Tuesday, May 27, 2008

MAI•TAI bar




The Mai Tai bar at the Pike in Long Beach just signed me as their official photographer. Go into Mai Tai for a few drinks, meet some new people and check out my photography...I'm currently working on a 12 month Calendar featuring their servers looking good.
This is an image I took of Ralph's lady Jasmine. It may end up being an early sample of the calendar. I'm thinking April 2009 for this shot.

visit Mai Tai Bar at the Pike, across from the Aquarium.
www.maitaibar.com




This shot is an option for the June Calendar.


UPDATE: (8.13.08) Mai Tai will no longer be using my images or my photographic skill due to their lack of resources and ability to think outside the box. After 3 months of working for an undisclosed amount, Mai Tai would not cooperate or sign a deal for me to become their official photographer. Its sad when it comes down to people and companies just wanting free handouts. Take care of me, I'll take care of you. Thats how it works with me.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Katie's shoot


I was able to shoot an old friend recently.
Katie Krapf lives in Sacramento, but was down for the weekend. She needed some updated images of herself and contacted me! Good work on tracking me down and arranging this spur of the moment shoot! I love it!

Heres a few more of my favorite images all of which were shot at my (*whisper*) secret locations :)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Oh the Stimulas Check


I received mine.
Yes.
I'm going to spend it on a # of different things.
my #1 choice is put it towards a new Apple MacBook Pro
#2 option. Spend it on a flight to Myanmar.
#3. Buy a hot balloon ride for someone.
#4. Use it for a years supply of birthday presents for friends and family (Is it right to give everyone a pair of $20 sunglasses that probably only I would wear?)
#5. Finally get my tux jacket altered (by a pro! Not Paris Tailors on 2nd st. Or the one across from my house... those places are Bush league!)
#6. $600 towards buying random people bowling lessons?
Anyways, I am just amazed that Uncle Sam would be so inspired by Justin Rudd's "Giving Project" and Oprah's "Big Give" that he would create a giving project of his own "2008 Stimulus act" giving to boost the economy, its a new thought... I'll take it! Now to see if it'll actually work.





Note: Names and Address modified for Samuel's protection and so thieves can't steal from me.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Suja




Suja Lowenthal

2nd district Council Member. My favorite Council Member of all time, great to talk with, easy going, extremely knowledgeable and she's dong some great things in Long Beach. Here’s what I've learned. She's been encouraging reduction of water waste. Suja was recently signed on as the youngest member appointed to the regional water board, she is also working hard to get Long Beach's 2nd district much needed parking spaces, and she is a constant help at the Long Beach Rescue Mission, Suja is well on her way to making Long Beach the #1 City to live in Southern California. We need more Sujas!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Party in the park: Manana


Come join the Non-Profit organization "We Love Long Beach" and your community for a BBQ in the park!

Tomorrow, the Long Beach Police Dept. will be BBQ'ing free burgers and hot dogs. The Ice Cream man won't be far off either.
Free Food,Face Painting and Coloring contest for kids, live music and Volleyball matches, huge raffle! What could be better?
4 local bands will perform over the course of the 3 hour get together. Deep Sea Diver, The Fling, Tijuana Panthers and The Original Colonies have some amazing music! So if you don't like Hamburgers in the park, at least come for the music!

Join us for a great community building afternoon in one of Long Beach's beautiful parks!

Livingston Park in Belmont Shore.
Intersection Livingston Dr. & St.Joseph Ave

Saturday, may 17th at 1:00pm-4:00pm (TOMORROW!!!)





More info, contact welovelb@gmail.com or visit www.welovelongbeach.org!
Bring your friends, bring your Oxen, bring your speedo. (on 2nd thought...leave the last 2 at home)


View Larger Map

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Helicopter: Bonus

Thanks for the picture from your trusty iPhone Steve.

I LOVE this picture. It makes me happy. When its larger, you can see the pilot of that helicopter looking directly at me.

Shot of the Week (5.15.2008)

This weeks favorite shot (that I took) has to be this one right here.



Shot from a Robinson R-44 helicopter.
Last night over Long Beach.

If you want to own this image and mount it on your wall, I don't blame you. Tell me the size you want and I'll print this thing!

Cheers!

-Samuel

Interviewed

I was recently interviewed by Justine Cuenco. Justine and I go way back. You may have seen her in the shoot I did with her early last summer. CLICK for shoot images.
Take a look at what we accomplished this time around.
Good work Justine "Prestine"! Even her professor gave her an A and titled this interview "The best of the semester"

She is currently attending OCC and wants to be in the Media...maybe just maybe we'll be seeing here as a TV show host somewhere, or a reporter? Not sure what she wants to do. She definitely has the look at attitude to succeed.

