Shez Photography » Jamie

Raptor Ridge Half Marathon 10-9-11

Jamie — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 22:46:12 +0000

YOUR PHOTOS ARE HERE! PLEASE VISIT OUR GALLERY.

Please visit the Dirt Devil Race Series Website for race results.

We hope to see you all next year at the Wild Horse Trail Half!

Stairway To Heaven 5K/15K 8-14-11

Jamie — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:05:26 +0000

YOUR PHOTOS ARE HERE! CHECK THEM OUT IN OUR GALLERY.

To see your race results check out the Dirt Devil website.

See you in October for the Raptor Ridge Half!

Sidewinder 5K/10K 7-10-11

Jamie — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 17:43:02 +0000

YOUR RACE PHOTOS ARE HERE! PLEASE CHECK OUT THE GALLERY TO SEE YOUR PHOTOS.

You can also go to the Dirt Devil website for your race results.

Remember if you register an account on Amateur Endurance you will get a coupon code for 5% off your order of photos.

See you all at the Stairway to Heaven 5K/15K in August!

Coyote 5K/10K Race 6-12-2011

Jamie — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 21:40:16 +0000

YOUR RACE PHOTOS ARE HERE! CHECK OUT THE GALLERY TO SEE YOUR PHOTOS.

You can also see your results on Dirt Devil’s website.

Thanks for participating. We will see you at the Sidewinder 5K/10K in July!

New Offer! Register an account on Amateur Endurance and get a coupon code for 5% off you order of photos

Malibu Vacation

Jamie — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 03:28:52 +0000

The traffic was dreadful. Barely moving we sat on the freeway stuck in the midst of Memorial Day beach goers. The parking lots off PCH were beyond full and cars filled every empty space along the road. Finally after two and a half hours we reached our destination; the Malibu Motel. It was a little bit ghetto and a little bit retro but it was a perfect place to get away from it all. On the first floor we didn’t get the more spectacular ocean view that our neighbors got on the upper floors but our dogs didn’t seem to mind. They finally got to vacation with us and they were enjoying every moment. Behind our hotel a rocky path led up the side of the hilly terrain that is a staple of PCH. At the top was the real view; something even the upper floors didn’t get. The air was salty, the sky was blue, the dogs were happy and life was perfect.

Maxx loved the king bed

Our spot above the hotel

The view from the path above our hotel

Even better in the next parking lot over was a grocery store (everything happened to be organic and whole grain at this particular establishment) and a delicious pizza place so we ate well too. After getting a mostly full nights sleep we ate breakfast looking out at the sea. Maxx however did wake us up a few times because he was hogging the bed. After, we loaded the dogs up in the car and headed north to Leo Carrillo State Beach which is about 16 miles away. Past lifeguard tower 3 the beach is open to dogs as long as they are on leash. On this sunny Tuesday we had this stretch of beach almost all to ourselves. It was pretty windy but the dogs didn’t seem to mind as we ran them down the coast. The air was salty, the ocean was blue, the dogs were sandy and life was perfect.

Getting Pearl used to the water

Pelican flying low over the shore

This was the best one out of 20 self timed shots

Doggy footprints in the sand

We decided the rest of the day would be for relaxation. The dogs didn’t seem to mind that either since they thoroughly enjoyed having a large king bed to sleep on. After checking out the next morning we again headed north to Solstice Canyon. I found this particular trail on bringfido.com as it is recommended as a great dog friendly hike and it certainly was. The trail is mostly paved, very well maintained, has beautiful scenery and is pretty easy. The dogs loved being out in nature and needed the exercise as much as we did. Maxx pulled Bryan up almost every hill while Pearl let me lead the way. We chose to turn around at the site of the burned down Roberts house. By the time we got back to the car we knew we were all ready to head for home. It was a great end to the last couple of days. The air was cool, the traffic was light, the dogs were fast asleep and life was perfect.

Solstice Canyon Trail

Roberts house ruins

View from the canyon

IVHS Dog Walk 2011

Jamie — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 04:02:07 +0000

A couple of weeks ago Bryan and I, along with our dog Maxx participated in the 10th Annual IVHS Dog Walk. Once again we joined Team Natasha who were the biggest fundraisers of the event. Our team, led by my friend Sarah’s daughter Natasha, has been growing larger every year and this year was no exception. We were lucky to have our friends Chris and Lori, along with their labs Celeste and Angelina, fund raise and walk with us as well as some of their family and friends. We brought Pearl to last year’s walk so we decided to let Maxx join us this time around. He is normally snappy around other dogs but he did fantastic and thoroughly enjoyed himself. He also enjoyed his breakfast sausage and birthday cupcake. Even though our team was bigger than last year the number of people attending the event has grown smaller. This is unfortunate since this is a great cause and a really fun event for dog owners and their families. So next year be sure to check out this awesome dog walk!

