Laguna Beach Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters!

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Jamie

A few weeks ago I had an amazing opportunity with Life in LA, a site I contribute to by writing play reviews and various events happening around SoCal.

The event was heading down to Laguna Beach to check out a preview of their Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters program.  I first heard about this wonderful event last summer, my first summer out in LA.  I heard it was pretty huge, but I had no idea what exactly went on, so when this opportunity came, I jumped at the chance.

My fellow colleague Kristi Tisor Ambriz, who also runs a fellow blog over at Wings Like Eagles was also asked to cover this event.  This would be her first experience with the event too.  When we met up we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, or what the night would entail.

But, by the end of the night we were blown away, and it definitely went down in the books as a night to remember.

The Festival of Arts is celebrating their 80th season, and opens up this Sunday, July 1st and runs through August 31st.  Over 140 artist’s are juried to be apart of the festival.  Watercolor artists, photographers, and many more are available throughout the festival showcasing their work.  That night we had the opportunity to meet 3 amazing artists.  More info. on the festival of arts can be found on my article written for Life in LA.

The other part of the evening focused upon The Pageant of the Masters.  I had no idea what the heck this was about, but by the end I was blown away.  They take a painting of history, by famous artists, and make them come alive on stage.  However, the people in the paintings are actually real people posing.

This was an example of one of the portraits that is showcased at the Pageant of the Masters for this upcoming year.  The Pageant begins shows on Saturday, July 7th and runs through August 31st.  And let me tell you, from what I seen it is well worth it.

That evening we experienced the first live portrait, which was a chess piece, and they came out in their costumes, and make up, and stood still for a good 5 minutes.   We also had the opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at the painting, and sculpting process, and also took a peek in the make up and costume rooms.  It truly was a night to remember.

To read more about our evening out at the preview night, and to learn more about The Pageant of the Masters, please check out Kristi’s piece at Life in LA.

If you’ve been to the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters, let me know about it.  Will you be going this summer?  If you’ve never been I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, and if you reside in California, hope you make it out sometime this summer.

I know I will be spending some time in Laguna, and can’t wait to see the Pageant of the Masters in its entirety.

 


Categories: Art, Fun Stuff | Tags: , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

My ALL Time Favorite Pasta Salad!

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Jamie

Okay, so I wanted to partake in the SoCal Lady Bloggers 4th of July Potluck!  It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to contribute until I was at the grocery store earlier today.  Then all the ingredients appeared in my cart, and away I went to make it at home.

This is seriously my all time favorite pasta salad, and many of you have most likely seen this recipe floating around.  Even when I turned over my bag of pepperoni’s there was a variation of the recipe on the back

Ingredients in what you’ll need:

8 oz Bottle Italian Dressing (pick your favorite)

8 oz block of cheese (I chose Extra Sharp, but a lot recommend provolone)

1 Package Garden Rotini Pasta

1 Package Pepperoni (the grocery store has pepperoni mini’s now! how awesome is that!)

1 small can of sliced black olives

Really, that’s all you need!

First Step: Boil the pasta according to directions on the box.

While the pasta is boiling, chop up the block of cheese into square blocks.

 

In a small bowl, combine the cheese, italian dressing, olives, and pepperoni together.  Mix together.

Drain Pasta, let cool down for about 10 minutes, or run under cold water then add to the mixture above.  Stir.

Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours prior to serving, and voila, my all time favorite pasta salad that I love having during the summer, and especially for 4th of July festivities.

 


Categories: Cooking, Life | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Capturing FIREWORKS with your Camera!

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Jamie

Can you believe it’s going to be the 4th of July next week already?? And with that, the first thought that comes to my mind are fireworks!

How many of you have already begun hearing them go off around your neighborhoods?

Well, how many of you have tried capturing fireworks with your camera, but the shots didn’t come out, or they were blurry?  Well, I’m going to give you a few tips on how to turn this 4th of July around and leave yourself with some lasting memories.

1) Use a Tripod

The tripod will balance out the movement of your camera making for a clearer shot especially since fireworks take place during the night.

2) Have a cable release or self timer

This way it gives your camera absolutely zero movement when it takes it shot of the fireworks going off! If you don’t have the cable release, set your camera up so there is an automatic timer to go off with your shot, that way you give yourself enough time to hit the camera button and move away so the camera has zero motion when that shutter goes off.

3) Position Yourself Wisely and Arrive Early

Stake out your spot wisely.  Be cautious of people who could be in your way or objects such as trees, power lines that could ruin the shot.

4) Were you aware of FIREWORKS mode?

Some cameras today have a fireworks mode built into their camera.  This is really nice for beginner photographers, has all the settings you need right there!

5) Know the ISO to use!

If you’re using a tripod because fireworks are so bright you’re okay with keeping your camera at ISO 100 as long as you use a F-stop of F8-F16.  If you up your ISO to 200, make sure to also up your F-stop.  However, if you forgot the tripod at home, make sure to also up your iso.

6) Be aware of the weather

Mist, or clouds will affect your exposure in your pictures, you will have to make adequate adjustments to fit accordingly.

7) Put other objects to use! 

Have you ever noticed the firework pictures that have other objects along with them?  They make for some great photos.  So, get out there, and get creative.  Scour out the area you’re at, and think of how you can place an object into your photograph.

8) Give yourself a longer exposure

This is a huge reason why there is a need for a tripod so you can set your camera up for a longer exposure.  Anywhere between 1-4 second delay is recommended!

Other great articles found on capturing fireworks can be found below:

http://www.samsung.com/us/article/snap–share-capture-amazing-fireworks

http://www.nyip.com/ezine/holidays/digfirewks.html

http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks

Get out there and have fun! I’m hoping for far better results this year than past years, and I look forward to sharing them all with you =)

Happy Shooting!

 

 

 

 

 


Categories: Photography | Tags: , , , , , , , | 30 Comments