How Do You Fall? El Dorado Park Nature Trail

Welcome to Post # 2 of my current running series How Do You Fall? Ever since I regained my taken up free time last month, I've just been going everywhere. What madness is it to think that you'd already exhausted all of your local travel spots? Complete, simply put.

Last week, I took a trip back to a place I haven't visited since my beginning photo class last year, El Dorado Park. It is smooshed right in between the 605 Freeway and the San Gabriel River in Long Beach. This is one of those parks that really does it all. It is incredibly HUGE. Three city blocks to be exact. The main part of the park is what you would expect from most regional parks, a big road that goes around the entire thing, a road that snakes its way through the middle, a lake in the shape of a giant horseshoe, a massive lake where people bring their remote control boats to sail, and an archery range. I used to go shoot arrows over there, but it is a way bit too popular to go on a Saturday morning.

The next section directly south is the nature trail that I documented with my pictures below. Its one of those places where you can walk into the center of it and not realize you are in the middle of Southern California.

The last section is more or less similar to the main part of the park. The only differences are the mini train for the little kiddies to ride, a big airfield for remote control airplanes and couple of pretty decent size lakes. You can probably spend all day in the park and not see everything.

Here are the goods. Let me know what you guys think!

With this series, I started playing around with my camera settings and decided to start distinguishing myself from the average photographer. If you can tell what I'm doing differently drop a comment below. Lets just say that it is a theme that I've enjoyed over the past year since I started researching the photographer Paul Strand. It'll be a bit more prominent in the set that I shot this last weekend.

Thanks for dropping by! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Random Photos from my Phone

On Sunday  while I was pulling my photos for the 11-11-11 set, I saw some of the other cool pictures I've taken with my phones camera. To be honest, I had my old phone for a whole year and didn't take a single picture for at least 8 months of getting it. I just thought it was some junky camera, and what the hell would I do with that? Well, as it turns out, you can do almost anything. Even with 3 megapixels, which the first six pictures are. Now, I'm a regular contributor to Instagram, which some of these shots were taken for.

The moral of this story is when you come face to face with natto, NEVER add all the mustard unless you know what you are getting yourself into. From Anaheim California, My name is Hardkoretom, Take care, and good night. **Queue the outro music**

Downtown Long Beach

Last Saturday I took a little stroll to Downtown Long Beach for a little photo session that ended up being a long time. I walked a total of seven miles and I burned the hell out of my balding head, face and arms. It was excruciatingly painful with nothing but a cold water shower to cool my skin. No fun.

I took the Metro Green and Blue lines which are always an exciting experience and I always have wierd stuff happen to me. Apparently my likeness has turned into the map of the entire Metro rail system. I got like three or four people asking for directions! I keep trying to look like I dont know what I'm doing but it never works.

Once I hit Long Beach I got off the Blue line and attempted to find the only places I'd been to, the lighthouse and the Vault 350. The Vault has been closed for at least a year or two, and seems to be under a remodel. I had a hell of a time trying to find it and ended walking about 5 blocks past it. The lighthouse on the otherhand was ridiculously easy to find. Its just a bit down Pine right next to The Aquarium of the Pacific and across the canal from The Queen Mary.

Unfortunatly, the only picture I got of the Queen Mary and a few of the other better looking buildings were all washed out and crappy looking so they werent included in the set above.

I think I will be back in a few weeks to check out Congregation Ale House.

If anybody is going to come to Southern California are, check out Queen Mary and The Aquarium of the Pacific. Really fun places, and the Queen Mary is supposedly haunted which would be even more fun.




Check out my other photos on Flickr and DeviantArt