Living in Orange County for the past 2 months  has brought me closer to LA in more ways than one. Last weekend I went up to Santa Monica for a couple of hours to join Trey Ratcliff’s photo walk at the Santa Monica boardwalk and pier. I stated following Trey after joining The Arcanum, an online learning platform for photographers. I am not into HDR photography, which is Trey’s specialty, but I can sure relate to his way of seeing the world and the way he connects with others through his passion.

There were almost 200 people gathered with all kinds of different photo gear. The human swarm invaded the beach and the pier shooting everything around them, talking photography, and helping each other create beauty from that setting. As the night kept getting darker, they all dispersed into their own Saturday night agendas.

Thank you LA for your endless activities, your awkward beauty and your contradictions!

I’ve always been a fan of neons. Maybe it is the fact that I was born in the 80’s.

Hope you enjoyed the ride!

Mucho Amor,

PS: Thank’s Nathalie for being the best photo buddy!

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During the past couple of years I have managed to make a couple of virtual friends thanks to a shared passion: photography. A couple of months ago I met Nathalie, my first virtual friend to become real. Once we realized we lived just 20 minutes from each other meeting was a must. This past weekend we both got to meet Adam, another fellow Arcanum apprentice (this is our virtual gathering place) during his layover on San Diego.

We had one full day and lots to talk and photograph. It was interesting how we hit it off right away as if we had known each other for a long time. And it was because we actually have…virtually.

Our styles and preferences were very different but that is one of the reasons why we got to learn so much from each other.

Here are some of the pictures I took while on our photowalk:

We ate at Raglan Public House, a hamburger place in Ocean Beach, my old neighborhood.

After lunch we went to the Cabrillo National Monument which has an amazing view of the bay, the ocean and Tijuana.

This is a portrait of Nathalie inside the little lighthouse at the Cabrillo National Monument.

Nathalie & Adam talking cameras and lenses.

And here they are shooting away.

Nathalie took this portrait of me while on the monument. It is nice to be on the other side of the lens sometimes.

Thanks for coming along!

Mucho Amor <3

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I’m one of those people that blends every freaking day. There is something so simple about smoothies: just throw whatever you have inside the blender and its done! Many times I go wild and start adding all kinds off extra stuff I keep in jars: almonds, chia seeds, chlorella powder…whatever is on hand. But there are other days when I just keep it simple.

The pears were looking good at the farmers market this week so I couldn’t resist creating this creamy, sweet spicy drink for lazy summer days.

Ingredients:

(Makes 2 big glasses)

– 2 ripe pears

– 2 frozen bananas (I recommend buying them fresh and freezing them in halves)

– as much or as little ginger as you fancy

– 1 1/2 glass of water

Just chop it all up, grind the ginger ( a cheese grater works well for this) and toss everything into the blender.  For the pears, you can leave the skin or take it out. I buy everything organic so I tend to leave the skin.

I topped it with chia seeds…just so that it would look prettier for the pictures.

If you don’t have a super blender remember to add the soft fruits first and the frozen ones later.

Hope this smoothie adds some spice to your day!

Mucho Amor,

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