The Back Of A Winner!

The back of a winner on stage at Muscle Beach! Terrance Harris, the overall bodybuilding winner at the Muscle Beach International Classic & Armed Forces Championship on Memorial Day. Good Going!

Live From Muscle Beach!

James Newman was a news coverage favorite early morning at Muscle Beach on Monday for the huge Memorial Day show. Live television was only part of the media on hand. Of course it would be that way... Muscle Beach is the place "Where Muscles Were Born"!

Thank You to FujiFilm for the opportunity to shoot with the X-Pro1 Camera!

From Detroit To Muscle Beach!

What do you do when you are waiting to go back on stage? Well if you are Nestor Sanchez doing his very first show, and at Muscle Beach and in the "Pit"... you work out some!

And it all paid off for Nestor. All the way from Detroit and doing his very first show, he took First Place in his class in Physique. Very Cool!

By the way for you photographers out there. I photographed this with the new FujiFilm X-Pro1 camera.

New Friend!

It is great making new friends at the Muscle Beach shows too! Being there just makes it fun all the way around. I met Bonnie McGinn and took a couple of photographs of her, she looked great. So great that she took home a First Place in her Figure class. Good going Bonnie!

Why Would 138 Come From Everywhere To Muscle Beach?

138 Competitors made their way on stage at Muscle Beach on Monday, Memorial Day. From all over the world, from all walks of life... men and women starting to get in shape or at the peak of their conditioning. All there for a great day where the only real competition is to be your best and everyone else is just like you and your friend.

Someone asked me "Why do all these people want to do this at Muscle Beach?". The short answer is.... It Is Fun! You are right at the workout "Pit" on the Venice Boardwalk, one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world. In between you can wander the boardwalk, walk out to the sand and ocean, lounge in the Southern California sun.

And you are at the place "Where Muscles Were Born"! How much better does it get!

Goal!

Talk about reaching her goal! Maria Bertrand asked me a few months back about her planning to enter the Memorial Day show at Muscle Beach as the end goal of her own "90 Day Challenge". Well it worked! She went from hot to hotter! WOW Maria... Knock out body! Good Work!

First Show And She Took Home A Trophy!

First show and she took home a trophy! You have seen me post some photographs of her, but you know her mostly as the Makeup and Hair Stylist on my photo shoots... Natalie Lyle!

After four years of working with so many women competing on stage, Natalie was ready to give it her best. She worked hard in the gym, she did the right diet and Natalie became a bikini competitor. First show at Muscle Beach makes it so much more fun and exciting! Congratulations Natalie! Very Cool!

True Heroes! Tuskegee Airmen Honored At Muscle Beach!

True heroes in so many ways... Tuskegee Airmen honored on Memorial Day 2012 at Muscle Beach. From left to right... Ted Lumpkin, Levi Thornhill, Buford Johnson, Edward Tillman.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces. They are credited with the following accomplishments among so very many:

15,533 combat sorties
112 German aircraft destroyed in the air, another 150 on the ground
950 railcars, trucks and other motor vehicles destroyed
One destroyer put out of action
Awards and decorations awarded for valor and performance included:
Three Distinguished Unit Citations
At least one Silver Star
An estimated one hundred and fifty Distinguished Flying Crosses
14 Bronze Stars
744 Air Medals
Eight Purple Hearts

And their heroic actions include this major step forward in the History of Civil Rights!

What an honor to have these four members of the Tuskegee Airmen at Muscle Beach and to have the opportunity to take their photograph!

Need a C-17? Call This Guy...

The man who gets that giant United States Air Force C-17 exactly over Muscle Beach at 1:00 PM sharp!. Col. Ken Goode takes charge of that! Not just a ground jockey, he just the day before got home from two months of duty flying out of Germany bringing wounded out of Afghanistan. 

Not a bodybuilder but Ken carries a lot of weight in life and I know that Muscle Beach is proud to have him as part of the Muscle Beach family!

How Cool Is That!

That is some kind of excitement! A United States Air Force C-17 rumbles in low over Venice Beach right over the "Pit" for the opening of the show at world famous Muscle Beach! HOW COOL IS THAT!