Roll the clip!





Justine's BLOG

Birds Eye View


Last night, I went up in a helicopter with DLBA 's Steve Sheldon and Esther Sunukjian. They hired me to photograph key landmarks in downtown long beach from the Aeriel perspective. I like the two of them alot, they remind me of Pam and Jim from "The Office", their interactions are fun to be apart of...a little sarcastic and dry, but whitty and inside. I'm looking forward to working more with this marketing team.

I was able to get some great shots despite having some marine layer in my way.
I'm excited to get these pictures to the DLBA, I think they'll love them.

I am also inspired to learn how to fly a helicopter... oh how I want to do everything!



My favorite building in Long Beach. With the Queen Mary in background.

The Long Beach Marina. Which boat do you want?

Ocean Blvd looking towards Belmont Shore

The Pike=Mai Tai Bar, Bubba Gump, Gameworks and plenty of other selective places to get crazy.



The beach would be nicer if that breakwater was trimmed down. But its still quite sexy.


(L-R) Eddie the Pilot,Steve Sheldon,Esther Sunukjian and me!

"Ahhh...ten-four little cougar 935, requesting permission to enter sector 0087 on official photograph business"

Long Beach Skyline.


Post-Flight image. I wanted to keep flying! Who wants to bring me up with them next?

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The Girl



Shes pretty + amazing=Pretty Amazing
Heres a collage of her and another (shot) of her and Diesel our favorite 8 week old pitbull.
These were taken on mothers day, heading to her madre's casa.

I'm off to MILETWO

-Samuel™


Thanks again for all of your comments on my most recent posts(Sarcasm level at 8.5)

Monday, May 12, 2008

My own Portrait by a Celebrity Blogger!!






David Gilmore Sketched me!!! I've made it! I never thought this day would come, I never thought I would be alive to see it if this day DID come! David is an Artist, a damn good artist! He has an extremely traveled blog and knows what he's doing 24/7! (maybe an exaggeration for that part) Hes a great guy to be around, he has a heart of gold and he knows how to make someone look good in a drawing! You should see how he sketches you if he DOESN'T like you! click HERE and HERE.
Anyways, I am so honored to be his friend & get a portrait!

To see the great write-up he did, travel on over to his blog "Pretty on the Outside"

I love the sketch he did of Audrey and I toooo!
Here it is!






SIDENOTE: You may have seen David at the 2008 Chalk art here in Belmont Shore. His piece won the official 3rd place! CLICK





The Talented David Gilmore with the Beautiful Audrey Armada, he gave her that piece! Lucky Audrey!

Go buy one of his pieces before you can't afford it! CLICK

Community Project Inspires 15 to Give Big

Heather Hamm and I outside of Loehmann’s in Long Beach after the shopping spree.
Heres a write up of the Giving project. Enjoy.


By Jessica Selva
5/13/08
Words: 1,582
Slug: Long Beach Giving Project
Possible Headline: Community Project Inspires 15 to Give Big

