roller coaster

It's been rainy and gray here in Los Angeles the last week or so but to brighten up the day are some images of the roller coaster at Pacific Park at the Santa Monica Pier. These images are from about six weeks ago, on a beautiful Sunday. My cousin was visiting from out of town so along with many other tourists we took a stroll around the pier, stopping for some Arcade games and a ride or two.

The primary and bright colors of the rides, plus the graphic curves and lines, against the backdrop of the clear sky made for some bold images.

at the marina 2005

A couple more images from December 2005, when I first started taking photographs and blogging.

The bird on the post is one of my favorite images from that day.

beach patrol 2005

I've spent the last week cleaning out my office and improving the furniture situation and during that time I came across old work and other things that were nice to see, reminders of the past. The office is looking much, much better but will take another week or two until everything is in order, still waiting on some furniture. In the meantime, after my morning of tidying, I decided to look at some of the first lot of pictures I took in December 2005 when I first started blogging. I spent a lot of time at Elwood, Brighton and St Kilda beaches in the summer, going for walks or having a relaxing coffee with friends and often snapped photographs. These images were from the marina, I liked the character of the boats, the weather and sea-worn wood and the nautical colours.

(Some of you might remember this from my old blog! That blog has since been retired.)

garden wedding

Yesterday we attended a wedding at the Rose Garden at Exposition Park next to USC. Easy to get to on the train!

Fun wedding, beautiful location, stunning weather. And of course the bride and groom ended up in the fountain!

Photos taken on iPhone using Instagram.

venice canals

Some snaps from a lovely afternoon wandering around Venice, Los Angeles. I played tour guide and took my friend who was visiting around LA. We went to Hollywood, Rodeo Drive and then to the canals (fun looking at the great houses there) and the boardwalk along Venice Beach. And for that true LA experience, we had Coffee Bean for lunch and also got stuck in lots of traffic!

boats, birds

Some more pictures from Redondo Beach last weekend. Quite relaxing to wander the pier and look at the ocean, watch the boats, enjoy the clear day and the view all the way to Palos Verdes (also pictured here and here). Pelicans and various other birds were out in force, trying to snatch bait (or lunch!) from near people fishing. (Images from my iPhone, edited in Photoshop.)

day trip

Last week I finally decided to print out photos to put in an album, the old-fashioned way to look at family pictures. I ordered prints from 2011. 2010 and 2012 would have almost tripled that order so I'll wait a bit until I've sorted the 2011 lot! I did come across some nice snapshots from various outings or trips including the ones below from a day in San Diego in May 2010. Shown is the iconic Hotel Del Coronado and some bikes down by the beach.

spring snapshots

Some snapshots from the last couple of weeks. It's been really busy!

Back to normal scheduling this week.

TOP: Wall of Wine at Tierra Sur after our Ojai day. Gorgeous Spring blossoms.

MIDDLE: Picnic at Malibu Creek State Park with the family. Roses are in bloom. Preparing colourful cauliflower.

BOTTOM: Passover food. Quinoa salad with veggies, herbs and feta - very tasty and refreshing. Homemade chocolate, toasted almond and cranberry clusters with sea salt - easy to make!

All photos taken on my iPhone, some using Instagram - you can see my Instagram feed online here.

oh, hey, sunday

Yesterday we went with Plan B outing with friends. It wasn't Disneyland (Plan A) but it sure was a nice day!

We leisurely made our way up to Ojai after a tasty pizza lunch. I'd never been to Ojai so enjoyed seeing the area, the green hills, little houses along the main road, nice town area, old-style street signs and all the little boutiques and galleries and shops. We spent a good amount of time in Bart's Books, an outdoor  book store with heaps of used and some new books, meandering in and out of the indoor and outdoor areas, browsing the thousands of books. We all managed to find something there, a very eclectic collection.

After a few hours in the town we stopped in Oxnard for a tasty dinner (I'm still full) and a little wine tasting.

Fun, relaxing day! (Very necessary, it will get me through this busy week.)

L: Great street sign, if a little hard to read from the car.
R: Bougainvillaea outside the tourist info and town museum

L: Bookshelves all around the outside fence of the store!
R: Heaps more inside, most are 'outdoors', covered by simple corrugated roof.

L: Vintage Yashica camera at Bart's Books.
R: View through the 'viewfinder' of the camera.

L: Wall inside Bart's Books papered with illustrations from books.
R: Handwritten signage over each section and more books!

art afternoon

A little more from my recent visit to LACMA. I like the use of red throughout the newer buildings, the incorporation of outdoor space (and deck to see a great view of Los Angeles) as well as the clean, modern lines.

