Posts by Jefferson Graham
TRAVEL: Boulder, Colorado’s Rocky Mountain High for photography
Huge mountains, a creek that runs through town, a funky downtown with cool shops and cafes and historic buildings that date back to the 1800s, and for nostalgia buffs, an easy walk to the home shared by “Mork and Mindy” in the opening credits of the 1970s/80s TV series. There’s lots to photograph in…
Read MoreTRAVEL: Prescott, AZ–the Old West Lives
Prescott, Arizona is just a seven hour drive from the South Bay bubble, and into another world. The old west lives on in Prescott, which was the original Arizona state capital in the 1800s, and a favorite haunting ground for the likes of Wyatt Earp and the Earp Bros., Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate.…
Read MoreTRAVEL: Moab, Utah & Arches National Park
It will take about ten and a half hours to drive from the South Bay to get to Moab, but its so worth it. Leave the beach and you will enter an otherworld, a tiny small town in southeastern Utah, pop. 5,300, just down the road from Arches National Park. This is the place best…
Read MoreTRAVEL: The awe-inspiring Monument Valley & Old West
There is a very special place on the Arizona/Utah border that is synonymous with the American West and should be visited by every photographer at least once. This giant landscape is tailor-made for mobile phone cameras and the ultra-wide angle lens. No fancy gear needed! It’s Monument Valley, part of the Navajo Nation, discovered by…
Read MoreTRAVEL: Jackson Hole’s 5 Best Travel Photography spots
Jackson Hole, Wyoming is one of the most beautiful, yet pricey places you might consider visiting. It’s a popular spot for wealthy millionaires and billionaires to spend a few days in their second home during summers and ski seasons, as well as ordinary folks who love the skiing and national park touring. While winter is…
Read MoreTravel: 8 South Dakota Can’t Miss Instagram Spots
PhotowalksTV recently returned to California from a mammoth 9-state, 30-day photo tour, where every stop (with the exceptions of Henderson, Nevada and Chadron, Nebraska,) was particularly spectacular. But it’s fair to say our photographic journey of South Dakota was easily the most memorable. This is a place we had been to before, so we weren’t…
Read MoreBeloved music teacher Pat Dietz dead in accident
by Jefferson Graham Pat Dietz, who with his brother John has run Dietz Brothers music shop in Manhattan Beach since 1976, died heroically Wednesday in a tragic accident in Torrance. Dietz and 16-year-old grandson Charlie were visiting a Torrance bookstore when a driver lost control of the vehicle and started heading towards the pair as…
Read MoreTRAVEL: Columbus, Ohio’s 4 Must-see spots
Columbus, Ohio doesn’t usually get listed on the rosters of the best places in America to visit, but it should be on your radar. How does a bustling downtown full of art deco masterpieces, a funky and thriving university district, historic brick-lined and cobblestoned old German neighborhood and less traffic than you’re likely to see…
Read MoreTRAVEL: Exploring Pismo Beach Dunes with Car & Camera
Just up the road from the South Bay, about a three hour drive, is the only legal place in the state of California that lets you drive your car on the beach. For just $5 entrance fee, you can bring your vehicle, whether that be a jeep, 4×4, SUV, front-wheel drive or even a compact…
Read MoreTRAVEL: 13 ways to see & photograph Morro Bay Rock
The huge 576 foot Morro Rock dominates the tiny 10,000 resident town of Morro Bay, California and no matter where you go in the city, you can’t miss it. It’s visible as far as ten to 20 miles away in nearby Los Osos and Cayucos, for instance. The Rock itself sits on over 50 acres.…
Read MoreHollywood Sign @100: 6 ways to see the L.A. icon
In 1923, the late Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler was instrumental in having a big sign erected for his “Hollywoodland” real estate holdings, a $21,000 billboard that was intended to last a little over a year. Instead, it morphed into a free-standing Sign and is still standing, all these years later. Cut to…
Read MoreTRAVEL: Whales put on a real show near Pismo Beach
“Oh my gosh look at that!” exclaimed the boat’s captain. “A huge breach!” Michael Brink, who runs the SLO Tours whale watch boat rides in Avila Beach, was looking out the window of his boat, and still excited, after all these years, of seeing a whale jump into the air out of the water. Who…
Read MoreManhattan Beach Education Foundation Art project Unveiled
Story and photos by Jefferson Graham The members of the Manhattan Beach City Council and school board, plus other local dignitaries, gathered at Metlox Saturday morning for the unveiling of the “Seeds of Knowledge” art installation. Created by artist Betsy Schulz, the installation shows a young girl reading a book at the park, with the…
Read MoreTransatlantic Guitar Trio combines Django, Chet Atkins and more
If you love great music, and watching three master musicians at the top of their game, do yourself a favor and get hip to the Transatlantic Guitar Trio. Take German gypsy guitar master Joscho Stephan, who plays in the style of Django Reinhardt and two Nashville guitarists, Richard Smith, who usually performs solo shows in…
Read MoreTRAVEL: What I learned photographing Japan
I’ve brought my cameras all over Japan, from Tokyo to Kyoto, Osaka to Kobe and then some, and learned a lot about how to get the best shots and avoid some common mistakes. So in the first of what I hope to be a new series of installments, I lay out 21 things I learned…
Read MoreTRAVEL: Under-rated top 10 Japan city Kobe
Kobe, Japan is one of the ten largest cities in Japan, but many people skip it to visit nearby Osaka (no. 2 city) and historic Kyoto, home to ancient shrines and customs. Kobe, however, is a great stop, home to terrific mountain views, an international port and more bakeries than you’d ever imagine in the…
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