Photo ABCs

Polo's Fine Art Gallery: Rosarito Beach

Exciting news!

Yesterday I dropped off photographs at Polo's Fine Art Gallery in Popotla, the art and furniture neighborhood south of Rosarito Beach in Baja California.

The gallery, established in 1990, is a showroom of regional art by dozens of talented artists, including the owner, Polo Valencia, and other local artists such of Becris Armando.

The walls are chock-full of art from floor to ceiling. It is not a "stuffy" formal gallery, rather a celebration of the vibrant regional art scene and the colors of Mexico.

Here is Polo hanging my work "Eleven Turkey Vultures" which was photographed south of San Felipe, in Baja California.

Above it is a photograph from my recent trip to Mexico City for Day of the Dead.

Polo's Gallery is located at kilometer 33 of the free road from Tijuana to Ensenada, across the street from Xploration Studios where the movie Titanic was filmed. Polo has stories of various movie stars who have purchased art at his gallery. If you visit the fun town of Rosarito, or are on your way to or from Ensenada, stop by Polo's Fine Art Gallery!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

Here I share photos of birds, travel, sports and people (mostly birds).

Thanks to all that attended my recent show of bird photography at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center, and a big thanks to all who purchased a photo.

Over one-third of the photos sold, generating a donation of well over $1000 for the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation!

Do come back, a new post appears almost daily. 

MTRP Reception

Thanks to everyone who attended the opening reception yesterday for my show  at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center (and a special thanks to those who purchased a photo!)

If you were unable to attend, please visit the visitor center at your convenience, any day of the week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. before December 2, to see the bird photographs. All photos are printed on canvas and are for sale, with a portion of sales donated to the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation.

The center is the perfect venue for nature photography, and there is good hiking there and excellent birding at the nearby Santee Lakes.

Please let me know what you think of the photos and which are your favorites.

(above: Singin' in the Rain, Dark-eyed Junco, Presidio Park, San Diego):

 

Welcome!

Notice: Please excuse recent difficulties with accessing the blog or with images not loading properly. The website host has been experiencing periods of downtime, which is frustrating to everyone.

That said, Welcome to my blog!

Here I share photos of birds, travel, sports and people (mostly birds).

My fifth solo show of bird photography now hangs at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center Gallery in Santee, California, through December 2, 2022. Thanks to all who came to the opening reception.

The MTRP Visitor Center is located at 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego, CA 92119, phone: 619-668-3281.

If you wish to hear about other upcoming gallery exhibitions or slide shows, please sign up for the mailing list on the left.

Thanks for visiting, do come back, a new post appears almost daily.

Art for the Park

This year's Art for the Park, a fundraising exhibition to benefit the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation, is on display from December 7, 2019 through January 3, 2020.

The show features nine invited artists, and includes a number of my photos.

Here is a nice video showing the exhibit. All of my pictures can be seen in the video, if you know where and when to look!

Thanks to Vicky Delong and her volunteers who always do such a wonderful and artistic job hanging the show.

The video seems not to fit completely within the margins of this blog, see it in its entirety here.

Newpaper Article

There's a very nice article about my current show at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center, published a few days ago in the East County Californian, by writer Cynthia Robertson.

She did a superb job, I think, of capturing the essence of my bird photography.

The show will hang through Friday, September 14, there's still time to see it!

Here the link: East County News Article.

The Art of Bird Photography

Thanks to all that attended the reception on Sunday at Mission Trails Regional Park for my show, The Art of Bird Photography. It was gratifying to see such a turnout.

If you missed it, here is a link to a video to whet your appetite (thanks to curator Vicky Delong).

MTRP Video: Blake Shaw

The show will be up through September 14, there's still time to see it! For more information, see the post directly below.

The Art of Bird Photography

My fourth solo show of bird photography will be on display at Mission Trails Park Visitor Center from August 18 through September 14. Fifty new works, printed on canvas, will be on sale, with a portion of proceeds to benefit the Mission Trails Park Foundation.

A reception will be held on Sunday, August 19, from 1-4 p.m.

The visitor center is located at One Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego, CA 92119. Gallery hours are daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There is no charge to visit. There is excellent hiking and birding in the area, and best of all, the building is air conditioned!

I hope to see you there!

Art in the Park: Wow!

Thanks to everyone who attended the Art in the Park benefit at Mission Trails Regional Park Visitors Center last night. It was an enjoyable evening and well attended by an appreciative crowd.

I have shown my work in numerous group art shows, but I must say that the quality of the works in this show was one of the best! The curators this year made a concerted effort to limit their acceptances to only the highest quality art, and it shows. There were numerous pieces of art I would be proud to hang in my home. There was a large variety, from wood carvings, cloisonné jewelry, paintings in all media and photography. All depict scenes of the park, or wildlife typically found in the park, like my photo of Canada Geese (below).

The show will hang until November 6. The Mission Trails Park Visitor Center is open every day from 9 am to 5 pm, and always free of charge. It is a beautiful air conditioned building with a bookstore, gift shop, library, educational displays with amazing taxidermy of animals and birds including a mountain lion, bobcat, coyote, Cooper's Hawk and more. There is great hiking and is worth a visit.

Art in the Park

If you wish to enjoy art and donate to a good cause, then save the date: Saturday, October 10, from 6-9 p.m.

The Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation's 2015 Art in the Park Reception will feature art from 30 artists, music from renowned guitarist Fred Benedetti, delicious food, and wine tasting.

Three of my photographs, including the Snowy Egret (below) will be included.

All art will depict scenes of the park, or animals or birds which can be found in the park. All art is for sale, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the park.

Admission is $50, which benefits Mission Trails Regional Park.

If you cannot attend the event, you may view the artwork at no charge (and enjoy the park!) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day from October 10 through November 6, 2015.

For more information see the flyer below, or visit the Mission Trails Regional Park website.

I hope to see you there!

(click or tap to enlarge)