Adam "MCA" Yauch

Recently I photographed Adam Yauch, aka MCA , of Beastie Boys fame. He is so cool. The subject matter of the FT story by Matthew Garrahan is Yauch's foray into the movie world , Oscilloscope Laboratories. They acquire Indy films and release them in wide distribution. Three of the films include "Wendy and Lucy", "Dear Zachary" , and the basketball documentary that Yauch produced and directed "Gunnin’ for that Number One Spot. " I recommend them highly.A few weeks after the photo shoot, Adam Yauch revealed he has a very treatable form of cancer of the salivary gland. Keeping fingers crossed for a fast and complete recovery.

High Surf at The Wedge

High surf continues to pound south facing So Cal beaches this weekend, with especially dangerous and high surf at The Wedge at the end of the Balboa Peninsula where yesterday a 50 year old man was killed.

"To Protect and To Serve "

I was assigned to get some photos of LAPD officers for this story in the New York Times. These are a couple photos of officers that were not interviewed for the piece. From a distance I saw these officers helping a stranded motorist push her car to the side of the road, and they were very cool when I ran up and started photographing them, but a little embarrased.
These two officers were writing a traffic citation, after I shot this I identified myself and they were cool with it too.

Protesting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Budget Plan

The Community Coalition South Los Angeles held a rally at Santa Monica Airport to protest the Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's ``insensitive" remarks regarding the state of the economy as well as the budget cuts he is campaigning for. The group says his proposed budget cuts will adversely affect Californians such as students, senior citizens and working families. They also feel Arnold is out of touch with regular people and are upset about the Governor's recent remark to a reporter that he is "perfectly fine" while others are afraid these cuts may ultimately cost lives to the needy. Arnold flies in and out of SM Airport regularly on his commute to the state capitol in Sacramento.

Four Brush Fires in Castaic in One Week

There have been four brush fires in the Castaic area in the past week. Thankfully, with temperatures over 100 degrees , firefighters have doused all of them before they got huge. Another big help is that wind speeds have been in single digits. With the fires, I-5 traffic nightmares have been the norm in that area.The aerial drop photo is from one of Friday's fires

Galaxy Stars Beckham and Donovan Feuding

David Beckham has fired back at Los Angeles Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan after published excerpts from Grant Wahl's upcoming book, "The Beckham Experiment," featured Donovan calling out Becks and blasting him, and calling Beckham a "bad teammate". Over the weekend, David Beckham responded and called Landon Donovan "unprofessional". So far the Beckham experiment in America has been disappointing with the Galaxy failing to make the playoffs in his two seasons with the club. Beckham is scheduled to make his season debut with the Galaxy on Thursday, July 16 in New York after being on "loan" to AC Milan since last November.

**Update July 13 - It looks like Beckham and Donovan worked their issues out during a conversation today between the two. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jul/14/david-beckham-landon-donovan-row-resolved photos ©Jonathan Alcorn/ZumaPess 2008

Getty Center Evacuated Due To Brush Fire

The fire northeast of the Getty Center started just before 1 PM and has burned about 80 acres according to reports at 4PM.

Scenes Outside the Michael Jackson Memorial

The huge crowds never materialized and the public memorial went off smoothly today in Downtown Los Angeles.

Michael Jackson Private Funeral Location Confirmed

Security was extra tight today at Forest Lawn Mortuary where a private funeral service will be held tomorrow morning prior to the public memorial at Staples Center. Media, Police , and fans waited outside the gates all day. The private ceremony is scheduled at 8 a.m. , with the public memorial slated to begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

Happy Birthday USA

Watching Marina Del Rey fireworks show July 4, 2009

Michael Jackson's Probable Final Resting Place

According to published reports, Jackson's body is now being held at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuaries in the Hollywood Hills, where devoted fans and news crews have staked out spots out front in anticipation of a possible private funeral.