I have to Thank Fujifilm rep Larry Battistello Jr for the loan of the new FUJIFILM X-Pro1 camera for the day to shoot some great photographs at this great event!

Squat Photography!

Mark Ebinger doing squats during our photo shoot at the Power of Fitness Gym in Palm Desert California.

Photographing Beautiful Girls In Exotic Locations For Over 50 Years!

Photographing beautiful girls in exotic locations for over 50 years!

A Few Million People...

Will you be standing on stage at Muscle Beach tomorrow, Memorial Day? If you are, don't be nervous, only a few million people will see you!

In all probability there is more mainstream news media and coverage from around the world at Muscle Beach than any other bodybuilding event except maybe the Olympia and Arnold!

Why you ask? Well the show opens with a United States Air Force flyover... try that in an auditorium! There will be a few hundred thousand people down at Venice Beach for the weekend of sun and sand. It is more fun than you can imagine. And it is the place "Where Muscles Were Born"!

Accomplishment!

Accomplishment! Being proud of doing something special for yourself. That is what can make for a million dollar smile! And Duyen Ariss has that smile. Being in the best condition of her life after working out and staying on the diet track brought home the trophy in her very first show at the NPC Los Angeles Grand Prix. So Very Fun!

And isn't that what we all want in some way or another! To accomplish something and be proud of what we have done... and receive some recognition for it. Yes it is nice, no matter what it is. And for Duyen she can now add being an inspiration to others who see what she did! Being an inspiration to someone, your kids, your family, your friends is something we all search for too. What do you think?

From our photo shoot...

First Date?

First date? Maybe not, maybe together 60 years? Comfortable enough to sit in a McDonald's and just have coffee. Road trip? Out of town? A regular stop? What do you think? What do you see in this photograph I shot?

Black & White.... ?

Just when I start thinking I want to shoot more black and white photographs, I end up finding great color photographs from my shoots like this one of Jake Sawyer. Jake has been in front of my cameras many times for many different projects. Obviously you can see why!

Going To Muscle Beach!

The greatest outdoor bodybuilding show in the world! Only at world famous Muscle Beach where the show opens with a United States Air Force flyover!

Tomorrow on Monday, Memorial Day at Venice Beach, the "Muscle Beach International Classic and Armed Forces Championship". Fantastic men and women bringing their worked out bodies to the stage from all walks of life from all over the world!

And as a very special event, the heroic World War II Tuskegee Airmen will be present and honored for this Memorial Day!

I will be there, you be there too! Muscle Beach at Venice Beach! The place where muscles were born!

McDonald's?

So what is it that you see or think of when you look at my photograph of this McDonald's?

Second question, is there something about the photograph itself you find interesting, like or dislike?

Firefighter Fitness!

From a series I photographed about fitness in the military. Firefighters at March Air Reserve Base during a training exercise extinguishing a mock up aircraft skeleton on fire and flooded with jet fuel.

How hot was it and how close did I get? Well I stopped moving in when I felt the hair on my arms start to singe. Photographed with a Phase One P30+ digital back on a Mamiya 645AFDII camera body.

Photographing Studio Muscles!

And YES I do "studio" photography too. Like this photograph I took of IFBB Professional Bodybuilder Moe El Moussawi. Known for his incredible biceps, no doubt about it, Moe was just amazing in this photo series we did! Thanks!

"Loud" The Westboro Baptist Church and Gay Pride Parade

In 2003, The Westboro Baptist Church came to the Gay Pride Parade in Palm Springs California. Seeing them arrive in the morning with their signs and anticipating the likelihood that something would happen  I waited nearby to photograph what turned out to be a one time moment to be remembered.



Previously only gallery available in a limited museum quality printing and framing, I am now making it available as a high quality photographic digital print from a top professional photography printing lab. The inks and papers are rated for a lifetime. A 12"x18" inch image with a 3" white border making it fully measured at 18"x24" for easy matting and framing. Shipped directly to you, I am sure you will enjoy this truly unique photograph of a never to happen again spontaneous moment.

Well Yeah!

Funny, someone sent me an e-mail asking if I do feature shoots with guys woking out in the gym. Well Yeah!