Samuel Lippke had known 67-year-old Heather Hamm for less than an hour, but on Wednesday afternoon, he was already helping the woman pick clothes off the racks at Loehmann’s in Long Beach.
After Hamm, who has multiple sclerosis and dementia, switched to a new medication and gained 50 pounds, each day became a battle with her wardrobe.
She needed new clothes, but she didn’t have the money. That’s when Lippke, a 22-year-old freelance photographer, stepped in.
At the cash register, he paid for a blouse, two pairs of pants, two pairs of underwear and a bra. The bill came out to $98.44, just under his $100 limit.
Lippke had just completed his second “give.” He was one of the 15 participants in the Long Beach Giving Project, a community giving contest that started three weeks ago. He had until Saturday night to finish using the rest of his allotted $500.
“That’s going to just help out so much because I just had a terrible time getting dressed in the morning,” Hamm said.
Lippke was competing to be the most effective giver, and he won. Some of his other gives included buying lunches for the homeless and piano lessons for 9-year-old girl whose brother and grandfather recently passed away.
Altogether, the group of contestants gave out $7,500 in gifts. An additional $1,000 was awarded to Lippke, who will use the money for more for more giving.
The project was yet another community service event put on by one of Long Beach’s most popular community activists—Justin Rudd. The six-foot-one Long Beach resident, originally from Alabama, is the founder and director of a nonprofit organization called the Community Action Team, through which Rudd hosts about 38 annual community events. Last year, LBPost.com recognized Rudd as “2007 Person of the Year.”
This year, the environmentalist and dog enthusiast who lives in the Belmont Shore area, is continuing with his usual projects—monthly beach cleanups, dog parades and beauty contests, national child and adult spelling bees, weight loss contests—and he has added a few new ones as well.
Rudd’s most recent is his giving project. It was a plan inspired by Oprah Winfrey’s “Oprah’s Big Give,” a reality television show in which contestants compete to give away hundreds of thousands of dollars in life-changing ways. On the show, contestants are judged on their giving and eliminated as the episodes progress.
Rudd decided to hold a Big Give of his own. It started after a missed opportunity last summer to audition for the show. He heard that there were going to be auditions in Los Angeles and wanted to try out, but vacation plans interfered. Friends had emailed him, telling him he would be perfect candidate, and he agreed.
“It’s right up my alley, being resourceful, being creative, and I think I’d do really well on the show,” he said.
Rudd watched “Oprah’s Big Give” when it later aired, and as the season approached its ending, he had an idea—why wait for the show to hold its next auditions? Why not create a Big Give of his own?
That was about a month ago. A week after coming up with the idea, Rudd contacted some of his regular volunteers to see who was willing to participate. The contest began on April 20 the day of the finale of “Oprah’s Big Give.”
It ended on Saturday night at Bayshore Community Congressional Church where contestants shared their stories and were judged on their giving decisions by a panel of philanthropists before their family, friends and community volunteers.
The rules were simple. No more than $100 could be spent on one person, family or organization. No more than $100 could be spent in one place or from one vendor. All the giving had to be done in the Long Beach area. And participants could not simply give cash. They had to spend the money on specific needs or goods that would be given directly to recipients. The contestants were judged on their levels of creativity and effectiveness.
At the start of the last week of giving, full-time mother and contestant Beth Barnes obsessed over her gives. She had plans but still had to take some action, and the pressure was building. The next couple of days would be very busy, she said.
But by Thursday, Barnes was at Ability First, a Long Beach care center for disabled children and adults. Completing her third give, Barnes stood in a hallway with her two teenage daughters as she handed a 9-year-old autistic boy a gift bag full of surprises.
The boy, who a facility caregiver said comes from a financially struggling family, received a giant Sponge Bob-shaped pillow, a fuzzy blanket, a Sponge Bob DVD set and a T-shirt. The items were chosen from his wish list.
Some contestants said the most challenging part of the project was the financial limitation, especially since they were not allowed to fundraise or accept donations like contestants on “Oprah’s Big Give.”
“A hundred dollars is great, but it’s not life-changing,” said contestant April Rivas, who is a Long Beach Airport sales agent. “I was trying to really think of things that would keep giving beyond maybe the day they were received.”
Rivas ended up using her funds to partially sponsor a Down syndrome child for summer camp. She also bought a Jigsaw tool for a construction class at Woodrow Wilson High School and groceries for a Catholic church’s homeless meal program.
According to Rudd, the challenge was all part of the project.
“It’s not easy, and I don’t want it to be easy,” he said. “The idea is that it’s diverse—the giving is diverse—and that they don’t go to one person’s house with five people living there and give them all $500 worth of groceries. That would be too simple. I want them to see many areas of giving.”
Rudd said his goal was to create a pattern of giving that extends beyond the event.
“I’d like for this to be the start of a movement—a giving movement,” he said. “And I hope that the contestants and the people that find out about it will begin to give more freely on a day-to-day basis. I don’t want it to happen just once a year.”
Rudd funded the giving project through two of his organization’s charity events, the Long Beach Turkey Trot and Haute Dog Easter Parade.
His decision to do the project came as no surprise to those who know the blue-eyed 38-year-old who speaks in a calm demeanor and a Southern accent.
Rudd is known for his extensive involvement in the community. He was the leading force in opening the Dog Zone, a leash-free area for dogs at the beach in the Belmont Shore area. It is Los Angeles County’s only dog beach, according to the Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine Web site.
Rudd approached city leaders and rallied community support to get the beach idea passed. He led a one-year pilot program for daily leash-free dog access starting in 2003. The Dog Zone was finally approved by the city council in 2004.
“There is no one that does what Justin Rudd does,” said City Councilman Gary DeLong, who represents the 3rd District, which includes the Belmont Shore area. “There are a lot of things that you look at and scratch your head and say, ‘I don’t think that’s going to work,’ but he figures out how to make it work and it does.”
Because of his community work, friends and others in the area prodded Rudd to run for City Council in 2006. He entered the race against Councilman DeLong but dropped out a few weeks later, deciding the position would take away too much time from his activities.
“I feel blessed to be able to do what I’m doing, and I like what I’m doing,” Rudd said.
Instead, Rudd is employed by his organization and also works as a personal fitness trainer and a coach for beauty pageant contestants. He distributes a gay and lesbian e-mail newsletter, as well as an e-mail newsletter for dog-owners.
Rudd’s first event was nine years ago—a beach cleanup that he started with a group of his exercise friends after spotting trash on the sand during a run. It grew by word of mouth and advertising on his Web site, and the cleanups have continued since then. Eventually, more events entered the picture and more community members got involved.
Rivas, a giving project contestant who has volunteered with Rudd since his first beach clean-up, said she is amazed at how he draws people into his enthusiasm for the events.
“I always laugh. I say, ‘Justin can make me do anything,’” Rivas said, noting that he got her to compete against him in a cotton-candy eating contest at an event last weekend.
She also said he has certain qualities that make the Long Beach Giving Project and other events successful.
“I think one of the ways Justin is a very powerful leader is that he doesn’t micromanage things. He lets people do what they’re going to do and he has a great faith in them.”
For Rudd, his success comes in knowing when to say yes.
“I think that God just puts ideas in our heads and in our hearts,” Rudd said. “Sometimes, we say, ‘No, I’m not going to do that right now.’ But… when something’s on my heart and it’s heavy, I try to say, “There’s a reason.’”




