phil beron photography

Bishop with David Muench

2010-10-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

Day one with David Muench in Bishop. Great time and great guy with a great eye.

but then again he has 50+ photography books published since the 1970's.

Here's a few I took today.

trees n leaves

2010-09-06T23:16:00.000-07:00

trees from mammoth and leaves from the bel air hotel.
not sure why I felt like putting them together
but it feels right

roadside attractions

2010-04-12T12:04:00.001-07:00

Always fun to have a damaged card.
Like I said I'm keeping this one.
How does the card know to make better art than me?

Photos by Andrew

2010-04-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Disney with Andrew

2010-04-11T10:59:00.001-07:00

Great nite at Disney w Andrew (as usual)
He sent me full res 9 billion megapixel pictures so I only did one of his and it's first. Bad ass too.

fun on the way to mammoth agian\

2010-04-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

on the road

2010-04-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

faulty camera card gave me some interesting photos

not gonna throw that card away

gonna shoot with it till it melts

LA Marathon

2010-04-10T09:25:00.001-07:00

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Robertson blvd

2010-03-23T00:23:00.001-07:00

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New friends

2010-03-23T00:22:00.001-07:00

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Thru a glass

2010-03-15T14:55:00.001-07:00

Kinda says it all

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Location:Mammoth

Windmills on the way toMammoth

2010-03-09T12:30:00.001-08:00

_MG_9922 as Smart Object-1, originally uploaded by philberon.

It was a windy day
The car rolled on
Greg had the peddle down
He was driving

Hunter said
lets shoot the windmills
Greg hung a left
we were flying

Down the potholed road
toward our goal
never did veer
windmills were a near

Glass Block at Primo Burger

2010-03-08T22:26:00.001-08:00

Good ol Primo Burger
Happy to find you after all these
years.

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Location:Mojave

Heli skiing in Jackson

2010-02-22T17:58:00.001-08:00

Wynn

2010-02-15T21:54:00.001-08:00

Photoshop for iPhone
All I'm saying

Location:Wynn Vegas

Car in Culver City

2010-02-15T21:52:00.001-08:00

Cool car on the street
Great lines
Great shine

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Location:Uh.......

Smiles

2010-02-15T21:50:00.001-08:00

Couldn't resist

Location:Old Navy

Andrew

2010-02-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Had lunch w Andrew today
Took this

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Bridge over

2010-02-12T10:27:00.001-08:00

Now we drive over the dam

Sion we will drive on this thing

Stuff hanging

2010-02-11T22:18:00.001-08:00

Nuff said

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Location:Chicago

Cirque de

2010-02-10T23:54:00.001-08:00

Another forbidden shot.
Abruptly scolded after taking this from sourpuss gallery attendant in city center at cirque de solel art gallery.
Worth it.

XS

2010-02-08T20:09:00.001-08:00

I'd like to say I covered this girl in cloth or Saran Wrap and took this photo.
I did take the photo
Of a statue in the entrance of XS -- snuck in during the day when no one was looking.
Pictures a no no in this area
Fun!

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Photos finally

2010-02-06T21:53:00.000-08:00

Been a while
Trying a new mobile bloggy thing to make me a better blogger
Can I get pictures on here?
Yes!

Matisyahu playing an acoustic set at the El Rey.
So smoothy cool so

New years in Vegas- steve wynn style.
But first a little powder shot of my friend in Park City
There for Sundance but 18 inches called us to get new flites and ski ski ski

Location:E Aster Dr,Scottsdale,United States

Las Vegas strip quad style

2009-10-19T22:57:00.001-07:00

The strip has been photographed so many times there can't possibly be anything unique to say with light. Ha!

The quad style photo app on my iphone says "not so fast".

a short drive down the strip and I came up with these.

slim sham shum look what the iphone has done.

HO Skyline and my room

2009-10-12T00:25:00.001-07:00

Ho, pimp

my bedroom

Seattle from W Seattle on a briliant nite
Moon coming over the city providing sick light and the sun setting behind shining on the buildings.

Ho pimp reference helps if you watch Hung.

little round circles

2009-10-10T21:11:00.001-07:00

something bout out of focus shots with city lights turning round

not sure why it's so appealing
but it is

strangely nice
gumballs?

zenny

2009-10-07T23:53:00.001-07:00

Had fun fun fun in the Sukka at Steve and Stacey's place the other day. Caught a few lucky pics of Zenny that I thought were cute!

Great smile and great personality. Great all around.

