First Book Autographs!



In the mail yesterday I received 700 book plates to be signed and shipped back to Welcome Books! I sat here this morning and signed all 700! The signed book plates go to anyone that buys directly from Welcome Books. Hopefully, if you are reading this, you will get one of them. If not, I will be happy to sign a copy for you. My girlfriend said she had to take photos of me signing the plates, and I had to post them online. She said if I did not let her take photos of me and blog about it, I would have to clean the shower floor. I decided it would be a good idea to do what she said. Enjoy!

Syzgy


Here is a photograph from a recent editorial assignment I shot this weekend. Krista Badagliacca is pictured in the photo and is the owner of Syzgzy, a cycling studio in Redondo Beach.

LOLA DEL FRESNO






I photographed Lola Del Fresno this past Friday. She is a painter and sculptor, mainly making figures of the human body. Lola's talent lies in making the viewer feel the personality of her subjects from a very personal sense. A lot of her paintings make you feel as if you are looking into the soul of her subjects. Here are my portraits of her. Art is always a reflection of the artist. I tried to capture the art work of Lola and her personality with in my photographs.

Alexey Steele


I showed up at Alexey Steele's studio today and the lighting from the sky lights danced around his warehouse. I felt as if I had transformed back into the 1500's: giant Renaissance paintings hung everywhere with a modern day twist, busts scattered on tables and shelves, a couch for his subject matters, a wall filled with art books, and this was just the tip of the iceberg.

I was introduced to him through a family friend, and when I looked him up, I knew I had to photograph him. He looks like a modern day Leondardo Da Vinci from the images on his website. Alexey travels all around the world painting, he was an honorary guest this week at a city in Macedonia and was suppose to give a speech, but had other work he had to attend to!

Take a look at his art work:

http://www.alexeysteele.com/index.php

Enjoy!

Desert Hot Springs and Garbage









This past weekend I went to Desert Hot Springs with my girlfriend. We went to visit her dad at his desert home that backs up to a mountainous and plateau landscape. The neighborhood is rather fancy, and behind the homes is a long dirt road that can be taken over the mountains into the next town. There is not a lot out at her dad's place besides a golf club, it is a beautiful house, with a pool and hot tub. There is no immediate city right near by. We were there watching her brothers TV premier called Secret Worlds Michael Arbuthnot. It was a 6 hour extravaganza! While the shows were amazing, I needed to take a break from watching the tube.

Sometimes I get antsy, and I need to do something creative if I have not shot in a few days. I was feeling antsy! So, I decided to go on a nature walk and check-out the dramatic desert landscape. I started by shooting the mountain side with the long road going up and over, then I realized I was kind of in the middle of nowhere, and the desert was covered in garbage. People come and dump all their crap out in the desert. There was a shopping cart, numerous old tires, clothes, even a car someone left on the hill side. It made me kind of sad so many people use the desert as their own personal dump.

I own a book called Thinker Toys, and it is full of creative exercises. One of the exercises is to pick one color for the day, and only look for that color in your daily routine. If you were to pick red, then you would see the red stop sign, the red lipstick smear on your car seat, the red scab on your elbow... It opens up your mind to new ways of looking. I decided to only photograph the trash I could find on my desert hike. It was a rather interesting exercise. I am unsure how great these photos are, but I like them and I think they are rather poetic. Even on a desert hike where you think you would find very little traces of people, you can't escape traces of mankind, especially his garbage.

Amy De La Croix



I photographed Amy De La Croix this past weekend, she is a model and also competes in pageants. She won the 2010 pageant contest called 'Ms Hell on Wheels.' I have a fascination for people who have a truly unique story to tell. If you were to see Amy walking down the street, she definitely sticks out and has a rather large personality. I decided to photograph her in two ways. As a pageant contestant winner with a lot of make-up and 'glammed-out' and holding a photo of her deceased parents; wearing little make-up and normal clothing attire.

Edith Shain







Edith Shain passed away this past Sunday at the age of 93. I was the last photographer to photograph Edith for my book. She truly was the sweetest and most vivacious lady I have ever met. The funny thing about the famous photo of her kissing the sailor, you would think she is 8 feet tall! When I photographed Edith, I was on my knees, and we were about the same height. She must not be taller then 4'8". The point I am trying to make is Edith may have been a short person, but her soul and personality was monumental, and legendary. The photo of the sailor kissing Edith is one of the most famous images of WWII, if not American history.

Gary Vitti: Lakers Trainer for 26 years and still going....





I photographed Gary Vitti today. He has been the head sports trainer for the Los Angeles Lakers for the last 26 years! During game time he is right there on the bench between the players and coaches, dealing with all the injuries of the Lakers. Vitti is the first to show up and always the last to leave. He works 320 days a year, 7 days a week! I took his photo outside and in his 'Lakers room.' It is filled with championship basketballs signed by legendary Lakers, has a pair of Shaq's size 22 shoes hanging from the wall, and all sorts of other pieces of NBA history.

