fo-ton-o-mous [foh-ton-uh-muh s] noun photo + autonomous = fotonomous 1.Web identity of Lydia Marcus, an individualist, Piscean & native Los Angeleno (Encino/WEHO) raised in diametrically opposed communities shaped by culture, status, sexuality, and spirituality.This multifaceted upbringing informed her ability & desire to always seek to blend out instead of blend in. 2.Blog of Lydia Marcus, a writer, photographer (Nikon & Polaroid shooter), filmmaker & unapologetic Valley girl.
This was the view of the Atlantic Ocean at twilight from the Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada - one of the Florida Keys. The vision was total serenity and tranquility as there didn't seem to be a dividing line between where ocean met sky. When I look at this picture i'm instantly transported back to that magical moment and place. Ahhhhhhh what a relaxing view. This photo was shot with a Nikon D50 (my first digital SLR) with an extremely wide angle Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens (the only non-Nikon glass I own).
This photo has just made it to the final round of the Los Angeles Times Photo Contest - I'll know by the end of September if it's won anything.
This link Pier To Happiness takes you to the photo if you'd like to leave a comment on the L.A. Times site.
Pier To Happiness photo by Lydia Marcus Photographed August 25, 2006 in Islamorada, Florida
Sunday I went to the Santa Monica Pier with the intention of meeting up with a group of Los Angeles Flickr shooters. They had arranged a Flickr meet to go shoot the Pacific Wheel (the ferris wheel) on the last weekend it was going to be in operation before being shipped off to another town. The pier is getting a new ferris wheel soon. But on my way to the meet, I got distracted (in a good way) by meeting up with Serena, Sonya and Mike, and never actually met up with any of the Flickr folk. When I met Sonya and Mike, they were taking their last bites of a Hot Dog On A Stick corndog. I've avoided Hot Dog On A Stick like the plague ever since I burned the hell out of my mouth and throat on my first HDOAS experience back in 1980. Back then, there was a HDOAS at the Sherman Oaks Galleria just a few blocks from my house. For my first meal there, I bought a cheese on a stick and a lemonade. When I bit into the cheese on a stick, the cheese inside was so scalding hot that I seriously burned my mouth and throat and started choking. I grabbed for my lemonade to put out the fire and the lemonade made the burn sting so much more I started coughing up lemonade in every direction including up through my nose. So that first impression of HDOAS lasted a lifetime, but now 28 years later, Sonya and Mike's dogs looked so good, I decided to be brave and try again. Not only can I happily report that this meal went off without a hitch - no burns! - and the corndog was really good and actually had a turkey dog (my favorite kind of hot dog) inside. I stayed at the pier until around 8:45pm when I couldn't take the cold anymore, then headed over to LACMA to see a Bette Davis movie "Of Human Bondage," part of Fasten Your Seat Belts: The Essential Bette Davis series.
Here are some shots and a video from the day:
A very interesting bike on the boardwalk. Dune Buggy and Moon Doggie My Hot Dog On A Stick and Lemonade Mike, Sonya and Serena. Mike, Sonya, Me, Serena. I forgot to put the flash on, but I doctored this shot up a little in iPhoto and was able to take it a bit out of the darkness. my reflection in S's glasses S&L This bicycle spoke I saw on my way to the beach reminds me of the ferris wheel spinning. My best Pacific Wheel shot - Nikon D80, 50mm f1.8 lens, shot at f13, 10 seconds, used my Gorillapod SLR tripod that is "prehensile" - and wrapped it around the pier railing to steady it.
The Pacific Wheel in motion.
To see more of my photos from Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Pier, go to my Flickr page.
I spent Sunday at the U.C.L.A. Festival of Books. My main excitement over going was getting to see Julie Andrews speak at Royce Hall.
I met these two "bears" while waiting in the line that wrapped completely around Royce Hall. My adopted Sharp family (Joyce and Serena) stopped by the line and hung out. Julie looked great and had interesting stories to share with author Patt Morrison (who did a pretty good interviewing job). She mostly spoke about her early years in Vaudeville, the subject matter of her new biography, Home. It's # 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list as of Sunday. I don't have the book yet, but I'd like to read it. I scored a great seat in the eighth row center and shot some little video with my new Sony T100 digital camera. In the video below, Julie tells a humorous story about getting fitted for a special cut away dress that would reveal her breasts in her husband Blake Edwards' film S.O.B. There's something just great about hearing Julie Andrews talk about her boobs.
This is an adorable dog named Tomi. He worked the K9 unit for the New York Fire Department and LAPD. He also the "co-author" of a book called The K9 Chronicles: Book 2. I have no idea what this costume was for, but it looked really funny and lifeless just reclining across the stairs. After the book fair was over, I went to the Venice Pier and caught the lovely sunset. In the distance you can see the Ferris Wheel at the Santa Monica Pier.
Post Note: I want to give credit to Squared 5, a free program that helped me convert the .mov movie files from my Sony T100 to mpeg4 so that I could edit them in iMovie. Without Squared 5, my movies were opening in iMovie without sound.
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