All taken with an iphone and manipulate in best camera app. And photogenie.

iphone rocks

Art

2009-09-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

Two photos from MOMA from a NY trip last spring. No rhyme no reason.
And the crazy town pic with the colored little trees on the floor is from Bergamont Station ==taken by my 15 year old niece. Who really didn't want to be there (till she saw Mathew Perry)
Coolest thing ever. All black on the other side.
OK it's 5 am and I should be sleeping.

Hollywood and Highland

2009-08-15T20:30:00.001-07:00

Night shots at Hollywood and Highland. Iso up .

This was a metal sign for my nieces favorite store - Forever 21. Spent way too long in that store when she was in town.
The light off the metal sign was Captain Fantastic. Changed depending on your distance and angle (of course, I guess).

Little lightroom later and some croppage and here are two of them.

Hollywood and Highland

2009-08-10T21:17:00.001-07:00

Ah the joy of Hollywood - especially at nite. Nothing quite like it.

Still crowds and flowers around Michael Jackson's star. Still the usual 8 years old "trust jesus" sign boy.

Hollywood and Highland -- the mecca for nite photography.
But really, is the huge mean female security ogre necessary? Does she have to be so perfectly unpleasant, rude, power smitten?

Aside from her - sheer nighttime photo magic. Most people could care less if you point the camera right at them. It's one place where cameras are welcome.

taken with an iphone
manipulated in photogenie and camerasplash
tossed into lightroom for good measure

Michael Grecco at Julia Dean contest

2009-07-20T23:16:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I took the "Dramatic Portrait" class by Michael Grecco at the Julia Dean school of photography in Venice CA.

Michael was so good. Great class. One cool thing he did was have a contest for the dramatic photo of the group. Now, this was completely up to him--his was the only vote.

Never the less ---our group won the little contest. First and only contest I ever won for photography.

window and water reflections

2009-07-19T01:37:00.000-07:00

shot thru a window in the winter near Boston.

sailboat masts in a puddle

Spring skiing Mammoth Mountain

2009-07-19T00:24:00.000-07:00

Glorious day! sunny, hot, good snow................

A good time to be alive it was.

Stealth Bomber during the Rose Parade

2009-07-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Got a cool press pass for the Rose Parade oh so long ago in January. Forgot I had these till today.
The quietest bad ass stealth bomber flew overhead. It was stealthy indeed. Could barely hear it till it was right overhead.
The first shot is from right beneath it. The other two are it coming right at me.

Bad Ass Airplane.

Alta Utah and Little Cottonwood Canyon

2009-06-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

This is your typical view coming up or down Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah. The road is often slippery as hell and tons of snow blanket the trees, road, everything.

In short--it's awesome.

Broken Glass is your friend

2009-06-19T00:58:00.000-07:00

Some workers broke a huge window in my old house while renovating. It stayed broken for a month or two.
At first I was kinda pissed but soon realized it was kinda cool. I mean no air or animals came in and the photos were very fun and eye catching. Click on that bad boy and see how cool it looks bigger.

So I did a bunch. Here is one simple one. Depending on the time of day, focus, f-stop, etc.... you could create a whole world of possibility. More to come cuz these are fun.

Del Rey Yacht Club Catalina Race part 2

2009-06-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

A few panoramics to start with. Oh Oh I ended with a preposition.
The first is the starting point in Catalina for the race back to Marina Del Rey. I left it choppped up and not cropped just to be different.
Next is a 6 shot pano completely done in Lightroom with a couple of Nik filters thrown in for good measure. And cropped thinly or tightly or whatever you want to call it.
The 3rd shot is the Marina Del Rey to Catalina portion of the race. Those three boats with Malibu in the backround are our main competitors. The went high - we went low. They were right -we were wrong. We lost by 14 minutes or so.
This last shot I just like.

Del Rey Yacht Club Catalina Race part 1

2009-06-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

The race was super fun. Ok these pics were taken at night while moored --safe and sound. Fun with flash at night. The light was full moonlight in the back and the flash from a point and shoot for the figures.
These were all hand held at midnight on a boat. Thus less than stellar sharpness. But stellar fun taking them. X, Hunter, Greg, Carl, and me had a ball thinking of ways to shape light.

More tomorrow from this series. Then on to some sailing pics.
Stay tuned.

NY spring flowers iphone style

2009-06-02T21:52:00.001-07:00

NY spring flowers, originally uploaded by philberon.

iphone with colorsplash app.

