Got to Barstow at sunset on Monday night and had to shoot the Sunset Inn.

SketchMee turns photos into hand drawn sketches. I've been using this program for several months.

Link to my flickr SketchMee gallery.

SketchMee is one of my doodle iPhone apps. You know, something to do when watching TV, waiting in lines, etc.

I am using a round-trip work flow, moving images between Lightroom and iPhone. Once in the iPhone, SketchMee is one of the photo apps I'm using to punish those pixels.


SketchMee has four basic windows: Color Pencil, Grayscale Pencil, Color Chalk and Grayscale Chalk. Each window has additional multiple controls for endless combinations.

Images can be saved at sizes up to 1920 x 1920 pixels. The basic app costs $2.99. Try the free version, SketchMee Lite to see if this app is for you. The Lite version has the save function disabled.

A new SketchMee HD version is available for the iPad. SketchMee HD is $4.99. For both versions a PDF upgrade allows you to email an "infinite resolution" PDF to yourself. The upgrade costs $4.99 for SketchMee and $9.99 for SketchMee HD.


July 2010, photo of a totem pole in Weeds, California, with Mt. Shasta in background. SketchMee iPhone app used.

Another Sunday, another air show — yesterday was Wings Over Camarillo. Great air show for World War 2 era aircraft lovers — hey that's me.

But again no cool clouds, in fact no clouds at all. So to do something different, I made many exposures of smoke trailing aircraft framed with planes sitting on the ground. Its one way to shoot air shows without a long lens.

Wings Over Camarillo 2010 flickr set.

Sunday I flew down the 101 to Santa Paula for the air show. Problem was no clouds. The last couple of air shows had those white fluffy things in the sky I love to frame with aircraft. But not a puff to be seen on Sunday.

Ok no clouds, but Santa Paula Airport is tucked into a valley next to a cool mountain. My 300 mm lens compresses the cliffs into a dramatic background for aircraft.

The other saving grace — many aircraft provided their own clouds. Many of the pilots released great smoke trails allowing some drama — tons of smoke and tiny aircraft.

Enjoy the pics.

Santa Paula Air Show flickr set

Yep, I'm just a moth attracted to a flame.

Thursday evening, I was enjoying the downtown Los Angeles Art Walk. Man, there was a big crowd. Scents of food attracted me to a new catering truck food court at 4th and Main.

Then the twirling flames caught my eye. I jay-walked across 4th to get closer and started shooting.

Some 100 exposures later it was time to head back to the office. My dinner break was over.

Here are two of the images of performers from Red Swan Fire.

Frame grab of today's From the Archives post . Jan. 1, 1966: UCLA coach Tommy Prothro is hoisted up after the fifth-ranked Bruins beat the Michigan State Spartans, the No. 1 football team in the nation, to take home their first Rose Bowl win. Photo by Joe Kennedy/Los Angeles Times

Today I am very excited to announce the launch of From the Archives, part of the new Los Angeles Times photography blog, Framework.

From the Archives is just that, images from the archives of the Los Angeles Times. Every weekday, a new photo will be posted with a short backstory on the image.

Here is an official announcement from the Los Angeles Times:

"Framework, the photography and video blog of the Los Angeles Times, celebrates the power and explores the craft of visual storytelling. The blog highlights the work of Times photojournalists who, frame by frame, document the drama, the emotion and sometimes the humor of life.

Framework also aims to serve as a resource hub for photography, multimedia and video enthusiasts who share our passion. The blog features our current work in visual journalism, must-see photos, videos and multimedia, technical tips a calendar of events, other sites we like and also a chance to go deep into The Times archives of historic and ephemeral images.   

We hope it will be a gathering place for people who are just as passionate about visual storytelling as we are.

www.latimes.com/framework

You can also find us at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/latimesmultimedia
Twitter: @LATimesPhotos "

For several months I have been building up a backlog of posts for From the Archives. The images will be posted five days a week. Currently there are 16 photos posted including, a big eyed Don Knotts, Robert Mitchum in jail, Richard Ramirez flashing a pentagram, and the 1955 Pulitzer winning image by Jack Gaunt.

Future posts will include images going as far back as 1910. Enjoy them - I sure am.

From the Archives

Now this is a iPhone six-pack. I took my postcard photo of downtown Chadron, Nebraska, and played with some iPhone photo apps.

1 - Original Image

2 - Photo after using SketchMee.

3 - Pic Grunger applied.

4 - PhotoStudio aging filter used.

5 - PhotoshopMobile to desaturate.

6 - PaintMee with wild settings.

Hey send me an email with your favorite. I like all the versions but do have to admit that 2 and 4 are very similar.

Larger versions of images on flickr

My Flickr iPhone images

Sunday I took my wish list and visited Santa in Oxnard. Isn't August the perfect time to deliver your list? Gives him lots of time to build and deliver.

Of course this Santa and I have some history — some 40 years. He's the twenty foot tall Santa that once rested building at Carpinteria's Santa Clause Lane. I drove by him for the first time in 1970. So when Santa Clause Lane was closed and bulldozed - Santa managed to survive. He now is the cornerstone of a small park overlooking the Ventura Freeway in Oxnard.

So I visited, took my images, gave him a diet coke salute and headed up the road.

Flickr images

Roadside America.com history on Santa