Chris with Angelina and Bryan with Maxx

Team Natasha

Lori with Celeste

Mark and Isabella with The Wizard and Aisha

Maxx eating a birthday cupcake

Loma Ridge Wildflower Hike

Jamie — Fri, 06 May 2011 14:41:15 +0000

On Tuesday I went on another wildflower hike with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. This time the hike was in Limestone Canyon, specifically at Loma Ridge. Also this was a dedicated photography hike so many of the hikers brought along various DSLR’s. Again our docent was Kelley, the same IRC employee who guided us in Round Canyon the week before. We started at the Augustine Staging Area which is just off Santiago Canyon Road. After meeting in the parking area we all carpooled about a mile in to the trail head. This hike was a little faster paced, we still did stop a few times so she could tell us about the flora and fauna. Unlike Round Canyon this trail had a hill, now I’m not vary fond of hills so the elevation gain was a bit of a surprise. It was probably about 500 to 700 feet of climbing total but when you are carrying what feels like a 50lb camera it’s slightly more difficult. When we stopped at the top of the first part of our climb we could see the most spectacular view of Orange County all the way to Catalina island. We continued our climb and we ended up at a spot that overlooked part of Limestone Canyon. By then we had been hiking for about two hours so we decided that was good turn around point, plus the temperature was rising pretty quickly. This was a really fun hike but unfortunately the trail is not open to the public. The IRC does various hikes on this trail including cardio hikes if you really want a challenge. Every so often the IRC also has open access days where they open these trails to the public (they are having one this Saturday). I highly recommend taking advantage of these programs if you ever get a chance and see how amazing the Irvine Ranch really is.

You can see more photos from my hike at Loma Ridge in our GALLERY. You can also click on the images below to see the large version.

Cal Poly Pomona Sunday Horse Show

Jamie — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:37:02 +0000

I must say that I feel like a bad person. I went to Cal Poly Pomona for nearly three years, my major was Equine Science and I was on the IHSA horse show team for crying out loud. Despite all that up until this past Sunday I had never seen the horse show that the WK Kellogg Arabian Horse Center puts on the first Sunday of every month from October to May. It’s sad really, even after I left Cal Poly, a few years after Bryan graduated, we continued to live in Pomona so we could have gone anytime. We actually tried once but when we got there the show was canceled due to rain that had fallen days before. So now it’s a lot more inconvenient to make the drive but I finally planned to go. This particular show was the last of the season which won’t start up again until October. Because this is an Arabian horse farm all the horses in the show were Arabians performing various disciplines and wearing various tacks. They had Arabians in native costume, saddle seat, English, hunter, side saddle and Western. Each tack showed the versatility of the Arab breed in some form whether it be as trail horse, a jumper or pleasure horse. One Arabian mare was even taught to do tricks! For the finale of the show they brought out a mare and her foal, a plucky little chestnut colt. The horse center is a breeding farm for Arabians and many babies have been born in the past few months. The show was very entertaining and it was nice to finally see it and also do one of my other favorite things that Cal Poly has to offer; go to the Farm Store!

To see more photos from the horse show check out the GALLERY. You can also click on the images below to see the larger version.

Descanso Gardens

Jamie — Mon, 02 May 2011 15:37:00 +0000

Last weekend my friend Sarah and I along with her family visited Descanso Gardens which is located in La Cañada Flintridge. Descanso reminds me very much of the LA Arboretum and the Huntington Library which are both located in the surrounding cities. It has many different kinds of flora and fauna, including California natives, a rose garden and a Japanese garden. There is also a small train that runs through the facility. Don’t be fooled by it’s size, it may look like a toy but it is actually a fully functional train. If you walk to the far end of the gardens you will see the Boddy House which is large and beautifully decorated. We didn’t visit every corner of the park but we did enjoy ourselves and got some pretty good pictures out of it too.

To see more photos from Descanso Gardens check out the GALLERY. You can also click on the images below to see the larger version.

Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary

Jamie — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:52:35 +0000

A couple days ago my friend and I went to the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary which is located in the middle of nowhere in Orange County. I know what you are probably saying, Orange County doesn’t have a middle of nowhere. Oh yes it does, it’s called Modjeska Canyon. The sanctuary is located at the end of Modjeska Canyon Road and takes up a very small area of land. It is free to enter but they gladly accept donations. The reason we went there in the first place was to photograph hummingbirds. Photographing these finicky little creatures is difficult; it mostly consists of waiting around quietly until they show up at their sugar water feeders. The other issue we found challenging about photographing these little guys is the location the sanctuary decided to place the feeders. Most of them were positioned under an overhang which meant all the birds were shaded most of the time. Convenient for the birds, inconvenient for the photographers. After exhausting ourselves with bird photos we walked into the Nature Center which held lots of kids activities, an array of taxidermy animals and some small reptiles in cages. Tucker’s is a nice place to visit if you are looking for something free to do, just make sure you don’t get lost trying to find it.

Click on the image to see the larger version.