Long Beach California Photos

Ron NiebruggeCalifornia, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

Long Beach, California.

Long Beach, California.

Here is another brand new section to our website:  Long Beach California photos.

I gotta admit, Long Beach was a pleasant surprise.  It had been many many years since I had last visited Long Beach.  I remembered it as a somewhat dirty industrial port.  Either my memory was off, or they have made some wonderful changes to the area – probably a bit of both.  We only spent one evening there, I had hoped to return for more, but that will have to wait for a future trip.

Imperial Valley Photos

Ron NiebruggeCalifornia, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

Enterance to Slab City, Imperial Valley, California.

Entrance to Slab City, an abandoned military base that is now home to a large number of squatters, Imperial Valley, California.

We have a new section on our website of photos of the Imperial Valley, California.  This section includes photos of the Salton Sea, Salvation Mountain, Slab City and the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area – all places that I think many people might find a little unique to put it kindly.

Palm Springs Photos

Ron NiebruggeCalifornia, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

Indian Wells Golf Resort

Indian Wells Golf Resort, Indian Wells, California.

Janine has now updated our website with our new photos of the Palm Springs area.

Palm Springs was one of the first communities developed in this portion of desert.  In addition, Palm Springs is also where the airport is located, so the whole area is often referred to as Palm Springs, although today it is made up of a series of smaller towns like Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Palm Desert to name a few.  When I’m driving around down there, I never seem to know exactly what town I’m in.

On the local news they refer to the area as the Coachella Valley although locals don’t seem to like that name, and people outside the area probably haven’t heard of it, so for now, we will still call the area Palm Springs.  Our page has photos of most the smaller communities in the area.

In the photo above, of the public golf course, I needed to blend a couple different exposures to maintain detail in the building.  Despite being a “public” course, I was asked to leave right after taking this photo – evidently they don’t like the “public” taking picture there.

Anza-Borrego State Park Photos

Ron NiebruggeAnza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel 6 Comments

Slot Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

Slot Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

Janine has updated our website with new photos of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California from our travels last winter.  Anza-Borrego definitely isn’t the most popular of destinations, but we sure enjoy spending time there, especially in the winter!

It is interesting, the three places that I have the most in depth coverage of include Anza-Borrego, Kenai Fjords National Park, and the Chugach National Forest are all fairly unknown, with relatively few visitors.  I bet the combined annual visitation numbers of all three parks doesn’t total the number of people who visit a moderately popular Lower 48 Park like Bryce in just an average summer month.

The businessman in me says I should be concentrating on more popular destinations, but we decided long ago that maximizing personal satisfaction was far more important then maximizing profits.  I suppose if maximizing profits was the goal, I wouldn’t choose to be an outdoor photographer.

Huntington Beach Morning

Ron NiebruggeCalifornia, Orange County, Photos, Travel 2 Comments

A surfer checking out the early morning waves, Huntington Beach, California.

A surfer checking out the early morning waves, Huntington Beach, California.

It feels good to be done with the processing, captioning and key-wording our photos from last winter’s travels.  Now we can send them off to agencies and update our website – finished just in time for summer, so we can make room for a new batch of photos!

How Did I Capture the Ferris Wheel Photo?

Ron NiebruggeAsk Ron, California, How to, Los Angeles, Photos, Travel 11 Comments

A ferris Wheel at night, Long Beach, California.

A ferris wheel at night, Long Beach, California.

Well I hate to post the same photo twice, especially in the same week, but in response to my “ask Ron” request, this was the most asked question.  More specifically, Dennis Barton wanted to know how many tries it took to capture this image, while Sheri Lyons wondered how the photo came to look like this.Read More

Ask Ron

Ron NiebruggeAsk Ron, California, Los Angeles, Photos, Travel 13 Comments

A ferris Wheel at night, Long Beach, California.

A ferris wheel at night, Long Beach, California.

 I thought I would try a new idea with the blog and create an Ask Ron category.  My thinking is that every so often I would answer reader submitted questions and publish the question and my response here on the blog.  They can be pretty much anything photography related, from travel destinations, gear, techniques, thoughts and opinions – you get the idea.  If there is a photo you have always wondered about, maybe the story behind the image, that would be good too.

If you have a web presence; website, blog, Flickr page, I would be happy to link back in my response.  If you would prefer to remain anonymous, that’s cool too. 

You can post your questions in this thread, or feel free to email them to me at ronn@arctic.net  If you could, put “Ask Ron” in the subject so that I will know it is for the blog and not just someone asking a question.

I will do my best to answer all questions as best I can, but I will have editorial control, so I could decide to ignore a question – heck, it is my blog.  🙂  So if I start posting photos of a wolverine den, chances are slim that I will provide the GPS coordinates.  Likewise, asking for the name and number of the photo editor at XYZ magazine probably won’t get a response either, but most stuff will be fair game.  So hit me with your Q’s!

Hey, speaking of wolverine.  Now that we are heading into spring, I figure it might be a good time to remind everyone that my deal from last year is still on!

Legal Advice for Photographers

Ron NiebruggeCalifornia, How to, Miscellaneous, Orange County, Photos 3 Comments

 

Palm Trees at sunset, Newport Beach, California.

Palm Trees at sunset, Newport Beach, California.

Let me start by saying, you shouldn’t get your legal advice from friends and fellow photographers.  Having said that, let me offer some advice.  🙂

The place I turn to when I have questions is the Photographer’s Legal Guide by Carolyn Wright.  The book covers most of the legal issues one might encounter when dealing with photo business and photography issues such as copyrights, model releases, insurance and paperwork.  I think most photographers will find it very valuable. 

I have known Carolyn for a number of years now and consider her a friend – she is a wonderful person, and as a fellow photographer, she understands the industry and issues photographers face.  We have hired her on occasions when we needed large contracts reviewed, and also successfully used her for a copyright infringement suit – who better to hire then the person who wrote the book!  Read More