It's a beautiful day! It's a beautiful world today

Buildings may crumble but Maytag...........

2009-06-02T02:00:00.001-07:00

Maytag, originally uploaded by philberon.

I took this picture on Route 66 out of Santa Fe in 2002.
On a Canon G1.

This crazy maytag washer sitting in front of this crazy wall of some home long gone.

Say what you will about technology--that Maytag is in perfect shape. Poor little thing--sitting out in the rain, in the dessert, in the cold, in the scorching sun.

They don't make em like they used to.

The Four Corners

2009-06-02T01:39:00.001-07:00

The Four Corners, originally uploaded by philberon.

Ah, embarrassing photo of the week.
In 7th grade I was in a class with three of my best friends-Andy, Bobby, and Dan the Man.

I guess we were a bit of trouble cuz our teacher Mr. Dziedzic put us in the four corners of the classroom-so we wouldn't talk to each other.

Deep down he loved us He was one of the best teachers --good friends with us and very cool guy.

Still friends with these jokers. We all have a tad less hair now.

Lee Tonks fabulous photos

2009-05-31T09:47:00.001-07:00

LEE_3762editedflk, originally uploaded by lotsofdpi.com.

I met Lee and his wife thru my class at the Julia Dean School of Photography in Aline Smithson's class.

Lee is certainly gifted -everyone knows that. Most known for his phenomenal photos of his daughter (placed in some rather unique circumstances).

I've been a fan of this body of work and it can be seen by clicking on
www.LeeTonksPhotography.com

I came across his Flickr page and had to share this pic I've never seen before. Remarkable.

For those who ask-and everyone does-- I met his daughter and she is the cutest, well adjusted, girl who has ever been asked to pose with dead stuffed animals and leap of cliffs--you have ever met.

Great job Lee!

On the way to Mammoth CA -thru Bishop and up on top

2009-05-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

Random shots from the top of Mammoth Mountain (11,400 ft) of the Minarets thawing out.
Cars in Bishop CA on the way to Mammoth CA. 1 sec exposure
My favorite sign on the way to mammoth mountain. Makes me want to eat a burger and do a little laundry for sure!

Romeo the iPhone and Mammoth CA

2009-05-27T00:31:00.001-07:00

Philip Beron Philberon.com

MOMA courtyard thru fence on 53rd st

2009-05-18T01:24:00.001-07:00

MOMA courtyard thru fence on 53rd st, originally uploaded by philberon.

Taken on my iphone and manipuated on colorsplash app.

Monet at Moma

2009-05-10T23:29:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd take a 5 shot panoramic of the amazing Monet at MOMA. Was waiting for a clear shot when I noticed this guy walking the entire length - very slowly.

So I shot it with him in it. Wasn't sure how it would stitch in photoshop with him in each shot.

But it worked out and didn't fool the "stitcher". It stitched the painting and ignored him. Perfect!

Click on it to see it bigger and better and note the seamless stitch of 5 different shots.

I Love NY

American Flag--Stars and Stripes Newburyport MA

2009-05-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

Feeling patriotic. Obama, financial crisis whatever it is.

And you can't but help feel patriotic in a town where all the homes are from 1750 and the town square is the same (except now there is a starbucks) as it was in 1814.

Great place. Very America.

Thinking of the flag today.

Love my country.

Newburyport MA Reflections

2009-05-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Behind on my photos. Got some from Alta, Santa Barbara, Boston, New York.

Had to travel last month cuz I had to get it all in before starting work May 1.
Have not worked full time in 2 years to the day.

Newburyport is full of reflections. Wherever you look there is something looking back at you in a window or pool of water.

Boats in a SUV window.

Cups and glasses in a window with
building reflections.

A woman and tree in a puddle. Orginally shot upside down.

I like it better right side up.

More shiny things are coming soon

Newburyport MA or Boston Reflections

2009-04-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

Reflections in a SUV or reflections in a store window.

Got some in a puddle.

Don't care where they are. As long as they are shiny and fun.

Hope these are for you.

Playing with color

2009-04-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

I love summer too. It sparkles too.

3 ocean shots.

Separated the color channels in PS4. Played around with a layer mask on the top one.

Thought it was gonna be so cool. I think it's OK cool.

But it does sparkle. Not as much as summer or you.

