Santa Barbara, CA
A couple walks in the Santa Barbara Harbor on Oct. 4, 2024. Photo by Owen Meza-Vandermeer.
Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains less than two hours from Los Angeles, Santa Barbara is a city that blends its rich history, pleasant weather and natural beauty into its laid back community....
Age not an issue for couple
The Santa Monica home that overlooks the place where Don Bachardy and Chris Isherwood first met is filled with an array of color, drawings, sculptures and paintings—55 years of art accumulated in Bachardy’s brightly-lit home. Little clay reminders of his life sit on glossy white shelves.
Had it not been for Bachardy’s older brother Ted, he would have never met...
Killing the track
She wears her team’s uniform with pride as she skates around the flat track with her navy blue jammer helmet that has lime green stars indicating her position.
Dressed ready to compete, 37-year-old Staci Park sports tattoos on her arms and legs, with several of them an ode to the Japanese character Hello Kitty.
Park founded the San Fernando Valley Roller...
Guitars for the Stars
Eric “Chaz” Czechanski is one of the only true guitar luthiers in the San Fernando Valley. Working out of his small shop in Los Angeles, Czechanski’s guitar shop is carved into the side of the same complex where the legendary Sound City once stood. He has provided, and continues to provide, a one-of-a-kind service to a clientele, both local...
The Polo Pony Express
Ernie Ezcurra (left), of HYT Polo, and Sean Goel (right) of Fair Hills Farms, gallop across the field during the Will Rogers Memorial Tournament Championship Match at the Will Rogers Polo Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Sept. 26, 2021.
Hoofbeats pounding in their ears, snorting breaths from the horses as they...
Spray Paint Maven
A 7-year-old stuck at a railroad crossing stands along a stretch of metal tracks that extend as far as the eye can see. A swiftly approaching train of 70-plus graffiti-cloaked cars—painted with culture and history—flies by the face of a child, offering her first glimpse into the world of street art.
The impression that blossomed at the train tracks stayed...
Snitches Get Stitches
Kobe Kendall (L) dives during quidditch practice while trying to pull the velcroed Snitch from Jackson Schulz’s (R) shorts in Irvine, Calif., on Oct. 3, 2021.
Quidditch is familiar to most as a broom-flying, cape-wearing game of dodgeball, but the league sport played by muggles is a little less known than its magical...
#InstaFame
Huddled in an intimate circle, surrounding a palm-sized digital camera sitting atop a black tripod, five casually dressed twenty-something year olds break into fits of laughter. Their eyes laser in on the camera’s screen as they review the footage they just shot.
The actors filmed a parody of popular dating websites, such as Match.com, taking turns speaking to the camera...
Checking in: hostel hospitality
Visitors mingle in the courtyard of the Banana Bungalow in West Hollywood, Calif., on Oct. 17, 2024. Photo by Owen Mez-Vandermeer.
It’s a sunny afternoon on Hollywood Boulevard, not far from the eastern end of the Walk of Fame, and Trey Triplett is conversing with a new friend from Greece on the patio...
A descent into Death Valley
Visitors take photos at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park on Oct. 19, 2024. Photo by Owen Meza-Vandermeer.
Driving through the rugged Panamint Mountains, visitors to Death Valley National Park wind down the narrow, twisting road of Highway 190. After about an hour of navigating the mountainous terrain, the valley floor finally...