In other news, work is keeping me pretty busy!

unseasonal...

Or is it? Having not lived in America that long, this Aussie still thinks of January as sun, surf and sand time! Hot days, warm nights and some serious relaxing over the summer vacation. But that's southern hemisphere and I'm now in the north. Which means winter. Except winter in Southern California is pretty nice! The weather last week was gorgeous and warm. Not wintery at all! So I made the most of it and went to the beach for a long stroll. (Relatives and friends in colder climates are welcome to visit us!)

These are some pictures I took using instagram.

fall colors

Lately, we've been enjoying the Fall/Autumn weather here in LA, enjoying the sun when it's out especially after the mostly disappointingly cold summer weather in Australia (but that's typical for Melbourne in December, I really needed to pack better).

These snaps are from last week when I was on the way back from the shops, in between rainy patches of the day. The trees are getting bare but the leaves are still adding vibrant colour to the street, at least for a little while longer and from the footpath/sidewalk! But if you're looking for an autumn palette, here it is, warms browns, burnt orange, yellows, a little green. There's something about this natural composition that I really like. A bright part of a grey, cloudy day.

Photos taken with iPhone. I'm loving my new phone/toy :)

let's talk about the weather

Fall weather in Los Angeles. Sunny one day, bucketing down rain the next.

Enjoying the Autumn sun on my roof.

A few days later driving in torrential rain.

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Some recent work: My friend started a blog - "Dressing Like A Man" - style advice for men, classic yet fashionable without being a fashion victim. I had a bit of spare time a while back so I designed a header for the blog.

Go check it out!

[out & about] flea market

Yesterday turned out to be a lovely, sunny day here in LA. Friends of ours were going to the Rose Bowl Flea Market which I've been wanting to check out for a while but as it's only on once a month, we just never managed to get there until yesterday!

I found it relaxing to walk around and look at old/vintage stuff (furniture, dishware, glass, home decor, oddities and other assorted bric-a-brac) as well as the craft stores, trinkets and other market stalls, creative displays and variety of items. We picked up a few bits and pieces, nothing major although some of the vintage glass was pretty nice (I just don't have much space for displaying stuff like that). It reminded me of the markets my family used to go to when I was younger but much larger, somewhat better quality of goods and relatively less junky (for sure less dusty!).

If you're decorating a house on a budget, it's a great place to pick up pieces to refurbish or repurpose and also to find interesting decor. Otherwise, with the carnival-like atmosphere, it's a great place for people-watching and creative inspiration.

autumnal

It's Autumn (or 'Fall' as they say) here and the leaves are falling! These images are from my archives, I snapped them in May 2006 near High Street in Armadale, Victoria.

The street where we currently live is also lined with oak trees, leaves slowly changing colours. I have to remember to stop and take some photographs on one of my walks.

seaside fun

Had a really great, relaxing weekend recently. After a movie and frozen yogurt on Saturday night, Sunday we spent the morning walking around Balboa Island and Newport Beach, taking the ferry across, looking at the houses and boats and some beautiful views, playing games in the arcade, browsing in the shops and boutiques and enjoying the sun and the seaside relaxed atmosphere. Some necessary fun! :)

in my neighborhood

Went looking for some interesting type or signage while out one evening but didn't see much that captured my eye walking around mostly residential streets. The houses are fun to look at because they're different from the styles in Australia so even a year and a half later, it's still somewhat new for me. But I'm eager to see more of LA so I'm hoping to get out and about to see some areas I've not been to yet!

 Follow me on Twitter! @SarahLikesGreen

evening stroll

Went on a walk the other evening to enjoy the cool, fresh air after a warm day and took my camera with me, not looking for anything in particular. I liked the composition of the tall palm trees against the grid of the office buildings on Wilshire Boulevard, with that gorgeous evening light reflecting and sparkling off the glass. Just a little snapshot because I wanted to share :)

theatrical type

Art Deco style plus neon lettering theatre signage on an evening walk.

Have a great weekend!

barcode building

I've been a little busy lately, working on a design that kept me at the computer for a lot of hours so once I was done for the day, I took a break from the screen. Hence the lack of blog posts.

I was looking through some old files and found this picture of a building in Melbourne, Australia. It was one of a few photographs that I had taken for a project (circa 2002) that had to be based on architecture or structures. The photograph had to be turned into a digital drawing and then an intaglio style print. This photograph didn't make it but I liked the detail on the outside of the building. Always look up, you see great design sometimes! The file I had was a scan of a 4x6 print from film which gives it the graininess and nice muted color.

It'd be great to be back at art school and have projects that require going out and about with a camera but that's something to do for fun as well!