A couple of weeks ago I went to see my cousin’s daughter perform with her ballet class at the Riverside County Fair. After her performance, I photographed my nieces and nephew enjoying the best rides the Date Festival (and Michael Jackson) had to offer. Below is a condensed slide show of my favorite images from that day. For the full set click here and for the 2009 set click here.

IMG_2942, originally uploaded by ramonjoe.

Originally a black & white photo. I messed with the contrast and tinted the image a dark blue.

Here are some more pictures from maui…

Below is a set of photos taken on the way to Las Vegas and some taken in the suite at the Venetian.

Once you click on a thumbnail you can use the left and right keys to navigate through the set of pictures.  I’m testing out this gallery plugin to show images so please let me know what you think by twittering, commenting, or emailing me.  The complete flickr set is below in two parts in case there are any problems with the new gallery.

My favorite way to cook steak is simple just sprinkle salt and pepper, maybe a little olive oil, and throw on a grill for 3 minutes on each side. That is all.

Couscous is a great alternative to a rice or mashed potato side dish. I usually buy the big container at Ralph’s, but the couscous pictured below is from a box with seasoning packets. Either way it only takes about 5 minutes to make. Add fresh mushrooms, asparagus, and grape tomatoes sauteed in olive oil to the couscous or as a second side dish in order to complete the meal.

IMG 1795, originally uploaded by ramonjoe.

Flickr+twitter+facebook+ramonjoe.com= crazy delicious.

This photograph was made by using a slow shutter speed (30 seconds) in a pitch black room. The lights are from my alarm clock, external hd, tv, xbox control charger, and the blue comes from the cleaning base of my electric razor.

This set was taken right before sunset at a friend’s nursery in the Coachella Valley.

Later that day I headed over to Cody’s place because Wane was going to tattoo Cody. It ended up not happening that day for whatever reason.

Light graffiti is very simple. How-to sites make it sound very intimidating. I must have read a dozen articles on how to make light graffiti before I tried it. In the end, messing with the camera settings over and over was all that was needed. Initially, the pictures were taken with all the lights turned off, but after experimenting I was able to make light graffiti in a fully lit room. I still need more work before I can be featured here.

View a photograph’s flickr page to see the settings I used for that particular shot.example

Taken on the last day of the 2009 Riverside County Date Festival in Indio. It had been a good 4 years since I had been to the Date Festival.

Pictures taken in San Diego at the shop where Wane is currently apprenticing, Full Circle Tattoo. Check out more from that day towards the end of the slideshow.

The story:
On a Saturday Mark, Wane, and I wanted to catch the much-anticipated “Watchmen” at the Imax in Ontario. After being greatly disappointed, we made plans to go the next day down to San Diego with Wane to see him tattoo in person for the first time.

Wane’s first appointment was Fernando, the owner of a video store. Mark and I watched as Wane shaded in the tattoo he had previously done on Fernando’s thigh. By the look on his face it was apparent that getting a tattoo on your thigh was not a pleasant experience.

Wane finished up and told us that his next appointment was going to be more than an hour late.  Wane and Mark both decided it was time for Mark to get tattooed. In the past Mark had mentioned wanting to get a tattoo from Wane, but I don’t think it was his intention to get it that day. Without hesitation he took the spot and begun getting his first tattoo.

Check out:

Full Circle Tattoo

Wane’s Twitter and Myspace