Fatal Shooting at Venice Street Festival

A man died and a woman was critically wounded on Abbott Kinney Bl in Venice on Sunday night as the annual Abbott Kinney Street Festival was wrapping up. Police are still searching for the suspect. The victims were shot about a block apart around 9:20 PM according to the LAPD.
photos ** updated information 9-29-08 - the shooting occurred in front of the Other Room and the wounded female victim then drove her vehicle to the second location near California and Abbott Kinney.Reports indicate she was released from the hospital today. ©Jonathan Alcorn 2008 LAPD Info Link LA Times story Link

Beckham Calls in Reinforcements

David Beckham's L.A. Galaxy got their first victory in over two months last night over DC United winning 5-2. The pressure is really on Becks and his team, they in danger of missing the MLS playoffs, they need to pull it together the rest of the way, and this was a good start.
Bruce Arena took over as head coach recently and they added a couple new players to try and turn things around. I hope they do.
Becks congratulates Landon Donovan, who recorded a hat trick.

Carrie Fisher

Recently I had a photo shoot with the multi-talented Carrie Fisher, she is best known for playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. Carrie's life has been a very interesting journey, born to famous parents Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, and Elizabeth Taylor is her stepmother. Carrie began performing at a very young age, and is now starring in a one-woman show "Wishful Drinking" which, among other things, touches on her struggles with her drug addiction and bipolar disorder. She is also a best selling author, "Postcards From the Edge" , and a sought after screenplay writer and script doctor.

Commuter Train Tagedy

First reported at 4:23 PM on Friday, a horrible and tragic train accident occurred in Chatsworth involving a Metrolink commuter train and a freight train left at least 18 people dead and 135 injured. Among the deceased was on off-duty LAPD officer. UPDATE- After 20 hours, the rescue/recovery effort was still in progress and the death toll now 23, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says. The New York Times Story link© photos by Jonathan Alcorn

The Goats of Downtown L.A.

There is a herd of goats chomping on some brush in Downtown Los Angeles. For the next couple of weeks, these goats will be at work in the heart of the downtown area. The herd of 100 goats has been hired by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency to clear away thick weeds on a hillside swath of land at the corner of 4th and Hill streets. Their previous assignment was clearing brush in a the foothills above Duarte in preparation for fire season this fall. Passing workers exiting from a subway station stop to take a look at a sight you don't see everyday in the city.

Godfather of Video Games - Nolan Bushnell

A few weeks back, I had a portrait session with the innovative Nolan Bushnell , the founder of Atari. He became an early pioneer of video games when he invented Pong in 1972. Nolan also founded Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theatre's chain. Fast forward to 2008 and Mr Bushnell is the CEO of uWink, an interactive entertainment restaurant chain. I photographed him for the cover of Chain Store Age magazine for a cover story on uWink. And for the record, he's very easygoing and a totally cool guy.

Magic Bus, L.A. Style

Interesting L.A. moment I saw from above today while I was on assignment at the Hollywood & Highland complex. It's an open air double-decker tour bus that takes sightseers around Hollywood. Among the usual gang of superhero/cartoon characters trying to get some tourists money was a Grim Reaper character , just a few feet from the bus. Hollywood is weird.