Center For Photographic Art, Dametra Cafe, Michael Kenna, and Point Lobos in Carmel-by-the-Sea

Last Saturday, I was like a kid in a candy store. The day was filled with friends, laughter, good food, and photography. Some friends/photographers and I made plans to view Michael Kenna's exhibit at the Weston Gallery in Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA. We were fortunate enough to have the weather gods on our side, because the day was absolutely beautiful.

I arrived in Carmel quite early and met up with my friend, Chia Wen at the Center for Photographic Art to view their juried exhibition for 2011. The exhibit will be on display until March 31, 2011. So be sure to get over there beforehand if you were hoping to see it.

Prior to Michael Kenna's exhibit and book signing, my friends and I decided to have lunch at Dametra Cafe. The cafe's menu features Mediterranean cuisine of excellent quality. The ambiance is quite warm and familial, and I'd say the same for the owners Bashar Sneeh, and Faisal Nimri. They were very welcoming and took great care to ensure that everyone had a good time. Be ready to dance, and clap along to the musical numbers that the staff and owners put on throughout the day.

After lunch, we walked over to Michael Kenna's exhibit and book signing at the Weston Gallery. Although the gallery is relatively small, they offered a nice reception for all attendees. The line to get Michael's signature was nearly out the door. As always, the

work was amazing and truly inspiring. I've always been a great admirer of his photography. I found Michael Kenna to be extremely nice and seemed to be enjoying himself. Of course, I was not able to have a very lengthy conversation with Mr. Kenna, I appreciated that he took the time to learn and correctly write out my rather long name on my book. Lol. My friend, Jing Yu, was nice enough to send a photo of me posing for a shot with Michael Kenna.

Following the book signing, my friends decided to head home. We left the event earlier than I expected, so I decided to try and catch the sunset at Point Lobos. I chatted with the park rangers before going in just to make sure everything was cool along the coast. I figured it would be smart to check in since this was just two days after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The park was open, so it may have been overkill, but it could never hurt to be sure. As I suspected, the rangers reported that all was well. I had about 45 minutes to shoot in a few locations, and managed to get a few shots that pleased me.

The Crown Jewel of California's Coast - Point Lobos

If I were ever pressed to name a single location that has led me pursuing photography as a profession, it would be the Point Lobos State Reserve in California. Located just south of Carmel, this state park is often described as the crown jewel of California's coast. It has served as inspiration to numerous writers and artists such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Robinson Jeffers, Ansel Adams, and the Weston family.

I can spend hours just staring at the waves whenever I visit. Whenever I have friends and family visiting from out of town, Point Lobos always makes the list of must-see locations. So much of my childhood was spent at the park that I know my love of the ocean and sunsets was born here.

This past week, I had the pleasure of visiting twice. I was fortunate enough to witness a few spectacular sunsets. Here are a few images from my most recent shoots at Punta de los Lobos Marinos | Point of the Sea Wolves.

Carmel Beach Sunset

While hanging out with my girlfriend in Carmel, CA ... she got the urge to go shooting at the beach with her new Canon S95 (her photos came out beautifully). Since I'm not one that needs to be dragged to the beach, I shot a few frames. This was one of my favorites out of the few I took.