The bird I am referring to and is seen in the accompanying photo is the California condor. OK, I’ll be the first to admit, it’s got a face that only a mother could love. Seriously, its not what one would think of as a pretty bird. And when it’s roosting, it seems to lumber somewhat awkwardly. But when when this enormous bird takes to the skies, it soars with the strength of a Bald Eagle and with the grace of a prima ballerina. And these are really big birds with a wingspan that can exceed nine feet.

When we first spotted this bird, it was roosting on a house in Big Sur, and there also happened to be good sized, somewhat burly workman in the driveway of the house. This bird, and another that was also roosting at the same location, were both clearly larger than this man’s torso. Reading about their size is one thing. Seeing these winged creatures in comparison to a man, is totally another.

This image is in reality a composite of the same bird, taken about 3 seconds apart. I made the decision to merge the two images into a composite, as I thought in this manner it shows an interesting perspective of its wings in flight.

A little history of the CA condor.

In 1982, on the brink of extinction, the last 22 California condors were placed in a captive breeding program. The world population of California condors is now approximately 350 birds, more than half of which are flying free in the skies above California, Arizona and Baja California, Mexico. The others are in breeding centers and programs at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo. Two additional breeding centers which are now assisting with the recovery of the species are the Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey and the Oregon Zoo.

And in March 2010 a California condor was born in the wild. This was the first hatching of a chick in the wild in over 50 years. This is really good news in spite of the fact that the egg this chick came from was actually conceived in a park.

More information on the California condor and the ongoing efforts to fully bring this bird back into wild can be found at CA Condor Conservation and Ventana Wildlife Association.

DeRemus Photography is a Southern California based wedding, portrait and fine art photographer and offers service to all of Southern California including the San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles, Orange County and Santa Barbara and is available for domestic travel nationwide and for destination weddings worldwide.

To see more of my work, please visit www.deremus.com.

All photography and text are copyright David DeRemus Photography and can not be removed from this site or reproduced without prior, express written consent.

And my final reflection on the historic LA photo walk…this image is one of the several jewelry centers downtown. And one of these establishments has the distinct advantage of being a “jewelry and loan”.  My 2 favorite things about this image; the domed building with it’s stylish detail, warmth and openness it extends and the fact that it (the image) looks like black and white film. (Digital black and white is one thing. Digital B&W that looks like B&W film, well that’s a whole new game…it just keeps getting better.) The title, “Jewelry and Loans”.

Until the next time…be well.

(All images are copyright David DeRemus Photography and may not be used without prior express written consent.)

This was my first year as a participant. The walk I joined was in the historic section of downtown LA which is filled with a lot of really great buildings, some with incredible architecture with wonderful facades and some of most unusual and eclectic collections of architectural sculpture I have ever seen on a singular building. Many are clearly in need of renovation and some have had, or are in the process of being renovated. However you look at it, there is a lot of history and art in this section of Los Angeles in an approximate 5×8 block area. This area also includes Los Angeles’ historic theater district which just narrowly escaped the wrecking ball in recent history.

Here is a little blurb from the USC Geography site: “To the surprise of many urban experts and millions of suburban residents of Los Angeles — who view sprawling Los Angeles as “100 suburbs in search of a city” — there always has been a significant downtown Los Angeles, even before the new skyscrapers began sprouting in the 1960s. Ironically, much of the built environment of the old commercial downtown was not destroyed by new development, mainly because most new projects were located to the west and northwest of the old “historic core.” Today, dozens of blocks and hundreds of buildings (most of which are exactly 150 feet tall) in this subregion look essentially the same as they did in the 1930s. The human occupance and use of this subregion, however, is very different than it was 60 years ago.”

I have been meaning to do my own photo exploring in this area for many years but have never gotten around to it, so this was a great way for me to do this and it also was a chance to meet a few people. It also has given me a fresh perspective on downtown LA. This area is truly worth saving.

Here are a few of my images…

This first one was one of the first images I took that day. It’s a perspective in black and white, of a view in Pershing Square.

This next image is actually a collection of images. This is (obviously) the former Clark Hotel which be all appearances seems to be abandoned.

This next image is an interior shot from the Bradley Building.

This next image is in reality, two images blended together. I loved the detail of the façade, but the actual glass was dulled with what looked like at least 4 decades of dust on them. So, this being the digital world, I replaced the glass with some other glass like substance… This image is titled “Reflections of Retro Past”.

This next image, which I call “Sentinels” is about this wonderful architectural sculpture on this otherwise, nondescript brick building. BTW, can anyone out there tell me is this style Egyptian, European or something else?

And this last image, while not technically in historic downtown LA, is next to it. And in fact, had I panned my camera down you would see Pershing Square. I call this image “Mixed Influences” due to the obvious mix of architectural styles. This image is another example of a collection of images and in this case I am using the High Dynamic Range-technique (HDR). Simply put, high dynamic range (HDR) images enable photographers to record a greater range of tonal detail than a given camera could capture in a single photo. The intention is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows. You achieve this by taking multiple exposures of the same scene and them combining them together.

OK, that’s it for now. I may add more images later but first, I’ve got paid gigs I need to attend to.

(All images are copyright David DeRemus Photography and may not be used without prior express written consent.)