mark cullen: January 2008

Friday, January 25, 2008

Black & White Experiments

I thought I'd try out a few of the images I've taken over the past year in black and white...

Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco

Porsche - Valley Of Fire, near Las Vegas

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

The October 2007 California wildfires were a series of fires that began burning across Southern California on October 20. At least 1,500 homes were destroyed and over 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) of land burned from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border. Nine people died as a direct result of the fire; 85 others were injured, including at least 61 fire fighters. (read more...)

October 21st 2007, 6:18pm, from the corner of our street. This is only 20 minutes after the fire started and it would have been only 1-2 miles from our home. Scary moment!

Bernie, Daniel and I jumped in with Bryce in his car to have a quick look at what was going on. We didn't get very far as the streets were being shut off and traffic directed away from the area, but you can get some idea of the situation from these snaps.

This is the moon before it got completely obliterated by smoke. The next few days we were shrouded in smoke - as was most of Southern California. I couldn't go out running for 2 weeks.

We ended up unharmed. We are blessed to be able to say that. Many, many peoples lives were affected and many will be rebuilding for a long time to come.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Las Vegas

After Christmas and before New Year we drove up to Las Vegas to stay 2 nights. It's about 5 hours drive through mainly desert. We walked up and down "The Strip" and also drove around the countryside a little. There is a lot to see. Lot's of impressive buildings and architecture and lots of rugged terrain.

There are certainly a lot of sparkling and bright lights in Vegas. A lot of glitz and glam, but we didn't see a lot of happiness. It's like Disneyland for grown-ups who don't know God and don't want to. You can be "entertained" 24 hours a day. It's a place to cater to all your fleshly and self-serving desires. No wonder it's called Sin City.

The artificial Volcano eruption outside the Mirage hotel and Casino was quite impressive.

Inside the Venetian Hotel and Casino there is a complete canal where you can take gondola rides! Very impressive. The sky here is artificial.

When you first enter the Venetian the whole ceiling is covered in frescoes like this. It's beautiful and awe-inspiring.

These petal baths were on both sides of the entrance to a restaurant. A very creative and effective way to set up an intimate and inviting atmosphere.

Just outside Las Vegas to the West near Red Rock Canyon. Grandeur and Majesty of an altogether higher kind than seen in the city.

This is a shot looking across toward the Valley Of Fire just outside of Las Vegas to the East. This was nearing sunset and the colors of the rocks and mountains is amazing.

Rodeo Drive at Christmas Time

On Sunday 23rd December we went to Oasis church in Los Angeles to their special Christmas service. It was great. Very creative and done well. Afterwards, we thought we'd take a quick stroll up Rodeo Drive in nearby Beverley Hills.