Category Archives: Photos

Lessons from house and dog sitting

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Mork

Mork

I’ve been home for almost a week after three weeks of house/dog sitting for Simon and Sarah[1. Sarah is Bill's sister, and Simon is Sarah's fiance.]. I was going to describe my times with Mork, but…no. I’ll just say that it feels good to sleep past 7am.

While I had an interesting time with Mork, I’ll miss his floppy ears, huge paws and awkward trot. I’m sure it won’t be my last time seeing him.

A huge thanks goes to Sarah’s mom and stepfather for taking the other puppy (Mindy).

What did I learn from that experience?

If you want a dog, watch a bunch of episodes of “Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan.” Owning and caring for a dog is a full-time job.

Get details of everything around the house. Here’s a list of questions to ask the owner.

  • Where can I go? What may I use? What’s off limits?
  • How do you work the electronic gadgets (TV, AV receiver, computer, etc.), dishwasher, washing machine, dryer?
  • What’s the WiFi password?
  • Who are the neighbors? Do they know about me?
  • Where’s the emergency shut-off for gas and water? Circuit breaker?
  • Is there parking enforcement?
  • When is trash day?
  • Do you want the plants watered?
  • Are you expecting important mail or packages?

Thanks for the WordPress shirt, @photomatt!

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A couple weeks/months ago, @photomatt included text on his contact form, stating that he’d send a shirt if you sent him your shirt size and mailing address. Last Friday, I got it! (I’m not alone. Jayvie got one, too.)

The main gift was the shirt, which is clutch because my black WordPress shirt is getting worn out.

Apparently, I’m also one of the three most important people in WordPress. :)

Certificate transcription:

This certificate entitles the holder to a lifetime supply of free WordPresses, to be used at their discretion for life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, & the four Freedoms of the GPL.

Signed, Matt Mullenweg.

Thanks to my pal, Taylor, for taking my photo. I told him how to compose it.

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Tortilla Jo's in Anaheim doesn't want money

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We will never attempt to dine at Tortilla Jo’s again.[1. I haven't given their food a chance, but after you finish reading this, can you blame me?]

Last Wednesday, I went to the House of Blues (Anaheim) for Scream It Like You Mean It featuring Silverstein and Emery. We got there a bit early to grab dinner before doors open.

We randomly chose Tortilla Jo’s.

There weren’t many customers, so we were seated quickly. The host gave us menus, someone else brought us chips and salsa, and…that’s it.

About 5-7 minutes later, the host that sat us asked, “Are you done looking at the menus?”

“Yes,” I replied.

He took them and walked away. There wasn’t an employee that offered us water or took our order. I counted at least twenty times where an employee or manager[2. I think he was the manager because he was wearing a long sleeve dress shirt.] walked by our table. Nobody acknowledged us.

After being there for 23 minutes, we left. (I know the photo shows 18 minutes, but we were there for about five minutes before I started my stopwatch.)

I didn’t want to say anything because of principle. We waited until after the concert for In-N-Out (La Mirada) on our way home — six hours later.

We will never attempt to dine at Tortilla Jo’s again.

My best photos of 2009

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Rush home for supper

This is my entry for Jim Goldstein’s 3rd annual “Blog Project: Your Best Shots of 2009.”

Compared to my best photos of 2008, I photographed a few more large concerts and a couple weddings. I went on less photowalks because of school. Unfortunately, I’m very behind on processing. I took a basic film photography class in the fall, so this might not be comprehensive.

With that in mind, here are my 87 photos for 2009 (in chronological order). I hope you like them!

Best of 2009 – Bryan Villarin Photography – Zenfolio

Cascades Waterfall

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Taylor and Greg [finished] a sociology class at Mt. SAC. For extra credit, their professor had them view cultural diversity by driving all over Los Angeles County and taking their photo at eight locations.

They invited me to come along a couple months ago. I couldn’t say no. It gave me a chance to procrastinate with homework and studying for finals.

I kept my Amod 3080 GPS data logger on the whole time. Thanks to KML Path Distance, it calculated that we traveled 116.759 miles.

I’ll edit this post and link to the Flickr set when I choose, process and upload my favorites from this day.

For now, I hope you dig this planned shot of these two characters[1. Taylor and Greg.] looking at the Cascades Waterfall. I find it quite humorous.

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Few will care

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Few will care

While walking across the street from the Wiltern to the Wilshire/Western subway, this man walked between the cars asking for money. The print is pretty much how I envisioned it.

Unfortunately, I’m still trying to get more detail between the man’s head and the trees in the distance. This is probably my 8th print attempt. I’m scared that no amount of dodging will bring it out.

I would scan the negative, but I don’t have a film scanner. I’m not sure if I should save money towards buying a Canon CanoScan 8800F.

Like before, I tried to get this scanned print as close to the real thing as possible. I cropped out the white borders since they weren’t clean.

Contrast filter: #2
Aperture: f/5.6
Time: 17 seconds

Film: Arista.EDU Ultra B&W 100 35mm
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel XS
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Paper: Arista.EDU Ultra VC RC Glossy 8×10
Scanner: HP ScanJet 7400C @ 300 DPI

Depends how you look at it

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Silas and I were supposed to meet up with other photography classmates for long exposure photos from Cow Canyon Saddle by Mt. Baldy Village[1. Google Maps link].

That didn’t happen.

Once we got to the turnout on Glendora Ridge Rd, we just saw a sign and a road leading into an RV park. There wasn’t a mention of Cow Canyon Saddle[2. Once we regained a cell signal, we found out that was the entrance. Fail.].

We kept driving down the road for about six miles, then three boys walking down the middle of the road flashed their light frantically and stopped us.

I was a bit cautious. I felt like patting them down to check for weapons, but they looked harmless.

The story — their “friends” split up and left them out there. They were supposedly walking for 2.5 hours without any luck of a car. To make matters worse, there was no cell signal.

From where we picked them up, I drove them back to one of their houses in Ontario. By then, it was already 8:45pm. We could’ve driven back up the mountain, but that would’ve been 14 miles and at least 30 minutes. So, I made the decision to call it a night. (Work in the morning, you know.)

Some might call this a failed outing. I call this a miracle.

If Silas didn’t suggest we keep driving down the road in search for another lookout, we wouldn’t have found these boys. They would’ve had to hike seven miles. It was also 45°F at the time and getting colder.

I don’t want a pat on the back. I want their friends to realize that they’re idiots for ditching them.

And their parents? I have no idea. One of them called once we had a signal again, but it was a short conversation. They were probably unaware.

Freddy, Garrett, and George[3. I think those are their names.] from Montclair High School — if you ever read this story, please be careful, don’t hang out with those guys, and take a survival class. (I know you guys were walking on the road, but you should have stay put.)

Below is the route from the RV park, where we picked up the boys, and finally their home. I took the photo when I dropped them off. Besides Silas, it’s the only proof I have that this happened.


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