"A Bitter Mommy in search of the perfect Martini"

DeeDee is a Palm Springs personality to say the least! Irreverent and funny, she brings her own statement of life and mommy-hood to her writings. These are selected photos we created in her publicity photo shoot. It was a fun filled shoot for sure!


DeeDee - The Dee View "A Bitter Mommy in search of the perfect Martini" - Images by Ian Sitren

Spectacular makeup and hair styling was by celebrity artist Spencer Barnes. And on the technical side, the camera system was the Mamiya DM-33 and Profoto lighting. However the very last photo in the series was created with a vintage Polaroid SX-70 instant camera and Polaroid TZ-Artistic film from The Impossible Project. It made for a very fun vintage look!

Go visit DeeDee at the Dee View and see what she has to say... That's fun too!

Thanks and keep coming back if you "Wanna See More...?"

Pier Del Sol - Food and Fun on the Santa Monica Pier... And More Food!

Pier Del Sol is a wonderful event at the beach on the Santa Monica Pier! Below are some of the photos I have shot there including the group portrait of the great chefs from the wonderful restaurants of Los Angeles who are there on hand to feed you! You will find great fare from world famous hot dogs to the finest of cuisine. And you never know what famous somebody's you might see show up and have fun!

From the website of Special Olympics of Southern California....

"Pier Del Sol, Special Olympics Southern California's premiere fundraising event of the year, is a day of fine food and family fun on the historic Santa Monica Pier and Pacific Park. VIP guests enjoy an outdoor brunch from L.A.'s top restaurants. We invite you to join us for live tropical music, dancers, hula lessons, a hands-on tide pool experience, celebrity and sports notables manning the game booths, a silent auction and more! All of the exciting rides and game booths of Pacific Park are included in the wonderful day of fun."


Pier Del Sol Special Olympics of Southern California 2005 - Images by Ian Sitren

The next Pier Del Sol is on October 10, 2010 so check it out!

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Dennis Dennis

I have been getting some photos ready for my friends at Dennis Dennis Designer Body Wear so I thought I would share some with you. Dennis Dennis has been providing clothes for many of my photo shoots and as well, many of my models have been bringing their own Dennis Dennis designs with them. Without question some of the most fun and high quality clothes you can buy. So take a look at Dennis Dennis on Ali, Amy and Juliet...

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Jerome And Marnie Get Married At Muscle Beach!

As we get closer to the last bodybuilding show of the Summer at Muscle Beach for 2010, I wanted to show you a highlight of Muscle Beach history! One of our Muscle Beach favorite bodybuilders got married to his beloved Marnie. The one and only marriage ceremony ever to take place at world famous Muscle Beach!


Jerome and Marnie Get Married at Muscle Beach - Images by Ian Sitren

This wonderful marriage took place at the Muscle Beach show on July 4th 2010! An event to never to be repeated! Check it out!

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Dog Training.... In The Gym!

I have photographed my share of ads but this is one of my favorite ad shoots of all time...

These ads ran in all of the magazines over a long time. This is Olympia trainer to the top bodybuilders of the world, Charles Glass, training a dog in the gym.

Now for a little behind the scenes story; The original idea was for Charles to train a cat and just on the treadmill. I suggested that a cat might be difficult and that a dog was a better idea. So it was agreed to go with a dog. And because one of the owners of BodyBuilding.com loved English Bulldogs, we decided to go with an English Bulldog. 

So I needed an English Bulldog that would run on a treadmill and "lift" weights, my idea. And I needed a gym that would be completely empty for the shoot for other reasons that you will see in another blog post later. 

I found the dog, actually a veteran of many television commercials, and a gym that I could have on the Sunday of a Thanksgiving weekend. And it all came together.

There are approximately 300 photos from that day and all together they are as funny as you can imagine, very LOL! Charles and the dog were best friends immediately and it became the photo shoot of a lifetime. Soon I will post a slideshow of the day, so...

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The Finest Of Athletes - Special Olympics

As we approach the 2010 Olympia in Las Vegas, I am always reminded of the many athletes of all sizes and shapes I have photographed from Little League players to the giants of bodybuilding like the current Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler.

But without question, the finest and most dedicated of athletes and those I admire most are the athletes of Special Olympics...


Special Olympics of Southern California Summer Games 2006 - Images by Ian Sitren

These are athletes who never quit, participate in their chosen sport for the pure sportsmanship, and show grace and joy whether they win or lose and for the love and excitement of competing and living. We should all learn and carry the lesson of hope and life of these great people!

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Swimming With A MAUS!