Jessica Selva is an amazing writer and a great Salsa Dancer.
Her credentials line up out the door and it shows in her writing!
If you like her way with words and want to know how she does it, or just want to learn some salsa moves do it! I'm sure she wouldn't mind! Write her!

Thanks Jessica for taking your time and writing about Justin's Giving Project.

Cheers to your success Jessica!

I won!




There were 15 contestants on the first ever "Long Beach Giving Project" presented by Justin Rudd.
After weeks of creative giving and lining up new people to help out, all the contestants finally gathered, presented their giving to the Judges and enjoyed a night of sharing. In the end, I walked 2nd street after winning the $1000 prize, I was giddy and it wasn't just because I had 2 redbulls while listening to each contestants 8 minutes of stage time. I was like a 1st grader about to have his first day of school. I walked 2nd st with my lovely Girlfriend and couldn't stop thinking about whats next.



But before I drop what I'm going to do with the winnings. Heres what I did with the $500. The rules of the project didn't allow more then $100 to be given to any one project or person. It also stated that giving had to be done 1st hand... no hand outs, or checks. The giver needed to find a need and act on it in a creative manner... heres what I came up with.



MY PROJECTS:


The Feed the homeless crew.

First project: I wanted to reach out and help our homeless population. Long Beach has more then 3000 homeless people.
• Went to Costco with a friend of mine (Amanda Meza!) and her borrowed Costco card.
• Spent $100 on lunch making supplies.
• Recruited 6 of my close friends to help make the sandwiches, bag up the lunches and ride around Long Beach on bicycles handing them out to homeless friends.
Gave out 90 lunches and were able to point the homeless to people that could help them.



Second Project:
Heather Hamm is a women in her late 50’s
She was recently diagnosed with MS
She has dementia and a minor brain tumor.
She gained 50 pounds and had no clothing necessities that fit her.
I took her to Loehmanns and led her on a shopping spree.

My Third Project:
Marilyn is a third grader with an amazing voice.
She lost her Father, Grandfather and brother within a short time.
A very poor family struggling to make ends meet.
She won the Haute Dog poetry contest and gave the $100 prize money to her mom for that months rent.
This time I wanted to bring a smile to her face, so I set up singing lessons for her.
She was extatic and sang for Audrey and I 3 songs right there in the park.

Project four:
Mothers day is tomorrow.
I bought 50 flowers from Romance Ect.
Picked up 25 mothers day cards from Rite Aid and headed to the Long Beach Womens Shelter. They were soo thankful for the contribution saying no one had ever done that for the shelter. Now the kids would have something to give to their mothers at the Shelter.

Project Five:
Susie, a single mother of 2. Lost her job and apartment due to her Heart problems. She is desperate for a job that doesn’t require a lot of standing and walking. Her heart complication is called “Left Ventical Blockage” . I figured out that she was putting her and her children at risk by driving around Long Beach looking for a job with car tires that were completely BALD infact tire thread was starting to show.
I searched around and located 4 barely used tires for $100, the Tireshop gave me a $75 discount. She thanked me again and again.

CLOSING:
After all of these giving projects, I’m inspired to do more.
Already I am looking into getting involved in all of these peoples lives.
Working with the City of Long Beach to help get the homeless jobs and housing. Supporting Marilyns singing career, Donating more to the Womens shelter and Working to get Susie a job and housing.

