Angie Smith Photography on Flak Photo

Before I left New York, I was running around the city like a crazy person. I spent most of my time at ICP (the International Center of Photography), printing for a group show that I was scheduled to be in. Now, that show has opened- and is still up.

In fact, if you want to check it out, it is at the Gitana Rosa Gallery in Williamsburg. (http://www.gitanarosa.com....19 Hope st, 1st Floor, #7, Brooklyn, NY)

An online photo publication covered the show. I just went to the site and saw that they used one of my images to open the article! Check it out below..

http://www.flakphoto.com/

CAMBRIA- South Big Sur Coast

This is my friend Mirlet. He was visiting friends in Santa Barbara so we met up one day and went for a hike. He lives in New York and we train Capoeira in the same school. This photograph was taken in this beautiful forest of Eucalyptus trees.

Once we got through the Eucalyptus forest, we got to this view of the beach.

Angie, Ralph Lauren Style.

We also checked out Hearst Castle. This was pretty unbelievable. This castle sits on top of a hill about 10 miles north of Cambria. William Hearst spend millions of dollars building this structure after he inherited thousands of acres of land from his father. Most of the artifacts and art within the castle was from the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, imported from all over Europe. He even had his own zoo- with polar bears, grizzly bears, zebras, and giraffes. It was the most fantastic and random tourist attractions I have visited.

Santa Barbara, California

I decided to open with this image because I am really feeling inspired by my surroundings in Santa Barbara. I have been here since Friday. I am staying in Goleta, which is about 10 miles north of Santa Barbara. I am finding it really interesting to just get on my bike and ride around town instead of driving. Today, I managed to squeeze my digital camera as well as my Mamiya 6x7 into my backpack. I rode around the city and stumbled upon this skate park on the waterfront.

I had been meaning to find this skate park because it's where all of the teens congregate. It's a perfect place for portraits. The space is expansive, surrounded by palm trees and interesting plants. As the light changes, the trees cast shadows across the bowls.. That coupled with all of the skater boys- eager to impress the girls. There were a few girls peppered around the skate park. They were there in cute, bright colored bikini tops and skirts, watching and whispering on the side.

I spent about 3 hours there today, just observing and shooting with my digital camera. I think I will go back in a couple of days with my 4x5.




The photo above is Alex Hall- my cousin once removed (?). He's my Aunt's brother's son. We aren't technically blood related- but he's just like family. Yesterday we went surfing at a beach outside of Ventura. We had a blast. The water was fairly warm. I almost stood up. I could have but my mind was the only thing holding me back. Tomorrow I'll stand up.




This bus just caught my eye as I was pedalling down these residential streets. Sights like this just illustrate why I love the West Coast. There's so much character to this bus. I'm sure it's seen many places- Zion, the Oregon Country Fair, Yosemite, Palm Springs. It just rests underneath these palm trees like it's taking a siesta. No parking meters. No garages. It can just sit on the street until someone decides to move it. The only thing more interesting than the bus is the character who probably drives it.




I took another little bike ride after dinner. When the light is like this I just can't stay inside. There's always going to be something interesting to take a picture of. I love the the quietness of this parking lot. The sign is the only indication of the life that usually inhabits this space. But yes, throughout Santa Barbara and the rest of the US, "school's out for summer"!



This is pretty much the landscape in my backyard. This was one of the last pictures I took before the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Today was a great day.

The Esalen Intitute; Big Sur

(above) a man enjoying a flower design some people had made that day.


(above) one of the great sunsets..



(above) the usual sunrise ..


(above) a man during the closing Yoga ceremony.


(above) Some friends I met over the visit.



(left) A path at Esalen. Highway 1 above. (right) Just a view to part of the garden.

(below) The house of an employee at Esalen. To the left you can see the fire and the Sweat Lodge.





(above) the view from Julia Pfiefer State Park.



(above) Myself after the sweat lodge. Whew! Was I chilled out. Had to take a picture.




Esalen is one of the most magical places I have been. Nestled on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Eslaen is a place of spiritual growth.

From the Esalen website:

"What is Esalen Institute?

Esalen is a non-profit organization that has been devoted to the exploration of human potential since the 1960's. Historical luminaries like Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Joan Baez, and countless others have gathered here to develop revolutionary ideas, transformative practices, and innovative art forms. Today Esalen is a retreat center where people live and work in a communal setting. Residents and guests participate in an incredible variety of alternative education and personal growth programs in subjects ranging from meditation to massage, yoga, psychology, ecology, spirituality, art, music, and much more."

I stayed at Esalen for about 4 days. It was a wonderful time of self reflection. I met some amazing people and really pushed myself to to experience things where my natural tendency is to hold back.

The highlight of my time at Esalen was to take part in a sweat lodge ceremony. This was one of the most powerful experiences I have had in my life. It was incredibly spiritual. It really pushed me to the edge of my physical comfort level- and then some. Not only did I reach my physical boundary, but pushed past it. And that's were the process becomes so purifying. There's a photo of the Sweat Lodge and the fire next to it, heating the stones.

Big Sur, California

I have been lucky enough to travel to many places in this world. I can confidently say that Big Sur, California has to be one of the most amazing places IN THE WORLD that I have been.

It is located off of Highway 1, about 2.5 hours south of San Francisco. Here's some info from Wikkepedia:

In the early to mid-twentieth century, Big Sur's relative isolation and natural beauty began to attract a different kind of pioneer - writers and artists, including Robinson Jeffers, Henry Miller, Edward Weston, Richard Brautigan, Hunter S. Thompson, and Jack Kerouac. Jeffers was among the first of these. Beginning in the 1920s, his poetry introduced the romantic idea of Big Sur's wild, untamed spaces to a national audience, which encouraged many of the later visitors. The region also became home to centers of study and contemplation - a Catholic monastery, the New Camaldoli Hermitage in 1958, the Esalen Institute, a workshop and retreat center in 1962, and the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, a Buddhist monastery, in 1966. Esalen hosted many figures of the nascent "New Age," and in the 1960s, played an important role in popularizing Eastern philosophies, the "human potential movement," and Gestalt therapy in the United States. Big Sur acquired a bohemian reputation with these newcomers. Henry Miller recounted that a traveler knocked on his door, looking for the "cult of sex and anarchy."^[12] Apparently finding neither, the disappointed visitor returned home.

Monterey, California

Monterey is about an hour drive further south from Santa Cruz. It's known for some of the best scuba diving in the United States. There was a surfing school right next to the pier that I was standing on..

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Santa Cruz, California

I made one stop in Santa Cruz. I had to take care of things at the post office. But this caught my eye as I walked to my car. So I snapped, and kept it moving...