Fireworks are normally shot with tripods and long exposures. The only real exposure control is the lens aperture. I use f/11 at 100 iso. But instead of a tripodI I usually handhold the camera, moving it during star bursts. Here are a few examples.

Howard Jarvis pumps his fist during June, 1978, victory party for Prop 13. Photo by Scott Harrison

I was working for the Downey Southeast News in 1978 and covered the victory party for Prop 13. Since California is in the midst of the type of budget collapse long ago predicted by anti-Prop 13 forces, I thought it was a good time to post this image. Another image by Los Angeles Times photographer Joe Kennedy is posted here. We were standing on chairs side by side when these photos were taken.

1982 photo of the annual City of Thousand Oaks Fireworks show over the Ventura Freeway looking east from Borchard Road.

Today, the entire photography community is mourning the death of Kodachrome. Kodak announced the end of the famous film. LA Times story.

Basically Kodachrome film was a three layer black and white film with the color added during processing. The images faded very little over the years compared to other color film. Also Kodachrome gave richer reds. So today, like many baby boomers, I have a pile of 1940s-50s Kodachrome slides from my parents that look like they were exposed yesterday.

Check out this Kodak blog. Co-worker David Muronaka put me on to this story.


1952 Kodachrome photo of me. The 1969 on my shirt refers to year I would graduate from high school. (I did graduate it that year.)

This YouTube video is dedicated to NASA and today's launch to the moon. (See the next Atlas blog item.) The video is from 2004 on the 35th anniversary of Apollo 11.

Atlas missile, left, sits on launch Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral when this photo was taken on May 14, 1963. A day later on May 15, Gordon Cooper successfully piloted this his 'Faith 7' spacecraft for more than 34 hours and 22 orbits. An United Launch Alliance Atlas V, left, rocket blasts off with NASA's LRO/LRCOSS mission from Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 5:32 p.m. EDT on June 18, 2009. The mission is expected to relay more information about the lunar environment than any other previous mission to the moon. Credits: NASA, leff, Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance, right.

Headline today: Atlas Missile launched to the Moon.

What time warp am I caught up in? Is this 1969 or 2009???? The story says an Atlas missile was launched to the moon.

Yep it was true. On thursday, June 18th, 2009, an Atlas V missile was launched to the moon.

Story at LATimes.com .

This scouting mission has two parts. First is a straight-forward lunar orbiter to provide a new and better detailed lunar map.

The second part is a 21st Century version of the searching for water with a divining rod. Yes we are going to search for water at the Lunar South pole. Part of the rocket will be blasted into the moon and a follow-up instrument package will check out the blast plume before itself smashes into the moon.

LA Times writer John Johnson Jr. really explains this crazy mission.

My confusion was with the Atlas missile. I grew up following the Atlas. The first version of the missile was launched in 1957. It was the first ICBM. It was used to launch John Glenn and other Mercury astronauts in the early 60s. And here, 52 years later, they are still being made.

Of course the current version, called Atlas V, is vastly improved. While the Atlas was originally designed to attack the Soviet Union., today's version uses engines built in Russia.

Check out this wikipedia article.

My son Nick just graduated, but he has one last fundraiser for Newbury Park High School. No candy bars, car wash tickets, but artwork. For one project in advance photography Nick and his classmates made greeting cards and then asked relatives to purchase them. Forty percent of the sales go back to the school.

So I am giving them a plug.


Nick shot some film of one of our dogs - Woody - then contact printed the film strips for this image used on his greeting card.

Packages of 12 cards sell for $20.50 at www.artworkforeducation.com. ( And of course some shipping and handling at checkout.)

There looks to be several hundred schools and organizations using the site for fund raising. Have fun cruising the site. Great artwork.

Friday was Graduation Day at Newbury Park High School class of 2009. Since the class included my youngest child Nick, I was there with a couple cameras. Congrats to all the grads. Quoting Spock: "Live Long and Prosper!"

