City of Angels

I've been wanting to take a specific shot of LA for a long time, and it's hard to find the right conditions to get it. One of the great things about living in California is that you get the mountains, and the beach all within a very short distance. One of the down sides about living in California is that often you can't see both at the same time due to the pollution.  I never thought of Los Angeles of being a city at the base of mountains before I lived here, but it really is. I wanted to show off the better view of Los Angeles when you could really see it.

So, after planning for just the right conditions, (rain and wind to clear out the skies, snow on the mountains, and a full moon rising behind said mountains at the same time the sun set) I ventured out to take the photo I've been waiting so long to take. And the wind just wasn't quite strong or early enough, so no moon and no mountains. But it's still a killer view of the city.

But never fear, I don't give up that easily.  The next weekend we'd had more rain and better winds. No moon, but a really great view. Thanks to my wife for watching the girls while I explored a bit and indulged my photographic habit.

California, I love you.

You know, I love California. It's come to be home. We've made good friends here, have family here, started our own family here, and you just can't beat the weather. This weekend my wife set up a great little outing. Perfect for me at least. I got to shoot something new, hang out at the beach, and see some good friends. Great day! Anyway, who would have thought that there would be a crazy big storm bringing epic waves on the same day as the Venice Surf-A-Thon. I had a great time, and met some fun folks. The funny thing is that a good friend of mine was a judge and I totally missed seeing him! That's what I get for keeping the eyes through the camera!

Anyway, enjoy some of the pics below!  Thanks again to my incredibly awesome wife, who made my birthday celebration so awesome! That girl is AMAZING!

New diving buddy!

Out of my mind excited about this... I just need to get a really small set of pink fins!

Oceanside Century - Bike the Coast

It seems that getting a full set of training in before a century ride is destined to be upset by work. So far I'm two for two, as far as having to travel on business the two weeks right before the race. This time I was much better prepared though, and did manage to get a little training in along the way. I rode most of the race with a good friend, though we somehow managed to get separated. It took me about 30 miles or so to catch up, but we eventually caught up and finished the race. 

Bike the Coast is a great race for enjoying the view, but it's a bear to have to do the loop twice.  Unfortunately, the second loop had a ten degree temperature drop as a storm started to roll in. It also brought on a head wind during the uphill climb. Less fun. But all in all, it was a great race! We clocked our 100th mile at just under 7 hours, and declared it a win. I'll probably try to ride another century next year, but for now, I'm back to training for the next half marathon. New Years LA, here I come!

Japan

My flight home from Korea connected through Tokyo, and I was able to take an extended layover with no additional flight fees, so I jumped at the changes. This was basically a blitz of Kyoto, with a small bit of Tokyo on the side. When I arrived, I thought I'd be smart and store some of my bags at the airport. After checking the big bag, I took a bullet train to Kyoto. I hadn't slept much the night before since I got back from Seoraksan late and had an early flight, so I wasn't thinking entirely straight.

That said, the train/subway/bus system is Japan is all overlaid and I found it a little challenging at first. I finally rolled into Kyoto in the mid afternoon, just in time to catch another train to Fushimi Inari. I've had this spot on my photo bucket list for years, and it was one of the main reasons I wanted to go. So I arrived around 4 after missing the stop and doubling back. By this time, it was starting to get a little dark. And it started to rain. hard. I bought a small umbrella and started the hike in. About then is when I realized I'd made a tactical error.  In packing my bags, I'd had to put the tripod in the larger suitcase, which at this time, is safely stored in the airport. I'm 3 hours away. Ugh. OK. So I did the best I could while juggling an umbrella in low light. I got a few pictures that I was pleased with, and just enjoyed being there. I definitely will need to go back and explore when I have a little more time.

The next day was much more enjoyable, and I stopped by a camera store to rectify my bad memory. Tripod in hand, I headed out to see the Philosopher's Path and Arashiyama. The Philosopher's Path is a walking tour of a number of temples in Kyoto. Each has its own gardens and sense of place. I thoroughly enjoyed this part, as it was so calm and relaxing.

After spending the morning at temples I was ready to see a little more nature. There's a small bamboo grove at Arashiyama, which is a temple complex on the opposite side of Kyoto. It took some time to get there, but I was able to enjoy it and get some good pictures.

On my last morning, I thought I'd stop by Harakaju in Tokyo and take in a little urban sight-seeing. The teen seen is big there, as there is a lot of shopping. I got there around 10, and everyone seemed to be arriving for a late Sunday breakfast. There are some great crepe stands in Harakaju that folks just line up for, and the wait is worth it. I think the big showing of Harakaju fashion is a little later in the morning, but I was able to enough to get a feel for it. This is another stop I'd love to make again when I have more time to enjoy.

This turned out to be a total blitz of a trip - not quite the way I'd recommend seeing Japan, but great at seeing lots of places and testing out new places to shoot. I definitely want to come back and take some dedicated time to explore around.

