La Quinta, CA – La Quinta Resort & Spa (HDR)

Jul27

We just arrived back from a nites stay at our favorite hotel near Palm Springs….the La Quinta Resort & Spa. A sprawling hotel with tons of pools all over! 40+? It is located 10 minutes from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. I woke up early to grab shame shots there and it was closed. I drove back and walked around the hotel and while cruising back to our room for breakfast..I saw this beautiful view! The reflections in the pool are 2 cool! It was a nice cool 112 degrees there yesterday. We are back home cooling off! Enjoy!

Palm Springs, CA – Forever Marilyn

Aug5

From the wonderful and relaxing Palm Springs, CA you can find the amazing statue of Marilyn Monroe in her famous pose. Some info from the web:

The 26-foot-tall 34,000 pound sculpture manufactured in New Jersey of painted stainless steel and aluminum, is a super-sized sculptural tribute to Marilyn Monroe’s iconic scene from Billy Wilder’s 1955 infidelity comedy, The Seven-Year Itch, with the figure imitating the instant that a blast of air raises her dress. It was built in New Jersey before being transported to Pioneer Court, part of the Magnificent Mile section of Michigan Avenue, Chicago. In May 2012, Forever Marilyn was moved from Pioneer Court to Palm Springs, California. It is now located in downtown on the corner of Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way.

If you live or are visiting Palm Springs…go see it soon…I hear it is there only until June 2013. Next stop…unknown.

Palm Springs, CA – Windmill Energy

Oct1

When you drive out to Palm Springs, CA from Los Angeles you can find a sea of Windmills on the side of the highway (Route 10). You can even take a tour if you are interested! Here is quite interesting info from the web…

Increasingly popular as alternative sources of energy, wind turbine generators are a type of windmill that produces electricity by harnessing the wind. Wind turbine generators are much less harmful to the environment than burning fossil fuels, but they do require average wind speeds of at least 21 km/h (13 mph). The largest of these windmills stands 150 feet tall with blades half the legend of a football field. The compartments at the top containing the generator, hub and gearbox weigh 30,000 to 45,000 pounds.

A wind turbine’s cost can range upwards to $300,000 and can produce 300 kilowatts – the amount of electricity used by a typical household in a month. Almost all of the currently installed wind electric generation capacity is in California. The high-tech megatowers are engineered in cooperation with NASA and nursed by federal and state subsidies. This wind farm on the San Gorgonio Mountain Pass in the San Bernadino Mountains contains more than 4000 separate windmills and provides enough electricity to power Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley.

Palm Springs, CA – Golf Time!

Mar23

I love to watch and play sports. But one sport unfortunately I have no time for is golf. I get to play once a year for a charity event…I am not good at all. My short game is decent, but driving is my worst area. If you cant get off the tee properly..might as well forget it! One day when I am retired I will try to master this game. In the meantime, I will stick with basketball and tennis! During our last visit to Palm Springs I went out early in the AM and grabbed some IR shots. While walking back to the hotel around 8 AM…I passed a golf course and saw these people warming up before they golfed for the day. Just a simple classic golf shot…I do like that you can see the guy with the hat’s golf ball in mid flight! If you are a fan of golf…tough not to travel to Palm Springs and golf all day and hit the pool and restaurants at nite! Palm Springs is all about relaxing! Typically you can finish up your golf game in the afternoon around “Fore!”. LOL

Palm Springs, CA – Palm Trees (Infrared)

Feb10

At this time in many places of the world….we are wishing for spring to arrive! This winter has been tough! Even in the South! Here is an Infrared photo of some palm trees from the lovely Palm Springs, CA! How I wish I was there right now! Stay warm and enjoy!

Talke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D70S (Converted to Infrared)
Infrared Conversion: D70S modified by LifePixel
Lens: Nikon 18-200 f/3.5-5.6
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 50.0mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f/22
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, ,Silver Efex Pro, onOne Software Photo Tools 2.6, texture

Palm Springs, CA – Maria Sharapova

Mar16

This photo is from last year at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA (Palm Springs). This tournament is going on right now. We miss not being there! As big tennis fans, this to me is the best tournament to attend for fans all year. Great weather, beautiful location and great players to see! This shot was of Maria Sharapova’s practice session last year. She was just coming back from her shoulder surgery. It is still an issue for her. We watched her last nite vs. Zheng. Her serve and metal game is a big mess. She lost. Sorry Maria!

She is my favorite player on the women’s side. Her drive and competitiveness is tops in my book! I hope she can overcome her issues and get back to the top. She has the ability. Like the pic above, the ball is in her hand! Sports are a BIG percentage mental. If your mind has issues, your game (no matter what sport) will falter.

As for the photo….I love to watch the practice sessions at Indian Wells! You get so close to the best tennis players in the world. Sometimes they walk among the crowds! Bust out a big fast lens and you can get some great shots! We hope to get back to this tournament next year!!! I think it is 85 degrees there today? NICE!! Time to book a flight!

Talke Photography Settings: