Shot these with the D700 on a rainy day in Cardiff with a super low tide.

So one day I stopped by, camera in tow, and chatted with one of the guys flying a glider. He was the only one there on this absolutely gorgeous Santa Ana day, and it turns out he was alone because the conditions weren’t ideal for flying. The fliers favor more normal wind patters, with the winds blowing off the ocean. As the wind comes up the cliff, it creates this big updraft that makes flying the gliders pretty easy.

Much like my lawn bowls project, I plan on developing a series of images over the next few months. Stay tuned.

Anyway, I thought I’d make some cool portraits of Emme and her teeth. In one image she’s crying because she’s totally over taking photos, but I told her she could get a piece of candy if she hung in there. Her mood brightened in an instant.

I met Merrill one afternoon after picking up some dry cleaning on Hwy. 101 in Encinitas. As I walked out of the dry cleaners, I immediately noticed his car–totally immaculate. Merrill had a tabletop set up with some information about the car and the restoration process. I was taken aback not only by the restoration process, but also the deep burgundy and gold paint.

As I further took stock of the car, I noticed that Merrill was dressed in an outfit with the exact same color combination as the car. Merrill wore a burgundy button-down shirt, gold tie, burgundy pants, gold shoes. As I walked toward my car, I thought Merrill and his car would make phenomenal subjects for a series of pictures. I turned around and introduced myself to Merrill. I told him that I *had* to do a portrait of him and his car. Merrill was gracious enough to agree, we shook hands and gave me his card as I left.

Merrill’s card has his name, address and phone number. At the bottom, it reads “Provacateur to the Graphically Inquisitive”. I still haven’t figured out what this means, but as you can see, Merrill and his car are one of a kind.