A rewarding cause to be involved with

As a photographer and a native Californian I cherish the beauty and joy of our state parks. It is unfortunate for the generations to come that they are facing the closure of such local treasures. Many of the state parks were gifts to be enjoyed, used and forever passed on from generation to generation. The states budget crisis and acts of legislation are threatening our beautiful treasures. This is a wonderful and personal way to become involved in the movement to help keep our state parks open for future generations. Please participate and pass it along to ensure that we get strong support from personal voices on what it means to protect the legacy of our state parks.

http://www.calparks.org/takeaction/im-saving-state-parks-for.html


It is a project that is close to my heart because of what the state parks mean personally to my family. We all convene yearly at McArthur Burney Falls state park for two weeks. It is the most amazing cleansing from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. It allows us to connect on a more intimate level as family. We have taken our son since he was 8 months old. He gets a break from T.V., and in exchange gets focused one on one time with us. He hugs trees, hunts bugs, gains confidence and gets deeply rooted in what it means to be a Family. No distractions, just us and the natural beautiful landscape of the park. This particular state park was a gift, and what a glorious gift to California it is.

This is also the park where on one of these wonderful trips, my ailing father in law got the chance to flourish in a setting he loved, and to some degree forget that his body was being ravished by Cancer. He was able to do the things he loved, with the people he loved. He breathed the clean pine scented air, and dipped his rod in the cool stream. He gained back his appetite and energy, he watched his grandchildren growing to love the outdoors as he did, and he spent time with his family. Time that was borrowed, and time that was precious. Time that was not interrupted and time that was made possible because of McArthur Burney Falls state park existing. I am hoping that the parks system is able to stay open and that our son is able to go back year after year and remember the connections to family that he made and be the man that growing up in nature will help him to become. Thank you, and please get involved!

In loving memory of Lawrence J. Manzano Sr.

Living History

I do volunteer photojournalism for an online magazine based out of Davis, CA. I must admit, my assignment this month turned out to be a wonderful encounter with some very sharp senior citizens. I was to shoot a class of scholarly seniors whom were attending a memoir writing course through the UC Davis Osher Lifelong Learning Institute extension. I walked in expecting to find them discussing proper use of English and various ways to jog their memories in order to crank out an essay. What I found was a warm, intelligent and surprisingly hip group of storytellers. I walked around the room taking my shots, and found myself getting lost in their words as they sat in round table form reading their memoirs. I laughed with them, snickered when they snickered and wanted to just pull up a chair and join in the discussion after each presentation.


Maybe it was because I just recently lost my grandfather and carried a small sense of not fully knowing about his life, but I was completely at ease and enthralled in listening. I had to keep reminding myself of why I was there and force my finger to click the shutter. Their stories were marvelous mixes of humor and anguish from various points in their lives and I am very grateful that I was able to be amongst them and hear their journeys.

This shoot was truly a surprise and a pleasure. I strongly suggest visiting an elder in your family, sitting down and finding out what they have to say about days gone by. Please enjoy these shots from my few hours with some wonderful vessels of living history.

I love kids... I was a kid myself, once.

Here are some of my favorites from my sessions with children. They are priceless in their sincerity, relentless in their pursuit of fun, and precious beyond words. Enjoy!

Welcome!

It is a pleasure to have you here with me. I plan to have regular photo updates from shoots as well as musings from the mind of a photographer.

There are so many things to be noticed in this world, and being a photographer I tend to notice everything. I watch for changes in light, I know when there will be a rainbow. I study people...their faces, expressions, emotions, hands, eyes. I look for interesting detail that would normally go unnoticed, and when I am lucky,  I get the chance to click the shutter and record it.
So many people with unique qualities and diverse backgrounds, so many vibrant colors, so many children with wonderful smiles and curious hands. It is pure enjoyment to have an eye that is drawn to these things, and to be able to share the produced images with those who will look.
Thank you for visiting, opening your eyes and viewing my work. I hope you enjoy.