IWC macro

2009-04-08T00:43:00.000-07:00

couple of still life shots of my watch. used a blue yoga towel and one overhead lite and on the other an additional red gelled light.

simple set up. And a 100 canon macro lens.

simple stuff here.

great watch BTW

Alta Utah is for skiers - no snowboards allowed

2009-04-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

I don't make the rules. Alta is one of the last ski resorts not to allow snowboarders.

I'm sure they have their reasons.

All I know or care about is the powder. Powder so deep
Powder so light
powder so sweet
powder so quiet

You can't hear anything at Alta on a powder day - except one thing..

Screams of joy from a skier going down an untracked powder run and floating, falling, flying, soaring down the mountain.

Up top are Stein, Dave, Brian hiking up to Eddies Nowwhere to ski down the backside.

Then we have the three of them coming thru a few feet of fluff - and I guarantee they are focused, in the moment, happy as clams, happy to be alive.

Finally two black and whites of the Wildcat lift and area.

The Wildcat lift used to be the main lift to get on the mountain. It's still there but hardly used much now since a New Collins lift was installed.

But Wildcat is full of amazing double black diamond gulleys, chutes, bumps, trees, fun.

It's also where I paid my dues. Skied scared for four years till I got good enough to "hang" with the boys.

And it's where we still start off most powder days. We've named the runs we've created. We'll start with a Roth's run and follow it with a modified Roth or a Stein or a Phil's run. No one really knows where Phil's run is - it's never really the same twice. One day I'll figure that out. Guessing it'll take bunch more trips and a bunch more powder.

Not yellowstone not Yosemite - lightroom 2

2009-03-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

These were not shot anywhere

anywhere famous

anywhere where you have likely been

they were shot thru the shades

of my house

as it was being built

I discovered the adjustment brush in lightroom 2

selective enhancements to anything you want

exposure yes
saturation yes
clarity - just paint it in

paint away

Yellowstone - Hellofaday

2009-03-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

It was quite the nice day --not sure even what day it was--think it was a Tuesday.
Hell, it was back in October or something.

But it was sunny, blue, crisp and full of hope.

Wish I was there

What a lobster sees

2009-03-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

Found some lobster traps a while back in San Diego.

This is the view a trapped lobster gets to enjoy as he/she is lurched from the sea and hauled up onto the boat.

Click on it to really get the feeling.
Ouchy!

Rocking climbing, Natural History Museum, and shake it like a dog

2009-03-04T18:26:00.000-08:00

Kinda speak for themselves today.

Rose Parade 2009

2009-02-17T23:52:00.000-08:00

Got me a press pass to the 2009 Rose Parade.
Lucky me --I have good friends.

Was there at 5am.

With thousands of people lined up, waiting waiting sleeping BBQing fighting peeing reading watching

you name it they were doing it.

And then the floats came. Some amazing stuff. And some "what were you thinking" moments floated by as well.

If I only had a brain.

Xflosion and Eric Paskell

2009-02-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

Discovered that when the set it lit it is pretty damn easy to get good lighting.

A yoga video with a band in back.

On stage at one of the larger studio lots in LA back in 2006.

Had no lights on camera--just used what was available from the video production.

Fun day. Can see why some photographers exclusively do this kind of work.

Helicopters are fun

2009-02-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan.

Only been in one a few times but the ride is the jumbliest craziest time.

Ordinary places look different from up there. Mostly a lot cooler than they look from down here.

Just some trees and some dirt.

Click on it.

Jerusalem Shuk

2009-02-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

Nothing quite like it in the modern world.

Hard to describe the feel of walking on the uneven concrete, often wet. Harder yet to describe the feel in the air --one of many years gone past.

The smells vary. some not so good.

And the people vary. Arabs, Jews, girls, boys, military.
Often jovial-sometimes a frightening place if you know better.

It's the shortest path to the Kotel--the Western Wall. A busy place where you can find yourself very alone very quickly.

Click on it and you'll see the wetness and the snow. So very rare and precious.

Ahh, Jerusalem.

Vineyards

2009-01-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Shot some Vineyards out of the bus and processed em in Lightroom.

Not in Napa

Not in Sonoma

Not in France (damn it!)

Shot these out of a bullet proof bus in the West Bank heading to Hebron.

A little underesposure, recovery, clarity, black point, and contrast later and there you have it.

You can fo sure see the window in the last one.

Winter in Yosemite - I wish I knew Ansel Adams

2009-01-22T18:17:00.000-08:00

I took a job up north so I could go to Yosemite. No other reason.

Always wanted to shoot in the winter and have brunch at the Ahwahnee. Oh man, do not miss the brunch.

