Category Life Style

COSMOS -A Spacetime Odyssey

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Have you been watching  Cosmos 2014 with Neil DeGrasse Tyson? This is quite amazing and a real tribute to Carl Sagan who co-wrote and presented the original awesome series!! If you haven’t seen this series you should check it out the production is amazing and the logic flawless.  The last enthralling episode will help many of us understand more fully the causes and consequences of global climate change. For some this may be an eye opener and for all it should be a call to action!! You can check it out on-line at COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey

Ancestors

“We are alive thanks to our countless ancestors who have survived for over 3 billion years”

“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. Carl Sagan

Let’s turn Carl Sagan’s vision and Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s tenacity into reality. We can make this into a “Garden of Eden“, we have the power if we have the will!! The strength of humanity is in it’s common bond and that common bond can drive us to great things. As it says on the web photo “We are alive thanks to our countless ancestors who have survived for over 3 billion years” To reflect on this, just for a short time, makes us realise that hardships and sacrifices they all went through to bring us to this point in our long and turbulent history. Let’s not forget our heritage and do what all those millions of voices would be imploring us to do! After all it is their world too…

Thanks for stopping by,

Mike Hope

 

Mike-Hope at 500px Prime

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi everyone,

Just thought I’d let you know that some of my photo’s are now up on 500px Prime. It’s a new site from 500px and thought you might like to take a look and let me know what you think. Of course unless you want to license a photo don’t buy anything!!! Just go to the regular 500px site and you can download the same image for a lot less 🙂  Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think of the site!

Mike-Hope at 500px Prime

Mike-Hope at 500px Prime

 

Just for Fun!!

Mike Hope Leave a comment

I was at the Brit Week  stands on Third Street Prom last weekend and had a blast!! The new Jaguar F-Type was on display and being a Brit couldn’t resist taking a closer look…

Having a ride in the new F-Type

Having a ride in the new F-Type

 

I didn’t actually go anywhere just blurred the background a bit in Photoshop and imagined I was driving up Pacific Coast Highway!! Jaguar is now owned by Tata Motors of India and it didn’t quite have the feel or finesse of the old Jags. It’s a shame to see all the old and famous names migrate across the oceans but that’s progress I suppose!! The starting price isn’t too bad and you can drive one off for 69 grand plus tax. No extras of course!!

Thanks again for taking a look…

Mike Hope

Santa Monica Parking

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi all,

Hope you are having fun this weekend!! We went over to the Brit Week on Third Street Promanade in Santa Monica on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, then Third Street is always a lot of fun, with the activity and street performers, you can’t help having a good time! I shot a few photos and hopefully will upload some more soon. This one I shot on the way back to the car and just thought it was pretty funky!! What do you think?

Santa Monica Parking by Mike Hope

Santa Monica Parking by Mike Hope

Hope you like it!!

Mike Hope

Sun-up at the Grand Canyon Revisited

Mike Hope 1 Comment

Hi all,

I know I posted the sun up photo in October last year but since then I just revisited some of the shots I took and found three shots in sequence with different shutter speeds from a slightly different angle than the first photo. I put them into Lightroom and used LR/Enfuse to blend them together. Then did a little work in Photoshop to bring out the depth. I have placed some small pictures of the individual shots before I processed them and you can see the difference with the final output. Thought you might like to take a look at how it came out!!

Bye the way, I was using my old Canon 60D and a rental Canon 24-105MM F/4 lens. I rented the Lens from LensRentals.com a great place to try before you by and get the lowdown on all the equipment! One thing I really needed was a sturdy tripod and to remember to use mirror lock-up.

 

Grand Canyon Fx by Mike-Hope

Grand Canyon Sunrise by Mike-Hope

 

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These are the shots with different exposures

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks again for taking a look and I appreciate the feedback!

Mike Hope

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset on the Pier

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi all,

I wanted to share this vibrant sunset with you!

I reworked this a little and brought out the depth. Thought these iron and mess decorations on the pier made a nice foreground to the beautiful sunset!!  I caught this with the hand held Canon EOS-M with 22mm lens. Hope you like it!

 

Pier Sunset Sails by Mike-Hope

Pier Sunset Sails by Mike-Hope

 

Thanks for taking a look and enjoy a wonderful weekend!!

