Brent's Photography Adventures

Too many art shows this spring has kept me away from the family too long...time to bring them along. And what better place than Venice Beach.

Friday morning, with almost everything packed, ready to load up the jeep, Lyla has to do one final inspection to make sure we didn't forget any of her toys

Let's see...baby doll, coloring books...

buckets and barbies...

and more buckets and sand sifters...

Looks like I passed the inspection!

Lyla spent the morning with Abuela and Nicky worked a half day so that I could get everything loaded up.

OK, 1:00 pm, right on time, all packed up. Time to get my girls and head west

Adios Abuela!

now we are officially packed full!

A happy Lyla is always a good traveling companion!

Well, we made it a half hour before the first pee stop...not too bad

After a quick trailer inspection we are back on the road

Hopefully we can make it there before sunset for some potential photo opportunities

Looking alittle sleepy, a nap would be nice, maybe then we could get there before sunset...but we were not that lucky.

So after 3 more pee stops we finally made it to the Island Breeze Resort.

And of course we have to be sure to get the most important stuff inside right away!

well, sun is setting so we are not going to make it to the beach for sunset tonight...I'm really looking forward to waking up at 4 in the morning to set up of the art show though!

While I got up at 4 am to set up for the show, Lyla and Nicky got to sleep in.

You stay here daddy and sell some art...mommy and I have a lot to do today!

And oh yeah...I am going to need to borrow your sunglasses daddy

Mommy and I will bring you some ice cream later...

After we find a water park...

Lay out by the pool...

And maybe take a nap...

Then find an ice cream shop!

And get an ice cream cone for daddy

Did you really want ice cream too daddy? You probably wont like it...I'll hold onto it for you!

Its crazy windy here, but looks like its going to make for a good sunset.

5:00pm - time to close up shop and head to the beach!

Daddy, I know the sun is setting soon, but I think it is more important for me to figure out this buckle without your help.

OK, 15 minutes to buckle (but she finally got it), and 1 minute drive to the beach! here we are

See daddy, we made it in time...plenty of sunshine left in the day!

To the ocean!

Too many toys though mommy, I cant carry my beach bag that far.

I got it from here mommy...

lets go find some fossilized shark teeth!

No luck with the shark teeth today, but looks like the sunset is going to work out for us!

Nailed it Lyla!

And with a little zoom...

we have a little professional! I wont even try to compete with these shots!

Well, long day for everyone...

its gonna be an early night

I'm glad we had a chance to get one good trip to the beach, because Saturday night the weather went downhill and made for a cold, windy and rainy Sunday morning.

Looks like warm breakfast is going to out compete cold windy beach

Another great day Sunday, and off we go back to the east coast in time for work Monday morning.

Thanks for following our adventures!

Well, we are due again for another adventure and we're back at it again on Blue Cypress Lake.

We rented out some cabins again on the lake with our friends Mike and Rosa and their kids.

Last time we went to Blue Cypress I got a lot of great shots of the Cypress trees but due to some technical difficulties I wasn't able to make it on the lake for sunrise or sunset, so that was my priority for this trip.

And this time we successfully got our boat to the lake!

DAY 1:
After a late arrival on Friday night I was the only one that was up for sunrise Saturday morning, so I decided to let everyone sleep in and I would take a solo trip on the lake.

It was looking to be a great sunrise, so I had to find a place to set up. I found this little cove on the west shoreline which works well for the sunrise, but I have a hard time staying in one place...

So off I go across the lake to the east shoreline where I haven't yet explored

There are some sweet cypress trees on this part of the lake too.

Nice! Better get back to the cabin and check on the others

Lyla's up, and she knows the rules...no binky outside the crib!

Nice, eggs and bacon on the grill!

Nothin like hot grilled breakfast by the water!

Jesse couldn't wait for breakfast though so he hit the cereal

Well, the wind was ripping out of the east making whitecaps...so it looks like it is not going to be a good day for boating.

So we decided to take a relaxing day at the cabin where Jesse taught Lyla how to fish

we'll get it figured out

There we go!

Jesse took the prize for the biggest fish.

Even though we don't get the rest of the group on the water , it was still nice to chill on the boat in front of the cabin.

Looks like it is nap time though

It was still pretty choppy to take everyone on the boat, so during nap time Mike and I ventured out.

We decided to head across the lake to the east shoreline which will be sheltered from the wind.

After an hour or so of unsuccessful fishing I decided that it was time to bring out the camera. Looks like just the right amount of cloud cover to make for an interesting sunset.

Recent rains in the local area have raised the water level to depths too deep to touch bottom so I couldn't get out of the boat with my tripod to get the shots. I was pretty bummed that I would not be able to take any long exposure shots.

Getting tired of shooting out of the boat and pretty bummed I can't shoot from the water...time to explore other options

For me, I need to be fully embedded in the landscape to really get an appreciation for it as I am shooting...so get on out of here Mike, but don't forget to pick me up later.

Sweet! I am lovin' this sky!

So cool to how these trees grew up in the deep water like this

Check out this cl cormorant that Mike flushed out of the tree as he was taking off.

And the sky keeps getting better and better

Gonna wait it out in the tree here for a few to let the sun drop a little more

Alright I think my feet are going to fall off, hope Mike gets back soon!

It's my third trip to the lake now and each time I am hoping for glassy flat conditions to work with the reflections, but it is always windy. This protected little area is the closest I was able to get to glassy waters.

Time to find a new location

Nice, after another set of unsuccessful casts I gave up on the fishing. Catching some fish would have been nice, but these shots are just as rewarding for me!

The sky and the clouds kept changing so much throughout the sunset that I couldn't set the camera down

Sometimes the afterglow of the sunset is even better than the sunset. I love the subtle colors here

Oh man, its 5:30 and its already dark...I cant get used to this, we forgot to hike. We will just have to do a nighttime hike

And she still fits in the backpack!

...and doesn't want to get out of it either!

Day 2 One last sunrise

Well, one more chance for a few more sunrise shots and Mike was determined to catch a 12 pound bass. Lyla and Nicky were sleeping so soundly that I decided to let them sleep in.