10 inches of snow later and even I was getting shots that I loved.

Fog helps in this one. So does a mix of snow and green.

Got up at 530am to get this one. 17 degrees

and one frozen pinky later I found my tree. Waiting for pinky to thaw was not an option. The light was magic that day.

Taken off Sentinel Bridge (with 43 other tripods and photographers) I knew I was in the right spot.

Shit, 43 others could not be wrong - could they?
Nope, but that spot was damn crowded.

But the brunch and my very nice waiter were worth the cold, the pinky, 43 tripods, and the cold feet.

As always click on any to make big and better.

Quick night at the Santa Monica Pier / Bluffs

2009-01-19T01:56:00.000-08:00

It's too beautiful to not take pictures. I mean the weather.
I mean Obama.
I mean LA

A nine shot panoramic of part of the bay at sunset.
Father and daughter.
Son.

Happiness.

Click on any to make bigger.

Yosemite and snow

2008-12-30T11:39:00.000-08:00

Came out of Fresno (where?) and headed up highway 41 on Dec 27. Had no idea the highway was closed all day on Dec 26 cuz of a huge storm.

Figured it out when the nice sherrif said I needed chains to go any further. $80.00 later I had non returnable chains from Kragens rip off auto store.

The panoramic is a 360 degree view of the valley from Sentinel Bridge area. 12 photos stitched in photoshop. Shot with a tripod, Canon 5d, 20-35 canon lens. So easy.

The trees on the each side of the photo are the same trees!

My old tennis club

2008-12-14T01:28:00.001-08:00

I cannot help obsessing over the "products" my old tennis club has in the locker room. Now, this is a nice club. First class in most ways. Cept when it comes to "products". Oh, we have some real goodies. Names from old time commercials you haven't seen in years. Skin Bracer after shave. Clubman special reserve. Lilac vegetal with "masculine fragrance".
Scope - handwritten in pen.
Vitalis hair tonic--- what is hair tonic?
Brylcream hair groom-- a little dab'll do ya.

I love the fancy tennis club.

Philberon.com

Big green prefab house

2008-12-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

Built a big prefab architectural green house.
Got it into a fancy magazine as the Wired home of the year. Many parties. Cool gadgets.

Green green green. Recycled this and solar that.

Built in a factory and put into place by a big crane.

Adrien grenier had a dinner party there when done.

blah blah blah

It is a really cool house though. Ray Kappe was the architect and it had a lot of fanfare.

Greg and Doria are living there. I get to do yoga on the poured concrete floors and make a latte in the cool built in latte maker.

Hard to imagine the house was airlifted by crane piece by piece. Each 50,000 pound module was craned 100 feet in the air.

Green as can be. The wood on the ceiling is recycled cedar and the wood on the outside is recycled redwood from a bridge in the Pacific NW.

The kitchen is by Valcucine and is pretty space age cool. Needs a few more cabinets though. Best part is the kitchen faces the back yard and is zen master peaceful.

I was thinking about it today and how (at times) it was so much fun to build this house. At times.

Medical photos

2008-12-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

People always seem fascinated by the medical photos. Why? Could be the images take us into a place we don't normally see.

Or we are fascinated with the body. Or we cannot believe the reality of what can happen to a person when sick.

Or it is just cool to see humans in picture form - in cat scan form - with stuff that is hard to imagine for healthy people.

Take our friend up above. He is likely a smoker. The pure black areas are his lungs. On the right side of the picture there is a big gray mass taking up a large portion of the lung. That is a lung cancer.

This is not a non smoking blog but it couldn't hurt to quit--right now! Please.

Brain tumors tend to scare us - a lot.
And with pretty good reason. The brain does not like to be messed with in terms of pushing, crowding, pressure, anything. Our next patient has a problem most people can see without my explanation. It is a large white mass in the center of his brain.

Here is another view of the same patient. Believe it or not, there is really not much pain - rather brain functions start going haywire and that is what brings it to our attention.

Poor balance, forgetting, falling, personality changes, weakness in an arm, seizure, so many things could happen here.

Thought I'd change it up a little and come down the body to the pelvis. Male pelvis. See those dark spots? That outline is the prostate. And those dark spots are tiny metal radioactive seeds that we put in there to kill the cancer cells in the prostate.

Mighty effective treatment. Outpatient procedure and in the right person is 85-90% curative. .

Hope you learned a little and thought my little medical venture was fun or fascinating or whatever f word is appropriate.

