Yellowjacket Wasp

        This yellowjacket wasp was grooming herself when I ran into her. I was taking pictures of some construction in the road when she landed, had a quick bath and left.

Jacaranda Tree

        The sky was completely overcast, so I went walking around La Mesa with my Nikon D5000 in tow. I wanted to take photos of my area is if I were a tourist, and everything was new to me.

Price For Gas In La Mesa, CA – June 28, 2010

        Of course, I mean that I wanted to take photos as a tourist that happens to also be a photographer. If I was from some far off land, there would be a lot of things I have never seen before in La Mesa.

Fixing The Roof Of La Salsa Restaurant

        I think I would photograph a lot of signs if I didn’t speak the language or couldn’t read their alphabet. Regular people doing regular things would be another thing that would interest me as both as a photographer and as a tourist.

Walking The Dog Across El Cajon Blvd

        The above shot was taken right where El Cajon Blvd ends and merges into I-8 heading east. Downtown La Mesa is about a 7 minute walk from here.

Tree Ornaments Hang Peacefully From A Tree

        I found these to hanging decorations to be very Zen and very clever.

The Bridge Over I-8

        The high fence on the left is very sturdy and in intended to keep things from falling or being thrown off the bridge onto the traffic of I-8 below.

Construction Barricades

San Diego Pedestrian Bridge To Nowhere

        It’s been about four months since my last post that featured a photo of San Diego’s pedestrian bridge to nowhere. Progress on the bridge has been slow over the last 2 years of construction, or so it seems to me. The dirty white sky is the “June gloom” of San Diego, and it is a constant in the city for most of the early summer. In the background, on the right of the photo is the San Diego Convention Center, which will host the 2010 Comic-Con in less than a month. Because I am a journalist, photographer and blogger, I have been issued a press pass for all four days of the event, plus the preview night.

The Top Of The Bridge To Nowhere

        Of course there are benefits to shooting during an overcast sky such as the even lighting and lack of shadows. The clouds diffuse the sun’s light, so light comes from the entire sky, not the singular point of the sun. Natural, even light from all directions really is a photographer’s wet dream.

La Mesa Little League Baseball – Kuhlken Field

        Yesterday, I happened to be passing by Kuhlken Field and I saw that a little league baseball game was about to start. The all star teams from Tierra Santa and Serra Mesa were about to play.

Baseball Players Warm Up Before The Game

        Once I saw that a baseball game was about to start I completely abandoned what I was doing and headed straight for the bleachers. The smell of baseline chalk, leather, hot dogs and pretzels instantly transported me back to the mid 1980′s, when I was playing little league baseball.

The Pitcher Warms Up

        The first thing that I noticed (photographically) from the bleachers was the chain link fence between me and the action on the field. Even with my smallest f/stop, I couldn’t make the fence completely disappear, so I watched the players warm up from the shade of the bleachers, but once the game started, I placed myself under the sun, along the third baseline. From this vantage, I had a clear view of all the bases and the action that would surround them.

The Action Begins For La Mesa Little League Baseball

        I was hoping to get at least one shot like the one above. I wanted to get some action shots and some photos that would help settle an argument, and that would just be generally exciting. That is exactly what I got.

Out At First Base!

        There are a lot of close plays in little league, and the umpires were on top of every one. They did a great job of keeping things moving and accurately making close calls, like the one above.

Batter, Catcher And Umpire At The Moment Of A Foul Tip

        The biggest difference between a little league and a professional baseball game is the wild card factor. In pro ball, specific pitches, hits and strategies will have a desired outcome 99% of the time. In little league, EVERY pitch and EVERY hit is a wild card, so the games are infinitely more exciting.

Stealing Second Base

        I won’t lie, I pictured myself somewhere in PETCO Park snapping shots of famous millionaires when I took some of the photos for this post. As I baked under the sun and watched these boys play I realized that the heart these kids, coaches and parents have is so much bigger than professional baseball players. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I mean it in the way that no player on a little league field is paid to be there, yet they still swing, run and throw as if millions of dollars were on the line. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, when I saw this game about to start I was taken back to the mid 1980′s when I was in little league and there was no such thing as a millionaire athlete.

Keep Your Eye On The Ball

        There are so many reasons for a child to take up some form of sports, and the best one I can think of is that you may end up in an action packed photo essay like this one. Families converging on a baseball field on a Sunday afternoon, with both dugouts shouting nothing but positive things while the spectators in the bleachers clapped and cheered for every play was my backdrop, so I knew right away this would be fun and the photos would be great.

Safe At Third Base

        There was a lot of action at all the bases, and at home plate as well. As a photographer it is nice to be able to get so physically close to the action that a long lens is not necessary. I had a 55-200mm attached to my Nikon D5000 and it was more than adequate.

Sliding Into Second Base

        Something that was new to me was the Little League Pledge. It was recited by all the players just before the game started:

I trust in God
I love my country
and will respect its laws
I will play fair
and strive to win
but win or lose
I will always do my best

The Action Never Stops During La Mesa Little League Baseball

        The photo above was a very close play, but the runner slid across home plate just ahead of the tag, scoring the first run of the game.

Great Place To Start Inline Skating Around San Diego Bay.

        My latest inline skating adventure led me to the northwest area of San Diego Bay. There is a path that runs from Market St. & N. Harbor Dr. all the way around the northern edge of the bay, past the airport and over the bridge at the western edge of Harbor Island. I took the orange line trolley to American Plaza station and then walked 1 block west on Broadway, where I popped on my skates and headed north. I was there on a Friday at lunchtime and it was pretty crowded with pedestrians from the Broadway pier until I got to Hawthorn St. At that point, the foot traffic dropped off so it was smooth sailing. The trail is concrete and parallels N. Harbor Dr. and the coast of the bay. It is wide and smooth the whole way, and as the trail curves to the west you can see planes taking off from San Diego International Airport on your right, and watch the calm, San Diego bay to your left. The path goes right past the Coast Guard base, so you can see their helicopters and hangers as well.

Inline Skate Path At San Diego Bay – Shot with Nikon D5000

        In the spirit of making this blog more dynamic and interesting, I am learning the best ways to use my Nikon D5000 to add video to the posts. The best way is probably not to shoot video while hand-holding the D5000 and skating at the same time. That being said, the video above is a little jumpy, but it will give you a great sense of what the path is like, as well as the video capabilities of the D5000, in case you are considering purchasing one. One thing I don’t like about shooting video with the D5000 is that you have to focus manually, which is not fun when you are trying to stay upright on skates.

New Flowers For The Path

        The shot above was taken just where the trails curves to the west, between terminal two of the airport and the bay. This will make a great before and after shot, once the plants have matured and the orange safety fence is removed.
        So, yet one more skate path that is accessible on San Diego public transportation. Both the orange and blue line trolleys stop at American Plaza station and from there it’s just a one block walk to the path. To see other blog posts of mine from other San Diego skate paths, click here.