Korea

I just returned from another trip to Korea. It's been about two years since my first trip, and I still really enjoy visiting. The work portion of the trip was productive, and I was able to get out a little bit in the evenings and  weekend.  This trip had an interesting personal side to it. There are two missionaries in my congregation at church, and on Sunday, one was replaced by a girl who had just arrived from Seoul. These young sisters spend most of their time volunteering at the visitor center for the Los Angeles temple, but they also work with the local members. It's not uncommon to have missionaries from other countries, given the global presence of the church, and international tourists passing by the temple visitor center.  At any rate, she had just arrived,  and was just getting started on her mission here in LA. When I found out she was from Seoul, I decided to see if i could find find her family and report back that she was doing well. It turns out that her home congregation meets not too far from my hotel, so I hopped in a cab and headed out. I arrived a little late, so most folks were in a Sunday school class. I took a seat in the chapel and waited for the main service to get started. As I was sitting there, one of the local members walked up to say hello. I speak hardly any Korean, but he did speak a little English. I asked him if he knew of a Kim family that had a missionary (That's not a great question in Korea, since there are so many Kims) and showed him a picture I'd taken back home with my wife and I and the missionary in question. He got a little quiet and said, "That is my daughter." It brought him so much joy! I told him that she was doing very well, and had arrived safely. He introduced me around and showed off the picture. Before leaving, we took a picture with the whole family, including grandma. I sent it back to my wife, and thanks to the time difference, she was able to share it with the missionary that same day. It as an awesome experience to be able to share it with them.

While I didn't have a ton of time during the week to get out (as I was working), I did manage to get out one night for blue hour.I also stopped by the river to catch a glimpse of the Seoul Tower and reflections. Here are the resulting shots from the night.

Gyeongbukgang Palace Gates

View from teh river

The other good part of this trip was that I was able to take a couple days vacation on the way home. I spent one day hiking in Seoraksan National Park, which is on the notheastern corner of South Korea. It's incredibly beautiful, and I got to see some fall colors.

This giant statue is just before the trail starts

Lots of small waterfalls along the way

Another view of the waterfall

Heundeul Bawi Rock

This is the top of the Ulsanbawi Rock trail. 

The view was incredible.

Looking down from the top, you can see all the fall colors.

It was a bit of an adventure, taking the bus to Sokcho and then transferring, but I had good directions and you can pretty much follow the trail of people in backpacks and hiking poles!

Stay tuned for part two of the trip - they extended layover.

Beautiful Taiwan

I'm way overdue in posting this, but I really wanted to catch up on some of the traveling I've done this year. I had the good fortune of being able to travel to Taiwan in July. While most of my days were quite busy, I was able to break away for some time in the evenings and on the weekend. I was also very happy to see some of my MBA classmates who were back in Taiwan. It's been almost 7 years since I've seen them, and it made for a great reunion. We all got together for lunch in Taipei. The irony is that 3 of us were traveling there from Los Angeles, and didn't realize that we all lived here. There will definitely need to be a Dim Sum get together in Los Angeles!

I was able to visit the LDS church while I was there, and found that the local congregation met in a chapel right next door to the LDS temple! This temple is very much in the style of the Chicago temple, which I grew up attending. I believe there were a number of temples built around the same time and while all share a similar design, there is usually some unique local touch.

 After church, I decided to walk around a bit, and found that the Chang Kai Shek Memorial is not too far. They were just setting up from a big event in the main plaza between the memorial and the national performing arts center. I stayed while the sun set, and then got surprised by a huge downpour that sent me running for shelter. Turned out I had picked the right shelter. I ran up the steps to performing arts center and was a little surprised that there were hundreds of teenagers hanging out there in little groups, each one practicing their dance moves. It was like a backstage practice for a boy/girl band competition. I'm not sure if that's a regular event, or if it was part of the event they were setting up in the plaza, but it was fun to see all the same. I was also able to get some great pictures of the CHK memorial and surroundings.

The main gate to the plaza

National Performing Arts Center, or hip hop central

The actual CHK Memorial

At least I wasn't the only one getting caught in the rain.

On one of my other evening excursions, I met one of my classmates for a hike to see the city at sunset. This is the view from Elephant Mountain, which is a relatively short hike, more of a stair climb in fact, but the view is amazing! Taipei 101 is right there to enjoy. In keeping with the previous excursion, the evening showers also showed up. There was a bit of lighting this time though, so I scurried back down, not wanting to be caught up high for the show.

Once my work in Taipei was done , I took a little vacation for a one day to the east side of the island, where Taroko National Park is located. Turns out, I also had two cousins that were living there teaching English. It was a great surprise, and a bit of a miracle that we were able to connect with each other in a new city (They'd been there less than a month and mess less than 10 hours), where neither one of us speaks the language or has a vehicle. At any rate, I rented a scooter and enjoyed the day hiking and taking pictures. It was a little less crowded since it was  Friday, but there were still lots of people visiting, and the road had periodic closures while workers cleaned up after a mud slide the week before. The mudslide was caused by a taiphoon the week earlier, so the rivers were also still a bit muddy.

Changshun Tzu Water Temple 

The water really is that blue when it's not muddied. 

This small lake is collecting behind a dam to the right.

This girl was painting a waterfall at a small station 

along the path

This curtain of water feeds a small
river flowing through the cave

This Guan Yin statue is near Tian Xiang

Here you can see the effects of the mudslide

This is the Shakadong river

I was able to get down to the river where the water 

was clear and calm. Most of the path was not accessible.