Show Off: The JDPW Annual Alumni Exhibit

Dear Friends,

Next Saturday, December 13th, 4-7pm marks the 2nd annual student Show Off: The JDPW Annual Alumni Exhibit. The opening reception will feature the work of 36 past and current Julia Dean students.

The exhibit will be a dual gallery show and held in conjunction with our annual Holiday Party. Bring your family and friends and enjoy some holiday cheer!

When: Saturday, December 13th, 4-7pm

Where: The Julia Dean Gallery
801 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291

Parking: At the end of Rose Ave.

San Fran Street Shoot

So I found myself in San Franscisco over the Thanksgiving Holiday.
I love San Franscisco, in fact the entire bay area, it's so filled with life, great food, interesting people...

the closest thing I have found to a European city on the west coast. I have always been fascinated by crowds of people, where they are going what they are thinking.

The interactions on the streets etc... So I decided to see what I could do to capture some of that feeling in a still camera. Most of the images were created without looking through the camera "shot from the hip" which allows for a very interesting perspective and usually completely natural interaction.

Reminder of Upcoming Events

I will be showing work at the following locations & times:

Holiday Sale
Located at: 6337 Geyser Ave. Tarzana, CA 91355
When: December 6th & 7th from 11:00-4:00pm

Pomp Salon
Located at: 1431 Ocean Ave. Suite B Santa Monica, CA 90401
When: December 7th from 4:00-7:00pm

Hope to see you there!

"Poland, Past & Present"

Please join me at the Pomp salon in Santa Monica, on December 7, 2008 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm.


I will be showing the latest series Poland, Past & Present

"In the new series, Poland, Past & Present, Rico
Mandel captures the attention and detail of his
subjects, while also placing you in an imaginative
adventure of travel through Eastern Europe."

Hope to see you there!

Up The Road In Milpitas

So earlier this year I was up in Milpitas on business and got done early. It was late afternoon and the warm light was bathing the green hills to the east. I was drawn to them and followed the road up into the hills to see what was there. I wound my way up past a beautiful park and into another land. It was rural and rustic. Cows grazing, chickens in the yard and even turkeys roaming freely on one property.
It was like going into ranch country and yet a few minutes away is the Silicon Valley, old tech to the east and super high tech to the west. As I wound my way up I was taking in the warm afternoon with the beautiful green hills and deep blue sky. It was like a mini afternoon
vacation quiet, peaceful, the wind blowing lightly and the warm sun bathing my surroundings. This series of images was taken along this road on a peaceful late afternoon. They remind me of the old west. The rolling hills, staking your claim, riding off into the sunset where ever the road will take you.

Another side track on the same trip

It's interesting that earlier that same trip (see earlier post "A Drive Along Point Molate") I decided to take a detour on one of the roads near the Altamont pass. The once green hills had turned to brown. The rich blue afternoon sky supported these beautiful cumulus clouds that seemed to form the perfect backdrop for the rolling hills.












So I found myself driving down this road surrounded on both sides by the hills with the afternoon sunlight casting beautiful shadows over them. So what is a photographer to do when presented with this pallet... You just have to shoot and explore. See what's around the next corner and the next bend. visualize what you think that the final image will look like and then come back to my computerized darkroom and finish the vision.

Downtown Art Walk October 9th 2008

I will be exhibiting in following two locations during the Downtown Art Walk on October 9th. Unfortunately I will not be able attend in the evening. I will try to make an appearance sometime during the afternoon.

Spring Arts Collective Gallery located at 453 South Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 on the mezzanine level. The gallery will be open from 12-9pm, and the reception will be from 7-9pm. This group show, Four Frames, will include photographers Shay McAtee, Jacqueline Truong, Jim Marx, Enrique Ahumada, Cindy Schafer, Susan Gast, and Gianina Ferreyra. For more information, visit http://www.springartscollective.com/

Los Angeles Center For Digital Art located at 107 West 5th St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 in the Snap To Grid show. This will be open until November 1st, and the reception will be on October 9th from 7-9pm. I will only be showing one piece, in this show. For more information, visit http://www.lacda.com/

A drive along Point Molate

Sometimes you just keep going past a place over and over again meaning to stop and just never doing it. Always on a time schedule, needing to get somewhere etc... I'm the type that likes to explore places. I do a lot of driving and drive by exits, roads, towns some in the middle of nowhere and I ask myself I wonder where that road will lead me and make a mental note to make some extra time to go down the road and see what is there. I have begun to take some time to go down these roads less traveled and am discovering some nice things. I'll be posting some of these images in the coming weeks. I hope you enjoy them.

I've gone over the Richmond bridge many times to go visit my brother. And as I go on the bridge I look over to see the remnants of a pier a partially submerged boat and I think to myself I need to go over there and shoot some photos. So one day in late October 2007 I finally did it. I took the turnoff just before the bridge and went down the road.


To my surprise I went through what appeared to be a former Navy Base and it turns out that it was during WWII. Prior to that parts of it were used as housing of the old

Winehaven winery circa 1907. The Railroad tracks crisscrossed my path. The tracks were used to ship wine and later supplies for the navy.

As I wound my way around the point I came across the docks,
where I saw the tug boats etc... The lighting was wonderful and changed throughout the drive.

First Look At Latest Europe Trip

A trip to europe what a wonderful experience. I went with my wife, 2 daughters, mother, father and mother in-law. It was an experience to say the least. We journeyed first to Poland to see visit friends of my parents and show my wife and kids where their great grandparents came from. Next off to Vienna, Austria to have my mom show us where she grew up and where her part of the family came from. And finally off to Italy to see my eldest daughter sing at the opera festival in Viterbo.

We did lots of sightseeing, walking, eating, drinking, eating, drinking and did I mention eating and drinking. It was a sort of roots tour. I just started going over the thousands of images that I captured on this trip. Below are a few that I have done so far. More to come as the year progresses.

Vienese Café

Watering Cans

Reading Room

Shoes For Aline

TeaPots

The Family

Fruit Plate

A Splash of Color

Blue Blouse

Getting Some Rays

Master of the House

World Travellers

A walk on Spring Street

I love Downtown LA. The history and architecture are very exciting to me. These images were photographed one morning in the Spring St. area of LA. It was once known as "The Wall Street of the West". It is where the first banks in Los Angeles were founded. Along with the banks went wonderful hotels that were at one time host to presidents, movie start and well known sports figures. The old stock exchange building was located there until 1986. It is a fascinating part of town well worth exploring.

Hotel Rosslyn

Hotel Barclay

From Another Time

Text Message

Circles & Squares

The Front Desk


Ladder & Shadow