It was my privilege to photograph the original painting "H2O Unity" by the respected and honored artist Craig Baskin for the upcoming Mexican American Unity Swim at Arizona's Lake Powell. A course has been laid out to swim as much as 120 miles with the world record currently at 75 nautical miles in New Zealand last year.

Craig Baskin's original painting "H2O Unity" will be the center piece for promoting and fund raising for the swim. The painting, photographed by me will be used for event t-shirts and promotionals.

Fundraising also supports The Wounded Warrior Project and Por Ellas in the fight against Cancer.

So check it out and it all looks like great fun for a great purpose and the photo of Craig's painting will be a nifty T-Shirt; and it will be available on the MAUS website in a few weeks.

Thanks and keep coming back if you "Wanna See More...?"

Hiking In Apple Country

Got to get out of the gym, life is more than lifting heavy iron! So over the weekend it was up to Oak Glen in the San Bernardino Mountains. First stop among the many apple and fruit orchards was Apple Annie's at Oak Tree Village for some food.

Oak Tree Village is a little old Western theme stop with shops, restaurants and even a gun fight show.

I did find my photo competition right in the middle of the town complete with a hot model right out front, although perhaps a little overdressed for my usual photography.

Time to get out and do some hiking so it was down the road to the Oak Glen Preserve. My usual favorite hiking weather (or any weather for me), it was probably 90 degrees and certainly more than sunny.

An easy and well marked trail was surrounded by beautiful scenery that made for slowing down, taking in the view and shooting some casual photos.

The trail did start to take a downhill slope that was pretty continuous for a while. And out in the open you could see the burned landscape and trees from the Oak Glen fire which burned over 1000 acres just about one year ago.

As I had expected from the downhill part of the hike, there was an uphill! Pretty substantial too that made the treadmill in the gym seem very inadequate! I worked up a good sweat and certainly got that heart beating. Great fun!

Like I have been saying on my other Blog, get on out and do more than just lift, the gym can get a little tired sometimes. 

And for those of you looking for more of my photography including good looking girls and guys, I will start posting some more photo shoots soon!

Thanks again and keep coming back if you "Wanna See More...?"

Salton Sea And Salvation Mountain

I continually find Salton Sea a truly fascinating place. A saline lake on what once was the Gulf of Mexico, it is 15 miles wide by 35 miles long and 226 feet below sea level. There was a time when it was a recreational destination that rivaled any other in the country. But fell out of favor and into the past.

It is a locale for many movie and television productions as well as photo shoots. On this day for me, it was a sight seeing and hiking day. And in 100 degree heat it made a fun walk, I love it! And that is not sand on the shore but finely crushed sea shell from millions of years of prior geology.

Something very new, but old, at Salton Sea is the Yacht Club. Originally designed by famed modernist architect, Albert Frey, it had fallen into horrible tear down condition. But now completely rebuilt and retaining it's original look, it serves as a museum and community center.

That is just a small part of Salton Sea up on the North Shore, there is much more! Here is a photo I shot a couple of years ago down at Bombay Beach further South on the Sea.

From Salton Sea it was off to nearby Niland and the home of Salvation Mountain...

Whether you have any religious affiliation or not, Salvation Mountain is a breathtaking sight to behold in the middle of nowhere. Fifty feet high and 150 feet long, it is constantly growing by Leonard, it's sole creator and builder. 

Obviously devoted to his religious beliefs, Leonard is a slight man who lives on the property in various vehicles without running water or electricity or any basic utilities.

Constructed from cast off materials, donated paints and such, Salvation Mountain is not only a curious sight but also practical. For example, the bales of hay are amazingly insulating, resulting in interior temperatures that must be at least 20 degrees or more cooler than out in the open.

Salvation Mountain has also appeared in productions as well as documentaries including National Geographic. I am happy I got to see it and have had the opportunity to meet Leonard.

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Back At It!

I took a few months off from posting on my two Blogs as I noted in my prior post. But back to it now! My other Blog on the BodySpace community on BodyBuilding.com is the 7th most popular among over 600,000 members! It is however primarily devoted to the bodybuilding and fitness side of my photography.

So to broaden things out and devote more to the other facets of my photography, I will be spending some more time posting here too! So be sure to keep checking back and let me know what you are thinking. I am opening up my posts here to comments for the first time, hopefully the software will keep away the spam attacks.

A photo from a recent shoot assignment which will appear in Iron Man Magazine...

A fitness story shoot but I do like taking my work outside the gym. Here in the desert I think it tells a story all unto itself! The model is Juliet Banks, hair and makeup by Victoria Rubell and the clothes are provided by DennisDennis Bodywear.