After the press conference this afternoon to celebrate the completion and opening of Los Angeles’ first-ever buffered and bright green Class II bike lane running on Spring Street between Cesar Chavez Avenue and 9th Street, the cyclists in attendance then inaugurated the wonderful thing with a bike ride upon it. During my second lap my timelapsing handlebar-mounted bike cam snapped the above shot as I passed great Los Angeles photographer Gary Leonard crouched as he snapped me. Of course I yelled “Take my picture, Gary Leonard!” while rolling by.

As seen last Sunday afternoon in Glassell Park. If you click for biggification you’ll better see the silhouette of a lone Nuttall’s woodpecker hanging inverted on the pole opposite the crosspiece.

Yeah, me neither. For being the largest close-approach asteroid in the history of history, 2005 YU55 wasn’t that easy to see when it zoomed its 1,300-foot diameter between earth and the moon through very clear evening skies November 8.

But a Flickr contact of mine, Edhiker, did. Ed’s both an awesome hiker, prolific photographer and a whiz with a telescope, and this is how 2005 YU55 looked passing over Los Angeles via 38 separate exposures made into a 40 second movie showing the asteroid’s movement from 7:20 to 7:23 p.m., 11/8/11.

If the embed’s broken, you can view it here.

Waiter: Will there be anything else for you this evening? Moon: No thanks. I'm totally full.

Coming in a close second to my deathless obsession with measuring rainfall, is my never-ending crush on the moon, particularly when it hitsa your eye like a bigga pizza pie, such as last night’s full version. So after this morning’s pre-dawn dog walk I situated my 60x spotting scope on the porch (illustrated after the jump), got my point-and-shoot all up in its viewfinder and managed to hold everything steady long enough to land this big fella at 6:31 a.m., juuuust before it got tangled up in the frontyard tree branches and power lines (click to enormify).

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When shaved-headed synthesized symphonist Moby released a book of photographs to accompany his album “destroyed“ last May, a number of the photos were sent on a worldwide yet very limited tour of art galleries. Moby’s photo tour hits Culver City’s Kopeikin Gallery this Saturday, September 10, through October 22.

Sayeth Moby’s website:

Destroyed introduces us to a side of touring that is often unexposed; secluded time spent in artificial spaces like hotel rooms and backstage waiting areas. The combined album and photo book provides an intimate look at Moby’s world and his creative process as an artist, both the music and photos were created in the same period and draw inspiration from the strange and sublime world of touring.

So … Linda McCartney meets Lost In Translation? Could be very interesting.

It’s been going something like this for summer after summer after summer: I’m in the backyard. A western tiger swallowtail swoops in and busies itself fluttering along the overgrown bougainvillea, never fully stopping at one bloom. I rush into the house, grab the camera, and by the time I rush back out, the elusive creature is either long gone or it lingers haphazardly just long enough for me to get one reeeeally blurry shot before it leaves.

Today it went exactly like that up until the last part where I got one shot that was as if the gorgeous thing decided it had enough fun playing with me and posed, and I offer it for your pre-Labor Day weekend viewing enjoyment  (click to biggify):

Hope y’all have a great holiday.

People often complain that Los Angeles is an ugly city with no character, which is not really true, unless you’ve had the grave misfortune at seeing the city from the monstrosity that is the Hollywood and Highland structure.  To see LA, you really have to dig in and look.  And that’s exactly what Kevin McCollister, aka East of West LA, does, one photo at a time.

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A thank you to these honeybees upon this matilija poppy who let me get all up in their bzzzzzzness while visiting the oasis otherwise known as Vista Hermosa Park:

There are many that call themselves daily, but only a few truly do it daily. Several are every few days, even a few are closer to monthly updates. Other than a glitch last week when when blogger was down a few days the regulars never missed a beat. Having tried this once and failed I have to admire the motivation and tenacity to post something daily, that in itself is no small feat.

My hands down favorite of the daily photos out there is the Pasadena Daily Photo. Why? Simply because since 2008 blogger Petrea Burchard hasn’t missed a day. Not only are her images well done, many cross the border into the fine art side of photography. Of course she has her share of cute puppies, news/documentary and slice of life stuff but her best work comes on Monday. Monday is “Zen Monday” when she posts an image that is left for discussion and interpretation by the viewer and they leave their thoughts in the comment section. Monday is my favorite day of the week thanks to Zen Monday.

