5 Steps to the Ocean

Took a quick walk down to the beach this evening to capture some of the gloomy clouds rolling into town. There is actually no beach left, the ocean comes all the way up to the rocks on South Strand in Oceanside, CA. During the winter in Oceanside the beach is stripped away by the ocean and there is literally nothing left by the end of the season. Right before the beginning of summer Oceanside will dredge in a ton of sand from the Oceanside Harbor or right off the coast. Loads of sand are deposited onto the beach where some guy in a huge bulldozer evens it all out. If you haven't seen this done it is quite impressive to watch.
Images by Joe Hamilton.

"Big News" - I'm getting married

Well...., some of you may know and some of you may not know that Michele and I will be getting married in June of this year. Michele is my best friend and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her. I love you Michele.
All images by Joe Hamilton.

For better or worse, through thick and thin,
I'll be there by your side
sharing the laughter and the tears
through life's uncertain ride.

We don't know what the future has
in store for you and me
but this I know, without a doubt,
the best is yet to be.

Guitar Sculptures - by Joe Hamilton

Thought I would share some of my guitar sculpture art on here. Started off with a total of seven and have sold three. To complete all sculptures took me over two years to complete and I am looking forward to my next project. Right now they are hanging in a friends gallery in Poway, CA. Each sculpture is three-dimensional and full size, these are just images of the sculptures. Dimensions are below each image for reference. If you are interested in viewing any of these for purchase please feel free to contact me. joe@joehamiltonphotography.com
All images and art work by Joe Hamilton.

Copper Metal Wall Art – (1) 30”x42” - Guitar body made out of Copper Metal & Sheet Metal

Abstract Mirror Wall Art - (1) 37” diameter – 5 Guitars mounted around a cluster of Abstract Mirror pieces.

Flower Wall Art - (1) 30”x41.5” - Guitar embedded with bright colorful flowers. Guitar covered by custom print fit to the shape of the guitar and layered with a coat of clear resin.

Marble Wall Art - (1) 30" x 41.4" - Two guitars clustered around over 1,000 marble, each marble set in place one at a time. Entire surface of marbles is covered in a coat of clear resin.

SOLD
C.D. Wall Art - (1) 30”x42” - Over 400 C.D.’s cut up into abstract pieces and mounted on three guitars.

Product Photography - GBG Liquid Vitamins

Photographed some product this afternoon for Donald Weim of GBG. Don needed some photographs for web promotion and print. GBG sells a once a day liquid dietary supplement called 10-in-One.

Not a bad day to be photographing in doors as well with all the rain.
All images by Joe Hamilton Photography.

Link for more info on 10-in-One:
To your Health and Whealth
http://www.DrWhealth.com
Dr. Wealth, (call me Don)
Executive Vice President
619.857.6040
GBG

Mother Earth mourning the loss of the Chargers

The day after the Chargers fatal loss to the Jets.
To another record breaking year down the drain..... We all must keep our heads up though, because.., there is always next season....

Local Landscapes

Below are 5 local landscape photos I've taken in the past couple weeks just by having my camera in the car. You never know when you may come across a picture you just have to take.
All images by Joe Hamilton Photography.

Now back to the Chargers game... Go Chargers!

"Balboa Park Bridge" - San Diego, CA

"South of the Pier" - Oceanside, CA

"The Harbor" - Oceanside, CA

"Tamarack South" - Carlsbad, CA

"In the Sticks" - Lake Hodges, CA

Furry Photo Friends

Giving a shout out to a handful of animals that were just hanging around during some recent photo shoots. With animals you just have to be patient and just let them do their thing, and you will always get some good photos.
All images by Joe Hamilton Photography

"Dixie"

"Midori"

"Liebling"

"Summit"

And..., the always classic,
"Pickles the Pig"

San Diego Real Estate - Tida Hamilton

My sister-in-law Tida has had me photograph a number of properties for her the past few months. Tida is a Real Estate Consultant in San Diego County, specializing in coastal properties. If you are considering buying or selling property, planning to relocate, or looking for any other information about real estate in San Diego send Tida an email (tidahamilton@gmail.com).
Yesterday I took some pictures for her in Escondido and this place had a really nice panoramic view along with a nice size backyard.
Below are some images of the properties Tida has listed or were listed.
All images by Joe Hamilton Photography.

