few streets. Suddenly I was seeing the fire, smoke and neighbors. Soon I saw more fire trucks approach and fire fighting helicopters. I even went on a friends roof, being invited to check it out from their view, which was a couple blocks closer to the fire than our house.









Here are some photos and Here is a link to a photo gallery.
The roughly 20 acre fire is contained and no one was injured.

In Memory of Sam Maloof

Celebrated woodworker Sam Maloof died Thursday night. His modern rocking chairs and other furniture adorn private collections and museums around the world. In 1996, I first photographed him in his old house that was later moved to make room for the 210 Freeway extension. I cherished every moment I photographed him, admiring a true artist. To see more photos, Click here. As you can see above, I have used Sam in my blog title for the past year. (Photos while working at the Daily Bulletin)
Click here to see even more photos of a gallery of images I shot on www.dailybulletin.com from January 2008.

Jeff Malet Photography Website

http://www.jeffmalet.com

How many times can I go up and down

One, two, three, four, five, six and if I’m lucky all the way to 10. Up and down, up or down. The fascination with the elevator is as strong as ever as I get older.

Maybe I don’t have the desire to punch all of the buttons, go to the top, and back down, and doing that over and over. At least that is what I did when I was a kid.

Macy’s, Robinsons, Bullocks, the dentist office, and any hotel or tall building I might be in are all places I played with the elevator. I almost always hung out in one because I was bored waiting. I always waited for my mom to finish shopping, my sister to finish getting her teeth cleaned, or just I just needed to get out of the hotel room.

I came across an elevator being repaired the other day. This elevator goes back around 30 years. Looks like they have replaced certain parts I can’t name, but it was shiny and new which made me stop. I like they way there is sheen, a reflective feeling to it. The light inside the shaft gives off an orange-red glow, which adds a layer to the overall simple photo.


In the other photo to the right, I was again intrigued with the machine part of the elevator. After trying several filters through Adobe Photoshop, I settled on Find Edges, which can be found under Filter and then under Stylize. This really brought out the mechanics and subtle shades and lines that are not so visible just looking at it. Plus, it also made it artsy in a drawing old-school way.