Yisroel Levitansky of Chabad (of Santa Monica) lights the giant menorah on the first night of Chanukah on top of King’s Liquors store on Tuesday, December 20, 2011 in Santa Monica, California. Chabad has placed over 30 menorahs on the West Side of Los Angeles to celebrate Chanukah, the festival of lights.
During my stroll to the post office last week, I took part in an original, self-made, street photography challenge. First, I set my camera on P on the mode dial because I am a professional. [See earlier blog-post] Joking aside, I set my camera setting to manual and used the sunny 16 rule. I treated the camera like it was a film camera filled with black and white film (picture style was set to monochrome). Here were the rules: Only one click of the shutter and no reviewing the LCD. I would need to wait until I uploaded the pictures at home to review. The result: It made me pause and review the scene before pressing down on the shutter.
Here are my favorite shots from the mile and a half walk west of the 405 on Santa Monica Blvd.
Buerge Ford dealership in West LA offering no payments till 2011 on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 in Los Angeles, Calif. What a deal no payments for another 23 days!
The West Los Angeles College Wildcats, undefeated in conference play, made the short drive to Corsair Field to take on the Santa Monica College Corsairs, also undefeated in conference play, for the American Pacific Conference championship. West LA jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after their second possession of the game. SMC answered back with a 18-yard touchdown run by Alonzo Frederick. West LA added two more touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the first half to take a 21-10 lead into halftime. SMC held West LA scoreless in the second half and put up 21 unanswered points for a 32-21 victory. The Corsairs (8-2, 6-0) on the season earned their first conference championship since 1991. The win also entitles them to a bowl game.
With the clock ticking down and the victory in hand, players on the Corsair sideline searched for the water jugs to pour on their coaches but they came up empty-handed. I think the coaches spoke with the training staff prior to the start of the game and asked them to pour out the water to prevent a Gatorade bath. Gatorade or not, SMC had no trouble celebrating their championship.
Santa Monica College players lift up head coach Gifford Lindheim after their 32-21 victory over West L.A. College for the Pacific Conference championship on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at Corsair Field in Santa Monica, California. SMC has not won the conference title since 1991.
Santa Monica College head coach Gifford Lindheim (right) and quarterback Alfonso Medina embrace after the game to celebrate their 32-21 victory for the Pacific Conference championship.
Santa Monica College defensive lineman Gerald Blockmon reacts to winning against West L.A. College.
Santa Monica College running back Daniel Pipkin and tight end Aaron Boesch celebrate after Pipkin’s 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against West L.A. College.
Santa Monica College quarterback Alfonso Medina throws a 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Taylor in the third quarter against West L.A. College.
West L.A. College quarterback LeAndre Thompson stiff arms Santa Monica College linebacker David Mayo on a scramble play.
For more pictures from the game please visit my flickr page:
Not having a football game to cover with Santa Monica College playing in Santa Barbara, California. I ventured over to West LA College to photograph the rivalry matchup between LA Southwest and West LA. In West LA’s 55-28 vicotry the last few minutes the players on the bench starting giving their coaches a Gatorade bath. After each pour of the water jugs, the players would refill them up and find another coach to wet. Asked if they do this often, they said no, this game is important to us because its a rivalry game.
Travhn Wolfe (3 Left) of LA Southwest hits Marco Bailey of West LA on Saturday, October 8, 2011 in Culver City, Calif.
Quartback Rahkeem Holland (left) of West LA celebrates with Tory Whitfield (right) after scoring a touchdown against LA Southwest on Saturday, October 8, 2011 in Culver City, Calif.
Defensive back Travis Cabral of West LA runs into the endzone for a touchdown after intercepting the ball against LA Southwest on Saturday, October 8, 2011 in Culver City, Calif.
Deon Thomas (2nd from the right) of West LA gives his head coach Marguet Miller a Gatorade bath over their 55-28 victory of LA Southwest on Saturday, October 8, 2011 in Culver City, Calif.
For more photos from the game visit my flickr page.
Wednesday night West LA College meet up with a hot Santa Monica College team. Both Men’s and Women’s basketball were coming off victories in their last game. The streak continued for both teams as SMC walked off the court with victories. The Men dominated from the opening second of the game. They had a double digit lead within minutes and West LA could never make the game close. The final score was 107 – 64 SMC. The unfortunate part of scoring 100 points the fans don’t get free tacos!
The Women’s team came out slow and was down 13 points mid-way through the second half. They flipped a switch and started to convert possessions into points. The 13 point deficit turned into a tied game with 4 minutes remaining and by the end of the game SMC had 68-55 victory.
I traveled to West LA College in Culver City to photograph the game between Glendale Community College Vaqueros and West Los Angeles College Wildcats. I originally went to the game because my good family friend plays for the Glendale team. I have been on the sidelines photographing his games before. Saturday was my first opportunity to photograph his game this year.
West LA’s field has no lights and to accommodate the game they start at 1:00pm. This was my first day game of the season which allowed me to shoot at 100ISO and still achieve shutter speeds 1/500 and higher. Under night game conditions I am at 1600ISO or higher to stop the action. Its close to a given rule to freeze motion set your camera’s shutter speed to 1/500 or higher). Remember your exposure needs to correct changing the aperture and ISO can play a factor in achieving the correct exposure.
I had to do something I HATE to do during any sporting event, leave the game before its over. I had a prior commitment to ensure I be there on time (factoring in LA traffic) I had to leave at the end of the third quarter. I don’t reget my decision, but the game finished with West LA kicking a last second field goal to win the game. West LA wins 26-24.
For a full recap of the game visit Los Angeles Sports Journal.
To see more pictures visit my flickr page.
Renaldo Reyes leaps to catch the pass for a 20 yard gain.
Eddie Smith celebrates a 60 yard touch down pass from Steven Batista (not pictured) to Patrick Donahue (not pictured). Glendale takes the lead 7-3 in the first quarter.
Jermaine Shamburger puts the hit on the wide receiver Jorge Gamez.
Trayone Harris runs for the end zone and scores a touchdown but it called back for offensive holding in the back field. The penalty stalls the drive.
A customer who purchased her Powerball ticket under sixty minutes before the cutoff rubs her ticket on the head of the lucky ...
Santa Monica High School’s Marissa Padilla high fives assistant coach Dan Ramos after she hit a walk-off sacrifice fly scoring ...
Cyclists make a turn onto 2nd street during Bike to Work Day part of Bike Week initiative on Thursday, May ...
Mike Anders of Santa Monica swings on the rings at the original site of Muscle Beach on Monday, May 13, ...
Mansooreh Lord holds a tea cup while her daughter Sara, 4, takes a sip during the 7th annual Mother/Daughter Tea ...
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WOW! impressive! Love the band girls pic
Nice pictures Michael