My remaining $8 dollars were spent on more flowers to add to the remaing 25. I rode around 2nd street with Ralph handing them out to people just to bring some random happiness.


So yeah. It was a good experience. Although the above doesn't seem like alot, I believe each thing made a great impact on these peoples lives. Thanks again to Justin Rudd, the Judges and to the community of Long Beach. Huge thanks to my beautiful girlfriend Audrey Armada for her support and wisdom during the giving.

Stay tuned for the BIGBIG GIVE!!
Also a video from all of the giving.
More on this at www.justinrudd.com

Thursday, May 08, 2008

House in Tenerife, Canary Islands


I want this place!

CoolHunter.net does their best to seek out exceptional design from all corners of the globe, and on Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands off the north west coast of Africa, they found an extraordinary architectural example in timber, glass and concrete. The House in Tenerife was built into the cliffs 300m above a black sand beach.




The entrance to the house leads to the upper tier of the double-height living room. And descending the concrete staircase, the minimalist interior becomes second nature against the surrounding backdrop – where the blues of the sky and the sea appear vertically in formation. Before long, the sensory experiences from the natural world envelope the built form, and the house’s relevance in its surroundings are revealed.

The layout places living areas of the home on the shorter end of the L-shaped form, while both bedrooms and bathrooms sit along the longer side. Both living and sleeping spaces open out to a wooden deck and pool that spills into nature.

The heaviness of the concrete double-story living room allows glass panels to sit effortlessly on the deck. The room’s only furniture, le Corbuiser’s chaise and Mies’ Barcelona chair face out, away from a small fireplace that meets a wall of two-storey shelving.





Text taken from COOLHUNTER.net
Those editors have skills!
Someday I'll have something like this. It might be in heaven when I finally get a mansion like this one...but still!

Kobe "Beef" Bryant MVP


MVP

Yup, he did it. Best player in the league for the 5th year in a row, but the first time to get the award. Good work Kobe and the lakers.

I like this quote...

"Mr. Bryant, since you keep saying that this is a team award, I'd like to know if you will be buying your teammates gifts."

--Lakers teammate Luke Walton on Kobe Bryant winning his first MVP award.



Kobe Bryant Averaged a team high 28.3 points per game to go along with 5.4 assists and 6.3 rebounds a game. He led his team to the #1 seed in the tough as ever Western Conference.
He is averaging 34.3 points per game in his last 6 playoff games.

Go Lakers and Go Kobe!

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Surf in Long Beach??


Hammer Lines
Self-portrait with iPhone in Target

Unless this shirt
was made pre-1949 when the Breakwater was built, I assume the shirt designers were sitting in a sterile mid-western cubical thinking of beaches to make shirts about and Long Beach came to their mind.
Looking on a map, it looks like surfing here in Long Beach would be amazing! But these shirt designers and the buyers for Target boys are out of their minds.
There is NO surf in Long Beach.

Thanks to the Breakwater.
Heres the specs and why LB has polluted water, no surf and an extremely long beach!


"The Long Beach California Breakwater Is the largest man made breakwater in the world. Made of three gigantic walls of rock, it was completed in 1949 and extends about 2 1/2 miles in front of Long Beach's residential beaches. It's original objective was to thwart submarines and torpedoes during World War II. Sitting in about 50 feet of water the breakwater rises between 10 to 13 feet above the surface."



Shoot, I can't find where I found this...the source is missing. If you know it, send me the link.
Thanks Justin. heres my source.
For now.
Don't buy this shirt unless you beat it up, run it over, put bleach marks and make it look circa 1948. Oh and remove the current date "2008"

Monday, May 05, 2008

Balboa Bay Club: May 3rd wedding


I photographed Lori Michelle Marks and Kevin Newman at the Balboa Bay club this past Saturday.
It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding.
I was able to capture some magazine style shots during the 2 minutes I had to work with Lori, as she prepared.
More on this wedding will be online, if you were a guest at this wedding, please contact me (leave a comment) and I'll connect you to view the rest of the images shortly.

Cheers to Mr and Mrs. Kevin Newman!


-S™

Alright, I've decided to post a few more. Just a teaser!! (You all know I love to be a tease)



















Shot of the Week (Audrey and Diesel)


Sunday afternoon:
Just finished a long and tedious bike ride/feed the homeless and both Audrey and Diesel (the 7 week old Pitbull) fell asleep on the Lippke Studios couch.

I love the lighting, the rich browns and the feeling this image gives off. Not to mention Audrey's beautiful skin tone and natural light seeping through the window. This my friends is the shot of the week.