Walt Disney Concert Hall Shines

2008-11-19T21:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't been in a snappy (as in pictures) mood lately. But I feel remiss if I"m not blogging with a few photos so I dug into the 2008 archive tonite.

I went downtown to the railroad tracks in the fall with my friend and we shot the trains, the tracks, the graffiti. We stood on the tracks like idiots thinking we'd get "the shot".

We got some damn impressive very average shots. Very average.

On the way back I decided to drive by the Walt Disney Hall - always a cool place to stare and wonder. You might wonder what crack pipe Frank Gehry was smoking when he dreamed this place up. Or you might wonder how they made it so shiny.

I was there when they were building it. And I was there when they were putting the shiny skin on the wild, skewed beams. Back then I had a thing for construction sites - I still do-- and this one was so Dr. Seuss. Crazy angles, impossibly curved girder beams, shiny metal.

These guys were the happiest workers. Posing for us and smiling and all around good guys. Imagine that!

So we spent some time taking pictures of the shiny metal. I hadn't looked at them since. Forgot about them. But the shiny metal is really beautiful and I thought you should see it.

Prop 8 demonstration down Wilshire

2008-11-07T00:45:00.000-08:00

It was one of those days where I just was trying to get home in LA traffic on some side roads thru Westwood. Coming up Ohio I ran into a blockade at Westwood Blvd. Got off my Vespa to take a look cuz I saw tons of cops and tons of people. Hmmmm, wish I had my Canon 5D and not just my iphone. But my iphone is all I had. So click on each pic and it will look way better, bigger, and more interesting. Promise.

The crowd was loud and so were the motorcycles, helicopters, and boatloads of sirens. I had wandered into the response of the community to the Yes vote on Proposition 8 banning gay marriage. I was so upset when this BS passed and these people were even more upset and it was an incredible sight.

But then the crowd moved on toward the Wilshire and Westwood intersection and before I knew it there were tons more police showing up. And I mean tons more. Imperial storm troopers coming down the road.

As the crowd passed the boys in blue moved in fast. They were doing an excellent job of crowd control and it was tough. Tons of traffic on Westwood Blvd and thousands of people. They were not fooling around.

And as the crowd crept closer to Wilshire you could sense the excitement of the crowd. The chanting was louder "equal rights NOW".

I looked back up Westwood Blvd and
saw this.
Hard to see but behind the
CHIPS are a battalion of police and a healthy supply of police cars and some special fellows. Click on the pic and you can see the multitudes of cops behind the bikes.

These guys showed up next and I started thinking this was gonna get real interesting real fast.

This was the scene as I got to Wilshire Blvd.

It was chaos for a while. The police had the intersection blocked off. There was not really a good place for the crowd to go. And you could tell where they wanted to go. They wanted Wilshire Blvd so bad. You could start to hear the calls out loud. "We want Wilshire, We want Wilshire".
Then they just started going for it. And once it started there was no stopping it. It was damn impressive.

I had to walk in support and take pics ---very fun and inspirational all in one.

All of a sudden the crowd had to stop. LAPD put up a serious roadblock on Wilshire and the crowd was jammed against a line of motorcyles and police on bicycles. And they were not giving an inch. No one got thru.

They were patient - both the police and the crowd. No one was rude and no one got hurt that I saw. But they were not going to let one person pass. And there were a lot of people to control.

Even the police had to videotape the incredible sight. And still no one got thru. Until one man came up on the police truck and spoke into the megaphone. And he said some cool words to the crowd.

He said he had just spoken with the Mayor. And the police were going to move the motorcycles and everyone was going to march right up Wilshire all peacful like. The mayor said so. The mayor said it was OK..

And damn if the motorcycles and police didn't just move away - without a word of protest. And it was so cool and so peaceful and so happy. Horns were honking in support and that made everyone yell and yell and yell.

Not sure who this guy is and what he's doing on Wilshire in the yellow suit/thing but I love the fact that he thinks there is some great pics to be had and I think he is a great pic to be had.

Who are you?

Oooohhhh we are getting close to my neighborhood. How cool. Wish I could just walk home when I was done here, but my Vespa is way way way back down the road.

As the crowd moved further into Beverly Hills I started my journey back to the bike. And Wilshire going East was empty. It had been closed down for the heroes of the story and it was bizzare to see no cars going East and bumper to bumper going west.

Until I saw something else weird coming my way. As if there wasn't enough already happening to keep me precoccupied.