Here is one of my favorites with my buddy Jake Sawyer. I have photographed Jake in the gym for magazine features, supplement company advertising and it has really built up his portfolio too! He has gone on to do a lot of good stuff.

But there is a secret to working with Jake in a photo shoot. He always shows up ready to go with a great attitude. It makes a huge difference! Anyway Yes! I do photo shoots with guys in the gym!

"You Make Us Look Beautiful"

"We love you because you make us look beautiful"... No question one of the nicest compliments I could imagine to have ever received!

I do start out with the best ingredients for my photographs. Like the stunning Sasha Brown. She turns our heads too and makes the point that working out does a body good!

For you photographers, here are some of the other ingredients... another film photograph, Kodak Tri-X in a Mamiya 645AFDII camera. Processed and scanned at Icon La. Thanks!

Big Weight!

Big weight, I like it! Silvio Samuel is one of those guys who likes grabbing those heavier weights too. It worked for him and he made his way to the most famous bodybuilding stages. I photographed Silvio during one of his real life workouts when he first was becoming known. At the Koloseum Gym in Fullerton California.

Fitness Is Business Too!

I am reminded today in conversation with another fitness professional that there are so very many facets to our world of fitness. And a man who I hold in great respect as having embraced his love of fitness from just lifting weights and bodybuilding into making it his many faceted career is Doug Brignole. 

From bodybuilding competitor to trainer to gym owner to book author to magazine feature writer and more, Doug is the great example of how you can take your life from lifting iron to your business career. That is motivation too! Thanks Doug!

This Is Heavy Weight!

I know my buddy Andy Haman was looking for some bigger dumbbells, maybe some 250's. Sorry Andy, no 250's but how about some adult weight.

Meet me over at "The Vault" Powerhouse Gym in Yucaipa California near me and I'll shoot your photographs working on 375!

Smoldering...

"American Cyborg" "Smoldering Marilyn Monroe" - Nicole Hansen in "Femmes Fatales" Magazine Fall 1994.

      Photograph by SecondFocus - Ian L. Sitren

I know Nicole as the visionary founder of Green Galaxy Enterprises, a renewable energy consulting firm. But when I found out she was in "Femmes Fatales" I could not resist and got a copy. You see Nicole Hansen has a really interesting show business career.

From being pulled on stage by Bono at a U2 concert to being Marilyn Monroe with Billy Idol to "The Virgin Mary Of The Future" in "American Cyborg", she is one intriguing and beautiful woman.

"On American Cyborg, we did a lot of shooting under acid rain, several weeks in a chemical factory and more in a sewage filled plant. I was constantly sick" - Could that be the perfect start to Nicole's career as a champion for Green Energy. Maybe so! That makes for a good story too!

Go check out my friend Nicole Hansen and Green Galaxy Enterprises. She is pretty hot and they are both very cool!

Just Drifting!

A different driving style! D1 Grand Prix Drifting when I was out there photographing more than bodybuilding and fitness! The auto racing sport where going sideways and doing something outrageous is good stuff! I need to do more, it's fun!

And yes, he is drifting through this turn, holding on to the steering wheel while hanging out of the car saluting the crowd.

Muscle Beach In Two Weeks!

WOW! It's exactly two weeks away from the first big show of the Summer at Muscle Beach! Monday. Memorial Day on the 28th! Be there! Mike Manibog was there in the "pit" and in front of my camera!

By the way that camera was a Mamiya 645AFDII on Kodak film. Processed and scanned by Icon La.

A Beautiful Woman, A Roll Of Film And A Camera

On Sun filled days like today I am reminded of what I like best about photography. Just give me a beautiful woman, a roll of film and a camera. The beautiful woman here is Windy Nguyen, Thank You Windy!

The camera here was a Mamiya 645AFDII, the film is Kodak 400NC, processing and scanning by The Icon in Los Angeles, the Sunny day courtesy of Palm Springs California.

Weather Report... Hot & Sultry!

The weather here this week... Hot and Sultry! So I wanted to start the week out with the right photograph. Victoria Kirsanova from one of our photo shoots.... I think this one makes the point. What do you think?

Personal fitness trainer, national level competitor, model, spokesperson and professional horse trainer. One of the most intriguing people I know. The beautiful Victoria Kirsanova.

