Thought the day was going well...

...and then it snowed

For those of you who know me well, this simple weather event is quite possibly the single most exciting thing that can occur in my day.

Unless of course the rest of the day focuses on learning steadicam techniques from the inventor, co-author of “the book” and various other legends in the field.

Yup, today was a bloody ripper

Lets back track for a moment.

Saturday

I focused on purchasing some gloves, knowing in advance that it'd be cold up the mountains where our steadicam workshop is taking place.

Any time left would be spent somewhere touristy.

Tried two “adventure sports stores” (hiking supplies), with over-priced and not-quite-right gloves.

On the advice of a salesperson, tried an army surplus store and found a really nice pair of finger-tip-less gloves for around $15inc tax.

Awesome car pulls up as I'm leaving, bass pumping and “spinners?” spinning. (bass was so heavy that my insides were rattling while I was sitting in MY car, 50m away...)








Ok, part one done, on to part 2.

thought it'd be nice to head to the coast


random burger enthusiasts





battling the saturday traffic (not really any different to regular week-day traffic, it's fairly relentless all the time), I found a parking station and walked to the cliffs.


This is what I saw.







Santa Monica Beach








and pier






sand-snake






kites






end of route 66 (or the start, depends on your viewpoint)






life really IS like a box of chocolates






winner






another angle on the beach





after my stroll along the sand (too cold for a dip) and the pier, I made my way back to the shopping district (3rd st prominade, with it's hundreds of buskers) for some food = burrito


for Leon





In an attempt to buy local cellphone Data access, (global data roaming package has been completely gobbled up in less than 2 days of using google maps on the iphone), I tried 4 stores (4 different cell phone companies) before T-mobile were willing to sign me up for a month. Unlimited national calls/text/2G data = $50, it'll have to do.

Having succeeded in setting up a new number, I headed back to the accommodation and attempted to get in contact with a few of the steadicam students to see who wanted a lift on sunday.


heading downtown saturday evening





Caught up with Miguel (from Brazil) for a beer at the local downtown Jazz club “the Blue Whale”.

Pretty cool stuff. Great to be sitting so close to the musicians that you can see every detail of their playing, nice vibe, ok drinks.

Sunday.

Up early to pack, pick-up Miguel, and head NE to the hills.



Took a little less time than expected, and had an awesome surprise on the way up – Icy remnants of snow... about 3 deg C.



one of the first to arrive, we checked into our rooms; just in time for all the equipment and instructors to arrive.

Human conveyor belt to empty the van, and it's time for lunch/introductions.


precious cargo






Thought we'd just be talking about the upcoming 5 days, and doing some book work.

How wrong was I

after a little speech, it's STRAIGHT into the rigs for a “basic” shot that involves panning/booming/walking/switching/framing/etc...

Excellent. Less than two hours in and I've already got my money's worth.

All the instructors seem to complement each other nicely (focussing on different sections of technique) and the group is split into 5 groups of 4 giving us a huge amount of time flying the steadi-rigs.

Late afternoon and the rain starts... it gets a little heavier... a little more sleet-y... then a little quieter... and yes folks – it's SNOWING!



snow






more snow





some frozen rain





Finish the 1st days lessons with a fantastic meal, some post dinner-drinks, and it's off to bed for some rest before day 2.

can't believe how good the day went.

Happy dreams.