Happy Holidays from Southern California!

For this textured image, I started with a recent sunset photo from Ventura, California. In Hipstamatic, I used dancer film, Vincent lens, and red-eye gel flash. In Stackables, I used the Haven preset. I finished with a desert dunes border in Formulas.

Nov. 21, 2020: Six pelicans in flight are backlit by sunset at Surfers Point, Ventura.

Nov. 15, 2020: Lawn signs, one for every losing presidential candidate, fills the front yard of the home at 896 S. Oakwood St. in the City of Orange. I stopped by, and yes, the updated 59th sign been added. Artist Nina Katchadourian created the "Monument to the Unelected" installation. The Grand Central Art Center of Santa Ana presented the project. This display may be removed in the next couple of days.

Nov. 8, 2020: The "Tinhorn Saloon" in Randsburg, California. This fake building front is at the annual Western Days Celebration site held every September in Randsburg - but canceled this year because of the Covid-19 virus.

Before a July 1997 family vacation, I booked lodging in a rustic sounding motel in Wapiti's small community, Wyoming, just east of Yellowstone National Park. When we arrived in Wapiti, right above the motel sat a crazy unfinished structure - the Smith Mansion.

Francis Lee Smith, an architectural engineer, began construction in 1971. Working alone, he worked until 1992 - when he fell from the top level and died. The structure sat vacant for years, including our 1997 stop in Wapiti.

Since 1997, articles in newspapers from Casper Star-Tribune, and the New York Times, provide the Smith Mansion history. In 2010, Smith's daughter Sunny Smith Larsen began cleaning up the site. She hoped to set up a non-profit and open the building for tours. Feb. 1, 2020, Casper Star-Tribune reported the sale of the property.

October 29, 2020: Life-size Halloween decorations on Cathy Drive in Newbury Park. These clowns dare you to enter and warn you not to place your hands too close.

Oct. 29, 2020: This morning, I started playing with Photoshop's new sky replacement feature. This image, "Car Jack," I took back on Sep. 5. It was a perfect candidate for a new sky.

Oct. 22, 2020: Tour of the Ganna Walska Lotusland in Montecito, California. The non-profit botanic garden near Santa Barbara is the former estate of opera singer Madame Ganna Walska.

The former Polish singer purchased the estate in 1941. Up until she died in 1984, Walska improved the 37-acre property. In 1993 the botanic garden opened to the public.

The County of Santa Barbara restricts visitation to Lotusland. The botanic garden is open to the public, but timed entrance reservations are required.  The tickets are $50. Due to limited parking, visitors are limited to just a couple of hours visit. There is no off-site parking.

The site is closed from mid-November to mid-February.

I put 40 images into this Flickr Lotusland album.

October 22, 2020: Several homeowners on Blackwood Street in Newbury Park have gone all out with Halloween decorations. Two weeks ago, I found two heavily decorated homes. Now there are six. The houses are east of Greendale Avenue. I posted additional images in this Flickr photo album: 2020 Halloween.

October 15, 2020: Tour of the 2020 Cambria Scarecrow Festival. Because of Covid-19, most scarecrows for 2020 are concentrated at six Cambria and San Simeon locations. At each site, wear a mask and follow the one-way arrows. For more information, check out the website: https://cambriascarecrows.com But there are several additional scarecrows around town, especially the neighborhood near the exhibit at 4005 Burton Drive.
For 60 more images, check out my 2020 Cambria Scarecrow Festival photo album on Flickr.