Dumpster Climbing!

Leave it to Andy Haman to drag his wife Michelle on top of a graffiti covered dumpster at Venice Beach for our photo shoot!

That's Andy... a big guy with a bigger personality who has become the biggest star in bodybuilding. And he has brought his wife and kids along on the journey first hand like no other guy before him!

Keep watching for Andy, you find him everywhere, in the magazines, at the shows, guest posing or maybe even on a graffiti covered dumpster near you! He is always too fun and always Andy Haman!

This was very fun for me as a photographer because it was fun in the first place, and I photographed that day on Fujifilm in a Fujifilm GF670 camera! A new design of an old time looking, folding, high quality photograph producing masterpiece! So very cool! Check it out!

Film To Digital To Instagram To Film...

I am finding it amusing that we have come full circle from the simplicity of film photography to going digital to now making digital photos look like they were shot on film. I wonder how many billions of dollars of technology research and man hours were spent to bring us full circle! Anyway I photographed this on Kodak 400nc medium format film in a Mamiya 645AFDII camera, processed and drum scanned by The Icon in Los Angeles, and here it is. Too good, too simple and looks great!

Shooting on film is my favorite kind of photography. I will only be doing more! And by the way, I have seen enough Instagram and cell phone photos now, thanks anyway.

It's A Marriage!

It's a marriage! My love of photography and my love of bodybuilding and fitness. Made even better when you add in the extraordinary Sasha Brown. 

A fitness competitor and trainer, Sasha has travelled the globe competing and certainly makes herself known by her presence alone. Thanks for being in front of my cameras Sasha!

The Road Less Travelled...

I try to take the road less travelled. You meet more interesting people that way like the beautiful Sherry Goggin, one of the most respected and best known women in our world of fitness. From our photo shoot...

Keep It Going Jake!

I do like my photo shoots outdoors! Give me a palm tree at the beach in Marina Del Rey California and I am good to go! Especially with Jake Sawyer!

Fitness model, a personal trainer who has clients including the biggest music stars, actors and business elite. You have seen Jake in many magazines, television commercials, and coming up... billboards and more around London for a major sponsor of the 2012 Olympics! Keep it going Jake!

The Guy Who Did Write The Book!

Doug Brignole doing preacher curls during our photo shoot. Doug is perhaps the most knowledgeable person you could even know in the world of fitness, bodybuilding, weight lifting and exercise. His recall in the world of bodybuilding is encyclopedic. Very respected and ever enthusiastic, Doug Brignole is one great guy! Check out his book "Million Dollar Mu$cle", the cover photo shot by yours truly too! 

A Big Win Congratulations!

A huge congratulations to my buddy Stacey Naito! She walked away with a trophy as tall as her for winning Overall Masters Bikini at the NPC Pittsburgh Championships this weekend! But I will tell you something... I'm not surprised! Stacey is just amazing!! From our photo shoot...

"ROCK SOLID, NO MATTER WHAT"

A story about my work published by "INDURO. ROCK SOLID, NO MATTER WHAT", Tripods, Heads and Support Accessories for photographers. Kind of fits bodybuilding! Anyway it shows you everything from shooting in the gym to the evolution of advertising shoots for Bodybuilding.com. Take a look! "ROCK SOLID, NO MATTER WHAT"

Still The Most Popular...

Still the most popular photo in my online archive. Phil Heath and Jay Cutler at the 2010 Olympia in Las Vegas. My Olympia photographs were featured and the cover of Planet Muscle Magazine that year and all in black and white.

This photograph is available here.



My online archive includes many of my photo shoots and show coverage. Much of it is available for editorial and commercial and advertising use. Some are available for personal prints and downloads. I am adding to my archive all the time with new photo shoots and my large past archive. Check it out and often! Click here for my archive site. Thanks!

Any Question...?

Is there any question why Maria Bertrand, as a professional model, has been photographed in exotic locations around the world and appeared in the most prestigious of fashion magazines? 

Also an actress who has appeared opposite some of the biggest of stars in many movies you have seen. Even many a television commercial too. Maria is also now working at her passion as a fitness consultant. From our recent photo shoot, Maria Yvonne Bertrand.