Top 10 Signs Today, that you’re in a Midwest airport, or at least not at LAX.

1. There are payphones…a significant number of payphones. No one is using them, but, you know….they could.

2. People are wearing shoes. Not flip flops or sandals or bare feet…except for the dude sitting behind me on the plane who almost left with vomit toes.

3. I’ve only heard one language being spoken. To be fair, the accents are varied.

4. I’ve seen more places selling beer than fresh squeezed juice.

5. Traffic is heavier on the runway than the freeway.

6. There is a strong diversity…of electronics. The iCult has a presence, but it’s not dominant.

7. I heard someone properly order a carbonated, beverage…as POP. It should also be noted that there was a line at McDonald’s. California’s have an irrational level of hatred for the Golden Arches

8. I have legitimately seen zero people taking selfies or video chatting.

9. No one seems to be just heading out to find themselves or go on a social media boast trip. Many, many people seem to have a common affliction. I think the technical term for it is, employment. Who knew people traveled to be productive

10. In what might be the most unionized, liberal place in the country, I’ve not heard one political quip, snark, or any of the unending anger laced, “clever” activism. People are pleasant and it’s safe to talk to them without them finding a way to twist any topic into telling you about their political views. No, they don’t need to be “woke”.

Bonus

There are places everywhere to charge your phone…for free! They even have FREE stations to use a tablet.

What Does 20,000 Steps Look Like

I had read a story recently about how “they” are increasing the daily steps recommendation from 10,000 to 15,000.  That seemed like a lot, but I had some time on Sunday, so I decided to go for it.  After, I got to my destination, it became clear that I was going to go over, so I amended my goal to an increased 20,000 steps.  To make the experience more “me”, I decided to go make it as much of a photo walk as a fitness one.

40 of the images I took were included in this post on Facebook.  I hope you enjoy them.  Please let me know which, if any, you connect with.

Please let me know if YOU decide to do a photo/fitness walk, so I can see a bit of YOUR world!

I still think 15k steps is a bit much for most people, especially considering this recommendation was IN ADDITION to your exercise.  I do think that every once and awhile a long walk like this can be great.  I hope to do one of these epic treks about once a month. Â

Credit Notes:
My fitness wearable is a Garmin Vivoactive HR.
My phone that took the pictures is a Lumia 950
The cities in this are West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Century City (Los Angeles).

Lumia Gets REAL…estate

I have to tell you that the Nokia Lumia 1020 puts in work.  I’ve used it on paid video jobs and paid event photography jobs.  Now, it just got REAL.  My friend asked me to do a shoot of his new real estate listing.  I brought along my trusty DSLR because  “size matters”, when people are paying for pictures.

I took about half of the photos with the DSLR and half with the Lumia 1020.  The Lumia had a wider angle, which is great for capturing smaller rooms where I couldn’t back up any further to frame it properly with the DSLR.  That wider view was also great for capturing the totality of the yard spaces.

I’m only going to post pictures taken with the Lumia in this posting.  If you are interested in the house, please check out the listing here: 10521 Northvale Rd – Represented by Cory Holtzman.

My PureView of the Hollywood Sign Hike

Last week, I was in Portland and the change of scenery was great, but you gotta come home, right?  My friend John reminded me that we often forget how interesting the place we live can be.  With that being said, I decided to share one of my favorite hikes in Los Angeles.

In my pursuit of entertainment fame and fortune…or just the ability to pay my bills by doing what I love…I sometimes need perspective.  It’s the kind of perspective that tells you that your awesome even when you can’t get a meeting or a referral or an audition.  Yes, perspective feeds the ego and shuts out negative talk because OBVIOUSLY “they” are the one’s missing out.

OK, enough of that (for now).  Let’s get to the hike.  Every picture was taken with the Nokia Lumia 1020.  Most were taken with the Nokia Camera app, but some were taken with Fhotolens and 4Blend HDR apps.  Finally there are some panorama shots taken with the Nokia Panorama app.  I’d like to say that this was a sponsored piece.  Seriously, Microsoft, Nokia, etc…I’d LOVE to say that this is a sponsored piece.  How ‘bout it?

Yes, there’s the hike.  The picture above is on Beachwood Drive which takes you to the trailhead.   Much like going to the movies or watching TV, the sign reminds you of your destination for the entire journey.  Keep reading past the break to experience the journey with me.

A Nokia Lumia and JD Walk Into A Mall

This blog will be random-palooza.  I’ve got pictures and JD observations to share.  It will (hopefully) be funny and (hopefully) make you think and (probably) further cement my relationship status on “SINGLE”.

What it won’t be is complaining about how crowded and crazy my trip to the mall was.  The Westfield Century Plaza was by all accounts, very pleasant this morning.  I drove in and parked pretty close to the escalator and I was in the shopping zone before I knew it.

The music was holiday theme’d, but modern and lovely.  There were no crazies, no yelling, no desperate shoppers ruining the experience for everyone.  What there were, were painted deer sculptures.  Seriously.  Stay tuned for that because you KNOW I have pictures.

Lumia 1020 Photo Roundup

It’s been a while since I’ve done a entry that’s just about photography on the Lumia 1020.  It’s not that I’ve stopped taking photos, but I’ve settled into a posting them in a places with a built in photographic community.  You can regularly find my pictures on my Flickr account and my Phonetogaphs Blog and in the Fhotoroom community.

The picture above is one of my favorites from this device. I love the contrasts of color and texture.

OK, let’s dive into some more…

A PureView of the Pacific Design Center

I took a little walk and thought that I’d share the Pacific Design Center exterior with you.  Enjoy the campus of modern buildings and fountain in a garden style setting.  Obviously, I used the Nokia Lumia 1020 to capture it all.  It’s all handheld and I wasn’t being particularly careful so the Optical Image Stabilizer was working hard.  Also, you can see that the microphone works really well…almost too well for standard host-style speaking, because it picks up everything.

Related articles

• 1020 Test – A PureView Mini Tour of Sal Guarriello Veterans’ Memorial Park (jeffdalydose.wordpress.com)

A PureView of Solstice Canyon

My friend Sara and I needed to scout out a location for a photo shoot that we have planned.  It’s not accessible except by hike, so I was glad to only carry along the Nokia Lumia 1020.  The DSLR can stay home until we lug the equipment up there.

In Solstice Canyon there is this mansion that burned in 80’s.  For more info on the trail and park, visit: http://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/solsticecanyon.htm/index.htm

For more of MY pictures from this hike, keep on scrolling!

Contrast in Venice – California

Contrast in photography is technically the difference between the lights and the darks.  I look for contextual contrast, as well.  The soft petals of this flower resting peacefully on the hard, cracked pavement of the alley is a prime example of something that catches my eye.  Let’s see what else in the proximity of this moment caught my eye.

All pictures were taken today with the Nokia Lumia 1020, using the Nokia Camera Pro app.  There was no post-processing, other than cropping/reframing, which was done inside of the same Camera Pro app.

Hump Day with the Magically Humped Lumia 1020

It’s Wednesday and we like to call it “hump day”, as in getting over the hump of mid-week and smooth sailing into the weekend.  In a recent commercial, a camel was used to play on the word a bit.  It makes sense because the camel hump is making sure that the camel survives when resources are sparse.  In the same way, the 1020 hump makes sure that memories survive when light and proximity aren’t optimally available.  Happy Hump Day and read on to see what other tasks I’ve accomplished with the device, thus far!