canon 24mm f/1.4 L II.

Okay. Why would you plunk down over $1500 for a prime, wide angle? There is just something magic about this lens to me. The Mark I version was a favorite lens of mine to shoot dogs with. You couldn’t match the background blur, color and build quality of that lens. I was always very happy with it but when Canon announced a Mark II version… I was intrigued. But I did hold off for some reviews… plus they weren’t in stock ANYWHERE. (I actually got a decent deal on eBay and used www.live.com 8% cashback program).

Well, the reviews all indicated marginally better sharpness and much better build quality. That’s exactly what I found too. It does focus a little faster and more reliably than the Mark I version. It’s truly a beautiful lens and take AMAZING photos. If you are looking for a fast wide angle… this baby is it!

joey in seattle.

I went to go visit my Aunt and Uncle in Seattle for Alan’s graduation. They have a this great eating machine… Joey.

See the rest of the pictures here.

boomer at the beach.

So I got to shoot Boomer right after we came back from the wedding. It was a beautiful day in Malibu and I met Boomer’s mom Emmanuelle at Zuma Beach. Boomer was great, well-behaved Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

It was a great opportunity to stretch out my new Canon 24mm f/1.4 L II. Review coming soon…

See the rest of the pictures here.

evelyn and clay’s wedding.

We went to Evelyn and Clay’s wedding last weekend. So much fun! It was this first time I had gone back to Atlanta in 6 years. It was great to see my and Laura’s parents too. I ran a photobooth for them too. It was great and we got lots fun pictures.

mieko… the japanese akita.

This is Laura’s co-workers dog Mieko… a Japanese Akita. Super soft… mmmm.

See all the pictures here.

getty museum.

So when I moved to LA, the top of my list of “things to do” was go visit the Getty. Six years later… I finally made it there!

See all the pictures here.

charlie and levi try out the photobooth.

So I have been trying to get this photobooth thing right for Evelyn’s wedding. Couple things learned, don’t use a fabric backdrop. We were down in Cerritos and there was a fabric shop with a huge sale. I got 16 yards for $35. But it was $35 wasted… the fabric doesn’t hang right. I am going to end up ordering real seamless paper.

Then my Alien Bees ABR800 Ring flash died. Arg. but they were great and are sending me a replacement! So hopefully I’ll be okay. Other light is a Canon 580ex fired in a softbox… but I am not sure I am going to use it like that or gridded. Still playing.

These were actually taken with my Panasonic LX3!

more fun with the ringflash.

Just practicing for Evelyn’s wedding!

new appliances.

We got new appliances today! Yeah! Finally, that melted microwave saw the street. Amana fridge, Frigidaire range and microwave, Bosch dishwasher and just waiting for our new Maytag washer to come in.

redondo to solano.

One of the great things about living in California is the many day road trips you can take up and down the coast. Here is Laura talking about a trip we took.

Yesterday, we took a road trip down to Solano Beach (just north of San Diego). They have a design district called Cedros Avenue. That was our end destination.

Along the way, we went to Madison Square in Laguna Beach, which is a restaurant this guy created just for dogs. It has no indoor seating and he made all the tables spaced out enough so the dogs would have room to sit around the table. It was real nice. I got german apple pancakes… only meant to eat half but I ate it all.

Madison Square & Garden Cafe
320 N Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 494-0137
http://www.madisonsquare.com

Then we went to dana point and saw the salt creek beach and we walked the dogs around the grassy knolls where the craziest thing happened. Levi was barking at these corgis and then Charlie started paying attention to them. Charlie’s leash was somehow wrapped around Levi in some weird manner that when Charlie moved forward to see the corgis the leash lifted levi off the ground and levi did a 360 degree flip in the air. It was wild! He was fine and landed on his feet… he was even still barking at them. I’ve never seen anythign like it and i wish we had a video of it.

Then we went to the Mission in San Juan Capistrano and then we ate fish tacos at Cessy in Carlsbad. At this point levi had so much anxiety because Aaron left us to see the Mission and we waited in the car for him – Levi threw up his breakfast and it look like poo coming out of us mouth. Levi is just like me I guess. He has too much nervous anxiety.

Cessy Taco Shop
3016 Carlsbad Blvd
Carlsbad, CA 92008
(760) 434-2648

After cleaning that up and eating our fish tacos we went to this dessert place that was mentioned on Chowhound.com called Elizabethan Desserts and we got smores bars and cookies and mini pies. It was so good. We still have the mini pie for today, strawberry rhubarb. hmmm..

Then we drove to Cedros Ave design district. I got some xmas cards for next year. And then we went back to Carlsbad and watched the sunset on the beach. Aaron walked around the beach and the dogs and I waited in the car. And then another funny thing happened to Levi. He was so nervous about Aaron leaving he watched him the whole time. And when Aaron walked far enough away and the sand dunes were all you saw, levi got real nervous and jumped out the window. I had him leashed so he didn’t run away. He hurt his back leg a little. But that was so amazing. I have never seen a dog do that. And now I know that I can’t leave my windows cracked to wide or he will definitely jump out. Then we stopped at the Carlsbad outlet which had some amazing sales.

We stopped in Laguna Niguel for some pizza at ny upper crust pizza which got a 91% rating. It was good. 

NY Upper Crust Pizza
28051 Greenfield Dr # B
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 831-4300
http://www.nysuppercrustpizza.com‎

- Laura

See the slideshow here.