I heard it first - it was loud. And then I saw another boatload of police cars coming fast down Wilshire- all with sirens blaring--loud.

This was the final pic. My iphone was giving up for the day. I am proud of my iphone cuz I asked a lot of it today.

Every car and every light coming at us in the picture is a cop car with lights on and sirens wailing. Blow it up- click on it and it looks great.

Kind of a cool end to a meaningful evening.

Fun driving home from Mammoth Mountain, Mammoth Lakes California

2008-11-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you combine some photos taken in a speeding car, corrupt digital files, and plenty of photoshop?

You get these.

I've driven to Mammoth a lot. Just love to ski and that mountain rocks. I took these a couple of years ago while my buddy was driving and I was bored. It's a 5 hour drive and after the first two everyone gets a little bored. Till we remember why we are going!

Honestly these pictures were a little flat. And when I opened two of them they were corrupted with that boxish stuff on the lower half. Uncool.

So I used apply image, curves, highlite shadow, gradient, some masking, and these came out. On the funky one in the middle I filled in the sky with a custom jelly brush I made. How to make the brush is in Sept 08 Photoshop User magazine. Something different anyway. They used it to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Feel free to leave a comment on these. I'm not sure these are good, bad, or whatever--but they were fun to make.

Not as much fun as actually skiing on Mammoth Mountain!

Ferris Wheels make all the difference

2008-11-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

After a long day I decided to write a post and wax prophetic. But after trying to find a serious, good picture my mind kept saying "keep it light" and "not so serious tonite".

My searching the crazy organization of my hard drive led me to Ferris wheels at night on the Santa Monica Pier. Perfect for the mood I"m about tonite. Nothing says lighten up and don't take yourself so seriously like a Ferris wheel.

Hard to hate your neighbor if you're sitting next to him on a ferris wheel. Hard to be in a funk with your GF if you're riding in a ferris wheel. Hard to argue politics if your flying high in a ferris wheel.

But it sure is easy to relax, smile, laugh out loud, be in awe, and enjoy on one.

As always, click the pic to make it real big. Bigger is better when it comes to ferris wheels!

New York City skyline 3 different ways

2008-10-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

The view from the Reebok Center on the 67th floor is not one I get to enjoy that often. But I did for 4 nites last year when a trio of us from LA went to conquer the NY triathlon.

One of my very connected friends scored us a sweet pad with views like these and of Central Park. Heaven for the tripod shooter in all of us.

The in focus colored one will join the subway trains from the next post on the wall of the Perfect Exposure Gallery in LA for a Dec 6th opening. Yeah!

Yes, we all finished the triathlon. I've not done one since. But will again.

All shots taken with a Canon 5D on a tripod with a 70-200 2.8 IS lens.
Plenty of photoshop of course.

BTW, Scott Kelby is coming to LA Dec 4 for his lightroom tour. Not to be missed if you want to learn a ton from the man who writes the books.

New York City subway trains

2008-10-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

The US Open is one of the greatest events to attend. Period.

Little did I realiize the US Open would be responsible for my most popular picture.

As I was walking in to the Open from the train in Flushing Meadows I spied this scene looking over the bridge between Shea Stadium and The Open.

I made a mental note to take a picure on the way back. My friends and I were in a hurry and they would have been n no mood to wait while I whipped out my camera.

On the way back turned out to be almost midnite. I feared the shot would be gone since it was so dark. At that time I was shooting with a Sony digital that had a night infrared setting. I clicked off two shots.

The response to the picture has been so great. This picture will hang in the Perfect Exposure Gallery exhibit starting November 6 and into January.

I'm told by a New Yorker that you can tell which train is which by the shape of the window in the front. Round vs that odd shape. More on this later.

Yellowstone National Park

2008-10-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when your heading for the picture you think will be "the one" you stumble into another picture you end up liking better.

My friend Andrew and I were hiking in Yellowstone to a famous spot call the Grand Prismatic.

We had finished shooting when Andrew dove into this meadow and I saw a wonderful opportunity.

Click on the picture to blow it up and see how rich the grass is and how cool Andrew looks.

Selective focus, good sunlight, interesting place.

Yellowstone rocks.

Santa Monica Pier at nite

2008-10-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

I found myself in Santa Monica the other nite having dinner with an old friend. I brought my Canon 5D and a tripod thinking "maybe, just maybe after dinner I'll take a few nite shots" I've been thinking about nite shots since looking at Julia Deans's class roster and wanting to take the cool nite class offered tonite of all times. But can't take the class-got other stuff.