Anyone that references "Joe Hamilton Photography" after using Tida Hamilton's services gets a "free" portrait in front of their new home.

OneSource Distributors - Automation Fair 2009

OneSource Distributors is an electrical distribution company based out of Oceanside, CA. Previous to going full-time into photography I worked for OneSource Distributors for 5 years. I am truly grateful for all that OneSource has done for me from past to present.
Below is a video put together by Joe Hamilton & John Hildebrand, video editing by Tommy Cantrell. OneSource hired Joe Hamilton Photography to photograph the 2009 Automation Fair up in Long Beach, CA. I covered all the photography while John captured video on a Canon 5D Mark II.

Halfpipe Skate Session - with Trent Stewart

Thought I would share a few images from Trent's skate session at my neighbor Phil's house. For these images I set up a couple of speedotron lights in the corners of the backyard to get some dramatic lighting.
All images by Joe Hamilton Photography

Combining Multiple Exposures

Dr. Brown's Stack-a-matic is a quite a cool tool to check out. My father sent me a link to the Russell Brown Show a few weeks ago and I have been hooked since. There is a ton of information on his site for anyone interested in photography & photoshop.
Combining Multiple Exposures was the first tutorial I wanted to try out just because of previous attempts at capturing star trails. Dr. Brown's tutorial goes over everything you need to know to get the results shown in the images below. All three images were shot at f5.6, 119.0 seconds, ISO 200. The first image was a total of 123 jpeg images and took a little over 4 hours. Second image had a total of 70+ jpeg images shot for roughly 2 hours. Last image is 81 RAW files for 2+ hours. I was checking to see if file size would speed the stacking process up a bit, not really though. Have patience, it does take some time. The 123 image file took almost 2 hours to fully process into the final image.
Check out "The Russell Brown Show" for more information.
Images by Joe Hamilton Photography






Link:
http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html

Sullivan Solar Power

Received an email from Erica over at Sullivan Solar Power today in reference to an event I photographed for them last month. Senator Kehoe was kind enough to put one of my photos in her monthly newsletter which can be seen below.








Solar Panels Power San Diego State Aquaplex

Senator Kehoe attends the Dec. 2 ribbon cutting of the solar project at the San Diego State Aquaplex. Joining her are SDSU President Stephen Weber (left) and Associated Student President Tyler Boden. (photo courtesy of Joe Hamilton Photography)


The State of California’s program to lower greenhouse gas emissions is now helping San Diego State University.

Last month I attended the opening of a solar panel project at the university’s Aquaplex, which is estimated to save the school almost $35,000 annually in energy bills.  The three-phased project uses 840 solar panels manufactured in the United States, and makes the facility exclusively solar-powered.

The project received $268,000 in funding from the State of California’s Solar Initiative, which provides rebates to customers who install solar panels on the roofs of their homes and businesses.  The program hopes to make solar panels affordable and lower energy costs and emissions.

I’m especially impressed with this project because the funding for it was paid by a fee increase that the student body imposed upon themselves in spring 2008. This is truly a partnership that unites local education, business and government around renewable energy generation.

Southern California is well situated to capitalize on the sun’s rays, and the SDSU project shows other universities and businesses how practical and cost-effective solar power can be.

To learn about the Solar Initiative, visit www.gosolarcalifornia.org/csi

Link to newletter,
http://dist39.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={FA617B62-C648-41D6-A965-6702F8FDC3F1}

Los Lobos - Belly Up Tavern

Went to a Los Lobos concert last Night with Michele & my future brother-in-law Eddie. The concert was down at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. Tomorrow's Bad Seeds, a band out of Hermosa, CA opened for Los Lobos and sounded really good. Very impressive to see a band like Los Lobos because of the talent first off, but, the diversity of the crowd was amazing. Ages ranging from 21 to 70+ years of age. From yuppies to a 50 year old Billy Idol look-a-like cruising through the crowd pumping his fist to the beat.
"Volver, Volver", by Los Lobos was probably the hit of the night just because it is an old school classic. Everyone loved the encores though, the crowd went nuts when they came back out to play "Revolution" & "La Bamba".
If you have never heard these bands check out the links to their music below.
All images by Joe Hamilton Photography.








"Los Lobos"
http://www.myspace.com/loslobos

"Tomorrow's Bad Seeds"
http://www.myspace.com/tomorrowsbadseeds1