This was shot on the old set of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” in the Tabernas Desert, near Almeria Spain. The set has been turned into a pretty cheesy attraction but we stayed the night near by and felt compelled to pay homage to the western legend. This set and the surrounding desert was host to the plethora of spaghetti westerns produced in the 60’s and 70’s. I guess the attraction [Mini Hollywood]  is worth it if you are in the area but I would not necessarily go out of my way to visit the old western set unless you are a spaghetti western freak. My 4.5 year old son really thought this was a real cemetary and I could not convince him otherwise.

Here is a slide show from the rest of the day spent there:

• Camera: Lumix DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
• Aperture: f/5.7
• Focal Length: 17.5 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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I love this one for the rough grindhouse look and the overly saturated colours. Bigger than life just like a show girl. Shot in Seattle on 1st Avenue.

• Camera: Lumix DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
• Aperture: f/5.7
• Focal Length: 17.5 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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Well it hit today. The 12th Annual International Photo Competition edition of Photolife Magazine that I was lucky enough to place fifth in the category of “People, Family, Friends, Strangers” I had found out that the image had placed back in December and I have been eagerly anticipating it’s arrival on the news stand shelves ever since.

I have been published before in magazines like the Georgia Straight and 24Hr magazine, among others this however is a pretty big deal for me as the competition was fierce with thousands of entries from around the world. The other thing that I am so very proud of is the fact that I shot the image on a Lumix procumer point and shoot. The rest of the winning images were all shot on DSLRs and SLR. I am a small camera fan and like the portability and “always with me” style that it brings.

I may be a new media guy but I have to admit still like the feeling of being published on real paper and cover stock, it just feels so tangible. I did also rush out and buy up the entire rack at the local Chapters.

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Lost in thought

This shot is from our trip to Oahu in 2007 on the east side of the island at the Kualoa Ranch jeep tours. They are not actually jeeps but rather ex Swiss Army six wheel drives that were actually pretty cool. The tour goes through the Ka’a'awa Valley where Jurassic Park, Windtalkers, You, Me & Dupree, 50 First Dates and Lost were filmed. It’s about two hours of six by six fun in the jungle. I would probably think about eating lunch elsewhere if you go in afternoon as the food there is pretty lame.

• Camera: Canon EOS 10D
• Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/180)
• Aperture: f/8.0
• Focal Length: 80 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

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Last Memorial Day I took the family to Seattle on a bit of a whim. We hit the Woodlands Park zoo and then went downtown. When we were at the Pike Place Market this old guy in a uniform just walked up and grabbed a crab out of the tank and started waving it at everyone. Then he just stood there and posed for pictures. I don’t think he was really crazy at all. Crazy or not he takes a great picture.

• Camera: Lumix DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
• Aperture: f/5.7
• Focal Length: 17.5 mm
• ISO Speed: 100

Photo Credit © 2010 JP Holecka

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Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts

The city of Valencia has an opera house that rivals that of Sidney without a doubt. In fact it is the 3rd largest opera house in the world after Metropolitan Opera House in New York City and Chicago’s Civic Opera Theatre. The Valencia Opera House [Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts] is located on a dry river bed that rings the old part of the city. The river was diverted and turned into a giant public space after devastating flood in 1957. Today the river bed plays host to Europe’s largest aquarium, a massive science world, IMAX theatre, and the opera house designed by native architect Santiago Calatrava. The opera house stands very tall and resembles a giant Spartan war helmet and is covered in Calatrava’s often used white concrete with an outer layer of broken mosaic tile [trencadís]. In the setting sun the building captures the warm rays and radiates them right back out. This is juxtaposed with the massive blue reflecting pools that connect it with the rest of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències [City of Arts and Sciences].

If you are planning a trip to Spain I can’t recommend a stop over enough. The City of Arts and Sciences it simply amazing and will dazzle and delight all those of any age.

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Photo Credit © 2009 JP Holecka

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Well I pushed both our old Samsung point and shoot camera’s SD video capabilities and iMovie’s distaste for 1st gen Macbook Pro’s with only 2 gigs of RAM to the limit! None the less, I have edited together just over 17 minutes of a very home style movie that did not deviate at all from the iMovie “Comic Book” theme. It took about a week, part time, to put this little film together and I will say I did have a lot of fun learning the weird iMovie workflow. I did learn a lot on this trip and will publish some tips on going to Disneyworld. If you have questions please drop them in the comments and I’ll be more than happy to attempt to answer them.

Cheers.

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This was shot early morning in the Spanish town of Cadaques near the French border. The picturesque town is one where Dali used to vacation as a boy and then later on returned and painted many non-surreal paintings. This is where we spent our last days on our trek through Spain and can’t recommend it enough. It’s so quaint it almost hurts!

• Camera: Panasonic DMC-LZ8
• Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
• Aperture: f/3.3
• Focal Length: 5.2 mm
• ISO Speed: 125
• Exposure Bias: 0/100 EV

Photo Credit: © JP Holecka

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I was reading about tomorrow’s Polar Bear swim here in the frigid waters of Vancouver and that got me remembering this shot I took the other year in the Mediterranean. I like this shot because of the moment that was captured between this man and oblivious woman. Checking out the other gender in other countries is far less subtle that here in Canada I guess. Or maybe it’s not and I just happened to steal the moment.

Estepona, Spain

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Well I am not usually a huge fan of Zoo’s as such but understand that there is educational value for kids if managed correctly. The Seattle Woodland Park Zoo is one one of those in my opinion and we usually head down in the spring when a quick overnight family getaway is required. We are planing to go in a couple of weeks which jarred my memory that I had made this video a few years back on our first trip there.

The habitats a relatively large and very realistic in foliage etc and the animals are extremely well cared for. We usually make a weekend out of the trip but if you head out early enough you can get there and back in a day. Just be sure to allow about 4-6 hours of time at the zoo as it is pretty darn big and there are a lot of things to see.

The food on premise is pretty standard fair but just around the corner, from the zoo, is one of the best burger joints that you will ever come across. The Red Mill Burger joint is pretty famous in Seattle and the lines can be tediously long but the burgers they serve are out of this world. The service is great too and everyone there is ok with the wait.

If you are planning to stay the weekend there are plenty of hotels in the area but other than the zoo it’s pretty bleak for entertainment. We prefer to head downtown and stay either at the Best Western near the Seattle Science Centre or the Homewood Suites Inn closer to Belltown. We like the Homewood for the simple fact that there is a bed room and a kitchen in every suite. If it’s pure luxury or funk factor maybe go elsewhere but for families it is great and there is a free buffet breakfast too boot.

So as spring takes root and the days get a little warmer why not make a weekend of it at the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo.

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