For interested friends, I posted this dotphoto album. The sad part of this graduation is saying gooby to a group of soccer players I have been following with my cameras for the last decade.




dotphoto album.

Wednesday night I was in Modesto. This week is also the big week for 2009 Graffiti Summer festival in Modesto. So I went cruising for images in my 2001 Ford Focus.


The 1912 Modesto Arch in downtown Modesto.


Since I was once a paper boy, I had to shoot the bronze statue Paper Boy delivering the Modesto Bee.



1970 Camaro owned by Jack Seidner of Manteca at Wednesday's car show at Modesto's 5-Minute Cal Wash.


1955 Chevy with a big block 454 owned by Steve Correia of Modesto.


The Lucas Plaza Statue features two teenagers from the early 60’s leaning against the fender of a ’57 Chevy. This bronze statue is a tribute to Modesto’s most favorite son, director/producer George Lucas. and the movie American Graffiti.


2009 teens climbing on statue dedicated to 1960s teens.


One more frame of the Lucas Plaza Statue with traffic.

Guess what! Right across the street from the Lucas Plaza Statue in Modesto is a Jack In The Box. Jack had to come over and see what I was shooting.

Sunday I had the very rare opportunity of photograph not just two Boy Scout Eagle Courts, but two young me I have known for a dozen years.

At 2 pm, Jonathan Gilmore had his Eagle Court at St. Matthew's United Methodist Church in Newbury Park. Photo on left. He is a member of Troop 730 and the youngest of four brothers who now all have received the Eagle Scout rank.

I had the privilege of being Jonathan's Webelos den leader back in 2000-2002. Each of the three younger Gilmore boys were classmates of each of my three kids.

Benjamin Gilmore received his Eagle in 2002. Stephen Gilmore received his in 2003. Alexander Gilmore received his in 2007.

At 4 pm, I was off to Kevin Staley's Eagle Court of Honor, below, at his Newbury Park home. Kevin has played soccer with my boys for years, including the last two years on the Newbury Park High School varsity.

Kevin is a member of Troop 754 in Newbury Park. I especially loved his Eagle Project. He organized and rebuilt the Newbury Park High School's Visual Arts Department (photography) storage room. Some thirty years of old photography junk was in the storage room. Maybe he should have done my garage.

Thousand Oaks Mayor Tom Clancy attended both Eagle Courts and gave Jonathan and Kevin commendations from the City.

Both boys will be graduating Friday with my son Nick from Newbury Park High School.

Congratulations!


Kevin Staley, center, surrounded by friends before start of his Eagle Court.


Kevin chasing down a ball during Newbury Park Varsity soccer this last season.


Jonathan Gilmore, front left, in 2002 photo with his brothers Alex, Ben and Stephen. All four are now Eagle Scouts from Newbury Park Troop 730.

Jon Gilmore Dotphoto Eagle Court of Honor

Kevin Staley Dotphoto Eagle Court of Honor

My wife has the green thumb. I just stay out of the way, empty the trash and take pics of her masterpieces. This morning it rained in Newbury Park, so I shot these images of pink roses. On top is just a straight photo. Second, below, is after I played with Topaz Simplify. Third was just basic photoshop trick, flatten the image contrast and saturation, then reverse course and write some very steep contrast curves. The pink rose became very deep red.

Enjoy. Scott

Mario Palomino, from Peru, spent the winter of 1982-83 watching over 800 sheep in the hills above Thousand Oaks. I dropped in a couple of evenings in January, 1983, and made this series of images.

Palomino spoke very little english, but between him and his boss, I was able to get some information. He was here on a one year contract. From November, 1982 till the spring of 1983, Palomino lived in the small trailer with two sheep dogs Yori and Lassie. The trailer was placed not too far from the North Ranch Country Club.

In 1983, North Ranch was only about half built. The area is now homes and the newer 18 holes of the North Ranch Country Club.

In the spring of 1983 the Palomino, the trailer and sheep moved to another location in Agoura. I never ran into Palomino again, but at the time he was looking forward to a vacation in August 1983, and returning to Peru in 1984.