Decided to hit the pier and see what or who was there. Quite a few fisherman, one angry man, a worker who didn't like my tripod (too bad), couples kissing, gangs, tourists--you get the idea.

The picture was facing north and set on aperture priority at f11 about 10 sec exposure. Little fussing in lightroom and PS3.

Hey, don't miss lulurose's blog for great pics and some true entertainment. Click here.

Stephen Johnson

2008-07-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Stephen Johnson is the guest writer for Scott Kelby today. He is such a fantastic photographer and teacher I thought you might like to read what he has to say.

Here is the link.

http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2008/archives/1659#comments

I mean, come on, he is after all a Canon Explorer of Light. I think that means he's damn good and it sounds really cool too.

A new trick

2008-06-05T00:01:00.001-07:00

Mobile blogging! Sent from my iPhone. Very cool.

Philip Beron

Philberon.com

310-709-4604

It's raining

2008-05-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

and because it's raining it reminds me of living in Michigan where I grew up. Since it rained so much we had to modify our lives around the sun. When the sun came out we scampered outside as long as possible; we just never knew how long sunshine would last.

Bad weather can be a great thing; it makes me much more productive. I never would have made it through medical school with high marks if the beach was 2 miles away--as it is for UCLA.

In California I have the opposite problem. We are outside all the time. We have to look for reasons to get stuff done inside.

That is why I smiled when I woke up today and it was raining. I just knew I'd be getting stuff done today.

To honor Michigan todays photo is from West Bloomfield. Just off the side of the Drake Road.

I used selective focus. In photoshop I converted to LAB color and used apply image to pop the greens. This was followed by a medium shadow hilite filter.

Best reasons to visit and photograph Israel

2008-05-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well, there are a lot of reasons to visit Israel. Here's a few of mine followed by a photo from a helicopter above Jerusalem.

You'll meet some great people
You will feel like a part of history
You will be where so much history has happened
Strange and beautiful coincidences happen every day
Terrific light
Awfully interesting landscape, people, culture
You'll probably discover something good about yourself

This photo was taken from a helicopter above the old city as we went up to the Golan Heights. You can see the Rock of the Dome, the Western Wall, the perimeter wall of the Old City (at bottom), and the sheer density.

How to get this shot:

Rent a helo and take a boatload of pictures and hope one comes out.

Monday tid bit

2008-05-12T01:11:00.000-07:00

Would you like to fix your photos in photoshop and make them sizzle? Check out NAPP-the national association of photoshop professionals.

The chief editor and main guru is Scott Kelby and just about everything he does pretty much rocks. He can teach so well and his books are some of the best selling on Amazon. Check out his blog right here.

You can get to some great sites from his blog.

Since we are talking about photoshop I added an obviously photoshopped pic.. This is a street performer from Barcelona. I originally shot her against a brick wall. I added her to a simple product background that Scott Kelby taught us to make in about thirty seconds. It doesn't always have to be so hard. Thanks Scott.

A vision

2008-05-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

I've been told by so many that I need to focus in one area-become an expert in one thing. Trouble is I'm pretty good at lots of things and not great at any one. Been that way my whole life-in business, art, sports, you name it.

I was just told this again by Aline Smithson (see above post) regarding my photo website philberon.com. Her completely correct point is that my photos are scattered in content and I have no consistent bodies of work.

I've gotten to this point because so much interests me and I hate to be bored. I went from landscape to homeless people to fashion to macro. And I love it all! But this process does not serve me any longer.

Going forward I will concentrate on a few bodies of work. Watch for them. It can only make me a better photographer.

Todays photo I took in Santa Fe NM. I saw this scene from the car and had to have it. I wizzed into a dirt parking lot. Aimed at the bewildered young boy, fired, and left. Had to.

My first post

2008-05-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

I believe one great photo or one great fun idea learned is worth so much. Therefore, this blog will attempt to bring to you one of the above each day (or as often as I can manage).

I'll share cool photographer's sites, great gear, contests, classes--whatever I feel will be of use to you or fun for you.

Let's get started.

I'm taking Aline Smithson's fine art class at Julia Dean School of Photography in Venice CA. Aline is a gifted teacher and world class photographer. Check her out at alinesmithson.com

The photo on the right was taken in Jerusalem and is a fence encircling a huge construction site. The woman is a famous actor. Or cardboard. Yeah, cardboard.

See ya soon.