GREAT NEWS!


The Last Good War: The Faces and Voices of WWII (my book) has just been made a selection of The History Book Club and a selection of The Military Book Club. Woo Woo!

Christ Bikers #3



Here are a few more new photos of the Bikers for Christ. I especially like these two images. I can't get over how tough I would think these men and women are if I did not know them. I would be too imitated to ever approach them. They are still extremely tough, but in a different way. Next week the Bikers for Christ south bay chapter is going on a fundraiser ride to raise money for a child with lymphoma cancer.

Christian Motorcyclists #2







I just added a Bikers for Christ section to my website:

http://www.tomsandersphoto.com/

I started this photo series about a month ago. I want people to be able to appreciate what this sub-culture does for society. They are an intimidating group of people at first glance. The second you get to know them, they are a group of big Teddy bear's.

Pole Dancing in the domestic setting




I have started a photo series photographing women pole dancing in their homes. Now, I know what you are thinking... Pole dancing? Pole dancing at home? These women are not strippers, they only dance by themselves, or in front of other women. They have told me, it is a liberating experience to dance on the pole, and it takes great strength. They also feel incredibly comfortable in front of other women, some won't even dance for their husbands!
Both women in each image have incredibly strong bodies. I heard recently pole dancing was trying to be added to the Olympics. These women are gymnasts! I am not a scientist or a sports trainer, but I guarantee, most men, and young men like myself, could not jump on that pole, and accomplish what these women do.

Timeless Face


I am rather fascinated with timeless faces. You could take this man's face, and he could be from the early 1900's. Maybe even 1800's. If the photo was in black and white, the viewer would think the photo was rather old. My first instinct was to make this image a black and white, but the photo looks better in color because of his big smile, the red bandanna, and his blue eyes.

ResQWater AD!




Checkout my most recent ad campaign! The company is called ResQWater, and the drink is a hangover remedy. ResQwater is being sold in the state of Arizona, and you can order it online. To learn more go to: http://www.resqwater.com/

Enjoy!

Riverside National Cemetery












I attended the burial of 8 veterans this morning at the Riverside National Cemetery. Every Wednesday members of the Patriot Guard Riders and The American Legion meet at the cemetery and honor the burial of our veterans. The group is made up of mostly Vietnam vets.

A vast majority of the time the family members of the deceased veteran can't afford to come to the interment, or the veteran out lived their relatives. So the veterans show up and undertake the role as their family for the funeral. There can be any where from 4-20 burials in a single day.

Below are a few images from the burial today, and also portraits of Vietnam vets I took a few weeks ago:

Terrain






I typically only photograph people, unique individuals I feel have a timeless story. I create a portrait that any viewer from any generation can relate to. I do on occasion photograph landscapes. I love being outdoors, but very rarely do I take my camera with me to take a landscape photo. If I love to take portraits of timeless characters, why wouldn't I love to take portraits of timeless terrain? Any generation can appreciate nature. Nature is the utmost timeless subject. Here are a few landscapes I have recently taken. Maybe I will begin to take more....

Flashes of Hope!




Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to UCLA Hospital and photograph children with cancer and their Mom's for Flashes of Hope:

"Flashes of Hope is a nonprofit organization that changes the way children with cancer and other life threatening illnesses see themselves through the gift of photography and raises money for pediatric cancer research.

The portraits, taken by award-winning photographers, help children feel better about their changing appearance by celebrating it. For families of terminally ill children, it's especially important to have a portrait that preserves forever the beauty, grace and dignity of their child."


I was rather nervous about photographing the kids because I thought it was going to be an emotional day, and I also wanted to do a great job! Luckily, I do not have a heavy family history of cancer, and I have not been around too many people who have had cancer. I was a little unsure how to act around the kids.


My girlfriend Allison took the day off from work, and assisted me. In fact I was so nervous, we got to the hospital an hour and half early. I could tell, I was getting on her nerves just a little bit....


Once we set up the lighting, and the first kid rolled in with a huge smile on his face, I was put at ease. My jaw was literally hurting at the end of the day from laughing so much. I ended up photographing 14 youngsters, and kid after kid came in with an I.V., and all of them were smiling. I thought I was going to have tears of sadness rolling down my face all day, it ended being tears of laughter!

Carneros AVA



I was up in my hometown of Sonoma, Ca this past weekend. I photographed a few growers at their home and vineyard, in the Carneros AVA. I feel like my girlfriend right now because she has her own paid wine blog, and here I am writing about wine. To learn more about the Carneros region please read below (it is from wikipedia):

"...The proximity to the cool fog and breezes from the bay makes the climate in Los Carneros cooler and more moderate than the wine regions further north in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley. The cooler climate has made Los Carneros attractive for the cultivation of cooler climate varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Many of the grapes grown in Los Carneros are used for sparkling wine production.[2] ..."