Here is the run down of the other daily photo blogs in the LA Area that I follow with a short comment describing them.

• Pasadena Daily Photo…she rocks what else can I add to what I already said?
• The Sky is Big in Pasadena…nice guy documenting what he sees and does each day in Pasadena.  A few pics of his family and co-workers which don’t mean much to anyone who doesn’t know him. Never missed a day since he started in ’07.
• Altadena Daily Photo…updates very infrequently but does nice quality work, especially enjoy the scanner stuff.
• Gem City Images…an interesting daily documentary, with a few arty bits of my little corner of LA (aka Monrovia Daily Photo).
• Covina Daily Photo…updates daily, always very well done arty photos, if not a bit overly ‘shopped.
• Temple City Daily Photo…he puts up daily but I visit only weekly, not much interesting going on there often.
• Palos Verdes Daily Photo…does it daily, and usually has some interesting images, some shopped, some just very well shot.
• Daily Photo LA…doesn’t do it daily, and content isn’t just LA, but rather rambles about So Cal.  Decent documentary images for the most part, nothing really spectacular.

I probably missed a couple so feel free to shout out your favorite daily photo blog in the city in the comments.  Certainly I can stand to add a few more interesting blogs to my list of daily reading.

This post is one of many in the Blogging (in)LA series we are running the next few weeks.

If you’ve ever driven over Topanga Canyon you have probably seen this little guy. He’s the mascot of Topanga Hauling. Don’t really get it myself but it takes all sorts. That little pig always puts a smile on my face though when I’m driving home.

This is the view of the San Fernando Valley from the top of Topanga Canyon a few minutes ago. I’ve driven Topanga Cyn hundreds of times and not once have I ever stopped at the overlook so today I thought I’d just take the time and take in the valley. I had no idea there were benches and a parking lot up there. There’s also badgers and mountain lions and a couple that was scurrying off into the brush for a frolic. I didn’t stick around for that though. It’s a very cool spot and I’m glad I finally took the time to stop. Apparently it’s also a good place to go get stoned according to Google.

UniqueLA

Fretting over finding that last minute, yet oh so perfect gift for your mother?  Or perhaps you’re tired of going to the standard Mom-osa filled brunch & want to try something new…  Well you’re in luck, this weekend the wonderful Sonja Rasula is putting in another installment of the coolest independent design & shopping show in the country, Unique LA.

With over 300 designers & artists showcasing their wares over the course of two-days of fun filled shopping this is truly an event not to be missed.  I know I always come home with armfuls of amazing finds, from jewelry, to purses, to ironic t-shirts for my boyfriend & one-of-a-kind “omg where did you FIND that” outfits for me.  It’s also a great way to meet a ton of local designers, many of whom are right here in Los Angeles!  Plus there are a ton of workshops & food vendors peddling all sorts of yummy treats camped out at the event.  You can even check out a preview of some of the awesome clothes in their new catalog!

Your $10 admission includes…

• Free drinks & a hosted bar (IZZE, Honest Tea, Bear Flag wine, Hendrick’s cocktails, and Numi Tea)
• Unlimited re-entry for both days
• Your very own collectible tote bag, exclusive to each show!
• Free DIY workshops and handmade Mother’s Day cards all weekend
• Plush lounge seating area hosted by H.D. Buttercup
• Access to giveaways and door prizes all weekend long
• Souvenir copy of the Vendor Directory + Mini Magazine

Unique LA
May 7th & 8th (11am – 6pm)

California Market Center’s Penthouse
110 E 9th St # A727
Los Angeles, CA 90079-1727
http://uniquela.com/

Buy tickets HERE.

I took my camera out on my adventures yesterday and grabbed a few snaps around Silver Lake and Venice. I moved to San Francisco right after the Venice Skatepark opened so I never got to go hang out. I snuck out and took some time to check it out yesterday. It’s pretty damn nice but man was it hectic. Like watching a crazy tennis match on acid. I was amazed at the little kids ripping it up. They’re going to be amazing if they stick with it. The head scratcher of the day though was when 2 cop trucks pulled up with 2 more cops on ATV’s as backup just to remove a little kid who was riding a scooter in the park. The biggest downside of the park were are all the people smoking pot and stinking up the joint. It was really overpowering at times and no matter where you moved you got a snootful. The raging sunburn I got is no fun either. Remember, just because it’s cloudy you can get fried. I forgot that lesson. Ouch. Enjoy.