Mike Hope

Spring Barrow by Mike-Hope

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi All,

Since spring is officially here I thought I’d take a walk around the South Bay Botanical Gardens in Palos Verdes and check out the wonderful botanical offerings that are on display. What a superb place to spend a leisurely afternoon. The dedicated volunteers and regular staff put so much effort into what is a virtual paradise in amongst the hustle and bustle…

Spring Barrow Mike-Hope

Spring Barrow by Mike-Hope

…just a few hundred yards away.  You actually feel you’re way out in the country with a mixture of exotic plants from palms to pines and flowers and shrubs galore. I’d highly recommend you give it a visit if you are in the area. I spotted another photographer taking a shot of this wheel barrow and commented on what a great shot it would make. I came back later at the end of my walk and grabbed this shot. I really like it!  I hope you do too, it’s a real spring reminder.

Thanks for taking a look,

Mike Hope

 

Nautilus – Keli Rogers

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi All,

I was checking out my good friend Keli Rogers photos on Flickr and came across this one. It’s so beautiful I had to share it with you. Keli really is a talented photographer and extremely creative. Check out her photo’s on Flikr…

 

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Thanks for stopping by…

Mike Hope

PONO IS HERE!!!

Mike Hope 1 Comment

Hi All,

I just wanted to share this with you if you are hankering after better quality audio to sooth your tired ears this might just be for you!!

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This is from the CSM on Pono and I’m right there with em, well maybe not the Christian side but certainly I’m all for the HD music stuff!!!

“There’s never been a rock star more predictably unpredictable than Neil Young. Whatever your opinion of his music, the man has always followed his unique inner compass – often at his own expense – veering from feel-good folkie to angry political firebrand to raucous guitar strangler, sometimes over the course of consecutive albums. He’s truly an artist who dances to a different drummer.

Mr. Young’s burning passion these days is Pono, a Toblerone-shaped digital music player that attempts to turn back the clock to the glory days of high-fidelity sound reproduction.

Beginning with the arrival of CDs in the early 1980s up through today’s MP3s, audio recordings have been getting squashed and compressed so radically that sound engineers estimate we’re only getting about 5 percent of the sound recorded in the studio by the time we listen to a song through our earbuds”.

So get on down and check it out! I’ve had a sample and I really can’t go back. Don’t cheat your ears, let them be who they were made to be and get into the HD music revolution!! 

Thanks for listening,

Mike Hope

Sunset Music Studio – New Location – Redondo Beach

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi All,

I just wanted to tell you about a great place to learn all those musical skills you have always wanted to develop, Sunset Learning Studio.  This is a wonderful learning studios situated in Redondo Beach. The studios have been set up by two wonderful and talanted friends of mine who have created a community feel where learning to express your musical talents is not only fulfilling but full of fun too. From kindergarten to those of us who just want to express our creativity, Sunset Learning Studio has something for everyone!! I know I’ll be going there to brush up on piano or pick up where I left off with that guitar I have in the closet. Why not stop by or send off an email. You’ll be suprised at how just how affordable and fun it can be.

Here is a little about the founders Jan and Nicola,  from their web site Sunset Learning Studio. If you are looking for lessons check them out, the first lesson is FREE!!

Make sure to check out their new location…

South Redondo Location

1203 South PCH, Redondo Beach CA 90277

On the Pacific Coast Highway between Avenues D and E.  (Right next to Vicki’s Antiques)

Were the good people go!!

Sunset Learning Studio – Where learning is a pleasure!!

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Sunset Learning Studios:

The Sunset Learning Studio was founded by South Bay musician, Dan Jenks.

After attending the University of Evansville as a trombone Performance Major, Dan toured the US for many years on the east coast as a multi-instumentalist (guitar, sax, flute, keys, and singer-songwriter).  As a freelance music arranger in New York City, he became hooked on studio recording.  Eighteen years ago, Dan moved to California and opened his private recording studio in Redondo Beach.  As a music producer, Dan has recorded, arranged and produced over 70 albums.

More recently, he opened the local and online music store called My Gear Guy (www.mygearguy.com) in the same business complex as his recording studio.  My Gear Guy continues to be a great source for music gear and technical advice for local musicians.

As a member of our music community, Dan saw a need for a special kind of music instruction in the South Bay.  Together with his wife, Nicola McGillicuddy, the Sunset Learning Studio has been created to offer music students an EXCEPTIONAL learning experience – right here, in the South Bay!

The Sunset Learning Studio offers private lessons and music classes in voice (vocals), guitar, drums, piano, bass, and music technology – including Pro Tools, Cubase, Sonar, Logic, Studio Recording, and Modern Music Production.

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to tell Dan and Nicola that Mike let you know about their great studios…

Mike Hope