Business Card

Hi everyone! I'd love to hear your feedback on this business card design before I go and get some printed. What do you think? Any suggestions?

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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

By The Book

This is very clever and very funny!

OC Wildfires, October 2007

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.

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.

Ali reveling.

North Rodeo Drive

Amazing Christmas decorations...

Ali in Wonderland - on Via Rodeo

Happy New Year!

I hope you're still dancing!

The Great Park Baloon

Ali and I went to check out the balloon that we see from the freeway each day as we drive past. (This is only about 3 or 4 miles from our place.)

"The Great Park Balloon is the first major attraction of the Orange County Great Park, a 1,347 acre public space on the site of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Orange County, California.

Balloon riders will soar between 250-400 feet above the surrounding landscape, enjoying a bird's eye view of the transformation of the retired air station into the first great metropolitan park of the 21st Century." (from the great Park Balloon website)

Balloon Height: 118 feet
Diameter of Baloon: 72 feet
Volume: 210,000 cubic feet
Height of Gondola at Peak: 400 feet
View Distance: 20+ miles

The view straight down.

Some of the cool views from the gondola...

Tonka Toys

One of the old hangars

Michael Landau

Well this was a real treat for me. I got to see the Michael Landau Group live at a cool little venue called Cafe Boogaloo in Hermosa Beach, CA. It was very intimate and laid back - only about 100 people there, most of them totally unaware of the talent in the room. This meant I could stand right up front and soak it all in - I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I first heard Michael Landau way back in 1985 playing on the song Sharaya on Amy Grant's album, Unguarded. I've been a fan ever since. Mike has been a prodigious session player in LA for over 20 years, known for amazing tone and playing. He's played with everyone at some time or other and is highly respected for his creativity and diversity. Check out the Wikipedia entry for a little more background. Also, you should check out Mike's MySpace.

Mike Landau, Gary Novak and... (sorry dude, I forgot your name) Mike and Me - Yeah! (I think maybe I was more excited than he was. Haha!)

Mike live in Germany earlier this year. Listen and see why I like him: taste, tone, control, expression, feel, sense of humor - brilliant!

Tired? Thirsty?

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Jesus

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." Jesus

God Art

Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

(Matthew 6:27-29 The Message)

... Well if we all looked the same the world would be a boring place!

Llama Secrets

I think it's love!

iTunes: "mercy-kissed" Now Available

Well I've officially entered the musical digital age now that my album "mercy-kissed" has gone live on iTunes.

Click here to check it out!

It would be great if you would write a review there for me. It would be even greater if you would download a song or two (or the whole album if you want!) just to get the ball rolling. It could be your Christmas present to me. Haha! My sincere thanks to those of you who care!

Dad's Paintings

My Dad grew up around painting - his Mum was a painter and a couple of Aunties also were very good painters. As a young boy he enjoyed drawing at school but never received any encouragement and as a result let that talent sit on the shelf for many years until...

At the age of 55 I attended an ‘Introduction to Water Colour’ series of painting classes. They ran only for 5 or 6 evenings, but I was delighted with the medium and after being encouraged by comments from the art teacher, including, “You have a real talent there. Why don’t you get some paints and a couple of brushes and see what you can do?”, I decided to buy some equipment and have a go.

Ariel

Wenderholm

Stillwater

Old Man

African Lady

Andubi's Father

This one is my favorite. There's a certain anonymity about the other portraits - the "Old Man", and the "African Lady", however this guy has a name (even though Dad couldn't remember it, he remembered his son's name Andubi.) [Update: his name is Ugumako]. It was someone Dad knew personally and perhaps that comes through in the painting. Maybe it's also that he is looking directly at us with an obvious happiness. He seems to be a very warm character. The lines on his face suggest a lot of laughter through the years. He's obviously seen a lot of life but seems very comfortable in his skin. Ali thinks he looks "scary", but I can't see that at all - just a beautiful Papuan man (New Guinea) with a great hairdo and an extra nipple on his forehead.

Anyway, I'm pretty proud of my Dad's talent with a brush so I wanted to share a little of it with you. Enjoy!

These paintings are all for sale. If you're interested in finding out more leave a comment and I'll get in touch with you.

Good For The Soul

I saw Michael Gungor for the first time in June at the Saddleback Worship and Creative Arts Conference. I was immediately sold. The guy has an amazing heart. He's humble, he's incredibly talented - has a beautiful voice, is an amazing guitar player, writes brilliant songs and has boundless energy.

So when I found out he had an album coming out I knew I had to get it. This is an album I looked forward to receiving for a couple of months and was definitely not disappointed when it finally arrived.

I don't recall any other album lifting my spirit like this one - and that's saying something! This is soul-stirring stuff. I have found myself moved to the core repeatedly while listening to this album on the ipod while jogging in the morning.

The music is pop/rock/worship with great creative production - it rocks where it needs to rock and it broods and hovers where it should with some delicious ambient moments. Some great soundscapes and arrangements reinforce the strength of the songwriting. Lyrically, Michael has taken some themes not often spoken of in worship (as well as some that are) and given them fresh impact.

I love it!