Santa Monica

As of this week, NYC has had 56.6 inches of snow this winter.

  

That makes this our second snowiest February ever

and our seventh snowiest winter ever,

with more storms predicted next week. 

Is it surprising then that I find my thoughts turning to warmer climates? 

More specifically the winter I spent in Santa Monica

shooting commercials for Scotts Miracle-Gro. 

It wasn't as stress free as it sounds since it was a rainy winter so we had plenty of worrying and one rain delay. 

But overall it was warm and sunny and a nice break from the bad weather back east. 

I hear they are having a nice winter this year.  I guess I should have scheduled a trip.

Cheers!

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer

Red Roses

Given that Valentine's Day has just come and gone,

 I thought it might be a good time to post some photos of red roses,

the classic symbol of love. 

 I have to admit that my favorites

tend to be the ones with a variation of color, 

or perhaps a richer tone than the typical fire engine red.

These hybrid teas are from Brooklyn Botanical Gardens,

while these old garden ones are from the Amherst roof garden,

where they bloom consistently from early June until the first frost in December.

This type of rose actually dates back to the 1st century!

Cheers!

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer

Central Park - February 3, 2014

Well I got my wish and we had a beautiful snowfall on February 3rd.

 

Central Park got 8 inches of fresh snow on a fairly significant base thanks to what has become our snowiest winter in recent memory. 

It was also a wet snow as the temperature hovered around 32 degrees, so after taking a look out the window and seeing how lovely the tree across the street looked,

I grabbed my boots, umbrella and camera and headed over to Central Park. 

It was like a fairy land. 

The snow clung to each tree in a unique way, so the variety seemed to be infinite. 

Mostly they reminded me of lace. 

Since I went early it was fairly quiet.  

So it was possible to get some really lovely shots. 

I had so much fun I can hardly wait until the next time!

Ciao

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer 

Digital Collages: Egyptian Lotus

These digital collages were created by combining photos from Egypt 

with photos of various water lilies and lotus flowers. 

Egypt is a magical place to visit. 

I had the sense of my childhood history lessons come to life. 

I took this shot while I was sailing up the Nile like Cleopatra.  

But what surprised me the most was the extraordinary scale of all the buildings and monuments. 

They dwarfed not only everything I have seen in other places but also my wildest imagination. 

I included a person in this shot so you can get a sense of how huge these carvings at Abu Simbel are. 

 And then there's the heat. 

We visited in September and it still soared above 110 degrees as we headed south.

So, one of the highlights of the trip was visiting Karnak at night when it was a bit more bearable.

Next time I visit I'll go in January!

Ciao

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer